Federal prosecutors filed long-anticipated criminal charges Friday against former Cook County Commissioner Jeffrey Tobolski, accusing him of a conspiracy to commit extortion.
The feds also accused Tobolski of filing a false income tax return. The charges against Tobolski appeared in a document known as an information, which typically signals a defendant intends to plead guilty.
Tobolski resigned in March from his posts on the Cook County Board and in McCook, where he’d been mayor, months after federal agents searched his offices at McCook’s Village Hall. Agents also seized $55,205 in cash from Tobolski’s home at that time, including $51,611 taken “from within a safe,” according to records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
According to the bare-bones charges, Tobolski allegedly conspired with an unnamed McCook official to extort a victim identified only as Individual A. He also allegedly filed a falsified income tax return for 2018, according the the paperwork.
Defendants charged by criminal information typically intend to plead guilty.
To lessen my troubles
I stopped hanging out with vultures
And empty saviors like you
Oh I wish I had a nickel for every miracle
That you easily tricked me into
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration is replacing two top Illinois Department of Public Health officials in charge of the state’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 through nursing homes, WBEZ has learned.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is announcing a top to bottom, independent review of its Bureau of Long-Term Care in the Office of Health Care Regulation, in response to a delay in the investigation of abuse and neglect complaints during the COVID-19 pandemic. Manatt Health Strategies, LLC, has been hired to conduct a top to bottom review of the division, with a focus on recommending best practices to ensure proper licensure and oversight activities by the Bureau of Long-Term Care. IDPH has also hired a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, A. Courtney Cox, to take a closer look at specific investigations IDPH conducted into complaints made concerning long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This review will inform IDPH’s efforts to improve existing procedures.
The independent reviews are being launched in response to IDPH’s recent discovery that the Bureau of Long-Term Care was not properly processing and investigating complaints of abuse and neglect at long-term care facilities from approximately March 15 to June 30, 2020. IDPH took immediate action to ensure all of the complaints received during this time period have been investigated. IDPH also took appropriate personnel action. […]
As soon as IDPH leadership identified that some abuse and neglect complaints had been improperly classified and not investigated in a timely manner, surveyors were directed to investigate all complaints of abuse and neglect that had not yet been investigated. Investigations for all of complaints of abuse and neglect that were received during that time period have now been completed. These investigations include an on-site visit, interviews with necessary individuals, review of relevant facility documents, and, where appropriate, confirmation that law enforcement had also been notified at the time of the incident alleged in the complaint.
* Jim Prescott has been speaking for Gov. Jim Thompson’s family this week, so I’ve been in contact with him almost every day. This is from an email he sent me today…
I’ve said this before, and it’s not really a new concept, but there are three parts to being governor: politics, process and policy. He was the best at all three. Other governors may have been better at one of the three, but nobody was as good across the board as JRT. Actually, he was probably better in all three than anybody.
Thompson was equally at ease working with Dr. Leon Lederman, Nobel Prize winner in physics and director of Fermilab. In response to Illinois losing its bid for the Superconductor Super Collider, Thompson and Lederman brought together Illinois’ leading research universities, national laboratories and corporate executives and created a state-funded program to compete for federal grants for science and technology projects.
During the controversy surrounding the proposed closure of the Native American burial ground at Dickson Mounds Museum, Thompson met with Native American activists. He also dropped by beauty shops in Lewistown to hear what local women thought.
Thompson listened to disparate views and made well-informed decisions. He relied on staff to prepare comprehensive bill reviews and position papers before acting on bills passed by the legislature and making other decisions. He factored in the policy issues, budgetary impacts, political implications and kept track of who were proponents and opponents.
Thompson’s environmental record earned him respect from the environmental community. He expanded funding for open space and included funding for natural areas and the environment in his large Build Illinois infrastructure program. He agreed to listen to presentations by the Illinois Environmental Council about major policy issues; this memorable meeting lasted five hours. His administration was responsible for significant environmental legislation, including the Solid Waste Management Act and Groundwater Protection Act.
Thompson was an advocate for the arts and cultural organizations. He created the Historic Preservation Agency. Thompson had a personal interest in art and antiques and hosted antique shows on the grounds of the governor’s mansion. When the Thompson Center was built in the Chicago Loop, an Illinois Art Gallery and Illinois Artisans Shop graced the second floor, thanks to Thompson. He created the Illinois Artisans Program within the Illinois State Museum to raise the visibility of the state’s talented artisans. He led many trade missions, and the gifts he gave to foreign leaders were often handcrafted items made by Illinois artisans. He requested the Illinois State Museum Society operate a second artisans shop in the Executive Mansion. A few weeks prior to leaving office, Thompson cut the ribbon opening the Southern Illinois Art and Artisans Center at Rend Lake. The center, which sadly is now closed, has a colorful history connected to wrangling votes for the White Sox Stadium.
During his four terms as Illinois Governor, Jim Thompson acquired a deserved reputation as a builder. His legacy includes scores of crucial roads, bridges and buildings, in every part of the state, that were constructed or restored under his leadership.
But nothing Jim Thompson built, no legislation he signed into law, has had greater impact on the quality of life for millions of Illinoisans than the collective bargaining legislation he signed into law in the 1980s.
Prior to collective bargaining, public school teachers and support staff professionals were routinely treated as second-class citizens by local school boards. The boards would often dictate the terms of the employee contracts, which established not only compensation but also the teaching and learning conditions in the schools, including class size. […]
In the seven years before collective bargaining, there were, on average, 25 teacher strikes each year. This constant turmoil was bad for the teaching profession, bad for the students and bad for the communities served by public schools.
Governor Thompson realized this and told the Illinois Education Association that, if we could convince the General Assembly to pass a collective bargaining bill, he would sign it.
* He was also a proud father…
* Related…
* Here’s the plunger from which Jim Thompson drank at a WIU football game. Allegedly.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her City Council allies stalled an effort led by political rivals on Friday to declare a state of emergency in Chicago and ask the governor to send the National Guard into the city.
A handful of aldermen, including Raymond Lopez, Anthony Beale and Anthony Napolitano, invoked a rarely used state law on Wednesday to force the City Council into a special meeting. Only 26 members were needed to hold a meeting, but nearly the entire council roster was present for the virtual meeting.
Moments into it, and after a brief debate, Lightfoot allies maneuvered the National Guard proposal into a committee — delaying the matter for possible future consideration.
Public safety chairman Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th, accused the aldermen who pushed the measure of being anti-democratic for circumventing the normal system where proposals are introduced and debated in committee before heading to the full City Council. Taliaferro then called for a vote to send the matter to committee
Just another example of grandstanders rarely doing the work required to actually accomplish their stated goals.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 20 counties in Illinois are considered to be at a warning level for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A county enters a warning level when two or more COVID-19 risk indicators that measure the amount of COVID-19 increase.
Twenty counties are currently reported at a warning level – Bureau, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Henderson, Jefferson, Logan, Madison, Monroe, Moultrie, Randolph, St. Clair, Union, Whiteside, Will, and Williamson.
These counties saw cases or outbreaks associated with weddings, businesses, neighborhood gatherings, parties, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings, travel to neighboring states, bars, sports camps, and spread among members of the same household who are not isolating at home. Cases connected to schools are also beginning to be reported.
Public health officials are observing people not social distancing or using face coverings. Additionally, there are reports of individuals who are ill attributing their symptoms to allergies or other illnesses, or not being forthcoming about their symptoms or close contacts.
Several counties are taking swift action and implementing mitigation measures to help slow spread of the virus, including working to increase testing in their communities and launching mask campaigns such as “Masks on Faces Keeps Places Open.”
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.
• 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 perform. 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.
Clay County, of course, has been where Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) and Tom DeVore have filed several COVID-related lawsuits, which have now been moved to Sangamon County (which is not on the warning list).
Apparently, when you don’t play ball with the governor’s office, other people suffer. In this ballgame of politics, the victims are the minority-owned small businesses in Illinois.
The Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce is a 23-year-old institution and one of the largest and most active voices for African American businesses in Illinois. Ninety percent of our members are small businesses, and as the head of this organization it’s my job to promote and advance their interests.
With an extensive business background and as an expert on small businesses, I was asked by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office to be a key panelist with Groupon during an Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity webinar to celebrate August as National Black Business Month.
The event was Thursday. Unexpectedly, Wednesday morning I was notified by the governor’s office that I was no longer on the panel.
