* The State Journal-Register is reporting that Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) will soon release SB 336, a medical marijuana expansion bill, to Gov. Rauner. The bill is aimed at reducing reliance on opioids and instead prescribing certain patients with chronic pain medical marijuana instead.
The legislation, which passed with bipartisan support and supermajorities in the Illinois House and Senate, soon will be sent to the Republican governor’s desk, said Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, sponsor of Senate Bill 336.
Medical marijuana may not help every pain patient avoid an opioid addiction that can lead to misuse of legal prescription drugs or illegal drugs such as heroin, Harmon said.
But he said allowing people who have been or could be prescribed an opioid to instead use marijuana is worth a try, based on anecdotal reports and studies that show a reduction in opioid-related fatalities and opioid prescriptions in states that allow the use of marijuana for medical or recreational purposes.
“I’m not saying there’s no need for opioids,” Harmon said last week. “But we’d like to give people an off ramp. People die from opioid overdoses. They don’t die from cannabis overdoses. I’ll take that tradeoff any day.”
If approved, the legislation could increase enrollment in the program — currently serving about 38,000 patients — by eightfold or more, based on estimates.
It’s unclear what Rauner thinks of the bill. A Rauner spokeswoman didn’t respond to a request for comment, and Harmon said Rauner is “not a fan” of the medical marijuana pilot program, which was set in motion under Rauner’s predecessor, Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat.
Rauner’s administration is opposing a legal effort to add “intractable pain” to the state’s list of about 40 qualifying conditions for people wanting to enroll in the medical cannabis program.
And Illinois, unlike many states with programs, doesn’t allow patients to legally buy marijuana if they have “chronic pain” but not one of the other qualifying conditions such as cancer, AIDS, fibromyalgia, seizures or spinal cord injuries, Harmon said.
* Just hit inboxes. This appears to be concurrent to Legislative IG Julie Porter’s ongoing investigation…
Former Federal Prosecutor and Executive Inspector General Maggie Hickey to Lead Independent Investigation of the Illinois House of Representatives
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – House Speaker Michael J. Madigan announced today that Maggie Hickey, a former federal prosecutor and former inspector general for the agencies under Gov. Bruce Rauner, will conduct a thorough and independent investigation and review of the operations of the Illinois House of Representatives, including all departments within the Office of the Speaker and the Office of the House Clerk.
“Ms. Hickey’s reputation for integrity is widely recognized, and her experience in conducting investigations, including instances of workplace harassment, will enable her to identify past failures and mistakes, and recommend reforms and new policies that will help create a better culture throughout the operations of the House of Representatives and the General Assembly,” said Madigan.
The Speaker and a group of female legislators in the House selected Hickey to lead the independent investigation after interviewing several candidates. Members representing various communities and constituencies were involved in the selection, including state Reps. Kelly Burke, Deb Conroy, Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Jehan Gordon-Booth, Lisa Hernandez, Camille Lilly, Theresa Mah and Ann Williams.
Hickey, a partner at Schiff Hardin, has extensive and unique experience in conducting criminal and civil investigations of units of government. Most recently she served as the executive inspector general for the Office of the Governor under Gov. Rauner. Prior to that she was the executive assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. She also served as chief of staff and chief legal counsel to Republican U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald, and served as investigate counsel for the Senate’s Committee on Government Affairs.
“The challenges we face in the Capitol are bigger than any one office, individual or policy,” Burke said. “That’s why a review of all House practices and offices – from the clerk’s office, to member’s offices and staff offices - is a necessary start to changing our culture. Maggie Hickey’s understanding of state government, her record of tenaciously fighting against workplace harassment, and her independence are the exact qualities we need. I thank the Speaker for moving so quickly to bring her on board and thank her for joining the effort to change the culture in our Capitol.”
“Changing the culture in Springfield is only achievable when we work together and take the appropriate action to study what has gone wrong in the past and what we must change to be better in the future,” Conyears-Ervin said. “Ms. Hickey brings a wealth of expertise, and her independent review of all House operations is a critical step toward a better tomorrow.”
“Women throughout our country, throughout our state and throughout our Capitol have stood up to demand a culture free of harassment and discrimination, and Ms. Hickey’s independent investigation is an acknowledgement of their call,” Conroy said. “Changing any culture requires serious, measured reflection. That’s exactly why Ms. Hickey’s work is so important, and why I am grateful for her efforts. I appreciate that the Speaker has agreed to an independent investigation and that he recognizes this step is necessary to move forward.”
“I am extremely impressed with Ms. Hickey’s background and experience,” Lilly said. “I hope all members will cooperate with Ms. Hickey as we undergo a full review and seek to eliminate all forms of harassment and discrimination in the House. I look forward to working with Ms. Hickey over the coming months.”
# # #
* Hickey stepped down as Illinois’ Executive Inspector General in April. Hickey was also tapped to investigate the Chicago Public Schools’ alleged failure to protect students from sexual assault from school employees.
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said Hickey will be paid $500 an hour to conduct the investigation. Brown said the funds will come from the Illinois House operations budget. Brown initially told the Sun-Times there was a cap of $50,000 but later said “the final version of the contract does not have a cap.”
Madigan is still reeling from the abrupt departure of Tim Mapes, clerk of the Illinois House, his chief of staff and the executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois, amid a whistleblower’s accusations that Mapes made light of harassment allegations, amid other claims.
Mapes’ departure came just a week after Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang stepped down from his leadership positions and his role in the Legislative Ethics Commission after a woman came forward with bullying and harassment allegations.
Madigan last month requested Special Legislative Inspector General Julie Porter investigate his office after State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, alleged retaliation.
* The Chicago Tribune’s architecture critic Blair Kamin weighs in on the restoration of the Executive Mansion, along with great photos by photog Zbigniew Bzdak (don’t miss the 54-slide gallery, which also includes photos of the mansion pre-restoration)…
Illinois, your house has been put back in order. Not your political house, already in the midst of an ugly gubernatorial campaign. We’re talking about the Executive Mansion, the “People’s House,” which will reopen to the public July 14 after a $15 million renovation that has simultaneously modernized and beautified what used to be the state’s most embarrassing fixer-upper.
An exclusive tour of the mansion and its grounds Thursday, led by Illinois first lady Diana Rauner, revealed much beyond the practical pluses of energy-efficient windows that don’t leak and an elevator that finally provides full access to the home for people who are disabled.
For the first time in years, passers-by actually can see the mansion, no longer hidden by a thicket of trees and shrubs. The home’s stout brick exterior has been skillfully edited, losing ungainly features while gaining richly articulated details. The elegantly revamped interior transcends mere redecoration to tell significant stories about the state, including its role in the Civil War and the World’s Columbian Exposition. And there’s no more peeling plaster in the Lincoln Bedroom.
The irony is that Rauner and her husband, Bruce, the Republican governor, could be forced to leave the home if he loses the November election to Democrat J.B. Pritzker. The Rauners donated $1 million to the privately funded renovation drive, which has raised a little more than $14 million so far, according to Diana Rauner, who chairs the nonprofit that supports the mansion.
The last time I was in the mansion was the summer of 2014, when the state spent $40,000 for a roof patch after leaks threatened the historical bedrooms and upper floors. I remember loving the wallpaper that had been peeling (the fourth slide in my story), and am glad to see it repaired in the Trib’s photo gallery. It was before Gov. Rauner moved in, of course, and put a renewed focus on the disrepair of the mansion as a metaphor for Illinois writ large.
