Six McLean County restaurants and hotels are among more than 700 restaurants, bars and hotels in Illinois receiving a portion of a $14 million emergency grant. […]
Local recipients, which the state listed by legal name, include … Ralben Inc. (Cadillac Jack’s), Bloomington, $25,000
A Bloomington bar was cited for multiple violations for noncompliance with COVID-19 restrictions over the holiday weekend and faces a Bloomington Liquor Commission hearing on Thursday. […]
“A single establishment continued operating in violation of state and local guidelines after multiple warnings from the McLean County Health Department and police,” officials said in the statement. “Cadillac Jacks, located at 1507 S. Main St. in Bloomington, was observed to be noncompliant with mandated IDPH Emergency Rules or Illinois bar safety guidelines on four separate occasions Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The establishment was issued multiple required noncompliance notices over the weekend and, on Sunday, an order to disperse crowds was issued in accordance with the IDPH emergency rules.”
An attorney who has sued Gov. J.B. Pritzker over COVID-19 policies is now representing a Bloomington bar-restaurant cited for not enforcing mask rules.
Tom DeVore is working on the case of Cadillac Jacks, at 1507 S. Main St. in Bloomington. DeVore has been in several lawsuits against the Pritzker administration over its use of executive authority to respond to COVID-19. He also is representing Fox Run, a Springfield restaurant that filed a lawsuit against the city of Springfield over policies, with other cases are in Bond, Clinton, Richland and Edgar counties. […]
Cadillac Jacks was issued four noncompliance notices over the weekend, including an order to disperse crowds on Sunday. A special meeting of the Bloomington Liquor Commission to discuss possible fines and punishments was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, but Mayor Tari Renner, who also serves as the city’s liquor commissioner, said no action would be taken after calling the meeting to order. […]
“Mr. DeVore requested on behalf of the licensee, that we have a short continuance in order that he might look at the complaints and citations that have been filed, discuss it with his client, and advise him accordingly,” [assistant city attorney George Boyle] said.
* It’s not mentioned in the story, but Devore lost the first round of that Fox Run case while I was on break…
Fox Run Restaurant & Lounge, 1130 Legacy Pointe Drive, was dealt a setback earlier this week in its case against the city of Springfield.
Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow on Wednesday denied the restaurant’s request for a temporary restraining order seeking to halt the emergency declaration and all subsequent orders Mayor Jim Langfelder has signed under that authority.
* I reached out to Rep. Halbrook’s Democratic opponent Mitchell Esslinger (who has raised only a couple of thousand bucks) to ask if he put up the billboard (which has no required “paid for by” legal disclaimer on it) and why. The response from his campaign manager…
The Esslinger campaign did not pay for this sign, it is from a constituent who I believe is upset that Rep. Halbrook missed the epi pen vote last year because in his own words he was “in the bathroom”.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 30 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.
Thirty counties are currently reported at a warning level – Bond, Bureau, Cass, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, DeKalb, DuPage, Effingham, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Henderson, Jackson, Jasper, Jersey, Lawrence, Madison, McLean, Monroe, Morgan, Pulaski, Schuyler, Shelby, Stark, St. Clair, Tazewell, Vermilion, Washington, Williamson.
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 college parties, weddings, large gatherings, bars and clubs, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings, travel to neighboring states, and spread among members of the same household who are not isolating at home. Cases connected to schools are beginning to be reported. General transmission of the virus in the community is also increasing.
Public health officials are observing people not social distancing, gathering in large groups, and not using face coverings. In some counties, local law enforcement and states’ attorneys are not enforcing important mitigation measures like social distancing and the wearing of face coverings. Additionally, some people refuse to participate in contact tracing and are not providing information on close contacts or answering the phone. Individuals are also waiting to get tested believing their symptoms are allergies or some other cause.
Several counties are taking swift action and implementing mitigation measures to help slow spread of the virus, including increasing testing opportunities, working with schools, meeting with local leaders, and educating businesses and large venues about the importance of mitigation measures.
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.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,145 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 32 additional confirmed deaths.
• Coles County: 1 male 80s
• Cook County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 60s, 2 females 70s, 4 females 80s, 1 female 90s
• DuPage County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
• Greene County: 1 male 60s
• Jersey County: 1 female 80s
• Kane County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 90s
• Lake County: 1 male 70s
• Macon County: 1 female 90s
• Madison County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 90s
• Peoria County: 1 female 90s
• Rock Island County: 1 female 80s
• St. Clair County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 90s
• Tazewell County: 1 female 70s
• Wayne County: 1 female 70s
• Will County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 90s
• Williamson County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 257,788 cases, including 8,273 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 4 – September 10 is 3.9%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 56,661 specimens for a total of 4,632,382. As of last night, 1,619 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 359 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.
COVID-19 Update/ Page 2
*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.
Some 80 musicians, authors, filmmakers and other visual and performing artists today are coming together as Artists & Writers for Fair Tax in support of the Fair Tax constitutional amendment in Illinois.
The initial list includes Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Neko Case, Twin Peaks, Whitney, 40th Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez (formerly known as Prime, a member of the hip-hop collective the Molemen), Ohmme, Makaya McCraven, Eleventh Dream Day and members of Tortoise, as well as authors Jessica Hopper, Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis and poet Jose Olivarez (scroll down for full list).
The artists will use their social media platforms between now and Election Day to educate fans and followers about the importance of voting Yes for the Fair Tax amendment that will appear at the top of every Illinois voter’s ballot this fall. Using the hashtag #ArtistsForFairTax, today they’re sharing a social graphic created for the campaign by rock poster artist Jay Ryan
* Graphic…
* Full list…
MUSIC: Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Neko Case, Twin Peaks, Whitney, 40th Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez (fka MC Prime), Spencer Tweedy, Ohmme (Sima Cunningham & Macie Stewart), Makaya McCraven, Doug McCombs (Tortoise, Brokeback, Eleventh Dream Day), Rick Rizzo (Eleventh Dream Day), Janet Bean (Freakwater, Eleventh Dream Day), Jon Langford (Mekons, Waco Brothers), Sally Timms (Mekons), Dean Schlabowske (Waco Brothers), Tim Midyett (Silkworm, Bottomless Pit, Mint Mile), Bethany Thomas, Melkbelly, James Elkington, Ben Lamar Gay, Nora O’Connor, David Singer, Quin Kirchner, Will Miller (Resavoir), Steve Dawson & Diane Christiansen (Dolly Varden), Ayanna Woods, Rachel Drew, Gerald Dowd, Mike Reed, Jonas Friddle, Anna Jacobson, Jason McInnes, Jordan Martins, Kirstin Osgood (CHIMP)
RECORD LABELS: Bloodshot Records, International Anthem
FILM: Gordon Quinn (Kartemquin Films), Bob Hercules (“Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise”)
COMEDY: Mike Oquendo
AUTHORS: Jessica Hopper (“The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic”), Greg Kot (“I’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers and the March up Freedom’s Highway”), Jim DeRogatis (“Soulless: The R Kelly Story”), Jose Olivarez (“Citizen Illegal”), Kathleen Rooney (“Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk”), Celia C. Perez (“The First Rule of Punk”), Megan Stielstra (“The Wrong Way to Save Your Life”), Joe Meno (“Between Everything and Nothing”), Claire Zulkey, Tony Adler, Martha Bayne (“The Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook”, ed.), Billy Lombardo (“Morning Will Come”), Bayo Ojikutu (“Free Burning”), S.L. Wisenberg (“The Adventures of Cancer Bitch”), Kim Brooks (“Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear”), Mary Hawley (“Double Tongues”), Mary Anne Mohanraj (“The Stars Change”), Susanna Lang (“Travel Notes from the River Styx”), Janet Burroway (“Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft”), Ruth Goring (“Picturing God”), Aaron Cohen (“Move On Up: Chicago Soul Music And Black Cultural Power”), Elaine Soloway (“The Division Street Princess”), Eileen Favorite (“The Heroines”), Maggie Kast (“Side by Side but Never Face to Face”), Carol L. Gloor (“Falling Back”), Arnie Bernstein (“Swastika Nation”), Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin (“Curating Culture”, ed.), Kay Heikkinen (translator: Radwa Ashour’s “The Woman from Tantoura”), Dave Roth (Esthetic Lens magazine), Kimberly Dixon-Mays, Andrea Change (Executive Director, Guild Literary Complex)
VISUAL ARTISTS: Jay Ryan, Jason Pickleman, Marzena Abrahamik, Lynn Basa, Chad Kouri, Mary Livoni, Joerg Metzner, Jessica Pierotti, Jordan Schulman, Emily Thornton Calvo, Ann Tyler, Vincent Uribe
* An example…
Illinois voters! The 1st thing on your ballot—before the presidential race—is the Fair Tax amendment. Please vote YES for tax fairness & funding fairness (raise $3 billion for schools, health care and more). #ArtistsForFairTax@YesForFairTaxpic.twitter.com/YxxzRsqpKO
Two years ago, officials from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services vowed to rescue the children they called “stuck kids” — those in state care who had languished in psychiatric hospitals for weeks and sometimes months after doctors had cleared them for release because the agency could not find them proper homes.
But children continue to be held at psychiatric hospitals long after they are ready for discharge, a practice our reporting showed leaves them feeling isolated and alone, falling behind in school and at risk of being sexually and physically abused during prolonged hospitalization. […]
The number of psychiatric admissions that went beyond medical necessity first spiked in 2015, going from 88 the year before to 246. It continued to climb, reaching 301 in 2017, according to DCFS data obtained by ProPublica Illinois through a Freedom of Information Act request.
For the most recent complete fiscal year, from July 2019 to June 2020, 314 children remained hospitalized after doctors had cleared them for release, according to data [Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert] said he received from DCFS. The youngest, he said, was a 3-year-old girl. […]
During [the last fiscal year], those children spent an average of at least 50 days unnecessarily hospitalized at a cost of $6.3 million to taxpayers, he said. DCFS could not immediately provide the data to ProPublica Illinois. […]
A DCFS spokesman placed blame for the problem on a variety of factors, including the loss of hundreds of residential treatment beds and more than 2,000 foster homes in recent years. But as those placements were cut, officials did not replace them with therapeutic or specialized foster homes as they had promised. Such homes offer support beyond traditional foster homes for families caring for children with intense mental health needs.
In addition, some children become the state’s responsibility after their families, often desperate to get them the mental health services they cannot afford or provide, leave them at a psychiatric hospital instead of bringing them home when they are ready for release. Some children have complicated medical and mental health issues, making it more difficult for DCFS to find a placement for them. […]
In 2017, Chicago-based Kaleidoscope began a small pilot project to provide at-home support services for families of children hospitalized after they were medically cleared to leave. That program has served 86 children, according to the organization.
There are currently about 40 children in the program, but plans to expand have faltered because of DCFS turnover, trouble recruiting and retaining staff, as well as the coronavirus pandemic, said Kathy Grzelak, Kaleidoscope’s executive director. She said she wasn’t surprised the number of children hospitalized beyond medical necessity hadn’t gone down in the last two years. […]
Lawrence Hall, a residential center on Chicago’s North Side, also started a small program last year to address the hospitalization issue. It has served nine children, who have stayed an average of three to six months, though some have stayed much longer, said Kara Teeple, Lawrence Hall CEO.
She said the stubbornly high number of children who remain at psychiatric hospitals is both a reflection of their mental health needs and the lack of services that could prevent hospitalization.
Democratic governors on Thursday begged Congress to come to the aid of ailing states, which face unexpected expenses as they attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19 as well as massive revenue shortfalls due to the pandemic.
But Republicans at a House hearing rejected their pleas, arguing that states have yet to spend money provided by Congress earlier this year, and prospects appeared to dim for any kind of deal on additional emergency aid before the election. […]
Republicans have characterized such aid as a “blue state bailout” and denied the need for additional money — a point [Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina] made again Thursday. He pointed to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service that found that roughly 25% of the $150 billion approved in March had been spent as of June 30.
“Democrats are using this hearing to claim that states are struggling,” he said, “but it certainly isn’t due to a lack of funding.”
