I had the honor of being elected by my peers in 2010 and have taken my role as a trustee very seriously. As the first African-American male President of the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund it has been my honor to serve as a fiduciary in a leadership capacity. After heavy reflection and much consideration I am making an announcement that cannot be delayed any longer. I ask my fellow trustees for their indulgence as what I am about to say will not be easy.
For the last year and a half I have been witness to some of the most abhorrent, disturbing and despicable actions by former and current trustees on this board. There is a culture of intimidation, intentional misinformation, discrimination, slander, misogyny, fear-mongering, blatant racism, sexism and retaliatory actions from trustees towards staff and vendors. I cannot and will not be silent anymore. My silence will no longer be used as complicity to enable unethical and terrible behavior from Trustees. I have reviewed audio of verbal abuse from trustees to staff during board and committee meetings. I have been on the receiving end of sabotage, intimidation, and racist comments from individuals that I believed were my colleagues and friends. I have witnessed former trustees slander, harass and defame vendors simply because they can. This behavior stops today. There are at least 12 active complaints that have been filed on behalf of staff against several current trustees. I am aware of documented harassment and targeted bullying from one former trustee and one current trustee to a vendor who represents us in Springfield. I am also aware of trustees being approached by members of the Chicago Teachers Union who want us as trustees to hire former Madigan staffers who are now contract lobbyists. Let me be clear. We are not in the business as fiduciaries of hiding Madigan lobbyists at the fund under the guise of an RFP.
To add insult to injury, several executive board members of this fund have received notice that trustees are deliberately and viciously targeting women of color. I have witnessed a Trustee who refuses to engage or legitimize a Director in her area of expertise without first corroborating her claims with her white subordinate. African American staff, particularly women, are subjected to inappropriate comments, insensitive behavior, and mental intimidation ON A DAILY BASIS. This is the type of behavior that we as teachers would never tolerate and fight against in our own grievances, mediations and arbitrations. As an African-American President, I have even been on the receiving end of gamesmanship that has stalled, delayed, and disrupted our meetings. According to Board policy, the Trustees establish the dates and times for meetings during our Annual Meeting in November. Regular Board of Trustees’ meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of January, March, May, August, September, November and December. This year, the published meeting schedule called for special meetings in February, April, June, and October. These meetings were to be primarily used for committee business. NO board meeting was scheduled for July at the Trustees’ request in recognition of summer schedules, and the difficulty of achieving a quorum due to vacations and holidays. According to Fund policy, special meetings maybe called by the President or by three Trustees provided public notice of the meeting is given in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. There were two special meetings called for in July by groups of three or more trustees. These special meetings were not included on the published schedule for the year, and they failed to achieve a quorum. Not all members will be able to attend every meeting, especially those scheduled on short notice. A lack of attendance by trustees at unplanned meetings is not a breach of fiduciary responsibility or fund policy. In fact, it was a direct act to protect our mental health from the barrage of inexcusable behavior at our participant’s expense. Systemic racism is a form of racism that is embedded as normal practice within society or an organization. Systemic racism is not always as blatant as using a racial slur or refusing service based on a person’s race, sexual orientation, or religion. Instead it can reveal itself as comments against African emerging managers as an unfounded suspicion that they will steal money. Systemic racism is a repeated coordinated effort by a former trustee to end a vendor’s contract WITHOUT CAUSE by pushing for an unnecessary RFP. It can rear its ugly head by abusing staff and intentionally blocking consequences for unethical and morally wrong behavior. Lastly, systemic racism can be perpetuated by the Chicago Teachers’ Union who has been made aware of the despicable discriminatory practices of trustees and who choose to remain silent. As I stated before I can no longer sit idly by while the morale of staff and vendors are destroyed. Ultimately it is the participants who suffer.
In a move that is unprecedented, but ultimately necessary I will be instructing the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Legal Officer to compile all grievances, complaints, harassment claims, audio clips of verbal abuse, and recommended consequences from external counsel and submit them to the Public Access Bureau of the Attorney General’s Office, the Illinois Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Legislative Inspector General and the Office of the Mayor for what I believe are violations of the Illinois Human Rights Act, the City of Chicago Human Rights Act, the City of Chicago Human Rights Ordinance, the State Official and Employer Ethics Act, and the Illinois Whistleblower Act. As trustees we cannot condone racism, harassment or targeted discrimination. We will no longer allow former trustees and active trustees to terrorize our fund with unethical behavior and acts. If we are not a part of the solution then we are part of the problem.
The political woes facing Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan expanded to a new front today with the disclosure of a gripe from the president of the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund that his board was asked to hire lobbyists close to the speaker. […]
Blackwell has not been available for comment today. Chuck Burbridge, the executive director of the $12.3 billion retirement system, said in an email only that, “The board will be looking into the governance issues Mr. Blackwell raised” and that day-to-day fund operations continue. […]
CTU had no comment, and Madigan’s office has not responded to a request for comment.
In a statement, House GOP Leader Jim Durkin said: “Once again, we see a pattern of Speaker Madigan trying to intimidate and abuse his vast power to award his allies with jobs. His reach and corruption know no bounds.”
* The ILGOP also issued a press release today…
JB Pritzker has a big problem. He hasn’t taken a position on whether Democrats should subpoena Mike Madigan to testify before a House probe investigating his corruption. He hasn’t called on Democrats to vote to issue that subpoena. He’s hoping this will all go away so he can stay friends with Madigan, his biggest political booster.
Predictably, however, the probe of Madigan’s corruption is about to widen beyond ComEd. It stands to reason (in line with longstanding Springfield rumors) that if Madigan pressured ComEd to hire his cronies in exchange for legislative considerations, he did this to others. We already knew that the US Attorney had issued subpoenas to other companies in Illinois. Now comes another bombshell.
From Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund Board of Trustees President Jeffery Blackwell:
I am also aware of trustees being approached by members of the Chicago Teachers Union who want us as trustees to hire former Madigan staffers who are now contract lobbyists.
To say that CTU and Madigan have played hardball in Springfield for years is an understatement. So it was a great surprise to read in the spring of 2019 that Madigan allowed a CTU-backed bill out of the House that repealed a 1995 law that had narrowed collective bargaining topics for Chicago public schools. During the Rauner years, Democrats had floated expanding the 1995 law statewide to help school districts save money and lower property taxes; now Madigan was giving the green light in the opposite, pro-CTU direction. Madigan followed with support for a CTU-backed school board election bill.
First ComEd. Now CTU. No doubt the list is endless if people ever came forward. It has always been a wonder that Madigan could operate a Capone-style machine without ever getting caught. But until now, he was considered unchallengeable, all-powerful, invincible. As Madigan’s power wanes, the drip-drip will continue.
The question for Pritzker: a smart politician would be running away at light speed and calling for Madigan to resign. What does Madigan have over Pritzker that the governor can’t even call for a subpoena?
There’s a fantasy popular in certain Illinois Democratic circles that goes something like this:
Democratic legislative candidates wipe out suburban Republicans in the November election, allowing House Speaker Michael Madigan to expand on his party’s overwhelming majority.
Flush with his latest success, the nation’s longest-serving House speaker cites the election results as a repudiation of his critics, declares he’s done all he can for Illinois and calls it quits after 50 years as a state representative — to spend more time with his grandchildren.
Then, those engaged in this fantasy snap out of it and remember this is Mike Madigan, who gives up nothing without a fight, never voluntarily cedes power and ain’t going nowhere yet.
Tell us what you hear most from constituents. What is their top priority of lawmakers in Springfield?
Sen. Rob Martwick: I hear many concerns from my constituents. People are worried about civil unrest, violence and creating a more just system of criminal justice. They are very concerned that the state ensures a smooth and stable, yet robust recovery from the pandemic that allows the middle class to thrive, but protects society from potential future outbreaks. Although, I come from a solidly middle class district and my constituents are a strong willed and hard working bunch and their greatest priority for me continues to be that every level of government work to provide opportunities to them and their families, and fix our financial problems.
Sen. Cellina Villanueva: Since March the #1 issue I have heard most from constituents is the IDES/Unemployment system in the state. My team and I have spent countless hours working to get every case that comes our way in front of the staff at IDES so that people can get their benefits and have one less thing to worry about during this pandemic. I do not believe there is ever going to be just one priority for lawmakers because this pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of our lives. Dealing with the current effects and aftermath of COVID is going to have to be one of many of our top priorities as lawmakers. COVID has impacted jobs, small business, education, higher education, food accessibility, housing, and other social needs. Everything has been impacted and we have to focus on helping people in as many ways as possible.
Rep. Karina Villa: The primary issues in my house district when I first ran were property taxes, education funding and affordable healthcare. From a baseline perspective, that hasn’t changed but the economic reality of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic has forced unanticipated priority adjustments. My work with the manufacturing facilities in my district regarding essential worker safety is an example of an unexpected adjustment. It is also imperative that we must work diligently to protect our students, teachers and staff as we reopen schools, and do what we can to support our small businesses. The 2020 census success will be critical in obtaining the federal funding we will need to support these efforts.
Sen. Patrick Joyce: Lowering property taxes.
People are desperately trying to just get by during extremely difficult times.
WBEZ has been asking you what you want Illinois politicians to be talking about heading into November’s elections — and beyond. Our goal: Cover government and politics based on the issues that matter most to constituents, rather than covering politics like a game of thrones. […]
More than anything, you told us you want answers about how government officials are responding to the pandemic – both from the economic and public health perspectives. You also wanted them to address the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on Black and Latino communities. About half of the responses dealing with COVID-19 had to do with how officials plan to keep the virus from spreading, especially among vulnerable populations like frontline workers. […]
You told us you want to feel safe in your neighborhoods from violence in all of its forms – including robberies, gang violence, and harassment from police. […]
The right to a quality education was top-of-mind for many of you. In particular, people wanted to hear their officials talking about ways to distribute school funding resources and educational opportunities equitably, from childcare to remote learning resources to affordable higher education. […]
You also told us you wanted to hear how elected and government officials plan to address the unequal investment in neighborhoods and areas around Chicagoland – particularly, through the lens of racial equity. […]
Even as the pandemic remains a major healthcare concern, we heard from many people worried about the cost and availability of healthcare beyond the pandemic.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,853 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 14 additional confirmed deaths.
• Champaign County: 1 female 90s
• Christian County: 1 male 80s
• Cook County: 2 males 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
• DuPage County: 1 female 80s
• Fayette County: 1 male 90s
• Knox County: 1 male 50s
• Monroe County: 1 male 80s
• Wayne County: 1 male 50s
• Williamson County: 1 female 70s
• Winnebago County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 100+
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 303,394 cases, including 8,805 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 28 – October 4 is 3.4%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 38,538 specimens for a total of 5,924,956. As of last night, 1,631 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 382 patients were in the ICU and 155 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,453 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 17 additional confirmed deaths.
Cook County: 1 female 30s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 2 males 60s, 4 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
DeKalb County: 1 female 70s
DuPage County: 1 male 70s
Monroe County: 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
Will County: 1 male 70s
Williamson County: 1 male 60s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 301,541 cases, including 8,791 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 27 – October 3 is 3.3%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 51,656 specimens for a total of 5,886,418. As of last night, 1,521 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 384 patients were in the ICU and 140 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,442 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 31 additional confirmed deaths.
