From: Dan Hynes, Deputy Governor, Budget & Economy
Subject: Payroll Tax Deferral
Date: September 14, 2020
As you may be aware, the President issued a memorandum in August deferring payroll taxes for certain employees for the period September 1 through December 31, 2020. The President’s action was a deferral, rather than a tax cut, absent an act of Congress making it permanent.
Recent guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS indicates those deferred taxes would need to be repaid by both the wage earner and the employer beginning January 1 through April 30, 2021, or begin to accrue interest and penalties. Such a repayment could pose a tremendous hardship on state workers.
Be advised that the state of Illinois, for agencies under the Governor, will not be implementing this optional payroll tax deferral. Agencies should continue to process payrolls, including the deduction of payroll taxes, as they normally would.
Thank you for your continued service and dedication to the people of Illinois during these challenging times.
Illinois labor groups today launched the Climate Jobs Illinois coalition to advocate for a pro-worker, pro-climate agenda. The coalition will push for a thoughtful but ambitious clean energy transition through practical policies that create union jobs in the clean energy sector to lower the state’s high unemployment rate, reduce its emissions and close the growing income inequality gap in disadvantaged communities.
The coalition represents hundreds of thousands of Illinois working men and women who are best suited to build Illinois’ new clean-energy economy from the ground up. By advocating for bold clean energy investments with comprehensive labor standards, including prevailing wage, apprenticeship requirements, labor peace agreements, project labor agreements and responsible bidder requirements, Climate Jobs Illinois is working to ensure these jobs create more pathways to the middle class, especially for communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
“Every parent’s dream is to provide a better future for their children. Building wind farms has provided my family a roof over our heads, food on the table and a cleaner tomorrow. With Climate Jobs Illinois leading the charge, our state will create more jobs like mine so everyone’s child can have a better future,” said Bob Howard, a wind construction laborer, member of LIUNA Local 362, and resident of Normal, Ill.
“The demand for solar power has been through the roof in Illinois. But without the state acting, my good-paying job and the progress we’ve made to cut emissions will end as quickly as a flip of a switch. Climate Jobs Illinois is going to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Christine Blair, operating engineer-solar projects, member of IUOE Local 150, and resident of DeKalb, Ill.
“The Model T helped create the middle class by providing workers with a pathway to good wages and benefits in a union. I’m a former UAW member that worked at Mitsubishi in Normal, Illinois. I look forward to building the next generation of automobiles in the electric vehicle industry,” said Bob Thompson, a Rivian Press Operator, and resident of East Peoria, Ill.
“Families today are spending more time in their homes and want to reduce their carbon footprint without sacrificing comfort. The energy-efficient homes we build help protect the environment and save the owner money, and they provide our skilled carpenters with a good union paycheck to support their families. Energy-efficient homes prove that we can solve climate change and simultaneously create jobs, and I look forward to Climate Jobs Illinois helping create more opportunities to bolster our economy,” said Tom Vetter, a qualified installer, member of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters Union, and resident of Orland Park, Ill.
“This job has been as reliable as the power coming out of the plant. Yes, the plant turns on lights across Illinois and elsewhere, but for us here in Byron, it has created a brighter future. We need our leaders to know that, and I’m grateful Climate Jobs Illinois is around to make sure that happens,” said Stan Bush, Radiation Protection Technician, IBEW Local 15, Byron, Ill.
Climate Jobs Illinois—which is independent of energy developers and utilities—will also focus on supporting workers as the state transitions with new clean-energy sector jobs, while meeting the immediate need to stem record job losses as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
Since the pandemic began, Illinois has lost around 600,000 jobs. Nearly half of those will likely never come back. The pandemic has also highlighted the effects of growing income inequality in Illinois and across the country, with disproportionate numbers of black and brown communities suffering job losses and significantly higher rates of COVID-19 infection and death.
Governing Board leadership for Climate Jobs Illinois includes Illinois AFL-CIO President and Chair Tim Drea, Illinois Secretary Treasurer Pat Devaney, Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter and Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council President Ralph Affrunti. Executive Committee members of Climate Jobs Illinois are: Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers State Council, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Union, Laborers International Union of North America Midwest Region, Laborers International Union of North America Great Lakes Region, Service Employees International Union Local 1 and United Auto Workers Region 4.
Climate Jobs Illinois’ members recognize that introducing an ambitious but practical plan to invest in clean-energy infrastructure can drastically address the climate crisis while also closing the income inequality gap. In the coming weeks, the coalition will roll out a series of proposals focused on maximizing emissions reductions that create or sustain union jobs and apprentice programs in areas hit hard by the current economic crisis as well as by historic underfunding and discriminatory policies.
The coalition will put forward innovative proposals that support state renewable portfolio standards, the creation of new investments in wind and solar projects, improving fleet efficiency and enhancing public transit infrastructure, and improving energy efficiency in public, commercial and residential spaces. The plans will leverage Illinois’ clean energy natural resources, strong labor pool, ready-made apprentice programs and manufacturing infrastructure.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said: “Union jobs have built Illinois for decades and opened the door to the middle class for many families. We will need thousands more to tackle climate change and combat inequality — so I welcome Climate Jobs Illinois to the effort to create a cleaner future for our state.”
U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (Ill.-4th) said: “Workers and communities of color must be at the center of Illinois’ strategy to combat climate change. I’m thankful that Climate Jobs Illinois has formed so the state’s efforts result in good-paying union jobs that expand mobility and increase opportunity to the communities I represent.”
State Rep. Marcus Evans Jr. (D-Chicago), Illinois House Labor & Commerce Committee Chair, said: “Our community suffers the most from pollution, and it suffers the most from joblessness. Can we solve both challenges at the same time? I believe we can. But if—and only if—good-paying union jobs build Illinois’ clean energy future. I look forward to working with Climate Jobs Illinois to create those union jobs that provide opportunities to communities like mine.”
State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) said: “We don’t have to choose between a cleaner future and hundreds of middle-class jobs for families. In my district, we’ve delivered both for decades at the Dresden nuclear plant. Having Climate Jobs Illinois around will keep middle class jobs at the center of the debate as our state looks to build a cleaner and better future.”
State Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) said: “A union job is the path to the middle class in Illinois, especially Central Illinois. We urgently need more of them. I’m grateful that Climate Jobs Illinois will be in the fight so the state uses our strong labor pool and ready-made apprentice programs to get the job done.”
Climate Jobs Illinois is a state affiliate of the Climate Jobs National Resource Center. CJI has partnered with The Project for Middle Class Renewal at UIUC, Illinois Economic Policy Institute and Cornell University Worker Institute.
“Illinois has a proud labor history fighting for fair wages and job security as a pathway to the middle class. It’s time to continue that tradition by creating the next generation of union jobs as we build a cleaner future for our state,” said Nikki Budzinski, executive director of Climate Jobs Illinois. “While a tall order, this crisis presents a transformative opportunity to reimagine our economy and create a cleaner, fairer future for our entire state.”
…Adding… From Rep. Ann Williams, Chair of Energy & Environment committee and House sponsor of Clean Energy Jobs Act…
As we look for ways to create jobs and spur economic development in the wake of COVID, the clean energy sector can provide significant opportunity, especially in communities disproportionately impacted in terms of economics, healthcare disparities and pollution. I look forward to working closely with Climate Jobs Illinois toward a comprehensive clean energy package which will address the urgency of the climate crisis while creating economic opportunity in the communities that need it most.”
Better late than never, perhaps. But, man is that ever late.
* Press release…
At a press conference today with Loyola University Chicago officials, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) highlighted ongoing testing challenges at schools and universities, and announced he was sending a letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asking how the Trump Administration plans to rectify the shortfall in testing supplies it has created at our universities and schools after Durbin learned HHS diverted shipments of COVID-19 tests bound for two Illinois universities.
“I recently became aware of two troubling incidents involving Illinois universities in which COVID-19 testing kits that they had purchased were commandeered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and diverted to other needy entities,” Durbin said. “At the same time the White House was pressuring our schools to reopen, the Administration was telling schools that the test supplies they had ordered wouldn’t be coming to them anymore, because HHS stepped in and redirected them elsewhere. The lack of a national strategy for access to adequate, reliable, and timely testing has hampered our response to the COVID-19 pandemic from the beginning. I will continue working to bring more funding to Illinois schools that are desperately trying to safely reopen.”
A small number of cases impacted the foodservice sector of the Blue Ridge School District late last week, leaving administrators with the only decision to temporarily close their doors for two weeks.