Why? The ILBCC dared to express a concern in opposition to the administration. On Monday, I was mentioned in the media speaking out against the governor’s proposed graduated-rate income tax amendment, which is to appear on the November ballot.
“They told me it was because I disagreed on the ‘fair tax,’ ” Ivory said, using Pritzker’s preferred terminology. “The panel had nothing to do with the fair tax. It had to do with National Black Business Month. I’ve never seen something as petty, in my opinion, as that. I think we can agree to disagree. At any point in time, the governor could have said, ‘I want you to understand what we’re trying to accomplish here.’ ”
* I checked in with Jordan Abudayyeh…
This situation was the result of a mistake. The Governor has never shied away from talking with people who oppose initiatives he is pursuing and hearing their views.
She did not say what that “mistake” was, however.
* Marine Corps veteran Ivory’s Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1997. It’s a legit group. And it has decidedly Republican leanings. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, but Ivory was all-in for Bruce Rauner…
Speaking at the Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce’s (ILBCC) annual gathering on Aug. 8, Gov. Bruce Rauner said he was honored to be the recipient of the 2018 Alfred A. Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received earlier this summer.
“There is no better governor as far as we are concerned,” ILBCC President and CEO Larry Ivory said in introducing Rauner.
Last fiscal year, Walker’s Decatur branch received a $220,000 incubator grant from DCEO. But the statewide BCCI’s Facebook page and website are both currently inactive.
* Anyway, that’s a deep dive into the weeds to say I doubt the governor’s office would’ve intentionally invited Ivory. But I doubt a soul would’ve noticed had Ivory spoken out about the “Fair Tax” during an obscure webinar. Now, he’s getting a bunch of press.
The original invite might’ve been a mistake, but the real mistake was disinviting Ivory. Next time, just bite the darned bullet.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,208 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 24 additional confirmed deaths.
- Cook County: 1 male 30s, 2 males 40s, 2 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s,1 female 80s
- DuPage County: 1 male 50s
- Iroquois County: 1 male 80s
- Knox County: 1 female 80s
- Lake County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
- LaSalle County: 1 female 70s
- Macon County: 1 female 80s
- Madison County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 90s
- Mason County: 1 male 50s
- Perry County: 1 male 90s
- Rock Island County: 1 female 80s
- Sangamon County: 1 female 90s
- Will County: 1 male 60s
- Williamson County: 1 male 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 215,929 cases, including 7,857 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 51,736 specimens for a total of 3,592,919. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from August 14 – August 20 is 4.3%. As of last night, 1,526 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 351 patients were in the ICU and 121 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting 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.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is proposing a series of “accountability” measures for utility companies as part of an energy policy agenda unveiled Friday, a month after federal prosecutors said the state’s largest utility, Commonwealth Edison, engaged in a “yearslong bribery scheme” while seeking political favors in Springfield.
Improving transparency and ethics is the first of eight principles in Pritzker’s agenda, which also includes a number of clean energy proposals. […]
The agenda also calls for an additional disclosure requirement for elected and appointed officials if they have relatives who work for regulated utilities. […]
In a statement issued Friday morning, ComEd spokeswoman Shannon Breymaier said company officials are reviewing Pritzker’s energy proposals. She also said that past infrastructure investments “have been fully vetted in a transparent process” and have benefited customers.
“ComEd has already moved aggressively to implement comprehensive ethics reforms to ensure that the unacceptable conduct outlined in the agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office never happens again,” Breymaier said in a statement. “However, we recognize the importance and challenge of rebuilding the trust of the public, regulators and elected officials, and look forward to working with these stakeholders to achieve the state’s ambitious clean energy goals.”
Declaring that utilities “can no longer write the state’s energy policies behind closed doors,” Pritzker’s office issued a set of proposals Friday that include getting rid of the state’s formula rate system, banning utilities from making charitable contributions and requiring elected officials to report any relatives who work for a regulated utility company in their ethics filings.
The proposal (click here) doesn’t outright ban charitable contributions. It bans utilities from using ratepayer money for contributions (which often go to charities favored by elected officials). That money would have to come from profits if Pritzker has his way.
...Adding… I’ll put the full press release on the live coverage post, but here are his 8 principles…
1. Strengthen Utility Company Transparency and Ethics Requirements
2. Expand Consumer Affordability Protections
3. Make Illinois a Renewable Energy Leader and Phase Out Dirty Power
4. Implement a Market-Based Solution That Supports Clean Power and Clean Air
5. Electrify and Decarbonize Illinois’ Transportation Sector
6. Support Communities Transitioning to Clean Energy
7. Advance Equity in the Growing Clean Energy Economy
8. Enhance Energy Efficiency in Illinois
Tops on the governor’s wish list is an immediate repeal of so-called formula rates, which ComEd won in 2011 through a bill that former Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed. His veto later was overridden by the General Assembly.
That rate structure enabled ComEd to automatically get increases to cover any operating losses, which essentially guaranteed the company a profit every year. The law limited the role of the Illinois Commerce Commission in setting rates.
The rate structure is due to expire in 2022, but the company has actively pushed for an extension. […]
Pritzker’s demands also include the elimination of deposits and late fees for low-income residential ratepayers and an end to fees assessed for the online payment of bills.
Additionally, the governor is seeking beefed-up disclosure of shut-offs and reconnections to state utility regulators, which were not consistently reported before Pritzker’s COVID-19 moratorium on shutoffs.
Pritzker also is “highly skeptical” of Exelon’s proposal, mirrored in the environmentalist-supported Clean Energy Jobs Act, to have the state take over from a federally chartered regional power administrator the task of setting prices reflected in electric bills paid to power plants to promise to deliver during high-demand periods, Mitchell says. The state would be directed to have consumers pay more to carbon-free power sources like Exelon’s nuclear plants than coal- and natural gas-fired plants emitting heat-trapping gases.
“The first step in that (policy) is to annually pay each of Exelon’s nuclear plants an amount equal to three times the current taxpayer subsidy that two Exelon plants already receive without any strings attached and without Exelon showing us their math as to why this is necessary,” according to a document laying out the governor’s principles. […]
Instead, the governor supports setting a price on carbon emissions from power plants and then letting the market determine which plants survive or not. Such a method would probably mean more revenue for Exelon’s financially ailing nukes. But not nearly as much.
Any extra support for Exelon plants—the company has warned that without ratepayer help it will have to close three of its four nuke stations not currently subsidized—would require the company to open its books to the state on a plant-by-plant basis. Exelon wasn’t required to do that the last time it asked for subsidies.
A carbon fee would be controversial, since it would likely mean higher costs for many consumers. But it’s not without precedent, and there are advocates for that approach from both the left and right sides of the political spectrum. A multi-state carbon market has been in place in the Northeast for 15 years. Mitchell says Pritzker is open to a regional market in the Midwest as well if other states are interested.
Pritzker’s market-based approach has been hotly opposed by Exelon/ComEd and the enviros. The environmentalists are “highly skeptical that a carbon market can meet equity concerns.”
The problem with Pritzker’s approach, as I see it, is he wants to toss out existing plans and doesn’t really have a concrete alternative, just a concept…
Some advocates have concerns that a market-based approach to carbon pricing will result in more-polluting plants being able to operate longer because they will be able to pay their way out, and will allow them to continue polluting communities that are already disproportionately experiencing the impacts of climate change.
However, we know that there are ways to structure a carbon pricing program to make sure that this does not happen, and we are committed to achieving that principle in any program that we design and implement. Coal-fired power plants that do not capture carbon are on their way out in Illinois and nationally. It is our goal to design a program that accelerates closures, while re- directing revenue to other clean energy pursuits.
They’ve essentially punted the issue to the working groups. That’s probably where it belongs, though.
“We applaud Gov. Pritzker for standing up for Illinois against corruption with this thoughtful, serious energy plan,” said Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch.
“By ruling out another Exelon bailout, the governor has saved ratepayers in Illinois, including residential customers and small businesses, an estimated $414 million.”
“A well-crafted plan made up of diverse and reliable sources of energy that considers both environmental, and ratepayer needs is critical to Illinois’ economic future. The Chamber has long supported these goals and worked with Illinois Senate President Pro Tempore Bill Cunningham to propose a balanced approach to these issues, that prioritizes the needs of energy consumers and provides thousands of jobs for Illinois workers.