The states (and local governments, for that matter) haven’t been able to spend all the money because of the way Congress drafted the bill. The law explicitly forbids the federal cash from being used to plug revenue holes caused by the international economic crash. It can only be used for unexpected costs.
Reporters have constantly fallen for this gross misdirection, including in Illinois. As Charlie Wheeler used to tell cub reporters: Always read the bill.
Also, June 30th was the end of the fiscal year for lots of states. Just more DC gaslighting.
A pair of former child welfare employees who had prior contact with slain Crystal Lake boy AJ Freund and his family were arrested Thursday on child endangerment charges.
McHenry County Board member and former Illinois Department of Children and Family Services employees Carlos Acosta, 54, was arrested and charged with two felony counts of endangering the life of a child and one felony count of reckless conduct.
Also arrested was Acosta’s former supervisor, Andrew Polovin, 48, of Island Lake, on the same charges, according to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office. […]
“We’ve definitely seen the work of DCFS in the number of cases that they’re referring to us [and] the quality of the work has improved,” [McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally] said.
Acosta was the child protection specialist assigned to check a December 2018 call from Crystal Lake police about a bruise on Freund’s right hip. The boy gave varying explanations for the injury, including that the family dog had done it during play. But records show he also told an emergency room doctor, “Maybe mommy didn’t mean to hurt me.”
Acosta said in December that he followed protocol in not going back to question the child about the bruise and that the child’s injuries didn’t meet the threshold to get a second opinion from a pediatric specialist.
Acosta previously said he’s emotionally torn but stands by his decisions.
“I don’t deny the fact that I was there four months before and that’s something that I’m going to have to live with forever,” Acosta told Shaw Media Illinois in an interview late last year. “And again, should have, could have, would have. Did I still follow the policy and weigh the evidence that I had at the time? Yes.”
(F)ormer DCFS Inspector General Meryl Paniak had recommended their termination for their handling of the December 2018 hotline investigation. The inspector general report, which focused on the agency’s handling of the December hotline investigation and an earlier one from March in which Acosta was not involved, found the employees “failed to see the totality” of the troubled history of AJ’s family and missed opportunities to intervene.
Acosta was carrying a caseload above what is allowed under a federal consent decree at the time of their contact with AJ’s family, a systemic problem that has long vexed DCFS and that child welfare advocates say puts vulnerable children at further risk, the Tribune has reported.
An I-Team data investigation of racial disparities in Chicago Police Department traffic stops shows Black drivers are far more likely to be stopped by Chicago Police than white drivers. New evidence also shows Black drivers are more likely to be pulled over for no reason at all.
Chicago Police officers stopped 598,332 drivers in 2019 - that’s more than 1,600 traffic stops a day citywide. In collaboration with other ABC Owned Stations, our analysis of police data shows Black drivers make up a greater proportion of Chicago traffic stops than their proportion of the population, meaning a simple trip to work or the store can often lead to police contact. As a result, Black drivers tell the I-Team they often feel targeted behind the wheel. […]
In 2019, Chicago police stopped 368,332 Black drivers - more than six in 10 of all traffic stops citywide. But when you factor in the greater number of white drivers on the roads than Black drivers, the racial disparity is even worse. […]
The number of traffic stops in Chicago is significantly increasing. In 2014, Chicago police only pulled over 87,355 people. Last year alone they pulled over a half a million more drivers than five years ago.
As the number of police stops increase and police continue to stop Black drivers at a far greater rate, our data analysis shows they’re actually citing Black drivers less often than white drivers. That means while Black drivers are more likely to be pulled over, they’re less likely to be cited for wrong-doing.
“All the increase in the surge has been among innocent people,” said Wesley Skogan, Northwestern University Crime Policy expert. “These are the kinds of things that are piling up and it makes people know that they’re being disrespected. People know that their time isn’t worth anything, people know that the police completely suspect them of everything, even if they end up doing nothing. So the weight of this kind of policing is just enormous on poor Black neighborhoods in Chicago.”
* “Black drivers have seen the largest overall increase since 2014. From 2018-2019, the greatest percentage increase was seen by Latinx drivers, who saw stops increase by 27%”…
Eleven chambers sent a letter Aug. 27 to Gov, JB Pritzker after he announced new restrictions on restaurants and bars in District 7, the COVID-19 tracking zone that includes Will and Kankakee counties, seeking the reasons for focusing on those businesses.
The governor’s office sent a response over the weekend, said Michael Paone, vice president for government affairs with the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“They do allude to the fact that the decision was based on scientists’ opinion that bars and restaurants are places where more risky behavior can occur, such as loud talking, not wearing masks and drinking alcohol,” Paone said.
He said the chambers are still looking for research to be cited that would back up the opinion.
“We trusted the government, but we are being used as pawns. I want to know what is the science behind this?” [said Christina Kollintzas-Pavlis, of Plainfield]
Findings from a case-control investigation of symptomatic outpatients from 11 U.S. health care facilities found that close contact with persons with known COVID-19 or going to locations that offer on-site eating and drinking options were associated with COVID-19 positivity.
Adults with positive SARS-CoV-2 test results were approximately twice as likely to have reported dining at a restaurant than were those with negative SARS-CoV-2 test results.
A large amount of New Yorkers, 41 percent, have developed a new hobby and 13 percent have adopted a pet.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 42 percent say that they have gained weight while 32 percent have lost weight.
Seventy percent say the government’s priority should be to contain the spread of the coronavirus, even if it hurts the economy. That’s the same percentage as it was two months ago.
Ninety percent said they continue to practice social distancing, wash their hands after touching any surface and wear masks as much as they can or completely.
I was hanging out with a buddy in his back yard last week and he said he’d lost 30 pounds during the pandemic.
* The Question: Have you gained or lost weight since March? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
* WIND’s Amy Jacobson tried pressing the governor today on the seriousness of COVID-19 on college campuses after Gov. Pritzker spoke about his trip to Bloomington yesterday and the quarantine at Bradley University…
Jacobson: It should be emphasized that most of these people are asymptomatic, sometimes no symptoms at all and of out of 5,000 colleges across the country only five have been hospitalized.
Pritzker: So what’s your point? Do you think that unless you’ve been hospitalized it’s not worth worrying about?
Jacobson: No, no, no, I’m just saying, of all of the college students in Illinois, how many are in the hospital? Do you have that number?
Pritzker: I don’t have that number, but I mean, I think you’re discounting the idea that getting COVID-19 is serious business. Making sure that someone who has COVID-19 is not spreading it to other people is the reason that you want to quarantine people, so that’s that’s critically important. I know there are lots of people who think ‘Well gee somebody didn’t have to go to the hospital, or they didn’t die and therefore, well there’s nothing to it.’ That’s just not accurate. I realize that there are people, particularly followers of the president, who believe that that’s true that it’s okay to spread COVID-19 because hey if you’re not showing symptoms of it, then it’s fine, Well guess what? When people are not wearing masks, when people are just running around asymptomatic and they’re not getting tested but they are positive, they’re spreading it to other people. And the result is that it’s going into environments in which people who are vulnerable are going to be sick and are going to go to the hospital. And by the way, you should take a look, our hospitalizations in the state are rising. And this is problematic, so we’re watching very closely, even though we’ve got our positivity rates moving in the right direction in many regions, that hasn’t kept people from going to the hospital because, someone who is more likely to end up in the hospital getting it versus somebody who is less likely to end up in the hospital, you just don’t know. You don’t know who’s got a comorbidity. Everybody who knows they’ve got one, that’s fine, you know you’ve got a comorbidity and you should take extra care. Many people don’t know that they have a comorbidity yet, and then they get COVID-19 and then they end up with a problem.
Bradley University in central Illinois is requiring its entire student body to quarantine for two weeks because of clusters of COVID-19 on campus and is reverting to remote learning, officials announced Tuesday.
Officials of the private university said they have linked a spike of the coronavirus to off-campus gatherings. The Peoria university is requiring students to limit nonessential interactions, stay in their off-campus apartments, residence halls or Greek houses and take classes remotely beginning Tuesday.
In announcing the measure, the university said it has tallied about 50 COVID-19 cases so far, adding emergency measures are needed to respond to the outbreak without disrupting academic progress.
Students who gathered en masse and maskless to see YouTube personalities the NELK Boys could face consequences that include suspension, Illinois State University President Larry Dietz said Wednesday.
ISU authorities are working with the Normal Police Department to investigate Tuesday night’s visit by the popular group, stylized as NELK or NELK Boys on YouTube. Its members are known for producing videos of pranks that generate millions of pageviews, but officials said the YouTube stars’ visit to town led to large, flash mob-style gatherings that ultimately were broken up by police.
The number of reported COVID-19 cases on the Northern Illinois University campus nearly doubled over the four-day weekend, as the school reported 73 new cases, bringing the total to 150.
The school also reported 18 new recoveries, bringing the total to 24. The data represents cases of the viral respiratory disease identified on campus since Friday.
All 73 new cases were in students. The school hasn’t reported a case in an employee since Sept. 1, and just three cases have been reported in employees.
According to the school, 31.4% of its quarantine and isolation areas are in use, down from 54% Friday.
In an early glimpse of the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on college enrollment, some Illinois universities are seeing declines in international students and freshman class sizes but also a higher number of graduate students, who are taking advantage of online programs.
At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the state’s largest college, undergraduate enrollment fell by about 350 students from record levels last year, the school announced Wednesday. The freshman class size also dropped by about 1.8% to 7,530 students, the school said, and an additional 277 students deferred admission compared with about 60 in a typical year. […]
About 17,800 graduate students enrolled at UIUC, up by 9% from a high last year. Some 42% of graduate students are taking fully online programs, with big increases seen in the Gies College of Business and Grainger College of Engineering. Still, about 2,000 graduate students chose to delay admission.
Citing the pandemic, UIUC said about 576 international undergraduate students discontinued their studies for the fall 2020 semester. Most new international students are taking classes online, with freshmen from China rising by 3.9%.
For the first time in 10 years, new student enrollment at Western Illinois University has increased.
The number of new freshmen enrolling at Western this fall stands at 1,064, 18.9 percent over Fall 2019, while new transfer students total 721 (9.2 percent over Fall 2019) and new graduate students stand at 569 (10.3 percent over Fall 2019), for a total new student increase of 13.7 percent. In addition, the grade point average (GPA) of the incoming freshman class has increased to 3.49 (compared to 3.40 in Fall 2019).
Total enrollment as of the 10th day is 7,490, according to 10th-day data released by WIU’s Institutional Research and Planning.
Besides the increase in new students, WIU’s Fall 2020 enrollment has increased 7.1 percent over Spring 2020. According to Gary Swegan, interim associate vice president for enrollment management, Western has not seen a spring-to-fall increase since 2016.
Eastern Illinois University announced on Tuesday that its fall 2020 enrollment has increased by approximately 10.5% despite the challenges posted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figures from Eastern’s 10th-day enrollment report show that total enrollment increased from 7,806 students in fall 2019 to 8,626 this fall. The university reported that this marks the third consecutive year of its growth in institutional enrollment. That growth reportedly includes graduate student enrollment increasing by 5 percent from 1,577 to 1,657 and undergraduate enrollment increasing 11.8 percent from 6,229 to 6,969.
Reversing a decade-long trend, student enrollment is up at NIU despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our sister station WLBK reports that NIU student enrollment this fall is up 160 students from last year to a student body of 16,769. Enrollment had been falling since 2009 when NIU had more than 24,000.
The university says this year’s growth was driven by a freshman class that is eight percent larger than last year and improving retention of first-year students by six percentage points.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s School of Nursing (SON) record enrollment of 1,877 students highlights SIUE’s fall 2020 enrollment picture. The University’s overall graduate and professional enrollment hits 2,918 students, its highest mark in 43 years.
With its 5 percent increase from fall 2019, the SON saw record enrollment for the second consecutive year. SIUE’s graduate and professional enrollment includes 849 doctoral students, from all levels, the most in the history of the institution.