Superintendent Dr. Hilary Stanifer told Regional News Monday they did not have a large number of cases but because of infections in staff, it impacted their ability to feed their students and for that reason, they are beginning a two-week and a day shutdown.
The human toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has been one of no bounds. It has surpassed the amount of American lives lost during the 1900 Galveston hurricane, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, the Revolutionary War, the Korean war, the Vietnam War and World War I.
Nationally, about 192,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have died this year. Of Illinois’ nearly 8,500 deaths, the majority have been of people living in Chicago and the surrounding area. But this region has not been spared — throughout 21 Southern Illinois counties, 138 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have died since April. Following national trends, the majority of deaths here — 96, according to the latest state figures — have been of older adults in nursing homes. But the virus has also claimed the lives of Southern Illinoisans as young as their 40s. While it is well established that the virus is the most deadly to people with underlying health conditions, at least some whose lives it has claimed were considered the picture of health. […]
The Southern Illinoisan spoke with several families throughout the region about their loved ones whose lives were cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several people said they hope their families’ losses serve as a wake-up call to people in Southern Illinois who believe the virus is a hoax or the response to it is overblown.
When the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic shutdowns hit Illinois this spring, experts began to count up all of the ways in which COVID-19 would likely exacerbate an already rising level of need in the state’s child welfare system — a network itself long stressed by budget and leadership turmoil.
The state is barely three years out of a prolonged budget stalemate under former Gov. Bruce Rauner, which left Illinois’ human services sector severely weakened, and resulted in a surge of need in the child welfare system.
As child welfare needs have increased in Illinois, capacity has fallen. Between 2015 and 2019, Illinois’ shelter bed capacity was cut by 71%, from 159 beds to 46, according to DCFS. In that same time period, Illinois lost nearly 500 residential beds and 2,300 foster homes.
Ashley and Ryan Driemeyer are in a rebellious mood.
The Driemeyers continue to serve customers inside their two restaurants in Breese and Pocahontas in defiance of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s directive issued on Sept. 1 for metro-east bars and restaurants to stop indoor service because the southwestern Illinois region’s positivity rate for the coronavirus surpassed 8%. […]
Ashley Driemeyer said other bar and restaurant owners in the area also are still serving customers inside. She also is a longtime friend of Bond County attorney Tom DeVore, who has filed multiple lawsuits against Pritzker alleging the governor does not have the authority to issue orders for multiple months during the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Things are getting weird in Will County. From the Times Weekly…
On the same day the Illinois Department of Public Health dropped Will County from the state’s warning list of regions nearing a Coronavirus positivity rate of 8 percent, some area Republicans held a press conference to denounce the IDPH’s numbers and criticize both Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Will County Health Department officials.
“These numbers are inflated. The people of Illinois and the people of the County of Will deserve true and accurate numbers,” said Nick Ficarello, one of 11 area Republicans to attend Friday’s press conference in front of the Will County Courthouse in Joliet. Ficarello is the Republican candidate for Will County Executive.
Only one at the press conference donned a mask to protect themselves and none practiced social distancing while their colleagues spoke to the press. […]
Asked why he and most of the others were not wearing masks at the press conference, Pearson said with the traffic going by there was too much noise and masks would have made it harder for them to be heard.
Will County Board member Gretchen Fritz, a Republican from Plainfield, suggested the county was being unfairly targeted by “Pritzker and his puppet master Mike Madigan.” She argued that the state’s methods to measure positivity rates was flawed. […]
Fritz and others at Friday’s news conference also criticized the Will County Health Department’s call for residents to use the agency’s hotline to report any restaurants or bars violating the COVID-19 restrictions. […]
The Will County Republican Central Committee, in a news release Friday, charged the health department was relying on Communist methods to get residents to turn in violators.
“This is America, not some third world banana republic,” it read. “You have the constitutional right to face your accusers in open court. To fine or punish a person or business goes directly against this principle.”
I look forward to the Will County GOP demanding an end to the local Crime Stoppers program and the elimination of 911 calls. Wouldn’t want anybody snitching.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,373 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including five additional confirmed deaths.
• Cook County: 1 female 70s
• Madison County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s
• Randolph County: 1 female 80s
• Rock Island County: 1 male 60s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 262,744 cases, including 8,314 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 7 – September 13 is 3.6%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 35,930 specimens for a total of 4,771,796. As of last night, 1,431 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 335 patients were in the ICU and 131 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
* Sunday…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,462 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 14 additional confirmed deaths.
Cook County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 40s, 2 males 50s, 1 female 60s
DuPage County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s
Kane County: 1 male 60s
Lake County: 2 females 80s, 1 male 80s
Madison County: 1 male 60s
McHenry County: 1 male 20s
Williamson County: 1 female 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 261,371 cases, including 8,309 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 6 – September 12 is 3.7%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 46,890 specimens for a total of 4,735,866. As of last night, 1,422 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 328 patients were in the ICU and 136 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
* Saturday…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,121 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 22 additional confirmed deaths.
Cook County: 1 male 30s, 1 male 40s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s, 2 males 60s, 2 females 70s, 1 male 70s, 2 females 80s, 1 female 90s, 2 males 90s
Kane County: 1 female 50s
Lake County: 1 male 70s
Macon County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 100+
Madison County: 1 male 80s
Peoria County: 1 male 90s
Wayne County: 1 female 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 259,909 cases, including 8,295 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 5 – September 12 is 3.7%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 56,594 specimens for a total of 4,688,976. As of last night, 1,509 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 344 patients were in the ICU and 170 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
An official with the Wayne County Health Department tells the radio station that about 30 of the 39 new COVID-19 cases reported in the county Saturday are linked to the Frontier Community College baseball team.
Wayne County Health Administrator Clark Griffith said 62 people within the program were tested Friday with the results coming in Saturday evening. Over 50-percent of those baseball players tested were positives. The Wayne County Health Department says it is working with the community college and local hospitals to keep the healthy members of the program separated from those who have tested positive.
FCC President Jay Edgren says the outbreak is contained to student athletes living in off-campus housing.
Professional athletes are tested constantly and are following strict protocols. That’s not always the case at lower levels, particularly at the community college and high school levels.
Over Labor Day weekend, I got to do my favorite thing as a dad — watch my youngest son play soccer with his local youth team.
Instead of playing in central Illinois, however, we traveled to Indianapolis to play in a youth soccer tournament. Like many others in the state, my sons will be traveling outside Illinois to participate in youth athletics this year to Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin and Iowa this fall to play sports. […]
Our kids want to participate in fall sports, and they can safely do so with the appropriate guidelines in place.
Joe Trost, an advocate for high school athletes, said he estimates one hundred Illinois high school football players have transferred to other states to play this season.
That ain’t many, but I reached out to the reporter to ask about Trost and why he’s labeled as a student advocate. Turns out, he runsfounded a big soccer tournament (Pepsico Showdown) and is a former TVsports reporter.
Student athlete and advocate Joe Trost said players and parents want a changed and safe plan in place for sports now.
Um, he’s not a student athlete. He’s a grownup. And he runs a tournament.
…Adding… Trost in comments…
I am proud to finally made Rich’s blog. For years, I’ve always given him information for the blog. I didn’t know I was a TV sports reporter, I probably have a face more for radio. I thank the one commenter - I loved my time at The Star. I founded Buddy’s HELPERS, which uses the power of sports to engage and educate student athletes about enhancing the lives of others. Google the Making A Difference On AND Off The Field campaign. You can see the stories for years. And yes, I am a student athlete advocate. Just as was the case during the CTU strike last year when kids were caught in the middle and being impacted, I was the voice because at times kids feel intimidated to stand up. With that said, I don’t want to be the face of it - it’s about the kids. That’s why I help media train student athletes and prep them when stuck in these situations. I’ve always had a passion for helping kids through sport. I am a little annoyed that Rich when given my contact info didn’t contact me, but we’re human - we make mistakes. So hey if anyone wants to give me a TV Sports job, I just need some makeup to make my face look better. Then I could actually make Feder’s blog, too, seeing I’ve been reading him since I was kid, too.
The Illinois High School Association on Friday clarified the contents of a letter it sent Thursday to the Illinois Governor’s office.
“There have been no discussions, let alone proposed timelines, for resuming any sports at this time,” IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said in a release.
On Thursday, Anderson said he sent a letter to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Deputy Governor for Education Jesse Ruiz seeking permission for the IHSA to resume control of determining when sports return.
