* Background is here and here if you need it. Despite Tom DeVore sticking his nose into the case, a Macon County judge has granted Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) and others a TRO over the assault weapons ban. This is zero surprise since the 5th District appellate court allowed a similar motion to go through. Plaintiffs had asked for a statewide TRO, but the judge limited his order to cover only the plaintiffs. The order is here.
So, what happened to the DeVore intervention? From the court…
02/02/2023
Clerk presents file this date, the Court finds that Attorney Devore sent a Notice of Hearing on his Application to Intervene without first scheduling the matter for hearing with the Court and in violation of Circuit Court Rule 2.1(f) which requires 14 days notice. The Court has not had an opportunity to review the Application and issues in detail as the focus of the Court has been on the issues presented in Plaintiff’s Motion which was properly set for a quick hearing date due to the emergency nature of the motion, upon request of counsel. Accordingly, the Court will not hear the Petition to Intervene on February 3rd, 2023. Parties are directed to contact Judge Forbes’ Judicial Clerk to obtain a date and time for hearing on that application.
So much winning from the greatest legal mind this state has ever known.
* If you were ever curious how much Facebook ads cost to reach each person, this excerpt from a Change Illinois fundraising pitch gives you the answer…
Now that we have the [redistricting reform-focused candidate] survey responses, we need to reach as many Chicago residents as we can so they can review candidate responses before this month’s election. We’re running a digital ad that has already reached more than 7,000 Chicago residents, but we need your help to reach more!
It costs 4 cents to reach a Chicago resident with the ad below. Will you chip in $18 (or more) today to help us reach 450 more residents so we can make sure voters are informed before the election?
According to a Facebook ad library search, Change Illinois Action Fund has spent $304 on ads (really breaking the bank there, CI). So, at 4 cents per person, they’ve reached 7,600 FB users.
* Nancy Pelosi is doing a fundraiser for the House Democrats. Not the national House Democrats, the Illinois House Democrats…
On March 3, 2023 Democrats for the Illinois House will kick off Women’s History Month with a fundraising event celebrating women leaders in the House. In addition to Illinois leaders, the event designed to encourage, motivate and inspire women, will feature national trailblazer and history maker, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
“Women are leaders everywhere you look—from the CEO who runs a Fortune 500 company to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household,” says Pelosi. Our country was built by strong women, and we will continue to break down walls and defy stereotypes.”
Speaker Welch and Democrats for the Illinois House agree.
“Women are powerful. Whenever they have a seat at the table, whenever they bring their power and full selves to the table, we have better outcomes. We have stronger solutions. I am so proud of the group of women who will headline Women in Power and all of the women who serve in the House. They are my colleagues and my friends. They are some of the fiercest advocates for Illinois families that have ever graced the floor. I look forward to hearing them share their challenges and their triumphs to help power other women forward. ”
The event will be well attended by the women and men of Democrats for the Illinois House. Recognized House Leaders include Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, Speaker Pro Tempore Jehan Gordon Booth, Deputy Majority Leader Mary Flowers, Deputy Majority Leader Lisa Hernandez, Assistant Majority Leader Natalie Manley, Assistant Majority Leader Kelly Burke, Assistant Majority Leader Barbara Hernandez, and Majority Conference Chair Theresa Mah.
Women in Power will be held at RPM Seafood [ 317 N. Clark Street| Chicago] from 2-3 pm. There will be a private VIP reception for event sponsors from 1pm-2pm. Tickets are limited and can be purchased at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/women_in_power. Seating is limited. Pre-purchased tickets are encouraged.
* This WaPo piece is about US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene heckling President Biden during the State of the Union address, but it could easily be applied to the same sort of candidates in Illinois…
Greene easily won the primary and then election in a district that backed Donald Trump by a 3 to 1 margin. So now she’s in Congress — and was a key ally of McCarthy in his struggle to be elected House speaker. Her willingness to throw bombs at her perceived opponents has made her a force in Republican politics, one that McCarthy clearly thinks is useful to keep close.
In other words, Greene is in Congress because her style of agitating the Republican base was useful in winning a primary in a deep-red district, winning election in a wildly pro-Trump one and in getting access to the core of Republican institutional power. And this, really, is the Republican Party’s central weakness, as made obvious in last year’s midterm elections: It is very, very good at energizing its base and not very good at appealing to everyone else.
You gotta wonder what the Eastern Bloc has in store for Gov. Pritzker next week during his State of the State/Budget address.
The Lee County Industrial Development Association (LCIDA) today announced the hiring of Tom Demmer as the organization’s new executive director. Demmer replaces Kevin Marx who is retiring after leading the organization since 2018.
Tom Demmer comes to LCIDA after having served for the past ten years as State Representative for the 90th district
* Forbes | The Illinois Voucher Law Is About To Ride Into The Sunset. Will Lawmakers Rescue It, Or Just Wave Goodbye?: Yeshivas Tiferes Tzvi Academy of Chicago reserves the right to expel any student whose family listens to secular music. Rockford Christian Schools will not enroll a “parent with a child at home.” Westlake Christian Academy of Greyslake will not admit students if they or their custodial parents maintain a “lifestyle” that violates biblical principles; this would include “promiscuity, homosexual behavior, or other violations of the unique God-give roles of male and female.” In fact, Westlake only accepts students from families in which one parent is “a born-again Christian.” These sorts of restrictions are common to many of the schools participating in the state’s voucher program. Taxpayers are footing the bill for this discrimination.
* ABC Chicago | Chicago alderman calls out Cardinal Blase Cupich over opposition to proposed city ordinance: Cardinal Cupich made the unusual move of weighing in on a proposed ordinance in city council. In a two-page letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and all 50 aldermen, the cardinal expressed concerns that includes requiring Catholic Charities to sign a labor peace agreement with union officials, which may result in higher wages that he says the archdiocese can’t afford.
* Philip Howard | Public unions are hurting Illinois: Amendment 1 to the Illinois Constitution, approved by referendum in November, was promoted as guaranteeing basic fairness for all workers. But it does something else — by prohibiting any new laws that might impinge on worker collective bargaining, Amendment 1 disempowers future elected officials from changing how government operates. Illinois voters will elect governors, mayors and legislators who have been disempowered from fulfilling their main constitutional responsibility: to make decisions on how to best operate government for the public good.
* Crain’s | Ramirez calls for more action on working-class issues in State of the Union response: And while she criticized Republicans on several issues, Ramirez said Democrats and Republicans have failed so-called Dreamers—immigrants seeking legal status—for more than a decade. These include her husband, Boris, who immigrated to the United States from Guatemala at age 14 and is awaiting the renewal of his status allowing him to work under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
* STLPR | Illinois spent decades refusing to repatriate Native American burial remains: The report, published last month, is part of the news organization’s Repatriation Project, which found that around half of the 210,000 Native American remains in the possession of museums have yet to be returned. The reporting project’s introduction noted, “Tribes have struggled to reclaim them in part because of a lack of federal funding for repatriation and because institutions face little to no consequences for violating the law or dragging their feet.”
* WaPo | Federal official warns $191 billion in covid unemployment aid may have been misspent: The new estimate — computed by Larry D. Turner, the inspector general of the Labor Department — galvanized House Republicans as they intensified their scrutiny of the roughly $5 trillion in emergency funds approved since the start of the crisis. Turner presented the information at a hearing Wednesday convened by Rep. Jason T. Smith (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, according to testimony shared early with The Washington Post.
* ABC Chicago | Chicago street vendors say city licensing requirements are hurting business: During a gathering of street vendors Tuesday, the issue was city licensing. Two representatives from the City’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection listened to concerns about fines due to restrictions with the current street cart license that does not allow for preparation on the cart of traditional street foods like elote, freshly cut corn slathered with mayonnaise, cheese and chilis.
* Chicago Reader | Mayoral debate was a poor night for Chicago: I heard a lot of the same old tried-and-failed ideas. Many candidates promised more police and tougher penalties. We hear these same things every election cycle. And how is that working out? Illinois has some of the strictest gun penalties in the country. If an individual possesses a firearm, discharges one, or discharged one to cause the death or serious injury in the commission of a felony, judges are required to add 15, 20, or 25 years, respectively, to their sentence. Despite that, Chicago still has violent crime and high rates of murder.
* Sun-Times | ‘Piles of mail,’ stolen IDs and key-making materials found in downtown Chicago hotel room: Police have released limited information about the probe, saying only that officers responded early Tuesday to an empty hotel room in the 200 block of North Wabash Avenue and “discovered various electronic items and … postal property.” Police radio traffic included a call of a “deceptive practice in progress” at the Virgin Hotel, 203 N. Wabash Ave. A caller had asked for the removal of two men from a room on the 18th floor, where there were “a lot of fraudulent checks,” credit cards and a money order.
* Farm Journal | Illinois Pork Announces New Leadership, Ambassador, Retiring Directors: The Illinois Pork Producers Association recently hosted their 2023 Expo in Springfield and acknowledged retiring IPPA directors, as well as announced new leadership and the next ambassador. Five retiring directors, serving Illinois pork producers in recent years, were acknowledged for their commitment to the industry.
