A recent poll by RMG Research in the 8th Congressional District shows Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi leading Republican Chris Dargis 45 percent to 39 percent with 12 percent undecided. The 400 respondents in the poll also favored term limits and disapprove of President Joe Biden’s job performance.
The unspoken, yet very real concern among some Democrats, is that the party is returning to an unhealthy era of one man control, with Pritzker and his subordinates taking the place of Madigan.
“I guess that remains to be seen and we’ll know fairly quickly, ” said Rep. [Will] Davis. “Not only the effort to raise money but then determining how to spend it. If it’s about supporting incumbent Democrats then we’ll know fairly quickly if there’s going to be a resurgence of dictator-style rule.”
[Former Senate President John Cullerton] sees it differently. “There’s an opportunity for someone who can go out and fundraise legally, a chairman, to go out and make it a national effort to raise money for the Democratic Party in Illinois, ” said Cullerton. “We’ve never done that. When Madigan was chair, he only raised money for House Democrats. This would be for the lower-level candidates – the sheriffs and county clerks in the marginal counties downstate. Robin couldn’t do that legally. So of course Elizabeth’s going to raise more than Robin did. Almost by default.”
I’m guessing that Pritzker isn’t gonna want to be governor for 50 years.
Paul Lange believes someone should always have a choice when they walk into a voting booth.
Lange, 67, is recently retired commodities broker who worked in Quincy but lives near Mendon. He has thrown his hat into the ring to run as the Democratic candidate for Illinois’ 15th Congressional District.
It was a district that wasn’t configured to be favorable for Democrats, who had to cede most of downstate Illinois during the redistricting process. Most of the state south of I-80 now votes Republican.
So Lange is looking for a Rocinante, much less a Sancho Panza. He knows his opponent, Republican incumbent Congresswoman Mary Miller, who defeated Rodney Davis in the June 28 GOP primary, is one hell of a windmill in the bright red 15th District.
“I knew because of this district … I knew it’d be unlikely that another person would step up on the Democratic side,” Lange said in an interview with Muddy River News.
* I think the term for this is perennial opportunism…
Bob Fioretti, challenging Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, apparently on board the Darren Bailey governor campaign joining with Jeanne Ives pic.twitter.com/RonFZXBcZX
— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: “Famous Friends” country star Chris Young will perform Wednesday afternoon for Illinois Democrats’ unity gathering at the BOS Center in Springfield.
The BOS Center thing is in the morning. Young will be performing at the Governor’s Day event at the state fairgrounds. Show should start at 1 o’clock or so.
* More…
* Chicago aldermen embrace The Great Resignation: “What Mayor Richard J. Daley did was surround himself with 50 aldermen, and he’s in the circle,” said former nine-term alderman Dick Mell. “And all the arrows and slings would hit the aldermen so he could do the big things he wanted to do as the mayor. Now the aldermen all think they’re these great legislators and they’re spending all this time deciding whether Lake Shore Drive should be DuSable Drive.”
In June 2012, I collaborated with public-radio reporter Sarah Koenig on an episode of “This American Life” to blow the whistle on Journatic’s shady tactics. The fallout was instant: The Chicago Tribune and others suspended Journatic or ended their contracts. But Journatic’s canny chief executive, Brian Timpone, didn’t fold; he went underground — rebranding the company multiple times in the process.
A few years ago, Timpone switched gears after hooking up with conservative pundit Dan Proft through the Illinois Policy Institute, a right-wing think tank that then had financial ties to Bruce Rauner, Illinois’ recent ex-governor. The pair began building a mini media empire that intentionally put a conservative slant on backyard journalism — the Sinclair Broadcast Group of local newspapers. (Timpone and Proft did not respond to requests for comment sent by email.)
That mission is accomplished if you look at the sheer numbers. Metric Media boasts that it publishes “over 5 million news articles every month” and claims to be “the largest producer of local news in the United States.” A 2020 New York Times investigation pegged 1,300 news sites with Timpone’s fingerprints on them — far outnumbering those of Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper chain. But because it’s pink-slime journalism, it’s not all under one banner. Many have been laundered through a web of networks with vague names such as LGIS News Service, the Business Journals and Newsinator.
The People Who Play By The Rules PAC has launched new TV and radio ads, “Summer of Joy – Stop Chicago Violence From Coming To Your Town, Vote NO on JB Pritzker.”
Chicago violence is coming to the suburbs. Pritzker will set free those charged with, among other things: Burglary, Arson, Kidnapping, 2nd Degree Murder, Aggravated Battery, and more. And yet we have Mayor Lori Lightfoot calling it “The Summer Of Joy” in Chicago. It is anything but.
The ads will run statewide and are available on YouTube and the PBR PAC Facebook page.
Chicago Mayor LORI LIGHTFOOT:
“It will be the summer of joy in Chicago”
VO:
Thanks to Governor Pritzker, the lawlessness of Chicago will soon be the law statewide.
JIM GLASGOW, Will County State’s Attorney:
“That law goes into effect, our hands will be tied. All their bonds will be extinguished on January 1st”
BOB BERLIN, DuPage County State’s Attorney:
“We’re going to have violent criminals out on the street.”
