Nurses represented by the Illinois Nurses Association are joined by colleagues from the American Federation of State and Municipal Employees Union to conduct informational picketing to call attention to the woeful staffing conditions at both Chicago-Read Mental Health Center and the Illinois Veterans Home at Chicago.
Chicago-Read Mental Health Center is a state-run inpatient JCAHO-accredited facility with between 150 and 200 beds located on the northwest side of the city.
The Illinois Veterans’ Home at Chicago offers 200 private rooms with baths. Its open floor plan creates community around pods of living and dining spaces. The home accommodates veterans seeking skilled nursing and memory care.
In 2021, Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a statement announcing a statewide recruitment and retention campaign to more fully staff state-run health agencies. According to INA, the agencies have not responded to this clarion call for new staff.
Nurses who work at the VA Home at Chicago have filed a number of complaints about inadequate staffing and consistent payroll issues. According to the INA, The Chicago VA location employs 12 RNs and these nurses care for 24 veterans. Nurses are often required to work alone during the day shift and families of the vets have rightly inquired about why there only one nurse taking care of all 24 patients. Several families have pulled their Vet out of the Chicago VA because of the lack of RNs.
The Purge is an American anthology media franchise centered on a series of dystopian action horror films … The films present a seemingly normal, crime-free America in the near-future. However, the country is a dystopia which celebrates an annual national holiday known as “the Purge,” a day in which all crime, including murder, becomes decriminalized for a 12-hour period.
* Sen. Darren Bailey today, with a bit of italicized commentary by me and some links for you…
We’re standing here today near the spot where two tourists were mugged at gunpoint just outside of their hotel last night.
This is not a test, this is a wake up call. Chicago is living The Purge. When criminals ravage at will and the cops are told to stand down.
JB Pritzker and his cohorts in mayhem are directing the film. With his SAFE-T Act, JB is set to unleash The Purge in neighborhoods all over Illinois as of January 1.
For those who will not see, many in the media, those who deny the hellhole Chicago has become. More people have been murdered in Chicago this year than in New York City and Los Angeles combined [Close, but not accurate]. Let that sink in. More than 500 deaths so far.
JB Pritzker, Lori Lightfoot and Kim Foxx are personally responsible for this.
For those who will not see, lift the veils from your eyes before they’re ripped away by one of the gangs or criminals that our leaders have set free.
Watch the video of a gang of armed robbers terrorizing Wicker Park residents Monday. The cops spotted them getting away, but they were told to stand down. Don’t try to catch them. Don’t pursue, was the words. That’s the rule in Chicago. Those Wicker Park robbers are serial criminals. They went off scot free and they will return.
Alderman George Cardenas, a Democrat, tweeted in a response, ‘Public Safety in Chicago is a joke. Why bother calling the police?’ Except it’s not a joke. It’s a nightmare.
Chicago has strict vehicle pursuit guidelines that make it impossible for police to do their jobs and let criminals go free. [If the city is going to have these pursuit guidelines to protect innocent bystanders, then it really needs alternatives, like drones and helicopters, and it needs them soon.]
And it gets worse. JB is so enamored of these horrific rules that he passed legislation that imposes them on the entire state of Illinois.
Soon, all of Illinois will look like Chicago, like a scene from a horror film come to life. We can and we must stop this.
He then went on to outline his anti-crime program, which he’s done before. Also, as always, please pardon any transcription errors.
* Bailey seems to be riding a wave of recent TikTok videos claiming Illinois is about to enter The Purge on January 1. Most of the videos are based on false or woefully incomplete information, including a meme produced by a far-right southern Illinois website using call letters that make it look like a licensed broadcast station.
…Adding… It’s spreading like wildfire on these sites…
I see the Safe-T Act being referred to as the "Purge Law" on hip-hop and entertainment news and blogs.
We really have to address how misinformation is spreading because bloggers are searching for content. They're not fact-checking.
There are no “non-detainable offenses” coming on January 1. Those judged a flight risk can be held, as one example. But, there’s been a lot of behind the scenes talk about changing the SAFE-T Act during the post-election veto session, particularly to tighten up some language on who gets released and when, and clarifying some things in the anti-trespassing law. So, this Fox 32 take is mostly correct…
Even some top Democrats concede privately they’d like to amend ambiguous language dealing with exactly when judges will be able to detain violent offenders.
* Last word…
I am trying to imagine someone standing on Restaurant Row in the West Loop, surrounded by gleaming new high rises and some of the best food in the country, and declaring that this place is the purge.