* WCIA | To plunge or not to plunge? Illinois medical expert weighs in: Anne Orzechowski, a family medicine nurse practitioner, said plunges can help with chronic pain, release endorphins and decrease swelling, but only if you’re in the water for long amounts of time. For the most part, she said the risks outweigh the benefits.
Amends the Sports Wagering Act. Provides that the Illinois Gaming Board shall require an online sports wagering licensee to, after every 10 wagers made online by an individual, display a pop-up message directing that individual to websites on gambling addiction help.
* Press release…
Legislators, backed by a coalition of 15 consumer, community and civil rights organizations, introduced legislation Wednesday to protect Illinois drivers from excessive and unfair car insurance rates. The effort comes after Illinois car insurers made $896 million in excess profits during the first year of the pandemic and raised rates by more than $1.1 billion in 2022.
The proposed legislation, HB2203, sponsored by state Rep. Will Guzzardi (39th District) in the House and state Sen. Javier Cervantes (1st District) in the Senate, would empower the Illinois Department of Insurance to reject or modify excessive rate hikes, and end the use of non-driving factors, such as credit scores, to set rates.
“It’s time for the legislature to protect Illinois consumers and ensure fairness in our car insurance market,” said Rep. Guzzardi. “Discrimination is wrong, profiteering is wrong, and this bill will put an end to those practices in insurance rate-setting in Illinois.”
Even though Illinois requires every car owner to buy insurance, it is one of only two states that doesn’t protect insurance customers from excessive or unfair rates. Average Illinois car insurance rates increased by 18% in 2022, more than in all but one other state, according to analysis by Auto Insurance Report.
Car insurers commonly use non-driving factors such as credit scores or zip codes in setting rates. This practice has well-documented discriminatory impacts. A 2017 ProPublica investigation found insurers charging 30% higher car insurance rates in majority Black zip codes compared to other areas with similar accident costs. […]
Rate hikes are likely to continue in 2023. On January 18, Allstate filed its first Illinois car insurance rate hike in 2023 — a $63 million increase that will raise average customer premiums by $174 annually. In December, its CEO has said, “”We may end up overshooting a bit, don’t know.”
Counterpoint from the insurance industry…
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), the Illinois Insurance Association (IIA), and National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) released the following statement in response to HB2203 otherwise known as the rate regulation bill.
“The Illinois bill limiting insurers’ ability to use proven factors in setting rates, to put it simply, is bad public policy. This bill is a combination of prohibitions and requirements that will harm consumers, reduce competition, and increase litigation. To enforce the provisions of this legislation a massively expanded state bureaucracy to carry out these regulations will be necessary, the cost of which is also borne by consumers. The legislation will have exactly the opposite effect that the proponents seek.
“Changing Illinois’ rating law will not change the economics or crash statistics that drive the cost of insurance in the state. Illinois’ current insurance rating law has benefited consumers since it was implemented in the 1970s. Illinois has one of the most competitive insurance markets in the country and that has helped to keep costs below the national average for consumers.
“With fatal accidents and crashes nearly equaling five-year highs in Illinois, skyrocketing inflation and supply chain challenges, auto insurance costs continue to climb in 2022. When the costs associated with insurance, such as crashes, medical and legal costs rise insurance must reflect the costs for the goods and services it pays for.
“Allegations by PIRG for additional auto insurance premium reductions displays a lack of understanding of how auto insurance pricing works. . In fact, the report cited is misleading, ignores the big picture, and fails to acknowledge a system that has historically served Illinois consumers well. The bill’s supporters conveniently overlook gruesome road safety data from recent years and instead use formulas untethered from facts to calculate alleged “windfalls” to validate this proposal.
“Some activist groups only focus on the short-term period when driving declined, but it is important for stable and accurate insurance pricing to do what insurers and most regulators have always done and look at the long-term patterns impacting driving and loss trends. The volatility of always responding to short-term trends would create instability both for consumers and insurers. This could mean wild price fluctuations for consumers and the inability to count on price stability for budgeting purposes.
Insurers are opposed to provisions in HB 2203 that would restrict rating and underwriting tools that have been proven to benefit consumers and are accurate and effective in setting fair insurance rates. By using the variety of rating factors currently in use, insurers can assess drivers’ risks more accurately and price their product based on the likelihood and severity of insurance claims. The use of these tools benefits consumers and is the fairest way to set Insurance rates.
“The bill claims to seek insurance accountability and fairness. Yet, if insurers are unable to utilize risk factors when determining rates, it will lead to a one-size-fits-all approach to pricing, eliminating competition in the marketplace, and ultimately driving prices up for all consumers. As prices increase for all Illinois consumers, access and affordability will steeply decline.
“There are about 230 companies offering personal auto insurance in this state, and through this very competitive environment, no one insurance company or group dominates the market. This provides consumers with a wide array of auto insurance products and services to choose, and the competition means if a company prices their product too high, consumers can purchase their insurance from another carrier.
“This serves to keep costs lower for consumers. Illinois’ insurance rates are in the middle third of the nation and 15.5% lower than the countrywide average and they are significantly lower than comparably sized prior approval states. Insurance rates are first and foremost a function of claims and their costs. As these costs fluctuate with market forces, the imposition of price controls through a pre-approval regulatory system may prove more harmful than helpful to consumers.
“Now is not the time to enact legislation that could result in increased premiums for consumers. This type of legislation could have serious negative consequences for many Illinois drivers, not to mention the state’s auto insurance market, which is currently healthy and competitive
State Senator Doris Turner has introduced a bill that would mandate body cams and dashboard cams for EMS workers.
SB1306 would require “all EMS personnel to be equipped by their employers with body cameras that record the interactions of those personnel with patients, emergency responders, and members of the public during service calls.”
The bill comes in the wake of the killing of Earl Moore Jr., a Springfield man who died after EMS workers responding to a call strapped him facedown on a gurney. An autopsy found that Moore died of compressional and positional asphyxia due to prone facedown restraint on a paramedic transpiration stretcher due to tightened straps across the back. […]
Turner’s bill has a provision that would not allow the footage to be requested via the Freedom of Information Act unless being requested by “the person who made the service call or that person’s attorney or personal representative or a law enforcement official.”
A bill introduced in the State Capitol would honor the legacy of two U.S. presidents with ties to Illinois with statues: Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan.
“Reagan was a Republican, Obama’s a Democrat,” State Sen. Tom Bennett (R-Gibson City), the bill’s sponsor, said. “It seems like if we had a more bipartisan part of this, it might be more receptive with everyone in the House and in the Senate.” […]
Bennett said he has also been working on a separate bill that focuses on getting a statue just for Reagan.
He added that the finances for the statues haven’t been figured out yet but he said money for the Reagan statue would come from private funding.
Aimed at reducing drownings, a bill requiring water rescue equipment to be available along Lake Michigan’s shoreline is awaiting amendments in a state Senate committee.
Co-author state Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton, told a Senate panel his bill mirrored similar legislation enacted last year in neighboring Illinois after a 19-year-old man drowned near a Chicago pier, which didn’t have safety equipment.
Senate Bill 424 calls for public and private-owned piers and beach drop-offs to be outfitted with at least one ring life buoy. The bill defined a “drop-off” as a shoreline area intended for direct public access to the water.
The Natural Resources committee heard testimony Monday and its chairwoman Susan Glick, R-LaGrange, held the bill so a few changes could be made. Sen. Michael Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, also authored the measure.
Creates the Counseling Compact Act. Provides that the State of Illinois enters into the Counseling Compact. Specifies that the Compact’s purpose is to facilitate interstate practice of licensed professional counselors with the goal of improving public access to professional counseling services. Contains other provisions relating to state participation in the Compact. Sets out provisions concerning the privilege to practice, obtaining a new home state license, active duty military personnel, telehealth, adverse actions, Counseling Compact Commission, data systems, rulemaking, oversight, dispute resolution, and enforcement. Contains other provisions concerning the Commission, the Compact, and the procedures governing participating in and construction of the Compact. Effective immediately.
* Chuy’s 2015 mayoral candidacy hugely pushed up Latino turnout, but he’s not running the same sort of campaign this time, so we’ll just have to see. WBEZ recently calculated that turnout in majority Latino precincts last November was just 13 percent of the total city vote, about half of this poll’s sample size…
This is Lightfoot’s pollster, responding to new media poll showing Chuy (and Vallas) in a virtual dead heat with the incumbent Chicago mayor https://t.co/toYQnTo2Tlhttps://t.co/kDNwXN9FZQ
Garcia led with 20%, followed by Vallas with 18% and Lightfoot with 17%. Businessman Willie Wilson trailed closely with 12% and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson with 11%. Just 2% said they’d vote for activist Ja’Mal Green, and 1% chose either Ald. Sophia King, 4th Ward, or state Rep. Kam Buckner. Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th Ward, drew no support. Another 18% said they were still undecided.