“With support from the IHSA Board of Directors, I issued a letter … that seeks permission for the IHSA and its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee to resume control over determining the resumption of IHSA sports and activities,” Anderson said. “However, the content of that letter has been greatly misconstrued on social media in a short amount of time.
Dozens of Illinois high school student-athletes, coaches and parents held a rally Sunday demanding the expanded return of fall sports for Illinois schools.
At the McCook rally, Wheaton Warrenville South Student Jaylen Brown said he’s worried about his senior football and basketball seasons.
“This decision will determine if I get a scholarship or not,” high school athlete Jaylen Brown said.
High school sports advocate and rally organizer Joe Trost says these issues can weigh particularly heavy on some CPS students.
And the organizers have asked me to close it with a ‘brave heart’ speech. I’m doubling down & hope you’re in. If you don’t support these rallies don’t complain when you have e-learning & no sports in perpetuity. pic.twitter.com/na4Ky3oTDf
Rep. Sean Casten announced today that his campaign is reserving $2.4M in air time in the Chicago media market and on cable that will run from Wednesday, September 16th through Election Day. This is the first of multiple buys the campaign intends to make during the cycle.
The campaign also released the first ad, “Molecular”. You can watch the ad here.
Rep. Sean Casten released the following statement:
“I spent my career as a businessman taking concrete steps to rebuild the economy and combat climate change — including harnessing the power of clean energy to create jobs. I’ve continued that work in Congress and will never stop fighting for the issues my constituents care about.”
SCRIPT
NARRATOR: Sean Casten — a scientist who built a successful company that used technology to clean up pollution, putting businesses to work fighting climate change.
NARRATOR: Sean pledged to keep people informed, holding more than 40 town hall meetings across the district.
CASTEN: Families have been through a lot this year, and it’s far from over. The way forward is to follow the science to control this pandemic and get our economy back on its feet.
CASTEN (featuring Casten’s family): I’m Sean Casten, and we approve this message.
There’s been much gnashing of teeth since the state announced that just 21 social equity applicants had qualified for regional lotteries that will award 75 cannabis dispensary store licenses.
The 21 winning entities submitted well over 300 applications for those 75 licenses, which has forced a tie-breaking round.
In total, 937 entities submitted 4,518 dispensary site applications, so that’s a whole lot of unhappy people, many of whom have friends in the General Assembly. It really doesn’t matter that 13 of the 21 companies are “majority owned and controlled by people of color and 17 have at least one owner who is a person of color,” as the administration claims. A lot of folks were unexpectedly shut out and people are downright furious.
Even so, the same legislators who are now complaining also voted for the bill, which lays out what applicants had to do to qualify for a license.
The legislation awarded up to 250 points for things like status as a social equity candidate (50 points), labor-friendly employment practices (5 points), an environmental plan to limit carbon footprints (5 points), an Illinois owner (5 points), a diversity plan (5 points), security and record-keeping (65 points) and 51 percent ownership by military veterans (5 points), etc.
Now, here’s where the unexpected problem comes in. According to the Pritzker administration, all 21 of the successful applicants scored a perfect 250, plus they all earned two extra bonus points for having what the statute calls “a plan to engage with the community.”
That many perfect scores for that many entities and their respective applications absolutely shocked most applicants and the administration.
The 51% veterans requirement, which was added late in the 2019 negotiations after demands by veteran-friendly state Sen. Tony Munoz (D-Chicago) and others, turned out to be a major stumbling block for several applicants.
But, hey, it was in the bill, plain as day. Lots of applicants just didn’t think it was necessary to have a perfect score to make it into the tiebreaker round. Oops.
And now all heck is breaking loose.
“It’s a knife through the heart of the black and brown community,” said former state Sen. Rickey Hendon at a press conference, according to WGN News. The Legislative Black Caucus and the Latino Caucus want the governor to stop the program in its tracks.
Democratic state Reps. La Shawn Ford and Kathleen Willis wrote Pritzker a letter calling the whole system into question.
The state will eventually award 500 dispensary licenses, so this round was “only a test,” as one Pritzker administration official put it. And even the governor admitted that there is significant room for improvement.
Gov. Pritzker told reporters last week that he wants to look at limiting the number of dispensary site applications which can be submitted by each entity. By law, companies can hold only 10 dispensary licenses at once, but a few legally applied for dozens. Some legislators and others say they foresaw this problem and claim the administration flatly rejected the idea on multiple occasions.
This particular issue was preventable, and the governor does deserve blame for not listening to those warnings until it was too late, even though members of his administration deny the claims.
Another change being discussed is allowing applicants to automatically qualify for the lottery if they score, say, at least 90% of the 252 total points.
But even that may not work. Some of the points are won under clearly objective standards (veterans ownership, for instance). But some are subjective, and multiple applicants have claimed that the no-bid contractor that graded their applications for the state, KPMG, inexplicably denied them points that they believe they were entitled to. Unfortunately for them, there is no appeals process — yet another glaring statutory omission that will likely lead to lawsuits.
The fact that a KPMG consultant was part of a successful team that will seek six licenses in the tie-breaking lottery just makes matters worse.
The “test” clearly did not succeed as hoped. But the administration claims it needs to get this part of the process behind it so the state can conduct a “disparity study” to allow it to legally use race in awarding many of the rest of the 500 licenses. Lawsuits, however, could delay this process for years if the lottery doesn’t proceed.
Bottom line: It’s a big freaking mess. And even though lots of legislators are not being completely forthcoming about their own roles, governors own messes.
Some of this is being ginned up by sore losers with political ties. Hendon, for instance, was an unsuccessful applicant.
* But here’s one of the winners…
Today we had our first official meeting as the (future) owners (fingers crossed) of Baked.
* I’ve asked the governor’s office for a response to this, and I’ll post it when I receive it. I’d definitely like to see more details either way…
Dispensary applicants with application problems continued to come forward Wednesday. One applicant, Joline Rivera from the Functional Food Inc. group told Grown In that her team submitted three identical applications, and received discrepancy notices for two of the applications, but no comment for the third.
“I don’t know if they missed it or what?” said Rivera. “I emailed the IDFPR and got a response saying they don’t accept emails.”
“I really believed they were going to do right. I should have known better,” she told Grown In.
Application discrepancy notices questioning the veracity of social equity applicants is also becoming a theme. The Chicago Cannabis Club team, advised by Charlena Berry, is one application group that got a discrepancy notice questioning the social equity status of their team leader, a Latino veteran.
“We provided information to show he was [from] a disproportionately impacted area, then they gave us a deficiency. I thought it was because he served time away. We responded with tax returns, and double and triple checked everything for the deficiency [response],” said Berry. Time away while in the military is not supposed to count against time away from a disproportionately impacted area, according to IDFPR application rules.
…Adding… Emily Bittner at the governor’s office…
As we have been from the very beginning, the administration remains committed to launching the Illinois adult-use cannabis industry in a fair, equitable manner that provides a path for Illinoisans from all backgrounds to benefit from legalization, from diversifying the industry and criminal justice reform, to investing proceeds to rebuild communities. We take all of the concerns that applicants have raised seriously, are reviewing all of them and will continue to communicate in a clear, transparent way about the licensure process.
Dear @illinoissbe: Why have you left the wireless modems in IL’s precinct scanners despite the knowledge that they connect the scanners & county central tabulators to the internet?! Why do u allow counties to use them on election night?! #RemoveTheModemspic.twitter.com/FhkB8RC6TF
* So, I sent a quick email to the Illinois State Board of Elections asking if this was true…
No. They do not connect to the internet. They use a cellular signal to send a one-way, handshake-encrypted transmission of UNOFFICIAL results on election night. There is no Internet connectivity on either end.
These are used by a handful of jurisdictions (Cook, Chicago and some of the collar counties; I’m not sure at the moment which ones) for the sole purpose of providing unofficial results as quickly as possible on election night.
I am watching that tweet to determine whether it warrants a reply. Twitter is not a good forum for technical explanations and I’m not interested in an extended back-and-forth that invites virality.
I posted the response and reported the tweet to Twitter, but it’s obviously still up.
* Meanwhile, Brenden Moore has a story about the Trump boat parade on Lake Springfield over Labor Day weekend…
Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso asked City Water, Light and Power officials and city attorney Jim Zerkle at Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting if a permit was necessary for the event and if one had been obtained. […]
The question was asked and answered, and the discussion was seemingly over within five minutes. But, it turns out, it was only the beginning.