VO:
That’s why 100 of Illinois’ 102 Illinois State’s Attorneys oppose Pritzker’s mandatory release of violent criminals. Stop Chicago violence from coming to your town. Vote NO on Pritzker.
–
:60 RADIO SPOT Transcript:
Chicago Mayor LORI LIGHTFOOT:
“It will be the summer of joy in Chicago”
VO:
Instead, the trio of Pritzker, Lightfoot and Foxx have made this another summer of murder, mayhem and chaos.
Mother of murder victim Servando Hamros:
“My granddaughter called me to say ‘help me, my Daddy’s shot.’ And then they executed him in front of her. And then they shot her.”
VO:
Thanks to Governor Pritzker, the lawlessness of Chicago will soon be the law statewide. Pritzker’s so-called “SAFE-T” Act makes Illinois a safe haven for violent criminals. That’s why 100 of Illinois’ 102 County State’s Attorneys oppose Pritzker’s mandatory release of alleged murders, kidnappers and arsonists.
Prosecutors like Will County State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow:
“It’s going to be literally the end of days.”
And prosecutors like DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin:
“We’re going to have violent criminals out on the street.”
VO:
Stop Chicago violence from coming to your town. Vote NO on Pritzker. Paid for by People Who Play By The Rules PAC
In August of 2021, police say, Brittany Griswold, 35, of Geneseo, was behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle involved in a fatal collision in Rock Island. The head-on crash resulted in the death of Cecilia “Ceci” Nache, 49, of Rock Island.
Griswold was charged with two felony counts of aggravated driving under the influence, reckless homicide and aiding/abetting or possession of a stolen vehicle.
Her bail was set at $50,000, but she was released on her own recognizance. She was freed on a written promise to return, in other words, without posting bond.
Represented by former judge and prosecutor Larry Vandersnick, Griswold did not spend a day in jail. After multiple requests by a reporter for a copy of her jail mugshot, Griswold was fingerprinted and photographed — one year after the crash.
On March 27, 2019, police said, Armand Cannon, 27, of Grand Mound, was behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle involved in a fatal collision in Moline. The crash resulted in the death of Tammy Loos, 51, of Milan.
Cannon was charged with aggravated driving under the influence, aggravated reckless driving, reckless homicide and aiding/abetting or possession of a stolen vehicle.
His bond was set at $250,000. He was assigned a court-appointed attorney.
While Griswold never spent a day in jail, Cannon remained behind bars for the three years it took for his case to go to trial. In May, he was found guilty of all charges. […]
“It seems grossly inequitable that one person walks while the other cannot possibly come up with the cash bail, which the judge must have known, given the defense counsel was appointed,” [Ben Ruddell, director of criminal-justice policy for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, after being supplied with the basic details]. “How much money you have shouldn’t be a factor.” […]
Blanca Leal, one of three sisters of Ceci Nache, who died in the crash with Griswold, said someone from her family had attended every one of the court hearings. They were disappointed, she said, when they learned Griswold never was processed through the jail, and her high-profile attorney was able to get her released without serving a day.
Bail reform may result in pre-trial release of other defendants who face the same charges, Leal understands, but the inconsistent treatment, based on money, is a bitter pill.
* Gov. Pritzker on Friday when asked about the Trump raid…
Well, I’m shocked and dismayed, honestly, that Republicans across Illinois haven’t stood up for law enforcement, haven’t stood up for law and order. And instead are standing with somebody that clearly, there is something afoot here that may lead to a prosecution. It seems like, you know, Republicans say that they’re anti crime. And yet here they are standing up for somebody who seems to have committed one.
On the other hand, there’s a presumption of innocence that the governor also talks a lot about. But he does have some nuance…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday called on authorities to “quickly and thoroughly” complete their investigation into potential influence peddling involving a police body-camera manufacturer and a state senator who spearheaded a massive criminal justice reform bill approved last year.
The Tribune reported on Monday that state Sen. Elgie Sims, a Chicago Democrat, was approached in the spring by federal authorities looking into whether Axon Enterprise Inc. either directly or through other lobbying entities improperly tried to influence Sims. The criminal justice legislation he championed and was enacted in 2021 included a slew of reforms, including requiring every police officer in the state to wear a body camera by 2025.
“On this matter, I encourage authorities to act quickly and thoroughly and to hold anyone accountable who should be held accountable,” Pritzker said Monday at an unrelated news conference on Chicago’s South Side.
Local Republicans have been fairly quiet so far about the still-unfolding Mar-a-Lago raid. But not the National Republican Senatorial Committee, whose national finance co-chair is Chicago corporado Ron Gidwitz.
In a weekend note to contributors, the fund-raising committee for Republican senators and nominees pushed all sorts of buttons. “Why did the Biden administration’s DOJ raid Mar-a-Lago? This has NEVER happened before, and it’s a DISGRACE,” the fund-raising pitch stated. “Could Biden be using the government power to potentially PUT PRESIDENT TRUMP IN JAIL?”
It continued: “The ONLY way to STOP this potential ABUSE OF POWER is by taking our critical Election Year poll so we can WIN this November and RESTORE TRUMP’S Majority.”
There was no immediate response from Gidwitz to a request for comment.