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday introduced a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy nationwide, the most prominent effort by Republicans to restrict the procedure since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
“I think we should have a law at the federal level that would say, after 15 weeks, no abortion on demand except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother,” Graham said at a news conference. “And that should be where America is at.”
Graham’s measure, which stands almost no chance of advancing while Democrats hold the majority in Congress, comes just weeks after he and most Republicans had defended the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe by arguing that allowing states to decide on abortion rights would be the most “constitutionally sound” way of handling the issue.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) suggested Graham had gone a bit rogue with his latest legislation: “That wasn’t a conference decision. It was an individual senator’s decision.”
“There’s obviously a split of opinion in terms of whether abortion law should be decided by the states, which is my preference … and those who want to set some sort of minimum standard,” Cornyn said of the 50-member Senate GOP conference. “I would keep an open mind on this but my preference would be for those decisions to be made on a state-by-state basis.”
* More…
McConnell on Graham’s bill: “you’ll have to ask him about it.” Says most Republicans want to leave it to the states
* I asked Gov. Pritzker’s office for react. Here’s the governor’s response…
Illinois is and always will be a state where we respect women’s rights to make their own decisions about their bodies and their healthcare. The extremists in the GOP told us it should be up to the states to decide and we knew they couldn’t be trusted. A nationwide ban on abortion is not only an egregious attempt to strip away long held rights, but it puts the lives of women at risk. The GOP’s blatant lies are disappointing, but no longer surprising. As Governor, I will never stop fighting to protect every Illinoisans’ right to choose, and I call on all of our representatives to put people over party and vote against a nationwide ban on abortion.
* Sen. Bailey was asked today whether he would support a national abortion ban after 15 weeks…
I’ll have to look at that. I haven’t looked at that. I want to remind people here in Illinois that women are well protected and cared for and nothing is going to change here in Illinois regarding abortions as Gov. Pritzker tries to throw me in that category.
…Adding… DPI…
Today, Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez issued the following statement on Republicans’ national abortion ban:
“The Republican party has made clear that it will stop at nothing to strip women of their reproductive rights. Far-right extremist Republicans in Illinois have threatened to do the same here at home — but we will not let them.”
“The stakes of this election could not be more clear. Now more than ever, we must unite to support Democrat pro-choice champions up and down the ballot who will fight to protect abortion access in Washington and here in Illinois. Together, we will ensure that our state remains a safe haven for those who call Illinois home and a beacon of hope for reproductive rights across the country.”
* For some reason, I haven’t yet posted this story…
The leading candidates for Illinois Governor will meet face to face for the first time, in a set of exclusive prime-time debates hosted by Nexstar Media Inc. next month.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Republican nominee, State Sen. Darren Bailey, have both agreed to participate in two, one-hour debates covering current issues central to voters both regionally and statewide.
The first will now take place on October 6, at Braden Auditorium on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal.
The second debate will be held on October 18 at WGN-TV studios in Chicago.
Both events will take place at 7p.m., airing live on Nexstar television stations serving Illinois and reaching voters in nearly every corner of the state. The debates will also be streamed online, including on WGNTV.com.
* Surrounded by states with abortion restrictions, Illinois remains an oasis for out of state abortion seekers. Better Government Association…
By the time word spread of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24 decision to reverse the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade, an Illinois-based hotline for one of the country’s largest abortion support funds was already about to close for the weekend.
When it reopened Monday morning, the staff was stunned to find 200 missed calls for help waiting for them. Overwhelmed, they had to shut down the line for the week — the first time in the Midwest Access Coalition’s 8-year history — just to catch up. […]
One clinic in the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis saw a nearly 30% increase in those seeking abortions from June to August. In Chicago, one non-profit abortion support group served 4,000 clients this year, already 1,000 more than all of 2021.
“We’re expecting tens of thousands more people to come to Illinois,” said Alicia Hurtado, communications and advocacy manager at the Chicago Abortion Fund, a non-profit group to support abortion access. “We’re just hopeful we can continue to be there for our neighbors, but it’s going to take deep investment.” […]
“We’re expecting tens of thousands more people to come to Illinois,” said Alicia Hurtado, communications and advocacy manager at the Chicago Abortion Fund, a non-profit group to support abortion access. “We’re just hopeful we can continue to be there for our neighbors, but it’s going to take deep investment.”