* The Tribune’s really cool Instagram account, @vintagetribune, also posted a quartet of old photos of the mansion last night…
* I met my old man for breakfast yesterday in Bloomington. While we were waiting for a table to become available, a man in a wheelchair reached up and tugged on Dad’s sleeve and called him out by name.
Seeing the Senator was a thrill for both of us. Mom and Dad were on his senior campaign leadership team and considered the Maitlands friends. Moreover, it was the first time we had heard him speak since a stroke in the fall of 2000 forced the “Dean of the Senate” to retire. Mom and Dad thought so highly of the Maitlands that they used his statesmanship as a model for my brother Mattheis and I to emulate.
I mentioned I was co-hosting Capitol Fax this week. “Tell everyone I said, ‘Hello.’”
*** THE QUESTION: What are your earliest personal political memories?
* The U.S. Supreme court this morning declined to rule on the merits of Gill v. Whitford, better known as the Wisconsin gerrymandering case and Benisek v. Lamone, a Maryland case involving a Democratically gerrymandered district. Instead, the court remanded the Wisconsin case back to the District Court level, ruling the 12 plaintiffs lacked proper standing to sue, as they failed to show injury from the entire Assembly map. On remand, the plaintiffs will have a chance to evaluate their claims of gerrymandering specific to their district.
From the opinion, authored by Justice Elena Kagan…
To be sure, remedying each plaintiff ’s vote dilution injury “requires revising only such districts as are necessary to reshape [that plaintiff ’s] district—so that the [plaintiff] may be unpacked or uncracked, as the case may be.” But with enough plaintiffs joined together—attacking all the packed and cracked districts in a statewide gerrymander—those obligatory revisions could amount to a wholesale restructuring of the State’s districting plan.
The Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a decision on when partisan gerrymandering goes too far, ruling against the challengers of a Republican-drawn map in Wisconsin and a Democratic redistricting in Maryland.
The rulings in the separate cases once again put off a decision on when courts can find that partisan efforts to keep parties in power goes so far as to be unconstitutional. But the court again left open a path for such challenges.
It was a technical resolution of what has seemed to hold the promise of being a landmark decision about extreme efforts to give one party advantage over another.
While the court routinely polices the drawing of electoral maps to combat racial gerrymandering, it has never found that partisan efforts went too far. It has never settled on a test that judges could use to determine how much politics was too much.
The practical impact of the case is that legislation elections in Wisconsin this year will be conducted using the map challengers said overwhelmingly favors Republicans. The Maryland congressional districts will also remain the same, including the district that challengers said was drawn to elect a Democrat. The incumbent is not running for election.
However, as the WaPo article points out…
A pending challenge of North Carolina’s redistricting efforts could provide another case for the justices to consider the issue. In that battleground state, Republicans control 10 of 13 congressional districts. That case has plaintiffs challenging each district.
* Had the court ruled on the merits of the cases, it would have had major consequences for Illinois. Maybe the Wisconsin case will get back up to SCOTUS before the 2021 redistricting, or even that North Carolina case.
From Wisconsin Public Radio’s Shawn Johnson (PAR class of 2001)…
"This is definitely not the end of the road," says @skchheda, director of the Fair Elections Project. "There is no vindication for the state’s rigging of the maps and disenfranchising of our voters here." Says plaintiffs will examine their options.
In a statement to the Sun-Times, (Sean) Morrison staunchly defended his handling of the case of Anthony Martin, who was a senior vice president of Morrison Security when he was arrested by Orland Park Police in August 2013 and charged with solicitation to meet a child.
The charge stemmed from suggestive text messages that Martin, then 46, sent to a 14-year-old girl he met at an office barbecue/pool party hosted by Morrison at his Palos Park home.
…
Morrison said there was “no history or hint of inappropriate behavior” involving Martin before the incident.
He said that when he learned about Martin’s texting, “I immediately encouraged his arrest and prosecution.”
But he said he did not fire Martin immediately “because my attorneys believed Martin could have the basis for a wrongful termination lawsuit and I did not want him to profit from his criminal activity by hiding behind labor laws.”
Instead, Morrison kept Martin in his senior vice president role, managing more than 450 employees, while the case dragged through the court system.
By October 2014, Martin was expecting to receive probation through a court-supervised alcohol abuse treatment program that would have allowed him to avoid a criminal conviction on his record — and keep his job.
As part of that effort, Martin’s lawyer submitted a letter signed by Morrison to Circuit Judge John J. Hynes seeking permission for Martin to continue to travel on business.
In the letter, Morrison noted that the 10-year veteran employee is “instrumental in running my business.”
“Due to his position with my firm, the trust I have in him and his long tenure with me, one of his core functions is to be the Traveling Executive for the company, to monitor my business. To continue to be able to function in this company, he must be able to travel,” Morrison wrote.
In his statement to the Sun-Times, Morrison said it was Martin’s lawyer who drafted the letter, but Morrison didn’t deny authorizing or signing it.
Just 19 days after the date of Morrison’s letter, Martin was arrested again, this time in Colorado, on charges of trying to sexually exploit a child using the Internet.
That is more than I normally like to copy from a story. The rest is here.
The site, ww4c.org, currently features 17 stories, dating back to December, some of which are female-focused but others are general-interest recycled campaign content. A podcast from the vertical also forthcoming, but the Rauner campaign couldn’t tell me yet when the podcast is launching or who will be hosting the show.
The WW4C story goes on to explain the pilot program, which is up and running in Peoria County and Stephenson County, supported by a $650,000 grant. A story about the project from last summer says the pilot program is “a product of the Illinois Home Visiting Task Force, which Diana Rauner has co-chaired since 2009 and is a public-private partnership funded through federal and state grants.”
* From Rauner campaign manager Betsy Ankney this morning…
Friend,
As Bruce Rauner’s campaign manager, I am keenly aware of the power Illinois’ women have to define the future of our state.
To harness this power and to ensure all women have a voice in this election cycle, we’ve launched Women Working for Change (WW4C). The mission of this group is to help women across the state stay informed and engaged so when each of us cast a vote in November we are confident we are making a choice that is truly aligned with our beliefs and goals.
WW4C will share feature stories that dig deep into the issues that keep us up at night, profiles on women from across our state sharing their perspectives and ideas, and original content for women, by women.
* Launching an entirely female-focused platform, especially in the #MeToo era, is a shrewd move for the Rauner campaign. The campaign tells me that both First Lady Diana Rauner and Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti will be involved. They couldn’t tell me if the stories will make their way into traditional ad buys, but with the Pritzker campaign hitting Rauner hard on women’s health issues (eg breast cancer screenings during the impasse), I wouldn’t count it out.
The “Back Bruce” web page currently only features three videos of GOP elected officials/candidates (only one of the three identifies himself as such), but the campaign tells me that testimonials of everyday Illinoisans are coming soon.
…Adding…
* Had someone point out that the Women Working for Change initiative isn’t quite “new,” as there’s a whole email archive for it dating back to December. I guess we could call it a re-launch.
A conference next week in Bloomington featuring local election officials and representatives of the Illinois State Police, Department of Homeland Security and the Election Assistance Commission will educate officials on election security, from recognizing and reporting a threat to how hackers can try to access their networks.
Helping to organize the event is six-term Logan County Clerk Sally Turner.
“Most county clerks have no idea that, when they ran for office, that they would have to be an IT director,” she said. “And so, this is helping us get a basic knowledge of what is all this information that is out there, and how do we decipher it all.”