Christian County: 1 male 80s
Cook County: 1 male 40s, 1 female 50s, 2 males 60s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
Crawford County: 1 male 50s
Greene County: 1 female 70s
Kane County: 1 male 60s
Livingston County: 1 male 60s
Macon County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
Madison County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
Mercer County: 1 female 90s
Monroe County: 1 female 60s
Morgan County: 1 male 80s
Peoria County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
Rock Island County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
Tazewell County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
Vermilion County: 1 male 70s
Will County: 1 male 70s, 3 females 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 300,088 cases, including 8,774 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 26 – October 2 is 3.4%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 71,634 specimens for a total of 5,834,762. As of last night, 1,535 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 361 patients were in the ICU and 140 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, causes trouble in Springfield (in a good way) because he doesn’t go with the flow. He challenged Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-home directives in court as executive order overreach. He calls out members of his own party if he believes they’re leading the state in the wrong direction. On taking a legislative pension, which he declined, he says: “I believe that the position of representative and senator are not careers, but should be treated as times of service to our state. It is irresponsible to collect a pension for an elected position while the working-class pensions are in jeopardy.” Right on. Bailey faces Olney business owner Cynthia Given. Voters in this district should send Bailey to the Senate where he can continue to challenge the status quo. He is endorsed.
Investors who won a chance for a license to sell recreational marijuana in Illinois have filed a lawsuit asserting it’s illegal to give other applicants a second chance.
The lawsuit sets up a potential court battle over when to hold a lottery to award 75 new retail licenses.
Three finalists filed a petition asking the Illinois Supreme Court to order that the licenses be awarded without recent changes to the application process they say were made because of “political expediency.”
Last month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced new procedures that would allow applicants to correct any deficiencies in their applications and get re-scored for a second chance at qualifying for the license lottery.
Keep in mind that the winners all had perfect scores. The losers are not allowed to change their applications to add, say, military veteran ownership or whatever. The losers can only challenge what they believe to be subjective decisions or errors by the company hired to do the scoring.
So, I kinda doubt that much will change even if the courts deny this legal move. As I told subscribers several days ago, though, politically speaking, it’s far better for the governor to be on the side of the multitude of losers than to be with the handful of winners.
* Related…
* Canopy to bring cannabis beverages to U.S. next summer - Canopy Growth, the cannabis company that attracted Corona beer producer Constellation Brands of Chicago as an investor, will first roll out the drinks in Illinois and California
* What follows are the results from contact tracing efforts in Illinois between August 1 and September 29. “Other” is described as a catchall for anything not covered by the specific categories below, including things like vacations, family gatherings, weddings and college parties….
Click the pics for a larger image. The graph was provided by the governor’s office.
Two former Illinois politicians have formed a bipartisan campaign committee to urge residents to vote against Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride’s retention.
Former U.S. Transportation Secretary and Congressman Ray LaHood joined former state lawmaker and political commentator Jim Nowlan to discuss their goals for “Citizens for Judicial Fairness.”
They feel Kilbride has been a “puppet” for House Speaker Mike Madigan over the last 20 years. The group claims he received more than $4 million from Madigan political committees during his first two campaigns.
“Madigan is the issue, and I can tell you he is detested in downstate Illinois. People hate him,” said Jim Nowlan, a former University of Illinois faculty member who is leading the charge against Kilbride.
Labeling Kilbride as a “puppet” of Madigan, Nowlan likes to ask members of his audiences if they would like to vote against the 78-year-old Chicago politician.
“They come out of their seats,” said Nowlan, a former Republican state legislator who’s worked in the administrations of what he describes as three “unindicted” Illinois governors.
If they want to vote against Madigan, Nowlan says, they can vote against Kilbride’s retention.
* Capitol News Illinois has been distributing Nowlan’s column, so I reached out to CNI editor Jeff Rogers to see if that would continue…
After receiving requests from a number of editors, Capitol News Illinois agreed last year to distribute Jim Nowlan’s columns to Illinois newspapers. Jim has been writing those columns free of charge, and he is not an employee of Capitol News Illinois. After his Aug. 21 commentary, Jim voluntarily suspended the writing and distribution of his commentaries until at least after the Nov. 3 election.
Rogers is also the director of the Illinois Press Foundation, which is the “nonprofit, charitable arm of the Illinois Press Association.” The IPA is an association of newspaper publishers and lobbies in Springfield.
The libertarian-leaning Illinois Policy Institute on Monday filed suit in an effort to derail Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature policy proposal — changing Illinois’ constitution to allow for a graduated income tax — by forcing the state to issue “corrective notices” about the intent of the tax change, or declaring the vote on the amendment “void.” […]
Among other arguments, the suit alleges the explanation and arguments in favor of the amendment could “induce retirees into voting to impose on themselves a tax on retirement income.”
“If approved by voters, the [Progressive Income Tax] Amendment would eliminate important structural safeguards that deter legislators in the General Assembly from imposing new taxes on retirement income and deter legislators from imposing higher taxes on individuals with middle or low incomes,” the suit alleges.
Although Pritzker himself has repeatedly said he would not move to tax retirement income, and the pamphlet also explicitly says “This amendment does not tax retirement income,” opponents to the tax change have fixated on a comment made by Democratic State Treasurer Mike Frerichs this summer, in which he suggested the graduated income tax would open the door to taxing retirement income.
They look like they’re taking a political argument and trying to make it in court.
Vote Yes For Fairness Chairman Quentin Fulks released the following statement in response to the lawsuit the Illinois Policy Institute filed in Cook County today:
“When the facts aren’t on your side, you’re forced to rely on blatant stunts and outright lies, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing from the Illinois Policy Institute today. This is just the latest attempt by an organization bankrolled by the wealthiest people in the state to ensure the burden remains on middle and working-class families, while millionaires and billionaires avoid paying their fair share. IPI is the organization that brought Illinois’ two-year budget impasse and 8 credit downgrades, but won’t support a policy that gives 97% of Illinoisans a tax cut. They can continue to waste their time with frivolous lawsuits – Vote Yes For Fairness remains focused on educating voters on how the Fair Tax will help them, their families, and their communities.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** John Bouman, chairman of Vote Yes for Fair Tax…
“The wealthy few who benefit from the state’s unfair tax system are desperate. They will do anything to prevent paying their fair share, even try to silence the voices of Illinois voters. The frivolous lawsuit filed by an extreme far-right front group is the latest example of their dirty tricks.
“The people of Illinois won’t be denied their right to vote Yes for a tax cut for everyone who makes less than $250,000, Yes for new funding for schools and health care, and Yes to make the very rich finally pay their fair share.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Jordan Abudayyeh…
Working families in Illinois are used to seeing lies from the billionaires and millionaires who don’t want to pay their fair share, and this latest desperate doozy from the Illinois Policy Institute is just more of the same to protect their wealthy donors and make the middle class pay. The Governor has been abundantly clear that Illinois will remain one of the few states that will not tax retirement income and retirees will get a tax cut under the fair tax plan. The General Assembly passed and the Governor signed into law the tax rates that would go into effect. Illinoisans can go online and see how the fair tax would impact them and the fact is that 97 percent of Illinoisans will see a tax cut.
* No more Chicago/STL baseball and our NFL team was not exactly great yesterday. What off-topic stuff are we gonna talk about now? Whatever it is, let’s leave the national politics to other sites for the moment. Keep it local, be polite to each other and, above all, remain calm.
Alby Gallun at Crain’s Chicago Business recently reported that sales at Chicago’s bars and restaurants plunged 64 percent during the first half of 2020.
The worldwide pandemic crashed a lot of businesses. The city’s particularly tight restrictions in response to the crisis made things even tougher. In comparison, the six-county Chicago metropolitan area saw bar and restaurant sales fall “only” 30 percent.
This is not a criticism of the city’s restrictions. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her team had to do what they had (and have) to do to keep the virus contained. Chicago was slammed hard by COVID-19 in the early going, and no sane person wants to risk a repeat or even an echo of that madness again.
But the restrictions, and the coming cold weather, mean the city’s bars and restaurants are facing annihilation. Something has to be done. But only a fool would depend on Congress for adequate help. Illinois’ coffers aren’t exactly flush with cash, and Chicago’s budget is deeply in the red.
So the city ought to let these barely surviving businesses help themselves by finally opting in to legalized video gaming.
The games were approved by the state over a decade ago, but Chicago has never allowed them. Some folks had moral objections, and others wanted to make sure a potential downtown casino would have a gambling monopoly.
The end result is that the perpetually cash-strapped city has left a ton of tax revenues on the table while it waited for a casino that never materialized.
And now, when a Chicago casino has finally been approved by the General Assembly, the city’s leaders are even more reluctant to approve video gaming.
City Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett said last month that video gaming “could have a ‘cannibalization’ effect on revenues the city is counting on from an in-the-works casino and cost thousands of jobs,” according to WTTW.
So, I reached out to one of the most trusted voices in all of Chicago’s hospitality industry, the @ChicagoBars Twitter account. The fact that a Crain’s editor gave me the go-ahead to interview a Twitter account should tell you how authoritative the source is.
It’s well known that the Illinois House Republicans (along with pretty much all Illinois Republicans) are using House Speaker Michael Madigan’s bad reputation to bludgeon their Democratic opponents.
Madigan has been enormously unpopular in Illinois. And he’s probably more unpopular now because he’s been in the news so much during the long federal investigation into ComEd and the company’s resulting deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorney in Chicago.
A special Illinois House investigating committee has been impaneled to take testimony about the federal probe and consider whether to discipline Madigan for “conduct unbecoming a legislator,” which is helping to keep him in the news.
Add the more recent news about Democratic Rep. Stephanie Kifowit’s announcement last week that she will run against Madigan for speaker in January, and it’s been a complete media circus for the longtime pol.
Kifowit has not yet identified any allies and isn’t exactly an odds-on favorite to defeat Madigan. She’s votes more conservative than many in the House Democratic caucus. She was the only House “present” vote on the minimum wage increase bill and she hired a public relations person who is raising money for the Republican opponent of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. That puts her at odds with her party, the Black Caucus and labor unions that fund the Democrats.
But the mere fact that she stood up and announced her bid is an indication that Madigan’s political strength is not what it used to be.
Anyway, the last time the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute polled Speaker Madigan’s job approval rating was last year. It found 71% disapproved of the way Madigan did his job while only 20% approved — a 51-point difference.
Those results weren’t all that different from the same poll’s question on whether Illinoisans supported a new state tax on retirement income. Seventy-three percent opposed it while 23 percent supported — a 50-point margin.
Normally, opposition to a retirement income tax is an easy layup for Illinois legislators in both parties. Just score some no-brainer points with the folks back home and move on to the next question.
But some brainiacs always want to start a “discussion,” and it often blows up in their faces.
This time, it’s blowing up in others’ faces.
“One thing a progressive tax would do is make clear you can have graduated rates when you are taxing retirement income,” Treasurer Michael Frerichs, a Democrat, told the Daily Herald back in June. “And, I think that’s something that’s worth discussion.”
Frerichs’ quote has opened the door to House Republican attack mailers in numerous districts against Democrats who voted “Yes” on the graduated income tax last year and also against Democratic House candidates in general.
“Mary Edly-Allen supports the tax hike amendment,” one recent HGOP mailer exclaimed about the freshman Democratic state Representative from Libertyville. “Her Springfield pals admit the amendment would open the door to a brand-new tax on retirement income. That means your pension, your 401(k) plan, and your retirement plan would be taxed and sent straight to Springfield.”
The mailers are being sent to other districts (Metro East and Southern Illinois, for example) where the tax is also not polling great. But, said one House Republican source of the tax issue, “We’re talking about that everywhere.”
The mailers have the added benefit of ginning up opposition to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “Fair Tax” constitutional amendment, which House Republican Leader Jim Durkin has vowed to defeat. So, it’s a twofer.
“Politician Janet Yang Rohr wants to tax your retirement income,” another Republican mailer warns about Rep. Grant Wehrli’s, R-Naperville, Democratic opponent.
“Yang Rohr is backing the graduated income tax. This plan would not only raise taxes on the middle class, but also on retirees. The state treasurer has admitted this is a tax on retirees. There’s no question that ordinary people will suffer. Protect your retirement. Vote ‘No’ on Janet Yang Rohr.”
To be fair, if Treasurer Frerichs hadn’t said what he said, the Republicans would’ve found another way to make the same argument. But Frerichs did make their easier.
