* Statement from Roberta Lynch, Executive Director of AFSCME Council 31…
Our fundamental goal as a union is to protect the lives and health of every union member and the people they serve. That’s why, since the first availability of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, AFSCME has worked to educate and encourage union members to be vaccinated in order to protect themselves, their families, co-workers and communities.
We have been working collaboratively with state agencies over the past months to increase vaccination rates and reduce the incidence of COVID in veterans’ homes, correctional facilities and care centers. And those efforts have been making steady progress.
In many of these state facilities vaccination rates now exceed those in the surrounding communities. More importantly, the numbers of COVID cases have declined dramatically in every one of these settings. In fact, some facilities have had no new cases at all—even with the arrival of the highly contagious Delta variant.
In other words, the combination of education about vaccine efficacy, ongoing testing, and appropriate protective measures, such as masking, has in fact been highly effective in reducing the spread of the virus in these facilities. Certainly more can be done, and our union is prepared to continue to work to further strengthen COVID prevention measures. We believe such efforts represent a better path forward than rigid mandates.
The employees in these congregate facilities have been on the job every day since the onset of this pandemic, putting their own health and safety at risk to assure public safety and provide essential care. We strongly oppose any effort to define them as part of the problem rather than recognizing their dedication and the vitally important contributions they have made to protecting health and saving lives.
The Pritzker Administration has already notified AFSCME that they stand ready to bargain over the implementation of the Governor’s plan for a vaccination mandate in these congregate facilities. Our union is fully prepared to engage in those discussions in order to ensure fairness for employees, while safeguarding the health of staff and all those who reside in these facilities.
Just get the shots.
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* Press release…
In response to Governor Pritzker issuing a statewide mask mandate in Illinois schools, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) released the following statement:
“For over a year, the Governor cut out a co-equal branch of government and ruled the state with unilateral authority instead of working collaboratively to handle the Covid-19 pandemic in Illinois. Governor Pritzker must put this continuing power trip aside and allow local health departments, elected officials, schools and most importantly, parents, to make decisions on these serious issues to help stop the spread of Covid-19.”
* IEA…
The pandemic is not over. The numbers in Illinois are going in the wrong direction. We need to keep our students in the classroom and keep them, and those who teach and work with them in schools, safe. Masks, along with other mitigation, such as ventilation, testing, appropriate cleaning and protective gear, are proven tactics.
The number one key to controlling the spread of the virus is vaccination. We encourage all who are able to get the vaccine to do so. It is the clearest path back to “normal” that exists and only about half of those eligible to receive the vaccine in Illinois have done so.
“We all want to get back to normal. Let’s pull together and take care of one another. Vax up and mask up. We owe it to our students and we owe it to each other,” said Kathi Griffin, president of the Illinois Education Association. “We’re so thankful to have leadership in this state that won’t let the virus fester and grow. But, it us up to all of us to bring COVID-19 to its knees.”
* IFT…
“We continue to be thankful for Governor Pritzker’s steady leadership throughout the pandemic. As school resumes soon in most Illinois districts, we welcome his updated mask mandate. With the large number of unvaccinated individuals and the rapid spread of the highly infectious Delta variant in Illinois, requiring masks in all schools is a prudent course of action.
“Science tells us that a layered approach will go a long way towards helping keep schools open and students, staff, and communities safe. In addition to mask wearing, we strongly urge all school districts and institutions of higher education to employ additional safety measures, including physical distancing, regular handwashing, adequate building ventilation, and regular COVID testing of students and educators.
“The sharp increase of COVID-19 cases in our state is a stark reminder that this pandemic is far from over. It is the responsibility of every one of us to do whatever is necessary to keep one another safe and bring this pandemic to an end. Our union takes that responsibility seriously and will continue to fight to help make that happen.”
Notice that neither union came out in favor of vax mandates.
This post may be updated.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Leader McConchie…
“The governor’s continued unilateral, go-it-alone approach on pandemic decision-making actively undermines the state’s ability to have broadly accepted mitigation strategies,” said Illinois Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods).
“The Governor encourages the public to be ‘all in Illinois’, but he himself refuses to be ‘all in’ with state and local elected officials who better understand their geographic areas and their communities’ needs. If he really wants to achieve the best possible mitigation results, he would abandon this singular approach and instead bring others to the governing table to ensure that mitigation efforts will be broadly accepted by the populace and effectively implemented. By continuing to exclude other state and local leaders, he is failing the people of Illinois who need statewide coordination, input and buy in from the public.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Jordan Abudayyeh…
Republicans need to spend less time complaining about doctors’ recommendations for ending this pandemic and more time actually trying to end it – by encouraging their supporters to get vaccinated.
…Adding… Gary Rabine…
Gary Rabine, a candidate for Governor, says JB Pritzker’s new school mask mandate is an unnecessary abuse of power, and he is calling on the Governor to allow school boards to make these decisions at the local level.
Rabine said the efficacy of mask mandates is sketchy at best. In the spring of 2020, a Danish study of 6,000 participants found that those who wore masks were just as likely to get COVID-19 as those who didn’t. Participants in the study were told to spend at least three hours outside their home and to practice social distancing and were then tested for COVID-19. The comprehensive study found no statistical advantage to those who wore masks.
“This is about control – not about science,” Rabine said. “We know that kids are at a low risk for the virus. Our kids had a rough year last year thanks to Governor Pritzker’s policies. We should allow local school boards to work with parents and students to set mask policies at the local level, instead of Pritzker’s one-size-fits-all solution. We need bold leadership, and we need to protect the rights of parents to make decisions for themselves and their children. I stand opposed to Governor Pritzker’s decision to infringe on parental rights.”
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* This post will be updated. Click here if the video doesn’t show up below…
…Adding… Pritzker…
This [mask] requirement extends to P-12 sports. Face coverings will be required for all indoor recreation, whereas outdoors, where transmission risks and rates are lower, athletes and coaches will not be required to mask.
We will continue to encourage school districts to make sure their athletes are tested regularly to catch any potential outbreaks early, and to ensure that schools have what they need to adhere to the new mask requirement. My administration is ready to supply masks to any school districts that need them. That’s on top of the free COVID-19 testing supplies we’re providing to all of our public schools statewide.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
* Vaccines…
Today I’m also announcing that Illinois will require vaccinations for all state employees who work in congregate facilities such as our veterans homes, our corrections facilities, and the Department of Human Services developmental centers and psychiatric hospitals, our most vulnerable residents, such as veterans who can’t live on their own, and adults living with developmental disabilities have no choice but to live amongst these workers.
By and large residents of the state run facilities have done what they can do to protect themselves by getting vaccinated. For example, residents of our state’s veterans homes have vaccination rates of 96% 98% and even 99%.
And yet many of the long term care facilities employees have themselves, not been vaccinated, they run the risk of carrying the virus into work with them, and then it’s the residents who are ending up seriously sick hospitalized or worse. It’s a breach of safety. It’s fundamentally wrong. And in Illinois, it’s going to stop. […]
We’ve notified the unions about this necessary safety measure, requesting that they come to the negotiating table to work out the details. Our state agencies will continue to make the vaccine readily available for employees, including posting vaccination drives at work sites and offering paid time off for receiving the vaccine.
This directive takes effect October 4 Two months from today, leaving ample time for employees to get fully vaccinated. If I could do it sooner. I would. Until then, all employees will remain masked up.
Related: 5 new positive COVID-19 cases at La Salle veterans home - IDVA confirms 2 residents, 3 workers positive from July 29-31
* Long-term care facilities…
Finally, I’m announcing a universal mass mandate in all long term care facilities all long term care facilities across Illinois, including those that are privately owned and operated. This means everyone vaccinated or not, must wear a mask when you’re in a facility with long term care patients and residents. This is already standard practice in much of the industry. But while the Delta variant rages on, I want to leave no doubt on the need for compliance.
* Wrap-up…
I want to end with a message for our vaccinated residents. I know this is hard. You did the right thing for yourself, for your family, for your community. And now, because of the new delta variant and the high number of unvaccinated people in the United States. It feels like we’re going backwards in this journey.
Please remember that the vast majority of vaccinated people are safe, no vaccine is 100% effective in hearing about breakthrough cases on the news can feel scary. Even when breakthroughs are rare and mild, but the likelihood of a vaccinated person testing positive for COVID-19 remains extremely low, and most importantly these vaccines are doing what they’re designed to do essentially to eliminate the risk of hospitalization and death again to all of those who are already vaccinated.
I’m going to ask you to do one more thing. Talk to someone in your life who could get the vaccine, but hasn’t yet. Please share your story with them share why you got that. Let them know that the vaccine is free, let them know that they can go to their doctor to a pharmacy to a clinic, and if their hometown, someone can come and vaccinate them right there at home. Let them know that they’ll still be eligible for the $1 million, Illinois vaccine lottery, and most importantly, that they’ll receive the life saving benefits of the vaccine.
We’ll get through this all together as Illinoisans as we have in so many other circumstances. By working together. And I want to thank everybody.
* More…
I will continue to listen to the IDPH and other experts to evaluate any and all necessary action to protect children, prevent death and support our healthcare systems. I’m asking private employers to do the same. Already we’ve seen companies with Illinois operations like Tyson and Google announce vaccine requirements for employees. I applaud those employers who have taken steps to protect their employees, their customers, and the public from the virus and I hope to see others join them most crucially, I’ll be putting out a call to all long term care facilities and nursing homes in the state of Illinois your workers are on the front lines of protecting 1000s of our elderly loved ones. But across the state staff vaccination rates are dramatically lower than those of your residents, and a troubling number of facilities staff vaccination rates are below 25%
* Press release…
As COVID-19 infection rates across the state continue to increase and with a number of school districts not yet adopting CDC guidance on masking, Governor JB Pritzker and IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike today announced masks will be required for students, teachers, and staff at pre-kindergarten-12th grade schools and day cares across the state. The new requirement formalizes CDC guidance released in July on universal masking for both unvaccinated and vaccinated people in schools to ensure a safe return to classrooms.
The governor also announced his intent to require all state employees working in congregate facilities to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by October 4th. The state is informing the unions representing these employees of its intention to move forward with this requirement, which covers employees at the Departments of Human Services, Veterans’ Affairs, Corrections and Juvenile Justice working in congregate facilities. The state is also requiring universal masking in private long-term care facilities and strongly encourages owners of private facilities to join the state in adopting vaccination requirements.
The new measures are part of the state’s ongoing effort to combat a new surge as the Delta variant rapidly spreads among the unvaccinated. Since COVID-19 metrics reached their lowest points earlier this summer, cases have soared by a factor of nearly 10, hospitalizations and ICU rates have more than doubled in a month, and the number of COVID patients requiring a ventilator has multiplied nearly 2.5 times over since July 16th. In June, 96 percent of people hospitalized in Illinois with COVID-19 were unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated, with the majority of those hospitalizations occurring in residents under 60 years old.
“Given our current trajectory in hospitalizations and ICU usage, we have a limited amount of time right now to stave off the highest peaks of this surge going into the fall,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “To combat the Delta variant, Illinois is taking three key steps to protect our state’s 1.8 million unvaccinated children under 12 and their families, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, and those highly vulnerable people who rely upon state employees for their daily care. I also encourage every Illinoisan who is eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible, as millions of their neighbors already have. This vaccine is safe, effective, and essentially eliminates the risk of hospitalization and death even from the Delta variant. In short, it’s the best tool we have.”
“Vaccination is the best way we can prevent further spread, hospitalizations, and deaths due to COVID-19 and the Delta variant,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “Data show that the vaccines are preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death, and are effective against the Delta variant. We have the tools to turn the tide of another wave, but we need people to use them.”
Mask Requirement
In preparation for the start of the upcoming school year and in response to the highly contagious Delta variant, all students, teachers, and staff at pre-kindergarten – 12th grade schools and day cares will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status, effective immediately. This guidance is in line with recommendations from the CDC.
The state is also requiring universal masking in long-term care facilities regardless of vaccination status.
Illinois is home to 1.8 million children under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. With the Delta variant infecting the younger population at a greater rate and with people under 29 years old now accounting for 12 percent of COVID hospitalizations in June, requiring the use of masks is the most effective tool to allow students to return to their classrooms safely while protecting them from the virus. Mask wearing will also help prevent unvaccinated students from transmitting the virus to more vulnerable members of their broader communities.
The mask requirement is inclusive of youth sports and activities, with masks now required for all indoor extracurriculars and sports. In line with CDC guidance, masks are not required for activities outdoors where transmission risks and rates are lower.
The administration is providing free testing to all pre-K-12 schools in Illinois outside of Chicago, which received a separate federal funding allocation for testing.
IDPH also provided additional guidance for students and staff who are exposed to someone who tests positive for COVID-19. Close contacts of a positive case can remain in school if they receive testing on days one, three, five, and seven post exposure and if they wore masks at the time of exposure.