Since it was founded in 2014, the Midwest Access Coalition supported a total of 3,000 abortion patients. Last year, across a 12-state midwest region, the coalition spent $120,000 on hotels, $15,000 for food and $55,000 on flights, according to its 2021 impact report.
The coalition’s fund helped 800 people in all of 2021. This year, they hit that number in July. As of Sept. 2, the coalition served 1,050 clients with meals, hotels and travel expenses, Dreith said.
“This is a healthcare issue, this is a basic human rights issue and we are in a crisis moment and Illinois needs to act legislatively like we’re in a crisis moment,” said Dreith. “Lives are on the line as far as freedom goes as we see more and more criminalization for providing and accessing health care.
* Axios reports out of state patients cause backlogs in care and are forcing some to have the procedure later in their pregnancies, when treatment is more intensive and costs are higher…
Experts believe that as clinics struggle with demand, the number of abortions performed after the 13th week of pregnancy — which is around the end of the first trimester — might increase.
The procedures can be harder to obtain, because “as pregnancy progresses, the number of people who are skilled to provide that care further goes down,” Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, told Axios.
By the numbers: About 93% of reported abortions in 2019 were performed at or before 13 weeks of pregnancy, 6% were conducted between 14 and 20 weeks and 1% were performed at or after 21 weeks, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At an Illinois clinic, patients from states other than Missouri and Illinois have risen to 40% of cases, compared to 5% before the federal right to abortion was struck down.
* Tennessee already has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancies in the country, and abstinence-only sex education is taught in schools, NPR reports…
Abortion restrictions and bans across the South are forcing people to travel hundreds of miles to get the procedure in states that still allow it. It’s a massive barrier, especially for pregnant teenagers. They have to navigate laws around parental permission, too. For years, Tennessee teens traveled to Nashville to get a judge’s permission for an abortion instead of telling their parents. From member station WPLN, Paige Pfleger reports on what options are left for those teens now. […]
PFLEGER: For years, teens traveled from all over Tennessee to ask Judge Calloway for something called a judicial bypass. It was a rarely talked about part of Tennessee law that let young people go to a judge instead of their parents for permission to get an abortion. Calloway would approve about 10 each year. And half the time, she says teens don’t want to tell their families because they were raped or assaulted, sometimes by a family member.
CALLOWAY: There are at least 10 girls in our community each year that will be forced to have a pregnancy that either they’re not ready for, they’re not prepared for, and they’re going to be forced to do so, even if it is a situation as incest, which has happened.
PFLEGER: Tennessee now has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, with no exception for rape, incest or minors, and a narrow legal defense for the life of the pregnant person. Judicial bypasses are off the table. Welty says she cried when she heard the news. She immediately thought of the teens who would still need help and wouldn’t be able to get any.
The women’s health clinic in Bristol, Tennessee, had a seemingly simple solution to continue providing abortions after its home state banned the procedure this summer: It moved a mile up the road to Bristol, Virginia, where abortion remained legal. […]
Abortion is still allowed in Virginia through the second trimester and into the third in limited circumstances. In a recent poll of state residents, half said they believed the state’s abortion laws were reasonable and should not be altered.
But many in Bristol, Virginia, where Republican Donald Trump won 68% of the vote in the 2020 presidential election, were unhappy to see an abortion clinic come to the city of about 17,000 people.
Anthony Farnum, mayor of Bristol, Virginia, soon received dozens of calls, texts and emails from residents asking him to close the clinic. But the mayor explained he had no power to do so as long as Virginia permits abortion.
Friday, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, acting under an order from the Michigan Supreme Court, put a question before voters this November on whether to protect abortion rights in the state constitution.
Last week, the question was sent to the state Supreme Court after Republican canvassers argued the amendment’s spacing and formatting would confuse voters. The group behind the amendment, Reproductive Freedom for All, appealed the decision to the state’s highest court. Thursday, the court decided to move it along.
“Ultimately, the system works. It may be put under great stress at times, but it works,” said Republican Michigan Board of State Canvassers Tony Daunt, who followed through on a promise to vote to certify if that’s what the Michigan Supreme Court ordered. Daunt took issue with criticism leveled against the two GOP members for voting not to move the amendment forward. He said the issue of the petition forms had never been addressed before and the court decision set a precedent that future boards would now have to follow.
“It is really important for us to recognize that this is a victory for the people of Michigan who signed in such record numbers,” said Democratic board member Mary Ellen Gurewitz.