And Pritzker can’t really complain about taking somebody’s mention of a graduated tax on retirement income and twisting it into an attack on all retirement income taxation because he did the very same thing in the 2018 Democratic primary. His top two Democratic opponents, Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss, both tentatively supported a tax on upper-income retirees, but Pritzker distorted that into TV ads claiming the two wanted to tax all retirement income.
Karma can be problematic.
…Adding… From Rep. Kifowit…
Good afternoon Rich, I had a busy Monday but I wanted to address some points you made in your post.
First, the public relations person that you reference in your post took time out of her dedication to making masks for her community to help facilitate my announcement. Due to a technological glitch in my Facebook live stream, she accepted a friend request from you to allow you to see the FB live stream on her page. It is disappointing that you would review her page and attribute her private views as a reflection of my record. In a democracy, private citizens are allowed to have different views. In this case, while I do not share this same view as hers, I appreciated her willingness to assist me with the announcement.
After my first year in office, I ended being on the “target program” which included the watch list (otherwise known as the watch chart or target list) which often listed IL House Black Caucus members’ bills as being “soft on crime” and intimidated “targets” to vote no. Since then, I have offered my support to I believe almost all, if not all, of the bills proposed by members of the IL House Black Caucus and I have spoken out about the need to end institutional racism without any time to reflect. As Speaker, I will eliminate the watch chart and the intimidation that is incorporated against new members to vote in accordance with it, and work with members to vote for the best interest of their districts and their views.
In addition, my labor voting record is solid. You mention the minimum wage bill, which I voted present on, as a feeble attempt to again sow division. I have a long-standing promise to my residents to not vote for legislation that is rushed through the process. I believe in our democratic system, and I hold fast that there should be constructive debate and discussion with regards to legislation, and the minimum wage bill in particular I had some concerns with. I was told there would be no changes to the bill - so while I did support raising the minimum wage, the manner in which the bill was presented was the reason I voted present.
As Speaker, I do believe that working together and treating members with respect on all manners is so important to our system of government. To have a separate and equal branch of government gives rise to a higher standard of integrity and a proper check and balance that our founding fathers established. When we stray from our principals, is when the public loses faith in our state.
Thank you,
Stephanie Kifowit
The PR person didn’t just facilitate the Facebook video, she sent out media alerts and a press release.
Every citizen has a right to the truth about what Governor Pritzker and Mike Madigan’s tax increase will mean for our state: the continued exodus of families and businesses, loss of jobs and inevitably higher taxes on everyone. Well informed voters are increasingly speaking out against this tax hike, and I am committed to ensuring each of us has the facts to make a thoughtful decision about this catastrophic constitutional amendment.
With less than 5 weeks to go until Election Day, Ken Griffin is growing increasingly desperate to ensure he can keep the special deal he gets under our current tax system that allows him to pay the same tax rate as our essential workers. Mr. Griffin and his fellow opponents have already made clear they want to raise taxes on working families and retirees rather than pay their fair share.
Mr. Griffin’s now spent more than he would have paid additionally last year under the Fair Tax in an attempt to defeat it. This may be nothing more than a calculation to him, but the future of our state is at stake. We remain committed to passing the Fair Tax in this election and giving a tax cut to 97% of Illinoisans.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Coalition To Stop The Proposed Tax Hike Amendment spokesperson Lissa Druss…
It is clear people are responding to the message that giving Springfield Politicians more power to raise taxes in the midst of a health and economic crisis is the wrong direction for our state.
With each passing day, the people of Illinois realize that the actual tax rates are not what they are voting on, but rather they are being asked to trust Springfield Politicians with a blank check.
The Coalition’s support continues to grow from small businesses, family farmers, and middle-class families who all believe now is the worst possible time to raise taxes.
* This one is for my mom, who loved Helen Reddy when I was a kid and she definitely loved this song. Mom tried to raise us right. It didn’t always work, unfortunately, but RIP, Ms. Reddy…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 28 counties in Illinois are considered to be at a warning level for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A county enters a warning level when two or more COVID-19 risk indicators that measure the amount of COVID-19 increase.
Twenty-eight counties are currently reported at a warning level – Bond, Boone, Brown, Calhoun, Christian, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, DeKalb, DeWitt, Fayette, Greene, Hancock, Jasper, Lee, Livingston, Macon, Massac, Monroe, Morgan, Pulaski, Putnam, Richland, Saline, St. Clair, Wabash, Washington, and Winnebago.
Although the reasons for counties reaching a warning level varies, some of the common factors for an increase in cases and outbreaks are associated with university and college parties as well as college sports teams, large gatherings and events, bars and clubs, weddings and funerals, family gatherings, long-term care facilities, correctional centers, schools, and cases among the community at large, especially people in their 20s.
Public health officials are observing businesses blatantly disregarding mitigation measures, people not social distancing, gathering in large groups, and not using face coverings. Mayors, local law enforcement, state’s attorneys, and other community leaders can be influential in ensuring citizens and businesses follow best practices.
Several counties are taking swift action to help slow spread of the virus, including increasing testing opportunities, stressing the importance of testing to providers, hiring additional contact tracers, working with schools, meeting with local leaders, educating businesses and large venues about the importance of mitigation measures, and distributing donated masks.
IDPH uses numerous indicators when determining if a county is experiencing stable COVID-19 activity, or if there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the county. A county is considered at the warning level when at least two of the following metrics triggers a warning.
• New cases per 100,000 people. If there are more than 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the county, this triggers a warning.
• Number of deaths. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly number of deaths increases more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Weekly test positivity. This metric indicates a warning when the 7-day test positivity rate rises above 8%.
• ICU availability. If there are fewer than 20% of intensive care units available in the region, this triggers a warning.
• Weekly emergency department visits. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly percent of COVID-19-like-illness emergency department visits increase by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Weekly hospital admissions. A warning is triggered when the weekly number of hospital admissions for COVID-19-like-illness increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Tests performed. This metric is used to provide context and indicate if more testing is needed in the county.
• Clusters. This metric looks at the percent of COVID-19 cases associated with clusters or outbreaks and is used to understand large increase in cases.
These metrics are intended to be used for local level awareness to help local leaders, businesses, local health departments, and the public make informed decisions about personal and family gatherings, as well as what activities they choose to do. The metrics are updated weekly, from the Sunday-Saturday of the prior week.
A map and information of each county’s status can be found on the IDPH website at https://www.dph.illinois.gov/countymetrics.
Weiss mailed a package containing a $2,500 bribe payment to the senator Oct. 22, 2019, according to the indictment. That was two days before the original complaint against Arroyo was filed. pic.twitter.com/fQuRWF4YaH
Five years ago, Weiss got married to former state Rep. Toni Berrios, whose father ran the Cook Democratic Party while serving as Cook County assessor ruling on property tax appeals filed by clout-heavy lawyers, including Madigan and Ald. Edward M. Burke.
The former assessor is also a lobbyist in Springfield, who clients have included the Illinois Gaming Machine Operators who oppose efforts to legalize sweepstakes machines, like those owned by Weiss.
Weiss is a close friend of Madigan’s only son, Andrew, an executive at Alliant/Mesirow Insurance Services which sells insurance to various government agencies.
Weiss and his mother, Mary C. Murray, have run two Bridgeport-based charities aided by powerful political allies such as Cook County Commissioner John Daley and his nephew Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11th). One of the charities, the Benton House, is a former settlement house operating an emergency food pantry on South Gratten, and the other is a scholarship fund.
* Michael Hawthorne at the Tribune takes a look at the Pritzker administration’s actions on Illinois coal…
Illinois already is a major supplier of coal, the chief source of heat-trapping gases warming the planet. After Pritzker took office in early 2019, his administration began clearing the way for a new coal mine, despite a sharp fall in demand for the fossil fuel as electric utilities shift to cheaper, cleaner sources of energy.
Pritzker appointees also tentatively approved a 12-mile pipeline that every day would dump millions of gallons of toxic waste into a Mississippi River tributary, making it easier for a recently bankrupt company to continue digging coal out of the state’s second-largest mine.
The governor’s aides said their reviews of the projects are far from over. “We don’t agree that the administration’s decisions are locking Illinois into a coal-dependent future,” Jordan Abudayyeh, Pritzker’s spokeswoman, said in an email response to questions from the Chicago Tribune.
Abudayyeh said the governor made his intentions clear with a list of principles for a clean-energy future. But Pritzker’s “Putting Customers & Climate First” agenda does not address the impacts of coal mining.
Go read the whole thing. IDNR appears to be at the root of much of this. But the governor is the governor. And governors own.
* I’d heard that Michael McHaney, the Clay County judge who had given the state fits with his multiple rulings in favor of Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), had been transferred.
So, I checked with Clay County Circuit Clerk Crystal Ballard, who said judges in the circuit are on a 6-month rotation and McHaney was rotated to Effingham County.
The Effingham County Circuit Clerk’s office confirmed to me today that McHaney is now there and is handling criminal cases.
Darren Bailey and Thomas DeVore respond to a question from a CNN reporter following their victory against Governor J.B. Pritzker in the Clay County Circuit Court Thursday afternoon.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,206 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 47 additional confirmed deaths.
• Bond County: 1 female 80s
• Bureau County: 1 male 70s
• Champaign County: 1 female 90s
• Christian County: 1 male 60s
• Coles County: 1 female 70s
• Cook County: 1 male 40s, 2 females 60s, 3 males 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
• DuPage County: 1 male 60s
• Fayette County: 1 male 90s
• Jersey County: 1 female 90s
• Kane County: 1 male 80s
• Kankakee County: 1 male 90s
• Lake County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
• Lawrence County: 1 female 60s, 2 females 90s
• Livingston County: 1 female 60s
• Macoupin County: 1 female 70s
• Madison County: 1 male 70s
• Monroe County: 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
• Peoria County: 1 female 40s
• Randolph County: 1 male 80s
• Richland County: 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
• Rock Island County: 1 male 80s
• Sangamon County: 1 male 50s
• St. Clair County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
• Stephenson County: 1 male 60s
• Warren County: 1 female 90s
• White County: 1 male 50s
• Will County: 1 male 60s
• Williamson County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
• Woodford County: 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 297,646 cases, including 8,743 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 25 – October 1 is 3.4%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 72,691 specimens for a total of 5,763,128. As of last night, 1,678 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 373 patients were in the ICU and 162 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
More than 100 people packed into a banquet room at Giovanni’s Thursday for what was billed as an informational meeting for Rockford area bars and restaurants whose businesses are being threatened by new COVID-19 mitigation rules that go into effect Saturday.
What they got was an hour and a half presentation by attorney Thomas DeVore of Sorento, Illinois, advising bars and restaurants that they are under no legal obligation to cease indoor and food and beverage sales, as ordered by Gov. JB Pritzker, and that they can and should stay open.
Several local leaders and elected officials attended the meeting including state Rep. John Cabello, state Sen. Dave Syverson, Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana and Loves Park Mayor Greg Jury — all of whom assured attendees that they would not enforce or support the state’s additional COVID-19 mitigation strategies for northwest Illinois.
“I pretty much though speak for any law enforcement agency in this county,” Caruana said, adding that he had close relationships with the Illinois State Police director and local captain. “Pretty much though we’re all on the same page. (Rockford Police Chief Dan) O’Shea and I are on the same page. We are not going to go into your bars and stalk you or do anything like this. No fear.”
Winnebago County Public Health Administrator Dr. Sandra Martell also weighed in saying:
“The Winnebago County Health Department has worked with bars and restaurants in our community throughout the pandemic. Despite the financial challenges to their businesses and the greater community, they adapted and implemented the strategies to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. We trust that they will thoughtfully consider all the impacts and will continue to follow the guidelines to protect the community. These are challenging times for all. We ask our community to rally and support them by ordering curbside and enjoying their outside venues.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Another day, another lawsuit. DeKalb Daily Chronicle…
Seven DeKalb County restaurant owners on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health seeking a temporary restraining order to stop state officials from forcing them to shut down indoor dining beginning Saturday.
