Reader comments closed for the weekend
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller * I explained to a friend the other day that the reason I yell “Oscar boy!” the way I do when I want my dog to come is because of this song. And now my friend walks around singing the song at a very high decibel level. It’s hilarious… If you don’t bring that seltzer * And since it’s been a bit, here’s Oscar with another friend of ours a few days ago… Oscar loves him some Herb. Have a good weekend.
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Appellate court strikes down Chicago FOP’s vax lawsuit
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller * First District Illinois Appellate Court…
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Campaign notebook
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller * Illinois early vote totals…
* Chicago early vote totals…
Chicago, with 21 percent of the population, is still at just 17 percent of the total. * Roll Call…
* Sen. Darren Bailey was asked today what specifically he would do differently about K-12 education that what’s currently being done…
* ILGOP press release…
* Hoan Huynh is the Democratic nominee in the 13th Illinois State Representative District…
Mussolini? * Isabel’s roundup…
* Daily Herald | What’s fiction, what’s fact about the SAFE-T Act and the elimination of cash bail: There’s not a hotter topic on the campaign trail in Illinois, or in law enforcement circles nationwide, than the SAFE-T Act, the sweeping criminal justice reform package that will eliminate cash bail starting Jan. 1. And with all that heat has come plenty of confusion and misinformation about what’s really in the bill and what it means for you. * Sun-Times | Beware of fake ‘newspapers’ packaged as the old-school real deal : Alarmingly, those disseminating false information have gotten wiser, learning how to relay their problematic narratives in packaging that can potentially confuse even the most discerning readers. Take the case of right-wing “newspapers” that have been infiltrating the mailboxes of Chicago area voters as we head into next week’s mid-term elections, as the Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet reports. * Tribune | J.B. Pritzker, conquerer of worlds? The memeing of the Illinois governor gets weird: Among the lesser discussed subjects of the 2022 midterm elections has been a quiet campaign to elect J.B. Pritzker to the position of Great Khan of the Midwest and — well, who knows what the borders of his empire shall resemble once he conquers? As you’re probably aware, Pritzker is currently governor of Illinois, seeking a second term. He has made no formal announcement of his intent to deliver a horde into battle and crush Wisconsin or anywhere else. But that has not stopped Nomadic Warriors for Pritzker. * Crain’s | Thanks to early voting and vote-by-mail, 1 million ballots have been cast so far in Illinois: Just under 12% of Illinois’ registered voters—roughly one in eight—have already cast a ballot in the 2022 general election, according to the latest report from the State Board of Elections. Voting continues to be particularly peppy in portions of the suburbs while relatively light in Chicago proper, although the city has picked up some, too. * Daily Herald | Wheeler, Hanson vie to represent the redrawn 83rd state House distric : Voters in the redrawn state House 83rd District Tuesday will choose between someone who has been a legislator for the past eight years or a former Kane County Board member. Republican Keith Wheeler of Oswego, the Republican, has been in the state legislature since 2015. He currently represents the 50th District. * David Orr | Election deniers in Illinois are putting pressure on voting access. We can’t let them succeed. : Election officials across the country are bracing for possible disruption by extremist groups planning “aggressive poll watching.” They’re also resigning in large numbers in the face of harassment, threats and bogus charges of fraud — constituting a major loss of badly needed professionalism and experience and, in many cases, an opening for those who want to dictate election results of their own liking. On a smaller scale so far, similar efforts are afoot in Illinois, purportedly to promote “election integrity” but actually aimed at undermining confidence in our elections. WBEZ-FM 91.5 has reported on a coordinated campaign of “copycat letters from conspiracy theorists” going to county clerks across the state, threatening lawsuits and citing vague “evidence” that “America has not had a free or fair election since 2017.” * Illinois Times | 2022 Elections: When there is so much confusion in this nation’s politics, when misinformation itself is on the ballot and election deniers campaign for election, it is more important than ever to vote. A vote is an endorsement of the process, and marks each voter as a participant in a system under attack. If the process thrives this time, confusion and misinformation will eventually be defeated, and democracy will win this election. * Illinois Times | Much confusion over Amendment 1: Some people have taken to calling it the stealth amendment: an effort to amend the Illinois Constitution in a manner that will benefit organized labor. But just how it would work and what exactly it would do has many folks scratching their heads. Amendment 1, which voters will decide Nov. 8, would amend the state constitution to make it easier for labor unions to maintain membership and to protect benefits of workers who are mostly employed by local and state governments. * WICA | Candidates compete for position as Illinois’ chief financial officer: Comptroller Susana Mendoza is running for re-election against Republican challenger Shannon Teresi. A recent Nexstar, Emerson College and The Hill poll shows about 49% of likely voters said they would support Mendoza, while about 36% said they would back Teresi. * Sun-Times | With tensions high ahead of Tuesday’s election, top cop says there’s ‘no threats specific to Chicago’: Last month, federal authorities issued advisories warning about threats to both election workers and voters. A poll conducted in March by the Brennan Center, a nonprofit law and public policy institute headquartered in New York City, found that nearly 17% of poll