On Thursday, DiCenso became the target of fierce criticism from Sangamon County Republican Party chairwoman Rosemarie Long, who was responding to information on a flier that’s been making the rounds on social media.
The flier claimed that DiCenso, following Tuesday’s meeting, had described the boat parade as “horrid and unacceptable” and that she had plans to propose an ordinance that would prevent the displaying of political signs and flags on lake property.
The flier has been distributed to various lake clubs and to lake lease owners. Long, speaking at the party’s committee call, said she was “getting goosebumps because I’m so mad” about the claims.
“I cannot tell you how upsetting this is to me,” Long said. “What happened to freedom in this country, in this town, in this county when they just think about not letting you place your American flag in your yard?”
And, of course, the “flier” is completely overblown. But some people will believe anything they see, apparently.
* I do not possess the talent to come up with superlatives for Carol Marin which are not already mentioned in this Robert Feder story. Gold standard. A beacon. The winner of every major award in broadcast journalism. A true legend. And she has always taken the time to talk with other reporters. The hole this leaves cannot be filled…
Carol Marin, one of Chicago’s most honored and respected journalists of all time, is bringing down the curtain on her legendary TV news career after 48 years.
Marin, 71, surprised colleagues today by announcing that she will step down as political editor at NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 and correspondent for “Chicago Tonight” at Window to the World Communications WTTW-Channel 11 after she covers the presidential election November 3.
“It’s time to get off the stage,” she told me. “Everybody needs to know the time for the last performance. I’ve had a great run, but I want to walk off the news stage when I feel great about it still, when I’ve got great relationships still, and when I feel the work is solid. I always wanted to be the one to decide the time, and I’m grateful to be able to do that. […]
Marin said she will continue to serve as co-director of the Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence at DePaul University, which she co-founded in 2016. Don Moseley, co-director of the center and Marin’s longtime producer and reporting collaborator, also will be leaving as an investigative producer at NBC 5.
Since joining the DePaul faculty in 2003, Marin and Moseley have mentored hundreds of young journalists.
Six McLean County restaurants and hotels are among more than 700 restaurants, bars and hotels in Illinois receiving a portion of a $14 million emergency grant. […]
Local recipients, which the state listed by legal name, include … Ralben Inc. (Cadillac Jack’s), Bloomington, $25,000
A Bloomington bar was cited for multiple violations for noncompliance with COVID-19 restrictions over the holiday weekend and faces a Bloomington Liquor Commission hearing on Thursday. […]
“A single establishment continued operating in violation of state and local guidelines after multiple warnings from the McLean County Health Department and police,” officials said in the statement. “Cadillac Jacks, located at 1507 S. Main St. in Bloomington, was observed to be noncompliant with mandated IDPH Emergency Rules or Illinois bar safety guidelines on four separate occasions Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The establishment was issued multiple required noncompliance notices over the weekend and, on Sunday, an order to disperse crowds was issued in accordance with the IDPH emergency rules.”
An attorney who has sued Gov. J.B. Pritzker over COVID-19 policies is now representing a Bloomington bar-restaurant cited for not enforcing mask rules.
Tom DeVore is working on the case of Cadillac Jacks, at 1507 S. Main St. in Bloomington. DeVore has been in several lawsuits against the Pritzker administration over its use of executive authority to respond to COVID-19. He also is representing Fox Run, a Springfield restaurant that filed a lawsuit against the city of Springfield over policies, with other cases are in Bond, Clinton, Richland and Edgar counties. […]
Cadillac Jacks was issued four noncompliance notices over the weekend, including an order to disperse crowds on Sunday. A special meeting of the Bloomington Liquor Commission to discuss possible fines and punishments was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, but Mayor Tari Renner, who also serves as the city’s liquor commissioner, said no action would be taken after calling the meeting to order. […]
“Mr. DeVore requested on behalf of the licensee, that we have a short continuance in order that he might look at the complaints and citations that have been filed, discuss it with his client, and advise him accordingly,” [assistant city attorney George Boyle] said.
* It’s not mentioned in the story, but Devore lost the first round of that Fox Run case while I was on break…
Fox Run Restaurant & Lounge, 1130 Legacy Pointe Drive, was dealt a setback earlier this week in its case against the city of Springfield.
Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow on Wednesday denied the restaurant’s request for a temporary restraining order seeking to halt the emergency declaration and all subsequent orders Mayor Jim Langfelder has signed under that authority.
* I reached out to Rep. Halbrook’s Democratic opponent Mitchell Esslinger (who has raised only a couple of thousand bucks) to ask if he put up the billboard (which has no required “paid for by” legal disclaimer on it) and why. The response from his campaign manager…
The Esslinger campaign did not pay for this sign, it is from a constituent who I believe is upset that Rep. Halbrook missed the epi pen vote last year because in his own words he was “in the bathroom”.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 30 counties in Illinois are considered to be at a warning level for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A county enters a warning level when two or more COVID-19 risk indicators that measure the amount of COVID-19 increase.
Thirty counties are currently reported at a warning level – Bond, Bureau, Cass, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, DeKalb, DuPage, Effingham, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Henderson, Jackson, Jasper, Jersey, Lawrence, Madison, McLean, Monroe, Morgan, Pulaski, Schuyler, Shelby, Stark, St. Clair, Tazewell, Vermilion, Washington, Williamson.
Although the reasons for counties reaching a warning level varies, some of the common factors for an increase in cases and outbreaks are associated with college parties, weddings, large gatherings, bars and clubs, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings, travel to neighboring states, and spread among members of the same household who are not isolating at home. Cases connected to schools are beginning to be reported. General transmission of the virus in the community is also increasing.
Public health officials are observing people not social distancing, gathering in large groups, and not using face coverings. In some counties, local law enforcement and states’ attorneys are not enforcing important mitigation measures like social distancing and the wearing of face coverings. Additionally, some people refuse to participate in contact tracing and are not providing information on close contacts or answering the phone. Individuals are also waiting to get tested believing their symptoms are allergies or some other cause.
Several counties are taking swift action and implementing mitigation measures to help slow spread of the virus, including increasing testing opportunities, working with schools, meeting with local leaders, and educating businesses and large venues about the importance of mitigation measures.
IDPH uses numerous indicators when determining if a county is experiencing stable COVID-19 activity, or if there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the county. A county is considered at the warning level when at least two of the following metrics triggers a warning.
• New cases per 100,000 people. If there are more than 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the county, this triggers a warning.
• Number of deaths. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly number of deaths increases more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Weekly test positivity. This metric indicates a warning when the 7-day test positivity rate rises above 8%.
• ICU availability. If there are fewer than 20% of intensive care units available in the region, this triggers a warning.
• Weekly emergency department visits. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly percent of COVID-19-like-illness emergency department visits increase by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Weekly hospital admissions. A warning is triggered when the weekly number of hospital admissions for COVID-19-like-illness increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Tests performed. This metric is used to provide context and indicate if more testing is needed in the county.
• Clusters. This metric looks at the percent of COVID-19 cases associated with clusters or outbreaks and is used to understand large increase in cases
.
These metrics are intended to be used for local level awareness to help local leaders, businesses, local health departments, and the public make informed decisions about personal and family gatherings, as well as what activities they choose to do. The metrics are updated weekly, from the Sunday-Saturday of the prior week.
A map and information of each county’s status can be found on the IDPH website at https://www.dph.illinois.gov/countymetrics.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,145 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 32 additional confirmed deaths.
• Coles County: 1 male 80s
• Cook County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 60s, 2 females 70s, 4 females 80s, 1 female 90s
• DuPage County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
• Greene County: 1 male 60s
• Jersey County: 1 female 80s
• Kane County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 90s
• Lake County: 1 male 70s
• Macon County: 1 female 90s
• Madison County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 90s
• Peoria County: 1 female 90s
• Rock Island County: 1 female 80s
• St. Clair County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 90s
• Tazewell County: 1 female 70s
• Wayne County: 1 female 70s
• Will County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 90s
• Williamson County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 257,788 cases, including 8,273 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 4 – September 10 is 3.9%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 56,661 specimens for a total of 4,632,382. As of last night, 1,619 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 359 patients were in the ICU and 155 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
COVID-19 Update/ Page 2
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for a death previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
Some 80 musicians, authors, filmmakers and other visual and performing artists today are coming together as Artists & Writers for Fair Tax in support of the Fair Tax constitutional amendment in Illinois.