“We appreciate the Governor’s Office’s thorough review of Illinois energy policies and are energized to see some of these initiatives included in their initial plan. We look forward to working with him, Sen. Cunningham and other legislators, staff and stakeholders to continue to develop balanced energy polices for Illinois.”
[Tara Frost] works for the state at Northern Illinois University. She says in May she got a notice from NIU telling her an IDES employee had called to check on her unemployment claim, but Frost never stopped working. […]
“My payroll department assured me that they let them know and that would be the end of it, but then two weeks later I got money deposited directly into my account from unemployment,” Frost said.
It was about $2,000. That is when she began calling IDES to report the fraud and to try to give the money back.
“Then she stated to me that, ‘Unemployment is a mess right now. We really don’t know what to do. Call back towards the end of the year, and pay it back then,’” Frost said.
Frost said she set aside the money in savings, but then there was another twist. Her pay stub showed the state was garnishing her wages for the money she owed and charging her a $100 administrative fee to boot.
Southern Illinois University officials on Thursday began publicly reporting a running total of COVID-19 cases on campus after facing backlash for a previously announced decision not to do so.
SIU’s COVID-19 dashboard will report total cases as it relates to on-campus students, off-campus students and faculty/staff. Currently, the university is reporting three total cases involving students who are living off campus.
Chancellor Austin Lane notes disclosure of an affiliation with the university is optional, but encourages individuals to provide that information if they are asked by the health department. Jackson County Health Department Administrator Bart Hagston said that the vast majority of people who test positive for COVID-19 fully cooperate in reporting their affiliated schools and employers.
SIU plans to report total active COVID-19 cases weekly. The information will come from the health department. Ben Newman, SIU’s director of public safety and chief of police, said they currently do not have a number to share of how many university-affiliates are in quarantine after being exposed to the virus, but notes there are nuances with quarantine directives.
I’m guessing the weekly reporting idea is also going to come in for some criticism.
If Springfield is freed from the constitutional constraints of a flat tax rate, soon enough middle-class earners also will get hit with a rate increase.
Yes, because the General Assembly and the governor spent all that time and energy getting the graduated income tax amendment on the ballot and the governor is now spending at minimum $50 million so the state can… raise taxes on everyone?
The idea here is to make it possible to raise taxes on upper income earners.
Does that mean a tax hike on middle income earners will never happen? Of course it could. But it won’t be nearly as easy to do that as raising taxes again on the top 3 percent. This is why the opposition is so up in arms. Billionaires and multi-millionaires ain’t about to spend a fortune to prevent tax hikes on folks making $50,000 a year.
Also, make no mistake here, if the “Fair Tax” proposition fails, the flat tax the Tribune prefers is surely going to be increased on everyone, not just the top 3 percent.
I asked Pritzker’s press secretary, Jordan Abudayyeh, if the governor would appoint himself to the Senate.
“The answer is no,” Abudayyeh said.
Can we move along now, please? Sheesh. I mean, we had 16 years of columns about how, any day now, Speaker Madigan was gonna engineer a pathway to the governor’s office for his attorney general daughter. In the end, she quit the game because her father wouldn’t step aside.
JB Pritzker didn’t spend a zillion dollars to be elected governor to get himself a back bench seat in the Senate.
Within thirty days after a vacancy occurs, it shall be filled by appointment as provided by law. If the vacancy is in a Senatorial office with more than twenty-eight months remaining in the term, the appointed Senator shall serve until the next general election, at which time a Senator shall be elected to serve for the remainder of the term.
Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan) is currently just a bit over 28 months from the end of his four-year term. So, if he quit today, a special election would be triggered for November.
State Sen. Terry Link announced Thursday that he’s stepping down as head of the Lake County Democratic Party effective Sept. 15. The move came after party members emailed him Wednesday saying if he didn’t resign immediately, they’d vote to push him out.
Link, who has been charged by the feds with tax evasion, is also expected to step down from his seat in the General Assembly sometime before Sept. 15.
That little window, in which he’d be out of the Senate but still running the Lake County party, would allow Link to name his successor. It’s a point that’s infuriating Lake County Dems who say Link has been promising he’d step down for weeks. […]
If Link resigns before Sept. 12, that would trigger a special election for the Nov. 3 ballot. Then each party would put a candidate forward.
If Link resigns his Senate seat after Sept. 11, the cut-off date for a 2020 election is missed and his successor is appointed and would serve out the remainder of Link’s term, through 2022. And Link could have a hand in the selection.
Committee members are calling the move an “egregious” abuse of power and are pushing for a special meeting to confirm new leadership. “Enough is enough,” said one committee member. “It’s time for him to move along with his life.”
He wouldn’t just have a “hand” in his replacement. As county party chair, he’d be able to make the replacement on his own.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
State Representative Bob Morgan and State Representative Sam Yingling, joined by the below co-signers, released the following statement:
“November’s election is so important and so consequential that we must put 100% of our energies into the campaigns of every Democratic candidate up and down the ballot.
We can’t afford any distractions or delays, which is why we are demanding that Terry Link step down immediately as Chair of Lake County Democrats.”
The below are co-signers to this statement:
Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10)
State Senator Julie Morrison (IL-29)
State Representative Mary Edly-Allen (IL-51) State Representative Jonathan Carroll (IL-57) State Representative Bob Morgan (IL-58) State Representative Dan Didech (IL-59) State Representative Joyce Mason (IL-61) State Representative Sam Yingling (IL-62)
Lake County Sheriff John Idelburg Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim
Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart (District 13)
Lake County Board Member Mary Ross-Cunningham (District 9) Lake County Board Member Paul Frank (District 11)
Lake County Board Member Julie Simpson (District 18)
Lake County Board Member Marah Altenberg (District 20)
Lawyers for indicted Chicago Ald. Edward Burke alleged in a court filing Thursday that federal investigators bungled the wiretap of Burke’s phones and improperly tried to set him up in a scheme involving the Old Main Post Office that forms the backbone of the case.
The allegations came in a motion to suppress the evidence gleaned from the wiretap on Burke’s cell phone and City Hall office, which allowed the FBI to monitor thousands of conversations the alderman made and received over the course of nearly a year.
The 71-page motion accuses prosecutors of directing then-Ald. Daniel Solis to have “scripted interactions” with Burke and lie about the Post Office deal in an effort to curry favor w/the government. At the time, Solis had himself been recorded “committing a number of different crimes,” the motion stated.
Burke’s lawyer wants those wiretaps suppressed.
…Adding… More…
After Burke recommended a certain wrecking company, investigators "directed Ald. Solis to begin engaging in conversations with Ald. Burke surrounding the Post Office project and record the conversations," according to the defense motion.
Burke’s team insisted that Solis told prosecutors “he had never been involved in any criminal wrongdoing with Ald. Burke — with whom he had served in the City Council for almost twenty-five years.” […]
Burke’s lawyers say he was targeted by the feds, and that Solis wasn’t the first government cooperator to work against him. They said that, from Feb. 2, 2015, until Aug. 13, 2015, an unnamed cooperator from another federal case in Chicago was “contacting Ald. Burke regularly in an attempt to develop evidence against him.”
“Here, again, the government came up empty-handed, and yet it zealously pressed on,” Burke’s lawyers wrote.
Facing a federal tax evasion charge, state Sen. Terry Link has announced he will resign as leader of the Lake County Democratic Party effective Sept. 15.
But some prominent Democrats — including Lauren Beth Gash, a former state representative who’s the first vice chair of the party in Lake County and in line to succeed Link — aren’t pleased with that timetable as campaigns for the Nov. 3 presidential election are heating up.
“We are working hard to elect Democrats who share our values in the fall. We don’t want distractions,” said Gash, of Highland Park. “We are communicating with Terry about an earlier resignation or a special meeting to accomplish that.” […]
“While some of you might assume my resignation is related to what you may have read in the news, those who truly know me and know my character and loyalty to the Democratic Party know there has to be more to the story,” [Link] wrote. “I can assure you that there is a lot more to the story. Unfortunately, at this time I am unable to comment on any of this.”
He won’t be able to appoint his own Senate replacement if he doesn’t resign his legislative seat pronto. No word yet on that.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Fifty percent of Lake County Democratic precinct committeepersons call for a special meeting
Today, more than 50% of Lake County Democratic precinct committeepersons called for a special meeting of the Lake County Democratic Party to confirm new leadership.