“The CDC strengthened its guidance last week for universal indoor masking in schools, and Illinois will continue to follow the science, data, and public health experts to keep students in school and keep communities safe,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala. “We know that consistent and correct mask use is the simplest, most effective way to keep students safely in school, where they can learn and grow to their fullest potential.”
A number of school districts across the state have already adopted CDC guidance and implemented a mask requirement to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 among students, teachers, and staff and the communities they live in. Those districts include the state’s two largest school districts, Chicago and Elgin U-46, as well as Edwardsville Community School District 7, Peoria Public School District 150, Champaign Unit 4 School District, Springfield School District 186, and Naperville School District 203.
To help schools across the state protect the health and safety of students and staff, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) has distributed 2.5 million free face masks to public schools since the beginning of the pandemic. The free masks grant every child the ability to access the learning opportunities provided by their school in person, regardless of their ability to purchase a face covering or make one at home. The administration will continue to supply masks to school districts as they request assistance.
COVID-19 Vaccination
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pritzker administration has implemented policies and guidelines in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aimed at protecting the state’s most vulnerable residents. With the Delta variant causing a rapid increase in infection rates across the nation and Illinois, the state is taking additional steps to slow the spread of the virus in congregate facilities, where residents are most vulnerable.
With vaccination rates among residents in state congregate facilities largely being significantly higher than rates among staff, approximately 80 percent of the new COVID-19 cases in state-operated congregate care facilities have been due to infection among employees. However, the individuals in these facilities, who frequently lack the ability to live on their own, are bearing the brunt of the consequences of unvaccinated workers as their hospitalization rate due to the virus increases.
The state is notifying the unions representing all employees who work in 24-7 state-operated congregate living facilities of the intent to require that these employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine by October 4th. This includes employees who work in state veterans’ homes, developmental centers, correctional facilities, and juvenile justice facilities. Increased vaccination rates will help prevent and slow community spread, reduce the likelihood of infecting vulnerable populations, and allow for potentially less-severe illnesses for those who contract COVID-19 post vaccination. State agency leaders will ensure ongoing vaccination opportunities for employees at state-run facilities, as they have since vaccine was first made available to employees.
Governor Pritzker urged privately-owned and operated long-term care facilities to implement a similar vaccination requirement for their employees to protect the vulnerable residents they serve.
“As the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread and evolve, our state guidance needs to do so as well,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. “We know vaccines save lives and build herd immunity in our communities, so it is imperative that we encourage everyone to get theirs. But with the lower rate of vaccinations among teens and younger children not yet eligible to receive theirs, these are the difficult decisions our leaders must make to prevent illness and save lives.”
“When we follow medical science, we make progress against this pandemic. I applaud the governor for continuing to follow the science to protect the people of Illinois,” said Illinois Senate President Don Harmon.
“Keeping our veterans safe and healthy is a top priority, especially those in our state-operated long-term care facilities who were hit hardest early on in this pandemic,” said State Senator Tom Cullerton (D- Villa Park), Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs committee. “I commend the governor for taking the necessary actions needed to protect the most vulnerable in the state, as well as the workers who care for the veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country.”
“I want to thank Governor Pritzker for taking steps to secure the safety and welfare of our residents. These decisions are not easy, however not making decisions is not an option when the health and lives of Illinoisans are at stake,” said State Rep. Fred Crespo (D-Hoffman Estates). “As he did in the past, Governor Pritzker is following the science, which is the only way to combat this pandemic. This is not a political issue, it’s a very serious health issue. The sooner we act, the more successful we’ll be in controlling the Corona Delta variant.”
“Anything we can do to protect our most precious children who are still unable to receive vaccinations is essential. We have to do everything in our power to keep the COVID numbers down,” said State Rep. Sue Scherer (D-Decatur).
All Illinois residents over the age of 12 are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost and proof of immigration status is not required to receive the vaccine. To find a vaccination center near you, go to vaccines.gov.
* On to questions for the governor. Parents are asking what has taken you so long? Others say they are going to file lawsuits to challenge this mandate…
It’s important that you know as I watch these numbers, as the IDPH tracks this across the state that we take action. We want to take action at the proper time we want to make sure that we’re keeping our hospitals as open as possible. So their beds available even for people who might have other kinds of ailments. And so we’re doing this I think at the right time and making sure that as schools get back in session that we’re limiting the spread, mitigating the spread…
We have the legal authority to enforce this and we will if necessary. What we think is going to happen is that schools will follow this do the right thing, again this is about keeping our children and their families safe. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to get every child into school every day, so that they can learn properly. We left it open to school districts last year to make the kinds of adjustments that they needed to to keep kids in school, and this year because things are very different. Now that we have a vaccine available for at least every person 12 And over including all the people obviously the adults that work in schools. We now have the ability to keep many of those people safe, but we also have kids who are unvaccinated so we’re trying to do the best we can for them and their families.
* Are you still considering or are you at all considering a universal mask mandate outside of schools and other throughout the state and other buildings?…
It’s not something on the table but obviously we monitor these numbers very closely, and we make adjustments as necessary.
* If you have a parent who I don’t want my child to be masked? … What is the recourse there?…
So, obviously schools are the ones that are responsible for keeping their school environment safe. This is something that’s in endeavoring to help them. Schools can be held liable if they don’t follow the mandates are put in place, there’s even the ability for the state to revoke recognition status for school, though I think that’s something that would happen long after other mitigation or other efforts are made to get a school to impose mitigations and to maintain the mask mandate.
* What about the ILGOP demand that you take down your TV ads?…
I’ll just say that we’re celebrating the fact that the people of Illinois have stepped up and are doing the right thing, following the mitigations have kept our state safe, and obviously as the virus which is unpredictable, now has delta variants. We’re addressing it as best we can with masks in schools, requiring people who are providing service to those who are vulnerable in the state to be vaccinated. Those are I think the right things to do and nobody’s you know doing what they’re describing what we’re doing is simply saying that Illinois is doing a good job of addressing the challenges that were faced by this very unpredictable virus.
* Could this be first step to remote learning?…
Again, that is not on the table. We have many different tools today than we had six or eight or 12 months back, and that is we have vaccinations available. People should go get vaccinated, that is the most important thing you can do to yourself, your community, your school safe. We hope that people will take advantage of that, that will reduce the need to have masks, and indeed, that may be the reason as we see vaccines available for kids under 12. I, you know, that’s one thing that we’ll take into account as we’re contemplating how long a mask mandate might need to stay in place in schools, but that’s what we’re talking about today’s mask mandates of schools, and to make sure we’re keeping the most vulnerable people in care of staff who should be vaccinated, making sure that they’re getting back on their feet and keep everybody safe
* On vaccines, why not do it more quickly, why not all state workers?…
As you’ve seen, there are, you know there’s a menu of options for managing through waves of this virus. And so we’re simply taking advantage of what we think will work for the most vulnerable populations to keep them safe. And again, I want to remind you, we live in a world where vaccines are readily available literally if you are in this room and you haven’t been vaccinated, I hope that’s nobody in this room, but if you haven’t been vaccinated, you can walk down the street and go to a Walgreens or CVS, you can find the Public Health Department, and you will get vaccinated probably within the hour.
* Mandate on private employers to vaccinate workers?…
That’s not something we’re looking at compelling companies to do that now. But certainly companies that are doing it, I think are doing it because they want to keep their workers safe, and the rest of our communities safe
* Another question about tougher mitigations…
We’re no longer in the kind of mitigation plan that you’re talking about there. We are living in a world now where there are vaccinations available to everybody and what we’re trying to do is address the vulnerable, and make sure that everybody wherever there is a problem and you’ve seen there’s been, you know, a high likelihood of spread in certain areas and red alert and other areas and so we’re essentially focusing in on those areas and doing everything we can to get everybody vaccinated and that’s really what our plan is right now.
* Should NY Gov. Cuomo resign?…
Yes, Governor Cuomo should resign.
* Energy bill talks?…
We have spent more than a year negotiating, working in working groups with all of the interests involved. This is not something that’s left to interest groups to decide. This is a decision that gets made by the legislature and by the governor. And here we are. This bill has been put together after much negotiation over many, many months, and we now have a piece of legislation that is ready to go. And it needs to be called by the legislature and voted on. And the legislation that I put forward that is that compromise is what is ready to move and I intend to sign it if they’ll pass it.
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* Press release…
To help ensure schools can more safely resume in-person learning, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced it is expanding access to free COVID-19 testing to all K-12 public schools across Illinois outside of Chicago which received its own federal funding. Schools can choose to utilize the SHIELD Illinois saliva-based test developed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), which is able to detect SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in symptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and asymptomatic individuals.
“In-person learning is a priority and we want to make sure students, teachers, and staff are able to return to the classroom as safely as possible,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “With the surge in COVID-19 cases and Delta variant, the sooner we know if someone has been infected, the quicker we can take action to prevent the spread of the virus to others. Not only is testing the best way to identify these cases, it can also help keep kids in school with a new Test-to-Stay protocol. We encourage all school districts to take advantage of this free resource.”
As an alternative to quarantine, students and teachers who have been identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case now have the option of a Test-to-Stay protocol. Close contacts must be tested on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 after exposure. As long as close contacts remain negative, they are not required to quarantine. Close contacts are only eligible for Test-to-Stay if their school requires universal indoor masking of all individuals (age 2 and older), regardless of vaccination status, and both the close contact and infected individual were wearing masks at the time of exposure. IDPH encourages all schools to implement weekly testing of their unvaccinated students and staff. Schools that implement weekly testing will be prioritized for Test-to-Stay and outbreak testing when required.
Previously, SHIELD Illinois tests were offered to schools in predominantly low-income communities that have experienced high rates of COVID-19 infection at no-cost. Thanks to additional funding from the federal CARES Act and American Rescue Plan, IDPH has the ability to expand free testing to all K-12 schools outside of Chicago. The classification of low-income school districts is determined by the Illinois State Board of Education’s evidence-based funding criteria.
“From the onset of the pandemic, the University of Illinois System has been committed to helping the state and its people navigate and safely emerge from this crisis,” U of I System President Tim Killeen said. “The decision by IDPH to provide our test-and-trace system at no cost to many thousands of K-12 students will allow a return to in-person learning and the kinds of educational opportunities for these young people that mean a better tomorrow for us all. We are grateful to state health officials for their leadership through this difficult time, and their ongoing partnership with the U of I System.”
* Related…
* Masks back in demand as Illinois moves to statewide mandate in schools. ‘We are going to be selling masks like crazy.’
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Aug 4, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Here are the scripts for Gov. JB Pritzker’s TV ads that started running in July…
Meet Jenica. When things were at their worst she volunteered to be part of the state’s response to COVID, one of the many nurses who put themselves at risk to save lives, and they needed protection to keep up the fight. Illinois health care workers never wavered, and people like Jenica showed us that together, there’s no challenge we can’t overcome.
Meet Corey. In addition to being a physician assistant, for seven years he’s been a committed member of our Illinois National Guard. And when I called on the Guard to help set up testing and vaccination sites they led the way to getting the job done. Our state is back to business because we refused to let this pandemic beat us, and people like Corey remind us anything is possible for Illinois.
Meet Doris and Rick. When COVID hit, they stopped production of bourbon at their distillery to instead make hand sanitizer for nurses, doctors, and other frontline workers. Like so many Illinoisans they understood that the only way through the pandemic was looking out for each other. Now the bourbon’s flowing again in Rochelle and we’re on our way back. I’m so inspired by the people of Illinois—we can accomplish anything if we continue to work together.
* ILGOP press release…
As Governor J.B. Pritzker reinstitutes statewide COVID-19 mitigations and mandates, his re-election campaign is running ads highlighting his administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, taking an obviously premature victory lap. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy issued the following statement calling on Pritzker to take his TV ads off the airwaves :
“Governor Pritzker cannot have it both ways. He cannot run political TV ads that take a victory lap over his pandemic response while at the same time reinstituting COVID mandates and mitigations. The return of these mandates is a clear admission of his own failure. Pritzker should take his self-serving TV ads off the air. Whether it’s veterans who have died under his care, massive unemployment insurance fraud, or the return of mandates after our state’s full re-opening, Pritzker’s executive incompetence has been the hallmark of his pandemic response.”
* The Question: Should Pritzker take down those ads? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
survey software
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Dillard hoping for Griffin coronation
Wednesday, Aug 4, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico in April…
Republican Kirk Dillard has been approached “by prominent business and Republican leaders” to run for governor, but he told Playbook he’s not interested.
* MAA in May…
I followed up with Dillard at the time…
Was in town but met with no Edgar people. Haven’t discussed with Gov. Edgar himself either. Rumors in Springfield never cease to amaze me.