Families were sent an email Friday evening from CPS’s Office of Access and Enrollment inviting them to submit supplemental applications to selective enrollment schools. Attached at the bottom of the email was a link to a spreadsheet with the private data of over 3,700 students and families.
The link to the private data was active for several hours after CPS noticed and apologized for the breach. The link was eliminated by Saturday morning.
* Hoping to find a way to keep Illinois youth from flocking to other states, a bi-partisan group of legislators interested in the performance and condition of the state’s public higher education institutions will continue working through the summer.
“We have a lot of students whose family income is above the threshold for Pell and MAP (grants), so they don’t qualify for any of the need-based financial aid,” Burke said. “But the families also don’t have $20,000 sitting around for them to go to school, so people end up borrowing.”
Though the bulk of the financial aid given by the University is need-based, beginning in 2019, the University will match the amount of state money it receives from AIM HIGH with its own institutional dollars to be distributed, on the basis of merit, to students who are Illinois residents.
“The two main reasons why people don’t end up accepting our admissions officer is because of our cost and lack of financial aid,” said Dan Mann, interim associate provost for enrollment management at the University. “We’re hopeful that this program will help us provide more financial aid that will attract more Illinois students here.”
Next on the group’s agenda, according to state Rep. Dan Brady, is a discussion on “what those universities are capable of doing and what they’re not capable of doing and shouldn’t be doing” and possibly a more formalized funding formula…
The working group plan on later this summer reconvening into what will be the fall veto session and really focusing in now on what is going to be some type of funding formula. I don’t think there’s anyone in Springfield who can explain what is the funding formula for higher education in the state of Illinois. And so, that is going to be something, and I think we’ll probably have some of the ideas that mirror K-12 and the new funding formula there. I think that will be very, very helpful.
Universities have been cut numerous times over the past decade, and neighboring states have diverted some Illinois high school seniors by lowering their tuition rates to what they would charge their own residents. And then the impasse happened…
By (John) Jackson’s analysis, the two-year impasse left SIUC with about 41.5 percent of its normal budget.
“In other words, we lost 58.5 percent in higher ed over that two-year period. No big organization can reduce 58.5 percent of their base budget and not be hurt by it,” Jackson said.
…
SIU had been allowed $178.8 million in state appropriations for Fiscal Year 2018, a 10 percent decrease from FY15, the last normal year before the budget crisis.
The university system’s state appropriations peaked at just shy of $250 million in 2002 under Republican Gov. George Ryan. After gradual state disinvestment in the 2000s, the FY18 payout was the lowest since 1994.
This Thursday, the board will begin in open session for public comments and questions followed by some routine orders of business. In addition, the board is slated to give authorization to pursue a campus funding allocation study and engage a consultant to evaluate the system’s funding formula.
Next, the meeting will close to the public for an executive session so that the board can discuss “pending, possible or imminent court proceedings against or on behalf of the Board; and appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees,” according to the meeting notice.
Related…
* State rep. launches petition drive calling for IBHE study of SIU funding: Stuart said she was launching the petition because the SIU Board of Trustees failed to reallocate $5.1 million to SIUE this spring. The board was also split on whether to support her resolution.
At a Halloween party at his friend’s house at least 10 years ago, state Senate candidate Hal Patton was photographed dressed in an orange football jersey, wearing a black bandana on his head, and his face painted black.
Patton, the Edwardsville mayor who also has been in public office for nearly 20 years holding positions such as City Council member and Madison County Board member, is seeking the seat currently held by state Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton. Haine is not running for re-election.
In the photo, obtained by the Belleville News Democrat from Democratic operatives, Patton is smiling while holding a drink at the Halloween party.
Patton confirmed the photo is of him, and said it was taken at least 10 years ago. He said he was dressed as a rapper.
“There was never any intention for it to be an act of racism or racial commentary. It was a rapper,” Patton said in an interview. “At the time, Run DMC and others were rappers. That was the look. I hate to say I regret a Halloween costume, in the sense it wasn’t meant to make a statement about anything in politics or anything in race relations or anything in that nature.”
He added, “I’ve certainly live my life above board and with the best principles that you can. I have lots of friends from every race and every country — that is how I’ve always lived my life.”
Having served the public for almost twenty years as an Edwardsville Alderman, Madison County Board Member, and now as Mayor, I have been on the ballot ten different times and involved in many challenging races. So nothing really surprises me in terms of the nasty tricks opponents will try. Typically, the more desperate the opponent, the lower they will go.
This particular picture has been threatened to be used in my last three races. It was taken at an annual couples Halloween costume party where husband and wife try to pair their outfits. My wife was set on wearing a pink dress and wrapping it cellophane, those a piece of bubble gum. My choices to pair up we’re going as a school desk or as a “wrapper”. A rapper outfit with a microphone and face paint was chosen, not as a racial statement, but due to the fact that most rappers are African-American.
Looking back, it was a bad choice for an outfit. I regret it and apologize to those it offends. I never imagined it would be viewed as a racial image, much less saved by someone for nearly nine years before using it to impugn my character.
Any one the knows me, knows that I do not judge people by their race or nationality. I grew up in household that taught how to love others, not to hate them. My friends, former classmates, employees, dental patients, and current co-workers at the city would all confirm this. In my dental practice I care for people of many different races and backgrounds yet all my employees will tell you that we consider them family. At the City of Edwardsville, we have always hired the best candidate, and I am pleased to report that we have more minorities and females working for us than ever before. In fact, my last three appointments that I have recommended for the city council have been females.
I am saddened that I need to write about these things, but feel it is important for those who do not know me, to not judge my character from a Halloween costume. Moreover, I am sickened by and worried for the individual or individuals who would keep such a ridiculous picture for nine plus years and use it such a cheap manor. If these persons or anyone would like to discuss any issue with me, I have always made myself available.
This is the second desperate act taken against me in this election cycle. Clearly, my opponent and her allies will use any methods, no matter how pathetic, to maintain power and control of our political system in Illinois. The more I get into trying to change the dysfunction in Springfield, the more disgusted I get.
Sincerely, Hal
*** UPDATE(s) 1:17 p.m. ***
* The BND updated Patton’s statement to reflect a missing “not” in the fourth paragraph. We also now have a statement from Sen. Kwame Raoul in his capacity as an Attorney General candidate…
“This photo is blatantly racist and deeply offensive. I’ve spent a lot of time with local leaders in the Metro East area, and I know they have worked hard to promote diversity and inclusion in the region notwithstanding the prejudice of some. I look forward to continuing that work together.”
*** UPDATE 1:52 p.m. ***
* Statement from Rachelle Aud Crowe, Democratic candidate for Illinois State Senate in the 56th District.
“I was shocked to see this photo of Mayor Hal Patton in blackface. I’m not sure why he would ever think that wearing blackface is appropriate - it’s offensive and completely unacceptable. Blackface is racist, ignorant, and threatens the advancements we’ve made in the long fight for civil rights and equality.
“Elected officials should be held to the highest standard. They should be dedicated to serving the people they represent, not using stereotypes that divide us. Patton’s actions don’t represent our community, and are a painful reminder that we have much more work to do in achieving full equality and overcoming harmful stereotypes.
“In response to this photo, Hal Patton has made excuses and deflected by attacking me. There is no excuse for blackface. Patton is circulating petitions to get on the ballot under the “Downstate United” party, but his actions don’t represent Downstate values and only divide our community.”
I wouldn’t say the Governor held up the budget process in the past for the Turnaround Agenda. He held it up in the past because it was unbalanced. The Democrats couldn’t put together a balanced budget in the past three years, and the Governor said it had to be balanced. I think because it’s an election year we were able to leverage some points. The Democrats are nervous. They didn’t want to go back and ask for re-election having another unbalanced or state-ordered spending plan. We were able to leverage that to get a balanced budget for the Governor.