Twenty-nine percent of the SIUE student body reports an ethnicity or race other than white, making this fall’s student body the most ethnically diverse for the University. Enrollment includes record numbers of Latinx students (637) and students who identify as Asian, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (370). […]
SIUE total enrollment is 1.5 percent behind fall 2019 (13,061). The University welcomed 1,554 new freshmen or 113 (6.7 percent) fewer than last fall.
The number of first-time college students at Southern Illinois University Carbondale increased by 31.2% this fall. The total reflects a 32.9% increase in new first-time students enrolling from the Southern Illinois region.
The university also saw continued growth in the freshman to sophomore retention rate, reflecting the percentage of last year’s first-time freshmen who returned this fall. This year’s rate is 80.6%, the highest in 20 years and up from 72% in 2017 and 75% last year. […]
Total enrollment stands at 11,366, a decline of 2.8% from fall 2019. The university has seen declines between 8% and 12% in each of the last four years.
Beleaguered Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan could soon be asked to publicly explain his dealings with ComEd.
At least that’s what Republicans were planning Wednesday on the eve of the first meeting of a special bipartisan legislative panel convened to explore the political and legal minefield.
“We have an admission of facts from Commonwealth Edison to the federal prosecutor’s office that have laid out a series of very concerning occurrences that happened,” state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, said. “I think that as of right now, those facts are uncontested. We’d invite the speaker to contest those facts if he does not believe that those are accurate.”
A day before the Thursday meeting, Demmer said at a news conference that he and his GOP colleagues on the panel — Deanne Mazzochi of Westmont and Grant Wehrli of Naperville — will seek answers to the “legitimate, good-faith questions being asked” by their peers in the General Assembly and the public as part of the committee investigating any potential wrongdoing by Madigan.
The object is to discern whether Madigan behaved in a manner unbecoming of a legislator and/or behaved in a way that breached the public trust.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, Michael McClain, Anne Pramaggiore, Fidel Marquez, John Hooker, Jay D. Doherty, Michael R. Zalewski, any individual currently or formerly employed by Commonwealth Edison with knowledge of the matters contained in the Deferred Prosecution Agreement.
I’m thinking none of those named people are gonna speak. The committee could, in theory, subpoena witnesses, but that would require Democratic cooperation and the witnesses can always take the Fifth.
* Anyway, the hearings are on hold until the committee hears back from the US Attorney’s office to see whether it wants them to back off (which is what happened to then-Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s investigation of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich) or if it’s OK to proceed and under what terms. [ADDING: The US Attorney allowed an FBI special agent to testify at Blagojevich’s impeachment trial under ” sharply limited” terms.]
Lawmakers bristled as they discussed how to proceed after they unanimously agreed to contact the U.S. attorney’s office about how they can conduct their own investigation of Madigan without interfering with the ongoing criminal investigation.
They did not set another hearing date.
Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, sought clarification as to what it is that the committee is investigating considering that the speaker faces no criminal criminal charges himself.
Ronald Safer, a former federal prosecutor who is representing Durkin in the House investigation of Madigan, responded by noting that the deferred prosecution agreement between ComEd and prosecutors itself is evidence of factual wrongdoing, and it warrants investigation of Madigan by the committee.
I’m gonna nitpick a bit here and say the feds have not yet presented any evidence of specific wrongdoing by Madigan himself. Others, yes. Lots.
Republican member, state Rep. Grant Wehrli, R-Naperville, said Madigan has to respond to what was laid out in the deferred prosecution agreement ComEd entered into.
“Here we have statements of fact and if the Speaker doesn’t refute them, I think the logical conclusion can be drawn,” Wehrli said.
Rep. Wehrli is not a big fan of the 5th Amendment…
BREAKING: Auditor General Frank Mautino invoked his 5th Amendment right in response to Illinois State Board of Elections subpoena#twill
* To be super clear, I’m not saying that the feds won’t get Madigan. They could very well succeed. And, as I wrote in Crain’s, I’m not sympathetic to the House Democrats’ grumblings about these hearings…
So is Madigan right that this is all about politics? […]
But, really, who cares? Madigan isn’t answering questions, so maybe this will help shine a little light on things. And the committee won’t do much except take testimony. The panel is evenly divided between the two parties, and three staunch Madigan loyalists will be there to stop any majority vote to proceed with discipline. The open-minds thing goes both ways.
And if the Republican maneuver and Pritzker’s subsequent comments about how Madigan ought to answer the committee’s questions make House Democrats angry, well, so be it. Only a tiny handful of them have spoken up about Madigan, and even fewer have called on him to resign. That’s their prerogative, but it also means they’ve deliberately chosen this path. You wanted it, you got it, so deal with it.
Preliminary data suggests that the June 2018 Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, et al. Supreme Court decision that allowed state and local government employees to “free ride” may have affected public sector union membership.
• In Illinois, total public sector union membership has fallen by 6.8 percent since 2017, the year before the Supreme Court decision.
• Still, nearly half of all public sector workers are unionized in both Illinois (45.8 percent) and the Chicago metro area (45.4 percent), exceeding the national public sector average (33.6 percent).
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,953 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 28 additional confirmed deaths.
• Adams County: 1 male 90s
• Christian County: 1 female 50s
• Cook County: 2 males 60s, 1 female 70s
• Edgar County: 1 male 80s
• Ford County: 1 male 80s
• Henry County: 1 male 70s
• Jersey County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
• Kane County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
• Lake County: 1 male 70s
• Madison County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
• McLean County; 1 male 70s
• Montgomery County: 1 female 70s
• Randolph County: 1 female 50s
• Rock Island County: 1 female 80s
• Sangamon County: 1 male 40s
• Shelby County: 1 male 90s
• Will County: 1 female 40s, 1 male 60s, 1 male 90s
• Winnebago County: 1 male 60s
• Woodford County: 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 255,643 cases, including 8,242 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 3 – September 9 is 3.8%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 48,982 specimens for a total of 4,575,721. As of last night, 1,609 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 346 patients were in the ICU and 141 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 deaths 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.
Highland Mayor Joe Michaelis hasn’t yet gotten a response to his letter to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, but he’s okay with it.
“It may sit on his desk for a while,” Michaelis said. “He probably gets a laundry basket full of mail.”
Michaelis wrote a letter to Pritzker dated Sept. 4, and posted it on Facebook, citing his “grave concern” about the impact of the heightened restrictions on businesses in his community.
[St. Clair County’s] daily positivity rate dropped sharply from 9.3% on Tuesday to 8.2% on Wednesday. The daily positivity rate is the percentage of positives from a day’s worth of coronavirus tests.
The county’s seven-day positivity rate was 6.8% as of Wednesday, up slightly from 6.6% as of Tuesday.
“If the spread had been stopped back in January or February, this never would have gotten here,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said during the county’s daily briefing Wednesday. “We never would have had to deal with this. We’re doing what we can in St. Clair County to contain the virus and keep as many people as possible from getting it. If we take our foot off the gas, we might see those numbers go up. We’re making progress here.”
Looks like St. Clair County is being held back by Madison County.
Gov. JB Pritzker joined with faith leaders at a memorial in Springfield Wednesday evening dedicated to the 8,214 Illinois residents who have died from complications to COVID-19 and their families.
The socially-distanced event, hosted at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Springfield, featured families from across the state who have lost loved ones to the virus.
Pritzker and faith leaders assembled said they hoped to offer a moment for Illinois residents to take a step back and process their “individual and collective” grief.
“Let’s allow this pandemic to remind us of at least one important thing: We need each other. We need each other,” Pritzker said. […]
“The hearts of our people are big enough to hold both of those truths at once — that we are courageous enough to meet this moment and that we’re human enough to grieve about it,” Pritzker said.
“Pritzker is a far-reaching, power abusing, tyrant that is destroying small business,” said Santino Patragas, owner of Tap House Grill in Plainfield, which along with all other restaurants in the area had to suspend indoor dining once again Aug. 26. […]
Patragas said he feels that if masks help in containing the virus, then shutting down dining rooms was a baseless step. He misses serving his loyal customers.
“We are sorry to you that we are being blackmailed by this state,” he said. “The government is best which governs the least.”
Bruce Springsteen made a surprise return on Thursday morning (Sept. 10) with the heartbreaking rocker “Letter To You,” the title track to his upcoming 12-song album with the E Street Band. The rock icon’s 20th studio album is due out on Oct. 23 on Columbia Records and is described as a “rock album fueled by the band’s heart-stopping, house-rocking signature sound” in a statement.
“I love the emotional nature of Letter To You,” Springsteen said in a statement about the album recorded at his home studio in New Jersey. “And I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we’ve never done before, and with no overdubs. We made the album in only five days, and it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.”
The album includes nine songs recently written by Springsteen, and three new versions of previously unreleased tracks from the 1970s: “Janey Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest” and “Song for Orphans.” The collection — produced by Ron Aniello with Springsteen, mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bob Ludwig — is The Boss’ first time performing with the E Street Band since their 2016 The River tour.
The title track is classic E Street Band energy, with poignant piano, layers of guitars and Springsteen’s weatherbeaten vocals floating above it all as he works out some existential angst about an all-encompassing love. “Dug deep in my soul/ And signed my name true/ And sent it in my letter to you,” he sings in the stark black and white video that features images of Bruce writing the lyrics in a notebook, sharing tender moments with wife/bandmate Patti Scialfa and working the track out with his trusty sidekick guitarist “Little” Steven Van Zandt.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at 884,000, a sign that layoffs remain stuck at a historically high level six months after the viral pandemic flattened the economy.
The latest figures released by the Labor Department Thursday coincide with other recent evidence that the job market’s improvement may be weakening after solid gains through spring and most of summer. The number of people seeking jobless aid each week still far exceeds the number who did so in any week on record before this year.
Hiring has slowed since June, and a rising number of laid-off workers now say they regard their job loss as permanent. The number of people who are continuing to receive state unemployment benefits rose last week, after five weeks of declines, to 13.4 million, evidence that employers aren’t hiring enough to offset layoffs. Job postings have leveled off in the past month, according to the employment website Indeed.
“The claims data were disappointing,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. “It is especially concerning that the pace of layoffs has not slowed more materially even though the economy has reopened more fully and more and more businesses have come back online.”
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 23,305 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 31 in Illinois, according to the DOL’s weekly claims report released Thursday.
That’s down from 26,194 claims filed the week before.
While the new claims reported Thursday morning are based on advanced estimates, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) will be releasing a final number later Thursday.
* From a July fundraising email sent by GOP congressional candidate Jeanne Ives…
Sean Casten is ranked to the LEFT of the most well known socialist extremists in the Democratic Party.
* This press release today should help counter that sort of rhetoric…
Pat Brady, former chair of the Illinois Republican Party and former member of the Republican National Committee, announced today that he has endorsed Rep. Sean Casten in his re-election campaign against Jeanne Ives.
In addition to his endorsement of Rep. Casten, Brady is featured in multiple digital ads for the campaign. The ads are part of a six-figure digital buy that will run through Election Day on Facebook, Hulu, and Google.
Pat Brady, former chair of the Illinois Republican Party and former member of the Republican National Committee, announced today that he has endorsed Rep. Sean Casten in his re-election campaign against Jeanne Ives.
In addition to his endorsement of Rep. Casten, Brady is featured in multiple digital ads for the campaign. The ads are part of a six-figure digital buy that will run through Election Day on Facebook, Hulu, and Google.
“Jeanne Ives showed us her true colors in her unsuccessful campaign for governor when she ran the most sexist, racist, and hate-filled ad I’ve ever seen. That anger, bigotry, and lack of judgment doesn’t belong in the United States Congress. And most importantly, it doesn’t represent the people of the 6th congressional district.
“Sean Casten is a good man, a family man, and a businessman, who cares deeply about the district and all who live in it. As a Republican, I might not agree with him all the time. But I know he will always do what he believes is best for us, and for the country.”
Rep. Sean Casten released the following statement:
“I believe that public officials should always lead with their values. Jeanne Ives has made it clear that her values don’t represent the 6th District, and Pat Brady has made it clear that her values don’t represent the Republican Party. I am honored to receive his endorsement.”