* Greg Hinz today…
GOP moderates are wooing a well-known public official to challenge Gov. J.B. Pritzker for re-election, and he’s considering the offer.
In a phone interview, Kirk Dillard, who has held a variety of top jobs in state government and now serves as chair of the Regional Transportation Authority, confirmed that he’s been approached and is pondering his next move. […]
Asked to elaborate on “until I see how it shakes out,” Dillard said he was referring in part to whether big GOP funders would come to his aid, especially Chicago hedge fund mogul Ken Griffin.
Dillard and Griffin have not spoken, although there’s been some communication via associates.
I’m not yet seeing it, but a person’s entitled to dream, I suppose.
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Today’s quotable
Wednesday, Aug 4, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* His last breath? Hopefully for this unmasked, unvaccinated dude’s own sake, it’s not through a ventilator…
* Reposting…
* Poll: America’s pandemic pessimism returns: Americans place the most blame for rising COVID-19 cases and the spread of new variants on the unvaccinated [79 percent]
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* Paul Simon Public Policy Institute…
Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and John Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, announced Tuesday that the inaugural recipients of the Paul Simon-Jim Edgar Statesmanship Award are the 11 Republican members of the Illinois General Assembly who supported a critical budget package in July 2017 in the interest of fiscal solvency for Illinois.
The Republican lawmakers joined with Democrats to override then-Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of a budget compromise. This vote ended a two-year fiscal stalemate that tarnished Illinois’ reputation, damaged schools, battered the state’s credit rating, and led to about $15 billion in unpaid bills.
The budget that emerged allowed Illinois to avoid further downgrading of its debt. It also ensured that Illinois state government would resume regular operations.
The 2017 budget paved the way for subsequent fiscal progress in the state as reflected in recent upgrades to Illinois’ credit rating by Moody’s Investor Service and S&P Global Ratings.
The decision to support this agreement was courageous, consequential, and effective. While several of the Republican lawmakers received accolades from their constituents in response to their votes, many were sharply criticized and later faced primary opposition. Several opted to retire after casting the critical budget vote in 2017.
“I have been observing Illinois state government for 50 years and this vote was one of the most consequential and courageous votes that I have ever seen,” said Edgar, who served in the Illinois House and as Illinois secretary of state and governor.
“It pulled Illinois back from the brink and helped put us on a much better path. This was not an easy vote and we are very fortunate there were people in the General Assembly who were willing to risk their political careers to do the right thing. This was a very important moment in Illinois history, and we should acknowledge the courage of those who were willing to cast very difficult votes,” Edgar said.[…]
Edgar and Shaw said they expect future Simon-Edgar Awards to go to a single person, but the 2017 budget vote was so consequential that they decided on a collective award this year.
The 11 Republican lawmakers who cast the decisive votes in 2017 were:
• Representative Steve Andersson of Geneva
• Representative Terri Bryant of Murphysboro
• Representative Mike Fortner of West Chicago
• Representative Norine Hammond of Macomb
• Representative David Harris of Mount Prospect
• Representative Chad Hays of Catlin
• Representative Sara Wojcicki Jimenez of Springfield
• Representative Bill Mitchell of Decatur
• Representative Reggie Phillips of Charleston
• Representative Mike Unes of Pekin
• Senator Dale Righter of Mattoon
Political, academic, and business leaders, along with interested Illinois citizens, submitted dozens of nominations of city and county officials and state legislators for the inaugural Simon-Edgar Award. These nominations confirm that statesmanship is alive and well in the Prairie State.
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*** UPDATE *** New York Times…
With a new surge of coronavirus infections ripping through much of the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has accelerated its timetable to fully approve Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine, aiming to complete the process by the start of next month, people familiar with the effort said.
President Biden said last week that he expected a fully approved vaccine in early fall. But the F.D.A.’s unofficial deadline is Labor Day or sooner, according to multiple people familiar with the plan. The agency said in a statement that its leaders recognized that approval might inspire more public confidence and had “taken an all-hands-on-deck approach” to the work.
Giving final approval to the Pfizer vaccine — rather than relying on the emergency authorization granted late last year by the F.D.A. — could help increase inoculation rates at a moment when the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus is sharply driving up the number of new cases.
A number of universities and hospitals, the Defense Department and at least one major city, San Francisco, are expected to mandate inoculation once a vaccine is fully approved. Final approval could also help mute misinformation about the safety of vaccines and clarify legal issues about mandates.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* I shared this with you earlier today…
Last fall, 36 residents of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home died of COVID-19 in a matter of weeks. After several reports and legislative hearings, Republicans sent a letter to the Illinois Attorney General to investigate if state statute applied to the “negligent and disturbing activities that arose.” […]
State Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, comes from the long-term care industry. He was one of 26 lawmakers who signed the letter.
“Any private entity that had that kind of situation would have been prosecuted for one death, two deaths, but 36 deaths,” Caulkins told WMAY.
* With that in mind, here’s WSIL TV…
To help ensure transparency, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today that COVID-19 vaccination data for both residents and staff in long-term care (LTC) facilities is now available on the IDPH website at dph.illinois.gov/covid19/long-term-care-facility-data.
Given that LTC facilities have experienced a significant portion of COVID-19 deaths, particularly early in pandemic, this resource will be used for tracking COVID-19 vaccinations for both staff and residents in facilities across state.
The new site will display an interactive map where the user can choose to view either the percentage of staff or percentage of residents who have been vaccinated. The site will also show weekly confirmed cases, total confirmed cases, weekly COVID-19 deaths, total COVID-19 deaths, and vaccination rates.
Click here to go to the site. I looked at Rep. Caulkins’ home county of Macon. The worst staff vaccination rate is at Fair Havens Senior Living: 4.58 percent. That’s not a typo on my part.
I’m kinda wondering if Rep. Caulkins would support a vaccine mandate for nursing home employees.
* Some history from Clarence Page…
I remember nothing but gratitude and relief from my own parents about the rise of polio vaccines in the 1950s. That’s what I found in a survey by polling pioneer George Gallup in 1954, shortly after Jonas Salk’s new polio vaccine became available.
Gallup found the American public to be generally “very optimistic” about the shots. Such optimism was what I expected from those seemingly more innocent and trusting post-World War II days.
But, reading on, I found more thorns among the roses. Asked if they were willing to take the new shot themselves, Gallup found 60% of Americans said they were willing to do it while 31% said they would not.
That’s remarkably close to the 35% who told Gallup they would not take a COVID-19 inoculation last year shortly after it was first announced. Even higher numbers — 45% — said they would not take the new vaccines for smallpox in 2002 or the swine flu in 2009.
So, I think that in the future many of us will look back on this era and view vaccine skepticism as a natural and predictable development. I also think that vaccines will help us live long enough to be able to look back.
* Kankakee Daily Journal…
COVID-19 transmission in Kankakee County on Tuesday shifted from “moderate” to “substantial,” the second highest metric from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID data tracker.
Areas with 1 to 49 cases per 100,000 people are considered to have moderate transmission, while 50 to 99 is substantial and 100 and above is high, according to the CDC.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) uses 50 cases per 100,000 as a target threshold for counties to aim to stay under.
The data tracker showed Kankakee County moving from 36 cases per 100,000 on July 24 to 50.06 on Tuesday, with Kankakee County Health Department administrator John Bevis saying there could be as many as 55.
All but six Illinois counties are rated as having substantial or high community transmission, according to the data tracker.
* Other news…
* Poll: America’s pandemic pessimism returns: Americans place the most blame for rising COVID-19 cases and the spread of new variants on the unvaccinated [79 percent]
* “Mask up to keep it up”: Preliminary evidence of the association between erectile dysfunction and COVID-19
* Surprise dip in UK COVID cases baffles researchers: Hospitalizations in England have also started to decline gradually — there were 645 admissions on 1 August, compared with 836 on 25 July. However, Paget cautions that there is some indication that infections might now be creeping up again.
* Arkansas’ Republican Governor Admits Mistake on Mask Mandates as Cases Soar: ‘I Wish That Had Not Become Law’: Arkansas has the third-lowest vaccination rate in the country — ahead of only Mississippi and Alabama among all states.
* NYC, big employers taking hard line against vaccine holdouts
* Chicago has no plans yet for vaccine mandate for restaurants and gyms, Arwady says, but city is watching New York closely
* Here’s what we know about the delta-plus variant
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* Hannah Meisel…
Three months after an investigation into the COVID outbreak that killed 36 residents at the state-run veterans’ home in LaSalle found the facility’s management was “ineffective, reactive and…chaotic” responding to the virus’ spread, Republicans in the Illinois House are once again agitating for more information from Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration.
GOP members are also renewing their call for Attorney General Kwame Raoul to open a criminal probe into the fatal outbreak, which infected nearly all the residents at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home last fall, killing more than a quarter of the facility’s population, and spreading to more than 100 staff members.
But Republicans, who are in the superminority in the General Assembly, have not received answers from those Democratic leaders in months, and are turning up the volume on the issue has largely faded into the background of Illinois’ political discourse.
In communications obtained by NPR Illinois, the top attorney in Pritzker’s office last month blamed the two-month delay in responding to LaSalle-related document requests from a House Republican member on the fact the member sent his formal demand via the U.S. Postal Service to Pritzker’s statehouse office, which also receives a high volume of mail from the general public.
“I regret that our response was not more timely and assure you that the delay was unintentional,” Pritzker’s General Counsel, Ann Spillane, wrote in her letter to State Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Alpha), the minority spokesman on the Illinois House’s Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
#Facepalm.
* Meanwhile…
Some at the statehouse continue to demand a response from the Illinois Attorney General about whether he’ll investigate possible negligence at a state-run home for veterans.
Last fall, 36 residents of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home died of COVID-19 in a matter of weeks. After several reports and legislative hearings, Republicans sent a letter to the Illinois Attorney General to investigate if state statute applied to the “negligent and disturbing activities that arose.”
“The poor practices that allege to have led to the loss of life of at least 36 Illinois heroes in the state’s care are well documented, especially in the Acting Inspector General for the Illinois Department of Human Services report dated April 26th of this year,” said a letter House Republicans sent Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Friday. “To date, your office has not responded to this investigation request. This is not acceptable.”
State Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, comes from the long-term care industry. He was one of 26 lawmakers who signed the letter.
“Any private entity that had that kind of situation would have been prosecuted for one death, two deaths, but 36 deaths,” Caulkins told WMAY.
There’s no doubt that the LaSalle Veterans’ Home outbreak was a horrible and unpardonable utter disaster. Zero doubt. But in LaSalle County alone, three nursing homes have reported at least 24 COVID-19 deaths. Heritage Health Mendota had 24, Liberty Village of Peru had 31 and Ottawa Pavilion had 35. Of 25 nursing home facilities in that county, 16 reported deaths.
* Also, back to Hannah…
Though Raoul’s office has communicated its receipt of the Republicans’ requests via media, as well as indicated it had no plans to open a criminal probe, the GOP members claim they have not received any response from Raoul’s office in the last three months.
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* Ann Maher at the Madison County Record…
Greenville attorney Tom DeVore has announced he will seek a seat on the Fifth District Appellate Court in the 2022 general election.
He will compete in the Republican primary with two other actively campaigning judges running for the seat vacated by Justice David Overstreet, who was elected to the Illinois Supreme Court last year.
DeVore’s profile was heightened last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic as he led many attempts to curtail Gov. JB Pritzker’s use of emergency powers, though unsuccessfully. […]
[Fifth District Justice Justice Barry Vaughan], of McLeansboro, simultaneously is an elected circuit judge in Hamilton County, of the Second Judicial Circuit. His appointment to the Fifth District came at the recommendation of Overstreet to fill the seat that had been occupied by Judge Mark Boie, who was elected to a permanent seat on the court last November. […]
[Fourth Judicial Circuit Judge Michael McHaney] granted a temporary restraining order to plaintiff Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), represented by DeVore, before the case was removed to federal court. (Bailey, now a state senator, is campaigning for governor against Pritzker).
Gonna be wild.
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*** UPDATE 1 *** Subscribers know more about this, too…
Sources briefed on the matter say the governor also will announce a vaccine mandate for certain state employees in positions that put them in substantial contact with the public, including prison guards and certain nursing home personnel. The state already requires masks to be worn in state facilities.
Pritzker has resisted such moves, but they have become much more frequent in other states and cities in recent days.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Tribune…
Pritzker, who’s made his handling of the pandemic central to his reelection bid next year, is stopping short of requiring all state workers to get vaccinated but will mandate it in settings where people are in the direct care of the state, including prisons, juvenile detention facilities and veterans homes. […]
Vaccine uptake has been sluggish among employees at some homes run by the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, with 63% of employees at five homes — including a brand-new one in Chicago that hasn’t opened to residents — fully vaccinated as of July 23, according to the department. That’s compared with 98% of residents of those facilities.