In order to call a special meeting, only 25% of precinct committeepersons are needed, according to Lake County Democratic Party rules. In less than 24 hours, already more than 50% percent of the committeepersons united to call for the meeting.
Lake County Democrats will be setting a meeting shortly to ratify this transition.
Lauren Nichols has been sick with COVID-19 since March 10, shortly before Tom Hanks announced his diagnosis and the NBA temporarily canceled its season. She has lived through one month of hand tremors, three of fever, and four of night sweats. When we spoke on day 150, she was on her fifth month of gastrointestinal problems and severe morning nausea. She still has extreme fatigue, bulging veins, excessive bruising, an erratic heartbeat, short-term memory loss, gynecological problems, sensitivity to light and sounds, and brain fog. Even writing an email can be hard, she told me, “because the words I think I’m writing are not the words coming out.” She wakes up gasping for air twice a month. It still hurts to inhale.
Tens of thousands of people, collectively known as “long-haulers,” have similar stories. I first wrote about them in early June. Since then, I’ve received hundreds of messages from people who have been suffering for months—alone, unheard, and pummeled by unrelenting and unpredictable symptoms. “It’s like every day, you reach your hand into a bucket of symptoms, throw some on the table, and say, ‘This is you for today,’” says David Putrino, a neuroscientist and a rehabilitation specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital who has cared for many long-haulers.
Of the long-haulers Putrino has surveyed, most are women. Their average age is 44. Most were formerly fit and healthy. They look very different from the typical portrait of a COVID-19 patient—an elderly person with preexisting health problems. “It’s scary because in the states that are surging, we have all these young people going out thinking they’re invincible, and this could easily knock them out for months,” Putrino told me. And for some, months of illness could turn into years of disability.
Our understanding of COVID-19 has accreted around the idea that it kills a few and is “mild” for the rest. That caricature was sketched before the new coronavirus even had a name; instead of shifting in the light of fresh data, it calcified. It affected the questions scientists sought to ask, the stories journalists sought to tell, and the patients doctors sought to treat. It excluded long-haulers from help and answers. Nichols’s initial symptoms were so unlike the official description of COVID-19 that her first doctor told her she had acid reflux and refused to get her tested. “Even if you did have COVID-19, you’re 32, you’re healthy, and you’re not going to die,” she remembers him saying. (She has since tested positive.) […]
A few formal studies have hinted at the lingering damage that COVID-19 can inflict. In an Italian study, 87 percent of hospitalized patients still had symptoms after two months; a British study found similar trends. A German study that included many patients who recovered at home found that 78 percent had heart abnormalities after two or three months. A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that a third of 270 nonhospitalized patients hadn’t returned to their usual state of health after two weeks. (For comparison, roughly 90 percent of people who get the flu recover within that time frame.)
These findings, though limited, are galling. They suggest that in the United States alone, which has more than 5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, there are probably hundreds of thousands of long-haulers.
* The 7th Circuit US Court of Appeals has affirmed Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer’s preliminary injunction allowing for far fewer petition signatures for third party and independent candidates…
The eight members of the Illinois State Board of Elections (the “Board”) appeal from the district court’s preliminary injunction and its partial denial of the Board’s motion to reconsider. The Board argues that the district court had no authority to rewrite Illinois’s statutory requirements governing ballot access and deadlines, but ignores the specific circumstances leading to the preliminary injunction. We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it entered a preliminary injunction drafted by the Board and agreed to by the parties or when it granted reconsideration in part. […]
Once again in its appellate briefs the Board asks this court to reverse the district court’s decisions and permit the Board to determine the best options for balancing the plaintiffs’ interests with the statutory ballot access requirements in Illinois.
In doing so, the Board devotes not a word to addressing the harm this would cause to candidates and parties who have relied on the agreed preliminary injunction order. Nor does the Board explain how it would make the relevant determinations regarding ballot access, but any change made now, after the deadline for submitting signatures has passed, is certain to severely limit or prevent third-party or independent candidates from accessing the November ballot. The Supreme Court has instructed that federal courts should refrain from changing state election rules as an election approaches.
In reviewing the claims before us, we decline to allow the Board to change the ballot-access requirements on the eve of the deadline for certifying the final contents of the ballot. Indeed, the Purcell principle takes on added force where, as here, the Board seeks to challenge injunctive relief that it initially agreed was necessary and proper. And only after engaging in meaningful delay, including in pursuing this appeal, did the Board change course and put at risk the reliance the plaintiffs have placed in the orders entered by the district court. [Emphasis added.]
Also, the board couldn’t make the changes even if it wanted to. It had already argued that only the General Assembly can do things like change deadlines, etc.
The State Board of Elections meets tomorrow to certify the ballot.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday to extend the state’s eviction moratorium that’s been in place during the coronavirus pandemic, citing concerns that households need more time to catch up with rent while assistance fund applications are pending.
In a letter to Pritzker and Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans, Dart urged the current Saturday expiration date be postponed until all city and county rent relief grants are dispersed.
“Like you, I have been tremendously concerned about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, not just on the health and safety of residents, but on the economic future of the entire community,” Dart wrote. “Obviously, it would be incredibly harmful to proceed with evictions when these funds are on their way to rescue so many tenants and landlords.”
Dart, whose office is in charge of enforcing evictions in Cook County, said while the current pause in evictions has helped, struggling renters remain anxious that the looming deadline on the moratorium is too soon. He wrote that waiting until the money is paid out will stop hundreds of thousands of Cook County residents from being pushed out of their apartments.
* I asked the governor’s office for a response. Here’s Jordan Abudayyeh…
The moratorium will be extended at the end of this disaster proclamation.
…Adding… Press release…
Many families are suffering a COVID-related loss of income but so are many of the people who provide them with their homes. In this COVID era, the cost of providing housing has increased while rental income has declined due to the inability of many tenants to pay their rent.
Michael Glasser, president of the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance (NBOA), said, “Chicago’s housing market is fragile right now, and housing providers need support. In order for tenants to be secure, housing needs to be stable and we need the federal government to increase relief for struggling renters and housing providers working to keep people in their homes.”
Springfield School District 186 will offer to families two plans–hybrid/blended in-person and remote learning only–as part of its 33-page “Return to Learn” document. […]
“The plan is doable,” [Superintendent Jennifer Gill ] said. “As a parent and as a mom, if my kids were in school, I would send mine because I would never want to vote for something that I also didn’t have my kids participating in.”
Gill and other school superintendents have been meeting with members of the local medical community, including a lengthy meeting Saturday. She said nine of the 11 medical members recommended that schools start the academic year with remote learning.
“My heart goes to both conversations,” Gill said of the choices.
“It will not work,” said board member Micah Miller about the hybrid/blended plan. “If we were truly listening to the Sangamon County Department of Public Health’s guidance, we would have listened on July 23 when they said this was unprecedented and extremely dangerous and our focus needs to shift to our younger population in social settings.
“We’re not listening to anybody in this. We’ve become a hot spot in Sangamon County.”
The head of the Springfield Education Association said he doesn’t think School District 186 has put into place a complete plan “for the safe return of students and staff.”
Gill said that because of the lower number of students, bus capacity shouldn’t be a problem. The “Return to Learn” plan allows for 50 students on a bus.
Springfield Superintendent Jennifer Gill said a rising positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in the county is one reason for the decision. The positivity rate was 6.2% for last week, according to numbers tracked by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“Although we have a strong plan in place to offer the hybrid model for those families who wish to return, we must also consider the impact that this might likely have on our community spread,” Gill said.
She also worried that having students and teachers attend in-person, be screened for COVID-19 symptoms and possibly need to get tested might “drain” testing resources in the county.
District 186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill learned she was COVID-positive on Wednesday night, according to a statement. Gill and family were tested after having “mild coughs.” Gill worked from home on Wednesday, and last worked at the administrative office on Tuesday.
On Monday, Gill and other board members convened in-person for the school board meeting. Meetings had previously been conducted via Zoom over past months.
After all that, why did they convene an in-person meeting?
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,832 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 27 additional confirmed deaths.