workers reported being threatened. But on Friday, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown assured reporters there weren’t any “threats specific to Chicago,” adding that his department’s social media team continues to monitor for anything alarming. * AP | US Employers Are Hiring Briskly Even In Face of Rate Hikes: America’s employers kept hiring vigorously in October, adding 261,000 positions, a sign that as Election Day nears, the economy remains a picture of solid job growth and painful inflation. Friday’s report from the government showed that hiring was brisk across industries last month, though the overall gain declined from 315,000 in September. The unemployment rate rose from a five-decade low of 3.5% to a still-healthy 3.7%. * WTTW | Cook, DuPage County Boards With Tight Races Up For Grabs Next Week: There’s real competition in DuPage County where there’s an open seat for DuPage County Board chair. Republican Dan Cronin has chaired the DuPage County Board for the past dozen years, but he is not running for re-election, making it an open seat that Democrats hope to claim for the first time. State Representative Deb Conroy of Elmhurst says all 58 chairs of the DuPage County Board have been Republican men and it’s time to change that. * WBEZ | Five commonly asked questions about judicial elections: While the candidates listed on this section of the ballot might be more obscure, the decisions that judges make have a direct impact on people’s lives, including who might get custody of the children in a divorce and whether someone is sent to prison. So as part of our ongoing collaboration with Injustice Watch, we’re answering your last-minute questions about how judicial elections work and where you can find more information about the candidates on the upcoming ballot. * Daily Herald | Why three suburban congressional races have been among the hottest in the state: In the 6th District, 11th District and 14th District, Republican challengers are trying to unseat Democratic incumbents. The races have been costly, with most of the campaigns raising and spending millions to share their messages with voters through TV ads and other means. The three races also have been fairly messy, with the candidates — or their teams and supporters — trying to discredit their rivals in interviews, speeches, news releases and social media posts. * Herald Review | Crime, SAFE-T Act top focuses in race for the 96th: In sum, 60 House members voted in favor of the act, 50 voted in opposition, and three did not vote. Scherer’s was thus one of the deciding votes effectively passing the bill. Now, the Decatur Democrat is about to face a challenger who says it was Scherer’s SAFE-T Act vote that helped convince her to run. Lisa Smith, a political newcomer who ardently opposes the act, argues it will lead to multiple unintended consequences. * NPR | Why aren’t more moms running for office? One group is hoping to change that: This year, there are a record number of women who are nominees in races for governor and state legislatures, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Women — even more so those with young children — are still in the minority, Vote Mama’s research shows. This is despite the proven political power of mothers, University of Virginia a politics professor Jennifer Lawless said. * ABC 7 | Evanston residents to vote on ranked choice voting referendum in 2022 election: It’s called ranked choice voting. “Rank Choice Voting can make our politics more democratic and less divisive,” said Alisa Kaplan, Reform for Illinois executive director. “It’s great for voters because they can choose more than one candidate.” * The Hill | Large majority says they are concerned about political violence: Majorities of every political persuasion are “very concerned” about the phenomenon, including 75 percent of Democrats, 61 percent of independents and 56 percent of Republicans. Most Democrats and Republicans say that the opposite party is to blame for political violence, with 31 percent of those polled claiming that Republicans are responsible and 25 percent saying Democrats are responsible.
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Report reveals 16 energy plants in Illinois with coal-ash dumps contaminating groundwater
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Indy Star…
* Circle of Blue reported on how mine cleanup is weakened by the decline of coal in October…
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Question of the day
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller * Heckuva job, Elon…
* The Question: Have you ever been hacked? Tell us what happened. *** UPDATE *** She got her account back…
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Today’s clickbait
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller * Some folks received this text… Click the link and it goes here… Cute. Are you getting many campaign texts this season? Seems like I’ve received more than in the past.
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Can this AI generator predict our tweets?
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller * I’ve been playing around with a new AI tweet generator this morning…
* @DarrenBaileyIL… * @JBPritzker… * @RepKellyCassidy… * @JohnAmdor… * @CapitolFax… * @DanProft… * @ThomasDeVore76… Play around with it yourself and tell us the results.
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Woman featured in Proft ad will respond to “malicious” Pritzker TV spot
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller * ABC7 back in March…
* Dan Proft’s PAC released a TV ad about the case the other day… “My message to the governor,” Cabel says in the ad, “would be ’shame on you.’” * Pritzker rebutted with his own TV ad… The Proft spot is called an “outrageous TV ad that should insult us all.” The ad points out that the governor cannot parole anyone and the announcer states “the [Proft] ad is 100 percent false.” * Proft’s PAC today…
I got the Pritzker ad from Proft’s PAC. Isabel will be covering the press conference, so stay tuned for any updates. …Adding… Ms. Cabel at the press conference…
The governor’s office says that the case had “only one other parole hearing in 2014. We checked the file and there are not letters from previous governors in it.”