* Pritzker campaign…
Darren Bailey has spent his entire political career cozying up to Donald Trump, breathlessly repeating his dangerous rhetoric and promising to enact his harmful agenda. As MAGA loyalists at every level of government wage a relentless campaign to delegitimize the Federal Bureau of Investigation following a search of Donald Trump’s Florida home, Bailey must answer for whether or not he believes the FBI should be defunded.
Republicans wasted no time sowing distrust in law enforcement in an attempt to please the former president, and Bailey quickly questioned the department’s motives, demanding the FBI “immediately explain their actions.”
Voters deserve to know: Does Bailey agree with his party’s radical right-wing comments discrediting the FBI?
• Mary Miller’s declaration that “The “Deep State” DOJ hates President Trump because he is an outsider who won in 2016 by attacking the DC Swamp for failing the American people.”
• Marjorie Taylor Greene’s call to “DEFUND THE FBI!”
• Lauren Boebert’s claim that the “Dept of Injustice” Raiding Mar-a-Lago “Is Gestapo Crap”
• Josh Hawley’s demand that “Garland must resign or be impeached. The search warrant must be published. Christoper Wray must be removed. And the FBI reformed top to bottom.”
• Rand Paul’s assertion the FBI may have planted evidence
“Working families deserve better than a MAGA apologist who chooses a twice-impeached disgraced former president over accountability, justice, and democracy itself,” said JB for Governor Press Secretary Eliza Glezer.“Bailey must be honest about his party’s attempt to hinder a federal investigation and come clean about why he is more loyal to Donald Trump than a U.S. institution vital to democracy.”
* DuPage County board chair Republican candidate Greg Hart…
Safety and security from crime is a top concern of voters. That is why I am so honored to earn the endorsement of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police for DuPage County Board Chairman. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police is the largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the state, and represents over 33,000 active duty and retired police officers.
The Illinois FOP endorsement was given because I fully support our police and the rule of law. My opponent, Deb Conroy, chose to stand with criminals and the radical defund the police movement when she voted for the disastrous SAFE-T Act. The Safe-T Act eliminates cash bail, allowing for the release of violent criminals onto our streets.
DuPage County remains a destination location to live, work, and raise a family because of our safe communities. Keeping our communities safe is my number one priority once elected as DuPage County Board Chairman.
Will you join the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police and help keep this momentum going?
…Adding… Rep. Deb Conroy…
While Greg Hart is trying to exaggerate the facts and scare residents I was doing my job and in a meeting with Director Brendan Kelly and John Thompson discussing the white flag law.
* ILGOP…
In case you missed it, Democrats in the Senate just passed a bill to help bring SOCIALISM to America by hiring OVER 80,000 IRS AGENTS to harass Americans!
Make no mistake, if Democrats continue to hold power, things will only get worse. They’re ready to implement MORE tax hikes, more government regulations, and more attacks on our way of life.
We’re fighting back against Democrats’ extreme socialistic policies. We’re working to build a state and a country where citizens can succeed, but we’re up against a wall.
Democrats are raising MILLIONS and MILLIONS to push the socialist agenda. With the election less than 90 days out, we need to keep up!
Rich, can you RUSH a quick donation before our mid-month deadline so that we can DEFEAT SOCIALISM this November?
The US can never be a socialist country. We’re counting on you to help us out.
* From a US Rep. Jan Schakowsky press release…
For far too long, billionaires have enjoyed their mega yachts and trips to space, while hardworking Americans are left struggling to provide for their families. The Inflation Reduction Act will implement a 15% minimum corporate tax so that our richest corporations start to pay their fair share. The bill will also provide funding for the IRS to go after ultra-wealthy tax evaders and will raise at least $124 billion from these tax cheats. Finally, this bill will not raise taxes on any family making $400,000 or less per year, and there will be no new taxes on small businesses. This bill yet again puts people over politics and finally goes after the super rich and corporations.
Kinzinger was a rare republican critic of Trump during his time in the White House. He says the final fracture, his breaking point, came on Election Night 2020 when Trump called for an early end to the vote count while he was ahead.
“We talk about democracy – Republicans love to talk about the Constitution – and yet we’re openly violating it now,” he said.
An analysis last year of Chicago Police Department deployment data appears to raise questions about whether Chicago police officers are consistently on the street at times when most shootings happen in the city. […]
The separate “GPS Analysis by Time of Day and Day of Week” included a 10-year review of shooting data, which examined days of the week. It showed that on weekdays, shooting incidents peak during the 9 p.m. hour. But on weekends, shooting incidents rise until 2 a.m. and then start declining.
The analysis further examined GPS data for three types of patrol responses in the so-called Tier 1 and Tier 2 districts, where most shootings happen — non-tactical district units, tactical district units and the citywide Community Safety Teams, which were launched by Brown as part of his crime-fighting strategy.
The analysis period was between June 2020 and February 2021. In all three categories, the number of officers working in the field, or on the street, appeared out of sync with the number of shootings on the weekends, according to the report.
The city had 167 carjackings last month, up 11% from last July. There were 149 cases in July 2020 and 53 in July 2019.