- Champaign County: 1 male 50s
- Cook County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 70s, 2 males 90s
- DeWitt County: 1 male 80s
- DuPage County: 1 male 70s
- Jefferson County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 2 females 90s, 1 male 90s
- Kane County: 1 male 80s
- Lake County: 1 male 60s
- LaSalle County: 1 female 90s
- Madison County: 1 male 90s
- Montgomery County: 1 female 90s
- Morgan County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 90s
- Peoria County: 1 female 80s
- Perry County: 1 female 80s
- Richland County: 1 male 80s
- Rock Island County: 1 male 90s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 60s
- Whiteside County: 1 male 90s
- Williamson County: 1 female 50s
- Winnebago County: 1 male 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 213,721 cases, including 7,833 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 51,612 specimens for a total of 3,541,183. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from August 13 – August 19 is 4.4%. As of last night, 1,519 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 357 patients were in the ICU and 124 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting 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.
Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties, is getting very close to the 8 percent rate that will trigger mitigation. Right now, the region is at 7.5 percent.
Wear a mask, wash your hands and keep your distance.
Illinois Republicans plan to send three delegates to their party’s presidential nominating convention next week, but there will be no delegation brunches, news conferences — or just about anything else beyond nominating Donald Trump, apparently.
“No other media advised events organized by the ILGOP are taking place next week,” state GOP spokesman Joe Hackler said in an email to reporters.
The state GOP’s move is the complete opposite of their Democratic counterparts, who were told to stay home, but have streamed state caucus meetings and news conferences for the media and others to follow along. […]
Republicans plan to have 336 delegates at the Charlotte Convention Center, six from each state and territory, according the convention website.
So, the state GOP is sending half its allotted delegates?
* So far, media coverage on Illinois Democrats during their convention week has focused mainly on Speaker Madigan…
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has kept a low profile at the virtual Democratic National Convention underway this week, but he was more vocal Wednesday evening.
As Illinois’ Chairman of the Democratic Party Michael Madigan leads Illinois’ delegation to the convention, but is somewhat implicated in an alleged bribery scheme with Commonwealth Edison, he has avoided the spotlight recently. But Wednesday night at an online delegation discussion on racial and economic justice, Speaker Madigan gave more than a welcome.
He said Democrats this week have laid out the case for removing Donald Trump from office, including his assault on the rights of women and workers.
“Among the worst of Donald Trump’s actions is his deliberate efforts to fan the flames of hatred and racial and ethnic division for his own political purposes,” Madigan said.
Pinning down Democratic congressional nominee Marie Newman’s position on state House Speaker Mike Madigan during the Democratic National Convention is not quite as difficult as tracking down the powerful party leader himself — but it’s close.
Two years ago, Newman said the powerful speaker should immediately step down as state party chief because he failed in his handling of sexual harassment complaints in his political organization.
“Anything less would put the Democrats’ political prospects at risk in November,” the La Grange businesswoman said then, before she lost her 2018 primary bid against Madigan ally Dan Lipinski.
But after vanquishing Lipinski in a bitter rematch earlier this year — and after Madigan was implicated in federal investigation — Newman on Wednesday sidestepped a question on whether she would join the growing list of Democrats calling for Madigan’s immediate resignation over the ComEd criminal case, calling it a distraction ahead of a critical election.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Democratic Party in Illinois, House Speaker Michael Madigan, is embroiled in controversy amid alleged ties to a ComEd bribery scheme.
“I’m not going to sit here right now and say that we should decide that someone is guilty for political reasons,” Casten said. “The allegations are extremely concerning. We should make sure we go through, find out what the truth is.”
If the allegations are true, Casten said Madigan should resign. Kelly agrees.
“If he is guilty I think that he should resign, and that’s my bottom line,” Kelly said. “But right now, to be honest, the number one thing I’m focused on is getting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris elected, flipping the Senate and helping the down ballot races.”
ISU on Monday began surveillance testing for asymptomatic students at two sites on campus. There were 259 tests administered on campus on Monday and Tuesday. There were three positive results from Monday’s testing, with Tuesday’s full results still pending as of Wednesday afternoon, spokesman Eric Jome said.
The UI saliva test uses a small amount of saliva drooled into a sterile test tube that yields results in hours, even at high-testing volumes, the UI said.
The university has performed more than 50,000 of these saliva tests since making walk-up testing available to faculty, staff and students in July, and expects to ramp up to 20,00 tests a day when the fall semester starts Monday.
Illinois State University and Southern Illinois University are providing free COVID-19 testing on campus. Other universities, such as Northern Illinois University, are requiring their students to pay for their tests.
NIU wants its students to go to Illinois community-based testing sites to get their tests.
SIU refuses to release the numbers of COVID-19 cases on campus and student employees in housing have been told they could lose their jobs if they tell anyone about cases, according to resident assistants.
University spokeswoman Rae Goldsmith said any positive cases associated with the university are reported by the Jackson County Health Department. The university will not report these cases independently, she said.
No federal or state law prevents the university from releasing the information, experts say, and other Illinois and national universities are releasing their case counts.
When the Jackson County Health Department sends out a release regarding the case count for the day, it does not specify location or whether the person attends SIU or lives in the dorms.
[WIU Interim President Martin Abraham] says WIU is planning a testing protocol for all students and staff.
“So that students will get tested. Faculty and staff will get testing as well on some sort of regular basis. But, if we do have an outbreak it all depends on where it is. It depends on who that student has been in contact with. Clearly, if a student develops symptoms, is tested as positive that student will go into isolation.”
7.5% positivity rate; 45.2 recent average daily cases per 100,000. The school’s website says it is offering free testing to new students beginning Wednesday; and then for returning students starting next Monday, Aug. 24 – the day that students begin classes.
Governor JB Pritzker issued a proclamation [yesterday] declaring a statewide day of remembrance in honor of the passing of former Governor James ‘Big Jim’ Thompson and the launch of a virtual guidebook for Illinois residents to electronically sign and share their favorite memory of Illinois longest serving governor. The virtual guestbook can be found online here.
“Today, as a state, we mourn the passing of former Governor Jim Thompson and I invite residents across the state to sign the virtual guestbook with their favorite memory of Governor Thompson,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “’Big Jim’ lived a big life and got big things done for Illinois. But perhaps most importantly, he was a kind and decent man who set the standard for what public service can and should look like in our state. May his memory be for a blessing.”
Governor Pritzker also ordered all persons or entities governed by the Illinois Flag Display Act to lower flags in honor and remembrance of Gov. James R. Thompson.
* Gov. Thompson’s family held a small funeral yesterday at the Cathedral of St. James in Chicago. A family spokesperson supplied a photo…
All rise.
* Mark DePue interviewed Thompson in 2015 for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Here’s an excerpt that illuminates some challenges facing the current governor…
DePue: You start off January also with signing a piece of legislation requiring people in Illinois, citizens of Illinois, to wear seatbelts.
Thompson: Yeah. Boy, today nobody would blink an eye at that. Today, 99.9 percent of the people automatically buckle up. They’ve been persuaded that it saves lives, and they want to save their life. And unless they’re drunk or stupid, they do that. But boy, at the time, it was a hot item. Very controversial. People looked at it as a government intrusion on their lives.
One time I was in southern Illinois where the opposition was the hottest. I was at the Giant City State Park Lodge, and I think we were there either for an occasion or it was Sunday chicken dinner. As I generally did, I walked through the kitchen to say “hi” to the workers in the kitchen. And this old lady was washing dishes in there. She must have been, God, eighty, eighty-five years old. I walked up to her, and she said, “You’re the one!” I said, “I’m the one, what?” “You’re the one with that goddamned seatbelt law! I’ll never vote for you,” and she just went on and on and on. So I said, “Well, thank you very much; I hope you’ll reconsider.” [I] got out of there, and the restaurant manager, who was a dear friend of mine, was apologizing for her. I said, “Why? She’s entitled to her opinion.” But boy, that was typical down there. They didn’t like this intrusion.
Same thing with legislation requiring motorcycle drivers to wear helmets, which still hasn’t passed. Same feeling. But yeah, I signed it, and it’s one of the best things I ever did, I think. And it’s the law today, and it’s the law everywhere. Finally, I believe it was required by federal law, as most of those driving things are. You either follow the federal law or you lose your highway funds. And I can’t remember now whether it was because of the federal law that I signed the state one, or I signed the state one apart from the federal law. But I remember it was really controversial, and I got a lot of complaints and letters and stuff like that about it. I’ll never forget the lady in the kitchen in southern Illinois. And she had to be eighty-five, if she was a day.
DePue: God bless her, she had strong opinions at eighty-five.
Thompson: Yes, she did. Well, they all do down there, southern Illinois, western Illinois…land of strong opinions.