The vaccination rate is even lower among employees at the Department of Corrections, with just 44% fully vaccinated, spokeswoman Lindsey Hess said. While vaccination status is more challenging to track among inmates as they enter and leave the system, the rate was about 69% as of a recent count.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* Subscribers know a lot more about this announcement…
The governor’s press conference is today at 2:30. We’ll have live coverage.
* Also…
* Here’s a short audio clip from that school board meeting provided by a subscriber. The meeting most certainly wasn’t all “civil” as the above story claimed…
“They need to help themselves,” the guy said about Black people. What that has to do with mask-wearing is kinda beyond me, except that he seemed to happily say the quiet part out loud.
Sheesh.
* Related…
* Louisiana Reinstates Indoor Mask Mandate As State’s Largest Hospital Runs Out Of Beds
* Florida COVID-19 hospitalizations break record for third straight day
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Kaegi, BFC argue for abolishing PTAB
Tuesday, Aug 3, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Last week…
The Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board has decided former President Donald Trump is due a $1 million refund on his skyscraper’s 2011 tax bill, ruling last month that the Cook County Board of Review overestimated the value of the building’s hotel rooms and retail space.
But the Cook County State’s Attorney has filed suit with the Illinois Appellate Court, seeking to block the tax refund, which has yet to be issued.
If Trump ends up with the tax refund, it would come out of property taxes due to the city of Chicago and eight other government agencies, including Chicago Public Schools, which stands to lose the biggest chunk of money, about $540,000.
It’s the latest twist in the case originally filed by Ald. Edward M. Burke, whose law firm argued Cook County officials had over-assessed Trump’s skyscraper.
* Sun-Times op-ed by Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi and former House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie…
If ever we needed more evidence that the experiment of extending PTAB’s jurisdiction to Cook County was an enormous mistake, this valentine to Trump and Burke is it. The decision to create a fourth property tax appeals venue in Cook County, in addition to internal appeals at the assessor, the Board of Review, and the Circuit Court, was hastily made 26 years ago in the dead of the night, introduced five days before the Republican-led General Assembly’s end of session, and passed 72 hours later, with little debate.
Experts predicted disaster. Cook County Assessor Thomas Hynes said PTAB was “doomed to fail” and would “bring upheaval to the entire property tax system.” The Chicago Tribune said the change was “needless duplication,” and risked “throwing into chaos [the] tax assessment system.” The Civic Federation was “strongly opposed.” On the other hand, property tax appeals lawyers celebrated, with one jubilant but anonymous practitioner quoted as saying the change would “create a revolution in this business.”
Later, in 2003, when a financial shock wave began to hit schools and taxpayers, the Senate passed a bill to reverse the experiment. But the bill — supported by the City of Chicago — died in the House. Springfield has taken no action since.
Now, the predictions are coming to pass, with hundreds of millions in refunds already paid out and the toll growing year after year. In a 2019 study by the Civic Federation, PTAB-driven tax refunds in Cook County alone had risen at a roughly 20% annual compound growth rate from 2003 through 2017, by which time annual payouts were over $100 million per year. The study cautioned that even this figure was incomplete, because PTAB was still just getting going on the case backlog from the early 2010s.
Thoughts?
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Another side of Kinzinger
Tuesday, Aug 3, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Phil Kadner’s Sun-Times column on Adam Kinzinger…
It was during an editorial board interview at the Daily Southtown, where I worked at the time, and the other four GOP candidates were older men who hated Nancy Pelosi. Well, maybe hated is too strong a word. But they made it clear they despised her and wanted voters to know they believed she was some sort of demon out to destroy all that was good about America.
Kinzinger was different. He said he had come back from Iraq and Afghanistan with a different view of the country. People in the military of different races, different economic backgrounds and different religious faiths had all worked together for one end. Their purpose was to achieve a mission, to succeed, and politics didn’t matter. He would try to work with Pelosi.
That’s what he wanted to bring to Washington, unity for the good of the country.
Kinzinger’s older opponents questioned his commitment to Republican values. But he calmly stood his ground. Something had to change in America, he said, if the democracy was going to survive.
I was impressed, and the newspaper endorsed him.
* CNN last week…
Nearly 230 Republican members of Congress told the Supreme Court on Thursday that it should overturn Roe v. Wade and release its “vise grip on abortion politics.”
The new brief is the latest filing in a dispute that will be heard next term and represents the most significant abortion-related case the justices have taken up in nearly a half a century. The 6-3 conservative court, bolstered by three of former President Donald Trump’s appointees, could gut, or invalidate court precedent, and that’s what the GOP lawmakers are calling for.
“Congress and the States have shown that they are ready and able to address the issue in ways that reflect Americans’ varying viewpoints and are grounded in the science of fetal development and maternal health,” lawyers for 228 Republican lawmakers, including leadership in both chambers, told the justices.
At issue before the court is a Mississippi law that bars most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. There is no exception for rape or incest. The court will render its decision by next June, in the lead up to the mid-term elections.
The brief is here.
* Politico last week…
“Congress and the States have shown that they are ready and able to address the issue in ways that reflect Americans’ varying viewpoints and are grounded in the science of fetal development and maternal health,” lawyers for the Republicans told the justices.
Signing on from Illinois: Reps. Mike Bost (IL-12), Rodney Davis (IL-13), Mary Miller (IL-15), Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) and Darin LaHood (IL-18).
In recent months, Kinzinger’s Republican credentials have been questioned as he has called out Trump for his role in the attack on the Capitol and for serving on the House panel investigating it.
The Illinois Republican’s support for ending Roe v. Wade is a reminder that he really is a conservative.
* Personal PAC…
While U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger was standing up to Trump’s big lie about the 2020 election, he enthusiastically added his name to a right-wing brief to the U.S. Supreme Court asking that Roe v. Wade be overturned—-with no exceptions for rape and incest!
The brief Kinzinger put his signature to is full of unscientific, anti-abortion propaganda and lies about women, doctors, pregnancy and abortion. This should come as no surprise as Kinzinger, Representatives Rodney Davis, Mike Bost and Mary Miller all have 100% anti-abortion voting records and were part of the 228 right-wing members of Congress who pledged their deep desire to have abortion become illegal, dangerous and deadly again for millions of American women, including those in Illinois.
With more than 20 states and counting already having passed “trigger laws” declaring that when (not if!) Roe is overturned, abortion will be illegal, this is no time to look past Adam Kinzinger’s big lie about the ability of women to make reproductive health care decisions for themselves. We must stand together to keep Adam Kinzinger and all his anti-abortion allies from outlawing abortion in our Illinois.
…Adding… Press release…
Minooka businessman Michael Rebresh has announced his candidacy for Illinois’ 16th Congressional District against incumbent Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R):
“I’m a father, a husband, a successful businessman of more than 23 years and, unlike Joe Biden, I actually DO drive an 18-wheeler,” Rebresh says. “I’m also a longtime Minooka resident and a staunch conservative Republican who supported President Trump in 2016 and 2020 - not based on his personality but based on his policies. That’s why today I am announcing that I’m running for Congress in Illinois’ 16th Congressional District.”
Rebresh says that he is the only announced Republican challenger to Kinzinger who lives in the district. “The people of the 16th congressional district DESERVE true representation and they cannot get that representation from carpetbaggers looking to profit from a quick political opportunity,” he said
But Rebresh says the worst offender is incumbent Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who has used his seat for his own gain – not the people’s. “He is a handpicked loyalist of Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,” Rebresh says. “While doing Nancy’s bidding and furthering his own interests, he ignored the riots that devastated Illinois’ cities and towns last year and failed to recognize the local thin blue line we all count on.”
Rebresh says that Kinzinger viciously attacked President Trump for the last five years and has ignored the concerns of the residents of the 16th district over and over again. He says that residents are concerned about their kids returning to school with mask mandates and theoretical political agendas being taught in the classroom. Rebresh also says that Kinzinger knew the risk that the Byron and Dresden nuclear power plants would be shut down a year ago, costing residents their jobs and causing energy costs to skyrocket, and did nothing.
“We can and must do better than Rep. Adam Kinzinger and, if elected to represent the people of the 16th Congressional District, I will,” he says.
Rebresh is the owner of Azamon Logistics and a longtime resident of the Minooka area where he lives with his wife, Sherry, and their three young children, Wyatt, Holly and Brett.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** COVID-19 roundup
Tuesday, Aug 3, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* School board meeting on mask mandates…
* I think vaxes are up a bit as more people are realizing that COVID is still a thing and is even more dangerous now…
The Illinois Department of Public Health reports 6.1 million Illinoisans 12 years and older are fully vaccinated, or 56.7% of the eligible population. IDPH reports nearly 7.9 million residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine, or 72.9% of the eligible population.
Illinois has seen a recent spike in the last week in vaccination rates.
* As someone who is now having serious second thoughts about my Rolling Stones concert tickets purchase, I can relate…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday “there’s no mixed message” in his last-minute decision to skip Lollapalooza this weekend over concerns about the delta variant of the coronavirus after previously saying that the event would be safe and he planned to attend.
Pritzker less than two weeks ago said that he and his wife, M.K., planned to attend the massive festival, which drew roughly 100,000 concertgoers per day to Chicago’s Grant Park. “I think it’s OK, but again, people need to be aware that we are not past this pandemic. It is with us,” he said at the time.
Pritzker planned to go Saturday but his press secretary issued a short statement the following morning saying the governor chose not to attend “out of an abundance of caution.”
*** UPDATE *** Important…
* Other news…
* Chicago-based federal appeals court upholds Indiana University’s vaccine mandate
* US employers losing patience, ratchet up the pressure on the unvaccinated
* Watch the U.K. to Understand Delta - The country lifted all its COVID-19 restrictions just as Delta peaked. What happens next will tell us how well vaccines are working.
* Unvaccinated People Need to Bear the Burden - Beyond limiting the coronavirus’s flow from hot spots to the rest of the country, allowing only vaccinated people on domestic flights will change minds, too.
* ‘It just went boom.’ ICUs are being overwhelmed with younger — and sicker — patients
* Fearing ‘tsunami of evictions,’ county touts free programs to help landlords, tenants
* Naperville District 203 to require masks regardless of vaccination status
* Masks now mandatory for Stevenson High students, staff
* District 186 school board approves universal masking for start of the school year
* Constable: Into the valley of those dead set against vaccines, masks
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Because… Madigan!
Tuesday, Aug 3, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Background is here if you need it. From Rod Blagojevich’s lawsuit…
During his time as Governor, Plaintiff, a Democrat, spent nearly the entire 6 years he served as Governor, feuding with Michael Madigan, the longtime powerful Democrat Speaker of the House and Chairman of the Illinois State Democratic party. Nearly a year before his arrest, Madigan circulated a memo encouraging House members to discuss impeaching the Governor after the Governor issued an amendatory veto of a sales tax increase and rewrote the bill to give free public transportation to every senior citizen and every disabled person in the state of Illinois.
He really likes commas.
* Coverage roundup…
* Blagojevich sues state, plans to call Mike Madigan as witness
* ‘Madigan engineered this’: Blagojevich sues for ability to run for office again: As for the future, Blagojevich once again devoted allegiance to former President Trump and said he would support him in 2024. Blagojevich also said he wants his law license back.
* Rod Blagojevich Files Lawsuit Seeking Right to Run for Office in Illinois Again
* Blagojevich fights for right to run for state, local office — but insists, ‘I don’t have any particular plan to do it’
* Ex-Gov. Blagojevich files federal lawsuit challenging state law precluding him from running again
* Ex-Illinois governor Blagojevich, granted clemency by Trump, sues for right to seek elected office again
* Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich sues for right to run for office again
* ‘I’m back’: Ex-con Blagojevich sues for right to run again
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Question of the day
Tuesday, Aug 3, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Notice that CTU doesn’t actually address the topic of a mandate…
* The Question: Should public employee unions in Illinois agree to mandatory vaccination for their members? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
online survey
*** UPDATE *** AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch…
AFSCME encourages all union members to be vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, co-workers and communities. We have been working collaboratively with employers for months now to increase vaccination rates and the Delta variant is bringing renewed urgency to this effort. As employers seek to establish various forms of vaccination standards, AFSCME is prepared to address the impact on workers through the bargaining process to ensure that workers’ concerns are heard and addressed.
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Harmon on carbon since June 1
Tuesday, Aug 3, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* June 1…
Senate President Don Harmon issued the following statement regarding positive steps in ongoing energy policy negotiations.
“I’m informed that an agreement has been reached between the governor and Exelon on a proposal that would save jobs, which has been our goal all along. That’s why we support the governor in these talks.
We also stand with the governor on de-carbonization targets that need to be in a final deal.