* Paul Vallas attended the Equality Illinois gala last weekend. But Equality Illinois just sent out this media advisory…
Paul Vallas is Wrong for Chicago
WHAT: A diverse coalition of Chicago-based organizations is coming together to expose why Paul Vallas is wrong for Chicago communities.
WHEN: Thursday, February 8 at 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Outside the Union League Club
65 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL
WHY: Chicago voters deserve to know the truth about Paul Vallas. From Chicago to New Orleans and Philadelphia, Vallas’ budget disasters left taxpayers holding the bag. There’s no place at City Hall for his close alignment with right-wing extremists. He waffles on support for reproductive rights and even on the question of whether he identifies as Republican. Paul Vallas cannot be trusted to lead our city at this critical juncture.
Speakers include: Representatives from the Supporting Organizations as well as leaders in education and on reproductive rights.
Supporting Organizations
Asian Americans for Change, Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Equality Illinois, Indivisible Chicago Alliance.
Chicago Ald. Sophia King will launch her first TV ad of the 2023 mayoral election on Wednesday as she attempts to unseat Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
King, who represents parts of downtown and Hyde Park along the lakefront, is the only woman challenging Lightfoot in a nine-candidate field. On the campaign trail, King has argued that her rivals represent an overly polarized view of the issues. U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” García and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson are too far to the left, she has said, while businessman Willie Wilson and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas are too far to the right. […]
Earlier this year, the Tribune published an analysis of 2022 city data that found that tens of thousands of serious calls lingered in the 911 system for longer than it typically takes to get a pizza delivered.
Citywide, the wait for an officer to be dispatched topped an hour for more than 21,000 calls, according to the city’s data. That was roughly one of every 24 high-priority calls.
When you call the police, you shouldn’t have to wait 30 minutes, no matter where you live. I’m Sophia King. If we reject false choices, we can tackle today’s violence and root causes. We can uplift our police and hold them accountable. We can revitalize our neighborhoods and downtown. We can prepare our kids for college, and the trades. We can have safety and justice. That’s the power of ‘and.’ Sophia King for mayor.
Woman 1: And you know he’s really the only one who understands public safety.
Woman 3: But they say he’s too young.
Woman 4: Well, he wasn’t too young when he was leading marches against violence when he was 15.
Woman 2: And he wasn’t too young when he made Chase Bank give back a billion dollars to Chicago communities.
Green: Chicago! We can’t afford more of the same old political rhetoric. It’s time for someone new, so we can get things done and create a better future for our children.
Brandon Johnson is too extreme for Chicago. Johnson wants to defund the police, putting our safety at risk. Raise taxes on the middle class. And drive jobs away from Chicago. Brandon Johnson, a change for the worse.
* More Lightfoot oppo on Vallas…
Here’s the truth: Paul Vallas has twenty years of experience undermining public education across the country, including in Chicago.
* Vallas was integral in destabilizing Chicago teachers’ pensions, and his incompetence caused a lasting financial burden for Chicagoans. As CEO of CPS, Vallas oversaw financial manipulations that stripped Chicago teachers’ pensions of consistent funding. His “pension holiday” diverted over $1.5 billion from pensions and, by 2006, the system faced a $3.1 billion shortfall. At the end of Vallas’ tenure, the district faced two years of declining or stagnating standardized test scores and a busing bill that ran $11 million over budget after Vallas awarded a no-bid contract to a company tied to his family.
* Vallas was driven out of Philadelphia after digging the district into a $100 million budget hole. After five years of incompetence and mismanagement, Vallas announced a surprise, massive budget shortfall while simultaneously collecting nearly $400,000 worth of bonuses. Vallas was then forced out by local leaders for his negligence as the crisis threatened to eliminate 100 teaching positions, slash programming, and force pay cuts across the district. In the aftermath, a local reporter called him the “Master of Pretend and Spend,” Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said “Paul’s never seen a dollar that he wasn’t willing to spend three times,” and Vallas himself admitted to taking “his eye off the budget ball.”
* Vallas was fired from the Bridgeport school system over a lack of appropriate credentials. After just eighteen months as head of the Bridgeport, Connecticut school district, a judge ordered Vallas be removed as superintendent after he misled the state Board of Education and was found not to have sufficient credentials required to do the job.
* Along the way, Vallas was accused of abusing public funds. As chief of schools in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Orleans, Vallas faced repeated accusations of misusing public funds for his own personal use, working in extravagance, using his access to benefit his friends, and failing to document his expenses.
— Reform for Illinois' Sunshine Money Tracker (@ilsunshine) February 8, 2023
* Press release…
Largest Self-Funder in City Council History Brags About Personal Wealth
Rebecca Janowitz — who has mounted what is believed to be the largest self-funded City Council campaign in Chicago history — is touting her personal wealth in a campaign message to a purchased list of email addresses (many of which are not even in the 43rd Ward).
“My campaign stands apart in that it is primarily self-funded. This uniquely frees me to remain totally independent. If elected, I will be beholden only to the people I am sworn to represent.”
Despite her claims of being “totally independent”, Janowitz is backed by the members of the far-left political machine — none of whom reside in the 43rd Ward. She touts endorsements from politicians from Hyde Park and Lake County in her ads and website.
Speaking of her wasteful spending, here’s where she’s unloading her $750,000 on ads:
MAIL: Janowitz has sent 15 campaign mailers, at least three of which include Chicago Police Department officers and/or vehicles. The Chicago Board of Ethics warned candidates against this practice, saying ” fines up to $20,000 per violation” could be issued.
TELEVISION: Janowitz has been running cable and network TV ads since mid January — the first aldermanic candidate to advertise to the entire Chicago metro area.
DIGITAL: Janowitz is outspending every mayoral candidate except for Lightfoot on Facebook (yes, even beating fellow self-funder Willie Wilson).
This record-breaking spending is aimed at taking out the youngest member of City Council. Ald. Knudsen, the first openly gay council alderman of the 43rd Ward, is available for interviews via phone, videoconference or in person on this record-breaking spending and the campaign in general.
…Adding… In response to the above…
Wait, the crypto guy is doing this attack!? As the supposed “far left” Hyde Parker, at least we’re not advocating stealing peoples money with a Ponzi scheme. https://t.co/x1sd2KtSYs
On Planet Jim Gardiner, he claims "opponents" are removing his campaign signs. Always playing victim. In reality, he's putting signs in without permission and lots of homeowners are then throwing them away.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is denouncing 50th Ward candidate Mueze Bawany in regards to making anti-Israel comments on social media a few years ago. Bawany, who is challenging longtime Alderman Debra Silverstein for the 50th Ward city council seat, wrote in a Tweet from May 2019, “F— Israel and f— all you Zionist scum.” In other Tweets from the same year, he called a white woman a “Cracker” and wrote, “F— off honky.”
“The Chicago Jewish community, like its counterparts in New York, Los Angeles, and across the US, are in the throes of horrific anti-Semitism directed at them on social media and on the streets of our cities,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action at the SWC. “In Chicago, Jews in the 50th ward have also been targets. We denounce Alderman candidate Mueze Bawany for his past anti-Semitic social media posts, including incendiary tweets. Those tweets add fuel to the fires of bigotry.”
“We need leadership that will inspire all our of citizens with diverse backgrounds to work together for a better city. Mueze Bawany’s past outbursts show, at least for now, that he lacks those leadership qualities,” added Alison Pure-Slovin, SWC Midwest Director.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* WBEZ | Lightfoot scolds rivals during testy mayoral forum for trying ‘to mansplain’ and ‘treat me like I’m some child’: “Of course we should not hire, we should not support, we should not retain any officer that is associated with any hate group,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said of the officer, who was suspended but not fired for his involvement with the far-right Proud Boys — a move that has been blasted by the city inspector general. […] Vallas, King and Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) each said they would fire the officer affiliated with the Proud Boys. “I would have fired him immediately,” Sawyer said. “I don’t care what the unions would do. I don’t care what collective bargaining would do.”
* Tribune | Mayoral candidates bicker over police reform, schools as Mayor Lightfoot criticizes rival for ‘mansplaining’: “Absolutely not,” Buckner said about the troubled repository that the city is in the midst of overhauling. “The gang database has not made us safer. In fact, it has made people in communities, many of whom look like me, not be able to walk around the city and participate in a way that’s fair and equitable.” Johnson, meanwhile, touted his efforts to remove a gang database in Cook County, saying that list included an 8-year old and a 108-year-old. […] Activist Ja’Mal Green also said he would not proceed with a gang database as mayor.
* ABC Chicago | Candidates bicker over crime, CPD, schools, housing and more at latest mayoral forum: “Clearly, clearly there’s this perception - or maybe it’s reality - that downtown is unsafe. And if you talk to everyone, and I’ve talked to all the business groups there, public safety is the number one issue,” said candidate Paul Vallas. “You gotta stop the crime, alright? Lower taxes, keep people coming to shop,” said candidate Willie Wilson. Mayor Lightfoot was taken to task on the Chicago Police Department’s compliance with the federal consent decree.