*** UPDATE *** Joint statement from ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider and National Committeeman/woman Richard Porter and Demetra Demonte…
Identifying and labeling Pat Brady as a Republican is false and misleading. If you spend all your time attacking and betraying Republicans - whether out of newfound convictions or to continue booking TV appearances - you are a Democrat. Pat Brady is a liberal Democrat and has been for some time. Sean Casten may have the backing of political hacks but Jeanne Ives is supported by hard working taxpayers.
* Meanwhile…
US House candidate (IL-06) Jeanne Ives released her first campaign ad of the 2020 election, Step Up, this morning to introduce herself to suburban voters.
In the ad, Ives, a West Point graduate, mother of five and former state legislator, illustrates her record of stepping up through the imagery of the different shoes Ives has worn in service to her country, community and family: jump boots at West Point and in the Army, running shoes as a coach, and high heels as a legislator.
Ives concludes the ad by emphasizing her record of independent leadership, saying, “When you need me, I always step up.”
A :30 second version of the ad will run on cable in the Chicago Media Market – Watch the ad here.
A :60 second version of the ad will run on Ives social media channels - Watch the ad here.
Transcripts:
Step Up - TV Version, :30 Seconds
A journey of service starts with one step.
I took my first step in jump boots, serving my country in the Army - just out of West Point
In the Statehouse, I traded my boots for heels to bring both parties together, battle corruption and protect taxpayers.
Now, I’m stepping up to grow our economy, and to get our nation working again;
To build on the promise only American can keep.
I’m Jeanne Ives,
When you need me, I always step up.
++++
Step Up - Digital, :60 Seconds
I’m Jeanne Ives.
Want to know why I’m running for Congress?
Walk a mile in my shoes.
A journey of service starts with one step.
I took my first step in jump boots, serving my country in the Army - just out of West Point.
Then I traded my Army boots for athletic shoes, coaching cross country and raising my kids.
But duty called again.
I stepped into heels, and a new job.
In the Statehouse, I battled corruption wherever I found it;
Protected taxpayers with every vote;
And reached across the aisle to work for you.
Now, I’m stepping up for a new fight:
To save this country from those who would destroy the values that forged our nation and make it strong;
To rebuild our economy;
And to get our nation working again - to build on the promise only America can make and keep.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker stressed the importance of the 2020 census during an appearance in Normal on Wednesday morning.
“Redbirds, I want to make sure you know the stakes could not be higher,” Pritker said, encouraging everyone who has not completed the census to do so.
Pritzker was joined by Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Grace B. Hou, Illinois State University President Larry Dietz, state Sen. Bill Brady, state Rep. Dan Brady, Normal Mayor Chris Koos and Bloomington-Normal NAACP President Linda Foster.
Just a 1% undercount could result in the state losing over $195 million in federal funds each year, he said.
* The Question: Do you know anyone who hasn’t yet filled out their Census form? If you do, explain what you think is up with that.
As he was preparing to return to the nation’s capital, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said in Chicago today that he’s focused on working with lawmakers to put together a new COVID-19 relief package - an effort that’s been stalled for months amid a partisan standoff.
The domino effect, he says, is that with the expiration of federal paycheck protection and unemployment subsidies, more businesses will close and people simply won’t have the purchasing power to maintain sales and other tax revenues needed to keep governments functioning. […]
But a short time after Durbin’s downtown Chicago news conference, McConnell announced what the Washington Post called a slimmed-down COVID-19 bill that does not include help for state and local governments. […]
“We’ve seen state and local governments all across the United States take an inventory of where they are today and the news is not good. Whether it’s the state of Illinois or the city of Chicago, there’s been a dramatic loss of revenue for obvious reason,” Durbin told reporters this morning. “… And so governors and mayors are facing some of the most difficult choices, whether it’s Gov. Pritzker or Mayor Lightfoot, they’re in a situation where they don’t have the revenues to continue the service levels that they have traditionally provided. What that means is if Congress does not act and act soon, many of them will face cutbacks in critical employees. We’re talking about police, firefighters, teachers, health care workers, the list goes on and on.”
Illinois’ governor says state and local government workers could lose their jobs without a federal bailout. Governor JB Pritzker yesterday predicted that first responders and social service providers would feel the brunt of the coming economic impact of the coronavirus. Pritzker is pushing for a federal bailout for Illinois, but many Republicans on Capitol Hill say that looks very unlikely.
The Republican proposal would add $300 a week to unemployment checks, down from the $600 boost that expired last month. Democrat Bernie Sanders tweeted that it also included $161 million “corporate welfare to the coal industry.” But for many Democrats, the biggest objection is that Republicans offer nothing to local governments, such as the state of Illinois, which is warning of layoffs without at least $5 billion.
“Big corporations all across the nation have received billions and billions and billion of dollars of aid. But now when it comes to the very social services, the very education, the frontline, you know, first responders–our police, our firefighters–now they’re gonna fall short?” Pritzker said.
As members of Congress get back to work, some are looking for another COVID-19 aid package. President Donald Trump said he doesn’t support bailing out what he called “badly run” Democratic cities and states, “whether it’s New York or Illinois.” […]
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said Illinois should not get a bailout for years of policymakers neglecting the state’s finances before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“No one is going to bail out the structural debt and deficit that Illinois has,” Davis said. “That’s not a pandemic expense, that’s not something that’s caused by the pandemic.” […]
U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, said Illinois’ structural debt is from years of Illinois paying more than it gets back in federal taxes.
“So until that problem is fixed, this mischaracterization of this as a bailout is just way off base,” Foster said. […]
Foster said a deal for additional COVID-19 relief may be wrapped in with an end-of-year spending plan to get passed the presidential inauguration in January. He said that would be to avoid making things more turbulent with threats of a government shutdown. Davis said he would support allowing local governments to cover COVID-related costs with money congress has already approved. […]
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday it’s up to Congress to “step up.” He said he is “very, very” concerned that social services will be diminished if Congress doesn’t take action.
Attorney Thomas DeVore, who has gained fame during the COVID-19 shutdowns for directly questioning and winning suits against Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s Executive Orders and shutdowns of restaurants, bars, and small businesses gave a presentation at Bella Vista Winery in Maryville on Wednesday afternoon about what the new mitigation measures mean to restaurants and bars and what they can do about it.
He’s winning suits? And since when is the state shutting down local bars and restaurants?
The basis for [DeVore’s] advice to the restaurant and bar owners came from the Department of Public Health Act (20 ILCS 2305/2(c)) which states “no place may be ordered to be closed and made off limits to the public except with the consent of the person or owner of the place or upon the prior order of a court of competent jurisdiction…In the event of an immediate order issued without prior consent or court order, the Department shall, as soon as practical, within 48 hours after issuing the order, obtain the consent of the person or owner or file a petition requesting a court order authorizing the isolation or quarantine or closure.”
That’s… not great advice. Those businesses could be hit with a misdemeanor charge and a possibly hefty fine for their defiance. It’s not about closing businesses, or pulling their licenses - something the governor has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to do.
DeVore informed business owners “I’m not advocating for social disobedience, I’m asking for business owners to stand up.” The crowd erupted in applause when DeVore said “If enough of you stay open, this is over.
The majority of restaurant and bar owners in attendance, as well as dozens that had contacted DeVore before today’s educational presentation from across the area, said they plan on keeping their indoor dining open this time. DeVore said the owners are not looking to be defiant of anything, and have not come by their decisions to stay open lightly. Many of the owners stated that if they shut down inside dining, they will never reopen. One owner of an establishment outside of Madison County said that last week he did a poll on Facebook asking his customers if he should stay open. Of the 300 responses he received, 297 said to stay open and he is going to do so.
DeVore encouraged each owner to speak with their own legal counsel about their decision since each business has its own unique needs.
…Adding… We went to the Sangamo Club for dinner last night (outside, of course) and I think the sign on its front door puts the whole mask issue into proper context…
Also, if establishments are listening to lawyers like DeVore instead of public health officials when it comes to things like masks, you gotta wonder what they’re doing in the kitchen. If I live to be 100, I will never again go to restaurants that flout these simple, basic public health rules. And I may compile a list before veto session.
IT IS ORDERED that the motion for clarification is allowed. This court’s order of August 5, 2020, transferring cases from Edgar, Bond, Clinton, and Richland Counties to Sangamon County to be consolidated with Sangamon County No. 20 MR 589, is hereby corrected, nunc pro tunc, to specify that these cases and the cases that were transferred to and consolidated in Sangamon County in case Nos. 126232 and 126261, shall be heard by the same judge, Judge Grischow, who was assigned to preside over Riley Craig et al. v. Governor Jay Robert Pritzker, etc., Sangamon County No. 20 MR 589, and Governor J.B. Pritzker, etc., et al. v. Board of Education of Hutsonville CUSD #1 et al., etc., Sangamon County No. 20 MR 557.
* Here’s an explainer from the attorney general’s office…
It is a procedural order. The Supreme Court’s earlier orders transferred the cases in other counties to Sangamon, but didn’t specify that they should all be heard by the same judge (Judge Grischow, who had previously been assigned to hear the Craig and Hutsonville cases). Because the earlier orders didn’t specifically say that the cases should go to Judge Grischow, DeVore thought he had the right to move for a substitution of judge. We filed our motions because we thought the court intended that all cases go to Judge Grischow, and the court agreed.
DeVore had moved for a substitution of the judge in the Bailey case, but waited to do so until after Judge Grischow ruled against him in the Hutsonville case. It wasn’t that long ago, you may recall, that DeVore was accusing the governor of judge-shopping.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,337 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 30 additional confirmed deaths.
• Adams County: 1 male 90s
• Christian County: 1 female 90s
• Coles County: 1 female 80s
• Cook County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
• Jackson County: 1 female 90s
• Jersey County: 1 female 100+
• Kane County: 1 male 80s
• Lake County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
• LaSalle County: 1 male 70s
• Macon County: 1 male 70s
• Madison County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s, 2 males 80s, 1 female 90s
• Peoria County: 1 male 90s
• Rock Island County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s
• Sangamon County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 90s
• St. Clair County: 1 male 80s
• Will County: 1 male 70s
• Williamson County: 1 female 80s, 3 females 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 253,690 cases, including 8,214 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 2 – September 8 is 3.7%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 48,029 specimens for a total of 4,526,739. As of last night, 1,580 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 357 patients were in the ICU and 133 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 deaths 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.
Two unsuccessful marijuana dispensary applicants are suing the state, hoping to hit the pause button on its plans to hand out 75 marijuana licenses.
Awarding of the licenses is more than four months behind schedule and last week, the state announced that only 21 of 700 applicants would proceed to a lottery for the 75 licenses.
Some lawmakers and unsuccessful applicants are decrying the state’s process, saying it defeats the stated goals of diversifying the largely white-owned industry. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Chicago federal court, is at least the second formal attempt to pause the process. The Illinois Legislative Black and Latino caucuses are calling on the Pritzker administration to suspend the lottery until the public can learn more about how and why the 21 groups were selected.
Southshore Restore and Heartland Greens, two applicants that will not proceed to the lottery, allege in the suit that the 21 groups are “politically-connected insider companies,” and seek to have the lottery delayed until they can challenge why they didn’t make the cut.
A pair of state lawmakers joined a group of losing pot shop applicants Tuesday to call on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to halt an upcoming lottery to determine the winners of the 75 long-delayed licenses and review the application grading process, which they claim was tainted and benefitted clouted firms.
“We are under the weather from this oppressive system, this rigged system, in which the state representatives and the state senators were lied to,” Rickey Hendon, a former Democratic state senator from Chicago, said during a news conference, noting that the “legislative intent” of the legalization law was to increase minority and local participation in the booming weed industry.
State law offers additional points on applications to groups and individuals deemed social equity applicants for living in an area disproportionately impacted by drug enforcement, having a past cannabis offense or meeting other criteria.
More than 700 groups applied for the next round dispensary licenses but only 21 applicants moved onto the lottery last week after receiving perfect scores on their applications, which were graded by the global accounting firm KPMG. All of the applicants in the lottery are considered social equity candidates, who were given a leg-up in the process in an effort to bolster minority participation in the overwhelmingly white pot industry.