For the first time since Gov. Bruce Rauner took office three and a half years ago, Illinoisans will begin the next fiscal year with a budget intact.
Social service providers across the state will be able to plan a full year of programming to connect children, families, and seniors with the tools they need to build better lives.
Work crews will be able to arrive on the job site without worrying about whether they will be sent home because there’s no state budget.
Students at our colleges and universities can start the academic year knowing that their MAP scholarships will be funded.
That’s how it is supposed to work. But for years, Bruce Rauner stood in the way of a state budget, holding it hostage for his special interest agenda. Time and again, he didn’t just derail the process, he refused to negotiate and even vetoed a bipartisan budget last summer. This year, lawmakers had to sideline the failed governor in order to get the job done.
* Brady was also asked during the interview about the validity of claims the budget is balanced…
“It’s not unlike business. Businesses put budgets together that are based on assumptions. The assumptions in this budget are solid. They, I believe, are very solid. The economic performance of our state in this economy, would this budget be even better if we had the business reforms that Governor Rauner had pushed in the last several years? Yes, because we’d know that we had a better chance of economic growth enhancement. As the economy grows, revenues increase. But this is based on what realistic projections are for Illinois’s economy based on the current set of laws, policies, and procedures. If the economy under-performs, it’ll be challenging. If it over-performs, it’ll be even easier. There are a few things in here that we’re hoping to happen. One is the sale of the Thompson Center…So it’s pretty real. Anyone can throw stones at it, but the results will prove it out. Like any projections, there are challenges. The Governor’s gonna have to work. It won’t be an easy budget to manage, but it is certainly one that with the right discipline and the right effort can, I believe, come to a balanced nature at the end of the fiscal year.
* A claim made by Gov. Rauner last week about the origins of Legionella bacteria in the plumbing at the Quincy Veterans Home has been rated ‘False’ by Politifact and the Better Government Association.
Rauner said during an event in Marion Mississippi River flood waters and strong storms in 2015 helped Legionella bacteria reach the Home. From the BGA in explaining the rating…
Former President George W. Bush clearly was powerless to stop Hurricane Katrina from slamming into New Orleans in 2005. The problem for Bush was how slowly his administration reacted to a tragedy with broad and fatal consequences once winds subsided and the devastation became clear.
Similarly, not even Rauner’s harshest critics have suggested he could have prevented the initial Legionnaires’ outbreak in 2015. But lawmakers from both parties and political opponents have blasted his administration for delays in responding to the crisis and possibly making it worse.
Rauner vehemently disagrees, and it’s not our purpose here to weigh in on who is right or wrong on that score. What is significant, however, is whether the trigger for the outbreak in any way affected the response, and the governor has provided no evidence for that being the case.
* This is the third time the Politifact-BGA partnership has stepped in to assess the validity of claims made about QVH. The first instance was a January ‘Half True’ rating of the Governor’s claim that Legionella bacteria can be found in most Illinois water systems. In March, the Pritzker campaign’s attempt to blame the Governor for a stomach virus outbreak at the Home mustered a ‘Mostly False’ rating.
Elizabeth Brackett, the Emmy Award-winning journalist and internationally decorated triathlete who for two decades served as a “Chicago Tonight” host and correspondent for WTTW, died Sunday evening at Stroger Hospital, surrounded by family. She was 76 years old.
Brackett was admitted to the hospital Wednesday morning following an apparent accident while she was biking along the lakefront path – a routine part of her triathlon training. She was found about 30 feet from the path near 39th Street Beach, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford, who said paramedics at the scene witnessed “no signs of trauma” including “bruises, scrapes, contusions.” Family members believe Brackett accidentally fell from her bicycle and say damage to the top and back of her helmet suggests as much.
…
Brackett’s training regimen reflected her serious approach to the sport – and would challenge an athlete half her age: 9-12 hours each week spent running and biking (three times a week) and swimming and weightlifting (twice a week). “She would come here and train hard – not skip a beat, go out and train hard all the time,” Aharon said. “The workout I gave her, I’d give to a 35-year-old.”
Brackett showed equal determination and focus in the newsroom, where she “snuck in” to a career in journalism at age 34. It’s a story she shared in a 2012 interview with the Chicago Tribune for its “Remarkable Woman” series: “I’d gotten a master’s degree in social work and didn’t have a journalism degree,” she said told the Tribune. “You probably could never do that today, but I wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
Family members say that was one of her defining character traits. “She saw a ‘no’ as an obstacle to be overcome,” said her son Jon Brackett, a public school teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
That resolute approach would propel Brackett’s 40-year career, during which she covered everything from the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York to the Challenger disaster in 1986 to the Chicago Bulls. Her reporting on the dangerously deteriorating conditions of public housing in Chicago prompted policy changes at the Chicago Housing Authority. She was recognized with five Emmy Awards, including a national Emmy, two Peter Lisagor Awards for Business Journalism and a National Peabody Award, among others. In 2009, she was inducted into the Chicago Television Academy’s prestigious Silver Circle.
“Her political coverage included, I think, the best profile that’s been done on Barack Obama and for which she won a regional Emmy,” said “Chicago Tonight” Executive Director Mary Field.
…
In addition to journalism and athletics, Brackett served as a coordinator for the Adolescent Alternative Placement Program of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, a community organizer for the Uptown WMCA, Illinois Issues Coordinator for Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign and as fundraising director and advance director for William Singer’s mayoral campaign.
Captain Kirk might be able to discuss the properties of dilithium crystals and give directions to Rigel XII, but don’t ask him to explain bitcoin.
“The concept is so, I guess the word is bizarre,” Kirk’s alter ego, William Shatner, said by phone Wednesday. “You have to blank your mind and say, ‘What is blockchain, again? How does mining operate, again?’ The concepts are really strange, and yet when you begin to grasp it, it makes sense.”
Shatner is the spokesman for Solar Alliance, a Vancouver-based developer of alternative energy projects that announced plans to build a solar-powered Bitcoin mining operation in an abandoned southern Illinois factory.
Bitcoin mining harnesses computer networks to validate and record transactions that use the virtual currency, a task for which “miners” are paid in bitcoin (a single unit was going for more than $6,200 Wednesday). The process requires huge amounts of electricity, and that’s where Solar Alliance CEO Jason Bak saw an opportunity.
* I hate to do this, but…we’re going to have Cap’n Kirk himself play us out…
* Press release, which stipulates a permanent director of DHFS will be named in two weeks.
CHICAGO (June 15, 2018) – Gov. Rauner announced today that Teresa Hursey has been named the interim director of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS). She takes over for Felicia Norwood, who recently accepted a position in the private sector.
Hursey has been with HFS since 2013, serving as the Medicaid Director prior to this role, where she oversaw medical programs that provide healthcare to one in four Illinoisans. She also coordinated efforts on the state’s 1115 waiver, contributing significantly to the development of Better Care Illinois, a sweeping initiative bringing in $2 billion in federal money to deliver improved outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries suffering from mental health and substance abuse disorders.
“It was an honor to work under Director Norwood’s leadership to transform behavioral health in Illinois,” Hursey said. “I look forward to continuing that important work as Interim Director and with our future Director.”
Hursey brings more than 25 years of public health and budgeting leadership to the position. She graduated from Drury College in Springfield, Missouri, earning her CPA license in 1986 and Certified Fraud Examiner accreditation in 1993. The appointment is effective immediately. A permanent director will be named in two weeks.
