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Question of the day

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Lynn Sweet

Illinois Democratic officials are poised to make the case to the Democratic National Committee that Illinois should be among the states with the first votes in the presidential primaries, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

Illinois, if it’s an early primary state starting in 2024, could become a power player in determining a Democratic presidential nominee.

The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee passed a resolution at its April meeting calling for a 2024 nominating calendar that reflects diversity; helps Democrats win the White House and “contributes to a fair and sound electoral process.”

For a practical matter, Iowa, the state with the traditional kickoff vote for Republicans and Democrats, will most likely lose its special status with Democrats. That’s because Iowa votes Republican in presidential elections; is not diverse; and has a much-criticized caucus voting system. […]

If Iowa is knocked out, the Illinois competition for the Midwest spot will likely be Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska, a source said.

* The Question: Do you think Illinois should be one of the first states to hold a presidential primary? Explain.

  37 Comments      


Quickie internal tracking poll shows Irvin with big lead, Bailey falling fast, undecideds still in “first”

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Just so we’re clear, somebody other than the pollster and the client leaked me this internal tracking poll today. I’m not sure how this person obtained it, and I didn’t ask. We’ll get to the strong caveats in a moment…

The first takeaway is that spending lots of money works, particularly if it’s spent well, as the Irvin campaign is doing.

Just keep in mind that these were automated landline polls done on the cheap and for internal use only. No mobile phones. No text or online contacts.

The polls were not meant for public consumption, but since I had the results, Cor Strategies and its client decided to confirm their existence.

* Details from the pollster…

Universe: Likely Republican Primary Voters
Field Dates: Monday, April 18 - Thursday, April 21
Method: IVR (automated)
Responses: 536
MoE: ±4.23%

Discuss.

  43 Comments      


Pick up the tempo just a little

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* It’s about time more cams went up…

The Illinois State Police (ISP), working with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Chicago Department of Transportation, is currently installing 56 additional Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) on Chicago expressways. In addition to the 99 ISP ALPRs already covering the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-94), the additional ALPRs are being installed on I-90, I-290, I-55, and I-57. ” […]

In February of 2021, ISP received a $12.5 million grant to cover the costs of engineering, permitting, and labor associated with the purchase and installation of readers, controllers, servers/software, electrical power, and communications equipment required to install ALPR systems. In the first phase, ALPRs were installed on the Dan Ryan expressway during the summer and fall of 2021. For the second phase, ALPRs are currently being installed and have an estimated completion date of mid-May 2022 pending weather or other unforeseen delays. For the final phase, ISP is currently working on permits with the target of a total of 300 ALPRs installed for all three phases by the end of June 2022.

The funding and installation of ALPRs stem from the Tamara Clayton Expressway Camera Act (Expressway Camera Act), which was signed into law on July 12, 2019 and became effective on January 1, 2020. [Emphasis added.]

It’s totally understandable why people get so upset at the pace of government. But, hey, at least they’re finally going up.

* Speaking of the pace of government, let’s revisit this WBEZ piece I posted yesterday and look at another angle

Pritzker’s administration set aside more than $50 million from the COVID stimulus funds for violence prevention in the budget that passed last year. The funding, to be administered through the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, offered a unique opportunity to flood resources into neighborhoods impacted by violence. But with the fiscal year almost over, the state has spent only $56,764, one-tenth of 1% of the money, as Illinois experiences its worst gun violence in decades.

“Normally the argument would be, we just don’t have the money. Now we have the money, and we’re sitting on the money,” said Illinois State Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago), co-chair of the Public Safety and Violence Prevention Task Force. “Right now, the city of Chicago is on fire with violence, and we have to respond to that … There shouldn’t be a delay … people are dying.” […]

“They claim to be working for the community and the people … yet our government doesn’t see the urgency in getting funding to us so that we can have boots on the ground … to stop the shootings,” said Tyrone Muhammad, executive director of the anti-violence group Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change.

The budget included $500,000 in funding specifically allocated to Muhammad’s organization, but they still haven’t gotten a dime. He said they were planning to spend the ARPA dollars expanding their street intervention teams so they can mediate gang conflicts in more parts of the city.

“How is it possible for [lawmakers] to allocate funding in a line item last year, and we still haven’t received it this year?” Muhammad asked incredulously.

* You may remember this gentleman from last month

A rally to draw attention to the deaths of two Black transgender Chicago women turned into a chaotic shouting match when another small group of anti-violence advocates crashed the event at Federal Plaza on Monday evening.

As transgender activist Zahara Bassett was pleading for justice for the two women, several members of Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change, including founder Tyrone Muhammad, interrupted the event with bullhorns.

There was no mention of that disruption in WBEZ’s story.

* The ECCSC is fairly visible at the Statehouse partly because they sometimes park one of their special cars between the Capitol and the Stratton Building while they try to speak with legislators…

And they make no bones about their approach to things

Advocating for social change is at the forefront of our approach, as we view the current political system and allocation of resources as corrupt, unhelpful for improvement and unaware of what needs to be done to fix blighted communities.