* Google Maps routinely misleads people looking for abortion providers, a new analysis by Bloomberg News has found…
In this case, medical doctors and reproductive health advocates said, letting the problem fester while debates rage on could lead to real-world harm. “If Google is a pro-science organization, or even just neutral, they would not want to lead people to these places with false advertising that can be harmful to their lives,” said Allison Cowett, the medical director of Chicago-based Family Planning Associates. “These fake clinics are not on equal footing with folks that are practicing evidence-based medicine.” […]
Cowett, the Chicago doctor, told Bloomberg that there is “absolutely, in bold capital letters” a link between Google Maps providing misleading abortion clinic results and the quality of care women receive in the real world.
She said that in Illinois, which is surrounded by states that have placed limits on abortions, the clinic is booked up for weeks on end. Staff have increased their work hours and scrambled to manage the flood of new appointments booked by patients traveling from states the clinic had never seen on its roster before, including Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
More calls to clinics in places like Illinois means it is much harder to get a staff member on the phone, Cowett said. “That means people looking on the internet, more commonly, and making these appointments online,” she said, including people traveling across state lines for care. “If people are driving 10 or 15 hours to see an abortion provider, it could be devastating for them to make an appointment somewhere which actually does not provide abortion.”
It took 174 years for Chicagoans to elect the first Asian American to sit in the City Council – and nearly two centuries for Illinois voters to send the first member of the community to Congress.
Today, at least nine Asian Americans hold elective offices across the state — two of them representing Illinois in the nation’s capital. And voters will get a chance to dramatically increase those previously slow-growing numbers in elections this year and the next.
At least 22 Asian American candidates are running for offices in the November election and the city elections next year, not to mention others running in other local races across the state.
It’s part of a nationwide trend already unfolding in Virginia, Michigan and Indiana — and reflective of a 2020 Pew Research Center study finding that Asian Americans are becoming the fastest growing segment of eligible voters out of the major racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.
This is a very significant shift, and one I’ve been trying to point out for months. It’s possibly as important as the days when Latino politicians were being elected in large numbers. The difference here is that Asian American candidates are not running in majority, or even near-majority districts.
Bailey said that if elected, he would undo the things Pritzker has done while he’s been in office.
“Commonsense tells us to repeal everything that J.B Pritzker has signed into law,” Bailey said. “That is why we are having these problems.”
* Regarding the Proft ad…
A political TV ad titled "The Scream" has aired widely in IL. It's shameful. Victims of crime should never be used as political pawns. Their stories should only be told by them or in ways they've specifically authorized. Statement from advocates @TheCAASE & @CMBWNTheNetwork: 1/6 pic.twitter.com/5168sWd9oS
— Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (@TheCAASE) September 12, 2022
With Labor Day behind us and the summer coming to a close, the residents of Illinois are beginning to focus their attention on the upcoming General Election. I firmly believe that the remaining 62 days should be about the Illinois voters, and ensuring they are given ample opportunity to hear directly from candidates regarding their vision for our state and the office they are seeking.
To that end, I am asking that you join me in participating in three impartial, public and robust debates. Each occasion should provide voters with our detailed visions for the State Treasurer’s Office, and plans to better the lives of all Illinoisans.
To keep the process simple and transparent, and to limit delays to the planning process, I am proposing to use a generally agreed upon format and set of rules for these debates that you will find attached to this letter. Further, I believe each debate should take place a week apart from one another, should be held in geographically diverse locations across the state, and that the media and members of the public should be invited to attend.
More here. Demmer had requested a response by yesterday at 5 pm. Nothing. So, I reached out to the Frerichs campaign…
We are already scheduled to debate in front of the Daily Herald editorial board on September 28th. We are looking forward to it.
I asked if that was really a debate…
When two or more candidates appear together, with a moderator and journalists asking questions, it is a debate.
Thoughts?
* Casten…
U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) has released the following statement regarding the cancellation of the upcoming Drag Queen Bingo program at the Downers Grove Public Library:
“I’m incredibly disheartened to hear that the Downers Grove Public Library is canceling their upcoming event — one meant to celebrate self-identity and self-expression — because Keith Pekau and Awake Illinois created an unsafe environment in our community. They should be ashamed of themselves. They have used their platform to promote hatred, homophobia, and bigotry.
“Let’s be clear. This event was canceled because, after my Republican opponent and his far-right allies at Awake Illinois publicly issued a call-to-action to their supporters, the library received severe threats that endangered our community.