The initial list includes Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Neko Case, Twin Peaks, Whitney, 40th Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez (formerly known as Prime, a member of the hip-hop collective the Molemen), Ohmme, Makaya McCraven, Eleventh Dream Day and members of Tortoise, as well as authors Jessica Hopper, Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis and poet Jose Olivarez (scroll down for full list).
The artists will use their social media platforms between now and Election Day to educate fans and followers about the importance of voting Yes for the Fair Tax amendment that will appear at the top of every Illinois voter’s ballot this fall. Using the hashtag #ArtistsForFairTax, today they’re sharing a social graphic created for the campaign by rock poster artist Jay Ryan
* Graphic…
* Full list…
MUSIC: Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Neko Case, Twin Peaks, Whitney, 40th Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez (fka MC Prime), Spencer Tweedy, Ohmme (Sima Cunningham & Macie Stewart), Makaya McCraven, Doug McCombs (Tortoise, Brokeback, Eleventh Dream Day), Rick Rizzo (Eleventh Dream Day), Janet Bean (Freakwater, Eleventh Dream Day), Jon Langford (Mekons, Waco Brothers), Sally Timms (Mekons), Dean Schlabowske (Waco Brothers), Tim Midyett (Silkworm, Bottomless Pit, Mint Mile), Bethany Thomas, Melkbelly, James Elkington, Ben Lamar Gay, Nora O’Connor, David Singer, Quin Kirchner, Will Miller (Resavoir), Steve Dawson & Diane Christiansen (Dolly Varden), Ayanna Woods, Rachel Drew, Gerald Dowd, Mike Reed, Jonas Friddle, Anna Jacobson, Jason McInnes, Jordan Martins, Kirstin Osgood (CHIMP)
RECORD LABELS: Bloodshot Records, International Anthem
FILM: Gordon Quinn (Kartemquin Films), Bob Hercules (“Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise”)
COMEDY: Mike Oquendo
AUTHORS: Jessica Hopper (“The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic”), Greg Kot (“I’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers and the March up Freedom’s Highway”), Jim DeRogatis (“Soulless: The R Kelly Story”), Jose Olivarez (“Citizen Illegal”), Kathleen Rooney (“Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk”), Celia C. Perez (“The First Rule of Punk”), Megan Stielstra (“The Wrong Way to Save Your Life”), Joe Meno (“Between Everything and Nothing”), Claire Zulkey, Tony Adler, Martha Bayne (“The Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook”, ed.), Billy Lombardo (“Morning Will Come”), Bayo Ojikutu (“Free Burning”), S.L. Wisenberg (“The Adventures of Cancer Bitch”), Kim Brooks (“Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear”), Mary Hawley (“Double Tongues”), Mary Anne Mohanraj (“The Stars Change”), Susanna Lang (“Travel Notes from the River Styx”), Janet Burroway (“Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft”), Ruth Goring (“Picturing God”), Aaron Cohen (“Move On Up: Chicago Soul Music And Black Cultural Power”), Elaine Soloway (“The Division Street Princess”), Eileen Favorite (“The Heroines”), Maggie Kast (“Side by Side but Never Face to Face”), Carol L. Gloor (“Falling Back”), Arnie Bernstein (“Swastika Nation”), Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin (“Curating Culture”, ed.), Kay Heikkinen (translator: Radwa Ashour’s “The Woman from Tantoura”), Dave Roth (Esthetic Lens magazine), Kimberly Dixon-Mays, Andrea Change (Executive Director, Guild Literary Complex)
VISUAL ARTISTS: Jay Ryan, Jason Pickleman, Marzena Abrahamik, Lynn Basa, Chad Kouri, Mary Livoni, Joerg Metzner, Jessica Pierotti, Jordan Schulman, Emily Thornton Calvo, Ann Tyler, Vincent Uribe
* An example…
Illinois voters! The 1st thing on your ballot—before the presidential race—is the Fair Tax amendment. Please vote YES for tax fairness & funding fairness (raise $3 billion for schools, health care and more). #ArtistsForFairTax@YesForFairTaxpic.twitter.com/YxxzRsqpKO
Two years ago, officials from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services vowed to rescue the children they called “stuck kids” — those in state care who had languished in psychiatric hospitals for weeks and sometimes months after doctors had cleared them for release because the agency could not find them proper homes.
But children continue to be held at psychiatric hospitals long after they are ready for discharge, a practice our reporting showed leaves them feeling isolated and alone, falling behind in school and at risk of being sexually and physically abused during prolonged hospitalization. […]
The number of psychiatric admissions that went beyond medical necessity first spiked in 2015, going from 88 the year before to 246. It continued to climb, reaching 301 in 2017, according to DCFS data obtained by ProPublica Illinois through a Freedom of Information Act request.
For the most recent complete fiscal year, from July 2019 to June 2020, 314 children remained hospitalized after doctors had cleared them for release, according to data [Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert] said he received from DCFS. The youngest, he said, was a 3-year-old girl. […]
During [the last fiscal year], those children spent an average of at least 50 days unnecessarily hospitalized at a cost of $6.3 million to taxpayers, he said. DCFS could not immediately provide the data to ProPublica Illinois. […]
A DCFS spokesman placed blame for the problem on a variety of factors, including the loss of hundreds of residential treatment beds and more than 2,000 foster homes in recent years. But as those placements were cut, officials did not replace them with therapeutic or specialized foster homes as they had promised. Such homes offer support beyond traditional foster homes for families caring for children with intense mental health needs.
In addition, some children become the state’s responsibility after their families, often desperate to get them the mental health services they cannot afford or provide, leave them at a psychiatric hospital instead of bringing them home when they are ready for release. Some children have complicated medical and mental health issues, making it more difficult for DCFS to find a placement for them. […]
In 2017, Chicago-based Kaleidoscope began a small pilot project to provide at-home support services for families of children hospitalized after they were medically cleared to leave. That program has served 86 children, according to the organization.
There are currently about 40 children in the program, but plans to expand have faltered because of DCFS turnover, trouble recruiting and retaining staff, as well as the coronavirus pandemic, said Kathy Grzelak, Kaleidoscope’s executive director. She said she wasn’t surprised the number of children hospitalized beyond medical necessity hadn’t gone down in the last two years. […]
Lawrence Hall, a residential center on Chicago’s North Side, also started a small program last year to address the hospitalization issue. It has served nine children, who have stayed an average of three to six months, though some have stayed much longer, said Kara Teeple, Lawrence Hall CEO.
She said the stubbornly high number of children who remain at psychiatric hospitals is both a reflection of their mental health needs and the lack of services that could prevent hospitalization.
Democratic governors on Thursday begged Congress to come to the aid of ailing states, which face unexpected expenses as they attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19 as well as massive revenue shortfalls due to the pandemic.
But Republicans at a House hearing rejected their pleas, arguing that states have yet to spend money provided by Congress earlier this year, and prospects appeared to dim for any kind of deal on additional emergency aid before the election. […]
Republicans have characterized such aid as a “blue state bailout” and denied the need for additional money — a point [Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina] made again Thursday. He pointed to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service that found that roughly 25% of the $150 billion approved in March had been spent as of June 30.
“Democrats are using this hearing to claim that states are struggling,” he said, “but it certainly isn’t due to a lack of funding.”
The states (and local governments, for that matter) haven’t been able to spend all the money because of the way Congress drafted the bill. The law explicitly forbids the federal cash from being used to plug revenue holes caused by the international economic crash. It can only be used for unexpected costs.
Reporters have constantly fallen for this gross misdirection, including in Illinois. As Charlie Wheeler used to tell cub reporters: Always read the bill.
Also, June 30th was the end of the fiscal year for lots of states. Just more DC gaslighting.
A pair of former child welfare employees who had prior contact with slain Crystal Lake boy AJ Freund and his family were arrested Thursday on child endangerment charges.
McHenry County Board member and former Illinois Department of Children and Family Services employees Carlos Acosta, 54, was arrested and charged with two felony counts of endangering the life of a child and one felony count of reckless conduct.
Also arrested was Acosta’s former supervisor, Andrew Polovin, 48, of Island Lake, on the same charges, according to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office. […]
“We’ve definitely seen the work of DCFS in the number of cases that they’re referring to us [and] the quality of the work has improved,” [McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally] said.
Acosta was the child protection specialist assigned to check a December 2018 call from Crystal Lake police about a bruise on Freund’s right hip. The boy gave varying explanations for the injury, including that the family dog had done it during play. But records show he also told an emergency room doctor, “Maybe mommy didn’t mean to hurt me.”