* Fox Chicago | Chicago mayoral election: Abortion, women’s health taking center stage: Responding to attacks from several rivals, Paul Vallas told female supporters Tuesday he’d work to protect access to abortion if elected mayor of Chicago. Opponents have publicized an interview, from more than a dozen years ago, in which Vallas said he opposes abortion, but then added that he opposes legislation restricting access to the procedure.
* Block Club | Brandon Johnson Wants To Support Neighborhood Schools And Make The Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share — Not Hire More Cops: Johnson said that in his first 100 days, he will institute a citywide youth hiring program, particularly for Chicagoans 16-24 years old; pass the Treatment, Not Trauma ordinance, which would create a 24-hour crisis response hotline for mental health emergencies; and reopen the city’s closed mental health centers. Johnson on Monday unveiled his public safety plan, which he said focuses on addressing the “root causes” of crime. Among other things, the plan would promote 200 detectives from the rank-and-file, enact the Anjanette Young ordinance to end no-knock warrants, end the department’s contract with ShotSpotter, erase the city’s gang database and establish an illegal guns department.
* WGN | Three weeks before Election Day, a boost for Lightfoot: Three weeks before Election Day, a boost for Lightfoot as the 15,000-member strong UNITE HERE! hospitality union threw its support behind the incumbent. In the early days of the pandemic, Chicago’s hospitality industry was pummeled. But UNITE HERE says Lightfoot had their back.
* Streets Blog | New Better Streets Chicago Action Fund website endorses mayor and alder hopefuls: All of the mayoral candidates but Lightfoot and Willie Wilson responded to the survey. BSCAF has thrown its support behind Cook County commissioner Brandon Johnson. “We believe in Brandon Johnson because he listens and collaborates,” the site states. “He recognizes the crisis the CTA is in and is unafraid to tackle the staffing and housing crises that plague it. He understands the epidemic of traffic violence in Chicago, and we trust he will pursue changes to ensure every Chicagoan has access to safe pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.”
* Crain’s | Higher interest rates, fewer groundbreakings in the pipeline for Chicago’s construction industry: The local construction industry is losing momentum after a strong 2022 as developers hold off on big projects. But contractors aren’t bracing for a major downturn: After rising 12% to $13.4 billion in 2022, construction starts in the Chicago area will dip slightly this year, to $13.3 billion, according to a forecast from Dodge Data & Analytics, a Hamilton, N.J.-based research firm. Nationally, construction starts rose 14% to $829 billion last year.
[If you somehow need it, the headline is explained here by the chairman of the board.]
* The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, led by Mayor Lightfoot’s then-law firm partner Ty Fahner, was all-in on cutting public pensions during the previous decade, so Z makes a good point…
They're effectively giving up on cutting pension benefits to bend the cost curve, and going all in on using a combination of revenue ideas designed to accelerate the Edgar ramp's downward trajectory.
However, the group is now targeting future retiree health insurance costs, which the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled is a protected pension benefit…
Illinois is barred from changing its retiree healthcare subsidy for current employees due to the Kanerva v. Weems decision, but the State could enact a new retiree healthcare plan for new employees, and we believe the State should do so as soon as possible. (Note that such a change would not impact current employees or OPEB liabilities since they’re based on previous service, but it would help reduce growth in future liability). The new plan should move away from the existing premium-tied subsidy to a fixed dollar premium subsidy allowing for continued access to the State’s healthcare coverage options. This will help the State slow the growth of future OPEB liabilities, which will reduce the pressure on future state budgets.
Implementing a new retiree healthcare plan that changes the trajectory of future OPEB costs would be credit positive. The financial benefits to the State would take many years to manifest but taking action now to control costs in the future would demonstrate the State’s commitment to long-term fiscal health.
At least they’ve finally accepted legal realities, but that’ll be quite a legislative fight, if anyone even engages. So far the group has no sponsor for its proposal, let alone a proposal in bill format.
* The Question: Should the state create a new retiree healthcare plan for future hires that would increase out of pocket retiree costs in order to help bump up the state’s bond rating? Make sure to explain your answer. Thanks.
* Background is here if you need it. Gov. JB Pritzker was asked by a reporter yesterday about Sen. Ann Gillespie’s new bill that would help facilitate a Bears stadium by freezing its local property taxes and allowing the team to negotiate additional payments for decades going forward…
I only read about it in the great newspapers of our state. And, I really haven’t, you know, opined about it. There are a lot of hoops to run through in the General Assembly for this to ever get to me. And I have to say there was, I took a, there was a note of skepticism even in the words of the person who introduced the bill. But I think she wanted to make sure that the General Assembly had an opportunity to hear about it and consider it in committee. So I look forward to hearing more about it and seeing how it might evolve.
Q: [No discernible audio]
I love the Bears. I do. But it is a private business. And I honestly do not think that the public has an obligation to fund in this major way a private business. Obviously, there are things that we do for private businesses all the time that are important to them, including, you know, paving roads that are very important for building industry in the state. But I’m of the opinion that it’s not our obligation as the state to step in and provide major funding. And I think I certainly don’t want to burden taxpayers with major support for private business. So, having said that, we’ll see how this project moves along in the General Assembly.
Under her bill, whose provisions could be used for by any large-scale developer, the Bears would be required to invest at least $500 million in converting the 326-acre former racetrack to a stadium and surrounding mixed-use development.
The Bears would be required to negotiate an annual payment to local taxing bodies on top of property tax payments based on the frozen assessment.
Supporters of the legislation say it would create an incentive for larger developments that would not occur without the assistance. But it’s likely to face pushback from Chicago lawmakers who don’t want to make it any easier for the NFL’s charter franchise to leave its namesake city. The Bears have played in Soldier Field since 1971.
* WQAD | What to know ahead of Pritzker’s budget proposal to lawmakers: llinois is coming off a record-high $50.3 billion in base revenue for the fiscal year that ended June 30 – about $8 billion more than had been anticipated when the Fiscal Year 2022 budget was initially approved in the spring of 2021. Following that strong performance, lawmakers budgeted for an 8 percent decrease in the current fiscal year that began July 1. But in the seven months that have already passed in FY 2023, revenues are outpacing even last year’s strong performance by $2.3 billion, according to COGFA’s January report.
* Crain’s | Illinois Gaming Board set to take first step toward approving Bally’s Chicago casino: The agenda for the board’s meeting Thursday indicates it will consider issuing “initial supplier licenses” for two entities that control and would lease Medinah Temple on the Near North Side to Bally’s for its temporary casino. State records indicate both of the entities—Medinah Building LLC and Medinah Holdings LLC—are units of developer Al Friedman’s Friedman Properties.
* Center Square | Madigan ally doesn’t want jury to hear about ‘rape in Champaign’ email: Michael McClain, a former state lawmaker, longtime lobbyist and close confidante of Madigan, asked the judge in his corruption trial to bar any evidence related to the email. McClain’s attorneys also want to bar any mention of the $23 million that AT&T Illinois paid to the federal government as part of a 2022 deferred prosecution agreement related to the company’s efforts to influence Madigan.
* WBEZ | Garcia, Vallas and Lightfoot in dead heat in Chicago mayor’s race: Garcia led with 20%, followed by Vallas with 18% and Lightfoot with 17%. Businessman Willie Wilson trailed closely with 12% and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson with 11%. Just 2% said they’d vote for activist Ja’Mal Green, and 1% chose either Ald. Sophia King, 4th Ward, or state Rep. Kam Buckner. Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th Ward, drew no support. Another 18% said they were still undecided. … The poll was conducted Jan. 31 through Feb. 3 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Inc. A total of 625 registered voters were interviewed by telephone, all stating they were likely to vote in the Feb. 28 election.
* Crain’s | Civic leader Andrew McKenna has died: Andrew J. McKenna, a consummate networker and inexhaustible dynamo who was among Chicago’s most consequential business leaders of his day despite never being a major company CEO, died today at his North Shore home, according to longtime friend Newton Minow. McKenna was 93 and had fallen ill last month.
Ameren Illinois, one of the state’s largest electric and gas delivery companies, has filed plans for electric and gas rate increases.
The Illinois Commerce Commission will review the requests for a $160.4 million gas rate hike over a year and a four-year $435.6 million electric increase.
The reasons for the requests are multi-fold, Ameren communications director Tucker Kennedy said Thursday. It partially stems from a requirement in the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, a green energy package that puts the state on track to be 100% carbon-free with its energy sources by 2050.
That phrase “partially stems from” stuck out to me. How partial? I asked Citizens Utility Board Executive Director David Kolata for some insight…
Both ComEd and Ameren are going to be saying CEJA requires grid upgrades to integrate renewables and upgrade the grid for electrification of transportation and heat. Over time, that’s true.
But two things on that. First, we have quite a bit of time for that. This doesn’t need to be done all at once, and in fact it shouldn’t be. Given the current pace of electrification and renewable new build there wouldn’t be any issue until the mid 2030s.
But second, and more importantly, the big driver of the rate increase is the excessive profit rate (RoE) they are requesting. So, yeah, there need to be grid upgrades over time…but that isn’t an excuse for a blank check and certainly not an excuse for an RoE of well over 10 percent.