Rep. Ford, by the way, requested that ECCSC’s line-item be included in the appropriations bill. So, of course he’s pushing hard to get that money released.

* And while there are good reasons for the government to take its time with these grants, another member pointed out to me yesterday there’s no way that anti-violence groups, particularly the small groups, can spend the state money right away. This isn’t just about installing cams on the expressways, after all. It will take a while to stand up new programs or to expand existing programs. By then, the summer could be over. Not cool. We don’t want any big mistakes, but people have the right to expect that stuff gets done.

However, the money mentioned in the WBEZ piece is not the only game in town. From Jordan Abudayyeh at the governor’s office…

The state of Illinois has already sent more than $75 million in violence prevent dollars out the door with another $45 million in various stages of the award process and additional NOFOs ready to go out in the coming days. We have also funded $26 million for a summer expansion initiative to fuel existing providers that are already up and running and doing the work in communities. The bucket of federal funding at ICJIA is just one small part of our comprehensive funding, and that federal funding comes with strict rules and reporting requirements, so it’s taken some time to get organizations up to speed and able to utilize federal dollars.

[Headline explained here.]

  5 Comments      


*** UPDATED x1 *** CEJA will bring $1 billion windfall to ComEd customers, but Ameren’s rejection means Downstaters will see big energy price spikes

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Steve Daniels

Households and small businesses that get their power from Commonwealth Edison will be unprotected from commodity price spikes in the high-demand summer months unless state regulators take fast action.

For the first time in the 14 years since the state took over the job from utilities of negotiating with power generators, the Illinois Power Agency was unable to reach an agreement on an electricity price in northern Illinois for the entire months of July and August, as well as part of June. […]

But ComEd customers won’t feel the increase in their wallets, thanks to the way the Pritzker administration structured a separate ratepayer bailout for Illinois nuclear plants now owned by Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group.

In June, customers would have started paying about $2 extra on their bills to support the plants under the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA, enacted last year. But, with energy prices soaring, the subsidy will instead become a credit beginning next month.

* ICJC…

Today, utility Commonwealth Edison filed new rates with the Illinois Commerce Commission that will provide direct credits of more than $1 billion to customers as a result of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) that was signed into law last fall.

The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC), whose advocacy over several years was instrumental in passing the nation-leading legislation, released the following statement:

“At a time when electricity costs are skyrocketing across the country, Governor Pritzker negotiated protections against price spikes that mean electricity prices for ComEd customers will actually be going DOWN. For families struggling with the high cost of inflation, this is welcome relief. What could have been a nuclear subsidy was smartly negotiated into a billion-dollar bonanza for Illinois consumers.

“The deal shows the wisdom of Illinois’ approach to combat the climate crisis and create good-paying, equitable clean energy jobs, while saving money for consumers. […]

The “Carbon Mitigation Credit” program, created under CEJA, provides revenue certainty to three Illinois nuclear power plants, and was originally expected to potentially cost ComEd customers $700 million over the 5-year life of the program. The deal was structured, however, so that if wholesale electricity prices increased above a certain level, the nuclear plants would owe money instead. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, electricity prices have risen dramatically across the country.

As part of the deal, residential customers will see an average credit of $18/month starting in June through next May, as a separate line item on their bill. ComEd customers have not paid any money to the nuclear plants to date, and current electricity price forecasts show the customer credit will continue for at least the next several years.

* Ameren opted out of the Carbon Mitigation Credit program and its consumers will pay a steep price. Back to Steve’s article

So central and southern Illinoisans will experience directly the brunt of an even more dramatic power-price spike down there. Their costs for energy will roughly double beginning June 1

* Back to the ICJC’s release…

We wish that Central and Southern Illinois consumers were also receiving this windfall, but Ameren chose not to participate in the Carbon Mitigation Credit program. […]

In a mistake that will cost their customers dearly, Ameren, the utility that serves most of Central and Southern Illinois, refused to join the Carbon Mitigation Credit program. As a result, their customers will see painful hikes in their electricity bills like consumers all over the Midwest.

*** UPDATE *** Ameren…

Ameren Illinois Statement on False Claims About Carbon Mitigation Credit Program

April 27, 2022

The statement issued today by the Clean Jobs Coalition is blatantly false. Ameren Illinois was never involved in the negotiations of the Carbon Mitigation Credit and was never given an option to opt in or out. In fact, throughout the process of negotiating the legislation, it was publicly stated by numerous CEJA members and supporters that the utilities would not be involved in crafting the new law.

This Carbon Mitigation Credit provision was written specifically to subsidize the Exelon nuclear facilities in Chicago, which are in a separate energy market from downstate. Again, the legislation specifically applies to “electric utilities serving at least 3,000,000 retail customers” in the state. Ameren Illinois has 1.2 million customers.

This policy was written specifically to benefit to Exelon nuclear plants in Chicago.