An employee of the global accounting firm that was awarded a no-bid contract to grade applications for the state’s next round of pot shop licenses is also a partner in one of the 21 groups that secured a spot in the upcoming lottery to determine the winners.
Hamd Kamal works as a risk management consultant for KPMG, which is getting nearly $4.2 million through a no-bid contract with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the agency that oversees dispensaries. All told, more than 700 candidates submitted 1,667 total applications seeking upwards of 4,000 dispensary licenses. […]
KPMG spokesman James McGann said Kamal “is an employee but he was not part of the engagement team that scored the applications.”
He added: “The scoring process was objective, following the state’s criteria, with a blind scoring methodology. The team scoring the applications would have no knowledge of the names or affiliations of applicants. A separate team scored certain aspects of the application, such as social equity.”
Facing calls from Black and Latino lawmakers to suspend the lottery for 75 new marijuana dispensary licenses, Gov. JB Pritzker said he’s open to minor tweaks to the program, but he said the process needs to move forward before considering sweeping changes. […]
“When we’re done with this process, we will have the largest percentage ownership by people of color anywhere in the nation,” he said.
Hutchinson noted applicants were able to seek up to 10 licenses each, so overall there were more than 4,500 applications for the 75 new dispensary licenses, so “there was bound to be a lot of disappointment for this first round.”
“We knew that this was going to create a thunderstorm,” she said.
Asked if he will consider suspending the lottery for the 75 licenses, Pritzker said that’s not allowed under the current state law governing the program.
Part of the frustration stems from the fact that, while more than 700 different groups applied for licenses this time around, only 21 social equity groups are advancing to the lottery round to be considered for business licenses. According to the accounting firm KPMG, those are the groups that received perfect scores on their applications. Thus, many applicants are suspicious about what happened and what was wrong with their application.
Another application group, Cultivarx, was stunned to find out that it received no points for social equity applicants, despite the fact that its majority owner, Bernard Cobbins, is Black and a lifelong resident of Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood, a Disproportionately Impacted Area from the War on Drugs.
“We provided them with more than ample information, they had five years of Illinois state tax returns, and driver’s license, voter’s registration card, and a map showing he is in a disproportionate area,” said team member Nonna Knapp.
Despite the detailed information provided, Cultivarx received a discrepancy notice asking for additional information to prove Cobbins’ status. The team did so, and still did not receive points.
But as I told subscribers today, the perfect scores of those 21 applicants threw an unexpected wrench into the process because nobody expected it. So, several applicants didn’t do things like attract military veteran investors, which was only five points out of 250, but proved crucial in the end.
“It makes no sense that again, in 2020, Governor Pritzker, you have a Black lieutenant governor, you have a Black mayor of Chicago, you have a Black drug czar overseeing the marijuana industry here in Illinois, but you don’t have any Black-owned marijuana dispensaries?” said community activist Tio Hardiman.
According to the administration, of the 21 successful applicants, “13 are majority owned and controlled by people of color and 17 have at least one owner who is a person of color.”
* Decent points…
Hutchinson: "How far we've come in 9 months: We've expunged 10,000 criminal records. The sales of this have been through the roof … ."
* The Cannabis Equity IL Coalition and the Social Equity Empowerment Network want to delay the tie-breaking lottery and offered up some suggested improvements…
1. The Coalition demands that the following be immediately provided to each applicant:
1. Full Scorecard. Each applicant’s full scorecard with scoring broken down by exhibit.
2. Disqualification Explanation. Any applicant who was disqualified from the process must be provided with a substantive explanation justifying their disqualification.
2. The Coalition demands that the following be immediately made available to the public:
1. The full ownership structure of each “tied applicant” (as defined in 68 IAC 1290.10).
2. KPMG Contract. The KPMG contract and an explanation of the following:
i. Why were they chosen by the state?
ii. Why was this a no-bid contract?
iii. How much money was the contract worth?
iv. How much additional compensation did KPMG receive for being months late?
v. Did the State have an administrative review process for KPMG’s scoring?
3. Scoring Rubric. The scoring rubric that KPMG used to grade the applications.
A better approach would be to remove the cap on licenses while adopting a set of reasonable licensing standards meant to ensure the solvency and integrity of the industry. Anybody who meets those standards should get a license.
Opening up the market would ensure that supply rises to meet demand, spurring price competition, better service and innovation. Unfettered supply and demand allows a market to reach its full potential. Customers and business owners benefit. Fledgling enterprises serving minority communities would get to compete, without having to navigate a complex, costly application process and win a lottery.
Colorado offers a glimpse at the upside for states that don’t limit licenses. Nearly 3,000 marijuana licensees in that state rang up $1.7 billion in sales last year, generating more than $300 million in tax revenue, and employing more than 40,000 people. Imagine the potential in Illinois, with more twice Colorado’s population.
Lifting the cap on marijuana licenses is good economics, and good public policy for a state seeking to advance social equity.
Colorado is not exactly a great social equity example. In Denver, for example, Black residents comprise just 5.6 percent of ownership and 5.9 percent of industry employees.
Incumbent state Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, said taxpayers can send policymakers a message about budget principles.
“Just by simply voting ‘no’ on the progressive income tax,” Wilhour said. “You wanna force a tough conversation on our fiscal situation in Illinois, a conversation we’ve been needing to have for a long, long time, that’s a perfect place to start.”
If you want to force an increase in the state’s flat income tax, there’s no better way to do that than to vote against the progressive income tax. Democratic super-majorities in both chambers and the Democratic governor and the Democratic-leaning electorate in this state are not going to support deep spending cuts.
Libertarian candidate for US Congress in the 6th District, Bill Redpath, personally received an endorsement from his longtime friend and colleague Krist Novoselic, known most notably as the bassist from the Grammy award-winning band Nirvana.
Redpath and Novoselic were both longtime active members of the non-profit organization FairVote, where Redpath was the Treasurer from 1995 - 2019 and Novoselic was the Chair from 2008 - 2019.
FairVote works to reform the electoral process, making elections more fair and accessible for both voters and candidates. They also advocate for Ranked Choice Voting, which gives a citizen’s vote more weight and influence in an election. FairVote.org offers details on how ranked choice voting works.
“I am proud to receive the endorsement of Krist Noveselic. FairVote is a leading organization trying to change the electoral system in the US and calls for Ranked Choice Voting in both single winner elections and multiple winner elections for legislative seats. That is what is needed, so that so many voters don’t feel boxed into voting for the lesser of two evils.”
- Bill Redpath
Bill Redpath is the Libertarian candidate for US Congress from the IL 6th Congressional DIstrict. His opponents are Republican Jeanne Ives and Democrat Sean Casten.
The Chicago Board of Elections has received more than 350,000 vote-by-mail applications for the general election, up from about 250,000 in mid-August, and that number could grow to a third of all city voters by Election Day, the board’s chair said Tuesday. […]
The number of vote-by-mail applications the city has received so far is more than triple the board’s all-time record of 118,000, reached during this year’s primary, according to Marisel Hernandez, chairwoman of the Chicago Board of Elections.
Given the current rate, Hernandez said in an interview later, the city “could easily reach 500,000” vote-by-mail applications out of about 1.52 million registered voters.
More than 1 million Illinoisans have applied to vote by mail for the November election, roughly triple the number of the last presidential contest in 2016. […]
In southwestern Illinois, St. Clair County Clerk Thomas Holbrook said the office has received more than 25,000 mail ballot requests. That’s compared with roughly 9,200 people who cast ballots by mail in 2016. He said his office will hire more people to handle the influx. […]
A pending federal lawsuit against the [state’s vote by mail] expansion could further complicate things. Cook County Republicans allege expanded mail voting is a partisan scheme.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee intervened, accusing Republicans of “playing politics and risking the lives of Illinoisans by forcing them to choose between exercising their right to vote or the health and safety of themselves and their families.”
The judge has indicated he’ll rule before ballots go out this month.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is warning the public about robocalls trying to discourage people from voting by mail.
According to Raoul’s office, some voters have reported receiving robocalls warning them that voting by mail could result in their private information being provided to third parties.
According to Raoul, calls can involve an automated recording claiming that information belonging to people who vote by mail will be shared with 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 is urging individuals to disregard any messages containing such false claims, saying in part, “I am urging voters to be aware that Illinois law does not permit election authorities to share personal information, regardless of the voting method you choose. If you receive a call, email or text trying to convince you otherwise, please report the contact to my office or the Illinois State Board of Elections.”
When it comes to voter turnout, Chicago’s 3rd Ward, which includes Bronzeville, is one of the biggest.
But some voters, including Alderman Pat Dowell, were recently targets of robocalls discouraging vote by mail.
“The message was ‘don’t vote by mail because the information you’ve given the Board of Elections is going to go to a national data base for credit card companies to come after you,’” Dowell said.
She said the message also relayed that her private information will be given to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the police.
While the voice was an African American-sounding woman, Dowell said the caller ID came up as Jack Burkman, an ultra-conservative conspiracy theorist.
Michigan authorities are investigating a robocall that is targeting voters in Detroit by providing false information about mail-in voting.
The audio of the phone call in question:
This is [unintelligible] 1699, a civil rights organization founded by Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl. Mail-in voting sounds great. But did you know that if you vote by mail, your personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants, and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debt? The CDC is even pushing to give preference for mail in voting to track people for mandatory vaccines Don’t be [unintelligible] into giving your private information to the man. Stay safe, and beware of vote by mail.
The recording alleges the call was made on behalf of Project 1599, a project spearheaded by conservative social media personality Jacob Wohl and GOP lobbyist Jack Burkman. The actual source of the call remains unknown, but Wohl and Burkman have a “known reputation for spreading misinformation in an effort to gain notoriety,” Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. Wohl denied involvement when contacted by The Detroit News on Thursday and said he and Burkman,while “not fans of mail-in voting,” were “puzzled” by the call.
In the wake of the economy-crippling COVID-19 pandemic, Teachers’ Retirement System assets experienced a $4.9 billion rebound between March and July, climbing to a total of $53.4 billion.
The worldwide effect of the coronavirus impacted TRS investments between January and the end of fiscal year 2020 (FY2020) on June 30. The preliminary TRS investment return for FY2020 hovered close to the break-even mark at +0.52 percent, net of fees, on June 30. By comparison, on December 31, 2019, the half-way mark in FY2020, the TRS rate of return was +13.41 percent.
The System began calendar year 2020 with $54.2 billion in assets. The effects of the pandemic caused total assets to drop to $48.5 billion at the end of March. On June 30, assets totaled $51.6 billion. At the end of July, TRS assets totaled $53.4 billion, a 10.1 percent increase since March.
“Everyone took a hit during the pandemic,” said TRS Interim Executive Director Stan Rupnik. “But the investment strategies we have in place limited losses and have allowed us to prudently rebuild the portfolio’s value.”
During the January-March quarter of FY2020, the TRS investment return was -9.95 percent, net of fees. During the previous quarter, October to December, the System’s return was +4.28 percent. The System’s return during the April to June quarter was +5.94 percent.
The TRS return between January and March, however, stood favorably compared to other economic measurements of the same period.
The Northern Trust Corporation’s analysis of the 300 largest U.S. institutional investors indicated that the median return for public pension plans between January and March was -12.6 percent. A similar analysis of public pension systems by Wilshire Associates found that the median quarterly return was -12.8 percent.
In general, the negative investment returns for various stock market measurements indicate that the TRS portfolio held up comparatively well. For instance, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index returned -19.6 percent during the January–March quarter.
Long-term, TRS investment returns continue to exceed the System’s long-term assumed return rate of 7 percent. For FY2020, the 40-year TRS return was +9.0 percent.
“The long-term investment returns are the most important numbers for our members,” Rupnik said. “These timeframes reflect the long-term relationship that TRS has with its members, both as active educators and as retirees. The long-term returns also indicate a successful investment program that values steady growth and strong risk management over several generations.”