Bradley Melzer, of Sycamore-based Cronauer Law, is representing the owners of Fatty’s Pub & Grill in DeKalb, Remington Gastropub in Malta, The Lincoln Inn and Faranda’s Banquet Center in DeKalb, Ellwood Steak & Fish House in DeKalb, The Junction Eating Place in DeKalb, MVP Sports Bar in Sycamore and El Jimador Mexican Grill, which opened in downtown DeKalb on Tuesday. […]
The lawsuit – which names Pritzker and IDPH Director Ngozi Ezike – claims the governor’s actions during the pandemic have been “unlawful and unconstitutional in that it defies the County’s Emergency Management Act,” unfairly punishing DeKalb County businesses for positivity rate and resurgences outside of the county.
Mitigations for Region 1 – which includes Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties – were put into place this week effective Saturday due to high positivity rates of the viral respiratory disease in the region as a whole. At the time of the governor’s announcement Tuesday, positivity rate breakdowns for counties included in the region showed Winnebago County with the highest. […]
“DeKalb County is under the Governor’s 8% positivity rate and is being arbitrarily lumped together in a “region” where only 3 of the 8 counties currently exceed that threshold,” he said. “Our clients in DeKalb County have taken this pandemic seriously and have been following all the appropriate guidelines. To now be punished for another counties’ spike in COVID-19 cases is not only unjust, but could result in closing these businesses forever and the loss of additional jobs.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Jordan Abudayyeh…
Packing more than 100 people indoors for a meeting without masks or distance is irresponsible and dangerous. Every single time Tom DeVore has taken his reckless roadshow outside Clay County he has lost because the courts have repeatedly sided with public health experts and supported guidance that keeps people healthy and safe amidst a pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 8600 Illinoisans. The people of Region 1 would be better served by following the mitigations and working together to bring down their positivity rates so their businesses can operate safely instead of allowing themselves to fall victim to DeVore’s self-promoting schemes.
I was also told that the Illinois State Police will be in Region 1 enforcing the public health emergency rules.
A DeKalb County Judge on Friday afternoon denied a petition by seven DeKalb County restaurant and bar owners to delay COVID-19 resurgence mitigations expected to begin Saturday.
Elected officials in Michigan and Illinois say a racially charged robocall has been targeting voters this week with misinformation about mail-in balloting.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson tweeted out a recording of the call on Thursday. The call falsely claims that mail-in voters will have their personal information shared with law enforcement “to track down old warrants” and that they could be added to a list for “mandatory vaccines.” […]
The robocalls hitting Detroit also targeted voters in Chicago, according to Alderman Pat Dowell, a Democrat, who posted on Facebook that she personally got a call at home Wednesday night. Dowell told CNN on Thursday that she informed the Chicago Board of Elections about the robocalls and would be warning her constituents about the misinformation.
“This was an attempt to suppress, in my case, my community, an African American community, solidly Democratic, suppress voter turnout in this upcoming general election,” Dowell said.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Thursday warned residents to be on alert for robocalls with false claims about voting by mail in the upcoming election, advising anyone with questions about voting by mail to contact election authorities.
Voters have reported receiving calls with an automated recording falsely claiming that voting by mail could result in their private information being given to third parties like “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track people for mandatory vaccines, police departments and law enforcement in order to locate individuals who have outstanding warrants, and creditors to help find people who owe outstanding debt,” Raoul said in a statement.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed charges today against two political operatives for allegedly orchestrating a series of robocalls aimed at suppressing the vote in the November general election.
Jack Burkman, 54, and Jacob Wohl, 22, are each charged with:
• One count of election law – intimidating voters, a five-year felony;
• One count of conspiracy to commit an election law violation, a five-year felony;
• One count of using a computer to commit the crime of election law – intimidating voters, a seven-year felony; and
• Using a computer to commit the crime of conspiracy, a seven-year felony.
The charges were filed today in the 36th District Court in Detroit. Arraignment is pending for the defendants. The Attorney General’s office will be working – with local law enforcement if necessary – to secure the appearance of each defendant in Michigan. It’s too early to say if formal extradition will be necessary or if they will present themselves here voluntarily in the very near future.
Burkman, an Arlington, Virginia resident, and Wohl, a Los Angeles, California resident, allegedly attempted to discourage voters from participating in the general election by creating and funding a robocall targeted at certain urban areas, including Detroit. The calls were made in late August and went out to nearly 12,000 residents with phone numbers from the 313 area code.
During its investigation, Nessel’s office communicated with attorneys general offices in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois, all of which reported similar robocalls being made to residents in their states who live in urban areas with significant minority populations. It’s believed around 85,000 calls were made nationally, though an exact breakdown of the numbers of calls to each city or state are not available.
Famed for conspiracy theories and slapdash media briefings in Burkman’s driveway, Wohl and Burkman have been booted from social media sites including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for their outlandish claims, including bogus sexual assault accusations against special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.
The Bloomington Election Commission said Thursday it has suspended early voting after learning of a “glitch” with its ballots.
Commission chair Denise Williams confirmed the problem was related to two Eleventh Judicial Circuit judges, Jennifer Bauknecht and Matthew Fitton. Their retention was included on ballots prepared by the McLean County Clerk’s office. But they were inadvertantly missing from Bloomington Election Commission (BEC) ballots.
Early voting began Sept. 24. That’s also when vote-by-mail ballots were mailed out. […]
“We are just brainstorming trying to figure out the best thing for the voter,” she said, adding the BEC is working with its vendors to get corrected ballots printed and hopes to get those mailed by late next week.
Late next week. Wonderful. Great job, BEC.
My own opinion is we have way too many election commissions in this state. They need to be consolidated into regional systems with experienced, full-time folks in charge. If nothing else, force cities to merge with their county clerks like Springfield did. Suburban Cook County, for example, does a pretty darned good job handling elections. Chicago does not.
Equality Illinois applauds the Pritzker Administration’s efforts in FY20 to appoint more LGBTQ, women, and BIPOC leaders to state boards and commissions. On Thursday, the Governor’s Office released the Administration’s FY20 Boards and Commissions Act Report that details the demographic data of gubernatorial appointments to state boards and commissions, including the voluntarily disclosed LGBTQ identities of appointees.
“We thank Gov. Pritzker and his Administration for their work to ensure our state boards and commissions better reflect the diversity of the people and communities they serve,” said Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois. “While there is more work to do to ensure representation of LGBTQ, women, and BIPOC leaders in public service, the governor’s new report shows the results of the Administration’s diligence and partnership with community organizations like Equality Illinois. This report reflects the governor’s ongoing commitment to making sure Illinois is a state where all people are inspired to lend their talents to public service.”
According to the FY20 report, Governor Pritzker has nearly quadrupled the appointment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) people to state boards and commissions compared to appointments made in FY19.
Also, unlike in previous years, appointees in FY20 were able to self-report if they are trans; if they are asexual, pansexual, or queer for their sexual orientation; and if they are intersex or non-binary/genderqueer for their gender.
* More…
• Regarding sexual orientation:
• 3.7% of the governor’s appointees in FY 20 identified as LGBQ (up from 1% in FY19).
• 4% of the applicants in FY20 identified as LGBQ (roughly the same as in FY19).
• Also, FY20 appointees who declined to state or did not respond to the inquiry about their sexual orientation dropped significantly compared to FY19 (30% in FY20 but 52% in FY19). This could mean more appointees are comfortable living authentically and publicly.
• Regarding gender identity (which were new questions added in FY20):
• 1.17% of the governor’s appointees in FY 20 identified as genderqueer or non-binary.
• 1.36% of the governor’s appointees in FY 20 identified as trans.
• The result is that 0.5% of those currently serving identified as trans and 0.4% identify as genderqueer or non-binary.
* More…
• The percent of Black, indigenous, and people of color appointees by the governor in FY20 was 37.6% (up from 32.8% in FY19).
• The percent of appointments who identified as women in FY20 was 48.3% (up from 39.4% in FY19).
* Posted in the order they were received. Press release…
[Yesterday], Rodney Davis’ campaign for Congress released a new ad titled “Lying Londrigan,” which highlights Betsy Londrigan’s lies to voters concerning financial support her campaign has received from the Mike Madigan-chaired Democratic Party of Illinois and corporate lobbyists and special interests.
The truth is Madigan spent nearly $300,000 to elect Londrigan.
Londrigan also takes money from corporate lobbyists, even Big Pharma, breaking her promise not to accept corporate dollars.
And those negative ads against Rodney Davis? Paid for by corporate cash.
A Madigan Machine politician, Betsy Londrigan is lying to get elected.
* Press release…
Today, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s campaign released its sixth television ad, “Jayne,” which tells the story of a stage IV lung cancer survivor and how she relied upon the protections of the Affordable Care Act that Congressman Rodney Davis repeatedly voted to cut. Davis voted 11 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act with no replacement, which would have stripped health care coverage from millions, including more than 31,000 in the 13th District, and removed protections from the more than 282,500 13th District residents with pre-existing conditions.
The 30-second ad will air in the Champaign-Springfield-Decatur and St. Louis media markets as part of a districtwide buy that includes broadcast, cable, and digital platforms.
”Without the Affordable Care Act I wouldn’t have had health care. Rodney Davis doesn’t agree,” said Jayne. “He voted 11 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would strip protections from people like me with pre-existing conditions. After staring death in the face not much scares me, but Rodney Davis in Congress does.”
“Each of the 11 times Rodney Davis voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act with no replacement he was voting to strip protections for people with pre-existing conditions, ” said campaign spokeswoman Eliza Glezer. “Unlike Davis, Betsy is running to protect and expand upon the Affordable Care Act and will fight to ensure access to quality, affordable health care for Central Illinois families.”
Betsy: I’m Betsy Dirksen Londrigan and I approve this message.
Jayne: I feel so blessed to be a lung cancer survivor for six years now.
Without the Affordable Care Act I wouldn’t have had health care. Rodney Davis doesn’t agree.
He voted 11 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act which would strip protections from people like me with pre-existing conditions.
After staring death in the face not much scares me, but Rodney Davis in Congress does.
* Press release…
Today, the DCCC released “Secret,” a new TV ad hitting Congressman Rodney Davis for prioritizing himself and his family ahead of local businesses in Central Illinois. During the pandemic when small businesses in Central Illinois were struggling to stay open, Davis twice voted against transparency for the federal loan program meant to help – just days after his own family took more than $1 million in loans.
“Secret” is the DCCC’s third TV ad in the 13th District, following “Working For” and “Perfect Match,” which highlight how Davis takes millions in contributions from special interests and votes their way in Washington.
* Was tracking down some quotes this morning and got one back just as I finished up the subscriber edition. So, I’m busily rewriting. Keep it local and keep it polite, please. Find somewhere else to talk about national politics. Thanks.
Judge Paul Fullerton denied the request for a temporary restraining order against the IHSA in a ruling Thursday afternoon in the DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton.
Fullerton heard arguments from attorney Jeff Widman, representing three parents as plaintiffs in the case, and from IHSA attorney David Bressler.
At the center of the plaintiffs’ argument was that the IHSA acted against its own constitution and by-laws by changing the sports seasons for the 2020-21 school year without a membership vote. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IHSA adjusted its seasons to four instead of three, delaying three fall sports (football, volleyball and boys soccer) until February through May because they are considered higher risk to the coronavirus.
The legal standard for a temporary restraining order, in part, requires proof that “irreparable harm will occur without the injunction,” according to the motion. Judge Paul Fullerton said during a Zoom hearing, after listening to statements from lawyers on both sides, that irreparable harm had not been proven.
“I just don’t see it,” Fullerton said.
Fullerton also said he feels IHSA officials operated within their boundaries by establishing Return To Play guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic without allowing them to be voted upon by IHSA member schools.
“We are in a pandemic,” said Fullerton, calling the situation an “extraordinary” circumstance. “What the IHSA did was within their authority under the bylaws and constitution.”