  15 Comments      


Bailey’s corporate farm mandates mask-wearing, and his campaign claims the farm has to hire migrants because locals don’t want to work

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* WTTW’s Amanda Vinicky

Despite Bailey’s walkout, lawsuits, and campaign rhetoric, masks have been required for stretches during the pandemic in a downstate area he represents.

Specifically, per documents on file with the federal government, face coverings are required for certain workers at the Bailey Family Farm, where according to Bailey’s campaign website, he grew up. […]

When farms bring on seasonal workers via the federal H-2A Temporary Agricultural Employment of Foreign Workers program, like to aide with a labor-intensive harvest, they have to file employment conditions forms with the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Bailey farm has postings up for jobs that run from early April through June and pay $15.89 an hour.

Those hired will run agricultural equipment, and help in the corn and soybean fields.

The job order, signed by Bailey’s son Zach, specifically states that the Bailey Family Farm will follow Centers for Disease Control, state and local health requirements and that the employer may implement its own additional safety measures.

Employees must “wear a face covering that covers your nose and mouth, always, unless you have received specific instruction otherwise. Stay at least 6 feet away from all other people, always. If a 6-foot distance cannot be maintained, a mask must be worn, even if you are otherwise exempted from that requirement” the form states in a final addendum.

The Baileys use similar language in relation to COVID precautions and masking in a job order that led to the farm hiring migrant workers in the spring and summer of ‘21. […]

The Bailey farm was under no apparent legal obligation to take such strict measures. Other Illinois farms, including another in Xenia, do not list COVID safety requirements. […]

“They farm over 12,000 acres, so social distancing comes naturally. The H2A is a federal program that legally brings migrant workers, and they’re required to abide by federal rules and make available to workers whatever they need,” the [Bailey campaign] statement said. “The Bailey Family Farm employs several local families and continues to advertise jobs locally to fill positions, but no one wants to work.”

  40 Comments      


Well, at least she’s kinda/sorta admitting her spouse has a problem

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* So, Valencia admits that she’s had to previously prevent her husband from trying to cross an ethical line? Sheesh…


By the way, a Downstate reporter emailed me this morning about a press release he’d received from Chicago Ald. Silvana Tabares announcing she was asking the city’s new inspector general to investigate “recent allegations that City Clerk Anna Valencia inappropriately used her position as an elected citywide office holder to benefit the business interests of her lobbyist husband and his private clients.”

“Explain that one,” the reporter quipped.

Using inspectors general to further the aims of political campaigns will only undermine IGs. More on that topic later today.

  31 Comments      


Another day, another lawsuit

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Bloomberg

The legal marijuana business in Illinois is being controlled by a state-protected “Chicago cartel” that includes companies linked to the wealthy Pritzker, Wrigley and Kovler families, according to a lawsuit filed by a group called True Social Equity in Cannabis.

Marijuana companies Akerna Corp., Green Thumb Industries Inc., Verano Holdings and Surterra Holdings Inc. have successfully monopolized the Illinois-branded marijuana market, from cultivation to manufacturing to retail dispensaries, the plaintiffs said in a complaint filed Monday in Chicago federal court.

* Tribune

The suit notes that some of the companies sell each other’s products. But Illinois law requires that cannabis dispensaries sell competitors’ products. The complaint also notes that GTI and Verano share a shell company that manages both a GTI Rise dispensary in Effingham and a Verano Zen Leaf store in Charleston.

The suit, filed by attorney Mark Lavery, seeks to stop all the companies from selling marijuana and divest them of all assets. […]

[Edie Moore, a founder and legislative co-chair of Chicago NORML and a cannabis business license applicant] acknowledged that the Illinois cannabis market is restricted by law to 21 licensed growers, but said the solution is for the state to issue pending licenses. Those licenses have been held up in court, primarily hurting Black and Latino “social equity” applicants.

“People who keep suing don’t do anything but slow it down,” she said. “It doesn’t help anyone.”

Akerna, which sells software to track data in the cannabis industry, issued the following statement: “The document has multiple inaccuracies, including but not limited to the fact that we are not a plant-touching operator. As a public company, our shareholders and board of directors are a matter of public record. Our legal team is preparing their response.”

* From the lawsuit

The “Chicago Cartel” state-protected cannabis operation was started in 2014 as part of a partnership between Michael McClain of the “Madigan Racketeering Enterprise”, Terrance Gainer of the U.S. Capitol Police and heir to the Jim Beam bourbon fortune, Benjamin Kovler.

I did not make that up.

  11 Comments      


Today’s quotable

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* WGEM

The elimination of cash bail is fast approaching for Illinois following the passage of the SAFE-T act in January 2021. Some judges have even begun the transition to no cash bail, but prosecutors are saying no cash bail will make their job a lot harder.

One state’s attorney spoke out against the elimination of cash bail today. He argued in some situations, having an offender out on the street because there was no bail will harm victims and make them afraid.