* The AP poses as a babe in the legislative woods…
For all the fanfare and the legal rigmarole of Illinois’ ban on semiautomatic weapons, it might come as a surprise to learn the legislation was titled “Insurance Code-Public Adjusters.”
To thousands of gun owners and merchants who filed lawsuits over it, the title exemplifies the way legislators cut corners last month to enact the legislation prompted by the deadly Independence Day parade shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. […]
“It no longer addressed the issue of insurance adjusters and their contracts, as its new subject was now modifying completely different laws,” alleges a lawsuit led by Rep. Dan Caulkins, a Republican from Decatur, 182 miles (293 kilometers) south of Chicago. As a new bill, it warranted three new House readings, Caulkins argued.
There are other issues state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, is hoping to get addressed in his litigation, and that’s how legislation at the Illinois statehouse seems to circumvent procedural rules.
Caulkins and others argue passage of the state’s gun ban violated the single-subject rule, didn’t properly have three readings and didn’t give the public due process considerations. Courts have either said those arguments don’t have merit, or do have merit but are not being considered at the moment.
“Nobody’s had the guts to hear that. This is a problem,” Caulkins said. “We have the constitution, this is the process we should be going through. It gets violated, not just in this case, but in the SAFE-T Act and the budget. “It goes on and on and on.”
Caulkins said the courts have to address this at some point so the public gets an entire airing of legislation with three public readings, for example.
“This is how it’s supposed to be done,” Caulkins said. “But because of the tyranny of the majority, they just in the dead of night will lay a bill on the desk and then an hour later we have to vote on it and the people of Illinois get no say.”
State Sen. John Curran, R-Lemont, wants to codify the decision of Illinois voters when it comes to a progressive income tax.
“The people have spoken, and they could not have been more clear that they do not want a progressive income tax,” Curran said after introducing a resolution that calls on lawmakers to reject any progressive income tax proposal placed before the chamber.
Illinois’ top law enforcement officer is investigating whether the Chicago Police Department violated state law when it denied hundreds of undocumented immigrants a chance to apply for a special visa for crime victims in the past two years.
In a six-page letter to CPD’s top lawyer, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul demanded all data and documents related to the more than 800 denials acknowledged by CPD. He also urged the department to “develop a plan to contact all individuals who received denials” and allow them to reapply.
Raoul said the inquiry was sparked by a December investigation by Injustice Watch, which revealed how CPD routinely denied certifications to victims of qualifying crimes, such as domestic battery and assault. Those victims are eligible for legal status through a U visa, which provides a path to citizenship for those who cooperate in law enforcement investigations. […]
“Determinations as to whether the victim suffered substantial physical or mental abuse or whether the victim is ultimately eligible … are the exclusive responsibility of federal immigration officials and are not permissible grounds for local law enforcement to deny a certification request in Illinois,” Raoul wrote.
Raoul warned the “improper denials” may “result in legal action” from his office as they could potentially violate the Voices Immigrant Communities Empowering Act, known as the VOICES act, a state law setting rules and procedures for law enforcement agencies statewide on how to adjudicate U visa certification requests.
* From Rolling Stone’s interview of US Rep. Delia Ramirez…
Last week, a coalition of nine states asked the government to end DACA protections for Dreamers. Your husband is a DACA recipient. What has it been like for you both to live with the stress and uncertainty as this program remains in legal limbo?
It’s been emotional. Being a congresswoman, I have privileges that my friends and people in my district don’t have access to, and even with that, we are in the midst of a process for his DACA renewal that’s taking too darn long. I’m hearing calls from constituents who are saying, “I submitted my DACA renewal four months ago, and I still have no response. I lost my job because my work authorization expired.” It becomes paralyzing for people. It’s so draining. And it’s unacceptable because neither party has delivered a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers.
Two years ago, my husband said to me, right before the election, “Why go through the adjustment status process? That takes so long, it’s so expensive. Let’s just wait until Democrats take the White House because I am convinced that if they do, there will be an executive action that will create a pathway to citizenship for those of us who have lived here almost all our lives.” How do I look into his eyes and tell him, “Oh, honey, I don’t think it’s gonna be that easy”? You know what I did instead? I said, “Okay,” and then I heard about it for about a month, how my party isn’t delivering. So it’s really personal. That is, in part, why I’m here. We need people like me who live these experiences every single day. That is why it is so important that a Democrat like me deliver a response to the Democratic president, affirming the experiences that everyday people are living right now.
Ramirez is delivering the progressive response to President Biden’s State of the Union address tonight.
Paul Bruton has a tough task ahead of him. He faces incumbent Ald. Marty Quinn, who’s been on the City Council since 2011 and is a longtime ally of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, now facing trial on corruption charges. The 13th Ward is Madigan turf, and Bruton acknowledges that when he goes door to door, many residents “aren’t bothered at all” by the charges against Madigan, and Quinn’s strong connections to the one-time Illinois Democratic Party kingmaker. Others, however, tell Bruton that Madigan’s allies in the ward “have to go,” he tells us.
Bruton says he has been a stay-at-home dad since 2018. His previous work experience includes a four-year stint as an analyst at the Chicago inspector general’s office, which provides the crucial function of ferreting out waste, mismanagement and inefficiency in city government. It’s hard to imagine a better lead-up to becoming an alderman.
Bruton says one of the biggest challenges for this Southwest Side ward is the body blow that the pandemic delivered to the 13th’s small businesses. “I will study what types of businesses our ward is lacking, and actively recruit and work with local entrepreneurs to fill those gaps,” Bruton tells us.
Quinn doesn’t try to hide his Madigan alliance. “I’m not going to rewrite history,” he tells us. “We’ve done some good things.” He cites his oversight of nearly $300 million invested in 13th Ward schools, including the Southwest Side’s first selective enrollment school. He adds, “I personally shovel snow and my staff removes graffiti and cleans up shuttered buildings so quickly, they rarely can be found in the ward.”
That’s admirable, but Quinn’s long-standing ties to Madigan are a bridge too far for us, and they should be for 13th Ward voters. Bruton is endorsed.
* Press release…
UNITE HERE Local 1 endorsed Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot for reelection on Tuesday. UNITE HERE Local 1 represents more than 15,000 members who work in hospitality across hotels, airports, restaurants, school cafeterias, stadiums, convention centers, and casinos.
“Mayor Lightfoot has led Chicago with equity and inclusion at the forefront as she has advocated for long-overlooked communities to have a seat at the table,” said Karen Kent, President of UNITE HERE Local 1. “She guided this city through difficult and unprecedented times with tough yet fair leadership that made sure no one was left behind — especially our workers. When the pandemic put our livelihoods in jeopardy, Mayor Lightfoot ensured that our members had the resources they needed to make ends meet, and the protections and protocols to return to work safely. As a union made up of predominantly women, immigrants and people of color, Mayor Lightfoot has gained our confidence in her leadership, and we are eager to endorse her for four more years in office.”
* Politico says this is an ad, but it’s so far just a YouTube video…
Megan Mathias, a challenger in the 45th Ward aldermanic race, is out with an attack ad against incumbent Ald. Jim Gardiner.
I’m told she’s trying to raise the cash to put the YouTube video on streaming services. The video is here.
Also, a Comcast representative tells me that 60 percent of TV viewing in Chicago today is cable television and only 40 percent is broadcast.
Thank you for all the kind birthday wishes yesterday! I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love I received. ❤️ Feeling truly blessed. pic.twitter.com/ars5pu2BpY
— Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (@RepChrisWelch) February 7, 2023
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup…
* Fox Chicago | Illinois officials call for more resources for Black communities on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) joined the Black Leadership Advocacy Coalition for Healthcare Equity to encourage greater state investments in programs targeted towards Black-led community based HIV/AIDS service providers. The advocacy group said that less than $1 million of the Illinois Department of Public Health’s HIV/AIDS budget is going towards Black-led community-based service providers.
* WGLT | Illinois agencies prepare to help uninsured as Medicaid pandemic protections end: Illinois and other states have begun sending redetermination letters to recipients informing them if their coverage will continue. Sergio Obregon, special assistant to the director at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, said this will happen over a couple of months. Not everyone who is ineligible will lose coverage immediately.
* Daily-Journal | State Senator Joyce awarded Railroader of the Year: “Senator Patrick Joyce is a true champion of the freight railroad system in Illinois,” said Tim Butler, president of the Illinois Railroad Association, in a news release. “He understands the importance of what our historic rail system means not just to Illinois, but our nation, our continent and our entire world.
* NBC Chicago | Sandra Bland Was Right: Before she died, Bland had posted several videos to YouTube, mostly full of cheer and encouragement. She started each video with “Good morning, my beautiful kings and queens!” But she also used her videos to talk about what she saw as clear racial profiling by some local police.
* CNBC | Wholesale egg prices have ‘collapsed.’ Why consumers may soon see relief: Prices fell to $2.61 per dozen eggs on Monday — a 52% decrease from the peak around $5.43 on Dec. 19 and a 47% decrease from the beginning of 2023, according to Urner Barry, a market research firm that specializes in the wholesale food industry. Its Midwest Large White Egg price benchmark is a widely cited barometer in the egg industry.