“[The IHSA] can’t simply issue guidelines without giving its members a voice,” argued Jeff Widman, the parents’ attorney.
IHSA attorney David Bressler said the change was made quickly to comply with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s orders and the goal was to give all sports a chance to play this school year in spite of Pritzker’s orders.
Bressler argued that the IHSA can make significant changes to its bylaws without a member vote in circumstances that are beyond control.
“What is more beyond the control than a pandemic?” Bressler said. […]
Fullerton asked Widman if the parents planned to proceed with the lawsuit. Widman said he wasn’t sure and Fullerton allowed him to delay the decision until Monday.
* Even if the US economy rebounds soon, Illinois’ liability-to-GDP ratio is the highest among states and is likely to rise further
* The state’s credit position could stabilize if structural measures, such as austerity and revenue enhancements, are implemented
The State of Illinois’ (Baa3 negative) ability to weather the coronavirus pandemic without hurting its credit quality will require keeping growth of its long-term liabilities within its capacity to pay, Moody’s Investors Service says in a report published today. The pandemic has eroded the state’s revenue, and its already massive long-term obligations – primarily pensions – are rising. Nevertheless, Illinois’ credit position would stabilize if structural measures were implemented, while policies that achieve near-term balance by stoking growth in long-term liabilities would be a clear credit negative.
“Lower interest rates and weaker-than-expected investment returns will accelerate growth in Illinois’ extremely high pension liabilities while the state’s economic base is shrinking due to coronavirus-related business disruptions,” said Moody’s analyst Ted Hampton. “We therefore expect Illinois to increasingly seek new revenue sources and to rein in spending, but any cuts to its pension contributions would only worsen its long-term fiscal position by adding to its unfunded liabilities.”
Even if the US economy improves later in fiscal 2021, measures of Illinois’ debt burden relative to its capacity to pay will likely head higher, Hampton says. Total liabilities (including retirement benefits and debt) are on track to rise to 45% of GDP in the year ending June 30, 2021, from 35% in fiscal 2019. This estimate reflects an approximately 14% increase in bonds, driven by borrowings from the Federal Reserve’s Municipal Liquidity Facility program and a 34% increase in unfunded pension liabilities.
To address near-term tax revenue loss from the pandemic, Illinois may choose to defer its financial obligations. Relying heavily on strategies like deficit borrowing or “re-amortizing” its pension contribution schedule would however be credit negative for the state, since such tactics only add to a long-term cycle of borrowing, or deferring payment, to address the consequences of those past actions.
“Contributing insufficient amounts annually to meet long-term benefit obligations is a short-term fiscal management tactic Illinois has used for years, and helps explain both the magnitude of the state’s pension problem and its credit standing,” Hampton notes. “Underfunding pensions again could lead to further credit deterioration, depending on the degree of underfunding, the state’s other financial strategies and the performance of its pension investments.”
Illinois is just one tiny tick above junk bond status. So, if that graduated income tax fails to pass in November, the governor will have a total mess on his hands.
In a press conference on Halloween guidelines, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CDPH Commissioner Allison Arwady came dressed in costume as “Rona Destroyers”, handing out candy. pic.twitter.com/E0eVURg2r8
Today, State Representative Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego) announced her intention to seek the Democratic nomination for Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, posing a new challenge to Speaker Mike Madigan’s nearly 40-year reign.
House Democrats will now have a choice when they vote for Speaker for the 102nd General Assembly, and Amy Elik (R-111th), candidate for State Representative, is calling for transparency in Rep. Bristow’s choice.
“Democrats like my opponent, Monica Bristow, can no longer say they are supporting the Democratic nominee for Speaker,” said Amy Elik. “Who is she supporting? Is she again voting for Speaker Mike Madigan, who has been funding her campaign, or is she supporting Rep. Kifowit, a supporter of the Reproductive Health Act that allows abortion up until the moment of birth? Now is the time to answer.”
Bristow has taken over a million dollars from Madigan and his closest allies, including some of the most pro-abortion and anti-Second Amendment legislators in the General Assembly. She has also refused to sign the “No Madigan Pledge,” recently stating in a WBGZ “Let’s Talk” interview, “I’ll vote for the Democratic nominee” for Speaker. Later in that same interview, Bristow said, “You don’t come in and lead the charge to audit the State of Illinois or lead the charge to get rid of Madigan. I know my place.”
House Republicans have been united behind a change in leadership for the House of Representatives, and have called on Speaker Madigan to testify to explain his role in the ComEd bribery scandal that has rocked the Capitol. Elik has repeatedly called on Madigan to resign and for Bristow to return tainted funds she has received from the embattled Speaker.
Kifowit said she has been making calls to her colleagues asking for their support but would not reveal how many commitments she has received.
She said she also believes there could be more candidates seeking the speakership.
“I believe firmly there should be a choice, and now there’s a choice,” she said.
* The Question: Do you believe Kifowit’s announcement will smoke out other candidates against Speaker Madigan? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,166 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 25 additional confirmed deaths.
• Bond County: 1 male 70s
• Champaign County: 1 female 80s
• Christian County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s
• Cook County: 1 female 40s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 100+
• Crawford County: 1 male 70s
• DuPage County: 2 female 70s
• Fayette County: 1 female 70s
• Franklin County: 1 male 70s
• Jersey County: 1 male 80s
• Kendall County: 1 male 90s
• Lake County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 60s
• Madison County: 1 male 90s
• McHenry County: 1 male 40s
• McLean County: 1 female 70s
• St. Clair County: 1 female 70s
• Tazewell County: 2 female 80s
• Williamson County: 1 female 80s
• Winnebago County: 1 male 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 295,440 cases, including 8,696 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 24 – September 30 is 3.5%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 65,615 specimens for a total of 5,690,437. As of last night, 1,635 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 359 patients were in the ICU and 149 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for a death previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
I have spent my entire career supporting Democrats, regardless of differences in perspective within our party. We are at a critical juncture in our country, and all of us should be focused on coming together to defeat Donald Trump and repair the hate and division he has sown in our communities. We have a lot of work to do, and I’m focused on the November election and addressing the devastating effects of COVID-19 on the workers, families and people of Illinois.
A coalition of 12 governors, including Govs. Jay Inslee (WA), Kate Brown (OR), Gavin Newsom (CA), Phil Murphy (NJ), Gretchen Whitmer (MI), Tony Evers (WI), Tim Walz (MN), Ralph Northam (VA), John Carney (DE), Steve Sisolak (NV), Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM), and J.B. Pritzker (IL) released a joint statement today on recent threats to the democratic process and reports of efforts to circumvent the election results.
“We do not take for granted the sacred right of every American to cast a vote, and to have that vote counted, in the presidential election held every four years. It is a right that is foundational to our democracy and essential to the continuation of our constitutional system of government — something to be cherished, revered and defended by elected leaders at all levels.
“Any efforts to throw out ballots or refuse a peaceful transfer of power are nothing less than an assault on American democracy. There is absolutely no excuse for promoting the intimidation or harassment of voters. These are all blatant attempts to deny our constituents the right to have their voices heard, as guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, and to know the will of the people will be carried out.
“As governors, it is our solemn duty to protect the people of our states. Today, we affirm that all votes cast in the upcoming election will be counted and that democracy will be delivered in this election. That means all valid ballots cast in accordance with state and local laws must be counted, and that all states must properly appoint electors in accordance with the vote. We will not allow anyone to willfully corrupt the democratic process by delegitimizing the outcome or appointing fraudulent electors against the will of the voters.
“Our nation has held presidential elections and upheld the results throughout our history, even in times of great peril. We did it during the Civil War and both World Wars, and we can do it during a pandemic.
“And if the outcome of this election means the end of a presidency, he must leave office — period.
“We recognize that democratically held elections are not an exercise in controlling power. By its very nature, democracy is an exercise in determining and honoring out the collective will of the American people, regardless of the outcome. Disenfranchising voters in order to retain power strikes at the very heart of this promise. We call on elected leaders at all levels, from both parties, to speak out loudly against such efforts in the weeks ahead.”
Trump campaign spokesperson Thea McDonald accused Democrats of “working to shred election integrity rules across the country to stack the deck for their lackluster candidate.” Republicans, she said, “are aiming for an election with results all Americans can trust.”
Take two or three very deep breaths before commenting, please. Deep, deep breaths. Thanks.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that 787,000 Americans filed for state unemployment benefits for the first time last week. It was a decline from the previous week’s total of 827,000, but the figures — unadjusted for seasonal variations — are roughly four times the weekly tally of claims from before the pandemic.
“Clearly there has been a moderation in the rate of improvement from the early stages,” said Michelle Meyer, head of U.S. economics at Bank of America. “As we get further away from the initial shock, we have less of a natural catch-up, and we face more residual damage.”
With seasonal adjustments, last week’s figure was 837,000.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 27,903 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of Sept. 21 in Illinois, according to the DOL’s weekly claims report released Thursday.
While this number is based on advanced estimates, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) will be releasing a final number later Thursday. […]
There were 25,976 new unemployment claims were filed across the state last week, the week of Sept. 14.
* Press release…
The University of Illinois Flash Index in September increased to 95.1 from its 94.6 level in August. This is a continuation of the slow recovery of the index after the precipitous declines from February to May of this year.
“The index portrays two quite different stories depending on the time frame. Over the last four months, the Illinois economy is rebounding from the worst of the COVID-19 crisis of the spring, but it clearly has far to go to recover its pre-crisis strength,” said University of Illinois economist J. Fred Giertz, who compiles the monthly index for the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. This is the seventh consecutive month that the index has fallen short of the 100-dividing line between growth and decline. See the Flash Index Archive.
The Illinois unemployment rate declined again to 11.0% from 11.5% the previous month, but it is still 2.6 percentage points above the national level, suggesting a slower recovery here.
Illinois tax receipts that go into the calculation of the index were surprisingly strong in September. After adjusting for inflation, sales and corporate tax receipts were up from the same month last year, while individual income tax receipts were down.
The Flash Index is normally a weighted average of Illinois growth rates in corporate earnings, consumer spending and personal income as estimated from receipts for corporate income, individual income, and retail sales taxes.
These are adjusted for inflation before growth rates are calculated. The growth rate for each component is then calculated for the 12-month period using data through September 30, 2020.
For the last six months, several ad hoc adjustments were made to deal with the timing of the tax receipts resulting from state and Federal changes in payment dates that were made to lessen the impact of the closures.
* We discussed this as part of a broader topic yesterday, but let’s zero in on it today. Tribune…
The central Illinois region around Champaign-Urbana could be hit with stricter restrictions on restaurants, bars and other businesses as the percentage of positive coronavirus tests is on the rise, state public officials warned on Wednesday.
The massive saliva-based testing program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign can account for roughly 20% of all tests conducted statewide in a given day, giving the 21-county region a deceptively low positivity rate, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The region’s positivity rate stands at 2% on a seven-day average, but when Champaign County is removed, the rate jumps to 7.2%, approaching the 8% threshold that could trigger stricter rules to prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, officials said. […]
The Department of Public Health will being to separate out Champaign County from the rest of the region, which also includes Decatur and Danville, in determining whether to institute stricter rules. However, if those rules are put into effect, they would apply to Champaign County as well.
* I told subscribers about this earlier today. From Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego)…
Based on my values, I was compelled on July 30th of this year to write a letter to Speaker Madigan stating that the right thing for him to do is to step down as Speaker for compromising the integrity of the office and undermining the public trust. The response from Michael Madigan was to double down and has remained that way. It is clear to me that he doesn’t hold the same values that I do and falls short of what the public expects from an elected official. Therefore, I am announcing today that I intend to seek the democratic nomination for Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 102nd General Assembly.
The announcement will be at 10 this morning at the Hotel Allegro in Chicago.