“It’s not like we lock people up who are innocent, awaiting trial,” Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said. “I do everything I can to make certain that if I can’t prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt, I dismiss it.”

…Adding… From comments…

Is this the same James Glasgow who sent a police officer to jail for six days on murder charges only to dismiss charges AFTER an investigation proved his alibi, which resulted in Will County having to settle a lawsuit with the wrongfully jailed, innocent cop?

Because if it is the same James Glasgow, he’s literally locked up an innocent person (a cop no less) awaiting a trial that never happened.

References…

* Will County panel OKs settlement over wrongful arrest in ‘honeybee’ case: Will County officials are nearing a settlement with a Lynwood police officer who spent six days in jail on murder charges that were later dropped.

* Another fumble for Will County: “You can’t make the problem, clean it up and then act like a hero,” Carlson said. “He’s the one who charged him. He knew the evidence and now he’s acting like he’s trying to save the world. There’s only one person who charged Brian Dorian, that’s Jim Glasgow. There’s only one person who’s now claiming that he fixed it and that’s Jim Glasgow. He can’t have it both ways.”

…Adding… Want more? Here you go…

* Charges Dropped After Giant Meth Seizure By Will County Sheriffs: A 47-year-old California man who had nearly 23 lbs of methamphetamine seized from his car by the Will County Sheriff’s Office last September was the subject of an illegal and improper search, Will County Judge Vincent Cornelius ruled. On Wednesday morning, Assistant Will County State’s Attorney Tom Bahar appeared in Courtroom 404 informing Cornelius that Henry Duenas is being released from custody at the Will County Jail and his two Class X felonies are being dismissed. Duenas was in the Will County Jail for more than six months, facing a $1 million bail. Last week, Cornelius announced the search was illegal, and the evidence was inadmissible. On Sept. 27, the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office of Jim Glasgow charged Duenas with two Class X felonies, unlawful possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and unlawful possession of methamphetamine.

* Charges dropped against father in Riley Fox case: Prosecutors had promised to seek the death penalty against Kevin Fox. Now, they are back to where they were almost a year ago, with no named suspects and a development that has stunned even prosecutors. It turns out DNA from the crime scene doesn’t match the man they had in jail. Kevin Fox is free after prosecutors concede there is now considerable doubt about his guilt. “It was a nightmare, and I don’t want to relive it right now. I’m happy. I’m excited,” said Fox. Will County Prosecutor James Glasgow and Sheriff Paul Kaupas dropped the charge, but offered no apology and few answers about why law enforcement was so convinced Fox was their man.

* 1st Degree Murder Charges Dropped For Joliet 19-Year-Old: On Friday morning, an angry Joliet criminal defense attorney Jeff Tomczak raised his voice before Will County Chief Judge Dan Kennedy, insisting that 19-year-old client Rasean Stokes has no criminal culpability in the Feb. 8, 2020 gunshot homicide along Joliet’s Republic Avenue that ended the life of 17-year-old Jeremiah Frazier. Tomczak implored Judge Kennedy reduce his incarcerated client’s bail from $750,000 to $5,000, but the judge was not willing to make a decision on the bail at Friday’s hearing. Instead, Kennedy took the matter under advisement and put the case back on the court docket for Tuesday, Feb. 2. However, the judge did agree to dismiss both first-degree murder counts against Tomczak’s client during Friday’s hearing. As relatives of his client were seated in Will County Courtroom 403, Tomczak was livid, pointing out that Stokes has already spent an entire year in the Will County Jail “on a bad murder charge.”

  66 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Open thread

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Please keep your discussions to Illinois-related topics. Thanks.

  9 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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*** LIVE COVERAGE ***

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive


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Question of the day

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Sen. Darren Bailey sat down with Crain’s Chicago Business the other day

Greg Hinz: Are you glad to see those ads from the Democratic Governors Association?

Darren Bailey: Oh, yeah. Yeah. I dig ‘em And, that’s beautiful because, you know, the establishment on both sides don’t believe that some farmer from Southern Illinois would ever be a governor. But here’s what they don’t understand - and it’s actually one of the same things that got President Trump elected - a grassroots movement, people who have never been involved people who have been forgotten. We’ve seen this many times in history when people rise up because they’ve had enough. And that is certainly what we’re doing in Illinois.

* The Question: Do you think embracing the DGA ad campaign on his behalf is the best approach for Bailey? Explain.

  26 Comments      


Campaign notebook

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Daily Herald has Catalina Lauf’s burn rate

The Catalina for Congress committee started the quarter with about $255,976 saved. It reported collecting about $156,144 during the period.

Nearly all of Lauf’s cash came from individual donors. Only two reported donations came from political action committees: $2,200 from a former Republican candidate for a county office in Ohio; and $2,000 from Republican congressional candidate Joe Kent in Washington state.

Team Lauf spent about $263,879 on consultants’ fees, printing, travel and more during the quarter, roughly 169% of the total that came in.

She appears to be paying through the nose for fundraising expenses and consultants, but not a lot of actual voter contact.