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*** UPDATED x3 *** Tribune claims possible evidence of alleged illegal coordination
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller * The Tribune story is here. From DPI…
* This is an odd story all around…
The penalty appears to be a fine. *** UPDATE 1 *** Pritzker campaign…
A $28 million fine? Whew. *** UPDATE 2 *** The Democratic Party of Illinois has filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections, according to the Tribune, and the Dems have revised the possible penalty upwards to $42 million…
*** UPDATE 3 *** From DPI’s filed complaint…
From the Bailey campaign’s statement to the Tribune…
That answer begs the question about what the campaign did with Proft during the primary.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Now he belongs to the ages
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller * The original ad is here. From the HuffPost…
* Full video is here, but this is a short clip… Kimmel should’ve used some of the outtakes. * Longtime readers will remember Tim Nieukirk, who ran for governor in 2006 as a write-in. We profiled the “Get Nieuked” campaign’s YouTube “ads” on the blog and Fox News eventually did a piece on him. He even showed up for my bipartisan preelection party. I’ve invited Dick Bigger Jr. to this year’s event. Tim’s first spot… “Ricky, get off my Trans Am!” still makes me chuckle. And “In bed with…” remains a classic. Tim is getting married soon, by the way. *** UPDATE *** Stephen Colbert also did a bit on it and he used some of the outtakes… Thanks to a commenter for providing the link.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Open thread
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Happy Friday! Talk amongst yourselves but keep it about Illinois, please!
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Morning briefing
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Democrats give big bucks to IL17 Eric Sorensen, IL13 Nikki Budzinski, IL6 Sean Casten and IL14 Lauren Underwood…
* A roundup to start your day… * Tribune | Conservative GOP operative Dan Proft’s involvement in Bailey campaign matter raises questions about his role: An internal dispute between Republican governor candidate Darren Bailey’s campaign and a recently departed Bailey political worker has raised questions about the level of involvement the conservative leader of a Bailey-aligned political action committee has had with the Bailey campaign. At issue is an attempt by Dan Proft, a longtime Republican operative and onetime losing candidate for Illinois governor, to inject himself into a potential legal settlement being sought by Brett Corrigan, a Bailey family friend who worked for the campaign for more than a year before leaving around mid-September. Corrigan’s attorney described his client’s complaint as an “internal HR,” or human resources, matter but didn’t provide any additional details. * Politico | The districts seeing the most spending show why House Democrats are in trouble: The bulk of the fall TV spending in the House has gone into defending Democratic-held districts Joe Biden carried comfortably in 2020. * WBEZ | Meeting abortion patients where they are: providers turn to mobile units: In response to increasing abortion restrictions in the region, a Planned Parenthood chapter in Missouri and Illinois is preparing to open a mobile unit providing abortions in southern Illinois. * Tribune | A mobile vasectomy clinic dubbed ‘Nutcracker’ offers free procedures in Midwest amid surge in demand post-Roe: A few days a month, Dr. Esgar Guarín hits the road in his mobile vasectomy clinic, crisscrossing the Iowa heartland to reach patients throughout the state, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles from his Des Moines-area office. The 24-foot-long health facility on wheels is decorated on the outside with large images of sperm and bold-lettered slogans like “One small snip for man, one giant leap for Humankind(ness)” and “It’s time to be responsible: love with respect.” * Chicago Tribune | Proud Boys member from Aurora pleads guilty to assaulting officers in Jan. 6 Capitol attack: James Robert Elliott, 25, who also goes by “Jim Bob,” was charged in December in U.S. District Court in Washington with six counts, including civil disorder, assault of a federal officer, entering a restricted building with a dangerous weapon and carrying out an act of violence on Capitol grounds. Elliott, who is free on bond, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single count of assault during a video conference hearing before U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. * NBC Chicago | SAFE-T Act’s Elimination of Cash Bail a Positive Development, Cook County’s Chief Judge Says: “There is no purge law,” [Justice Timothy Evans] said. “The public does not have to worry about any purge law. Under the current law, nor under the SAFE-T Act, is that a purge law where on the ubiquitous day out there can do whatever they want.” * Sun-Times | New Illinois law gives cops choice not to jail people for small amounts of drugs — a follow-up to our ‘Costly toll of dead-end drug arrests’ investigation: The change follows a Sun-Times/Better Government Association investigation last year that documented the impact of “dead end” drug arrests in which people are briefly locked up, only to see the charges soon dismissed. * Daily Herald | What’s fiction, what’s fact about the SAFE-T Act and the elimination of cash bail: There’s not a hotter topic on the campaign trail