*** UPDATE 1 *** You can watch a livestream of Kifowit’s media event by clicking here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The video conked out. From her press release…
State Representative Stephanie Kifowit (D-84th) announced today that she is seeking the democratic nomination for Speaker of Illinois House of Representatives.
“Based on my values, I was compelled on July 30th of this year to write a letter to Speaker Madigan stating that the right thing for him to do is to step down as Speaker for compromising the integrity of the office and undermining the public trust. The response from Michael Madigan was to double down and has remained. It is clear to me that he doesn’t hold the same values that I do and falls short of what the public expects from an elected official. Therefore, I am announcing today that I intend to seek the democratic nomination for Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 102nd General Assembly,” Kifowit said in her morning press conference.
“I feel that Michael Madigan’s involvement as “Public Official A” in the recent FBI documents is clear he has compromised the integrity of the Office of the Speaker of the House and undermined the public trust. As each day passes, the people of Illinois have put up with this corruption and manipulation for far too long. Every day we are seeing more and more disrespect and self-serving actions by Michael Madigan and it is my feeling that there is more to come in the upcoming days and weeks,” Kifowit continued.
Every election cycle comes with it a time honored right-of-passage for Illinois House Democratic candidates in hotly contested races: the first time a reporter asks them if they will be supporting Michael Madigan for Speaker. Now, you can imagine the difficult place this puts these candidates in. On one hand, Madigan is a corrupt machine politician who has overseen the complete financial destruction of a once great state. On the other hand, he showers them with millions of dollars to get elected.
What is an ambitious politician to do?
Well, with almost no exceptions, House Democratic candidates of past and present have chosen to take Madigan’s money and either keep their mouths shut or chalk their decision on a vote for Speaker up to a lack of choices in which they are forced to vote for Madigan over a Republican.
In the tight contest between incumbent Republican State Representative Grant Wherli and his opponent Janet Yang Rohr, Rhohr refused to even talk about Madigan.
From the Daily Herald…
“[Yang Rohr] is especially awkward when trying to square her claims to value ethics reform with her unwillingness to take a position on Madigan’s speakership.”
Yang Rohr, unsurprisingly, is up to nearly $340,000 in Madigan money flowing to her campaign account with more than a month to go in the election.
Other Democrat candidates in the past have said they will vote for a Democrat over a Republican regardless of who it is, or like current swing-district State Rep. Katie Stuart, have been confused by such a difficult “hypothetical”.
From the News-Gazette…
“Asked if she intended to vote to re-elect House Speaker Michael Madigan, Stuart pretended to be flummoxed by the question.
‘I don’t know what the options will be,’ Stuart said. ‘You’re asking me a hypothetical question just like I wouldn’t tell you how I would vote on any piece of legislation until I actually read the legislation.’
[…]
That’s why they evade questions on the subject with superficial, glib responses like, “I can’t say whom I’m supporting because I don’t know who’s going to be running for speaker.”
That’s the talking point Democratic public-relations advisers tell House members to give if they’re questioned by reporters or voters. It’s shamefully false, but in politician-world, any answer that avoids an unpleasant subject is worth giving.
We aim to help Rep. Stuart (beneficiary of over $1.3 million in Madigan money) and any other confused House Democrats with the choices they have before them. With Kifowit’s announcement this morning, the choices, in no particular order, are:
DEMOCRAT 1. State Representative Stephanie Kifowit
2. Current Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan
3. Minority Leader Jim Durkin
That’s it! Now that the choices are clear, every House Democrat candidate should be made to go on the record and answer the very simple question of who they would support for Speaker of the House.
“House Democrat candidates have been playing games with voters for years. They’ve ducked and dodged ‘The Madigan Question’ at every turn because when Madigan money means you get to outspend your opponent 5 to 1, the answer doesn’t matter. The time for games is over. A favorite excuse is gone. They have a choice. House Democrats can be complicit in Madigan’s corrupt ways destroying Illinois and their party, or they can turn the page and vote for the other Democrat running.” - ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider
Thursday, Oct 1, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Cleaner, greener energy. Fewer emissions. More jobs. That’s what Springfield lawmakers can deliver, thanks to Gov. Pritzker’s leadership in reviving clean energy legislation and putting forward thoughtful, ambitious principles to guide its progress.
As one of Illinois’ diverse energy providers, bp applauds Gov. Pritzker’s vision for a clean, renewable economy and urges state legislators to seize the moment for a comprehensive climate bill that includes a price on carbon.
Why? Because as Gov. Pritzker points out, “implementing a carbon price makes dirty energy less competitive, reduces emissions, creates room for renewable energy development, and raises revenue for the state.”
It’s fair to ask: why is an integrated energy company like bp advocating for carbon pricing? Because it aligns with our own low carbon ambition. Because we see business opportunity. Most of all, because we believe this is the right thing to do.
A state Senator from a region slated for additional COVID-19 restrictions from the Pritzker administration says the governor has too much power flipping the COVID-19 restriction switch. […]
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office on Tuesday announced that starting Saturday, Region 1, which includes counties in the northwestern-most part of the state, will have added COVID-19 restrictions such as limits on restaurants and bars. Schools are not impacted by the new mitigations. That’s similar to measures still in place for Region 4 and what was put in place but repealed weeks later in Region 7. […]
“The state with this new power, they can shut any community down anytime they want just by adjusting the positivity rate,” Syverson said. “It makes no sense. These are bureaucrats making bureaucratic decisions.”
The Democratic chairman of the Illinois House special committee investigating Speaker Michael Madigan’s conduct in connection with an alleged Commonwealth Edison bribery scheme blocked an effort by Republicans to legally compel the powerful Democrat and others to testify.
State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch of Hillside ruled Tuesday that a motion by Republicans to subpoena witnesses was out of order, and didn’t allow a vote. The move comes after Madigan and several other potential witnesses declined invitations to appear voluntarily.
* The Question: Should Madigan and other witnesses be subpoenaed by the committee? Make sure to explain yourself. Thanks.
Betsy Dirksen Lobbyist, who has taken thousands from Mike Madigan’s cronies under federal investigation, keeps a tight circle of other fellow lobbyists, including her corporate lobbyist husband.
Betsy Dirksen Londrigan sure knows a lot of lobbyists. Betsy was a lobbyist and political fundraiser tied to corrupt politicians. Betsy’s husband, another lobbyist. He worked as a top aide to Rod Blagojevich. Yikes, that’s his campaign is bankrolled by her lobbyist friends. She’s taken thousands from lobbyists under federal investigation for corruption and a rape coverup. Lobbyist, family, lobbyist, friends, lobbyist money. That’s Betsy Dirksen Londrigan. The NRCC is responsible for the content of this average.
I really do not like this trend of dragging family members into campaigns.
* As an aside, the GOP can’t figure out if Rod is a bad guy or a good guy…
* Back to the ads. Press release…
Today, Rodney Davis’ campaign for Congress released a new ad titled “Pam,” which highlights Betsy Londrigan’s support for a government-run insurance plan that could force the closure of over half of America’s rural hospital, including 39 in Illinois. The ad also highlights Rodney’s record of strengthening rural hospitals and protecting coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Pam: As a nurse, I want the best care for my patients. That’s why I won’t vote for Betsy Londrigan.
Londrigan supports a government-run health insurance plan that could force rural hospitals to close and take away your choice of doctors. Betsy Londrigan’s liberal plans would jeopardize your family’s care.
Rodney Davis is fighting to strengthen rural hospitals and protect those with pre-existing conditions. Rodney Davis is on our side.
* Londrigan response…
Rodney Davis and his allies are currently airing misleading attacks against Betsy and her family in an attempt to distract voters from the fact that Rodney Davis’ own family received over one million dollars in PPP loans, which Davis repeatedly voted against disclosing to the public.
Davis voted against the TRUTH Act, which was intended to bring much-needed transparency and oversight of funds to the Paycheck Protection Program, as well as against the formation of a House committee to oversee coronavirus relief spending.
“Instead of explaining why he repeatedly voted to hide that his family took more than $1 million in PPP loans, Rodney Davis and his party bosses are airing misleading attacks against Betsy and her family,” said campaign spokeswoman Eliza Glezer. ”Davis’ allies are desperately trying to distract from his record of votes against transparency for the Paycheck Protection Program, but taxpayers in Central Illinois won’t fall for it.”
When asked about the President only paying $750 in federal income taxes, Congressman Rodney Davis brushed aside any concerns that many working and middle-class families in Central Illinois pay more in taxes, saying that “those are things [he’s] happy to address in Washington.”
But Davis has had his chance to address that in Washington and instead he voted for his party’s massive tax handout to the wealthiest Americans and big corporations.
Davis’ vote was also considered “a major victory for pharma manufacturers” and gave a tax break to the top five pharmaceutical companies to the tune of $42.7 billion – the same industries that bankroll Davis’ campaign.
“Either Rodney Davis is on the side of working families in Central Illinois or he’s with the wealthiest few that bankroll his campaign. Judging by his votes in Washington, we know where his loyalties lie. For Congressman Davis to claim otherwise is a bad joke and nobody’s laughing,” said DCCC Spokesperson Courtney Rice.
Video…
We asked US Rep @RodneyDavis how it's fair that @realDonaldTrump pays so little in federal income taxes. His answer? He offered to drop off your check at the Treasury Dept if you'd like to pay extra in taxes. pic.twitter.com/eIDLIPjH1K
Q: Should Speaker Madigan testify before the House Special Investigating Committee? Why or why not?
A: Well, let me just say this, that I think it’s incumbent upon all of us as elected leaders, as people who represent the people of Illinois, to work to restore public trust in government at every level.
I think it’s an important opportunity that this committee in the House receive testimony, and it’s an opportunity to get answers that I think the public deserves to get. You’ve heard me talk about that in the past. And I really, I strongly believe that the speaker should take any opportunity, and this is one, to present answers to the questions that I think you know, all of us have.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,273 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 35 additional confirmed deaths.
Bureau County: 1 female 80s
Carroll County: 1 male 70s
Champaign County: 1 female 80s
Cook County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 100+
DeKalb County: 1 male 90s
DuPage County: 1 female 80s
Effingham County: 1 female 70s
Fayette County: 1 female 70s, 2 females 80
Greene County: 2 females 70s
Grundy County: 1 male 80s
Jackson County: 1 female 60s
Jersey County: 2 female 90s
Lake County: 1 male 70s
Lawrence County: 1 male 70s
Macon County: 1 female 80s
Madison County: 2 males 80s
Peoria County: 1 male 80s
St. Clair County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s
Tazewell County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
Will County: 1 female 70s, 2 males 70s
Williamson County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s
Woodford County: 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 293,274 cases, including 8,672 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 23 – September 29 is 3.6%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 58,546 specimens for a total of 5,624,822. As of last night, 1,632 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 378 patients were in the ICU and 152 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
IDPH has been closely monitoring the Region 6 data. As has been noted, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is performing repeated saliva testing for staff and students. This is resulting in a tremendous number of tests, which can average up to 20% of all tests done in the state during some weeks. Because of this high volume, the positivity rate for Region 6 could be overshadowed by what is happening at UIUC. Therefore, in addition to providing data for Region 6, IDPH is now presenting data for Region 6 without Champaign County. However, Champaign County will still be required to implement mitigation efforts if regional metrics are tripped in Region 6.
In doing this, IDPH has found that Region 6, with Champaign County included, is seeing a 2.0% 7-day rolling test positivity average. Without Champaign County, Region 6 is seeing a 7.2%, which puts the region at risk for needing to implement additional mitigation measures, including no indoor bar service or dinning at restaurants, and limiting the size of event gatherings. IDPH is encouraging local leaders and communities in Region 6 to begin taking action now to reduce the test positivity rate, which includes making sure people are wearing masks in public, maintaining social distance, and not gathering in large groups.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
* Press release…
As we head into the holiday season, starting with Halloween, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is issuing guidance to help people celebrate safely as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. Guidelines include following the 3 W’s – Wash your hands. Watch your distance. Wear your mask.