City records show that Chicago police have made arrests in slightly less than 7% of this year’s hijackings. The arrest rate for 2021 carjackings is 13%. It’s important to note that arrest rates for previous years are typically higher than current periods because police have had more time to identify offenders and secure charges from the state’s attorney’s office.
In 2021, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges in 75% of the carjacking cases that Chicago police brought in, according to the prosecutor’s office data.
…ADDING… Media advisory…
ADVISORY: 9:15 a.m. Tomorrow Aug. 16
Sen. Villa, Rep. Stava-Murray, Community Leaders, Advocates Attend Public Court Watching in Support of Ending Money Bond
Pretrial Fairness Act is law and will go into effect January 2023
WHO:
State Sen. Karina Villa, (D-West Chicago)
State Representative Stava- Murray, (D-Downers Grove)
Katrina Baugh, The People’s Lobby
George Gutierrez, formerly incarcerated community member
Pastor Nathan Perrin, Lombard Mennonite Church
Reverend Dwight Stewart, United Methodist Church
WHAT:
Elected officials, community members and activists will attend public bond court hearings followed by a press conference where they will discuss their support of the Pretrial Fairness Act, which eliminates money bond in Illinois.
After saying there would be a special session “in the coming months,” it’s unclear if legislative leaders will make that happen.
In July, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling returning the issue of abortion to the states, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, and Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said they planned to “convene a special session in the coming months.”
“In the coming weeks, as the ripples of the decision to overturn Roe [v. Wade] are felt throughout the nation, we expect to get an acute sense of our needs and how Illinois can play an even more vital role in standing up for reproductive freedom,” the three said in a join statement July 5.
Weeks later, House Democrats announced closed-door working groups with only Democrats discussing a variety of issues, including gun control, social media and mental health. […]
Separately Friday, Senate President Don Harmon’s office said topics are still being discussed and no additional dates, outside of veto session in November, have been scheduled at this time. […]
State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, last month said he doesn’t think a special session will happen.
“And I think anything they put up on the board they will probably find very difficult to find the votes for,” Butler told WMAY.
It will indeed be difficult finding the votes for bills with immediate effective dates because those will require three-fifth super-majorities in both chambers and that might be cutting it too close for some of the stuff they want to work on.
* Gov. Pritzker was asked about a special session on Friday…
Working groups are hard at work in the House of Representatives, working on various aspects of legislation, working with advocates, listening to them. So, we’re cautiously optimistic that they’ll be able to come up with ideas for us to be able to bring forward in a special session, or in veto session, or some of it may even be in the new year. So that’s essentially what we’re looking at right now. We want to make sure that everybody’s brought together so we have the best legislation put forward possible.
* Thanks to a reader for this photo from Sunday’s India Day Parade and Festival in Naperville. Quite the bipartisan gathering to celebrate India’s independence…
Still struggling with high gas prices? Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey is offering a chance at some relief.
Bailey plans to give away a $100 gas card each day of the Illinois State Fair to a name drawn from among the people who sign up for the giveaway at the GOP tent on the fairgrounds. Bailey says the giveaway is designed to ease the pain of what he calls Governor JB Pritzker’s “monstrous” 2019 gas tax hike.
That’s when the state enacted a higher gas tax to help fund road and other infrastructure projects.
* In June, Sen. Bailey said he wanted to eliminate the 2019 gas tax increase. WMBD…
In 2019, the gas tax doubled and now sits at 39 cents per gallon. Bailey said the first step toward relief is cutting out the taxes that he said are exacerbating the problem.
“We should permanently roll back the J.B Pritzker, Avery Bourne gas tax. But if we can’t do this, we should at minimum eliminate the sales tax on motor fuel. Friends here in Illinois, we tax tax,” Bailey said.
Bailey said he wants to get the message out to the public, so they will contact their local lawmakers and urge them to get to Springfield and work on the problem
Beginning July 1 and continuing through the end of the year, the motor fuel tax will remain at 39 cents for gasoline and 46.7 cents for diesel. Had the tax increase not been suspended, it would have increased to 41.1 cents for gas, per the rules put in place by the 2019 doubling of the tax.
The ongoing uproar over Darren Bailey’s 2017 claim that the Holocaust “doesn’t even compare on a shadow” to the lives lost to abortion reminded me of a scene in an old movie called “A Bronx Tale.”
The claim Bailey made on Facebook exploded into view courtesy of a brutal TV ad by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s campaign. The ad begins with an announcer previewing an already-used video clip of Bailey saying he would not allow a woman who was raped or a victim of incest to have an abortion.
“You may have thought you heard everything that Darren Bailey had to say about abortion,” the voice-over person says before the clip is played. “But that’s not all Darren Bailey has said,” the person continues as the newly unearthed clip is shown to viewers.
The closing tagline of “Darren Bailey, too extreme for Illinois” is then flashed on the screen. That’s pretty close to the same language used in Democratic ads that aired during the Republican primary.
There are those who say judging from experience, if Pritzker is using something this over the top in August, then oh my goodness he must have some really strong opposition research in store for voters when the campaign cranks up this fall.
That could very well be, and it doesn’t help matters much right now that Bailey’s billionaire GOP primary benefactor Richard Uihlein has not directly contributed any money to Bailey’s campaign since the primary, so attacking when your opponent can’t fight back has its advantages.