* Herald & Review | Decatur receives, matches $400,000 state grant for low-income home repairs: Eligible uses for the grant funds are forgivable mortgage loans for households making below 80% of the area’s median income and several kinds of repairs for those making 50% or less of the area median income. According to the city, about 220 residents have requested a roof replacement.
* CNN | The fungal threat to human health is growing in a warmer, wetter, sicker world: The number of serious fungal infections has increased partly because of the growing number of immune-suppressed people, studies show. “What’s changing is that more people that are exposed have those high risk factors. We have aging populations, and we were using a lot of chemicals in the environment which are forcing fungi to adapt, and our clinical antifungals are being degraded by antimicrobial resistance,” Fisher said.
* Sun-Times | Vallas gives away campaign contribution from ex-cop in Laquan McDonald case: Speaking outside an event hosted for him by the police union — which has endorsed him in the Feb. 28 election — Vallas said he was unaware of the $5,000 contribution to his campaign from ex-Chicago Police employee Richard E. Hagen until WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times reported on it last week.
* Block Club | Longtime Lightfoot Ally Ald. Pat Dowell Endorses Brandon Johnson For Mayor: Lightfoot defended Dowell later that year after a Tribune report revealed a developer had sought $20,000 in taxpayer reimbursements for donations to the alderwoman’s campaign. But now, Dowell is throwing her support behind Johnson, a longtime Chicago Teachers Union organizer and former teacher from the West Side. Dowell praised Johnson’s leadership style, saying in a statement Johnson’s “willingness to sit at the table with other leaders to find beneficial solutions” is the type of mayor Chicago needs.
* WBEZ | Five takeaways about voter turnout in Chicago ahead of this month’s municipal election: A WBEZ analysis of data from the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners shows that fewer than four out of every 10 registered voters have cast ballots in all but one of the last five February municipal elections. The only exception was in 2011 when turnout reached 42%, the city’s first municipal election after longtime mayor Richard M. Daley decided not to seek reelection.
* WaPo | For long covid fatigue, a strategy called ‘pacing’ helps, but at a cost: Experts say the extreme fatigue experienced by many long covid patients has a name: myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), a condition previously known as chronic fatigue syndrome. Researchers estimate that about half of people with long covid have developed ME/CFS.
* AFP | Harmful pollution boosting superbug ’silent pandemic’: Containing and cleaning up environmental pollution, especially in waterways, is crucial to controlling increasingly bullet-proof superbugs which could kill tens of millions by mid-century, a new UN report said Tuesday.
* NYT | The People Onscreen Are Fake. The Disinformation Is Real.: “This is the first time we’ve seen this in the wild,” said Jack Stubbs, the vice president of intelligence at Graphika, a research firm that studies disinformation. Graphika discovered the pro-China campaign, which appeared intended to promote the interests of the Chinese Communist Party and undercut the United States for English-speaking viewers.
* Daily Herald | Who’s going to the State of the Union? Illinois lawmakers reveal their guests: A Midway International Airport worker. A doctor who assists women with abortions. The head of a service for homeless individuals. All three are among guests invited by members of Illinois’ congressional delegation to attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address tonight.
* University of British Columbia | Traffic pollution impairs brain function: The peer-reviewed findings, published in the journal Environmental Health, show that just two hours of exposure to diesel exhaust causes a decrease in the brain’s functional connectivity – a measure of how different areas of the brain interact and communicate with each other. The study provides the first evidence in humans, from a controlled experiment, of altered brain network connectivity induced by air pollution.
* Pen America | These 176 books were banned in Duval County, Florida: The removed titles were part of the Essential Voices Classroom Libraries Collection, purchased by the district in 2021. This collection “features characters representing a variety of ethnicities, religious affiliations, and gender identities,” and includes children’s picture books such as Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o, Dim Sum for Everyone! by Grace Lin, and Berenstain Bears and the Big Question by Stan and Jan Berenstain.
Today, Illinois State Senators Mike Simmons, Robert Peters, as well as State Representative Marcus C. Evans, Jr. introduced new legislation – SB 1444 – that would create an Illinois Child Tax Credit claimable in the 2024 tax season. If passed by Illinois legislators, eligible low-and middle-income Illinois families would receive a $700 tax credit for each child under the age of 17. The policy proposed would benefit joint filers earning less than $75,000 and single filers earning less than $50,000 – nearly half of Illinois households with children.
With Washington having failed to reinstate the expanded federal Child Tax Credit in last year’s budget process, leaders in Illinois are stepping in, advocating for new direct cash programs within their jurisdictions to help working families.
“I am extraordinarily proud to join my colleagues in the Illinois state legislature in introducing a new bill to ease the burden that our communities face in affording everyday expenses,” said State Representative Marcus C. Evans, Jr. “In creating an Illinois Child Tax Credit, we join a growing number of statehouses working to ensure parents have a bit more money to keep their homes heated and their children fed.”
Support for the bill is already mounting, as Leader Evans, Senators Simmons and Peters were joined in by their colleagues Senators Ventura, Cervantes, and Preston to support SB 1444. Also in attendance were state advocates and parents who would directly benefit from the proposed credit.
State Representative Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, introduced legislation that would expand access to food assistance for foster families.
“Foster families already face so many obstacles, this legislation will help relieve some of the stress placed on these homes,” said Scherer. “Foster parents carry a great load by caring for our children who are in unfortunate circumstances. We must look for ways to utilize resources to unburden and support them.”
Scherer’s House Bill 1632 would make all foster families eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Access Program (SNAP) benefits.
Currently, foster children are ineligible for SNAP benefits.
* Media advisory…
– Women Employed, which has been creating fundamental, systemic change for working women for 50 years, will convene its statewide Illinois Time to Care Coalition and legislative sponsors of the Family & Medical Leave Insurance Act to urge the Illinois General Assembly to pass legislation that will provide workers with paid, job-protected leave to manage longer-term care needs for themselves and their families.
* Rep. Hernandez’s bill that would ban cat declawing is picking up support from animal rights groups. Shaw Local…
If passed, Illinois would become the third state to approve such a ban, according to the nonprofit group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. New York banned cat declawing in 2019 and Maryland did so last year. In addition, several cities across the country ban cat declawing, including Madison, Wisconsin, according to PETA.
Catie Cryar, a spokesperson for PETA, supports the bill.
“Imagine that your fingers were cut off at the first knuckle – that’s declawing, an unnecessary and painful mutilation that involves amputating not just cats’ nails but also their joints, resulting in decreased mobility, chronic pain and mental anguish,” Cryar said in a statement. “Declawing is recognized as cruel and unnecessary in Europe, and it’s been banned in numerous U.S. cities and states – and PETA supports legislation outlawing this cruelty.”
The Schaumburg-based American Veterinary Medical Association discourages cat declawing. It supports non-surgical alternatives to the procedure.
“The AVMA respects the veterinarian’s right to use professional judgment when deciding how to best protect their individual patients’ health and welfare,” it says in a statement on its website. “Therefore, it is incumbent upon the veterinarian to counsel the owner about the natural scratching behavior of cats, the alternatives to surgery, as well as the details of the procedure itself and subsequent potential complications. Onychectomy is a surgical amputation and if performed, multi-modal perioperative pain management must be utilized.”
Legislation from state Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, would amend the Smoke-Free Illinois Act — legislation that went into effect in 2008 that banned smoking in most public places in the state. […]
House Bill 1540 would add electronic smoking devices to the act’s definition of smoking, which means the use of e-cigarettes or vape pens would not be permitted inside public spaces like a bar, places of employment or enclosed sports arena. It also would not be allowed in student dormitories. […]
Pritzker recently signed appropriation legislation — House Bill 969 — which included $500,000 for a new Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. statue to be built by the Office of the Architect of the Capitol.
Legislation from state Sen. Tom Bennett, R-Gibson City, would add other statutes to the building. Under Senate Bill 348, OAC would “provide for the acquisition and placement” of statues depicting former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama.
State Sen. John Curran, R-Lemont, wants to codify the decision of Illinois voters when it comes to a progressive income tax.
“The people have spoken, and they could not have been more clear that they do not want a progressive income tax,” Curran said after introducing a resolution that calls on lawmakers to reject any progressive income tax proposal placed before the chamber.
“It is time to move in a new direction,” Curran said. “We are standing behind the people of this state who resoundingly said no, and standing up for families who cannot afford to be overtaxed.”
Curran’s bill comes after voters roundly rejected a so-called a progressive income tax amendment in 2020. It fell more than 360,000 votes short of a simple majority and more than 760,000 votes short of the three-fifths majority needed for passage from those voting on the question.
Amends the Conversion and Formation of School Districts Article of the School Code. Within 3 years after the effective date of the amendatory Act, requires elementary school districts to form new school districts but only with other elementary school districts and high school districts to form new school districts but only with other high school districts, notwithstanding any referendum requirements or any other laws to the contrary. Provides that the State Board of Education shall facilitate the creation of the new school districts by providing recommendations on which districts must consolidate. Sets forth the factors that the State Board must take into consideration. Effective immediately.