“The 6th District is a place for kindness, love, and decency. Hate has no home here. The fact that Keith Pekau disagrees shows he has no place in public office.”
* CD13…
Last night, it was reported that Senator Lindsey Graham and Senate Republicans planned to introduce legislation mandating a national abortion ban later today. Senator Graham plans to do so with the backing of the radical, anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List, an organization whose endorsement of IL13 Republican congressional nominee Regan Deering proudly promotes.
Josh Roesch, campaign manager for Nikki for Congress, said: “For months, Regan Deering has boasted her support from Susan B. Anthony List, despite their mission to end all abortion full stop. Yesterday, they announced a proposal for a national abortion ban, which is the ultimate Republican agenda. Regan must answer if she will reject SBA’s endorsement and their latest proposed legislation.”
Last week, Deering caved on the issue and tried to distance herself away from the organization over their support of a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest and other extreme measures.
* G-PAC…
The Gun Violence Prevention PAC and Giffords PAC are announcing their first set of endorsements of gun safety candidates who are running in the upcoming Illinois general election on November 8, 2022.
After vetting each candidate’s voting record, policy platforms and responses to a rigorous questionnaire, the leading gun violence prevention organizations are putting their full support behind 15 candidates running for the Illinois Senate and Illinois House of Representatives.
To earn a gun safety endorsement, each candidate demonstrated strong support of the following policies:
Banning assault weapons
Banning large-capacity magazines (LCMs)
Making ghost guns illegal, which G-PAC and Giffords helped pass into law earlier this year
Funding community violence intervention programs
Funding a gun storage public awareness campaign
“Gun violence has become a way of life for Illinois residents and that is unacceptable. In the upcoming election voters are looking for candidates who will stand up to the gun lobby and advance legislation to keep illegal guns and weapons of war out of our communities.” said Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of the Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC). “Gun violence is on the ballot in November and we will work tirelessly to ensure this slate is elected.”
“State legislators have the power and opportunity to make their communities safer from gun violence as they are at the forefront of enacting gun laws that can and do save lives. That’s why we’re proud to be endorsing these gun safety champions today,” said former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. “These candidates understand the devastating impact gun violence takes on neighborhoods across Illinois. They stand ready to enact much needed legislation in the effort to end our nation’s gun violence crisis. Today, I am proud to stand behind these candidates who are ready to make Illinois safer for all.”
Illinois just ended a deadly summer with 29 mass shootings, more than 600 expressway shootings, and more than 1,200 people shot in the City of Chicago alone. Endorsed candidates have demonstrated urgency of this public health crisis and their unwavering willingness to do something about it.
Each endorsed candidate supports our #1 legislative priority when the General Assembly is called into session: banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. These weapons of war have been shown to contribute to both city violence and mass shootings.
The first endorsed gun safety candidates in the 2022 election include:
Illinois Senate:
Sen. Laura Ellman (SD 21)
Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton (SD 23)
Maria Peterson (SD 26)
Sen. Ann Gillespie (SD 27)
Sen. Laura Murphy (SD 28)
Illinois House of Representatives:
Rep. Janet Yang Rohr (HD 41)
Rep. Terra Costa Howard (HD 42)
Diane Blair-Sherlock (HD 46)
Rep. Maura Hirschauer (HD 49)
Rep. Mark Walker (HD 53)
Mary Beth Canty (HD 54)
Rep. Joyce Mason (HD 61)
Laura Faver Dias (HD 62)
Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (HD 81)
Additional announcements are forthcoming on local, state legislative and statewide endorsements.
States invest in public colleges (and give nonprofit status to private ones) to build a better-educated workforce. But what if graduates move away?
The biggest losers of that kind of brain drain are small, rural states — Vermont, West Virginia, New Hampshire — places lacking the urban hubs that offer opportunity to newly minted Bachelors, according to an innovative new data source that uses LinkedIn to estimate how many college graduates stay in-state.
The nation’s capital produces relatively few graduates of its own but draws heavily from the rest of the country, making it one of brain drain’s biggest winners, according to the analysis by economists at the University of North Carolina, the W.E. Upjohn Institute, the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago. The District appears to draw in six times as many graduates as it produces, but data limitations mean that could be an overestimate, the report’s authors say.
While the District is an extreme outlier, it sets a pattern. The other winners are primarily states with cities as large, dynamic and regionally vital as D.C. That would include New York, Washington, California, Illinois, Georgia, Texas, Minnesota and Massachusetts.