* The opposite is happening with the so-called Ken Griffin slate, so the Democratic Party of Illinois has questions…

How Is It Possible To Run a Statewide Campaign on $37?

Griffin Slate Candidates Run on Transparency While Hiding Campaign Spending

According to the Chicago Tribune, Griffin slate candidates Steve Kim (Attorney General), Shannon Teresi (Comptroller), and John Milhiser (Secretary of State) all had one thing in common — they barely spent any money.

    - Kim reported just $37.87 in expenditures

    - Teresi reported just $164.02 in expenditures

    - Milhiser reported just $467.23 in expenditures

How could it be possible for candidates to run for statewide office for months, especially as part of a $20 million coordinated slate, and spend so little money on their campaigns?

Kim, Teresi, and Milhiser have all put transparency and good government at the center of their campaigns. It’s time for them to be transparent with reporters and voters — and explain exactly what they’re hiding from the public.

When asked by the Tribune, an Irvin campaign employee claimed “to the extent that any cost is presented to the campaigns, it will be paid and disclosed properly.”

What about the costs around preparing, circulating, and filing petitions? Who is running these candidates’ communications programs? Was anyone paid for these campaign websites or social media videos? What about legal and compliance fees? Are these costs being hidden from the public?

Are we supposed to believe these campaigns, which have been active for more than two months, simply haven’t incurred any costs? It’s time for these candidates to come clean about what’s really going on inside their campaigns.

* Back to the Daily Herald in the same GOP primary race to take on Bill Foster

[Cassandra] Tanner Miller’s campaign started fundraising last quarter and ended the period deep under water financially, her report showed. It collected $2,525 in donations, spent less than $600 and reported $48,302 in debts to vendors and consultants.

Oof.

* Politico

Donald Trump is hosting a fundraiser for Republican Rep. Mary Miller on Wednesday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach — and the former president is expected to sit down with GOP governor candidate Darren Bailey, too.

Bailey bought a ticket to the fundraiser. And Bailey isn’t the only Republican gubernatorial candidate hoping for Trump’s nod. Gary Rabine seems to think he has a shot.

* Also Politico

Five of the six top Republican candidates for governor appeared at a Washington, Ill., forum last night to address a range of issues, including the economy and Second Amendment. Darren Bailey, Gary Rabine, Paul Schimpf, Jesse Sullivan, and Max Solomon all attended.

The biggest applause came toward the end of the event when Bailey walked across the stage and pointed to an empty chair where Richard Irvin would have been seated. “I want to talk about this empty seat,” Bailey said, pausing for the audience to cheer for a while. Bailey then accused Irvin of “grossly” lying while on the campaign trail. Bailey said Irvin may talk about cutting taxes, “but he raised taxes in Aurora.” And Irvin’s running mate, Avery Bourne, once told Bailey to put on his mask while he was fighting the mask mandate in the General Assembly. “Friends, enough is enough,” Bailey said.

Bailey raised taxes when he was on the school board.

* Subscribers know more, but here’s Politico

Becky Levin, a gun-violence prevention advocate, has dropped out of the race for the 13th state rep seat that’s now held by Democratic Majority Leader Greg Harris.. That leaves Eileen Dordek as the only woman in the race with four men. Dordek has $200,000 cash on hand, while her four opponents have a combined $90,000 or so. Yesterday, Dordek was endorsed by Sen. Dick Durbin, the AFLCIO, and Personnel PAC, the abortion rights group.

That story originally claimed that Levin was a gun rights advocate. We all make mistakes, I suppose. Also, it’s Personal PAC. Oops. And, while the group has not yet posted its endorsements, Dordek is likely a lock because she is the organization’s former board chair.

  12 Comments      


When it rains, it pours

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Half a billion in essentially “found” GRF revenue

April 22, 2022
ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL: ILLINOIS RECEIVES OVER $800 MILLION FROM TOBACCO MANUFACTURERS

Money Includes Annual Tobacco Master Settlement Payment and More than $540 Million from Recent Settlement with Manufacturers

Chicago — Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced Illinois has received more than $804 million from tobacco manufacturers as part of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). In addition to receiving its annual MSA payment, more than $258 million, Illinois has also received more than $546 million tobacco manufacturers were recently required to release. The funding had previously been withheld from annual MSA payments to the state.

“Although Illinois has prevailed in both arbitrations conducted so far, the process became so cumbersome and drawn out that Illinois has had to wait too long to receive the money it is owed. Without this settlement, that would be the case for years to come,” Raoul added. “This settlement, which brings in hundreds of millions of dollars now and resolves the dispute for the next six years, is a much better resolution for Illinois than waiting decades to receive the money owed.”

Ka-ching!

  19 Comments      


Well, that’s one reason to vote for the guy

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Um

Co-host of Chicago’s Morning Answer on AM-560, [Amy] Jacobson said she saw Irvin at a fundraiser hosted by Chicago’s “Common Sense Conservatives” Friday on the city’s Northwest Side.