Bailey released a response video to another Pritzker TV ad (calling him out for hypocritically taking millions in federal farm subsidies while opposing other government social programs) that has so far received views in the hundreds, not the millions who would see something on TV.
Either way, this is a true political beat-down. And it didn’t stop there. Bailey at first walked his comments back by saying, “The Holocaust is a human tragedy without parallel. In no way was I attempting to diminish the atrocities of the Holocaust and its stain on history. I meant to emphasize the tragedy of millions of babies being lost.”
Then, the very next day, Bailey told Fox 32’s Dane Placko his words were “taken out of context as they typically are” and blamed reporters.
Then, Bailey was asked by a Fox Valley radio station host if he needed to apologize. Instead of doing so, Bailey laughed and said, “The Jewish community themselves have told me that I’m right,” and he went on to claim “the Jewish rabbis” he’d met with had told him he was “actually right.”
Bailey inexplicably kept the story alive, and Pritzker took full advantage, pounding away at his opponent every chance he got. And since then, the Pritzker campaign has piled on by providing some opposition research to reporters about other Bailey Facebook posts.
The Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition recently issued a press release complaining that “Multiple social media posts by gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey and his wife are Islamophobic, antisemitic, and xenophobic.”
And that brings me back to the movie, which follows a young Italian-American boy as he learns life lessons from those around him, including from some mobsters.
In the scene, a biker gang known for busting up bars unwittingly walks into a mob-owned bar and, after being told they could stay for a couple of beers, begins to cause trouble. The top mob boss tells the bikers to leave. After being rudely rebuffed, he quietly walks to the front door and locks it, then turns around and faces the bikers: “Now youse can’t leave,” he says.
The mob boss’ underlings immediately stream in through the back door brandishing baseball bats, pistols and other implements of destruction and absolutely pummel the bikers, who are then dragged outside and beaten some more, including by bystanders.
And that’s basically how the rest of this campaign is going to go, even when/if Bailey’s coffers are replenished. Pritzker never took his foot off of Bruce Rauner’s political throat four years ago even though he was way ahead in the polls, and he kept whacking Richard Irvin long after Irvin was clearly no longer viable in the recent GOP primary.
It’s just how they roll over there. Toss in the fact that Pritzker helped found a Holocaust museum and abortion rights is an issue that appears to animate him, and you can understand the desire to go all-out on this one.
* Related…
* State Week: Online posts keep Bailey on the defensive
What could add even more to the fund is passage of HB 4118, sponsored by @RepHalpin … HB 4118 would send $200 million into the fund at the end of each fiscal year or whatever is necessary to ensure the rainy day fund is 5% of the state budget. #twillhttps://t.co/3vHdQ2iITJ
Amends the State Budget Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that “general funds” or “State general funds” as used under the Act includes the Pension Stabilization Fund. Amends the State Finance Act. Provides that for fiscal year 2024 and subsequent fiscal years, any transfers into the Budget Stabilization Fund may be transferred to the General Revenue Fund in order for the Comptroller to address outstanding vouchers, and shall not be subject to repayment into the Budget Stabilization Fund if the bill backlog as determined by the Comptroller on June 30 of that fiscal year exceeds $4,000,000,000.
If the amount of the backlog of bills reported by the Comptroller on June 30, 2023 and each June 30 thereafter is an amount less than $3,000,000,000, on the last day of each month of the next fiscal year, or as soon thereafter as possible, the Comptroller shall order transferred and the Treasurer shall transfer from the General Revenue Fund to the Budget Stabilization Fund the lesser of (i) $200,000,000 or (ii) the amount necessary to maintain resources in the Budget Stabilization Fund that is equal to 5% of the total general funds revenues of the prior fiscal year, in equal monthly installments.
This is Reagan’s original rendering. I think she was in high school when she did it. Figured it was relevant for the Pork Patio lol pic.twitter.com/MhzvVQ1pLU
* Though my first week of official employment was delayed after contracting COVID, I’ve finally started as a reporter for Capitol Fax. Maybe you’ve noticed some of my blog posts, or even commented on one. My favorite post on the blog so far was the coverage surrounding the Annual Redneck Fishing Tournament. Check it out if you have a chance.
Every time I would get a new comment on something I put together, it would hit me that people were enjoying and discussing something which had my name attached to it.
I’m looking forward to my future reporting - especially next week because I have an awesome job that has me covering the Illinois State Fair in Springfield (I grew up attending the other state fair in Du Quoin). A big thank you to Rich for being patient with me and helping me get rolling.
I hope you follow along as I cover Illinois politics and grow as a political reporter.
If you ever have any suggestions or just want to introduce yourself, feel free to DM me on Twitter: @IsabelMMiller!
* Sen. Darren Bailey lashed out on Facebook this morning at reporters who are reading his Facebook posts…
Political pundits, and all this other nonsense of digging back in our Facebook posts of 5, 6, 7 years ago. It’s absolute nonsense. And that’s the problem with government here in Illinois. They want to deal with the way things always have been and they don’t want to move forward and do something new and try to figure out our problems, trying to get crime under control, try to ease your burden of taxes so you can stay and flourish and raise a family here in Illinois. And guess what schools getting ready to start. No one wants to talk about making sure our schools are in proper order. The only thing they want to talk about is CRT and sex education and that’s absolute nonsense. Friends, that new day is coming to Illinois, and I know that people all across this state get that we’re fighting for you. You’re fighting with us, and we’re going to change Illinois.