Illinois is one of only two states, along with Louisiana, to empower its Supreme Court with the responsibility of appointing interim judges to fill vacancies, according to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice. The Illinois Constitution calls for the interim replacement to run for re-election in a partisan election at least 60 days after their appointment.
(Although Louisiana initially allows the Supreme Court to fill the seat, a special election is called to elect a full-time replacement within a year.)
Because Illinois’ primaries have already occurred and the general election looms in November, [appointed Supreme Court Justice Justice Joy V. Cunningham] won’t face voters until 2024. In fact, of the seven state Supreme Court Justices, only one, Republican David Overstreet, was elected to the court without first receiving an interim appointment.
The process allows the Supreme Court to “replicate itself” by choosing like-minded judges to fill vacancies, University of Illinois College of Law Dean Vikram David Amar and professor Jason Mazzone wrote in a blog post in May.
* The Question: Should Illinois require special elections held within a year for vacancies on the Illinois Supreme Court? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
The industry failed to reach a contract agreement with two unions representing much of the work force, and a federally mandated 30-day “cooling off” period ends on Friday, opening a door to strikes and lockouts. Some freight companies have started to limit services, and Amtrak, which carries many travelers on lines operated by freight railroads, said it would cancel some passenger service starting on Tuesday. […]
Most of the unions agreed to the proposal, pending a vote of their membership. But two major unions are holding out for improvements to working conditions, which they say have steadily worsened in recent years as rail carriers have cut staffing.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the SMART Transportation Division, which represent engineers and conductors, say workers must often stay on call for several days at a time, working 12-hour shifts with little notice, and are penalized for calling in sick.
Together, the two unions represent nearly half the 115,000 freight rail workers covered by the negotiations. While the unions have not committed to striking on Friday, a walkout remains an option, a spokesman said, noting that more than 99 percent of participating members of the locomotive engineers union voted in July to authorize a strike.
Texas has the most miles of railroad tracks of any state but Illinois — and Chicago, in particular — has been the most important hub of US intermodal commerce for more than a century. According to the Association of American Railroads, 25% of all US freight rail traffic and 46% of all intermodal traffic starts, stops or passes through the Chicago region.
While 10 of 12 railroad workers’ unions have struck new labor deals, the two holdouts — the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the International Association of Sheet Metal Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers — account for more than 90,000 rail employees. […]
The timing isn’t good for the trains to stop running. Harvest season across the farm belt is approaching, retailers are stocking up for the year-end holidays, and the economy already faces a stretch of weaker growth and high inflation.
The most immediate concern in the event of a rail strike would be for perishable goods. The American Bakers Association said “even a temporary interruption would create a devastating ripple effect” that would create a shortage of materials and ingredients.
Amtrak is canceling trips on some long-distance routes out of Chicago, as the deadline for a possible strike by freight rail workers looms.
Beginning Tuesday, the passenger rail agency is suspending service on routes between Chicago and San Francisco, the Pacific Northwest and Los Angeles. Service will also be suspended along part of a fourth route out of Chicago, between Los Angeles and San Antonio, Amtrak said. […]
The cancellations are intended to avoid possible disruptions should freight railroad workers walk out on strike while lengthy trips are underway on the California Zephyr, Empire Builder, Southwest Chief and Texas Eagle routes. Though Amtrak workers are not involved in the ongoing contract negotiations, nearly all of the passenger service’s routes outside the Northeast U.S. run on track that is owned, maintained and dispatched by freight railroads, and a walkout could disrupt passenger service. […]
Federal law bars a freight railroad strike or lockout before Friday, and Congress could intervene and block a work stoppage if the unions and railroads can’t reach a deal by the end of the week.
Jermont Terry reported Monday night, service on nine different Metra lines in the Chicago area could also come to a halt if the strike happens. The tracks on the Metra lines are owned by freight railroad companies – and if the rail unions choose to stop operating the trains, nothing will move on the railroads. That goes for passenger and freight trains alike. […]
The BNSF, Union Pacific North, Union Pacific Northwest, and Union Pacific West Metra lines are on tracks owned and directly operated by refight rain companies. Five others intersect with tracks owned by freight partners are dispatched by freight railroads.
The only lines Metra owns, operates, and controls – and that thus would be certain to keep running – are the Metra Electric and Rock Island lines. […]
At issue is the fact that the two key unions representing conductors and engineers have yet to reach a deal. They want better pay, and a better quality of life.