Acosta said in December that he followed protocol in not going back to question the child about the bruise and that the child’s injuries didn’t meet the threshold to get a second opinion from a pediatric specialist.
Acosta previously said he’s emotionally torn but stands by his decisions.
“I don’t deny the fact that I was there four months before and that’s something that I’m going to have to live with forever,” Acosta told Shaw Media Illinois in an interview late last year. “And again, should have, could have, would have. Did I still follow the policy and weigh the evidence that I had at the time? Yes.”
(F)ormer DCFS Inspector General Meryl Paniak had recommended their termination for their handling of the December 2018 hotline investigation. The inspector general report, which focused on the agency’s handling of the December hotline investigation and an earlier one from March in which Acosta was not involved, found the employees “failed to see the totality” of the troubled history of AJ’s family and missed opportunities to intervene.
Acosta was carrying a caseload above what is allowed under a federal consent decree at the time of their contact with AJ’s family, a systemic problem that has long vexed DCFS and that child welfare advocates say puts vulnerable children at further risk, the Tribune has reported.
An I-Team data investigation of racial disparities in Chicago Police Department traffic stops shows Black drivers are far more likely to be stopped by Chicago Police than white drivers. New evidence also shows Black drivers are more likely to be pulled over for no reason at all.
Chicago Police officers stopped 598,332 drivers in 2019 - that’s more than 1,600 traffic stops a day citywide. In collaboration with other ABC Owned Stations, our analysis of police data shows Black drivers make up a greater proportion of Chicago traffic stops than their proportion of the population, meaning a simple trip to work or the store can often lead to police contact. As a result, Black drivers tell the I-Team they often feel targeted behind the wheel. […]
In 2019, Chicago police stopped 368,332 Black drivers - more than six in 10 of all traffic stops citywide. But when you factor in the greater number of white drivers on the roads than Black drivers, the racial disparity is even worse. […]
The number of traffic stops in Chicago is significantly increasing. In 2014, Chicago police only pulled over 87,355 people. Last year alone they pulled over a half a million more drivers than five years ago.
As the number of police stops increase and police continue to stop Black drivers at a far greater rate, our data analysis shows they’re actually citing Black drivers less often than white drivers. That means while Black drivers are more likely to be pulled over, they’re less likely to be cited for wrong-doing.
“All the increase in the surge has been among innocent people,” said Wesley Skogan, Northwestern University Crime Policy expert. “These are the kinds of things that are piling up and it makes people know that they’re being disrespected. People know that their time isn’t worth anything, people know that the police completely suspect them of everything, even if they end up doing nothing. So the weight of this kind of policing is just enormous on poor Black neighborhoods in Chicago.”
* “Black drivers have seen the largest overall increase since 2014. From 2018-2019, the greatest percentage increase was seen by Latinx drivers, who saw stops increase by 27%”…
Eleven chambers sent a letter Aug. 27 to Gov, JB Pritzker after he announced new restrictions on restaurants and bars in District 7, the COVID-19 tracking zone that includes Will and Kankakee counties, seeking the reasons for focusing on those businesses.
The governor’s office sent a response over the weekend, said Michael Paone, vice president for government affairs with the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“They do allude to the fact that the decision was based on scientists’ opinion that bars and restaurants are places where more risky behavior can occur, such as loud talking, not wearing masks and drinking alcohol,” Paone said.
He said the chambers are still looking for research to be cited that would back up the opinion.
“We trusted the government, but we are being used as pawns. I want to know what is the science behind this?” [said Christina Kollintzas-Pavlis, of Plainfield]
Findings from a case-control investigation of symptomatic outpatients from 11 U.S. health care facilities found that close contact with persons with known COVID-19 or going to locations that offer on-site eating and drinking options were associated with COVID-19 positivity.
Adults with positive SARS-CoV-2 test results were approximately twice as likely to have reported dining at a restaurant than were those with negative SARS-CoV-2 test results.
A large amount of New Yorkers, 41 percent, have developed a new hobby and 13 percent have adopted a pet.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 42 percent say that they have gained weight while 32 percent have lost weight.
Seventy percent say the government’s priority should be to contain the spread of the coronavirus, even if it hurts the economy. That’s the same percentage as it was two months ago.
Ninety percent said they continue to practice social distancing, wash their hands after touching any surface and wear masks as much as they can or completely.
I was hanging out with a buddy in his back yard last week and he said he’d lost 30 pounds during the pandemic.
* The Question: Have you gained or lost weight since March? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
* WIND’s Amy Jacobson tried pressing the governor today on the seriousness of COVID-19 on college campuses after Gov. Pritzker spoke about his trip to Bloomington yesterday and the quarantine at Bradley University…
Jacobson: It should be emphasized that most of these people are asymptomatic, sometimes no symptoms at all and of out of 5,000 colleges across the country only five have been hospitalized.
Pritzker: So what’s your point? Do you think that unless you’ve been hospitalized it’s not worth worrying about?
Jacobson: No, no, no, I’m just saying, of all of the college students in Illinois, how many are in the hospital? Do you have that number?
Pritzker: I don’t have that number, but I mean, I think you’re discounting the idea that getting COVID-19 is serious business. Making sure that someone who has COVID-19 is not spreading it to other people is the reason that you want to quarantine people, so that’s that’s critically important. I know there are lots of people who think ‘Well gee somebody didn’t have to go to the hospital, or they didn’t die and therefore, well there’s nothing to it.’ That’s just not accurate. I realize that there are people, particularly followers of the president, who believe that that’s true that it’s okay to spread COVID-19 because hey if you’re not showing symptoms of it, then it’s fine, Well guess what? When people are not wearing masks, when people are just running around asymptomatic and they’re not getting tested but they are positive, they’re spreading it to other people. And the result is that it’s going into environments in which people who are vulnerable are going to be sick and are going to go to the hospital. And by the way, you should take a look, our hospitalizations in the state are rising. And this is problematic, so we’re watching very closely, even though we’ve got our positivity rates moving in the right direction in many regions, that hasn’t kept people from going to the hospital because, someone who is more likely to end up in the hospital getting it versus somebody who is less likely to end up in the hospital, you just don’t know. You don’t know who’s got a comorbidity. Everybody who knows they’ve got one, that’s fine, you know you’ve got a comorbidity and you should take extra care. Many people don’t know that they have a comorbidity yet, and then they get COVID-19 and then they end up with a problem.
Bradley University in central Illinois is requiring its entire student body to quarantine for two weeks because of clusters of COVID-19 on campus and is reverting to remote learning, officials announced Tuesday.
Officials of the private university said they have linked a spike of the coronavirus to off-campus gatherings. The Peoria university is requiring students to limit nonessential interactions, stay in their off-campus apartments, residence halls or Greek houses and take classes remotely beginning Tuesday.
In announcing the measure, the university said it has tallied about 50 COVID-19 cases so far, adding emergency measures are needed to respond to the outbreak without disrupting academic progress.
Students who gathered en masse and maskless to see YouTube personalities the NELK Boys could face consequences that include suspension, Illinois State University President Larry Dietz said Wednesday.
ISU authorities are working with the Normal Police Department to investigate Tuesday night’s visit by the popular group, stylized as NELK or NELK Boys on YouTube. Its members are known for producing videos of pranks that generate millions of pageviews, but officials said the YouTube stars’ visit to town led to large, flash mob-style gatherings that ultimately were broken up by police.
The number of reported COVID-19 cases on the Northern Illinois University campus nearly doubled over the four-day weekend, as the school reported 73 new cases, bringing the total to 150.
The school also reported 18 new recoveries, bringing the total to 24. The data represents cases of the viral respiratory disease identified on campus since Friday.
All 73 new cases were in students. The school hasn’t reported a case in an employee since Sept. 1, and just three cases have been reported in employees.
According to the school, 31.4% of its quarantine and isolation areas are in use, down from 54% Friday.
In an early glimpse of the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on college enrollment, some Illinois universities are seeing declines in international students and freshman class sizes but also a higher number of graduate students, who are taking advantage of online programs.
At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the state’s largest college, undergraduate enrollment fell by about 350 students from record levels last year, the school announced Wednesday. The freshman class size also dropped by about 1.8% to 7,530 students, the school said, and an additional 277 students deferred admission compared with about 60 in a typical year. […]
About 17,800 graduate students enrolled at UIUC, up by 9% from a high last year. Some 42% of graduate students are taking fully online programs, with big increases seen in the Gies College of Business and Grainger College of Engineering. Still, about 2,000 graduate students chose to delay admission.