The Senate remained in session with the hope of voting on an agreement today. We stand ready to return to the Capitol when the governor’s plan is ready for action.”
* June 8…
The Illinois Senate will return to session on Tuesday, June 15 for the purpose of voting on clean energy legislation that Gov. JB Pritzker negotiated to set Illinois on a path to a nation-leading renewable energy plan.
“This is a landmark clean energy plan that both protects thousands of jobs and moves Illinois responsibly toward the future,” said Illinois Senate President Don Harmon.
It is expected that the Senate session will be one day only.
* Senate President Harmon after the energy bill wasn’t called for a vote on June 15…
We have a much much better chance of passing a major bill when we have three ingredients: When we have the support of environmental activists; when we have the support of organized labor; and when we have the support of Democrats and Republicans.
We are this close to reaching that agreement, and I am confident that we will get that done.
There are still some points of contention between two critical constituencies, between labor and the environmental activists. I believe they’re going to be continuing to meet as early as this evening to try to work out those differences and the Senate stands ready, willing and able to return as soon as an agreement is reached. […]
The caucus made it very clear to all of us that we don’t want to vote for something that puts us in the middle of a fight between friends, between key constituencies, between organized labor and the environmental community. There is a deal to be reached, and we just need to get them back at the table and push a little bit harder. I’m confident we’re going to be able to do tha. […]
I am confident that the bill as proposed would not have passed today.
* Harmon yesterday…
We were disappointed to learn the parties involved could not come back to the General Assembly and governor with an agreed path forward on a clean energy future for Illinois.
The Illinois Senate remains committed to enacting an aggressive, nation-leading energy plan that is renewable, reliable and affordable for the people of our state.
We are encouraged by recent news out of DC that federal leaders may reach a bipartisan agreement on providing billions worth of federal assistance to clean energy resources, which would be a major win for Illinois. We look forward to the outcome of those discussions.
Moving forward here, the Senate intends to keep discussions going with stakeholders in an effort to produce legislation that can get at least 36 votes in the Senate and 71 in the House in order to take effect in the immediate future. Our goal is to protect jobs and promote a clean energy future, because we can and should do both.
* Harmon’s Senate President Pro Tempore…
State Sen. Bill Cunningham, who’s been working behind the scenes on the legislation, said the stalled talks were “disappointing, but we certainly don’t think this is the end of things.”
In an interview with Playbook, he said: “We’ll work to put together a comprehensive energy bill and are confident that we can have legislation that environmentalists and organized labor will be pleased with. Neither side will be 100 percent pleased but rarely is any party 100 percent pleased with any legislation.” […]
“There will be a decarbonization goal one way or another,” Cunningham said. “The question is how aggressive will that goal be.”
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Today’s quotable
Tuesday, Aug 3, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Effingham Daily News…
Not everyone who spoke at the event shared Bailey’s tempered response to the idea of election fraud.
“Make no mistake, Donald J. Trump was overwhelmingly elected in this last election cycle,” said State Rep. Chris Miller, R-Oakland, at Bailey’s event.
Joe Biden won the election, earning 51.3% of the popular vote to Trump’s 46.9% and earning 306 electoral college votes to Trump’s 232, according to the Federal Election Commission. There has been no credible evidence in the months since the election of widespread fraud or irregularities that would cast doubt on those results.
Both Bailey and Miller signed a letter to Congressional Rep. Mary Miller calling on her to object to certifying the election results on Jan. 6. State Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, another speaker at Wednesday’s event, also signed that letter.
Miller also addressed the state’s relationship to energy production, pointing out the state’s large coal reserves. Illinois has the second largest coal reserves in the nation, behind only Montana, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“We do not have a climate crisis! I don’t care how many times you hear that,” said Miller. “We have an energy crisis and we have a crisis of common sense.”
No relation.
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* Steve Daniels at Crain’s…
A $6 billion program to bail out unprofitable nuclear plants is part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill the U.S. Senate will consider this week, but it won’t save two nukes Exelon has said it plans to close this fall.
Even if the federal bailout becomes law, it doesn’t offer enough financial security to keep the Byron and Dresden plants operating, the company said today. […]
“While we remain encouraged by growing support in Congress to preserve nuclear energy to help combat climate change, the provisions currently under consideration in the Senate infrastructure bill do not provide the policy and funding certainty we need and could take months or even years to come to fruition, if at all,” the company said in a statement. “Meanwhile, our Byron and Dresden nuclear plants must be refueled this fall—Byron in September and Dresden in November. If we refuel both stations to delay their retirement, we will be committed to running the plants for up to an additional two years, during which we could face revenue shortfalls in the hundreds of millions of dollars. We can’t risk taking those losses with no guarantee of a legislative solution.”
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Question of the day
Monday, Aug 2, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
Illinois will effectively end immigration detention and strengthen protections limiting cooperation with federal immigration agents under a plan signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday, August 2.
The measure targets local agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allowing county jails to house immigrant detainees awaiting court appearances.
Current contracts would end by January and no new contracts would be allowed. Three counties - Kankakee, Pulaski and McHenry - have such agreements and currently house roughly 260 immigrant detainees.
Proponents of the law say it’ll end inhumane practices in Illinois and encourage alternatives. But some counties argue they’ll lose much-needed revenue.
* The Question: Your thoughts on this new law?
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* From numerous top labor leaders…
Dear Governor Pritzker and leaders of the Illinois General Assembly:
In spite of months of productive, thoughtful debates with a diverse set of stakeholders to create an aggressive plan to overcome the threat of climate change in Illinois, we are no longer confident that a deal can be reached this summer.
We sadly write to inform you today that as a result of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition’s failure to negotiate in good faith, we have reached what we believe is an impasse in reaching an agreed-upon clean energy bill due to seemingly intractable differences on the issues of decarbonization and prevailing wage standards.
We do not take this action without exhaustive deliberation and consideration, but in assessing our counterparts’ track record over the last several weeks of negotiations following the spring session, it appears they do not share our goal of finding common ground. Rather, they seem intent on running out the clock in order to force events that actually detract from the state’s ability to generate more clean and reliable energy.
Following a June 16 meeting between Climate Jobs Illinois and the Clean Jobs coalition in Springfield, it was agreed that both sides would produce updated decarbonization and prevailing wage offset language. The lead negotiators for Climate Jobs Illinois submitted proposed language on decarbonization to the Clean Jobs coalition on June 27, and a day later, our negotiators submitted updated prevailing wage offset language to their Clean Jobs counterparts
Our coalition learned the next day—via a morning alert in Capitol Fax—that the Clean Jobs coalition had rejected our proposed decarbonization language. In at least 4 subsequent meetings since we provided alternative language on these two areas, the Clean Jobs coalition has failed to submit any counter proposals. That leads us to believe our counterparts have no intention of working with us.
Because of the group’s failure to negotiate in good faith, we are forced to declare an impasse in the negotiations. We do not relish this moment. No one wins in this scenario.Clean Jobs coalition has failed to submit any counter proposals.
As our state’s leaders, we implore you to step in and work to find a way to get a deal done. There is too much on the line: Tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs. Thousands of new jobs created to build our clean energy infrastructure of the future. Greater opportunities for underserved communities to have a fair shot at learning new skills and earning a decent wage to lift their families out of poverty. Energy efficiency for our public schools. Clean energy fleets for our public transit system. And so much more that is necessary to reduce emissions and generate new clean power sources.
As we see in the eroding shores of Lake Michigan and the hazy skies over Illinois caused by the wildfires raging in the West, the threat of climate change is not an imaginary or far-off problem. It is a very real and imminent danger for our communities.
As subscribers know, the unions’ proposal was dismissed out of hand as a non-starter. More at the link.
* From Nakhia Crossley on behalf of the Path to 100 Coalition…
Illinois legislators agreed in May, after years of discussion and debate, to expand renewable energy, create 53,000 thousand new jobs, adopt best-in-nation diversity and equity investments and generate billions in local property taxes. But that legislation has been delayed for months. Throughout the summer, solar businesses in Illinois have been forced to lay off workers and clean energy growth has ground to a halt. There’s too much at stake to delay any further. It’s time for our state’s leaders to forge a compromise that will move Illinois forward to the clean energy future we desperately need.
* Hannah Meisel…
The impasse declaration comes just days after nuclear giant Exelon doubled down on its threat to close two of its power generators in mid-September and November — major pieces of Illinois’ energy puzzle that can’t immediately be replaced by other types of power generation. […]
According to draft language obtained by NPR Illinois, organized labor adopted environmental groups’ basic framework for so-called declining carbon caps until 2035, but also proposed a carbon offset program to allow fossil fuel plants to achieve “net zero emissions,” which would open the door to allowing those facilities to stay open beyond 2045.
Environmental groups balked at that idea, but labor complained its coalition had to learn about that rejection through the media, and not a direct response. In the four meetings since then, labor claims environmental groups have not put forward new ideas. The last meeting between the two sides was July 16.
Both sides say the fight over the last outstanding item — prevailing wage — is not as insurmountable. […]
But over the weekend, congressional Democrats surfaced new language for President Joe Biden’s $3 trillion infrastructure bill, which includes funding for unprofitable nuclear plants. But there’s a catch: federal support for those plants would be decreased depending on state support for nukes.
State Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago), a lead energy negotiator aligned with labor, said he’s eager to receive a briefing from Illinois’ congressional delegation about the proposal soon, but acknowledged it may take weeks until the final version is passed in D.C., which runs up against existing timing pressure from Exelon.
“It would be foolish to count on Washington but also foolish to ignore what’s happening in Washington and end up sticking ratepayers with a bill they shouldn’t have to pay,” Cunningham said Monday. […]
Additionally, September marks a deadline contained in FEJA wherein the Illinois Power Agency will be forced to give back to ratepayers more than $300 million that was supposed to be used for renewable energy projects if there is no legislative fix to prevent that mass rebate.
I’ve asked others for comment and will update when they respond.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Response letter from Gov. JB Pritzker…
Dear Climate Jobs Illinois,
I am disappointed to hear that you feel you’ve reached an impasse in climate negotiations with the Clean Jobs Coalition. As I have made clear, the time for climate action is now. Comprehensive, clean, equitable, and ethical energy reform is what the people of this state need and deserve, and the clock is ticking.
In your letter, you requested that I work to reach compromise with stakeholders. That work has been done. As you know, after dozens of working group meetings and hours of discussion and negotiation, my office sent a compromise bill to members and stakeholders on June 10 that reflected discussions in legislative working groups and included agreed upon policies. That compromise bill would phase out coal by 2035 (except Prairie State and City Water Light and Power (CWLP), which could stay open until 2045 with 90% carbon capture) and natural gas by 2045 through declining caps on greenhouse gas emissions, prioritizing equity investment eligible communities and dedicating $2 million per year in ratepayer funds to fund Prairie State’s 2035 decommissioning costs. It also would require prevailing wage on nearly every renewable energy project, with a 5-year exemption for equity eligible contractors, and require project labor agreements on all utility-scale solar and wind projects. Importantly, the compromise bill also contains robust ethics provisions, a new performance-based ratemaking system that would create thousands of jobs, and critical workforce and clean transportation provisions that would create even more jobs.
That compromise bill is the best starting place for you as you consider possible next steps. I have always believed that we can decarbonize while creating and maintaining good paying, union jobs. That’s why I negotiated a clean energy bill that would do just that. On May 31, President Drea and Vice President Devaney visited my office in Springfield to request that the Governor’s Office reach a deal on right- sized subsidies for Exelon’s Illinois nuclear fleet, as their number one priority for the legislative session. My administration was able to negotiate a deal that would provide needed short term financial relief to Byron, Dresden, and Braidwood over 5 years, thereby securing the near-term financial safety of Exelon’s entire Illinois fleet, saving tens of thousands of good jobs at a cost to the average residential ratepayer of just $0.80/month. That deal is reflected in the compromise bill that my administration put forward in June, a bill that I would sign immediately, ending the heartbreaking uncertainty facing the nuclear workers at Byron and Dresden, including those of our friends at IBEW Local 15.
However, the Illinois Power Agency needs significant time to set up this nuclear support program. The next capacity auction is in November. If a deal is not passed by around mid-August, some observers have indicated that there will likely not be enough time to save Byron and Dresden. Last week, Exelon announced its intentions to move forward with filing decommissioning plans for Byron and Dresden with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Under those plans, Byron would close in September, and Dresden would close in November, causing about 1,500 workers—primarily IBEW members—to lose their jobs soon. The decision to draw a line in the sand to prevent potential job loss in 2045 over certain job loss in 2021 is a negotiating position that does a disservice to both workers and our climate.