The number of laid-off workers seeking U.S. unemployment benefits rose to 1.1 million last week after two weeks of declines, evidence that many employers are still slashing jobs as the coronavirus bedevils the U.S. economy.
The latest figures, released Thursday by the Labor Department, suggest that more than five months after the viral outbreak erupted the economy is still weak, despite recent gains as some businesses reopen and some sectors like housing and manufacturing have rebounded. Jobless claims had fallen last week below 1 million for the first time since March, to 971,000. A rising number of people who have lost jobs say they consider their loss to be permanent.
The total number of people receiving unemployment aid declined last week from 15.5 million to 14.8 million, the government said Thursday. Those recipients are now receiving far less aid because a $600-a-week federal benefit has expired, which means the unemployed must now get by solely on much smaller aid from their states. The loss of the federal benefit has deepened the struggles for many, including a higher risk of eviction from their homes.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to provide $300 a week in federal unemployment aid, with money drawn from a disaster relief fund. Twenty-five states have said they will apply for the federal money, though they would need to revamp their computer systems to do so. Other states are still considering whether to take that step; two have said they won’t.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 21,956 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 10 in Illinois, according to the DOL’s weekly claims report released Thursday. […]
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 22,387 new claims in Illinois new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 3 in Illinois.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 24,712 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 27 in Illinois.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimated 32,465 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 20 in Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported 36,435 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 13 in Illinois.
The Illinois unemployment system may not be doing enough to protect benefits recipients from scammers who hijack their accounts and move money in their own accounts.
Some believe the Illinois Department of Employment Security could have prevented this if they had taken one more simple security step: two factor authentication.
Two factor authentication is a text or email sent to a device you possess to confirm you made a change to an account. The text or email includes a code which is used to confirm the change. It’s often used for social media, credit cards and bank accounts, among other things. […]
“It never gives you the opportunity to put in a numbers where you can get an SMS text,” said scam victim Russel McFeely.
McFeely lost $1,800 when a criminal hacked his IDES account and moved the benefits into another account.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate fell -3.2 percentage points to 11.3 percent, while nonfarm payrolls added +93,200 jobs in July, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The June monthly change in payrolls was revised downward from the preliminary report, from +142,800 to +142,300 jobs. The June unemployment rate was revised downward from the preliminary report, from 14.6 percent to 14.5 percent.
The July payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflects activity for the week including the 12th. The BLS has published FAQs for the July payroll jobs and the unemployment rate.
The state’s unemployment rate was +1.1 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for July, which was 10.2 percent, down -0.9 percentage points from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was up +7.4 percentage points from a year ago when it was 3.9 percent.
In July, the three industry sectors with the largest over-the-month gains in employment were: Leisure and Hospitality (+65,300), Education and Health Services (+14,100) and Professional and Business Services (+8,400). The industry sectors with the largest payroll declines were: Manufacturing (-4,600), Construction (-3,300) and Information (-1,200).
“While we’re happy to see the unemployment rate and payrolls moving in the right direction, IDES remains committed to serving our claimants’ needs during this continued unprecedented time,” said Acting Director Kristin Richards. “As we move through this period of uncertainty, the Department is working as vigilantly as possible to rise to the challenge and provide benefits and employment services to those who need them.”
“While data from July demonstrate continued progress in the face of extraordinarily challenging economic times, it’s clear the pandemic is continuing to have an unprecedented effect on our economy. Evidence from other states has shown that ensuring public health is the quickest way to an economic recovery,” said Michael Negron, Acting Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). “With that in mind, DCEO remains committed to investments that will support Illinois businesses and residents facing the most acute effects of this crisis, while making continued progress under Governor Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan to safely reopen our state economy.”
Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll employment decreased by -508,000 jobs, with losses across all major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs decreases were: Leisure and Hospitality (-164,000), Professional and Business Services (-81,300) and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-62,900). Illinois nonfarm payrolls were down -8.3 percent over-the-year as compared to the nation’s -7.5 percent over-the-year decline in July.
The number of unemployed workers fell sharply from the prior month, a -25.2 percent decrease to 705,600 but was up +179.8 percent over the same month for the prior year. The labor force was down -3.9 percent over-the-month and -3.2 percent over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work. [Emphasis added.]
Today, Vote Yes For Fairness released its first television ad on why Illinoisans need to pass the Fair Tax in this election. The ad, “Lived In,” highlights how our current tax system is unfair, forcing Illinoisans, including our essential workers, to pay the same tax rate as millionaires. The Fair Tax would set things right, while keeping taxes the same or less for at least 97% of Illinoisans and only asking those making more than $250,000 a year to pay more.
“Illinois has one of the most unfair tax systems in the country, forcing our working families to pay the same tax rate as millionaires and billionaires,” said Quentin Fulks, Chairman of Vote Yes For Fairness. “Illinoisans don’t have to accept the status quo any longer, and can bring fairness to our tax system in this election by voting yes on the Fair Tax. With only 75 days until Election Day, we’re committed to ensuring Illinoisans know the truth about the Fair Tax and how it will help our families, our communities, and our state.”
Vote Yes For Fairness is funded by Gov. JB Pritzker.
If you’re not a billionaire, why are you taxed like one?
You didn’t mismanage the state budget. Why should fixing it fall on you?
The flat tax we have is hurting Illinois workers and families. And it’s not fixing the budget. New tax money has got to come from somewhere, so why not from the people with the most?
Vote “Yes” on the graduated income tax to raise taxes on the top 3 percent, generate almost $3 billion a year and protect your retirement income. That’s the fair way to fix this.
* I’ve been hearing all day that the governor’s “Fair Tax” TV ad blitz is finally starting soon. Well, Comcast’s latest political issue buy report is out and Vote Yes For Fairness has purchased $75K over five days starting tomorrow. Click here.
I gotta figure that broadcast TV will also be announced and that the $75K is a drop in the bucket. Pritzker deposited $51.5 million into the Vote Yes For Fairness account in June.
We’ll have to see what the other side does and when. There are those who believe that waiting to go up on the air has been a mistake. But, again, we’ll see.
*** UPDATE *** The Illinois Opportunity Project has contributed $300,000 to a committee called Say No to More Taxes, which the IOP appears to control. The IOP was co-founded by Dan Proft, who has since moved on to a full-time radio career.
* The governor held a press conference to announce this breakthrough today…
The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign is now performing its new rapid, saliva-based COVID-19 test under the umbrella of an approved FDA Emergency Use Authorization. The CLIA-certified lab at the U. of I. performed a bridging study to a recently approved FDA EUA, showing that the Illinois test performs at least as well as the recently approved saliva-testing protocol.
“Direct saliva testing can address bottlenecks of time, cost and supplies. Our test also has unique features that enable fast and frequent testing on a large scale, and we are now working together with many partners to make our testing method broadly available as soon as possible,” said Dr. Martin Burke, a chemistry professor who helped to design the test. Burke also is the associate dean for research at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine and a medical doctor.
“Today’s news puts the University of Illinois and the entire state of Illinois on the cutting edge of testing innovation on a national level. And let me just say to President Killeen, the State of Illinois looks forward to being your biggest customer,” said Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “If ongoing research continues to yield positive results, this has potentially game-changing implications for our statewide testing program as well as for testing on a national level. I’m so proud — but not at all surprised — to see this type of groundbreaking work come out of our own University of Illinois and I want to applaud President Killeen and the entire research and development team at University of Illinois for this achievement.”
“This pioneering technology is a game-changer that will help safeguard lives and livelihoods across the country,” said Tim Killeen, the president of the University of Illinois System. “It is one of many breakthroughs that the U. of I. System’s world-class researchers have contributed to the battle against COVID-19, a battle that we are proud to help lead.”
Unlike most coronavirus tests, which involve a long, invasive nasopharyngeal swab, the Illinois-developed saliva test, called I-COVID, asks those tested to drool a small amount into a sterile test tube. The I-COVID test yields results in hours, even at high testing volumes: The U. of I. has performed more than 50,000 tests since making walk-up testing available to faculty members, staff and students in July, and expects to test up to 20,000 people a day when the fall semester begins Aug. 24.
“Once somebody is infected, the amount of virus in their system can rise very rapidly. Unless we have a test that can give them results very quickly, by the time somebody finds out they are infected, they will have spread the virus,” said Rebecca Lee Smith, a professor of pathobiology at Illinois. “The faster we can notify people, the faster we can stop the spread.”