Justin A. Blandford has been named Curator of the newly renovated Illinois Governor’s Mansion. His appointment was announced today by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
In his new position, Blandford will be responsible for creating and implementing the Mansion’s new strategic vision, which includes a greater focus on history, education, creative arts, and visitor experiences. As Curator, he will be the Mansion’s liaison with the Springfield historical community and ensure the Mansion’s place among the city’s historic sites.
Blandford will lead the development of events and marketing programs to attract visitors to the Mansion, which is the third oldest Governor’s mansion in use today. In addition, he will manage day-to-day Mansion operations, oversee maintenance of the grounds and the facility, and manage the Mansion’s workforce and volunteers.
“Justin’s background is a great fit for the reimagined Mansion,” said Gov. Rauner. “He’s been part of the renovation project, so he understands the mission. The Mansion is now ‘The People’s House’ to enjoy and learn from, and his entire career has been focused on bringing people in closer touch with history and historic preservation.”
Blandford has been a Historic Site Superintendent in the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) since 2004. Most recently he directed operations at six nationally significant state-owned historic sites: Lincoln Tomb, Veterans Memorials, Old State Capitol, Lincoln Law Office, Vachel Lindsay Home, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Dana House. The sites attract 325,000 visitors each year.
“As a museum manager and historian, I’m honored to serve as the curator of the newly restored Illinois Governor’s Mansion, with its expanded educational offerings,” Blandford said.
“During our bicentennial year, it is fitting that we are restoring this landmark as a symbol of leadership, as a relevant and meaningful history education experience, and as a place to inspire civic responsibility. We are looking forward to building partnerships and creating a world class portfolio of programs.”
The new Curator began his career in public service as a Dunn Fellow/Policy Assistant in 1999 following his graduation from Webster University in St. Louis. He worked at the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency before joining DNR. He obtained his Masters in History this year from the University of Illinois in Springfield.
Blandford will report to the Governor’s Chief of Staff and his appointment is effective June 18, 2018.
Justin has weathered through several administrations. Congratulations to him.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and his wife, Diana, recently moved back into the downtown building after extensive restorations still getting finishing touches. Diana Rauner has co-chaired the non-profit Illinois Governor’s Mansion Association, which has raised nearly $15 million from private donors for the work.
And, it turns out, a couple of those donors are Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker, and his wife.
“J.B. and his wife, M.K., have supported the renovation efforts,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said Thursday night. “M.K. sits on the board and has helped with fundraising.”
And given that Pritzker is running against Rauner in the November election, she added that “J.B. is looking forward to calling Springfield home when he’s elected governor.”
M.K. Pritzker was on the board long before her husband thought about running for governor, according to the campaign.
* Joe Bustos of the Belleville News-Democrat reached out to House Democrats in southwestern Illinois to ask them if Speaker Madigan should resign as some Republicans have suggested and if he has done enough to stop sexual harassment in the Statehouse work environment. Three of them spoke on the record.
Jay Hoffman…
“The actions that have been taken by our caucus, led by many of the women in our caucus, we’re going to make sure their recommendations are put into place,” said Hoffman, who also serves as the majority conference chairman. “We’re going to make sure there is a fair process to ferret out any improprieties. From my standpoint anyway … the speaker has been willing to listen and has formed committees to do that, and we’ve moved forward to pass an historic bill this session. Now, more needs to be done, but I think that will address many issues of concern.”
LaToya Greenwood…
Greenwood said she believes Madigan has taken the right steps in forming committees and a task force.
“It’s ongoing, but it’s a start in getting us on the right track,” Greenwood said. “So I think he’s addressed it properly, to get right on it as soon as the issues came about.”
Katie Stuart…
“(He) called me to make sure I understood his choice and actions in responding to everything, and to make sure I felt that it was handled appropriately,” Stuart said. “There’s always more work to do, but what we have been doing, we’re moving in the right direction toward making sure everyone feels comfortable, safe and supported in the capitol.”
Cicero town president pulled into primary rival’s election suit against Madigan
An unlikely figure is surfacing in a federal lawsuit that accuses House Speaker Mike Madigan of winning elections by recruiting “sham” candidates to dilute the opposition vote:
Cicero Town President Larry Dominick.
And it apparently hasn’t been easy for unsuccessful Madigan primary challenger Jason Gonzales to pull Dominick into the heated case.
According to a motion filed Thursday, a man who tried to deliver a subpoena to get Dominick to sit for a deposition said he wound up being arrested by Cicero Police and left shivering in a room with the air conditioning cranked up — after he had been forced to remove his shirt.
There’s a lot more weirdness deeper in the story.
* Then there are these two dispatches from the Trib’s Jason Meisner…
In today’s “Only in Cook County” lesson: Jurors are hearing evidence that the judge who convicted Jacques Rivera for a 1988 murder after an allegedly corrupt Chicago cop framed him was himself under federal investigation for taking bribes to fix murder cases while on the bench.
A federal judge just denied Chicago Ald. Willie Cochran's motion to dismiss extortion and bribery charges. In doing so, the judge cited an appellate case with a familiar ring to it: U.S. v. Arenda Troutman — Cochran's predecessor as 20th Ward aldie who went to prison for bribery
Pritzker clearly wants Rock Island County, so he is willing to try to buy it. He clearly wants to be governor, so he is trying to buy that as well with big giveaways and a “wink-wink” promise to “tax the other guy.”
While I don’t hold out much hope of the $1 million being used to pay down some of the debt Democrats have generated in the county, that isn’t really what worries me.
He is planning to buy the county with his money and with it the state election.
In a no-surprise move certain to please embattled Il. House Speaker Michael Madigan, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has chosen State veteran State Rep. Silvana Tabares (D-Chicago) of Garfield Ridge to become the new 23rd Ward alderman.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has selected State Rep. Silvana Tabares to be the new 23rd Ward alderman, pending City Council vote on June 27. No word yet on who will replace former 23rd ward Ald. Michael Zalewski as Aviation Chair.
* Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles Freeman announced last month he was stepping down after 27 years on the court, making him the fifth-longest serving Supreme Court justice in Illinois.
Replacing him is First District Appellate Justice P. Scott Neville, who will be sworn in at 2 p.m. in a ceremony in the Thompson Center. BlueRoomStream has live coverage here. I’m listening as I write and there’s some lively live strings music.
Neville’s appointed term will last until Dec. 7, 2020.
The Honorable P. Scott Neville, Jr. will take the oath on Friday as the newest member of the Illinois Supreme Court, the second African American to sit on the state’s highest tribunal.
Justice Neville, an Appellate Court Justice in Illinois for the past 14 years, will be sworn in by Justice Anne M. Burke. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Charles E. Freeman, the fifth-longest serving justice in Illinois Supreme Court history at 27 years, six months.
“Justice Neville is an experienced and highly respected member of the bench and was a unanimous choice to succeed Justice Freeman. Through his service on both the circuit and appellate courts, Justice Neville has demonstrated his deep commitment to the principles of fairness, justice and the rule of law,” Chief Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier said. “While we shall deeply miss Justice Freeman, Justice Neville will be an outstanding addition to the Supreme Court. My colleagues and I are all looking forward to working with him.”
…
Justice Neville believes, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that the moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice. Therefore, he will continue to serve the citizens of this state by ensuring that Illinois’ courts provide “equal justice for all.”
Justice Neville received his Bachelor of Arts at Culver Stockton College and his juris doctorate at the Washington University School of Law.