I will reiterate what I have said previously: any decarbonization framework must move Illinois aggressively beyond the status quo. That means good faith attempts at meaningful decarbonization are necessary to move our discussions forward. It is my understanding that the proposed draft language from Climate Jobs Illinois, sent to the Clean Jobs Coalition in June, would allow dirty power plants to stay open in perpetuity, threatening the health and wellbeing of the very communities that Climate Jobs Illinois’ letter states it wants to protect. Moreover, despite efforts to prop up coal plants, the market is forcing closures, outpacing our attempts to help impacted communities. We saw this with the recent Waukegan and Romeoville closure announcements. The bottom line is that pointing fingers at the Clean Jobs Coalition, whose members have already made significant compromises on decarbonization and equity provisions, is unproductive, especially after Climate Jobs Illinois has refused to send an additional written proposal that was promised to them for weeks.
Again, considering the timeline of events is important. Climate Jobs Illinois sent a letter to my office in the waning hours of May session, pleading with the Governor’s Office to make a deal with Exelon to save the nuclear fleet. We were able to do so. Then, at the 11th hour, we were informed that the fate of the Prairie State Energy Campus – the 7th largest emitter of greenhouse gas in the country, with voluminous amounts of co-pollutants that endanger the health and safety of Illinois’ residents—many of them black and brown—was now the new critical issue.
We negotiated again in good faith and, taking both PSEC and CWLP at their word, agreed to allow them to remain open until 2045 if they installed 90% carbon capture equipment by 2034 – a date they expressed to legislative negotiators that they could meet. Our June legislative language further clarified that natural gas caps would be sector wide, rather than plant specific, and that IEPA rulemaking would, by law, be required to allow the cleanest plants to stay open the longest. This represented a good faith compromise, and one where both my office and environmentalists moved significantly.
I have negotiated in good faith as pro-coal forces have shifted the goalposts throughout this process. I indicated then, and I am reiterating now, that I stand ready and willing to sign the bill that reflected discussions in legislative working groups and included agreed upon policies that you received on June 10. If you are willing to remove the barriers to moving forward, the impasse you find yourselves at can be resolved. I now call on the General Assembly to pass that compromise bill immediately, save tens of thousands of union jobs that may otherwise disappear in mere weeks, and move Illinois toward a clean energy economy.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Senate President Don Harmon…
We were disappointed to learn the parties involved could not come back to the General Assembly and governor with an agreed path forward on a clean energy future for Illinois.
The Illinois Senate remains committed to enacting an aggressive, nation-leading energy plan that is renewable, reliable and affordable for the people of our state.
We are encouraged by recent news out of DC that federal leaders may reach a bipartisan agreement on providing billions worth of federal assistance to clean energy resources, which would be a major win for Illinois. We look forward to the outcome of those discussions.
Moving forward here, the Senate intends to keep discussions going with stakeholders in an effort to produce legislation that can get at least 36 votes in the Senate and 71 in the House in order to take effect in the immediate future. Our goal is to protect jobs and promote a clean energy future, because we can and should do both.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition…
To Members of the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Pritzker:
We write to regretfully inform you that negotiations between the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC) and Climate Jobs Illinois (CJI) around passing a climate and equitable jobs bill in Illinois have reached an impasse. CJI’s insistence on allowing all coal and gas plants to stay open and pollute forever is something our communities and climate cannot afford or survive. Further, CJI continues to seek full domain over new and emerging clean energy jobs, and to shut the door on opportunities for Black and Brown contractors to stake their claim in the new energy economy.
The cost of doing nothing is colossal. Thousands of union workers and solar installers are about to lose their jobs, as could teachers and first responders whose salaries are paid with property taxes dependent on the local energy sector. The impact on our climate and public health will worsen. Black and Brown communities will continue to be shut out of the clean energy economy while they disproportionately suffer the impact of pollution. Big utility companies will remain unchecked, raising rates and racking up profits while consumers foot the bill.
And, President Biden will be unable to meet his administration’s goals to contain the climate emergency we find ourselves in if the state’s biggest polluter - the Prairie State coal plant, which accounts for 28% of Illinois carbon emissions and is the 7th worst polluter in the country - remains open indefinitely.
For the past three years, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition has focused on building a statewide effort to pass nation-leading legislation that positions Illinois to do its part to tackle climate change, and to center equity and justice at the heart of our state’s energy future. We almost reached that point this May, and again in June, until the fossil fuel industry threatened immediate layoffs at planned new gas plants and the Senate delayed action on that bill at the last minute.
Since June, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition has been willing and eager to work with CJI on finding a path forward on a nation-leading climate bill. In June, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition received a proposal from labor that was a step backward. CJI’s proposal created unlimited carbon emission loopholes, allowing any polluting fossil fuel plant to stay open in the state as long as it wanted, and completely exempting gas plants from any pollution reductions for the next two decades. Further, CJI’s proposal would require small Black and Brown renewable energy contractors to jump through major hoops in a new state bureaucracy just to participate in the state’s renewable energy programs. In reviewing these proposals with existing Black and Brown contractors, they believe these restrictions would put them out of business, and instead stake labor’s claim on small renewable energy projects that union contractors historically have not been interested in building.
ICJC has been assured by CJI nearly daily since June that they were working on an alternate decarbonization proposal to find common ground and to achieve some possible alignment. That proposal never appeared, and now appears it is not forthcoming.
The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition continues to stress that the path to an agreed climate and equitable jobs bill must include real action on pollution reductions in the coming decade in order to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change, and ensure that communities of color are able to create wealth and equity in a clean energy future. We have expressed openness on how to get there, but we cannot sacrifice those principles.
To achieve a carbon-free power sector in Illinois, we have proposed a number of options, including the following:
• While we originally proposed achieving a carbon-free power sector by 2030, we agreed to shift those targets to the framework supported by the Governor and Senate President, which would be 2035 for coal plants and 2045 for gas plants, with interim targets so that we aren’t delaying action on climate for 20 years.
• We agreed to a proposal to allow the Prairie State Energy Campus and Springfield CWLP’s Dallman station to stay open until 2045 if they can achieve 90% carbon-capture by 2035.
• To address the concerns of the Senate President about immediate job impacts to gas plants under construction, we have expressed openness to prioritizing pollution reduction from power plants that impact environmental justice communities first, while allowing newer gas plants a longer time frame before they have to begin pollution reductions. This would allow those gas plants to get built.
On labor standards, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition has agreed to Climate Jobs Illinois’ proposed requirements that would apply to 96% of new renewable energy projects - up from 0% today - but seeks to create at least a viable pathway for new Black and Brown businesses seeking renewable energy contracts. We have proposed a number of options, including:
• Creating a prevailing wage carve-out for new Black and Brown businesses for a period of time to allow them to grow to the point where they can be union signatories. This was included in the bill in May.
• Allowing projects under a certain size - a size that labor historically has not and would not work on - to move forward without being subject to labor union standards, which has been done in every other state that has passed ambitious renewable energy policy.
• Allowing projects of certain types, such as small businesses, community centers, and churches, not to be subject to prevailing wage standards.
• Allowing projects built by businesses under a certain size to be able to work on projects and not be subject to the same labor union standards as large contractors.
• Allow clean energy developers to pay wages that are commensurate with the experience and training required to install solar panels, and not the $82/hour wage of a journeyman electrician that labor is demanding.
• Requiring additional efforts on the part of labor unions to diversify their workforce in the near-term.
When Climate Jobs Illinois was formed nine months ago, its top priority was saving Exelon’s nuclear plants; this was the sole focus of their late May rally at the Capitol. The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition saw potential for alignment around a nation-leading equitable climate bill in their intention to build significant amounts of renewable energy and create a just transition for fossil fuel workers and communities.
The potential for alignment still exists, but it cannot be achieved by putting the interests of large, multi-billion dollar fossil fuel interests first or shutting out communities of color from a clean energy economy.
We remain willing to roll up our sleeves to get this climate and equitable jobs bill done.
*** UPDATE 4 *** Press release…
Deputy Senate Republican Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris) and State Senator Brian Stewart (R-Freeport) along with Deputy House Republican Leader Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), and House Republican Conference Chair Leader David Welter (R-Morris) issued a joint statement calling for legislative leaders to reconvene the Illinois General Assembly at the earliest possible date to pass legislation that will keep the state’s nuclear fleet online and extend Illinois’ renewable portfolio standard (RPS):
“If action is not taken soon, tens of thousands of workers will lose their livelihoods, millions of utility customers across Illinois will begin paying higher energy costs, and we will all suffer an immediate environmental impact equivalent to putting 4.4 million additional cars on the road, emitting carbon and other harmful sources of air pollution. Too much is at stake to wait for the demands of every individual interest group to be satisfied in a comprehensive energy package. We must act now to pass the provisions there is broad agreement on, which include preserving Illinois’ nuclear fleet and extending the state’s renewable portfolio standard with incentives for critical solar and wind initiatives. We are committed to passing these items now and coming back to the table to negotiate the more long-term aspects of Illinois’ energy future with the various stakeholders between now and the General Assembly’s Fall Veto Session in October. Time is of the essence. We cannot wait until later this autumn to protect energy jobs, protect our environment, and prevent dramatic rate hikes on utility customers.”
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COVID-19 roundup
Monday, Aug 2, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The nation’s trajectory in one image…
* AP…
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The state of California. New York City. Hospitals and nursing homes. Colleges and universities. Employers are putting COVID-19 vaccine mandates into place and it’s getting attention. […]
Federal legal guidance out this week suggests the law is on the side of employers. Vaccination can be considered a “condition of employment,” akin to a job qualification.
That said, employment lawyers believe many businesses will want to meet hesitant workers half-way.
* Mandates move numbers much more than incentives…
* I expect business leaders are heading that direction. Another shutdown would be devastating. Here’s Mark Cuban…
“Sick employees not only put their peers at risk, they miss work days. Which impacts productivity, which impacts profitability, which impacts the number of people who have jobs at the organization.
“Sick people also impact health-care and insurance costs, which are already incredibly expensive.
“Public health organizations can work together to quantify the impact of non-vaccinated employees, contractors and even vendors on an employer and their employees. That could lead more employers to require vaccinations to keep jobs. To not offer insurance or increase deductibles for the un-vaxxed or on the other side, offer raises or better perks to employees who have been vaxxed.
“At the companies I operate, I am requiring vaccination as a term of employment. I don’t want one employee putting the health of another at risk simply by doing their job.”
I don’t think you can legally withhold insurance from people if you offer it to others.
* Illinois…
New cases of COVID-19 came to 5,608 over the weekend with 11 more people dying from the respiratory disease, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported Monday.
From Friday through Sunday, 79,040 more COVID-19 shots were administered. The seven-day average is 27,396. […]
The state’s positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 4.3% based on a seven-day average, reflecting a continued rise.
* More Illinois…
Masks now will be required in all state facilities, regardless of a person’s COVID-19 vaccination status.
The decision was announced Thursday and aligns with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC this week issued guidance that masks should be worn by anyone in an area where there is a substantial or high risk of transmission of the coronavirus and its variants.
The state will continue to evaluate the need for additional mitigations and Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he will not hesitate to put them in place as needed to protect the health of residents.
“Vaccines work — but we cannot promise those protections for every single future variant if we allow this virus to spread and mutate unchecked in our communities,” Pritzker said. “With all the misinformation out there, I encourage all eligible Illinoisans who haven’t been vaccinated yet to talk to their doctors to alleviate any of their fears. Vaccines are how we put this pandemic behind us for once and for all, but I will continue to evaluate the need for further additional mitigations.”
* Also…
Masks will be required at driver’s license facilities in Illinois starting Monday, Secretary of State Jesse White announced Wednesday
* Onward…
Hours after Lollapalooza got underway Thursday, Cook County was added to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of areas experiencing “substantial” COVID-19 transmission.
Citing that development, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker later Thursday announced a new mask requirement for everyone in state-run facilities, including those who are vaccinated, starting immediately.
Cook now joins DuPage, McHenry and Will counties in the Chicago area, and 80 others statewide, in meeting the threshold where masks are recommended for everyone indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
* Chicago…
Everyone in Chicago, regardless of their vaccination status should wear a mask indoors, Chicago health officials recommended Friday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added Chicago to its list of areas experiencing “substantial” transmission of the coronavirus.
However, the recommendation announced by Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady stops short of reimposing the city’s mask mandate even as confirmed cases of COVID-19 are surging across the country because of the delta variant, and new data suggests the virus can now be spread by fully vaccinated people.
“This isn’t forever, but it is necessary to help decrease the risk for all Chicagoans right now,” Arwady said in a statement.
* Also…
While a mask recommendation for public indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status only recently returned for the city of Chicago, mask mandates for public transit under federal guidelines have never gone away.