“One of the hallmarks of holidays and celebrations is gathering with friends, family and loved ones,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “We are still in a pandemic, and unfortunately, this year, that means the safest way to celebrate is to stay home and plan virtual gatherings. That said, IDPH recognizes that some who will choose to gather together anyway, and instead of denying that reality, we are issuing guidance and recommendations for safer ways to celebrate together in person. Remember, we know what our best tools are: wearing our masks, keeping our distance, limiting event sizes, washing your hands, and looking out for public health and each other.”
If you think you could have COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19, do not participate in any in-person Halloween activities.
Trick-or-treating
- Anyone participating in trick-or-treating, including those passing out candy, should maintain 6-feet of social distance and wear proper face coverings.
- Consider leaving individually wrapped candy (spaced apart) on a table in driveways or in front of walkways, sidewalks, or any outdoor space where 6-feet of distance can be maintained.
- A Halloween costume mask is not a substitute for a cloth mask. Ensure that breathing is not impaired if a cloth mask is worn under a costume mask. If so, discard the costume mask.
- Trick-or-treat in groups with household members only.
- Candy collected during trick-or-treating should not be eaten until after handwashing.
An alternative to traditional trick-or-treating is to set up in a large parking lot or other outdoor setting with tables with individually wrapped candy (spaced apart) where participants with a parent/guardian can parade past while still keeping 6-feet of distance and wearing a face covering. It’s suggested to offer reserved time slots to limit everyone showing up at once.
Haunted Houses
- Halloween haunted houses currently are not allowed in Restore Illinois Phase 4 Guidelines.
- Consider open-air, one-way haunted forests or haunted walks where 6-feet of distance can be maintained and face coverings are used.
Adult costume parties, social gatherings, Halloween parties at bars
- Gatherings of more than 50 people or 50% or more of a building’s maximum occupancy are prohibited. (Lower limits may apply for regions in additional mitigation.)
- The more time you spend at a gathering, the closer the contact, the more people, the higher your risk of exposure to COVID-19.
- Follow small social gathering safety tips from IDPH.
Pumpkin patches and orchards
- Cloth face coverings and social distancing should be enforced.
- Use hand sanitizer before handling pumpkins, apples, and other produce.
Hayrides
- Hayrides should not exceed 50% capacity with parties spaced at least six feet apart.
- Wear face coverings at all times when around people not from your household.
After participating in any of the above activities, if you think that you may have been exposed during your celebration, take extra precautions for 14 days after the event to help protect others. You should:
• Stay home as much as possible.
• Avoid being around people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
• Consider getting tested for COVID-19.
…Adding… The revelation that the state is not using UIUC data has been brought up in comments. In addition to what was mentioned above, there’s also this…
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s saliva-based COVID-19 test has never operated under emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, despite prior claims that it did, an FDA spokesperson tells Illinois Newsroom. […]
But in response to questions from Illinois Newsroom about the EUA status of U of I’s saliva test, an FDA spokesperson said in an email: “The University of Illinois is not authorized under an umbrella EUA, and they have not had an EUA.”
In an emailed statement, Robin Kaler, a spokesperson for the U of I’s Urbana campus, says faculty and staff relied on an Aug. 5 email from the FDA stating that the campus could perform a “bridging study” — comparing the efficacy of its own saliva test to one that has been authorized by the FDA.
Kaler says the university compared its saliva test to one created at Yale University, which received emergency use authorization from the FDA on Aug. 15. After the bridging study was completed, the university’s regulatory and compliance consultant advised faculty and administrators that they could claim that the university’s COVID-19 test was operating under the umbrella of the test created by Yale University.
Kaler says the FDA reached out to the U of I via phone this month and asked the university to discontinue using the terms “bridging study” and “umbrella.” At that point, the university updated its language to remove references to its test operating under the umbrella of an FDA EUA test.
* Greg Hinz writes about the Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride retention race…
Now, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce has called a press conference for tomorrow to urge a “no” vote. In a preview phone call, chamber CEO Todd Maisch said Kilbride “has been a consistent supporter of organized labor and trial lawyers,” to the detriment of the state’s economy. “The state would have been much better served to have a more even-handed justice.” […]
Maisch said he wouldn’t “tip my hand” and indicate whether the chamber will open its wallet in the race. But in the last few days, several other big donors have, contributing heavily to a group urging a “no” vote run by former downstate GOP Rep. Jim Nowlan.
The biggest donor is Wisconsin businessman Dick Uihlein, a frequent giver to conservative causes and candidates, who gave $250,000. Just behind him is the Judicial Fairness Project, a dark-money group that does not disclose its own donors and gave $200,000 to Nowlan’s group, Citizens for Judicial Fairness.
Justice Kilbride’s committee has reported about three times that amount so far, $1.496 million. But the opponents don’t have to “win.” They just have to keep him from reaching 60 percent.
Tom Keefe’s firm in Swansea and John Simmons’s firm in Alton each contributed $100,000 to retention of Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride after he removed the limit on his contributors.
The Gori firm of Edwardsville added $82,500 to a stream of contributions that topped $1 million in a week.
Less than one percent of it came from the Third District where Kilbride and his voters live.
* And a bit of oppo from the ILGOP…
• Kilbride was the only justice to support allowing a man to sue an ambulance driver that he hit. A six-justice majority ruled that a hospital was not liable under the Local Governmental And Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act and set aside the jury verdict, but Kilbride was the only justice to agree with the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) – which had submitted an amicus brief – that a man should be allowed to sue after he was injured when he hit an ambulance responding to an emergency call. (Opinion, Harris v. Thompson, Illinois Supreme Court, Docket #112525, 6/21/12)
• Kilbride was the only justice to argue a Mississippi man who was injured in Mississippi and never worked in Illinois should be allowed to sue in Illinois. A six-justice majority ruled that St. Clair County was not an appropriate venue for an asbestos exposure case where the plaintiff lived in Mississippi, had worked in Mississippi, and had never been to Illinois beyond one month of engineering school in Homewood. Kilbride was the only justice to agree with an amicus brief filed by the ITLA that the plaintiff’s choice of forum should be given deference. (Opinion, Fennell v. Illinois Central R.R. Co., Illinois Supreme Court, Docket #113812, 12/28/12)
• Kilbride was the only justice to support giving workers compensation to a man who was injured on his own time driving to work. A six-justice majority ruled that a plumber who had taken a job 200 miles from his permanent residence was not entitled to workers compensation for injuries he sustained while commuting to work. Kilbride was the only justice to agree with an amicus brief by the ITLA that the plumber should be considered a traveling employee even though the employer did not direct his travel in any way or reimburse him for travel expenses. (Opinion, The Venture—Newberg-Perini, Stone & Webster v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n, Illinois Supreme Court, Docket #115728 12/19/13)
• Kilbride was the only justice to agree that CSX railroad could be sued after a child trespassed on CSX’s railyard and injured himself while trying to jump onto a moving train. The Court initially unanimously ruled that a moving train was indeed an obvious danger and thus the railroads did not owe the plaintiff a duty of reasonable care, but Kilbride later changed his mind and said the railroad owed a duty of reasonable care to the child. (Opinion, Choate v. Indiana Harbor Belt R.R. Co., Illinois Supreme Court, Docket #112948, 11/26/12)
• Kilbride was the only justice to support allowing a personal injury suit against a dead man to proceed, despite the plaintiff failing to notify the decedent’s estate of her lawsuit and instead having her lawyer’s secretary appointed as a “special representative” for the estate. A six-justice majority ruled the lawsuit was time-barred because it was filed after the statute of limitations period, but Kilbride was the only justice to agree with an amicus brief by the ITLA that the plaintiff should be permitted to continue her lawsuit. (Opinion, Relf v. Shatayeva, Illinois Supreme Court, Docket #114925, 10/18/13)
* From the Kilbride campaign…
Republican law enforcement officials, judges and legal professionals warned against the influence of a shadowy dark money group that has funneled more than a half of million dollars into the state in an attempt to influence the retention campaign of Illinois Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride.
Republicans including past Chief Judge Steve Kouri and former Kankakee State’s Attorney and retired Chief Judge Michael Kick joined prominent Peoria attorney Tim Bertschy, a past president of the Illinois State Bar Association, to decry the influx of out-of-state money being spent on false attacks by special interest groups attempting to influence Illinois’ highest court. It should be noted that donors from Washington, D.C and the state of Georgia are contributing to the shadowy dark money group, which begs the questions who is really behind this organization and why?
“Tom Kilbride has participated in over 1,800 cases while on the Supreme Court. His partisan critics can only point to a few decisions they don’t like, and these are cases which the Court decided unanimously or where Justice Kilbride was only one vote in a majority decision. I have known Tom Kilbride for over thirty years. He is a man of unquestioned integrity and honesty, both personally and professionally. He has a reputation for treating fairly all people and companies before him. He is non-partisan. He is independent. That is why even former Republican colleagues on the court support his re-election and why so many other people and organizations – of both political parties and independents – support him,” said Tim Bertschy, Peoria attorney and past president of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA).
“All Illinoisans should be deeply concerned about anonymous special interests attacking Justice Tom Kilbride and an independent judiciary. As a judge, who was elected as a Republican, I reject in the strongest possible terms unfair attacks financed anonymously against Justice Kilbride and ask voters to send a message that our courts are not for sale. Vote YES to retain Justice Tom Kilbride,” said past Chief Judge Steve Kouri, 10th Judicial Circuit.
“As a former Kankakee County state’s attorney and judge, I’ve seen all aspects of our court system and have the highest confidence in Justice Tom Kilbride to fairly administer the law and treat everyone equally. The anonymous, big-money special interests that are distorting Justice Kilbride’s record and trying to mislead voters should be ashamed of themselves. Money can buy a lot of things, but it shouldn’t be used to buy our courts. Justice Tom Kilbride deserves a YES vote for retention on the Illinois Supreme Court,” said former Kankakee State’s Attorney and retired Chief Judge Michael Kick, 21st Judicial Circuit (representing Iroquois and Kankakee counties).
While dark money groups try and politicize the state’s highest court, the state’s top legal professional organization, three U.S. Attorneys, two former Chief Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court, a former Illinois Attorney General and more than two dozen law enforcement officials thought the 3rd Appellate District are supporting Kilbride. Additional endorsements can be found at www.kilbride2020.com.
Former Congressman Ray LaHood said the [anti-Kilbride] committee will shine a light on the impacts on Central Illinois communities.
“His decisions regarding pensions have made it very difficult for communities like Peoria to meet their pension liabilities. His decision about pensions have now rendered every city in Illinois bankrupt because we can’t meet the pension liabilities,” said LaHood.
Kilbride responded Monday saying, “Ray LaHood, who enjoys a reported $125,000 annual tax-payer funded pension, has his facts wrong. The court’s 2015 pension decision was authored by a justice elected as a republican and was unanimous.”
After winning a slew of suburban state legislative seats long held by Republicans in 2018, Illinois Democrats are looking to expand their reach even further in November as renewed controversy swirls around their powerful leader, longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Republicans for years have built their campaign strategy around vilifying Madigan, who has been speaker for all but two years since 1983, but it hasn’t paid off in a big way at the ballot box. This year, however, the GOP hopes its anti-Madigan message will resonate in a new way after federal prosecutors in July alleged that Commonwealth Edison engaged in a “yearslong bribery scheme” designed to curry favor with the speaker.
But Madigan, who has not been charged and has denied wrongdoing, is only on the ballot in his Southwest Side district, and Democrats are hoping to capitalize on a changing suburban electorate’s dissatisfaction with the name at the top of the Republican ticket: President Donald Trump. […]
“Voters across the state, and suburban voters in particular, are responding to the intersection of the pandemic, the economy and access to affordable health care,” [Senate President Don Harmon] said. “That’s been our message across the state. It’s resonating, especially in the suburbs.”