Following graduation from law school, Neville served as a law clerk for Appellate Court Justice Glenn T. Johnson, becoming the first African-American man to clerk for a Cook County Appellate Justice. Neville would go on to work as counsel for Howard, Mann & Slaughter and would establish P. Scott Neville, Jr. & Associates in 1981. For nearly 25 years Neville specialized in appellate, employment, civil rights and complex civil litigation. He was one of several attorneys who successfully prosecuted the 1992 Chicago Ward “ReMap” case, a case on which President Barack Obama also worked.
Neville was appointed to the bench in 1999 and elected in 2000 as a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County. He served in that capacity until he was appointed to the First District Appellate Court in 2004. He successfully ran for election to the Appellate Court in 2012.
Justice Neville previously served as Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Illinois Appellate Court, First District and is a former member of the Appellate Court’s Executive Committee. He is currently the Presiding Justice of the Second Division.
* Gov. Rauner was in Moline yesterday addressing a Western Illinois University crowd at its Quad Cities campus. It was a pretty standard speech — basically the same one he’s been giving since he signed the budget last week about how it’s a good start but if only the General Assembly had enacted his proposed budget, the state would have a $1.5 billion surplus.
Anyway, at one point the governor said that when he came into office, the state’s backlog of bills was sitting at $10 billion.
“People tell me this is the most balanced budget in 15 years. I don’t know, but I know we’ve had unbalanced budgets for years. We’ve been running deficits for years. It’s the reason we have such big debt, unfunded pensions. There was almost $10 billion of unpaid bills when I became governor. We’ve had financial mismanagement in this state for a long time.”
* Thing is, the bill backlog was actually $6.5 billion in January of 2015 when Rauner took office. I know because I’ve been looking at this chart all morning for another story…
(sorry friends, cannot for the life of me figure out how to import an image and I’d rather spend more time reporting than figuring out HTML’s quirks…just click here.)
If you don’t trust Comptroller Mendoza’s accounting, here is the last backlog number tweeted from Judy Baar Topinka’s official comptroller account and the first backlog number tweeted from Leslie Munger’s official comptroller account.
…Update…
* Response from Rauner spokeswoman Rachel Bold:
“Between the runup to the Governor’s formal announcement, until the time when he actually took office, the bill backlog hit $8.9 billion, which is nearly $10 billion in my book.”
*** 2:51 p.m. *** - (Added by Barton)….Charlie Wheeler in comments…
Points of Information re balanced budgets
“People tell me this is the most balanced budget in 15 years. I don’t know, but I know we’ve had unbalanced budgets for years. We’ve been running deficits for years. It’s the reason we have such big debt, unfunded pensions. There was almost $10 billion of unpaid bills when I became governor. We’ve had financial mismanagement in this state for a long time.”
Gov. Rauner. June 15, 2018
The actual record:
Illinois last ended its fiscal year with a general funds budgetary surplus (GF available balance > lapse period spending) in FY2001, when the AB was greater than LPS by some $300 million.
As measured by declining GF budgetary deficits, however, Illinois last had a balanced budget (current year spending less than current year revenues) in FY2015, when the deficit declined by slightly more than $1 billion.
Starting with FY2002, Gov. Ryan’s next-to-last last budget, through FY2015, Gov. Quinn’s last budget, the GF budgetary deficit improved in eight of 14 years, meaning spending was less than revenues in each of those years.
Sources: Illinois Comptroller Reports, Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
Charlie Wheeler
*** 4:11 p.m. *** Comptroller Mendoza’s office wanted to respond to the post. Here’s her statement…
“The backlog number the Governor’s office appears to be citing is from 2013. When Governor Rauner took office two years later, the bill backlog was just over $6.5 billion. When the budget enacted by his predecessor expired, the backlog was down to $5.03 billion. That number more than tripled on Governor Rauner’s watch, hitting a record high of $16.675 billion. The numbers don’t lie.”
The fifth inning brought about another pitching change for the GOP, with Illinois Rep. John Shimkus taking over for Buck, but the game quickly grew out of reach for the team after that. Throughout the inning, Democrats were able to get on base and effective steal bases off many of Shimkus’ erratic pitches. With runners on second and third bases, Richmond hit a triple, and due to an error by the Republican shortstop at third, was able to run home, giving Democrats three more runs. After giving up three more runs, Shimkus was replaced on the mound by Kansas Rep. Roger Marshall. Throughout the fifth, Democrats continued to take advantage of defensive Republican errors, extending their lead to a commanding 17–4.
In the bottom of the fifth, Richmond returned to the mound and despite a solid double by Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, and a single by New Mexico Rep. Steve Pearce, the Louisiana lawmaker and the Democratic defense were able to effectively stifle the GOP offense.
Oh sure, Rodney gets credit for a double while Shimkus gets roughed up for his less than stellar performance, but take a look at the other half of the battery…
smh
* Caption?
* By the way, the news out of St. Louis was not good for Team Illinois as Team Missouri won the bi-state showdown 7-4 on a hot, muggy day at Busch Stadium. However, despite his best efforts, this website’s proprietor did not fall captive to the “best fans in baseball” nor the St. Louis Metropolitan Police.
* The Governor’s Office responded last night to my question about what information the Governor relied on when he said earlier this week the Legionnaire’s outbreak in Quincy was at least in part caused by flood waters and storms in 2015…
There has never been any attempt to lay blame. Rather, the Rauner Administration is exploring working theories on the cause, the persistence, and most importantly the remedy. We partnered with the CDC and took immediate action to remediate and improve water quality at the Quincy Veterans Home in 2015 and continue to take steps to ensure our heroes and our staff are safe.
As the CDC indicated to us and to WBEZ, multiple studies conclude there is a correlation between “an increased risk of Legionnaires’ disease with increased rainfall (including this CDC article and this one).”
On July 13, 2015, there was a severe storm in Quincy, Illinois, just over a week before the first resident at the IVHQ began experiencing symptoms. There were also five community cases that summer in individuals who had no clear connection to the veteran’s home. While the CDC has not confirmed that this weather event was the direct cause of the Legionnaires outbreak, it is reasonable to believe the weather could have been a contributing factor.
We have partnered with the CDC and continue to consult with numerous experts to enhance the water quality at the Quincy Veterans Home and understand what may compromise the system. Gaining a comprehensive understanding helps all of us move forward to ensure continued safety at the home. This is one of the primary reasons why we have partnered with the city of Quincy to build an alternate water source and switch to a groundwater system that will result in cleaner water with fewer bacterial and chemical variations. We are excited about the recent purchase of the Sycamore nursing home and look forward to building a world class facility where all veterans will continue to receive exceptional care.
“From the weather to Veterans themselves, Bruce Rauner is willing to blame anyone but himself for the Legionnaires’ crisis he let spiral out of control,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Thirteen Veterans and spouses died on this failed governor’s watch, but instead of taking responsibility and acting swiftly to protect our heroes, Rauner is busy wiping his hands of responsibility.”
* An interview of Sam McCann conducted by WEEK-TV was posted last night as the state Senator and former Republican now has less than two weeks to get his third-party gubernatorial bid on the November ballot.