Notice how he never disavows those posts or says he now believes something very different. He simply chafes at a little bit of scrutiny.
I served 17 years on our local school board of education from 1995 to 2012. Cindy and I have been very instrumental in our community. We’re Rotary members. We’re very, very active in our church We’ve always focused on the youth. And when it came to a back to that to 2017 date, many people might remember that, you know, the Illinois General Assembly came into session. Over the July 4 weekend, we were celebrating Cindy’s birthday that weekend. And yeah, I believe it was a total God thing that I was totally checked out of politics, because politicians are corrupt. Politicians are lazy. Politicians, you know, just make life harder for us by by doing what they do, and, and I wanted nothing to do with it. And I found it a little easier, especially when I discovered that, you know, the General Assembly had checked in under the guise of the Fourth of July weekend, I began exposing what I was discovering, within my Facebook group, and it exponentially grew. And I just kept complaining, I really liked that it’s easy to complain, you know, on social media, but in our area the day came when our friends and our family began to come and say you need to represent us and I knew I was in trouble. And I said absolutely not. But Cindy understood the the bigger plan. And again, we laid that down to our church in our community, prayed, fasted, and it just became evident that this is the new mission field that God wanted us to approach. And we’re very blessed that our three sons were able to manage to take over my role on the farm, and that our daughter was able to accomplish the co-administration of Full Armor. So that alleviated us because they knew we’re in this full time, we’re putting 150% of our energy into getting the state under control. We believe it is that important.
TL/DR: The end of the Rauner impasse is what set him off and his spouse was instrumental in getting him into the race.
* Also, it turns out that Bailey’s running mate agrees that comparing things to the Holocaust is a no-no…
“Wearing a #MAGA hat is the equivalent of wearing a swastika or a confederate flag”, @karenhunter on @SXMUrbanView. I wonder how people of Jewish descent feel about that comparison. There is a painful history associated with those symbols of hate.
* Meanwhile, the Pritzker campaign found a couple of Democratic sheriffs…
As Darren Bailey attempts to bolster his flimsy voting record and feign support for law enforcement, he once again finds himself in hot water for protecting the disgraced former president instead of police officers. When asked for comment on the FBI’s raid of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home following months of investigations into the former president’s role in the January 6th Capitol attacks, Bailey joined scores of other Republicans in casting doubt on the FBI’s legitimacy and demanding that the FBI “immediately explain their actions.”
Bailey has consistently refused to denounce the deadly insurrection on January 6th, where numerous Capitol police officers were brutally attacked.
He’s also spent the last four years voting against bipartisan legislation that supports law enforcement. Bailey voted against the single largest investment to expand cadet classes in Illinois history, $10 million for a local law enforcement retention grant program, and $8 million for a multi-year equipment replacement program at the Illinois State Police.
“Talking about supporting law enforcement and actually supporting law enforcement are two different things,” said Rick Watson, St. Clair County Sheriff. “When the going gets tough, Darren Bailey has failed first responders and proved that he treats support for the men and women who put others before themselves only as a political convenience.”
“Darren Bailey’s hypocrisy puts the public at risk. He talks about supporting law enforcement, yet in the same breath suggests nefarious motives simply because holding his favorite president accountable is an inconvenience to his campaign,” said John Idlenburg, Lake County Sheriff. “Meanwhile, he votes again and again against public safety measures and resources for our first responders.”
To date, Bailey has voted against:
• Strengthening the Illinois State Police Division of Forensic Services
• Strengthening safety for first responders on state highways
• Installing hundreds of highway cameras and doubling state police presence on Chicago-area interstates in response to on-road violence
• Providing tens of millions of dollars for police body cameras, retention grants, and mental health screenings
• Building new, state-of-the-art forensics labs to provide law enforcement with the resources to solve crimes
• Delivering millions of dollars to local fire departments to purchase firefighting and ambulance equipment
• Requiring municipalities to coordinate 911 and 988 services in order to respond to mental and behavioral health emergencies with proper emergency care, reduce danger to those in crisis, and lessen the burden on local police
* CD3 leans pretty heavily Democratic. The only Republican to win the district was Comptroller Leslie Munger in 2016. The Fair Tax lost in the district by 6 points Some commenters were right. I was accidentally using old numbers. No Republican won this district, and I don’t have Fair Tax numbers for the new districts…
Today, Giffords PAC, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, announced its endorsement of nine candidates running for the US House of Representatives to challenge the influence of the gun lobby in Washington. Each of these candidates will play a crucial role in ensuring that the issue of gun safety remains at the forefront of our policy decisions.
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords:
“The candidates we are endorsing today are the kind of fearless champions we need to end gun violence in America. Each one has proven to be a leader with the courage to act. At the state and local level around the country, they’ve stood with communities rocked by gun violence and pushed for legislation that will make all Americans safer.