The Illinois protocol has one key element that makes it uniquely suited for large-scale adoption, said Paul Hergenrother, a chemistry professor who helped to develop the test. “We inactivate the virus without opening any tubes. The samples are immediately inactivated at 95 C for 30 minutes. That makes it very safe for the workers in the diagnostic lab,” he said.
Testing is only one part of the strategy to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers note. The university has developed SHIELD, a three-pronged “target, test, tell” system that incorporates testing with data reporting, modeling and a smartphone app, working closely with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District for contract tracing and isolation for individuals who test positive. The University of Illinois System recently announced the formation of SHIELD T3, aimed at making the testing and data technology broadly available.
Any other CLIA-certified labs that would like to use the I-COVID protocol can perform similar bridging studies to the FDA EUA granted to Yale School of Public Health.
“The bridge to FDA Emergency Use Authorization is extremely exciting and important news for all of us in this pandemic,” said Robert J. Jones, the chancellor of the Urbana campus. “This is a critical new tool that we believe will let communities scale up their COVID-19 testing capabilities more rapidly in ways that are more affordable. We’re proud to be the university that is home to a huge team of amazingly dedicated and talented researchers who came together so quickly to move this test from concept to use approval in just a matter of months.”
* Your choice for Illinois’ official state appetizer?…
Rhode Island was a big sensation at the virtual Democratic National Convention for its unconventional video plugging calamari — the state's official appetizer. https://t.co/C8j5epDiZI#odd
Board members of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol will take up a request from the Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to replace imagery of political giant Stephen Douglas and Illinois pioneer Pierre Menard because of their racist pasts.
Madigan called for replacing statues and paintings of the two in July, inspired by the racially charged killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and a nationwide movement to remove Confederate symbols.
* Latest…
In a unanimous vote, the Architect of the Illinois Capitol board moves to remove Stephen Douglas and Pierre Menard statues from the complex.
Vote includes a move of the MLK Jr. statue from across the street onto the Capitol grounds.@wics_abc20@foxillinois
Architect of the Capitol Andrea Aggertt said the statues will be removed to a secure storage area maintained by the state. The granite bases on which the statues are mounted will also be removed and saved for possible future use. The locations where the statues were placed will be sodded.
The cost of the work hasn’t been determined, nor has a company been selected to do it.
“Obviously we want to hire someone who is skilled in the removal and boxing the statue, safe transport to take those items to our off-site storage,” Aggertt said.
She said the goal is to have the statues removed by winter.
* Press release…
Senate President Don Harmon released the following statement after the board of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol voted to remove statues of Stephen Douglas and Pierre Menard from the Capitol grounds:
“The decision to remove these statues and give Dr. King’s statue a rightful place on the Capitol grounds is certainly a step in the right direction. It is also the beginning of what I hope to be a longer conversation about how we can do better to accurately represent our state’s past. I thank members of our caucus for bringing these concerns to light.”
* This is a common and habitual demand by grandstanders…
Four Chicago aldermen have filed notice to force a special meeting of the City Council later this week to address looting and call for the National Guard to be deployed. […]
“Losing Chicago’s downtown and business districts should have never happened,” [Ald. Ray Lopez] said in a news release. “We need to suppress all looting and rioting the minute it begins but we cannot do so at the expense and safety of other districts and neighborhoods. The time to act is now.”
The city budgeted nearly $1.8 billion for the Chicago Police Department in 2020, according to Chicago’s budget overview. Chicago’s is the second-largest police department in the U.S. with more than 13,000 officers, according to its most recent annual report.
The city’s 2020 budget also set aside $153 million for legal settlements. In 2018, the city spent approximately $113 million to settle police misconduct cases.
That’s about 50 percent more police personnel per capita than the average for cities over 25,000 and twice as many per capita than Houston.
“We’re not law enforcement officers,” [Air Force Brig. Gen. Richard Neely, the Illinois adjutant general] told the Tribune after the Guard’s mission ended earlier this summer without incident. “As guardsmen, we’re military. We go to war and we do not need to go to war in our cities. … It was important to me (troops) were not putting their hands on civilians. So we didn’t do riot control and some of those other missions. We focused on supporting law enforcement, allowing them to do the things they’re best trained to do.”
The Guard is not a rapid-response crime-fighting outfit.
Vernon Township today called on the Lake County Board to install a secure collection site at the early voting location in Vernon Township.
“It is the consensus of the Vernon Township Board that mobile drop-off locations for vote by mail and absentee ballots are an essential component of guaranteeing a free and fair election in November,” said Vernon Township Supervisor Jonathan Altenberg. “This is even more critical given the recent announcement by the U.S. Postal Service that it cannot guarantee ballots cast by mail for the November elections will arrive on time, possibly disqualifying votes.”
“The continuing COVID-19 crisis is creating fear among our citizens to be present at physical polling places both during early voting sessions and on election day,” continued Altenberg. “The Trump Administration’s continued attempts to undermine the basic operations of the U.S. Postal Service during the election has many in our community fearful their vote by mail ballots will not be counted if residents use the U.S. Postal Service which could have limited or non-existing capacity. The very integrity of our democracy hinges on the ability of our citizens to vote, and this ability is in question.”
Because of these concerns, the Vernon Township Board is kindly requesting that secure collection sites be installed at all early voting locations, including Vernon Township’s William E. Peterson Park building, with the following stipulations:
• The secure collection sites are securely affixed to the ground or to a building to avoid pilferage.
• The secure collection sites are securely locked to avoid tampering.
• The site be monitored either electronically or physically during certain drop off times.
• The secure collection site will allow for citizens to submit their ballots without having to leave their cars. (I.e., a system much like a postal mail box.)
• The boxes be emptied and secured daily at the close of polling places during early voting and on election day.
Lake County will install 16 or 17 drop boxes for ballots at early voting sites, Chief Deputy Clerk Todd Govain said. The locations haven’t yet been finalized.
More than 50 drop boxes for mail-in ballots will be installed throughout suburban Cook County. Sites will include the village halls in Arlington Heights, Barrington Hills, Elk Grove Village, Glenview, Hoffman Estates, Mount Prospect, Northbrook and Streamwood, as well as libraries in Des Plaines and Wheeling.
Two drop boxes will be securely installed at the DuPage County complex in Wheaton — one in the parking lot and one inside, Chief Deputy Clerk Adam Johnson said. Additionally, nearly 300 drop boxes will be placed at all early voting locations and Election Day polling places in the county, Johnson said. […]
Although his office is installing drop boxes for ballots, Kane County’s Cunningham thinks the issue has become political and is overblown. He’s confident in the postal service’s ability to deliver ballots on time and said a postal worker told him the expected increase in mailed ballots will be no worse than the extra business the agency gets at Christmas.
“They think they’re going to be able to handle it,” Cunningham said.
The concerns may be overblown, but always remember that people will say they want cuts until cuts happen, and then they hate cuts.
And on a purely political level, if the public thinks you’re responsible for the cuts, then people are gonna blame you every time their mail delivery is messed up. And even prior to any announced and unannounced cuts, the prospects of something wrong happening with the mail were pretty darned good because literally every household receives mail.
This was the wrong fight to pick at the absolute worst possible time, which is why they’ve seemed to back off. Even so…
I was not put at ease by the Postmaster General’s press release. Seniors relying on delivery of medication, individuals waiting on checks and citizens who intend to vote by mail need greater assurance that they can rely on the postal system! https://t.co/0VHUmxSM8S
* Election Officials Plan For Influx of Mail-In Ballots With New Ballot Return Options: Chicago’s election agency plans to allow voters to drop off their mail-in ballots at all early voting sites starting in mid-October. In Champaign County, the county clerk plans to have up to six drop boxes for voters to put their ballots in through Election Day. In Morgan County in central Illinois, voters can return their ballots in a drop box set up for property taxes and traffic ticket payments when the county building was all but shut down at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,295 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 25 additional confirmed deaths.
- Cook County: 1 male 20s, 1 female 50s, 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 3 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
- DeKalb County: 1 female 80s
- Jefferson County: 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
- Knox County: 1 female 80s
- LaSalle County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
- Madison County: 1 female 80s
- Morgan County: 1 male 70s, 2 females 80s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 30s, 1 male 70s
- Wabash County: 1 female 60s
- Will County: 1 male 60s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 211,889 cases, including 7,806 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 50,299 specimens for a total of 3,489,571. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from August 12 – August 18 is 4.4%. As of last night, 1,519 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 334 patients were in the ICU and 144 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for a death previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
Every governor over the past 25 years—Republican and Democrat—has learned a lesson from Gov. Jim Thompson.