Today, Rodney Davis’ campaign for Congress released a new ad titled “Madigan Machine,” which highlights Betsy Londrigan’s close ties to Speaker Mike Madigan’s corrupt political machine. The ad will be running on TV stations across IL-13 as well as online and digital platforms.
llinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is facing intense scrutiny after being subpoenaed in connection with a bribery investigation.
Mike Madigan is the most corrupt politician in Illinois and Betsy Londrigan is part of Madigan’s Machine.
Londrigan raises money for Madigan and his corrupt machine while her campaign is bankrolled by Madigan and his henchmen.
Now Londrigan is refusing to call for Madigan’s resignation.
Betsy Londrigan would make Washington more corrupt.
…Adding… Press release…
In response to Congressman Rodney Davis’ first TV ad that airs a misleading attack on his opponent rather than focusing on any accomplishments of his own, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s campaign released the following statement:
“After nearly a decade in Washington, Rodney Davis still can’t come up with a single positive reason for people to vote for him so he’s resorted to launching desperate and misleading attacks instead,” said campaign spokeswoman Eliza Glezer. “Davis doesn’t want Central Illinois families to know his real record of voting 11 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement, voting to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and voting against lowering the cost of prescription drugs. If Davis doesn’t have a record he can win on, he shouldn’t be running.”
Winnebago County Coroner Bill Hintz does not plan to resign from office, so says his attorney.
Hintz, who was arrested last week on charges of forgery, theft, conspiracy to commit theft and official misconduct, appeared briefly in court Tuesday with his attorney, Mark Byrd.
Hintz was informed Judge Joe McGraw has been assigned to the case and was told his next court date is 9 a.m. Oct. 20.
Hintz declined to talk once outside the courtroom, but Byrd said his client is to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise, and he said the coroner has no intention of resigning from his post.
“Why would an innocent man leave a job that he loves?” Byrd said.
Winnebago County Board members are split on the call for Coroner Bill Hintz’s resignation after Hintz was charged Thursday with forgery, theft, conspiracy to commit theft and official misconduct.
Seven board members contacted by the Register Star said Hintz should step down immediately while four board members contend Hintz should be allowed to stay on the job pending the outcome of his criminal case.
Three County Board members said they are undecided. The remaining six board members were not immediately available for comment. […]
However, at least three County Board Republicans believe Hintz should be allowed to stay on the job while his case plays out in court.
“Innocent until proven guilty,” said Jim Webster, R-2. “Until it goes through the judicial system, we don’t know all of the facts of the case.”
When Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the state COVID-19 “mitigation” plan for the Metro East on Aug. 16, he said it was done in conjunction “with local officials in the Metro East region and across the border in St. Louis.”
Last week, though, the governor admitted the cross-border arrangement to try to contain the virus’ spread was a “mistake.”
Man, was it ever.
Instead of sticking to the state’s original mitigation plan, which would’ve included things like reducing indoor restaurant capacity and shutting down all indoor bar service, Pritzker only ordered bars and restaurants to close at 11 p.m., which was in line with what St. Louis was planning at the time.
But the region’s test positivity rate has since continued to rise to, as I write this, just above 10%, by far the highest in Illinois.
Then, last week, Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties, experienced 8-plus percent positivity rates three days in a row, which triggered automatic state mitigation.
According to a Belleville News-Democrat report, the Illinois Department of Public Health informed Metro East officials last Monday that their region’s state restrictions would be tightened to match those that were about to be imposed on Will and Kankakee, including a ban on indoor dining and drinking.
But the same Metro East Democratic legislators who demanded prematurely that Pritzker speed up the business reopening process way back on May 12 pitched a fit and Pritzker backed down.
The protesting Democrats did have a point, I suppose. Pritzker originally said the restrictions he put in place would last two weeks. The local politicians wanted the governor to stick to his word. And the governor’s own plan states that once a region meets the “resurgence criteria,” then a “tiered menu of mitigation options will be considered.” There are no actual hard and fast rules in his plan and those Metro East Democrats undoubtedly knew the loopholes going in.
But that meant Pritzker would be imposing significantly tighter restrictions on Will and Kankakee counties, even though the two counties have substantially lower positivity rates than the Metro East (8.4% vs. 10.4% as I write this).
And that set off Republican state Senators Sue Rezin and John Curran, who represent parts of Region 7. The two claimed the governor had “decided to place partisan politics above science.” The same rules should apply to all regions, they said, “and they should be based on science, not politics.”
It didn’t help that Pritzker failed to reach out to the two Republican legislators before making his announcement. So, they, too, had a valid point.
On a crass political level, the Metro East was instrumental to Pritzker’s 2018 Democratic primary win. It’s also a vitally important region for his “Fair Tax” proposal. Without the full and fervent cooperation of those powerful local political organizations, there’s no dispute that his tax plan will be in serious trouble.
The plain fact of the matter, however, is that Pritzker cannot on the one hand say he values science over politics and then on the other even appear to cave on political grounds.
There may have been sound reasons to try and equalize restrictions with St. Louis because the city is mere minutes away from everyone in the Metro East, which is small in comparison to the Missouri metro region. It’s not like the governor can close the bridges, after all. And, yes, Pritzker said he’d give the region two weeks. But he openly admitted last week that his actions clearly didn’t work. Sometimes, you just gotta bite the bullet.
That region is on the verge of getting totally out of control, if it isn’t already. Illinois can’t do anything about Missouri. Deal with Illinois.
Thankfully, Pritzker seemed chastened by the whole experience last week when pressed by a reporter. “I will readily admit that that was not a good idea,” he said. He should never, ever do this again.
And it’s long past time for those Metro East Democratic legislators who’ve been up in arms since May about the governor’s executive orders to loudly demand that their constituents finally take this pandemic seriously. There’s no excuse for this nonsense. The region is fast becoming a national hot spot, for crying out loud.
Several of those same legislators pushed hard to establish a large local contact tracing pilot program in St. Clair County. But experts have said contact tracing can be overwhelmed when the positivity rate is above 5%. It’s not a panacea. Do better. There is no easy way out of this.
You’d think those folks in the Metro East would start taking this thing seriously. They are not. In fact, they’re growing more militant.
On behalf of the 650-member organizations and businesses of the RiverBend Growth Association, I write this letter to implore you to seek a better way to measure the positivity rate that has placed Region 4 back into resurgence mitigation. These efforts are affecting the local Riverbend economy, forcing the closure and/or severely limiting the capacities of our restaurant, bars and entertainment industries. Many owners, employees, and families are being unfairly placed in financial jeopardy.
• Why are bars, restaurants and our entertainment industry being looked at with scrutiny, when the contact tracing does not point to these specific industries as a source of the problem?
• Why are those incarcerated or living in nursing homes and assisted care facilities included in the totals when they are confined to their facilities and not a part of the community spread?
• Why are the daily hospital admissions, due to COVID-19, not factored into your decision to allow these businesses to operate when that was such a focus back in March and April?
The RiverBend Growth Association and its members ask that you take these questions into account as we continue to try and move further in the right direction. By looking at the above, and not just restaurants, bars and the entertainment industry, we can help create a better sense of normalcy for our local businesses who are trying to plan for employee scheduling and inventory ordering.
We ask that you give these questions your consideration as you weigh your decision, on Sept. 16, to remove the current restrictions placed on our area.
In closing, it is extremely unfair to all of our local businesses that have been doing their part to serve their customers in a safe and comfortable environment to endure the economic hardship that this resurgence mitigation has placed them in when other businesses are allowed to operate freely. The RiverBend Growth Association will continue to promote Safely Shopping Local in the Riverbend.
* I asked the governor’s office to address those three questions…
• Why are bars, restaurants and our entertainment industry being looked at with scrutiny, when the contact tracing does not point to these specific industries as a source of the problem?
1. Contact tracing does point to bars, restaurants and entertainment venues contributing to the spread of COVID-19.
2. Contact tracing in the area has pointed to bars and social gatherings at various venues as major contributors of spread. In Madison County, 23 percent of the most recent outbreaks occurred in restaurants and bars. The same is true of 12.5 percent of East St. Louis’ East Side Health District’s traced outbreaks and 10.5 percent of those in St. Clair County. In each jurisdiction, outbreaks were also tied to critical infrastructure such as healthcare, as well as workplaces, group homes and office settings.
3. As is highlighted in the weekly press release announcing the counties that are at warning level, which includes Madison County, some of the common factors for an increase in cases and outbreaks are associated with college parties, weddings, large gatherings, bars and clubs, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings, travel to neighboring states, and spread among members of the same household who are not isolating at home. Cases connected to schools are beginning to be reported. General transmission of the virus in the community is also increasing.
4. Local public health officials are observing people not social distancing, gathering in large groups, and not using face coverings. In some counties, local law enforcement and states’ attorneys are not enforcing important mitigation measures like social distancing and the wearing of face coverings. Additionally, some people refuse to participate in contact tracing and are not providing information on close contacts or answering the phone. Individuals are also waiting to get tested believing their symptoms are allergies or some other cause.
• Why are those incarcerated or living in nursing homes and assisted care facilities included in the totals when they are confined to their facilities and not a part of the community spread?
1. The notion that those with COVID-19 who live in congregate settings are not a part of community spread is not supported by science. People with COVID-19 who live in congregate settings interact with a variety of staff members who then interact with others in the community during the course of their life outside of work. Also, the assumption in this question is that congregate settings are leading to increased positivity rates for region 4. That again, is simply false. Those who live in congregate settings are counted because they are part of the community and they can contribute to the virus spreading in the community.
2. Between August 23rd and 29th, the region saw 1,064 new cases, 25 of which (2.35%) were associated with long-term care facilities. In preliminary data from August 30th to September 5th, long-term care facilities were associated with 5 of 1230 cases, or 0.41%.
• Why are the daily hospital admissions, due to COVID-19, not factored into your decision to allow these businesses to operate when that was such a focus back in March and April?
• There are two ways to trigger additional state level mitigation: Sustained increase in 7-day rolling average (7 out of 10 days) in the positivity rate AND ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: Sustained 7-day increase in hospital admissions for a COVID-19 like illness; Reduction in hospital capacity threatening surge capabilities (ICU capacity or medical/surgical beds under 20%) OR Three consecutive days averaging greater than or equal to 8% positivity rate (7 day rolling)
• Region 4 has triggered the 8 percent positivity rate, a rate that according to the public health experts is a warning sign that unless mitigations are in place to lower it, the rate of growth for the virus will be exponentially more difficult to manage.
* The president/CEO of the Illinois Press Association is very upset that the governor’s statewide mask-wearing publicity campaign did not purchase any newspaper ads…
We’ve been told by the governor’s office that the goal is to reach a younger demographic, and that’s why print advertising in newspapers wasn’t part of the media mix.
Ironically, a study conducted by Civis that was used to guide the campaign showed that, with the exception of adults 65 and over, there is little difference in mask wearing. […]
We understand the value of broadcast advertising to the governor’s campaign. Just like newspapers, broadcast media have been there every step of the way to get the message out about COVID-19 and the state’s response. However, there were no reporters from Facebook or any other social-media platform at any of the governor’s news conferences.
If we missed them, we apologize.
In fact, it seems that the only fact-based reporting on social media is from credible news outlets like newspapers and broadcast outlets, and those didn’t cost the state anything! As a result, Mark Zuckerberg profits while Illinois newspapers continue to struggle with economic hardships exacerbated by the pandemic.
Newspapers have disseminated the critical messages, but when it was time to receive the much-needed support of a paid advertising campaign, newspapers weren’t included.
Of the more than 400 newspapers in Illinois, 307 have accounted for the nearly 3,000 times COVID-19 coverage has been published from Capitol News Illinois (CNI), an initiative supported by Illinois newspapers. The CNI team has reported on every one of the governor’s news conferences.
Man, was that ever a huge insult to all newspaper reporters, particularly those at Capitol News Illinois. “We’re carrying your water, so wet our beaks!”
I mean, imagine the uproar from newspaper editorial boards if Speaker Madigan sent this memo to ComEd: “I have disseminated the critical messages, but when it was time to receive the much-needed support for a paid advertising campaign, I wasn’t included.”