Citing the pandemic, UIUC said about 576 international undergraduate students discontinued their studies for the fall 2020 semester. Most new international students are taking classes online, with freshmen from China rising by 3.9%.
For the first time in 10 years, new student enrollment at Western Illinois University has increased.
The number of new freshmen enrolling at Western this fall stands at 1,064, 18.9 percent over Fall 2019, while new transfer students total 721 (9.2 percent over Fall 2019) and new graduate students stand at 569 (10.3 percent over Fall 2019), for a total new student increase of 13.7 percent. In addition, the grade point average (GPA) of the incoming freshman class has increased to 3.49 (compared to 3.40 in Fall 2019).
Total enrollment as of the 10th day is 7,490, according to 10th-day data released by WIU’s Institutional Research and Planning.
Besides the increase in new students, WIU’s Fall 2020 enrollment has increased 7.1 percent over Spring 2020. According to Gary Swegan, interim associate vice president for enrollment management, Western has not seen a spring-to-fall increase since 2016.
Eastern Illinois University announced on Tuesday that its fall 2020 enrollment has increased by approximately 10.5% despite the challenges posted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figures from Eastern’s 10th-day enrollment report show that total enrollment increased from 7,806 students in fall 2019 to 8,626 this fall. The university reported that this marks the third consecutive year of its growth in institutional enrollment. That growth reportedly includes graduate student enrollment increasing by 5 percent from 1,577 to 1,657 and undergraduate enrollment increasing 11.8 percent from 6,229 to 6,969.
Reversing a decade-long trend, student enrollment is up at NIU despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our sister station WLBK reports that NIU student enrollment this fall is up 160 students from last year to a student body of 16,769. Enrollment had been falling since 2009 when NIU had more than 24,000.
The university says this year’s growth was driven by a freshman class that is eight percent larger than last year and improving retention of first-year students by six percentage points.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s School of Nursing (SON) record enrollment of 1,877 students highlights SIUE’s fall 2020 enrollment picture. The University’s overall graduate and professional enrollment hits 2,918 students, its highest mark in 43 years.
With its 5 percent increase from fall 2019, the SON saw record enrollment for the second consecutive year. SIUE’s graduate and professional enrollment includes 849 doctoral students, from all levels, the most in the history of the institution.
Twenty-nine percent of the SIUE student body reports an ethnicity or race other than white, making this fall’s student body the most ethnically diverse for the University. Enrollment includes record numbers of Latinx students (637) and students who identify as Asian, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (370). […]
SIUE total enrollment is 1.5 percent behind fall 2019 (13,061). The University welcomed 1,554 new freshmen or 113 (6.7 percent) fewer than last fall.
The number of first-time college students at Southern Illinois University Carbondale increased by 31.2% this fall. The total reflects a 32.9% increase in new first-time students enrolling from the Southern Illinois region.
The university also saw continued growth in the freshman to sophomore retention rate, reflecting the percentage of last year’s first-time freshmen who returned this fall. This year’s rate is 80.6%, the highest in 20 years and up from 72% in 2017 and 75% last year. […]
Total enrollment stands at 11,366, a decline of 2.8% from fall 2019. The university has seen declines between 8% and 12% in each of the last four years.
Beleaguered Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan could soon be asked to publicly explain his dealings with ComEd.
At least that’s what Republicans were planning Wednesday on the eve of the first meeting of a special bipartisan legislative panel convened to explore the political and legal minefield.
“We have an admission of facts from Commonwealth Edison to the federal prosecutor’s office that have laid out a series of very concerning occurrences that happened,” state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, said. “I think that as of right now, those facts are uncontested. We’d invite the speaker to contest those facts if he does not believe that those are accurate.”
A day before the Thursday meeting, Demmer said at a news conference that he and his GOP colleagues on the panel — Deanne Mazzochi of Westmont and Grant Wehrli of Naperville — will seek answers to the “legitimate, good-faith questions being asked” by their peers in the General Assembly and the public as part of the committee investigating any potential wrongdoing by Madigan.
The object is to discern whether Madigan behaved in a manner unbecoming of a legislator and/or behaved in a way that breached the public trust.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, Michael McClain, Anne Pramaggiore, Fidel Marquez, John Hooker, Jay D. Doherty, Michael R. Zalewski, any individual currently or formerly employed by Commonwealth Edison with knowledge of the matters contained in the Deferred Prosecution Agreement.
I’m thinking none of those named people are gonna speak. The committee could, in theory, subpoena witnesses, but that would require Democratic cooperation and the witnesses can always take the Fifth.
* Anyway, the hearings are on hold until the committee hears back from the US Attorney’s office to see whether it wants them to back off (which is what happened to then-Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s investigation of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich) or if it’s OK to proceed and under what terms. [ADDING: The US Attorney allowed an FBI special agent to testify at Blagojevich’s impeachment trial under ” sharply limited” terms.]
Lawmakers bristled as they discussed how to proceed after they unanimously agreed to contact the U.S. attorney’s office about how they can conduct their own investigation of Madigan without interfering with the ongoing criminal investigation.
They did not set another hearing date.
Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, sought clarification as to what it is that the committee is investigating considering that the speaker faces no criminal criminal charges himself.
Ronald Safer, a former federal prosecutor who is representing Durkin in the House investigation of Madigan, responded by noting that the deferred prosecution agreement between ComEd and prosecutors itself is evidence of factual wrongdoing, and it warrants investigation of Madigan by the committee.
I’m gonna nitpick a bit here and say the feds have not yet presented any evidence of specific wrongdoing by Madigan himself. Others, yes. Lots.
Republican member, state Rep. Grant Wehrli, R-Naperville, said Madigan has to respond to what was laid out in the deferred prosecution agreement ComEd entered into.
“Here we have statements of fact and if the Speaker doesn’t refute them, I think the logical conclusion can be drawn,” Wehrli said.
Rep. Wehrli is not a big fan of the 5th Amendment…
BREAKING: Auditor General Frank Mautino invoked his 5th Amendment right in response to Illinois State Board of Elections subpoena#twill
* To be super clear, I’m not saying that the feds won’t get Madigan. They could very well succeed. And, as I wrote in Crain’s, I’m not sympathetic to the House Democrats’ grumblings about these hearings…
So is Madigan right that this is all about politics? […]
But, really, who cares? Madigan isn’t answering questions, so maybe this will help shine a little light on things. And the committee won’t do much except take testimony. The panel is evenly divided between the two parties, and three staunch Madigan loyalists will be there to stop any majority vote to proceed with discipline. The open-minds thing goes both ways.
And if the Republican maneuver and Pritzker’s subsequent comments about how Madigan ought to answer the committee’s questions make House Democrats angry, well, so be it. Only a tiny handful of them have spoken up about Madigan, and even fewer have called on him to resign. That’s their prerogative, but it also means they’ve deliberately chosen this path. You wanted it, you got it, so deal with it.
Preliminary data suggests that the June 2018 Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, et al. Supreme Court decision that allowed state and local government employees to “free ride” may have affected public sector union membership.
• In Illinois, total public sector union membership has fallen by 6.8 percent since 2017, the year before the Supreme Court decision.
• Still, nearly half of all public sector workers are unionized in both Illinois (45.8 percent) and the Chicago metro area (45.4 percent), exceeding the national public sector average (33.6 percent).
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,953 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 28 additional confirmed deaths.
• Adams County: 1 male 90s
• Christian County: 1 female 50s
• Cook County: 2 males 60s, 1 female 70s
• Edgar County: 1 male 80s
• Ford County: 1 male 80s
• Henry County: 1 male 70s
• Jersey County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
• Kane County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
• Lake County: 1 male 70s
• Madison County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
• McLean County; 1 male 70s
• Montgomery County: 1 female 70s
• Randolph County: 1 female 50s
• Rock Island County: 1 female 80s
• Sangamon County: 1 male 40s
• Shelby County: 1 male 90s
• Will County: 1 female 40s, 1 male 60s, 1 male 90s
• Winnebago County: 1 male 60s
• Woodford County: 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 255,643 cases, including 8,242 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 3 – September 9 is 3.8%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 48,982 specimens for a total of 4,575,721. As of last night, 1,609 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 346 patients were in the ICU and 141 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for deaths previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
Highland Mayor Joe Michaelis hasn’t yet gotten a response to his letter to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, but he’s okay with it.