“As we know all too well, the current House majority is one of the slimmest in decades. If we want to enact lifesaving reforms to stem America’s epidemic of gun violence—like universal background checks and strong extreme risk protection order laws—we must work to expand our gun safety majority this fall. Giffords is proud to help this group of challengers get to Washington DC so they can stand up to the gun lobby and deliver clear victories on gun safety legislation for the American people.” […]
Delia Ramirez (IL-03): State Representative Delia Ramirez is an accomplished legislator, community leader, and coalition builder who has dedicated her life and career to advocating for working families. Having grown up in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood—where gun violence is all too common—Representative Ramirez is acutely aware of the need to solve the root causes of crime and violence. She knows that building safe communities requires a comprehensive plan that includes funding community-based youth programs and mental health services, investing in domestic violence prevention, and reinvesting in communities that have long been neglected. As a state legislator, she fought to do just that—and secured $250 million for community-based violence prevention in neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence. Representative Ramirez also supported the Illinois General Assembly’s critical “Fix the FOID” legislation, which expanded background checks for firearm purchases across the state of Illinois. In Congress, we know she will be a strong proponent of passing universal background checks, banning assault-style weapons, reducing the flow of illegal guns across state lines, and adequately funding street outreach and intervention programs.
Marlon Watson, leader of the Freedmen Descendants of Chicago, and Pastor Anthony Williams of King International Ministry are calling on Chicagoans to draft state Rep La Shawn Ford to join a growing field of candidates challenging Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Thursday night, they expect a group of about 100 Chicago residents to gather at The Quarry Art & Cultural Center, 2423 E. 75th St., to garner support to launch Ford’s run for mayor.
Pastor Williams ran for US Senate as a Republican this year, receiving just 7.4 percent of the vote. He’s also run in Democratic, Libertarian and Green Party primaries, according to the Tribune. His main issue is anti-violence and he pushed hard for the passage of a bill that declared violence as a public health crisis.
As recently as March, Adam Shores and Laura Faver Dias were colleagues on the Grayslake village board. But in November, the duo will face off as voters choose which one will represent the 62nd state House District in Springfield. […]
The two started working together in 2019, when Dias was selected to serve as a resident member of the village’s Economic Development Commission, chaired by Shores. […]
“She was just elected last year, and we’ve had a respectful working relationship,” Shores said of Dias. “I’m proud of my leadership style where I work to find commonality even in the face of opposing opinions.”
When discussing how she and Shores differed, Dias cited the vote she cast in February against the plan to build a Casey’s General Store and gas station at Lake Street and Belvidere Road near the town’s namesake lake.
Dias said more than 500 residents expressed concerns about the project and she chose to take that into account.
“I’m looking forward to a robust campaign and debates when we have them,” Dias said. “Ultimately, it comes down to two people who want to serve in the state legislature and not about my relationship with Adam.”
I doubt the race will remain this cordial, but that’s a really nice piece.
…Adding… CD6…
Pelosi and her political allies are propping up one of their favorite candidates because they know his voting record is out of step with the new 6th District. Read my response to Pelosi throwing millions behind Sean Casten: https://t.co/SnQ4rIGZ1Lpic.twitter.com/kvZP7aY0cN
Union workers at Vandalia Correctional Center in Illinois will not be facing reduced capacity or layoffs in the near future, following protests from AFSCME and local officials.
AFSCME members had mobilized in recent weeks with petitions and appeals to elected officials after an announcement that the state was considering consolidation of populations within the prison that the union felt would lead to a reduction in employees and possibly closure of the prison in the future.
Council 31 pressed the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) and the governor’s office to reconsider while invoking the union’s right to bargain over the impact of the changes.
“This is the culmination of months of work,” said Eddie Caumiant, regional director of AFSCME Council 31 and the union liaison to IDOC.
IDOC’s statement insisted that closing Vandalia was not the intent of the consolidation and conversion review, but that the department was only seeking ways to more efficiently operate the facility as the prison population has declined under recent sentencing reforms in the criminal justice system. Vandalia’s population has dropped from 525 on June 1 to 458 this week, while in February it was as low as 301, according to IDOC.
“At this time we have decided to hold off on the consolidation/conversion at Vandalia,” read the statement from IDOC. “If it is decided in the future to revisit this plan, we will notify AFSCME Council 31 and continue discussions.”
That last part is key, according to Caumiant, as union leaders had made it clear to IDOC that they could not make unilateral changes in the workers’ jobs and working conditions without negotiating.
…Adding… The Pritzker administration insists that no layoffs were ever planned at Vandalia. IDOC was simply trying to move prisoners out of a very old section into a newer section to comply with a consent decree.
This year’s Redneck Fishing Tournament was quite the catch. Over the two days of the tournament, the participants netted over 3,300 of the invasive copi. All the fish together ended up weighing a whopping 20,000 pounds.
Aside from removing invasive species, the tournament also brought more good into the community. Over $6,700 was raised for veterans’ charities with the help of the local VFW chapter in Havana.