* Other stuff…
* The Anti-vaccine Con Job Is Becoming Untenable - Why targets of deliberate deception often hesitate to admit they’ve been deceived: The seminal text in the field—Erving Goffman’s 1952 essay “On Cooling the Mark Out”—observes that all targets of con artists eventually come to understand that they have been defrauded, yet they almost never complain or report the crime to authorities. Why? Because, Goffman argues, admitting that one has been conned is so deeply shameful that marks experience it as a kind of social death.
* With new vaccine and mask requirements, businesses scramble to respond to delta variant and shifting health guidance
* Chicago clinics serving low-income patients mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees, following lead of big hospitals
* The NFL has incentivized getting the COVID vaccine — so why is a vocal minority still so hesitant?
* DuPage and McHenry counties now under indoor-masking-for-all guidance as COVID-19 spread deemed ‘substantial’ by CDC
* Who is Joseph Mercola? 5 things about the doctor called a COVID-19 misinformation ‘superspreader’ — from Chicago roots to bizarre battles with government regulators
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Pritzker signs FOID compromise into law
Monday, Aug 2, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release excerpt…
Standing with legislators, gun-safety advocates, and mass-shooting survivors, Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 562, landmark legislation which expands background checks on all gun sales in Illinois and provides mental health funding for communities most impacted by gun violence, among other life-saving measures.
The legislation is the latest effort by the Pritzker administration and General Assembly to address gun violence as a public health crisis, building on the $128 million investment in violence prevention programs included in this year’s state budget.
“The bill I sign today delivers to Illinoisans everywhere the most comprehensive reform to our state firearms laws in over a generation. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have come together to shape a law steeped in a commonsense commitment to safety,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The state will now require universal background checks on all gun sales in Illinois. We’re also taking action to ensure responsible gunowners aren’t held back by an antiquated licensing system – which hasn’t seen significant updates since its founding more than 50 years ago.”
Passing with bipartisan support, House Bill 562 makes sweeping modernizations to the Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card system, which hasn’t been updated since its creation over 50 years ago. In the last decade, the number of Illinoisans with a FOID Card has nearly doubled without modernization of statutory framework or technology – from 1.2 million in 2010 to 2.2 million today.
The legislation does the following:
Expands background checks to all gun sales in Illinois starting in 2024.
Invests in community-based, trauma-informed mental health programs in the communities most impacted by gun violence.
Properly funds the Illinois State Police’s ability to enforce the surrender of firearms from people who have lost their license for gun ownership.
Requires ISP to remove guns from people with revoked FOID cards who have not surrendered their weapon.
Amends how FOID card fees are distributed: $5 will go to the State Police Firearm Services Fund and $5 will go into the State Police Revocation Enforcement Fund (previously, $6 went to the Wildlife and Fish Fund, $1 to the State Police Services Fund, and $3 to the State Police Firearm Services Fund).
Creates a stolen gun database and requires ISP to continuously monitor state and federal databases for prohibited gun buyers.
Creates stronger identification factors, like fingerprints, so Illinois State Police can more easily verify the identity of FOID applicants and firearm purchasers, as well as increase the frequency of background checks. Allows responsible gunowners who opt into this process to see their FOID and Concealed Carry applications expedited and automatically renewed going forward.
Streamlines the FOID card system by allowing ISP to create electronic records, creating a combined FOID and concealed carry license, offering cardholders the ability to apply for renewal six months before the expiration date, and establishing a professional appeals board.
Formalizes in law preventative actions the Illinois State Police has taken under Director Brendan Kelly’s leadership: giving all Illinois law enforcement agencies access to the FOID status of any individual, ensuring State Police continuously monitor federal and state databases for any new threat to safety, requiring every Illinois law enforcement agency to submit ballistics information to national crime databases within 48 hours, and making available to the public all firearms reported stolen to crack down on illegal gun trafficking.
“Effective violence prevention requires a multi-faceted approach, and partnerships between local law enforcement and state and federal government agencies are critical in order to reduce gun violence and violent crime in communities throughout Illinois,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul said. “I appreciate Governor Pritzker recognizing this and signing House Bill 562 into law as another important step in our collective goal to prevent violent crime. I look forward to continuing to use the tools within my office and building upon our partnerships with law enforcement agencies and advocacy groups to work to prevent violent crimes and support crime victims across the state.”
“The ISP welcome the signing of this bill which modernizes FOID and eliminates redundant and duplicative processes that do nothing to improve public safety. This act will help us in our mission to make lawful gun ownership easier for the good guys while keeping guns out of the hands of those who threaten public safety,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly.
“This is the type of lasting change the people of our state need and deserve,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. “Never again will we allow another senseless tragedy like the mass shooting in Aurora, where a convicted felon killed five innocent people and wounded several others, to happen on our watch. With this bill we are giving our state police additional money and resources to ensure law abiding citizens can exercise their second amendment rights, while also equipping our officers with the tools to keep them out of the hands of individuals who present a danger to themselves or others.”
“With the help of a broad coalition of legislators, we are finally able to modernize the back-logged FOID system to ease the process for law-abiding residents while helping prevent those who should not have a gun from getting one,” said Leader Jay Hoffmann (D-Belleville, IL). “I thank the parents and advocates who helped push this issue, and I thank Governor Pritzker for signing this balanced, comprehensive bill into law that will save lives.”
“This consequential piece of legislation modernizes our decades-old FOID system and ensure we keep firearms out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves and others, while at the same time streamlines the process for responsible gun owners,” said state Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria). “As gun violence continues to devastate families across the country, Illinois is taking a major step forward in leading the effort to keep people safe and families together.”
“This critical legislation will keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people through implementing universal background checks, empowering partners in law enforcement to act before the next tragedy can occur, and dedicating life-saving mental health funding to communities most impacted by gun violence,” said Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago).
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* Brenden Moore at the Herald and Review…
Though some high-profile Republicans, such as Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, have encouraged people to get vaccinated, leadership has been lacking on the issue from others.
Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, who has openly flouted the mask mandate on the U.S. House floor and just recently tweeted “Do vaccines work?” in response to the revised CDC mask recommendations (they do).
Only about 34% of Miller’s constituents are fully vaccinated, the lowest of any congressional district in the state, according to data from Harvard University. A public message encouraging vaccination could go a long way.
Same with state Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, a downstate candidate for governor. He pointedly refused to endorse the vaccine in an interview earlier this week with WCIA, despite the vaccine’s effectiveness at preventing hospitalization and death.
* No relation…
* Mark Maxwell on Darren Bailey…
Throughout the pandemic, Bailey has promoted the importance of individual responsibility over collective action and personal freedoms over government mandates. What advice would he give responsible individuals about how they could best protect themselves and others during the pandemic?
“I think the one thing that people need to do is understand the constitutional basis of freedom that this country stands on: the Constitution,” Bailey answered, avoiding any reference to vaccines.
Publicly available data posted on the Illinois Department of Public Health’s website says that 97.7% of people who died due to COVID-19 this year were unvaccinated. Asked how he would respond to that data if it came across his desk as governor, Bailey dismissed the readily available numbers as untrustworthy, without offering any evidence or explanation.
“We asked for the proof,” Bailey said. “We want to see it. Where’s this coming from? Where’s this going? And they never present it. So, my facts, your facts, my data, your data.”
* Um…
* Maxwell…
When a reporter asked Bailey how he squares that comment with speed limit laws that were intended to keep people safe, he seemed to suggest those laws were merely “advice.”
“Speed limit laws, you know, that’s, that’s an advice, that’s a law. You drive the speed limit, or you speed, or you drive slower. It is up to government, it is up to the Illinois Department of Public Health, to best advise what they think is best. It is up to the American people to decide on their own if they’re going to go with that advice or not. It’s that simple.”
* Bailey also refused to say whether he was vaxed…
* He’s not vaxed and neither is fellow Republican gubernatorial candidate Gary Rabine…
* The depths some people will sink just to score political points with the most deliberately ignorant segment of the GOP base…
According to fellow church members, Bailey’s own brother-in-law was transferred to a hospital in St. Louis under a medically induced coma for specialized [COVID] treatment.
The church is asking for urgent prayers while Bailey sows doubts about public health data that shows vaccines are effective.
Public health data shows nearly 98% of Illinois patients who died due to covid-19 illness this year did not have the vaccine.
Pritzker responded to the reports and said leadership is about listening to experts.
“I am sorry for his brother-in-law who is hospitalized with COVID-19,” he said. “Misinformation is killing people. And people who are promoting misinformation, people who are not listening to the science, are not helping anyone. We need leaders in the state of Illinois listening to the science.”
* And Bailey isn’t alone…
Rabine falsely said that if the vaccines were FDA approved, they “would have been taken off the shelf about 5,000 or 6,000 deaths ago.”
Rabine’s comment, which he repeated throughout the interview, either misunderstands or misinterprets the CDC’s regular, routine collection of “adverse event” reports from people who took the vaccine. As a part of rigorous review protocols, the law requires public health experts to cast a wide net and collect a variety of tips or reports from anyone and everyone who may have gone through some sort of medical episode or death after taking a vaccine, even if the vaccine had nothing to do with their medical episode. Those reports are gathered and collected for medical professionals to thoroughly examine and look for any potential link back to the vaccine. The CDC calls the process the “most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history,” and says the vaccines are “safe and effective.” […]
Asked to clarify what he meant, Rabine again incorrectly attributed thousands of deaths directly to the vaccine. He was apparently using the CDC’s ‘Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System’ (VAERS) to inflate fears about the risks of the vaccine. While the CDC says “reports of death after COVID-19 vaccination are rare,” the agency did collect “6,207 reports of death (0.0018%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine,” adding that the “FDA requires healthcare providers to report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS, even if it’s unclear whether the vaccine was the cause.”
* Rabine’s spokesman walked it back…
After the interview, Maxwell wrote in a story for his station that he received a voicemail from Rabine’s spokesman, Travis Akin, who sought to retract the candidate’s claims of thousands of deaths directly attributable to vaccines. “I think we are walking that back,” Akin said, according to Maxwell’s story.
* But…
Attacking a reporter for tweeting simple facts. Great. Also, Rabine didn’t go after any of the male reporters who were calling him out and even mocking him. Gonna be a long year.
* Even the ILGOP cringed…
* Like I said, it’s gonna be a long year…
* But hilarity will certainly abound…
So, he held his little rally outside. Great advance work, bub.
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* Institute of Government and Public Affairs…
The University of Illinois Flash Index in July ended its rapid climb from the depth of the COVID-19 crisis, falling to 105.8 from the 106.0 level in June. This does not signal a flagging Illinois economy, only that the rate of increase has plateaued.
The monthly indicator of Illinois economic activity had risen for 13 consecutive months since bottoming out at 92.8 in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic-induced economic slowdown. As always, the 100 level is the dividing line between economic growth and decline. See the full Flash Index archive for monthly readings.
“In retrospect, the recovery both nationally and Illinois has been remarkable, exceeding the expectations of almost all observers,” said U of I professor emeritus J. Fred Giertz, who compiles the monthly index for the university’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs. “Overall, the economy is now above the pre-crisis level achieved in early 2020.
“It is not surprising that the rate of increase has stopped rising,” Giertz said. “There are now mixed economic signals with bottlenecks arising in some areas, the result of labor or materials issues along with the threat of renewed COVID impacts. However, consumers remain a source of strength with substantial spending power coupled with pent-up demand resulting from depressed spending opportunities during the shutdown.”
The decline in the Illinois’ unemployment rate has also stopped, remaining at more than 7 percent for the last three months. This is more than one percentage point above the national average. However, the bond rating agencies have upgraded Illinois after years of continuing downgrades.
Illinois sales tax receipts were up almost 17 percent from last year’s depressed level, Giertz said. However, individual income tax and corporate income tax revenue was down significantly from July of last year. Fortunately, this does not imply a weakness in economic activity since July 2020 was the filing deadline for income tax returns when final payments boost receipts. This is one reason why state tax receipts were so strong in fiscal 2020 with two filing deadlines in the same fiscal year—July and May.
The Flash Index is normally a weighted average of Illinois growth rates in corporate earnings, consumer spending and personal income as estimated from receipts for corporate income, individual income, and retail sales taxes. These are adjusted for inflation before growth rates are calculated. The growth rate for each component is then calculated for the 12-month period using data through July 31, 2021. Even though more than a year has passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, ad hoc adjustments will still be needed for some time because of the timing of the tax receipts resulting from state and federal changes in payment dates both this and last year. For example, the change in the filing date from 2020 to 2021 necessitated ad hoc adjustments this month as will the recently approved changes in the Illinois corporate tax.
* Chart…
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Them’s fighting words, governor
Monday, Aug 2, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* News media Q&A with Gov. JB Pritzker on July 27th…
Mike Flannery: Are you confident that the World Series, if it comes to 35th Street, will move forward?