* Freight train workers in Galesburg rallied for better quality of life in July. WQAD…
Representatives from over a dozen unions were at the rally, including Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division Local Vice President Nick Allen.
“We’re just looking for a fair contract for ourselves and our families, looking for the pay raises that we haven’t received since our contract ended in 2020,” Allen said. “We’re just looking to be able to continue to support our families and for what they have to go through for us working on the railroad.”
Workers said companies are also trying to reduce crew members on a train down from two to one, a move they claimed is a safety issue. […]
“We’ve had disasters in Canada, blowing up whole towns with a one-man crew operation,” SMART-TD Illinois Alternate Legislative Director Jordan Boone said. “We run through this town, and we need to be able to get a guy on the ground as soon as possible. And if there’s only one person up there, they can’t get off that motor.”
The railroads are using shippers, consumers, and the supply chain of our nation as pawns in an effort to get our Unions to cave into their contract demands knowing that our members would never accept them. Our Unions will not cave into these scare tactics, and Congress must not cave into what can only be described as corporate terrorism.
Rather than gridlock the supply chain by denying shipments and potentially locking our members out next Friday, the railroads should work towards a fair settlement that our members, their employees, would ratify. For that to happen, we must make improvements to the working conditions that have been on the bargaining table since negotiations began. Penalizing engineers and conductors for getting sick or going to a doctor’s visit with termination must be stopped as part of this contract settlement. Let us repeat that, our members are being terminated for getting sick or for attending routine medical visits as we crawl our way out of a worldwide pandemic.
No working-class American should be treated with this level of harassment in the workplace for simply becoming ill or going to a routine medical visit. Sadly, the Presidential Emergency Board recommendation got it wrong on this issue. As we have said from the day that they were implemented, these policies are destroying the lives of our members, who are the backbone of the railroad industry.
These employment policies have forced thousands of employees out of the industry and make it all but impossible to recruit new workers. With understaffed operations, these railroads abuse their best customers by refusing to provide deliveries consistent with their legal obligations. These self-appointed titans of industry complain constantly about government regulation and interference — except now when it comes to breaking the backs of their employees. It’s time for the federal government to tell the CEO’s who are running the nation’s railroads into the ground that enough is enough. Congress should stay out of the rail dispute and tell the railroads to do what other business leaders do — sit down and bargain a contract that your employees will accept.
While a strike could happen starting Friday, people close to the negotiations tell POLITICO they’re not expecting it — at least not that soon.
“There is this narrative being developed that a work stoppage is inevitable and unions are chomping at the bit,” said a person familiar with the conversations, but not authorized to speak to the press. “My view is that a strike is unlikely, and that the likeliest scenarios are, one, that they reach an 11th hour or 11th hour and 59 minute deal. The second likeliest scenario is they extend the cooling off period so that they can have more time to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s.”
* I’m the oldest of five brothers, so my Uncle Kenny has always been like my older brother. He’s also developmentally disabled. Back in the day, the jocks at his school took him under their wing. Nobody could say anything bad about Kenny or they’d get beaten to a pulp, and he’d be right in there with them. Kenny is the strongest, most generous and loving man I’ve ever known in my life. He’s just a treat to hang out with. He’s overcome so much and has lived a life almost fully in the mainstream, retiring from a state job he held for decades.
Tom Devore is a few years younger than me, but we grew up in about the same era. I was raised in rural Iroquois County, as was my uncle. We had our faults, but we definitely didn’t want people like him around us…
"As for the phrase “window licker,” generally recognized as a derogatory term for an intellectually disabled person, DeVore said he “grew up in a different era.”" https://t.co/EaZ0G3zUUV
Too often, people like this get a pass because they’re deemed as somehow not responsible for what comes out of their mouths. DeVore blames the era he grew up in, instead of the fact that he apparently hasn’t learned anything since then.
Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley is the latest official publicly speaking out against the SAFE-T Act, the abominable Illinois law taking effect statewide on January 1st. Criticism against the law seems to be hitting critical mass as outrage intensifies. The People Who Play By The Rules PAC encourages more officials, States Attorney’s especially, to sound off.
According to his recent special column to the Rockford Register Star, the State’s Attorney for Illinois’ 7th largest county says that “On Jan. 1, 2023, it is estimated that more than half of the inmates in the Winnebago County Jail will walk out the door. Approximately 400 criminal defendants will be released back into our community because our Illinois legislators passed the SAFE-T Act back in 2020.”
PBR PAC President Dan Proft: “I suppose the Winnebago County State’s Attorney is just another fear-mongering racist (like me) according to Governor Pritzker.”