* And check out the super-rich irony here…
Life update: Today is my last day contributing to @CapitolNewsIL's newsroom. #twill
Until I find a job in Harrisburg, PA, I will be freelancing for whoever will have me. Please still reach out if you have a news tip, need a reporter or want to say hi: rebecca.anzel@gmail.com.
(And my departure follows two other women's the month prior, and four in the months before that. Most definitely not a good trend.) https://t.co/hfEMoltQv1
Just gotta say that nearly every woman reporter I knew and worked with just a little over a year ago at the Capitol has either left Springfield or moved into another industry sooo 😬 https://t.co/z6yLngvyKr
* The Sun-Times editorial board has been asking all legislative candidates this question…
What grade — “A” to “F” — would you give Gov. J.B. Pritzker for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic? Please explain. What, if anything, should he have done differently?
Being Governor in Illinois is a tough job on the best of days, and I do not envy the choices a governor has to make. However, we have seen Governor Pritzker put over a million Illinois residents out of work with the stroke of a pen without having a functional unemployment system. To this day, the IDES system is a complete disaster and it’s at the expense of those who are desperate to put food on the table for their families.
We all understand that we are living in unprecedented times, but the General Assembly is a co-equal branch of government and should be doing its job. The Governor continues to run state government via executive order over and over again. Myself and my colleagues from both sides of the aisle did not abdicate our constitutional responsibilities during this pandemic. Our governor cannot rule with unilateral authority.
* Freshman Democratic Rep. Diane Pappas also deferred..
I am grateful that our governor has chosen to listen to the advice of public health experts, scientists, doctors, and epidemiologists when making these very difficult decisions. I can appreciate that none of his decisions – whether I’ve agreed with them or not – have been easy, and that every possible solution and decision came with very real pros and cons. I think it’s clear when looking at Illinois’ data as compared to other states that didn’t rely on the science that we likely avoided an even greater crisis by focusing on medical science-based decision making rather than making the “easy” political decisions.
Unfortunately, what is in reality a very real public health crisis has been weaponized and used as a political tool across our nation. Rather than making decisions based on science and fact, our national response has been haphazard, confusing, and dismissive of the advice of the experts on the frontlines of this fight.
* Republican Rep. Mark Batinick (a Tier One target) was an early advocate for a mask-wearing mandate…
Solid B. The Governor acted relatively quickly to halt the spread of the pandemic. Decisions made hastily aren’t usually perfect but in this instance there was definitely more good than bad. The Governor certainly listened to some of my suggestions. I was the first elected state official to push for the use of face coverings indoors. I started a local campaign and gave away PPE to help make that happen. He acknowledged my efforts publicly several times. Being a Republican pushing early for the use of masks also made it much easier for him to implement their use statewide. People forget that early in the Pandemic there was a lot of pushback against the face covering requirement. It is always helpful for significant policy decisions to have bi-partisan support. My initial conversations to him about this were the end of March with an open letter mid-April. The requirement was put in place at the beginning of May. I wish it has been put in place even sooner.
Big box stores were allowed to stay open and sell all of their items while small businesses selling the same items were not. Not only was this not fair it put more people in fewer places. That is harmful not helpful. The picking of winners and losers should not have been allowed. I have filed legislation to eliminate this practice.
But the issues at Illinois Department of Employment Security alone make it impossible to give him and “A”. The calls to my office for people waiting months to receive benefits during this difficult time was massive. That is completely unacceptable. There were also many calls to my office over fraudulent use of their names to receive benefits. People who didn’t deserve benefits were getting them while people who were desperate did not.
As a former teacher, I think I’ll answer this more in a pass/fail grading scale. The Governor passes, but not with flying colors. I watched the daily updates carefully for several weeks. His constant criticism of the federal response distrurbed me since I saw with my own eyes that a hospital was built at McCormick Place within days and the hospitals and facilities in my district were getting much needed supplies. I was truly grateful for all of the responses at all levels of government with the extreme pressure and uncertainty of the crisis. Being mapped into an area with all of Chicago and Cook County for advancing through the Governor’s phases struck me as particularly unfair considering the vast differences between cases in DuPage vs. Cook. That has been rectified, so I’m grateful for the more appropriate change. I wish the Governor nothing but good fortune in leading this effort. I do so hoping and praying that he will make appropriate decisions for appropriate areas going forward. I don’t wish to criticize anyone who’s truly trying their best to help.
* Appointed Republican Rep. Brad Stephens is another Tier One target…
C. I was initially very supportive of the Governor’s response to Covid-19 and applauded him for moving decisively in an incredibly uncertain and unprecedented time. That said, as time went on I was frustrated with some inconsistencies in the reopening plan which created confusion and uncertainty over our path forward. Additionally the lack of organization and responsiveness from IDES has been unacceptable. Our district has been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic due to the high number of restaurant, hospitality, and gig economy workers. In late March I held a teletownhall for our residents with staff from IDES to help provide information on unemployment assistance and other services. Five months later my offices still receive calls and emails daily from constituents who are unable to get their deserved benefits or even a response from IDES - the State of Illinois must do better.
F — Governor Pritzker has moved the goal-posts on restrictions and requirements for all working-class individuals in the state. He condemned our elderly to a death sentence, keeping them locked down in COVID incubators, and was fine with Illinois’ economy going even further in the gutter. His only solution (it isn’t one) is a federal bailout. All the while, Pritzker has directed $55 million towards his efforts to pass a progressive tax that will hurt small businesses and working families even more. Governor Pritzker’s COVID regions put in place for his phases across the state were short-sided and indicative of his familiarity with the state of Illinois outside of Chicago.
* The Question: What grade — “A” to “F” — would you give Gov. J.B. Pritzker for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,392 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including seven additional confirmed deaths.
• Clinton County: 1 male 40s, 1 male 80s
• Cook County: 1 male 30s
• Jackson County: 1 male 40s
• Montgomery County: 1 female 90s
• Williamson County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 252,353 cases, including 8,186 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 1 – September 7 is 4.0%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 31,363 specimens for a total of 4,478,710. As of last night, 1,504 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 343 patients were in the ICU and 133 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.
“Mike Madigan’s time is over,” said Keerti Gopal of @SunriseMvmtChi. “We will not be silenced, we will not put up with your corruption, we will not stand for your inaction… we are wide awake and we will not be silenced.” #ChicagoProtestspic.twitter.com/hqdBOnezHH
The group has made some recent campaign endorsements. It’s mainly focused on the Green New Deal.
…Adding… Duncan Black recently made some very important points about activist dynamics…
Here’s the way it’s supposed to work.
1) Activists make “extreme” maximalist demands.
2) Centrist politicians say whoa whoa this is a real issue, but those activists are a bit nuts, still here is a Common Sense Proposal That All Americans Can Agree On which addresses the problem in a good bipartisan fashion (blah blah blah cue West Wing theme).
3) Activists keep making extreme demands.
4) Centrist politicians say, “See how reasonable we are? We aren’t like those nutters, our proposals are Good! And Reasonable! And Common Sense! And that those crazy activists are still mad about it is proof that we aren’t just crazy weirdo lefties! See how mad they are!”
The point is that something can be achieved even as the politicians get cred for punching hippies. It’s a bit of kayfabe, but hopefully also a bit of win-win. Still it requires that the hippies remain mad! If the hippies are happy the show breaks down.
Now what happens is the “reasonable” proposals are made, the activists remain mad (as they are supposed to), and then people get mad at the activists for not being more grateful. That’s not how it works!
When activists, say, fight for $15, and then the politicians come back with, “well, that’s nuts, how about $12 in 3 years,” those politicians don’t get to run to their business donors and say, “see? we fought off the hippies for you,” if the hippies say, “wow, great, $12 in 3 years is good enough, thank you Mr. Politician.’
You see this a lot with the environmental groups as well.
Add Illinois Senate President Don Harmon’s office to the long list of organizations, politicians, lobbyists and others subpoenaed in a wide-ranging federal probe that has already led to a series of political corruption charges and convictions.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago demanded that Harmon’s office, which he took over early this year after the retirement of former Senate President John Cullerton, turn over all documents and communications related to a property at Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue in Chinatown. The parcel is a state-owned parking lot long coveted by developers. […]
There’s no indication in the subpoena that Harmon is a target of a federal probe.
“Clearly there is an ongoing federal investigation related to Marty Sandoval’s legislative activities,” Harmon spokesman John Patterson said in a statement. “Our office has complied with requests for information.”
When the feds raided Sandoval’s offices last year, they sought records related to the law firm where Harmon used to work. The Oak Park Democrat stepped down from that firm after succeeding John Cullerton as Senate president in January.
Harmon, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, has said Sandoval had a habit of keeping files on political opponents.
“Clearly there is an ongoing federal investigation related to Marty Sandoval’s legislative activities,” Harmon spokesman John Patterson said. “Our office has complied with requests for information.”
All you will see in Harmon’s response is the Senate Judiciary Committee’s packet of information about bills that were currently in the committee at the time, which included the legislation in question.
Oh, and by the way, the Chinatown parcel was not even in the Senate bill when it passed the committee, nor was it in the bill when the Senate sent the bill to the House, nor was it in the bill when the House sent it back to the Senate for concurrence.
So, unless you’re prepared to say that Don Harmon is flat-out defying a federal subpoena, there’s pretty much nothing to see here.
* Politico has a good roundup today of the House Republican seats currently in play…
Republican Rep. Allen Skillicorn recently toyed with stepping aside this election season — but he told Playbook over the weekend that he’s still in the race. His waffling about running has tripped up his momentum, making the 66th District seat ripe for Democratic challenger Suzanne Ness to pick off.
The rematch in the 54th District between Republican Rep. Tom Morrison and Democratic challenger Maggie Trevor is expected to go Democrat this time. Morrison only barely won in 2018. And Palatine is likely to support Joe Biden for president.
Republican Rep. Grant Wehrli faces Democratic challenger Janet Yang Rohr. Their 41st District encompasses Naperville, a suburb that shifted Democrat in 2018 — and saw Congresswoman Lauren Underwood defeat a longtime Republican.
Ditto Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, a 47th District Republican from DuPage County, which is also leaning Democrat. Mazzochi won by just over 1,500 votes in 2018 and this time the Democrat, Jennifer Zordani, has strong party backing.
Republican Rep. Brad Stephens is in a tight race against Dem challenger Michelle Darbro, an EMT and firefighter backed by Madigan. Stephens will do well in Rosemont (where he’s also the mayor) but he’ll get clobbered in the Chicago area that’s part of the 20th District.
Rep. Amy Grant is in jeopardy of losing her 42nd District seat to progressive Ken Mejia-Beal.
Democrats also think they can defeat Republican Reps. John Cabello, Steve Reick, Norine Hammond, and Dan Ugaste, though GOP insiders expect the races to hinge on whether their GOP-leaning districts back Trump this time around.
And Republicans hope to flip the 116th District: Republican David Friess, an attorney, vs. the recently appointed Dem Rep. Nathan Reitz; 111th District: Republican Amy Elik vs. Democratic Rep. Monica Bristow (Republicans lost by 356 votes to Bristow two years ago); and the 112th District that has Republican Lisa Ciampoli challenging Democratic Rep. Katie Stuart.
Senate Majority Leader and Chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) joined colleagues at the Westside Justice Center on Tuesday to announce a plan to build a legislative agenda that addresses systemic racism in Illinois.
“We have an opportunity to leverage this moment to make sure other Black women, Black mothers and Black wives just like me can truly have peace, justice and hope for our future, knowing that our children and our grandchildren will not share the same kind of life experiences that everyone in my generation and generations before me have had to endure,” Lightford said.
Lightford and the ILBC plan to hold hearings on four pillars of policy to compose a legislative agenda to be brought forth during the fall veto session. The four pillars of policy are as follows:
I. Criminal justice reform, violence reduction and police accountability
II. Education and workforce development
III. Economic access, equity and opportunity
IV. Health care and human services
The caucus will hold a series of hearings in the months leading up to November’s post-election veto session – the first of which, focused on police accountability, was held Tuesday – so that definite proposals will be ready for the legislature to take up when it reconvenes Nov. 17-19 and Dec. 1-3, Lightford said.