McCann was asked, among other things, if he supported President Trump. Here’s a quick transcript of that part of the interview…
I definitely do. He’s our President. He’s our commander-in-chief…We’ve reached a time and a place where if we disagree with someone we vilify that person. We fight against that person. We try to bring about that person’s demise. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be because no two people have ever agreed 100 percent of the time on 100 percent of the issues.There’s a lot of folks who want President Trump to fail just because he’s a Republican or just because he’s Trump or just because of the way he Tweets or some of the things he says. I think it’s incumbent upon us as Americans to hope that our president succeeds regardless of his politics, regardless of whether we agree with him or not. You should respect him and hope that he’s successful guiding the nation, working with Congress to make it a better country, and thereby a better world. So I don’t agree with everything he Tweets. I don’t agree with how he says every single thing, but I agree with the vast majority of what he’s doing.
And part of his explanation on how the Conservative Party is different from the Republican Party…
Bruce Rauner knew a good fire sale when he saw one. He knew that to be Governor of Illinois…he was going to have to acquire one of the two parties. He knew the Democratic Party was too strong even though he had typically voted as a Democrat. That would have been the natural direction for him. He knew that there were already too many strong leaders statewide in that party, especially Madigan, and it would cost too much. He also realized that, at the time in 2012, 2013 when he was making this decision, that the Illinois Republican Party was devoid of any statewide leadership and that he could buy the party at a fire sale, and that’s what he did.
* McCann has until June 25 to muster the 25,000 signatures he needs to appear on the ballot. When asked yesterday about the status of that effort, the Senator responded, “Things are going really well. I am confident we will file with the requisite number of signatures, and then some.”
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate decreased by -0.1 percentage point to 4.3 percent in May and nonfarm payrolls increased by +8,600 jobs over-the-month, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The April job gain was revised down slightly from its initial report to show a smaller gain. (+2,500 jobs versus +4,700 jobs).
Job growth stabilized in the March to May period posting average monthly gains of +4,600 jobs over this three-month period, about the same as the 6-month average monthly gain of +4,500 jobs between December 2017 to May 2018.
…
In May, the three industry sectors with the largest gains in employment were Education and Health Services (+3,500); Government (+2,600); and Financial Activities (+2,100). The industry sectors with the largest payroll declines were: Information services (-900) and Leisure and Hospitality (-800).
Over-the-year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +60,200 jobs with the largest gains in these industry sectors in May: Government (+13,800); Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+11,100); and Financial Activities (+10,400). The industry sectors with the largest over-the-year declines were: Information Services (-3,900) and Mining (-300). Illinois nonfarm payrolls were up +1.0 percent over-the-year in sharp contrast to the nation’s +1.6 percent over-the-year gain in May, but it was the largest over-the-year gain in nearly a year.
…Adding…It is nice to see the numbers moving in the right direction, but…
Illinois’ African-American unemployment rate is higher than that of any other state in the nation.
And Illinois has been among the states with the highest black unemployment rate nearly every quarter since 2016.
“Nobody’s been left behind more than African-American workers. And Illinois has done about the worst when it comes to creating economic opportunities and employment opportunities for African Americans,” said Robert Bruno, a University of Illinois professor who directs the Labor Education program there.
Experts say an unequal education system bears a lot of the blame for why Illinois fares so poorly in comparison, but largely it is plain old-fashioned discrimination at work.
Bruno said that African Americans were beginning in the 1970s and early 1980s to get a share of manufacturing jobs until, he said, availability of those jobs dimished. “Everybody gets hurt when that plant moves out of town, but the people that are hurt the most would be people who had had the shortest tenure in those industries, and they couldn’t retire and they didn’t really build up a nest egg, and so that devastated African-American neighborhoods and communities.
“They have a hard time getting into these industries. When they get into the industries, they’re not paid as well and unemployment that occurs in these industries is always greater for African Americans.'’
* A top political adviser in Lisa Madigan’s organization has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of the Democratic Party of Illinois.
Mary Morrissey, who was most recently deputy chief of staff in the Office of the Attorney General but had also served in high-level positions in Lisa Madigan’s political operation, started earlier this week, spokesman Steve Brown confirmed. As a direct report to the Executive Director, Morrissey will oversee the organization’s day-to-day operations.
The Executive Director post has been vacant since Tim Mapes’s sudden resignation, and a search committee has been appointed to find a permanent replacement.
Mary Ann Ahern initially reported Morrissey’s hiring along with a quote from an anonymous “source who worked for both Michael Madigan and Lisa Madigan.” The source called the executive director search committee’s work “an exercise in futility” in the wake of the Morrissey hire.
Brown said there was a need for someone to perform those duties given the active campaigns for statewide and legislative offices. He said Speaker Madigan was involved in the selection and hiring process, and that Morrissey brings a lot of experience to the post. He said he was unaware if Morrissey is a candidate for Executive Director.
* So yesterday Bloomberg reported that Elon Musk’s Boring Company won a bid to build a high-speed train from the Loop to O’Hare. Chicago Twitter reacted as only Chicago Twitter could.
THERE IS A TRAIN FROM THE LOOP TO O’HARE IT IS CALLED THE CTA BLUE LINE https://t.co/n7ACdWFI8j
Ok for all of you out of towners who are hearing about Elon Musk's big bold initiative to get people to and from O'Hare — Riding the blue line is not a bad experience. It's not perfect, but it's much less rage inducing than dropping $30-50 on a cab.
People were also annoyed with the New York Times’ story on the proposed project, which described the two ways of getting from O’Hare to downtown (take the Blue Line or drive on the Kennedy) as “rage-inducing.”
Hyperbole much, @nytimes? The nation's paper of record describes the kinda-pokey Blue Line ride to O'Hare as "rage-inducing." Maybe it's a New York thing https://t.co/DacWIZHgl6
* The last time I took the Blue Line from the city to O’Hare was in December, and I remember being pretty pleased with the experience, minus the freezing cold wind on my face as I waited for the train at 5(ish) a.m. I’m also a frequent driver on the expressway and it’s really not as bad as everyone says it is. I promise.
The question: Do we really need a high-speed train from the Loop to O’Hare? If not, what do you wish Elon Musk and his Boring Company would do for Chicago/Illinois instead? Snark and imagination highly encouraged!
Kasper replaces another Madigan loyalist, former Chief of Staff Tim Mapes, who was ousted last week after a Speaker staffer named Sherri Garrett alleged Mapes had harassed her and other female staffers, in addition to allegedly turning a blind eye to harassment she and others reported. Mapes had not only been the Speaker’s CoS, but also the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Illinois and treasurer for both aforementioned funds.
The D-1 filings show Kasper signed the papers on the 11th, but they weren’t filed til yesterday.
Picking Kasper is no surprise here; he’s clearly been loyal and it’s a stable choice. He’s also already the treasurer for the Democratic Party of Illinois. However, if there isn’t at least an attempt to search for new faces, it might undermine damage control work that Madigan is trying to pull off now that he and the Democratic Party have been weakened by #MeToo allegations.
Madigan’s spokesman, Steve Brown, told me that he expects Kasper will do it “as long as necessary.”
Obviously the funds need a treasurer and Mapes’ name couldn’t be on them for much longer. When a new executive director for the Democratic Party of Illinois is named, s/he may want a new(er) name for the treasurer spot too.
*** 2:10 p.m. *** - Rauner campaign spokesman Alex Browning in a press release…
“This isn’t change from Mike Madigan. It’s more of the same culture of corruption we’ve seen for decades. If JB Pritzker actually cares about fair maps, he will immediately denounce the decision by Madigan to appoint his personal attorney and longtime opponent of fair maps and term limits to his political committees. Pritzker just gave one of these funds, Democratic Majority, a $1 million check. Pritzker should demand his money back.”