Jacobson said she had questions for the first time Republican candidate, but he avoided her.

“Richard Irvin walked in, I waited for two minutes and walked up to him. No idea about the show. I don’t think he knows (AM 560) exists,” she said. “He kept avoiding me. I’d go from room to room trying to talk to him.”

  32 Comments      


U of C’s randomized controlled study produces “striking” findings about anti-violence program

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Sun-Times

Crime and violence cost Chicago billions each year: Lost lives and hospital costs for victims; lost tax revenue from falling property values and residents leaving the city; economic growth when businesses choose to locate someplace safer.

And the city spends a lot on crime fighting. The Chicago Police Department annual budget is just under $2 billion. Cook County budgets $1.4 billion for the Sheriff’s department, jail, and criminal court system. The state prison system, which gets nearly half its inmates from Cook County, costs another $1.5 billion.

The cost to address this ain’t a huge amount when looked at in the broader context

A report by the privately funded anti-violence program Chicago CRED estimates the city would have to spend $405 million per year for five years — in addition to what it currently spends — to reduce crime to the levels of big city peers New York or Los Angeles.

In a speech to the City Club of Chicago last month, University of Chicago Crime Lab Director Jens Ludwig suggested an even higher number: $1 billion per year for violence prevention spending and increased policing, to reduce crime in Chicago by 50%. […]

CRED estimates that combined [2022] funding from foundations, the city, state and federal government for violence prevention programs will total $184 million — double the spending in 2021, and roughly what CRED estimates needs to go to anti-violence spending annually.

But not all of that money will be well-spent, just like much of the money that’s currently spent on the “traditional” system.

* Sun-Times editorial

Three years ago, we were hopeful about the early success of READI Chicago, a relatively new anti-violence outreach program that targets high-risk men on the South and West sides. […]

The study of READI, which stands for Rapid Employment and Development Initiative, used what’s considered the “gold standard” for scientific research: a randomized controlled trial that compared men who enrolled in the program with a control group of men who were turned away.

The U of C study is the first of its kind to evaluate a large group with the same statistical rigor and method used to evaluate medical treatments.

Altogether, 2,500 men were tracked. The findings were striking.

The men enrolled in the 18-month READI course were two-thirds less likely to be arrested for a violent crime and nearly 20% less likely to be shot compared with the men who weren’t taking part in the program.

The men who were recruited by outreach workers — rather than community members or through other means — showed even more promise: Their arrests dropped by almost 80% and they were nearly 50% less likely to be shot.

Those statistics are especially noteworthy, given that a third of the men in READI had been shot at before they joined the program and racked up an average of 17 arrests.

* How it works

The level of [Chicago] violence stunned Sylvester, a 36-year-old Chicago native, when he returned to to the city in 2020 after serving a 13-year prison sentence. He figured he’d soon be in the middle of combat in his West Side neighborhood. With few job prospects and a rap sheet that stretched back to his early teens, Sylvester — who asked to be identified only by his first name — expected he’d hit up old gang contacts to get back into selling drugs to make ends meet. Instead, a friend recruited him for READI.

For 18 months, Sylvester could get paid $15 an hour to participate in daily job training and counseling sessions, including cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. The five one-hour CBT sessions each week helped rewire his thought processes and examine “risky thoughts,” he said, unwinding the reflexes his years on the street had built up.

Sylvester was drawn in by the wages, but the CBT is what kept him coming back. […]

The key components of READI’s program — cognitive behavioral therapy, a type of counseling focused on re-ordering participants’ thought patterns, had proved effective with school-age children and teens — and, in Blattman’s case, former child soldiers in Liberia. Studies had also long correlated employment, a benefit of READI’s job and educational training, to declines in criminal behavior.

But there were few programs that featured both those interventions at the same time, and most target younger men and teens who were not as deeply embroiled in urban violence, Blattman said. READI was designed to target an older demographic — the average age of homicide victims in Chicago is 27 — and enroll them in a program that would pay them to attend the daily therapy and job training, supported by “relentless engagement” from staff.

“CBT and employment are different medicine for the same people … interrupting a feud is like first aid or the emergency room, where you’re patching things up in an emergency,” Blattman said. “READI is like the vaccine. Before you go shoot someone, we’re going to equip you with the skills to keep you from ever getting in that situation.”

Violence interruption is a stopgap, crisis-based measure. Much-needed, but not the answer in and of itself. This READI program looks like outpatient rehab, and it appears to be working. Maybe the concept could be expanded to the incarcerated as well.

…Adding… WBEZ

Pritzker’s administration set aside more than $50 million from the COVID stimulus funds for violence prevention in the budget that passed last year. The funding, to be administered through the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, offered a unique opportunity to flood resources into neighborhoods impacted by violence. But with the fiscal year almost over, the state has spent only $56,764, one-tenth of 1% of the money, as Illinois experiences its worst gun violence in decades. […]

Leo Smith, policy director for the anti-violence organization Chicago CRED, said the Illinois residents should actually be excited about the amount of planning and coordination between government agencies happening around the ARPA money.