Without concrete measures to evaluate, it’s impossible to gauge the probability of success and support Black lawmakers’ wish list will receive from their peers.
So far, the Democratic leaders who call the shots in the legislature are supportive, but vague on just what they’ll back.
* Illinois Senate President Don Harmon…
The Black Caucus is showing us the path to a better Illinois. I look forward to being an ally and helping win approval of needed reforms.
* Speaker Madigan…
“Like so many, I’ve been reflecting on the injustices our communities of color, especially within the Black community, have faced for generations and thinking about ways in which we can address these issues and ways we can do better in Illinois to improve the quality of life of Black America.
“We are at a turning point, and it’s past time to take action. We know there isn’t one single source that has contributed to issues of inequality in our country and our state. We must evaluate all of our institutions to finally bring about the change that will make a difference. We must revisit issues with our criminal justice system, policing tactics, education system, workforce and economic opportunities and access to healthcare, among others, to bring about equity in the lives of Black Illinoisans.
“I thank the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus (ILBC) for advancing these difficult but necessary discussions. I believe it’s time we build on the legislature’s past efforts to meaningfully explore the issues outlined in the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ Policy Agenda, and I will continue to work closely with the ILBC to support their efforts to end systemic racism throughout Illinois.
“Along with my staff, I have had many conversations with Black Caucus members, community leaders, other elected officials and residents across the state to understand the pain, concerns and ideas for moving forward. I am committed to working with everyone seeking changes to address those recommendations and enact policies that finally start to provide equal justice under the constitution.”
Rep. La Shawn Ford emphasized Black leaders have been fighting and struggling for years. However, their voices and efforts have gone unheard.
“We are now at a moment where our white colleagues that have been raised in white communities, that just didn’t understand what we were talking about, are now uncomfortable. They are so uncomfortable now that they are hearing all of the asks that they couldn’t hear before,” Ford said. “Now the question is, are they ready to act on what they are hearing? Are they ready to join in the effort to make Illinois healthy?”
Several caucus members note the state won’t move forward unless their concerns are addressed. They believe all people deserve the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
“I know that the Constitution that I love and hold so dear - when it was written - I was not the person it was written for, nor were my ancestors or people who look like me,” explained Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago). “But the reality is that for myself, my ancestors, my children, and future generations, I am owed a debt.”
State Senate Majority Leader and ILBC Chair Kimberly Lightford opened her remarks at the news conference by noting, “This is the moment that I have dreamed of, that I have prayed for, that I have worked towards my entire life.”
“This is a time when I stand on my parents’ shoulders, and their parents’ shoulders, and their parents’ shoulders and their parent’s shoulders,” she said. “We’re finally here … today as the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, to present to you our agenda to end systemic racism that has oppressed our people for as long as we’ve ever known.” […]
While none of the pillars of the agenda have been filed as legislation yet, Lightford said bills would be ready for the fall legislative session.
“We will have our legislative initiatives prepared for the veto session and we do intend on taking up all of veto session to address them,” she said.
It is still about three months and a presidential election away, but the veto session is shaping up to be a potentially busy time in Springfield.
This considering there were (and still are to some degree) people whispering that the veto session will be canceled. The basis of that is there are literally no vetoes for lawmakers to consider and with the coronavirus pandemic continuing, it will still be difficult to convene the General Assembly in a safe manner. There are also people pushing the idea that the Democratic leaders don’t want to convene with the questions hovering over House Speaker Michael Madigan and the federal investigation into Commonwealth Edison.
Counter that, though, with the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus saying last week that they fully expect the veto session to be dominated by their efforts to pass criminal justice and social justice reform legislation. They made it clear that they intend to move while there is a national focus on those issues. Or as Rep. Chris Welch, D-Hillside, said, “The Black agenda cannot wait.”
The Black Caucus is a significant force in the Democratic Caucus making it improbable they will be told to wait until later by the Democratic leaders.
These aren’t just Chicago issues; there are Black families throughout Illinois. It’s not just a youth mindset; the pillars focus on developing a solid labor force and working for equality of opportunity when it comes to starting businesses, getting loans and investing in property. Neither are they strictly Black issues; poverty knows no race, and Illinois has miles to go before it can be said all its young people have equal opportunities.
But if you shut down upon encountering phrases like “police accountability” and “systemic racism,” you’ll miss the big picture. We should listen to our neighbors when they tell us they’re hurting and fully engage with their ideas for solutions.
Yes, it is important to discuss how nonwhite communities are policed. But the people pushing for change know that’s only part of the equation.
Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin made huge headlines recently when he filed a petition to commence formal disciplinary proceedings against House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Leader Durkin’s petition relied on information contained in ComEd’s “Deferred Prosecution Agreement” with the US Attorney’s office. The DPA claimed ComEd participated in a years-long scheme to essentially bribe Madigan into giving it favorable Statehouse treatment with jobs, contracts, internships and even a corporate board seat.
Speaker Madigan has denied all wrongdoing, and claimed Durkin’s rarely used maneuver was a “political stunt” in an election year to distract from Republican President Donald Trump’s spectacular unpopularity in Illinois.
Public opinion polling has consistently shown that Madigan is the most unpopular politician in Illinois – even more so than Trump, who lost Illinois by 17 points in 2016.
So, it’s natural that tying Madigan to his House Democratic incumbents and candidates has been the go-to move by Republicans for years. It appeared to work well only once, in 2016 when then-Gov. Bruce Rauner spent a fortune to bust Madigan’s chops and the House Speaker lost a net of four seats. The Madigan people blamed Trump’s huge popularity and Hillary Clinton’s unpopularity in Downstate districts for the setback.
Two of the three members Durkin appointed to the newly created investigative committee are in extremely difficult reelection battles. Both members, Reps. Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) and Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst), have darkly warned voters about Madigan’s ties to their opponents. They’re not exactly bringing open minds to the proceedings.
“Every ad you see for her,” one of Rep. Wehrli’s recent campaign mailers claimed as an arrow pointed to a photo of his Democratic opponent Janet Yang Rohr, “is paid for by him,” as an arrow pointed to a pic of Madigan.
So, is Madigan right that this is all about politics? Well, the petition and subsequent committee hearings (if any) will help Leader Durkin’s political interests. As in the past, all of Durkin’s candidates have been using the Madigan issue in their races.
Durkin has also vowed to defeat Gov. JB Pritzker’s graduated income tax proposal at the ballot, and at least one of the groups opposing the tax change has already used the investigation into Madigan to ask voters not to trust the “corrupt politicians” with additional taxation power.
Republicans filed paperwork this past week to launch the investigation, which will be led by state Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside. […]
“I have never seen the speaker engage in anything inappropriate,” Welch told WBEZ. “Every conversation I’ve had with him, every interaction I’ve had with him, he’s by the book.” […]
Welch said he could envision a scenario where the speaker might be willing to cooperate.
“This is going to be an opportunity for Speaker Madigan to receive due process and a fair hearing,” Welch said. “And if he’s called upon to participate, I’m sure he’ll participate.”
A majority vote of the committee is needed to authorize charges, so at least one Democrat would be needed for this to occur. […]
But the rules do not specify what constitutes a chargeable offense, something Wehrli said the General Assembly needs to address.
“If you look at our rules, it’s basically ‘conduct unbecoming’ and things like that. It’s very vague and nebulous, which is once again another reason why we’ve been pushing for ethics reforms is to highlight and make it crystal clear what goes beyond the pale when it comes to ethics,” he said. “Ethics can be very personal to each individual, and we can each interpret them differently. But what we need to do is make sure that the public has set a standard for us to adhere to, which is why I think the ethics reform is probably one of the most pressing issues we can do in Springfield.” […]
The first hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 10 at 9 a.m.
Retired University of Illinois-Springfield political scientist Kent Redfield said he’s not even sure what kind of case House Republicans will be able to make against Madigan. The U.S. Attorney’s office has said it is continuing to investigate political corruption issues. When news of the investigating committee surfaced, Durkin said the U.S. Attorney’s office was notified of it and that it will not interfere with the federal investigation.
Based on that, Redfield said he’s not sure where the House committee investigation is headed.
“It’s not clear to me what they are going to look at or who they’re going to talk to,” Redfield said. “The U.S Attorney doesn’t want the ComEd people answering questions and going on the records on things that might come up in some kind of trial.”
He said it is doubtful that any potential targets of the feds will want to testify to state lawmakers about things federal investigators may be interested in. Moreover, a defense attorney wouldn’t allow a client to put himself in jeopardy by testifying, he said.
Federal prosecutors late Friday filed one count of conspiracy to commit bribery against Commonwealth Edison’s former chief lobbyist, a one-time powerhouse in Springfield whom Speaker Michael Madigan invited as his personal guest to House inauguration festivities last year.
Named in the four-page federal filing was Fidel Marquez, ComEd’s former senior vice president of governmental and external affairs from 2012 until his abrupt and unexplained departure from the company last September.
The specific kind of court filing naming Marquez is indicative of a likely guilty plea and is a clear tightening of the federal probe into potential wrongdoing by the longest-serving House speaker in American history.
Documents obtained Friday by WBEZ through an open-records request to the speaker’s office showed that Madigan issued a personal invitation to Marquez to attend January 2019 House inauguration ceremonies as the speaker’s guest, underscoring the close personal relationship between the two.
* The document…
Ex-ComEd Senior Vice President of Government Relations Fidel Marquez indicted for bribing Madigan 🚨 #twillpic.twitter.com/RHaMSucV5j
— Frank Calabrese 'Wear a Mask' 😷 (@FrankCalabrese) September 5, 2020
The Chicago Tribune reported last year that Marquez was a focus of the federal investigation, as is former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, who abruptly retired last year. Pramaggiore has not been charged. A Pramaggiore spokesman has said that she “has done nothing wrong and any inference to the contrary is misguided and false.”
Prosecutors have said ComEd’s scheme began around 2011 — when key regulatory matters were before the Illinois House that Madigan controls — and continued through last year.
Many of the illegal payments allegedly were arranged by downstate lobbyist Michael McClain, a key confidant and adviser at the center of the probe, according to court records. McClain also has not been charged.
One example cited in ComEd’s deferred prosecution agreement involved a man identified as “Consultant 1,” who allegedly was speaking to a ComEd executive identified by the Tribune as Marquez. The consultant said he believed McClain had spoken to Madigan about the payments, saying the money was “to keep (Public Official A) happy (and) I think it’s worth it, because you’d hear otherwise,” prosecutors alleged.
ComEd spokeswoman Shannon Breymaier issued this statement Friday night: “We are not in a position to comment on specific matters related to this former ComEd executive or beyond what is in the statement of facts in ComEd’s deferred prosecution agreement.”
A spokeswoman for Madigan, asked to comment Friday night, sent an email with an earlier statement maintaining Madigan’s innocence in the ongoing case:
“The speaker has never helped someone find a job with the expectation that the person would not be asked to perform work by their employer, nor did he ever expect to provide anything to a prospective employer if it should choose to hire a person he recommended. He has never made a legislative decision with improper motives and has engaged in no wrongdoing here. Any claim to the contrary is unfounded.”
“This is an unequivocal indication that Marquez is cooperating,” said Juliet Sorensen, a Northwestern University law professor and a former federal prosecutor who investigated corruption cases. […]
The feds’ deal with ComEd and the new case against Marquez are “signals by the U.S. attorney’s office that more is in the works,” Sorensen said.
“I expect that this is the tip of the iceberg,” she said. […]
In his final role at ComEd, Marquez helped win approval for massive state subsidies for nuclear power plants. The legislation, approved in 2016, was one of two landmark bills that greatly enhanced ComEd’s bottom line during the bribery scheme in Springfield, according to federal court records.
In a photo from a news conference that touted the measure’s passage, Marquez appears with three prominent Democratic lawmakers. Two of those three Springfield politicians — Martin Sandoval and Luis Arroyo — also got charged with corruption in the past year and have stepped down.