* I asked Jordan Abudayyeh at the governor’s office for a response and she pointed to her comments from a month ago when Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow made essentially the same claims…
To be very clear, the Pre-trial Fairness Act creates a system where detention is based on risk, rather than poverty: that’s why domestic violence groups and other victims’ rights groups support it. There is nothing in the law that requires those suspected of crimes be let out of prison when it goes into effect. There are too many people that have been held not because they’re a risk, but simply because they could not afford monetary bail, and not only does that affect that person in custody but also their family. At the same time, victim’s rights groups have long been concerned that dangerous individuals have been released simply because they could afford to pay bail. Public safety is best addressed by focusing on risk rather than money.
Background
• When the law goes into effect, the State’s Attorney would have the ability to go to court and present evidence as to why a person suspected of a crime should be held, and a judge could rule to hold them.
• The State’s Attorney has seemingly identified 60 people that he believes will pose a risk to public safety if released. That is the first step in preparing for a future bond hearings focusing on the risk factors rather than monetary bail request considerations. The state’s attorneys have time to plan ahead, assessing both the pending and future cases.
• The Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force has published draft conditions flowcharts and considerations for use by all law enforcement and criminal justice officials. They are currently accepting suggestions at pretrialtaskforce@illinoiscourts.gov
Ken: When you’ve been around as long as we have, you’ve seen it all.
John: But one thing I thought I’d never see is Illinois’ state government working again.
Rhona: It’s been a mess for years.
John: We had billions in unpaid bills.
Velma: We didn’t even have a budget.
Amy: But JB Pritzker changed things.
Patricia: JB balanced the budget.
John: He’s filling the rainy day fund.
Dorothy: And our credit has been upgraded.
Rhona: Now I really have seen everything.
VO: JB Pritzker, strong leadership for Illinois.
* Budzinski press release…
Today, the Nikki Budzinski for Congress campaign is launching its first broadcast and cable television ads of the general election. The ad, called “Buttinski”, is a conversation between Nikki and a union steelworker from Illinois about Nikki’s focus on rebuilding the middle class, Medicare negotiating prescription drug prices, and tackling inflation.
The ad is centered on the core message of Budzinski’s campaign - an economic message focused on helping working families in Central and Southern Illinois.
Budzinski is the first candidate to begin paid advertising in IL13 - the campaign executed a robust digital buy that began last week. “Buttinski” will run on broadcast in the St. Louis, and Springfield, Decatur, Champaign media markets.
Chris: “I’m excited about Ms Butt-inski here and how she wants to rebuild the middle class.”
Nikki: “Thanks Chris — it’s Budzinski.”
Chris: “Nikki Butt-inski grew up middle class and knows we need to tackle inflation.
She’ll cut taxes for the middle class and let Medicare fully negotiate down the price of prescription drugs.
Nikki Butt-inski will…”
Nikki: “Budzinski.”
Chris: “Well, she may be a bit of a Butt-inski – but she’s on our side.”
Nikki: “I’m Nikki Budzinski and I approve this message.”
State Senator Darren Bailey (R-Il55), the Republican candidate for Illinois governor, made a campaign stop Saturday at the Palestinian American Club of Bridgeview, Illinois where he spoke in front of a map that erased the state of Israel, depicting the entire region as “Palestine.” The map labeled Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, included Yafo but not Tel Aviv, and restored the Golan Heights to Syria.
* Meanwhile, this relatively new Pritzker campaign video already has 670,001 views as of last check, which is in the top five of all his online videos…
*** UPDATE *** Bailey walked it back today, but considering his past behavior, one wonders how long it’ll be before he doubles down or claims he was taken out of context…
I strongly support Israel I always have and I always will. But I will listen to every one who wants to come to the table and talk.
That was a conversation that I had had with them earlier and I told them, they they told me it was unconstitutional. I said if it is we’ll take a look at that.
In an interview with Palestine TV at the event, Bailey also questioned the constitutionality of legislative measures backed by his opponent Governor JB Pritzker to counter the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
“I’ll always stand on the constitution and it sounds like some of those values are being stepped on right now,” Bailey said in his interview with Palestine TV. “And that makes sense, that’s what’s taking place in every aspect of government with this governor of ours. He doesn’t follow the law, he doesn’t follow the constitution. So the constitution will always be front and center. The Muslim community, the Arab community will always have a seat with me as we learn together, work together, and live together.”