…Adding… HB2187, introduced by Deputy House Majority Leader Mary Flowers…
Amends the School Code. Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, allows public schools to include in their curriculum, for students in grades 3 through 12, a course in the history and literature of the Old Testament era and a course in the history and literature of the New Testament era. Provides that the purpose of such courses shall be to teach and study the Old and New Testaments and to familiarize students with the contents of the Old and New Testaments, the history recorded by the Old and New Testaments, the literary style and structure of the Old and New Testaments, the customs and cultures of the peoples and societies recorded in the Old and New Testaments, and the influence of the Old and New Testaments upon law, history, government, literature, art, music, customs, morals, values, and culture. Requires the State Board of Education to adopt a curriculum for each course. Sets forth provisions concerning course requirements, personnel, and monitoring. Effective immediately.
The plaintiffs who are individual active- and retired-beneficiary representatives from multiple suburban and downstate police and firefighter pension funds appeal from the trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of defendants. We affirm.
In 2019, defendant Governor Jay Robert “J.B.” Pritzker signed into law Public Act 101- 610 (eff. Jan. 1, 2020) (Act) that, inter alia, amended portions of the Illinois Pension Code. Prior to the Act, there were approximately 650 local police and firefighter pension funds for municipalities with populations between 5000 and 500,000. These funds were governed by five-member boards comprised of two appointed members, two members elected by active members, and one member elected by other beneficiaries (i.e., retirees). I Each board was responsible for determining the retirement, disability, and death benefits payable to fund members and other beneficiaries. […]
Plaintiffs filed a three-count complaint seeking declaratory, injunctive, and other relief and a finding that the Act violated article XIII, section 5, of the Illinois Constitution, commonly known as the pension protection clause (count I), and/or article I, section 16 of the Illinois Constitution, commonly known as the contracts clause (count II), and/or article I, section 15 of the Illinois Constitution, commonly known as the takings clause (count III). The trial court granted certain of defendants’ motions to dismiss; all of the named funds were dismissed as plaintiffs for lack of standing, and count II was dismissed against the remaining plaintiffs for failing to state a cause of action under the contracts clause. These rulings are not challenged on appeal. The trial court later entered summary judgment on counts I and III in favor of defendants. It is from this grant of summary judgment that this appeal arises. […]
Plaintiffs first assert that the Act violates the pension protection clause because it impairs the members’ rights to vote in the election of local pension board members “and to have that local board control and invest local pension funds.” According to plaintiffs, voting rights are a benefit that flows from the contractual relationship and, therefore, cannot be changed. […]
We determine that the ability to vote in the election of local pension board members and to have that local board control and invest local pension funds is not of the same nature and essentiality as the ability to participate in the fund, accumulate credited time, or receive health care, disability, and life insurance coverage. Voting for the local board is, at best, ancillary to a participant’s receipt of the pension payment and other assets. The local boards were entrusted with investing the contributions so that payments could be made to participants. However, choosing who invests funds does not guarantee a particular outcome for benefit payments. The local boards also did not have any say in the actual method of funding; contribution requirements were set in the Pension Code. […]
Plaintiffs make no argument as to how the requirement to pay for the administration of the funds would in any way impair or diminish the payment of their pension benefits. The local funds are already required to pay the costs of administration of the local funds, and plaintiffs do not cite any evidence to show that the costs of administration of the new funds, even including startup costs, would be any greater. … Plaintiffs present no evidence that the Act actually reduced the funding available for the payment of benefits. We find no error in the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in defendants’ favor as to count I and grant plaintiffs no relief. […]
Plaintiffs next contend that the Act violates the takings clause of the Illinois Constitution. Article I, section 15 of the Illinois Constitution states: “Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use without just compensation as provided by law. Such compensation shall be determined by a jury as provided by law.” […]
Plaintiffs are individual active and retiree/beneficiaries of the local funds: they have no right to the investments held by the funds; rather, they are entitled only to present or future payments from the funds. No plaintiff has any right to direct the investment of the monies held by the funds or direct that they receive any different course of payments (either in amount or frequency) beyond that established by statute and the funds. Simply put, plaintiffs do not own the funds that the Act requires to be transferred to the new statewide police and firefighter pension investment funds. The Act does nothing more than require one type of government-created pension fund to transfer assets to another type of government-created pension fund. Plaintiffs’ rights to receive benefit payments are not impacted by these transfers. As the “property” at issue here is not the private property of the plaintiffs, the takings clause is neither relevant nor applicable here. Thus, we find no error in the trial court’s grant of summary judgment on count III.
For these reasons, the judgment of the circuit court of Kane County is affirmed.
This law has been in effect for three years now. And this was a no-brainer case for the trial and appellate courts. Just ridiculous. And the fact that the plaintiffs argued that the public pension funds is their “property” really tells you a lot about the plaintiffs.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday announced the creation of a $40 million grant program to incentivize the creation of large development-ready areas known as “megasites” across the state.
Megasites are large swaths of land, developed to attract businesses such as manufacturing plants, warehouses and distribution centers. Pritzker said developing these sites will help make Illinois more competitive, especially as sectors including clean energy and manufacturing are rapidly expanding in the U.S.
The Megasites Development Program announced Monday uses Rebuild Illinois capital funds aimed at providing the necessary infrastructure improvements to develop these megasites. Other eligible costs include various land acquisition, clean-up and development expenses. […]
“The idea here is to identify large sites that can be brought up to speed quickly so that we can promote them across the country and even around the world,” Dan Seals, president of Intersect Illinois, said.
To help companies look for these “turn-key” locations in Illinois, Intersect Illinois has created a property finder that has more than 150 investment-ready sites in Illinois and a standalone guide with megasites over 1,000 acres.
The state will give up to $5,000 per acre of development, with totals ranging from $250,000 to $5 million. Applicants must own or have an agreement to own sites of at least 200 acres, and must match grant funds.
“We want these sites cleaned up,” Pritzker said. ” … It’s about providing dollars upfront so that can get taken care of and you can take that off of the expenditure list of things that you need to put in to make a site ready to go, and to get going on whatever it may be in that location.” […]
The megasites program will encourage businesses to locate projects in Illinois rather than neighboring states, Pritzker said.
“I venture to argue to you that they are not cleaning up their sites at the pace that we are cleaning up ours,” he said while pointing out a window toward Indiana, which is several miles from Pullman.
We want the sites cleaned up. And we want to attract business to these sites. What this is doing is providing the precursor for that. Because as Dan Seals was saying, when we talk to companies around the country, they have the problem in all the other states, too, of finding locations that are nearby the central business districts, but large enough so that they can put in large distribution buildings, facilities, or manufacturing. They want to be nearby, but they also want to be next to transportation. And they have to be ready to go because no one wants to wait 10 years or five years to start construction. And so that’s what these grants are really all about. It’s about providing dollars upfront, so that that can get taken care of. And you can take that off of the expenditure list of things that you need to put in to make a site ready to go and to get going on your new whatever it may be in that location. So we’re making it less expensive to do business in Illinois than it is in other states, I venture to argue to you that they are not cleaning up their sights at the pace that we are cleaning up ours, I’m pointing to Indiana. And it’s frankly, for two reasons, right. One is we’re being more aggressive at attracting businesses to Illinois. And secondly, we are more interested in being environmentally friendly here in Illinois. And frankly, businesses are too, they want to move somewhere where they can get clean energy where they can move to a clean site. And Illinois is offering that.
CNI Corp’s Pullman Park development is one example of a powerful community transformation, serving as home to the Method Soap Manufacturing facility, Amazon and Whole Foods Distribution Centers, Gotham Greens and more. The former shuttered factory site was developed in order to attract more than $700 million investment and creating more than 2,000 jobs.
“CNI’s Pullman Park Development went from a 180-acre brownfield to a new, green manufacturing and distribution hub,” said CNI Corp. President David Doig. “This area is now a model for economic development - creating more than 2,000 jobs - and it all began with a $10 million grant from the State.”
* The trial is set to being March 3, so expect a lot of these. Tribune…
In a flurry of pretrial filings, lawyers for the so-called “ComEd Four” are seeking to keep large swaths of evidence away from the jury next month, including the utility’s admissions of a scheme to influence then-House Speaker Michael Madigan, the millions of dollars in campaign contributions ComEd showered on lawmakers, and a prosecution expert who would testify about machine politics and corruption. […]
In his filing Monday, Pramaggiore’s attorney, Scott Lassar, argued that ComEd’s deal with prosecutors was “irrelevant” when it comes to the defendants on trial, and that allowing the jury to hear evidence about it would be improper.
“Allowing the jury to learn of ComEd’s agreement to pay $200 million would severely prejudice defendants because jurors may conclude that ComEd thought that its officers committed a very serious crime if they paid a $200 million fine,” Lassar wrote. […]
Lassar said [former ComEd Vice President Fidel Marquez] was acting as a government agent when he made the recordings and therefore his statements should be considered hearsay. The fact Marquez was cooperating also “calls into question the truth and accuracy” of his statements, Lassar wrote, “because the language he used may have been suggested by the government or tailored by Mr. Marquez to conform to what he believed the government wanted to hear.”