Gov. Pritzker: It’s, it’s coming to Wrigley before it’s gonna… [laughter, applause]
* Later that day…
* July 30th…
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Another Blagojevich publicity stunt
Monday, Aug 2, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The I-Team…
Blagojevich tells the I-Team that he will file a [federal] lawsuit against the state of Illinois, objecting to the way he was removed as governor and challenging the prohibition against his running for state elective office. He claims the methods used against him by the General Assembly violated his constitutional rights.
“I could legally run for President of the United States, but I can’t run for alderman of the 33rd Ward,” said Blagojevich in an exclusive interview with the I-Team and part of a special report on Sunday night.
Blagojevich says he has no actual interest in ether position — president or alderman — but that on Monday, says he will go to the Dirksen federal courthouse in Chicago with a lawsuit alleging the legislative actions that now prevent him from running for statewide office were unconstitutional.
Just weeks after Blagojevich was arrested by the FBI in 2008, and charged in an expansive corruption case, the Illinois House voted to impeach him followed by a senate conviction, thereby removing the state’s 40th governor from office.
Blagojevich says his new lawsuit will accuse the state of an unconstitutional impeachment proceeding, claiming that he was not allowed to call and question witnesses, or play all of the voluminous FBI undercover recordings made during the corruption investigation. […]
“I think he’s got a very hard argument to make. And the reason is this: impeachment is not like a criminal proceeding. A criminal proceeding clearly under the Constitution has certain constitutional protections,” said [ABC7’s legal analyst Gil Soffer, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago]. “But it is much less clear for an impeachment proceeding. An impeachment proceeding is more political than certainly criminal. It’s more political-at least as part political and legal-and so it’s not at all clear that he has the same right, the same due process protections as he would in a criminal proceeding.”
I can’t help but wonder who’s financing this.
* Anyway, Soffer is right. And Hannah Meisel digs up some judicial precedent…
Blagojevich’s assertion that being blocked from running for state office is unconstitutional is similar to a losing argument made in federal court by a man barred from running for a local school board a decade ago. The case ended up at the Seventh Circuit Appellate Court, which in 2014 ruled an Illinois election law banning people with certain convictions on their records from running for office does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection clause.
“The right to run for or hold public office is not a fundamental right,” the court wrote in its opinion. “Thus, a ban on felons running for elective office is valid if it is rationally related to a legitimate state interest. Illinois’s stated interest in barring felons from elective office is to ensure ‘public confidence in the honesty and integrity of those serving in state and local offices.’”
The court also ruled the law doesn’t violate the First Amendment.
The law prevents those convicted of so-called “infamous” crimes like murder, rape, sexual assault, burglary, arson and selling narcotics, but also includes non-violent crimes like perjury and bribery. Blagojevich’s first trial ended with him convicted on a charge of lying to the FBI, and the subsequent trial ended with the jury finding him guilty on 17 charges, including counts of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery.
The Illinois Constitution allows the Senate to prohibit an impeached and removed official from ever running for state and local elective office.
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New laws
Monday, Aug 2, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday signed legislation ushering in an elected school board in Chicago over the strong objections of Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
That legislation, which the governor signed into law without the fanfare that has accompanied other bill signings, would create a 21-seat board in January 2025, initially split between 11 mayoral appointees — including the board president — and 10 elected members. […]
In a statement, Pritzker said the plan laid out in the bill he signed will “help students and their families have a strong voice in important decisions about the education system in Chicago.
“I applaud the members of the General Assembly for working together on behalf of their constituents to pass legislation that required compromise and thoughtful deliberation,” Pritzker said. “I look forward to ongoing conversations with the General Assembly and mayor, in particular about the district’s finances, board members’ compensation and campaign rules.” […]
But a high level source close to Pritzker said the governor opted to avoid such an event for the school board bill because he didn’t want to “poke [Lightfoot] in the eye” on what was for her a major defeat. […]
“If Springfield draws these districts based on population, the true diversity of CPS could be under-represented on the Board … While the current language of HB 2908 fails to address these concerns, I am hopeful that by working together with the bill’s sponsors and other stakeholders, we can agree to trailer bill language that does so.” [Lightfoot wrote in a letter to Pritzker].
I’m not sure I quite follow her logic about basing districts on population. Doing that has made the Illinois General Assembly, the Chicago City Council and most other bodies quite diverse.
* More new laws…
* Bills expanding access to mental health care are among several signed into law
* Pritzker signs law repealing criminal penalties for HIV transmission
* New law aims to expand affordable housing through $75 million investment, tax credits
* Education services extended for special needs students
* Pritzker signs dozens of bills into law
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* He waited until Sunday to say anything, though…
* From the story…
According to data published by the CDC, virtually every county in the Chicago metropolitan area is currently experiencing “substantial” transmission of COVID-19, meaning that residents are urged to wear masks in indoor settings, even if they are vaccinated.
That includes the city, with officials saying that they are seeing an average of 202 new cases per day over the last seven days.
Even with increases in cases, city officials expressed confidence that Lollapalooza could be held safely. According to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, more than 90% of attendees at the shows were vaccinated, and hundreds had been turned away at the gates after failing to provide proof of vaccination or of a negative COVID test, with concertgoers required to furnish one of those items.
City officials also tweaked the guidelines at Lollapalooza over the weekend, saying that guests should wear masks in indoor spaces at the annual festival.
Thoughts?
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* Joe Mahr at the Tribune…
IDES has said it cannot by law discuss individual cases. In what little IDES has said about account hijacking, the agency has suggested that beneficiaries are falling for scams that allow thieves to steal their login information and redirect the cash, as opposed to hackers breaking into computer systems used by IDES.
Even if that’s true, IDES has yet to explain how it has been unable to stop repeated thefts from the same accounts, even after fraud was reported.
That’s the case with Winston. Winston, who lives about 45 miles southeast of Quincy, on the state’s western border, provided records to the Tribune showing that payments were being sent to his bank near Springfield through late March.
When an IDES email alerted Winston in April that his direct deposit information had been changed, he called IDES to report the fraud, then dug into it more himself.
Logging into his account, he saw his bank’s name had been erased from the direct deposit screen, and the routing and account numbers had been replaced.
Winston traced the routing number to a bank registered in Sandy, Utah, tied to Go2Bank. That’s an affiliate of the branchless Green Dot financial services firm that scammers have used to quickly transfer cash online or siphon it out through prepaid cards.
IDES told Winston to reenter his banking information online, and he did. Winston said he changed his IDES account password, to better protect himself, and also reported the fraud to Green Dot. So both IDES and the bank were on notice, according to a complaint Winston later filed with the state. Yet weeks after the first fraudulent transfer, another one was sent to the same Go2Bank account, Winston’s records show.
And then it happened yet again.
* Meanwhile, here’s Jared Rutecki and Ray Long…
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said he has spent more than $2.5 million in crisis management after a massive ransomware hack crippled the agency in April and potentially exposed gigabytes of personal and confidential records on the dark web.
The taxpayer money is being used to rebuild computer systems, notify individuals their personal information may be at risk and get the office fully back online following the April 10 attack, carried out under a name linked to a notorious gang of cybercriminals based in Russia.
The breach came just eight weeks after state auditors met with officials at the attorney general’s office to warn of deficiencies in the agency’s cybersecurity programs.
In the meantime, many of the basic functions of the office — including consumer complaints, public records disputes and financial aid for crime victims — are being conducted by mail and telephone as online access remains shut down. The office has established a call center to handle identity theft issues and other public inquiries.
In his first detailed interview about the attack, Raoul told the Tribune and the Better Government Association his office never considered paying the blackmail demand from the hackers. He declined to say the amount of the ransom demand or how it was conveyed because of the ongoing federal investigation.
* Related…
* How Unemployment Insurance Fraud Exploded During the Pandemic - Bots filing bogus applications in bulk, teams of fraudsters in foreign countries making phony claims, online forums peddling how-to advice on identity theft: Inside the infrastructure of perhaps the largest fraud wave in history.
* Organization warns about continues scams in Illinois amid pandemic confusion: Illinois residents should be on high alert for potential scams. That’s the word from the Better Business Bureau, which says the state has become a hot spot for identity theft attempts. “In particular, they’re claiming to be from the Secretary of State’s office,” said Steve Bernas, president and CEO of the BBB in Chicago and Northern Illinois. “They’re basically asking you to click on a link or a text message, because something is wrong with your account or you need to update your driver’s license information or something of that kind.”
* IDES news: Illinois Republicans seek review of potentially fraudulent jobless payouts
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column from last week…
This past May, Illinois House Deputy Majority Leader Jehan Gordon Booth, D-Peoria, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker worked out a deal with some key state business groups to mandate seven days of paid leave per year for every employee in Illinois. Workers wouldn’t have to give any reasons for the guaranteed paid leave.
But organized labor, in particular some Chicago union leaders, angrily came out against it, arguing that the bill’s home rule preemption language would prevent Chicago from eventually enacting an even broader ordinance.
I asked Gov. Pritzker the other day if he planned to bring the paid leave bill back next year.
“I want to expand paid leave,” the governor said. “We’ll continue to work with legislators to make sure that we’re overcoming the hesitancy. But yeah, I’m not going to stop fighting for more paid leave for people across the state.”
I had talked to some downstate legislators and labor folks after the bill fell apart and they were clearly upset because the legislation would’ve been a boon to workers in their part of the state.
“It’s been deeply concerning to me that when you get outside the City of Chicago, and particularly when you get to central, southern Illinois, paid leave is non-existent. Non-existent,” Pritzker said, repeating himself for emphasis.
“Nothing happens instantaneously, usually, in Springfield,” Pritzker said. “And sometimes it takes a session or two to get something done, and sometimes more than that, but I’m impatient. So, I’m going to keep working.”
Pritzker’s Springfield recent news media interviews to kick off his reelection campaign were held at the downtown office of the Laborers Union. Early union support was crucial to his 2018 primary victory and Pritzker has trumpeted their causes.
But some cracks beyond the paid leave proposal emerged during the spring session. A small union local held up an important bill for the state’s burgeoning data center industry over the hiring of a tiny handful of non-union workers. Labor had targeted a non-union contractor at a refinery a few years ago, then agreed to set aside their bill, but when it reemerged this year a host of industries were targeted by what some business groups labeled as “forced unionization.”
And, of course, organized labor has put a brick on the climate/energy bill that Pritzker wants passed over worries that coal and gas-fired electric power plants will be closed. Almost two months after talks broke down, little to no progress has been made.
So, I asked Pritzker how he can maintain his relationship with organized labor while still saying, “Folks, maybe you’re going a little too far here.”
As expected, Pritzker claimed he has an “excellent” relationship with organized labor. “We talk all the time. And I think that having a good relationship means that you say what you really think, and you share your concerns with one another. And we do that with one another. So, there are going to be disagreements that occur, and you got to work through these things.”
On the climate/energy bill, Pritzker said he believes there’s a “misunderstanding about whether we’re talking about 2035 or 2045” for his decarbonization goals.
“The reality is that the industry itself, the coal industry for example, has said that they can get [carbon] sequestration to 90 percent by 2035. They’re the ones who volunteered that to begin with. And so, we want to make sure that happens. But we’re not trying to close them down in 2035, we want to go to 2045, 24 years from now.”
I’m pretty sure it’s far more complicated than that, and I’ve been hearing from some very depressed folks in the past week when I’ve asked about the prospects for a deal anytime soon.
When an energy bill was negotiated while the anti-union Bruce Rauner was governor, the unions agreed to drop their demands for some all-important prevailing wage language in order to get a deal done to save a couple of nuclear power plants. Now, the unions have prevailing wage in this new bill, but are also pushing the pro-union Pritzker hard to stand with them against his own stated desires to eventually decarbonize the electric power industry.
Union leadership isn’t as cohesive as it was when they were all banding together against Rauner. And now that Michael Madigan is no longer the House speaker, there’s nobody in Springfield with the authority and might to convince the politically powerful unions to back down a bit. Pritzker has to find a different, uncharted way.
* Related…
* Press Release: Exelon Generation Submits Decommissioning Plans for Byron and Dresden Nuclear Plants - Job reduction notifications to affected employees will be next step in shutting down the plants this fall
* Exelon moves ahead with plans to shut down Byron, Dresden nuclear plants
* ‘This is not a bluff’: Exelon moves to shut down 2 nuclear power plants in Illinois as parent company of scandal-plagued ComEd seeks more state subsidies
* How much time does Exelon want to clean up a nuke site? The utility files for the maximum—a couple of generations.
* Prairie State Energy Campus a piece in solving Illinois’ clean-energy legislation puzzle
* Jobs, reliability and bailouts chief concerns amid possible Illinois energy legislation
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#ilovemycreditunion
Friday, Jul 30, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
𝙏𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘿𝘼𝙔! Tell Your Credit Union Story on any social media platform with a picture and be sure to use #ILoveMyCreditUnion to share your experience and spread #creditunion LOVE!
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