“We’re seeing a major shift from funding individual programs to investing in a comprehensive public health system for violence intervention,” Smith said. “Almost anyone who is helping out with that shift is frustrated with the speed of it, but I think people are also encouraged by how deliberate it is.”

Smith said this is a critical time for community-based violence prevention in Illinois. Support has been building in the state for spending taxpayer money on non-policing solutions to gun violence. He worries if they rushed out these ARPA dollars, without the right amount of planning and without making sure the small groups could meet the stringent reporting requirements, it could make it harder to get public funding once the ARPA money runs out.

That last comment by Smith is very true. You can throw tons more money at enforcement and no mainstream media outlet will bat an eye. But give a few dollars to a small anti-violence group which can’t justify its expenses and all heck breaks loose.

  14 Comments      


This has gotta change

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Let’s start with the synopsis to HB3772

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. In provisions concerning the administrative adjudication of violations of traffic regulations, automated traffic law violations, and automated speed enforcement system violations, provides that a person shall not be liable for violations, fees, fines, or penalties during the period in which the motor vehicle was reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency as stolen or hijacked. … In provisions concerning administrative fees and procedures for impounding vehicles for specified violations, provides that no administrative fees shall be imposed on the registered owner or the agents of that owner if the motor vehicle was stolen or hijacked at the time the vehicle was impounded.

The bill, which is awaiting the governor’s signature, also allows victims of violence to be reimbursed for towing and storage of up to $1,000 under the Crime Victims Compensation Act.

* Now, let’s move to Crain’s

Chicago could soon end the practice of forcing the victims of car theft and carjacking to pay towing and storage fees to retrieve their vehicle if it ends up in one of the city’s sprawling impound lots.

On Friday, the Committee on Public Safety unanimously advanced a measure to waive those fees—if the victim is able to obtain a police report verifying their car was stolen. The full City Council will likely approve it next week.

Notice that the city council apparently didn’t include waiving red light and speed cam fines for carjacking victims. But, no matter, the new state law will soon require that as well.

* Speaking of red light cams, here’s the US Attorney’s office

The former mayor of Crestwood, Ill., was sentenced today to a year in federal prison for improperly soliciting and receiving benefits from a representative of a red-light camera company that provided services to the Chicago suburb.

LOUIS PRESTA, 71, of Crestwood, pleaded guilty last year to one count of using a facility in interstate commerce in aid of bribery and official misconduct, and one count of filing a false income tax return. U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin imposed the year-and-a-day sentence after a hearing in federal court in Chicago. […]

According to Presta’s plea agreement with the government, the red-light camera company provided camera services to Crestwood that enabled the municipality to issue tickets to motorists for certain traffic violations. While the company was attempting to provide additional such services to Crestwood, then-Mayor Presta asked for and accepted benefits from a representative of the company. Presta told the company’s representative that the percentage of red-light traffic violations that Presta approved would remain high or increase – in exchange for a cash payment to Presta from the representative, the plea agreement states.

The plea agreement describes a Feb. 27, 2018, phone call between Presta and the company’s representative in which Presta updated the representative on the higher percentage of red-light traffic violations that Crestwood approved the previous week. During the call, Presta stated, “We’re starting to get the numbers again… you got a new sheriff in town.” Shortly after that call, Presta on March 7, 2018, received a $5,000 cash bribe from the representative of the company. When subsequently questioned by federal law enforcement about his receipt of the $5,000 bribe payment, Presta falsely stated that he neither asked for nor received the $5,000 bribe.

* Aside from the corruption angle, opposition to red light and speed cams often comes from people who can normally talk themselves out of a traffic ticket, so it’s no surprise that the Tribune editorial board hates them. But they do make a good point about the companies

Red-light cameras are supposed to snag traffic scofflaws. For the last few years, they’ve done a much better job giving a green light to corruption.

The latest nominee for the Red-Light Camera Hall of Infamy is Tony Ragucci, an ex-cop and former mayor of west suburban Oakbrook Terrace, who recently was charged by federal authorities with honest services wire fraud and filing a false tax return. Ragucci was mayor when he allegedly accepted money to permit the installation of red-light cameras in the DuPage County town he ran. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He’s preceded by a long line of politicians who twisted whatever safety benefit red-light cameras could offer into a conduit for corruption.

They include former Crestwood Mayor Louis Presta, former state Sen. Martin Sandoval and John O’Sullivan, a former Worth Township supervisor and state lawmaker. Sandoval, who died from COVID-19 in 2020, and Presta pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from an executive at SafeSpeed, a firm that installed red-light cameras in several suburbs. He was sentenced to a year in prison Monday. Prosecutors say O’Sullivan, who also has pleaded guilty, conspired with the SafeSpeed executive and political operative Patrick Doherty to pay bribes to secure backing for the placement of more cameras in south suburban Oak Lawn.