* More from the author on Twitter…
McClain's attorney reveals the feds want to put on evidence that two alleged subcontractors under Jay Doherty were "separately appointed" to paid public board positions. McClain argues the evidence is irrelevant because it has nothing to do with benefits to ComEd
"The government’s case against Doherty is at best circumstantial—but more accurately it is speculative," his lawyers write. His statements suggest only "as a lobbyist would, that keeping Madigan happy helps ensure access to Madigan so ComEd can lobby Madigan on its behalf."
And now a motion to bar the expert testimony of Professor Dick Simpson, which the defense describes as “unreliable, irrelevant, cumulative, and prejudicial” and a “transparent attempt to paint the four Defendants with the broad brush of Chicago political corruption.”
Getting back to these ComEd Four court filings. Sometimes it’s the footnotes that say it all, like: “The jury needs no special expertise to understand that there has historically been political corruption in Chicago.” pic.twitter.com/uxdqnGduTJ
Hooker's attorney also wants to bar evidence about Kevin Quinn, the Madigan lieutenant who received monthly payments from the speaker's loyalists after he was ousted in a sexual harassment scandal. @RayLong and I broke that story here https://t.co/RgURYPIgxB
* Oh, and there was that time when she was the attorney of record on behalf of Illinois congressional Republicans…
“The map as a whole and several individual districts in particular represent a flexing of Democratic political muscle in Springfield aimed at creating a Democratic majority in the Illinois congressional’ delegation,” the original filing in the case asserts. “(It) effectively reverses the results of the 2010 congressional elections by redrawing districts so that the citizens of Illinois that gave Republicans an 11 to 8 advantage . . . (would be) transformed to one with 12 Democrats and only six Republicans,” after the state’s loss of one seat was included. The filing called the Democratic-drawn map “an outrageous partisan gerrymander.”
In fact, after elections under the new map, it turned out to be 11-7 Democratic, with Duckworth (now a U.S. senator) defeating Walsh, Foster succeeding Biggert and Schneider ousting Dold.
* Yet…
The Lightfoot for Chicago campaign released a new digital ad, “Just Ask Him,” Tuesday, featuring Paul Vallas self-identifying as a Republican and admitting that he would run right-of-center in future races.
Vallas’ conservative comments are from a 2009 interview with Jeff Berkowitz on “Public Affairs,” where Vallas explains that he would be registering for the Republican primary ballot in the next election – cementing his support for the GOP. The interview predates Vallas’ decade worth of ties to the Republican Party and recent alliance with Trump acolyte and FOP President John Catanzara, making it clear just how wrong he is to represent Chicagoans as mayor.
“Just Ask Him” will be released across multiple digital platforms.
Like Garcia’s video, this is not on cable or broadcast TV.
…Adding… Lightfoot was on Rauner’s side on this 2016 fight…
A Cook County judge on Wednesday tossed from the fall ballot a constitutional amendment to take away the General Assembly’s power to draw legislative district boundaries, dealing a loss to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and a win to Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Legislation was filed in Springfield on Monday that could help the Chicago Bears finance their proposed development in Arlington Heights by freezing the property tax assessment on the former Arlington International Racecourse property for up to 40 years.
The plan, which would require the Bears to invest at least $500 million in converting the 326-acre site to a stadium and surrounding mixed-use development, has been floated for weeks and is being met with some skepticism, even from the state lawmaker who filed the legislation.
“I’ve expressed my doubts about whether this is an approach … we really want to open the door to,” state Sen. Ann Gillespie said Monday.
The Arlington Heights Democrat said she is sponsoring the proposal in part because she wants to see the concept, which she said mirrors a proposal from the Bears and other business interests, incorporated into a broader conversation about reforming a separate form of tax assistance for development known as tax increment financing. TIFs are a frequently used economic development tool that she contends often results in homeowners and small businesses paying higher real estate taxes.
[Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes] said he spoke with Gillespie about the measure before she filed it and was surprised to hear that it had officially been submitted in Springfield.
“I did not know that she was going to submit the legislation today,” he said. “I did talk to her about it tonight.”
He said their conversation left him optimistic.
“She and as well as I, and everyone involved in this, wants to make sure that it is something that’s going to address everybody’s concerns,” he said.
* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker announces $40 million grant program to promote development-ready ‘megasites’: The program is open to private entities, nonprofits and local governments, and the application portal is open through April 6. Those receiving the grant must match each dollar granted by the state with other private or local funding. Grant allotments would range from $250,000 up to $5 million, depending on the acreage of the site. Eligible sites must have at least 200 contiguous acres and applicants must own or have an agreement in place to acquire the property when they apply.
* WGLC | Legislators hope to reopen OB unit at St. Margaret’s Health, urges hospital to create plan for mothers: State Representative Lance Yednock says the road to reopening Peru will be very difficult and take longer than hoped and is researching every statute and program to find a solution. If SMH decides to reopen the OB and delivery unit in Spring Valley again, Rezin says it could take months to go through the licensure process.
* Crain’s | Some Illinois hospitals still don’t comply with price transparency rule, report says: The report, published by health care transparency nonprofit Patient Rights Advocate, showed that dozens of hospitals in Illinois—from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago to several owned by Ascension Illinois—are not fully compliant with the Hospital Price Transparency Rule. Implemented in January 2021, the rule requires hospitals to post all service and treatment prices on their websites in detail. The regulation is aimed at giving patients an opportunity to comparison shop and get an idea of how much care costs upfront.
* Herald-Whig | Miller skipping State of the Union: Miller released a statement Monday saying she wouldn’t attend President Joe Biden’s speech Tuesday as a “protest of Joe Biden’s record of lying to the American people.”
* Green Market Report | Curaleaf Employees Asks for Class Action Status Over Stolen Tips: Employees allege that store managers pocketed more than $125,000 in stolen tip jar money. Four dispensary employees asked an Illinois judge to certify a class in their suit against Curaleaf Holdings (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) alleging that MSO store managers pocketed more than $125,000 in stolen tip jar money meant for workers.
* Politico | House divided: The megadonor couple battling in the GOP’s civil war: The RNC contest is only the most recent party fight that has seen the husband-and-wife duo land on opposite sides. After Liz Uihlein came out in support of former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the 2022 Wisconsin governor’s race, Dick Uihlein released a public statement praising rival Kevin Nicholson as an “outsider” who “can shake things up.” And while Dick bankrolled bomb-throwing conservative Josh Mandel in last year’s Ohio Senate primary, Liz financed two other candidates — one of whom, Jane Timken, was the former state party chairwoman.
* Crain’s | Cardinal Blase Cupich weighs in against proposed Chicago labor ordinance: In an unusually public move, Cupich today sent a letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and all 50 aldermen asking them to oppose a pending proposal that would require Catholic Charities to sign a labor peace agreement with union officials. Such a pact wouldn’t necessarily result in staffers being unionized, but it would likely result in higher wage and related costs—costs Cupich says the archdiocese can’t afford to pay.
* Tribune | In mayor’s race, ‘Chuy’ García floats property tax relief grants while Brandon Johnson unveils public safety plan: Johnson, meanwhile, unveiled a plan Monday that he said would train 200 new police detectives from the existing rank and file, double summer employment opportunities for at-risk youth to more than 60,000 jobs and expand support for victims of crime. Those programs and increased support for homeless people and those with addictions will help curb crime, Johnson said.
* NPR Illinois | Tributes pour in for Laurence Msall, government finance expert and NPR Illinois advisory board member: “Such a loss for good government,” said Randy Eccles, NPR Illinois General Manager. “Through his years on the Illinois Issues and NPR Illinois Community Advisory Boards, he kept us focused on how to make government serve citizens better. During the multi-year budget impasse, Laurence was the first and most adamant to point out the negative impact it was having for people and organizations across the state. We will all miss his counsel.”
* Block Club | Owner Of Chicago’s J.B. Alberto’s Helps Throw World’s Largest Pizza Party, Beating Guinness Record While Helping Kids In Need: The party raised $42,090 for Make-A-Wish Oklahoma, granting eight children’s wishes, according to the news release. “It wasn’t just for the record, even though everyone had fun doing that,” said Troiano, who has owned J.B. Alberto’s since 1978. “Along the way, we raised all that money for kids who really need it, and that was the best part about it. Everybody had a great time; but at the end of the day, it was for a great cause.”
* Southern | SIU awards millions locally in one-day scholarship blitz: That journey began with the presentation of millions of dollars in scholarship to students throughout the day. Lane and a contingent of admissions and financial aid staff members from SIU surprised dozens of students with ceremonial large checks to recognize the awarding of Chancellor’s scholarships.
* NBC Sports | When White Sox pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training: White Sox pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on Feb. 15. Position players join them on Feb. 20. Teams are divided into the Cactus League, which is held in Arizona, and the Grapefruit League, which is in Florida. In some cases, teams share a home facility.