“It may sit on his desk for a while,” Michaelis said. “He probably gets a laundry basket full of mail.”
Michaelis wrote a letter to Pritzker dated Sept. 4, and posted it on Facebook, citing his “grave concern” about the impact of the heightened restrictions on businesses in his community.
[St. Clair County’s] daily positivity rate dropped sharply from 9.3% on Tuesday to 8.2% on Wednesday. The daily positivity rate is the percentage of positives from a day’s worth of coronavirus tests.
The county’s seven-day positivity rate was 6.8% as of Wednesday, up slightly from 6.6% as of Tuesday.
“If the spread had been stopped back in January or February, this never would have gotten here,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said during the county’s daily briefing Wednesday. “We never would have had to deal with this. We’re doing what we can in St. Clair County to contain the virus and keep as many people as possible from getting it. If we take our foot off the gas, we might see those numbers go up. We’re making progress here.”
Looks like St. Clair County is being held back by Madison County.
Gov. JB Pritzker joined with faith leaders at a memorial in Springfield Wednesday evening dedicated to the 8,214 Illinois residents who have died from complications to COVID-19 and their families.
The socially-distanced event, hosted at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Springfield, featured families from across the state who have lost loved ones to the virus.
Pritzker and faith leaders assembled said they hoped to offer a moment for Illinois residents to take a step back and process their “individual and collective” grief.
“Let’s allow this pandemic to remind us of at least one important thing: We need each other. We need each other,” Pritzker said. […]
“The hearts of our people are big enough to hold both of those truths at once — that we are courageous enough to meet this moment and that we’re human enough to grieve about it,” Pritzker said.
“Pritzker is a far-reaching, power abusing, tyrant that is destroying small business,” said Santino Patragas, owner of Tap House Grill in Plainfield, which along with all other restaurants in the area had to suspend indoor dining once again Aug. 26. […]
Patragas said he feels that if masks help in containing the virus, then shutting down dining rooms was a baseless step. He misses serving his loyal customers.
“We are sorry to you that we are being blackmailed by this state,” he said. “The government is best which governs the least.”
Bruce Springsteen made a surprise return on Thursday morning (Sept. 10) with the heartbreaking rocker “Letter To You,” the title track to his upcoming 12-song album with the E Street Band. The rock icon’s 20th studio album is due out on Oct. 23 on Columbia Records and is described as a “rock album fueled by the band’s heart-stopping, house-rocking signature sound” in a statement.
“I love the emotional nature of Letter To You,” Springsteen said in a statement about the album recorded at his home studio in New Jersey. “And I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we’ve never done before, and with no overdubs. We made the album in only five days, and it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.”
The album includes nine songs recently written by Springsteen, and three new versions of previously unreleased tracks from the 1970s: “Janey Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest” and “Song for Orphans.” The collection — produced by Ron Aniello with Springsteen, mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bob Ludwig — is The Boss’ first time performing with the E Street Band since their 2016 The River tour.
The title track is classic E Street Band energy, with poignant piano, layers of guitars and Springsteen’s weatherbeaten vocals floating above it all as he works out some existential angst about an all-encompassing love. “Dug deep in my soul/ And signed my name true/ And sent it in my letter to you,” he sings in the stark black and white video that features images of Bruce writing the lyrics in a notebook, sharing tender moments with wife/bandmate Patti Scialfa and working the track out with his trusty sidekick guitarist “Little” Steven Van Zandt.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at 884,000, a sign that layoffs remain stuck at a historically high level six months after the viral pandemic flattened the economy.
The latest figures released by the Labor Department Thursday coincide with other recent evidence that the job market’s improvement may be weakening after solid gains through spring and most of summer. The number of people seeking jobless aid each week still far exceeds the number who did so in any week on record before this year.
Hiring has slowed since June, and a rising number of laid-off workers now say they regard their job loss as permanent. The number of people who are continuing to receive state unemployment benefits rose last week, after five weeks of declines, to 13.4 million, evidence that employers aren’t hiring enough to offset layoffs. Job postings have leveled off in the past month, according to the employment website Indeed.
“The claims data were disappointing,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. “It is especially concerning that the pace of layoffs has not slowed more materially even though the economy has reopened more fully and more and more businesses have come back online.”
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 23,305 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 31 in Illinois, according to the DOL’s weekly claims report released Thursday.
That’s down from 26,194 claims filed the week before.
While the new claims reported Thursday morning are based on advanced estimates, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) will be releasing a final number later Thursday.
* From a July fundraising email sent by GOP congressional candidate Jeanne Ives…
Sean Casten is ranked to the LEFT of the most well known socialist extremists in the Democratic Party.
* This press release today should help counter that sort of rhetoric…
Pat Brady, former chair of the Illinois Republican Party and former member of the Republican National Committee, announced today that he has endorsed Rep. Sean Casten in his re-election campaign against Jeanne Ives.
In addition to his endorsement of Rep. Casten, Brady is featured in multiple digital ads for the campaign. The ads are part of a six-figure digital buy that will run through Election Day on Facebook, Hulu, and Google.
Pat Brady, former chair of the Illinois Republican Party and former member of the Republican National Committee, announced today that he has endorsed Rep. Sean Casten in his re-election campaign against Jeanne Ives.
In addition to his endorsement of Rep. Casten, Brady is featured in multiple digital ads for the campaign. The ads are part of a six-figure digital buy that will run through Election Day on Facebook, Hulu, and Google.
“Jeanne Ives showed us her true colors in her unsuccessful campaign for governor when she ran the most sexist, racist, and hate-filled ad I’ve ever seen. That anger, bigotry, and lack of judgment doesn’t belong in the United States Congress. And most importantly, it doesn’t represent the people of the 6th congressional district.
“Sean Casten is a good man, a family man, and a businessman, who cares deeply about the district and all who live in it. As a Republican, I might not agree with him all the time. But I know he will always do what he believes is best for us, and for the country.”
Rep. Sean Casten released the following statement:
“I believe that public officials should always lead with their values. Jeanne Ives has made it clear that her values don’t represent the 6th District, and Pat Brady has made it clear that her values don’t represent the Republican Party. I am honored to receive his endorsement.”
*** UPDATE *** Joint statement from ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider and National Committeeman/woman Richard Porter and Demetra Demonte…
Identifying and labeling Pat Brady as a Republican is false and misleading. If you spend all your time attacking and betraying Republicans - whether out of newfound convictions or to continue booking TV appearances - you are a Democrat. Pat Brady is a liberal Democrat and has been for some time. Sean Casten may have the backing of political hacks but Jeanne Ives is supported by hard working taxpayers.
* Meanwhile…
US House candidate (IL-06) Jeanne Ives released her first campaign ad of the 2020 election, Step Up, this morning to introduce herself to suburban voters.
In the ad, Ives, a West Point graduate, mother of five and former state legislator, illustrates her record of stepping up through the imagery of the different shoes Ives has worn in service to her country, community and family: jump boots at West Point and in the Army, running shoes as a coach, and high heels as a legislator.
Ives concludes the ad by emphasizing her record of independent leadership, saying, “When you need me, I always step up.”
A :30 second version of the ad will run on cable in the Chicago Media Market – Watch the ad here.
A :60 second version of the ad will run on Ives social media channels - Watch the ad here.
Transcripts:
Step Up - TV Version, :30 Seconds
A journey of service starts with one step.
I took my first step in jump boots, serving my country in the Army - just out of West Point
In the Statehouse, I traded my boots for heels to bring both parties together, battle corruption and protect taxpayers.
Now, I’m stepping up to grow our economy, and to get our nation working again;
To build on the promise only American can keep.
I’m Jeanne Ives,
When you need me, I always step up.
++++
Step Up - Digital, :60 Seconds
I’m Jeanne Ives.
Want to know why I’m running for Congress?
Walk a mile in my shoes.
A journey of service starts with one step.
I took my first step in jump boots, serving my country in the Army - just out of West Point.
Then I traded my Army boots for athletic shoes, coaching cross country and raising my kids.
But duty called again.
I stepped into heels, and a new job.
In the Statehouse, I battled corruption wherever I found it;
Protected taxpayers with every vote;
And reached across the aisle to work for you.
Now, I’m stepping up for a new fight:
To save this country from those who would destroy the values that forged our nation and make it strong;
To rebuild our economy;
And to get our nation working again - to build on the promise only America can make and keep.