We need a different and improved process for installing these cams which either bypasses local electeds or replaces the current system with a new one.

Maybe we should start talking about cutting these for-profit companies out of the equation altogether. I mean, the government can install traffic lights, so why can’t it install its own enforcement cameras? Why should these heavily tainted private companies be making such big bucks off of government tickets?

  24 Comments      


Rate the new TV ads by Irvin, Proft, Giannoulias, Pritzker, Rabine and Bailey

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* “Pritzker’s money? Madigan’s machine? They don’t scare me. Never have,” says Richard Irvin in this newish TV spot

* Dan Proft’s People Who Play By The Rules PAC raised $1 million from Dick Uihlein and has put $100K of that to put this anti-Irvin ad on suburban cable TV so far

Some background is here.

* Alexi Giannoulias mentions standing up to Mike Madigan in this new TV ad (true), which has a (funny) twist at the end

* Gov. Pritzker touts his new budget

* I don’t yet know if this is on broadcast, but Gary Rabine is putting about $156K behind this on Chicago-area and Downstate cable/satellite

* Darren Bailey’s newest spot features his running mate

  44 Comments      


ADL says antisemitic incidents reached “a historically high level” in 2021

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Anti-Defamation League Midwest…

Antisemitic incidents reached a historically high level across the United States in 2021, with a total of 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported to ADL (the Anti-Defamation League). This is the highest number of recorded incidents against American Jews since ADL started tracking such data in 1979. ADL today released its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents for 2021.

Locally, ADL Midwest reported a total of 175 antisemitic incidents in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, combined. This was a 62% increase from the 108 combined incidents reported in 2020 – and 202% higher than the total number of incidents reported just five years ago for 2016.

Broken down, across the region in 2021, there were:

    • 134 acts of antisemitic harassment, up from 73 in 2020 (an 84% increase)
    • 39 acts of antisemitic vandalism, up from 34 in 2020 (a 15% increase)
    • 2 acts of antisemitic assault, up from 1 in 2020 (a 100 % increase)

“Antisemitic incidents in the Midwest are reaching a watershed level, and our team is responding to incidents on a near daily basis,” saidADL Midwest Regional Director David Goldenberg. “The common thread linking the perpetrators of these incidents is not political ideology, geography, race or ethnicity: it is hate against the Jewish community - whether their own hate or hate linked to generations old antisemitic stereotypes. A wholistic, systemic approach is needed across communities in response. This includes speaking out, naming antisemitism when we see it; sharing facts through education and research; and showing strength as neighbors united against hate.”

Minnesota and Illinois are among the 20 states in the country with the highest total number of antisemitic incidents reported in 2021. Specific state-by-state totals include:

    • Illinois – 15% increase from 2020 to 2021 (46 to 53), a 430% increase from 2016 (10 to 53)
    • Indiana – 6% decrease from 2020 to 2021 (17 to 16), a 266% increase from 2016 (6 to 16)
    • Minnesota – 226% increase from 2020 to 2021 (23 to 75), a 375% increase from 2016 (20 to 75)
    • North Dakota – 100% increase from 2020 to 2021 (0 to 1), equal to increase from incidents in 2016
    • South Dakota – 600% increase from 2020 to 2021 (1 to 7), a 700% increase from 2016 (0 to 7)
    • Wisconsin – 10% increase from 2020 to 2021 (21 to 23), a 5% increase from 2016 (22 to 23)

In 2021, ADL Midwest also tracked a sharp increase in reported bias and hate incidents in K-12 and university environments; these incidents targeted a cross-section of historically vulnerable communities and were often heightened by tensions around masking, COVID-19, and unfounded arguments about Critical Race Theory.

A sortable and downloadable list of antisemitic incidents in the region can be viewed on ADL’s H.E.A.T. Map here.

* Sun-Times

Nationally, the incidents have spiked 114% since 2016 and 430% locally. The data includes incidents that specifically target Jews or Jewish institutions; a swastika drawn on a random building, for example, wouldn’t be included in the ADL’s numbers.

Jews “are more concerned and feel more unsafe than they have in decades,” he said.

Goldenberg said the violence that erupted last May between Israel and Palestine led to “a significant surge” in antisemitism nationwide, though he noted there were no other clear catalysts for the “dramatic increase” throughout the year. No one was killed in any of the 88 nationwide assaults, the audit found.

Meanwhile, Goldenberg said college campuses have increasingly become hotbeds for white supremacist and antisemitic flyering campaigns, including at the University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana. The audit also revealed a 21% increase in antisemitic harassment on campuses, and Goldenberg said there’s been a “steady uptick” at Urbana-Champaign, as well as at the University of Illinois-Chicago and the University of Chicago.

Those three Illinois campuses, along with DePaul University, have also seen “anti-Israel” demonstrations “quickly turn into antisemitic activities,” Goldenberg said.

  6 Comments      


Open thread

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Hiya. What’s up?

  13 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Tuesday, Apr 26, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive


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