Further down…
JB Pritzker claims to support fair maps – but will he put his wallet behind his words? Will he ask for his campaign cash back and use his influence to stop Mike Kasper’s appointment? Or will he reward the very person who has dedicated his career to stopping fair maps and term limits?
Governor Bruce Rauner really outdid himself this time. Yesterday, Rauner linked “tornadoes” to the 2015 outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that killed 12 people at the state-run Veterans’ Home. Rauner’s response to the outbreak has been questioned for months, and yesterday’s statement is just the newest twist in his attempt to dodge blame.
“State and local public health authorities have looked high and low for the sources of fatal Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the Quincy veterans’ home. Now, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is offering a new theory. ‘Massive floods and tornadoes’ and ‘a lot of dirt.’ But Rauner offered no proof, and experts who spoke to WBEZ were skeptical.”
In fact, the National Weather Service said there were no tornadoes or unusual flooding near Quincy in July of 2015.
This is not the first time Rauner’s administration sought to spin blame onto something or someone else. An earlier uncovered email from a top Rauner official suggested the administration “tie this back” to combat veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth. Rauner still has not said if he agreed with the email.
“What’s Bruce Rauner going to blame next? Did earthquakes cause the spike in state debt? Are alien abductions really driving out-of-state migration?” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner has now resorted to blaming mother nature for his failures but the truth is his administration has been a disaster of his own making.”
WBEZ posted its article last night that raised questions about the Governor’s remarks, which were made during an appearance Tuesday in Marion. Video of the event is here (Quincy Home comes up at about the 18-minute mark), and full audio is here (scroll to the 12th minute).
I have asked the Governor’s Office what information the Governor relied on in making his remarks, but according to McKinney…
Neither Rauner’s office nor the state public health department could point to any specific analysis that directly linked flooding in Quincy to the facility’s recurring Legionnaires’ outbreaks in 2015, 2016, 2017, and again this past February.
In a half dozen reports investigating the crisis at Quincy, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made no such linkage, and the head of the public works department in the west-central Illinois community told WBEZ he’s aware of no connection.
We want to build things in America, we want people hiring in America, and we want everyone buying American. Build, buy American. And we want to build and buy Illinois products. Illinois, good made, homegrown products That’s what Chelar is, that’s what you guys do, and that’s what I’m fighting for every day. I’m very proud of what’s been going on in the Federal government, Congress, and the White House. They’re making sure that we get a strong economy, that we’re bringing manufacturing back to America, we’re getting fair trade deals, we’re getting the tax burden down, the regulatory burden down on businesses - that’s one of the reasons we got a strong economy going around the nation. I want to do the same thing in Illinois.
So on and so forth. If you are watching the video, the line in question begins at about the six-minute mark.
In one portion of the ad, Trump is shown after a protest led by white supremacists turned deadly last summer in Charlottesville, Va., when he said that there were “very fine people on both sides.” That is followed by a clip of Duke saying, “We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump.”
At the time, Rauner did initially stumble by telling reporters that he could not say that the death of protester Heather Heyer, who was struck by a car driven by a white supremacist supporter, was an act of “domestic terrorism.”
But Rauner’s office later issued a statement saying the governor “absolutely” believed the death to be domestic terrorism. And he went further at the Illinois State Fair, issuing a rare rebuke of Trump.
*** 10:48 a.m. *** From Will Allison at the Rauner campaign…
“Unlike Pritzker, who is Mike Madigan’s lapdog, Governor Rauner will always stand up for what he believes is best for Illinois. The governor supports the president and Republicans in Congress on the need to fix our broken health care system and for lower taxes, but he won’t hesitate to speak out when he thinks the president is wrong.”
*** 2:22 p.m. *** Pritzker is now hitting the Rauner campaign for it’s statement earlier today…
The Trump administration’s current effort to “fix” the healthcare system entails stripping protections for pre-existing conditions, a move that would force tens of thousands of Illinoisans to pay astronomically higher insurance premiums or go without care altogether. Since Rauner has not only hesitated to speak out on this, but has been entirely silent, it’s only reasonable to conclude that Rauner fully supports Trump’s attacks on people with pre-existing conditions.
“Donald Trump is trying to take away protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and the Rauner campaign is now offering the president their full support,” said Pritzker campaign communications director Galia Slayen. “This failed governor is cheering Trump on from the sidelines as he puts tens of thousands of Illinoisans at risk and continues his onslaught of attacks on the working families of this state.”
Meanwhile…
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner said his campaign has “a whole bunch” of ads coming like one that featured governors of neighboring states mockingly thanking Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan for “raising Illinois taxes” and “helping create new jobs” in their states.
* Hannah and I will have some fresh, totally thought provoking, totally worth your time and comments, and certainly worth wearing out the F5 key content within the next few hours. Meanwhile, here is some of what broke last night…
* Gun Group Dumps Broken Guns At Police Buyback Event, Uses Cash For NRA Camp For Kids: “They had no effective value in the grand scheme of things,” Boch said. “We went up there to trade our unwanted firearms for perfectly good cash to send young people to a National Rifle Association summer gun camp to teach them about the safe and effective use of firearms.” The Police Department can accept all guns during the event, Guglielmi said. They collected more than 420 guns during the June 2 trade-in.
* Chicago taps Elon Musk’s Boring Company to build high-speed transit tunnels that would tie Loop with O’Hare: Emanuel and Boring officials said it’s too early to provide a timeline for the project’s completion or its estimated cost, but they said Boring would pay for the entire project. That would include the construction of a new station at O’Hare and the completion of the mothballed superstation built at Block 37 under previous Mayor Richard M. Daley, who like Emanuel pushed for high-speed rail access to O’Hare.
* Suburban school districts pay penalties for giving raises over 6 percent: The penalties essentially shift some of the pension burden back to the schools that created it, proponents said. But others argue such a shift has little effect on decreasing the pension fund’s debt, which is about $73 billion, according to TRS officials. “Go ahead and do it, it’s not bad government, but it’s not going to solve the real problem,” said Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, a bipartisan government finance think tank based in Chicago.
* Emanuel responds to Quinn’s term-limits petition — with a one-liner: “Right now, I think Amy would like to sign the petition. That’s all I’m gonna say.”
* Indicted Ald. Cochran telling colleagues he’s changed his mind, intends to run
* EDITORIAL: Ken Dunkin, sexual harassment and proportionate justice: Dunkin insists he never made the remark, but given what we know about the sorry culture of harassment in Illinois state government, we’re inclined to believe his accuser. That’s Springfield for you, sad to say, and the political leaders who have been there longest, beginning with House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, have to answer for it.
* Decomposed bodies’ odors prompt new calls for new Kane County morgue: Russell first called for a new morgue soon after taking office in 2012. That’s a vision not shared by county board Chairman Chris Lauzen, and the two have waged political battles ranging from Russell’s purchase of promotional items for his office to the number of autopsies performed. Lauzen has even backed candidates seeking to unseat Russell.
* Ex-treasurer of Illinois town gets 4-year sentence for theft: Ryan Thorpe was indicted by a federal grand jury on wire fraud and embezzlement from a local government charges.
* William Shatner’s new enterprise: A solar-powered bitcoin mining farm in Illinois: He said Illinois’ policy of requiring utility companies to buy renewable energy made the project economically feasible. It also didn’t hurt that the mayor of Murphysboro, Will Stephens, offered the company a 165,000-square-foot former label-making factory that has been vacant since 2004…the project will involve the creation of a huge solar array on the factory’s 14-acre parcel. The space inside the building will be leased to bitcoin mining companies, he said, with some reserved for a training center that will teach solar panel installation.