A snarky parlor game being played by some these days is guessing which number will be higher after the election: Membership in the Senate Republican caucus (currently at 19 with one on the bubble) or Madigan’s excess majority (currently at 14).
* Some of the spending has been horribly lopsided…
If you don’t subscribe to Scott Kennedy’s Illinois Election Data, you need to change that. Click here.
* Both parties are airing brutal ads. Here’s one from a week ago…
Script…
They’re called the Eastern Bloc, a group of ultra-right-wing extremists. And Seth Lewis is their newest recruit. Their agenda? Dismantle Planned Parenthood and block women’s health care, strip away a woman’s right to choose even in cases of rape and incest. The Bloc are for unlimited gun access and against vaccinations for school children. And they’ve removed life-saving COVID protections for essential workers and seniors. Seth Lewis’ agenda? Radical, bizarre, dangerous.
As focus of a local celebrity roast more than three years ago, Monica Bristow downed six shots of Fireball whiskey while listening to several roasters, one of whom said she “drinks all the time.” […]
However, one of the most controversial statements made by Bristow during the Jan. 19, 2017 roast, held as a fund-raiser for Pride, Inc. at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, was a joke she told about a retired teacher whose remains were found inside a vehicle in the Mississippi River in 2005, three years after her disappearance. […]
“About Miss Bricker. I was Miss Bricker’s favorite student…Miss Bricker was the one who met her end going into the river,” Bristow said at the roast. ”I shouldn’t do this but I’m gonna because I’ve had Fireball. She had no children so they’re not here.”
Bristow joked that Bricker was identified by lipstick on her teeth.
“I know it’s in poor taste,” Bristow said, “but I love that joke. God, I love that joke.”
Oy.
But will the HGOPs have enough cash to make sure people hear about it?…
That district is in the St. Louis media market, and those TV ads ain’t cheap.
A joint hearing of the Senate Criminal Law and Public Safety Committees on Tuesday took up the subject of drug sentencing reform.
The meeting was a subject-matter only hearing, meaning it was for informational purposes and no legislative remedies were proposed or voted upon.
Ben Ruddell, criminal justice policy director with the American Civil Liberties Union, called for the reduction of penalties for all drug offenses.
“Our recommendation is reforms for all drug offenses to take them down by at least one class, including reducing simple possession from a felony to a misdemeanor,” Ruddell said.
“While Black Illinoisans make up 14.5 percent of the state’s population, they make up 54.8 of those in prison and are imprisoned at 8.8 times the rate of whites, one of the worst disparities of any state,” [Ben Ruddell, director of criminal justice policy for the Illinois ACLU] said.
Isolated to drug crimes, the disparities are larger. Between 2016 and 2018, Black Illinoisans made up 69 percent of drug offenders admitted to the Illinois Department of Corrections, and 59 percent of strictly cannabis offenders.
Ruddell suggested three reforms to combat these disparities: reduction of all drug crimes by one class; reclassification of felony possession to a misdemeanor; and elimination of mandatory minimums and sentence enhancements. Lawmakers discussed the third point in a previous joint hearing. […]
[Wendell Robinson from Restore Justice Illinois] cited a Justice Policy Institute study of 200 elderly prisoners in Maryland who were jailed as juveniles and released as result of a ruling by the Maryland Supreme Court. The median age of the individuals was 64 and they had served 34 years on average. Over a 6-year period upon release, the group had a 3 percent recidivism rate. That was far lower than the national average of 43 percent of those released from prison being incarcerated again, according to a 2011 Pew research study.
An Exelon official testified before a legislative committee on Tuesday that the utility entered a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors as a result of a nearly ten-year-long bribery scheme intended to influence House Speaker Michael Madigan, but said the utility didn’t know if Madigan was aware of the effort.
In the first substantive testimony before the House Special Investigating Committee regarding the ComEd bribery scandal that federal prosecutors revealed this summer, committee chairman state Rep. Chris Welch, D-Hillside, asked utility executive David Glockner a direct question.
“There’s nothing anywhere in the deferred prosecution agreement that establishes personal knowledge by Speaker Madigan, correct?” Welch asked.
“I would agree with that,” said Glockner, executive vice president of compliance and audit for Exelon, the parent company of ComEd.
State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, R-Elmhurst, went a bit further.
“Is it fair to say that Commonwealth Edison paid over $1.3 million at least in part to influence Michael Madigan’s actions as speaker of the house?” Mazzochi asked.
Mazzochi asked Glockner about a section in the DPA that stated that “Consultant 1,” identified as former City Club of Chicago President Jay Doherty, “had ‘every reason to believe’ that Individual A had spoken to Public Official A about the retention of Public Official A’s associates.”
“Is it reasonable to infer that Mr. Madigan had knowledge of the scheme from that, from ComEd’s perspective?” Mazzochi asked.
Glockner said he wasn’t in a position to comment on that inquiry.
“ComEd has acknowledged repeatedly through the agreement that it believed or intended to influence the speaker through its conduct. Whether it in fact … influenced the speaker, whether the speaker was aware of its intent to influence – those are questions that I’m not in a position to comment on,” Glockner said.
Glockner hewed closely to the deferred prosecution agreement ComEd entered into in July with federal prosecutors, but avoided comment on whether the utility’s efforts had the intended effect on Madigan.
“ComEd acknowledges repeatedly through the agreement that it believed or it intended to influence the speaker through its conduct,” Glockner told the six-member special investigating committee. “Whether it, in fact, influenced the speaker, whether the speaker was aware of its intent to influence, those are questions I don’t think I’m in a position to comment on.” […]
In an opening statement, Durkin said that if Democrats set partisan interests aside, they would see there was sufficient evidence to support a charge that would send Madigan before a disciplinary committee.
“In order to discredit ComEd’s admissions, you would have to believe that Michael Madigan didn’t know what was going on around him,” Durkin said. “You know Michael Madigan. He’s not ignorant of what’s going on around him. He is not naive. And he is not easily surprised.”
Once Durkin was finished, Welch thanked him and said he looks forward to Durkin returning in the future and testifying under oath. Welch has suggested Durkin be called as a witness because he helped pass legislation that was beneficial to Commonwealth Edison. The legislation is mentioned in the deferred prosecution agreement.
State House Speaker Mike Madigan’s former hand-picked alderman was named Tuesday as one of the powerful Southwest Side Democrat’s associates who was on ComEd’s payroll despite doing little or no work.
Testifying before the Illinois House committee investigating Madigan, David Glockner, ComEd’s executive vice president of compliance and audit, identified Frank Olivo as one of the people who received some of the $1.3 million that the utility paid to Madigan’s associates in what amounted to a ghost-payrolling scheme at a time when ComEd was seeking the speaker’s support for legislation.
Glockner declined to confirm whether the Frank Olivo he identified as Associate No. 2 in the utility company’s deferred prosecution agreement was the former 13th Ward alderman.
But a federal subpoena issued to Madigan’s office named Olivo as well — and tied him to Madigan’s 13th Ward.
Democrats also questioned Glockner about whether ComEd hired lobbyists who were close to legislative leaders other than Madigan and whether Durkin had recommended any hires. The answer was yes.
The Democratic legislators on the committee also indicated they plan in the future to call Durkin as a witness, given his role negotiating the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA), an item referenced in the DPA as beneficial to ComEd and which passed during the latter portion of the bribery scheme.
Glockner, for the first time, publicly identified specific subcontracts ComEd had with Madigan allies for whom no work product could be identified, including Madigan operative Raymond Nice, former Chicago Ald. Michael Zalewski and Frank Olivo, though it was not clear whether he was referring to the ex-13th Ward alderman or his son of the same name. All were paid through the lobbying firm once owned by former ComEd lobbyist and City Club of Chicago head Jay Doherty, Glockner said. […]
In another new disclosure, Glockner identified that other no-work contracts to associates of Madigan were funneled through four Springfield lobbying firms owned by the speaker’s close friend, ComEd lobbyist Michael McClain; lobbyist Victor Reyes; former Madigan staffer Shaw Decremer; and ex-state Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion.
None of those individuals have been charged in connection with the federal investigation, and Glockner declined to give details about those particular arrangements. […]
And in one other new development, Glockner confirmed ComEd had received an email from a Madigan office assistant encouraging the company to place former McPier chief Juan Ochoa on ComEd’s board of directors. Ochoa was on the utility’s board from April 2019 until last April.
A trio of Illinois House Democrats dug in their heels, buried their heads firmly in the sand and did their best Tuesday to ignore a litany of damning evidence against House Speaker Michael Madigan.
This was not a surprise. The three were named to an Illinois House Special Investigative Committee looking into Madigan’s dealings with Commonwealth Edison specifically for purposes of defending him.
The real question is how long the rest of their Democratic colleagues will continue with the charade.
The @illinoissbe has updated early vote totals (09/29/20): Total VBM requested: 2,001,775 Total VBM returned: 11,506 Total VBM outstanding: 1,990,269 Return Rate: 1% Total Early Vote: 45,892 Total Grace Period: 0 Total Already Voted: 57,398
The numbers in the graph would, as you state, be “bonkers” if they were accurate, but they are not. The state report WBEZ referenced in their article appears to have been overstating DuPage’s reported mail-in ballot requests by a factor of 2. As of our most recent numbers this afternoon, 27.3% of DuPage registered voters have requested a mail-in ballot, still a quite large number, but in line with the trends in other counties. WBEZ has updated their story, and I am told that the state will be correcting their report later today.
Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions.
A group of executives from the state’s leading employers on Tuesday came out against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed graduated income tax referendum, saying approval of the measure on the November ballot “all but promises that Illinois will not address its long-term financial challenges.”
The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago said in a statement that its opposition to the proposal is “based on the state’s decades-long history of fiscal mismanagement.”
“The result will be further loss of jobs and people, long-term cuts in critical social services, a shrinking tax base burdened with growing debt and a guarantee that Illinois will continue to have the worst credit rating of any state in the country,” the group said.
Proponents of the amendment seem to think that a graduated income tax will do the trick, and that the projected $3.6 billion in additional revenue is enough to address the State’s financial difficulties. It is not.
* Press release…
Vote Yes For Fairness Chairman Quentin Fulks released the following statement in response to the Civic Committee:
“It’s no surprise that an organization of the wealthiest people in our state who have benefited from avoiding paying their fair share for 50 years is voicing their opposition to the Fair Tax. Instead of standing up for working people, the Civic Committee has repeatedly advocated for increasing the flat tax by 20% and implementing a retirement tax because they prefer to put the tax burden on our lower and middle-income families and seniors.
“The choice facing Illinois voters is clear: Either vote yes for the Fair Tax to ask the wealthiest in the state to pay their fair share and give a tax cut to 97% of Illinoisans, or let the millionaires and billionaires have their way and make hardworking families pay.”
See the Civic Committee’s report, where they advocate for increasing the flat tax and implementing a retirement tax, here.
The Civic Committee in a 2019 report called for an $8 billion package of tax increases, budget cuts and more funding for Illinois’ massively underfunded public employee pension systems to stabilize the state’s finances. That report called for increasing the flat-rate tax by 20%, from the current rate of 4.95% to 5.95%, as well as imposing the income tax on retirement income.
Both issues have surfaced in the debate over the fate of the proposed amendment.
Pritzker has noted that a 20% hike in the flat tax is an option, along with 15% across the board spending cuts, if voters reject the proposed amendment. At the same time, opponents have contended the amendment would open the state’s income tax to retirement income though Illinois does not tax retirement income and nothing in the amendment changes that law.
While the committee’s [2019] proposal did call for pension reform, it would do so by boosting state contributions rather than cutting benefits. It also proposed establishment of a new, cheaper health insurance program for state workers; rapid consolidation of local governments to save money; and a full review of state spending it believes could save $1 billion.
Committee President Kelly Welsh said the decision to urge a “no” vote was reached after extensive discussions among a 90-person group. The organization will not buy ads, Welsh said.