in Illinois, or in law enforcement circles nationwide, than the SAFE-T Act, the sweeping criminal justice reform package that will eliminate cash bail starting Jan. 1. And with all that heat has come plenty of confusion and misinformation about what’s really in the bill and what it means for you. * Center Square | Candidates for Illinois treasurer agree on one big change to the office: For all the views the candidates have given since starting their campaigns, the two have agreed on one issue that has been floated for years: joining the state comptroller’s office with the state treasurer’s office. * WSJ | Illinois Is Government Union Heaven: According to Open The Books, which focuses on government transparency, the state has 132,188 public employees with salaries and benefits over $100,000. That’s a total cost of $17 billion. The list includes 10 police department leaders and 18 school superintendents with salaries above $300,000 and some 16,592 retirees with six-figure pensions. Five of the top 10 public school employee payouts are for pensions above $330,000 a year. * WAND | Bailey votes as election day approaches: It was one of the first appearances Bailey has made this week after receiving a telephone threat at his Springfield office from an individual who claimed he would torture and kill Bailey. A 21-year old Chicago man, Scott Lennox, has been arrested in connection with the threats. * WCBU | Fact check: Anderson campaign mailer misrepresents Koehler comments in WCBU interview: A recent campaign mailer supporting Republican challenger Desi Anderson in the 46th District State Senate race inaccurately represents comments by incumbent Democrat Dave Koehler in an interview with WCBU. The issue centers around the no-cash bail provision of the SAFE-T Act that’s set to go into effect on Jan. 1. The ad claims Koehler “told NPR how a man arrested for beating his wife could be released,” implying a result of the no-cash bail system. * Block Club | CTA Boss Says He Won’t Ghost A City Hall Hearing Next Week As Public Pressure Mounts To Address Rider Complaints: CTA President Dorval Carter told aldermen he’ll finally take the hot seat after months of skipping meetings as commuters complain of long wait times, security issues and ghost trains. * WBEZ | Formerly-incarcerated Illinoisans could become a powerful voting bloc: Illinois is one of sixteen states where those convicted of a felony automatically have their right to vote restored upon release from prison. But many of those who are formerly incarcerated don’t realize they have the right to vote. * Sun-Times | Would-be minority pot entrepreneurs say state rules are scaring off investors: Regulations for businesses who got licenses in Illinois ‘social equity’ lottery make it hard to raise cash, panelists at a City Club luncheon said. * Shaw Local | In House District 63 race, a former teacher and incumbent disagree on school choice: Meyers agreed with Reick that there is a high property tax burden within school districts, but he felt various solutions, including consolidating districts and creating charter schools, ranged from “complicated” to outright terrible. * Tribune | Pritzker finds a buyer for Damen Silos, industrial site once featured in ‘Transformers’ movie: MAT Limited Partnership put in a high bid of $6.52 million after the state announced in August it would auction off Damen Silos, a 23.4-acre riverfront property at 2900 S. Damen Ave. with several old, abandoned grain silos familiar to drivers on the Stevenson Expressway. Owner Michael Tadin Jr. said the company and its affiliates will eventually demolish the silos and create a new corporate headquarters, as well as infrastructure to support its trucking fleet, now operating out of 10 acres at Stockyards Industrial Park in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. * Sun-Times | White Sox make it official, name Pedro Grifol manager: “Pedro is a bilingual, modern baseball thinker who brings two-plus decades of experience in a variety of roles — bench coach, hitting coach, winter ball and minor league manager, director of player development and scout,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said in a statement. “He is an excellent communicator and an experienced game planner who brings a high energy and detail-oriented approach to leadership. He is committed to building an inclusive and cohesive clubhouse, and we could not be happier to have Pedro leading our club.” * Indy 100 | Man named Dick Bigger Jr becomes unlikely US political icon: He’s a farmer from Henderson County, and appears in one of her campaign videos, where he struggles to get his words out, providing a whole load of bloopers. “Oh boy”, he sighs, after several attempts at one tongue-twisting sentence. Not only that, but naturally people are obsessing over his NSFW name, despite being an innocent old man. * Huff Post | Jimmy Kimmel Spots The Filthiest-Sounding Political Endorsement Maybe Ever: Jimmy Kimmel spotted a pretty unusual political ad that was made for a candidate in Illinois but that’s getting attention far beyond the state’s borders for an unexpected endorsement. It’s “not a major name,” Kimmel noted. “But a really good one.” That name? Dick Bigger Jr., a farmer featured in a spot for Susana Mendoza, a Democrat seeking reelection as state comptroller. More to come!
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Live coverage
Friday, Nov 4, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Follow along with ScribbleLive…
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