Every governor except one.
Running for re-election in 1982, Thompson was in the fight of his political life, and the Republican speaker of the House was making things worse.
Illinois had plunged into recession under Republican President Ronald Reagan, and Thompson was running against a household name, former U.S. Sen. Adlai Stevenson III.
Then, House Speaker George Ryan of Kankakee allowed an anti-union “right to work” bill to move to the House floor. Organized labor was furious. Thousands of workers gathered on the Statehouse lawn in June to angrily denounce Ryan. Thompson was met with a resounding chorus of boos when he took the stage.
But those boos turned to cheers when Thompson vowed to veto the bill. He then invited the crowd to the governor’s mansion for free beer.
In the November election, the Illinois AFL-CIO endorsed Stevenson against Thompson. But the incumbent received crucial backing from several individual unions after Stevenson suggested things like replacing unionized highway workers with prison inmates.
Thompson defeated Stevenson by just 5,000 votes. His speech and a sharply divided labor movement were crucial to his success—even though Ryan, whom the unions despised, had become his running mate.
After the election, Thompson signed a bill to legalize collective bargaining for state employee unions. He interceded in contract negotiations to break an impasse, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees endorsed his 1986 re-election bid, followed quickly by an AFL-CIO endorsement.
Every governor since then has learned the Thompson lesson: Keep state workers happy.
Well, every governor except the current one. We’ll get to him in a moment.
What ended up happening was that union contracts got better and better for the employees. Republican Govs. Jim Edgar and Ryan were kind to the unions. And AFSCME claimed that Gov. Rod Blagojevich negotiated the most generous contract in the nation. Union negotiations in 2010 were satisfactory enough that AFSCME immediately endorsed Pat Quinn after the talks ended and gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaign.
Gov. Bruce Rauner deems this history “corrupt.” Quite a few people agree with him. The gazillionaire governor also claims that the millions of dollars he contributed to his own campaign last year and the millions he raised from his billionaire buddies are exercises in “freedom of speech.”
But you can’t on the one hand claim that contributions from billionaires are a constitutional right and on the other hand claim that contributions from working people are corrupt.
Plus, despite all this alleged “corruption,” Rauner won the election. The balance of power has substantially shifted.
His recent attempt to withhold some dues from the unions via executive order probably won’t succeed any time soon. Attorney General Lisa Madigan says Rauner is up against established case law and intends to fight him. Based on Madigan’s legal opinion, Comptroller Leslie Munger, a Rauner appointee, has said she won’t follow the order, effectively nullifying it.
Governors aren’t the only folks who learned from Jim Thompson. Legislators did, too. So, it’s highly doubtful the Democratic-controlled General Assembly will join any fight to undermine public employees’ legal rights.
A more adversarial relationship would be good for taxpayers in the short and the long run. But being adversarial is far different from this comically futile vow to destroy the other side. This could easily backfire and hurt everything else Rauner wants to do.
I asked the former governor what he thought of the current governor’s attacks on the unions. Thompson refused to criticize a sitting governor but said I was free to use any of his past comments.
Here’s one from 2013: “You can disagree with AFSCME, you can disagree with the teachers, you can disagree with other public employee unions without demonizing unions.”
…Adding… Pretty sure I’ve told you this before, but I watched a film of that “right to work” speech in college and it was a masterful performance that has stayed with me ever since.
Thompson was greeted by thunderous booing, but quickly calmed things by saying “Where’s Local (whatever number) from (whatever town)?” The union local members hollered and clapped and the whole tone changed. And by the time he announced that he would veto the bill, he had them eating out of the palms of his hands. I’ve never seen anything like it. That took real guts and real skill.
*** UPDATE *** Gov. Pritzker just announced that the state has set up an electronic guestbook where you can sign your name and share your memories. Click here.
The most recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that 41% of respondents have faced mental health challenges related to COVID-19 and steps taken to combat the pandemic, including social distancing and stay-at-home orders.
Taken from June 24-30, about one-third of respondents, or 31%, said they were experiencing anxiety or depression symptoms. Thirteen percent said they had started or increased substance use and 26% said they were experiencing trauma or stress-related disorder symptoms.
Eleven percent of respondents said they had seriously considered suicide in 30 days prior to the survey. […]
Respondents 18 to 24 years old were most likely to suffer mentally from the pandemic, with 75% of the age group saying they had at least one adverse mental or behavioral health symptom. About half, or 52%, of people aged 25 to 44 years old said the same. […]
Suicidal thoughts were higher in minority racial and ethnic groups. Nearly 19% of Hispanic respondents reported suicidal ideations and 15% of non-Hispanic Black respondents said the same.
About 22% of essential workers and 31% of unpaid caregivers also reported seriously considering suicide in the 30 days prior to the survey.
* Rosalynn Carter brought up the challenges facing unpaid caregivers during her and her husband’s DNC presentation last night…
We’ve known and admired Joe and Jill for many years, and most recently have worked with them on tackling the demands faced by the more than 53 million unpaid caregivers in our country who are juggling work and other family responsibilities and putting their own physical and mental health and well-being at risk.
Illinois lawmakers from both sides of the aisle recently announced support for ethics reforms — this, after Democrats who control both chambers left Springfield in May without passing any.
But there’s a major plank missing from the proposals: Removing House Speaker Michael Madigan now.
The Republicans and some Democrats would beg to differ.
* Um…
Coincidence? Here’s what happened to the zoom feed when IL Dem Delegates took a Madigan question that they knew was coming - as they required questions be sent in to them early #DNCpic.twitter.com/55LvAwRxFN
Maybe that’s what caused the delayed response, although the question was simply read aloud and not directed at any one person on the call…
Although an all-virtual Democratic National Convention has led to a few awkward moments as party leaders adapt to a new web-based format, there weren’t any technical glitches behind an uncomfortable pause Tuesday afternoon as top Illinois Democrats were asked a pointed question about embattled Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. […]
That changed at the end of a virtual news conference previewing the second night of the convention for the Illinois delegation, when a spokeswoman for Madigan relayed a question from NBC-5 political editor Carol Marin to a panel that included U.S. Representatives Robin Kelly and Jan Schakowsky, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and Mary Morrissey, executive director of the state Democratic Party.
Beyond the ComEd case, Marin asked if Madigan should step down “given also his admitted failings” in a sexual harassment scandal that rocked Springfield two years ago.
A full 13 seconds passed before Kelly offered the conditional chiding of Madigan that most prominent Illinois Dems have stuck to since federal prosecutors announced the ComEd case a month ago.
Bottom line, if DPI wants to do these things, they ought to either allow reporters to name a pool reporter or just open it up to questions on Zoom.
* Related…
* Architect of the Capitol to take up issue of Douglas statue: Board members of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol will take up a request from the Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to replace imagery of political giant Stephen Douglas and Illinois pioneer Pierre Menard because of their racist pasts.
* Illinois lawmakers call for ethics reform: In the wake of the ComEd scandal involving House Speaker Michael Madigan, there have been a number of legislators who are now talking about ethics reforms in Illinois. State Reps. Blaine Wilhour, John Cabello, Darren Bailey, and Brad Halbrook held a press conference Tuesday calling for reform.
Commonwealth Edison got a temporary reprieve from its due date to pay the first installment of a $200 million fine in a federal corruption case Monday.
The delay came after a Chicago lawyer argued ComEd — which is supposed to pay the fine to the U.S. treasury — should instead pay back electricity-delivery customers who were victims of the power company’s long-running Springfield bribery scheme. […]
In a court hearing Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amar Bhachu defended prosecutors’ deal with the power company and opposed any effort to divert fine money from the federal treasury in order to pay ComEd’s customers.
“This motion is completely without merit,” Bhachu said in the hearing before U.S. District Judge John Kness.
But Bhachu said Monday the government would take action to “maintain the status quo,” suggesting that no money would go into the federal treasury before Kness rules on Stewart’s motion.
Michigan State University, which was set to reopen Aug 27 to students, announces instead the school will start online, following disastrous reopenings at UNC and Notre Dame. https://t.co/nGI22aCRK8