The tournament is unique from others, because fishing poles aren’t used. The fish shoot up from underwater whenever a boat goes by, and the participants try to grab the fish out of the air with nets. The first place team alone were able to catch 346 fish in just two hours. […]
Tournament founder Berry DeFord was excited to have a fun way to help with a good cause. DeFord said “We’ve educated thousands of people about the very real dangers of these fish getting in your waterways, raised money to help veterans and had a blast doing it. Can’t wait for next year.”
* Reuters…
Once a year, hundreds of people flock to the small village of Bath, Illinois, about three hours south of Chicago, to take part in the 'Redneck Fishing Tournament.' Competitors help rid the Great Lakes region of invasive carp and raise money for homeless veterans pic.twitter.com/JFgLXnaoDq
* Taste some Copi for yourself at the Illinois State Fair. Press release…
This year, IDNR will offer free samples of a Copi dish from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. the first weekend of the fair, Aug. 12-14. Copi is the new brand name for invasive carp launched by IDNR in June.
“We invite families and children to ‘grow with us’ at Conservation World, where they can learn about everything from archery, fishing and pollinators, to mining, forestry and habitat management. There truly is something for everyone to enjoy at Conservation World,” said IDNR Director Colleen Callahan. “Families are our focus, with free activities and entertainment that will provide a great day at the fair for visitors of all ages.”
During the fair, visitors to Conservation World will be able to purchase hunting and fishing licenses, pick up state park guides, purchase collectible lapel pins, and talk to IDNR staff and conservation officers about wildlife, laws and other topics.
* John Patterson, the spokesperson for Senate President Don Harmon, got some fishing in…
The clock is now running for the publicly traded Rhode Island-based company to win license approval from the state, finalize its proposal with the city’s planning department and get its casino opened on an ambitious timeline.
If all goes well, Chicago gamblers could be splitting aces and pulling slot levers in temporary quarters by next summer, but several hurdles remain.
The Bally’s proposal to build a $1.74 billion casino complex in River West is expected to generate $200 million in annual tax revenue for the city, transform a 30-acre industrial site into a bustling entertainment destination and send the Chicago Tribune packing from its Freedom Center printing plant along the Chicago River.
While the permanent casino is not expected to open before 2026, Bally’s plans to launch a temporary casino at Medinah Temple by June 2023. That may require an accelerated process at the gaming board.
A public park is just one in a 42-item wish list the group submitted to Bally’s. Brian Israel, president of the River North Residents Association, said residents across the river don’t want to be bothered by the loud noise a riverfront music venue would bring. […]
Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th), whose ward includes the River West casino site, said the River North Residents Association hasn’t met with him to discuss its concerns. But if Bally’s agrees to eliminate the outdoor music venue for a public park, he said he’d be “open” to the idea.
“I don’t know how that would affect the deal that was voted on and if that that legally can happen, because I’m sure it’s a part of the financial package in the agreement,” Burnett said.
The West Central Association, the chamber of commerce for the West Loop, hasn’t met with casino officials yet but will in the near future, said President Armando Chacon.
* River North Residents Association met with Bally’s representatives in July…
On July 7, 2022, RNRA leaders met with Bally’s representatives to review our initial 42 project improvement recommendations set forth below, which were published on June 14, based on input from many association members and partners. While RNRA believes that they address essential issues involving this project, the organization remains open to other suggestions as well. […]
Replace the outdoor music venue with a well-appointed and accessible public park, including an onsite Dog Friendly Area and river walk connection. Involve Friends of the Parks in this process.
-Bally’s originally assumed that the outdoor performance venue would be a welcome amenity for the neighborhood, but now understands the significant concerns of nearby residents about associated noise, light, and traffic disruption near their homes. Will consider this request, pending input from other groups.
The Rhode Island-based firm anticipates that 65% of its workers will be minorities and 45% women, with ownership at least 25% minority.
It also predicted “significant” economic impacts, with local taxes eventually reaching $200 million a year, annual gaming receipts of more than $800 million and four million people a year visiting the facility. […]
Under state law, the application itself is confidential, according to the gaming board’s spokesman. […]
The board gave no timetable as to when it will vote on the application. Construction work can’t begin, even at the temporary location, until Bally’s license is approved.
The 2019 state law that created the Chicago casino license and five others across Illinois gives the Gaming Board up to a year to review Bally’s application, with the possibility of an extension beyond that.
State regulators typically have taken at least that long to vet Illinois’ other new casino applicants. More than two years elapsed from the time partners in the Hard Rock Casino Rockford applied for Gaming Board approval until they launched a temporary casino last fall. […]
Bally’s has already made an upfront payment of $40 million to the city, one of the cards the gambling firm put down to beat out two other finalists in Lightfoot’s casino developer selection process. The company also has to pay the state a $250,000 application fee. […]
Potentially easing the process for Bally’s is the fact that it already operates a state-licensed casino in Rock Island, a known entity for the Gaming Board.
Governor JB Pritzker joined the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) today to announce a $34.6 billion program to improve roads, bridges, transit, rail, airports, and ports over the next six years. This funding represents a robust commitment to invest in people and communities backed by the historic Rebuild Illinois capital program.
“Since I signed our historic, bipartisan infrastructure program into law, Rebuild Illinois has undertaken a massive transformation of our state’s transportation systems,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “And today, I am proud to announce IDOT’s new Multi-Year Program for the next six years — with $20 billion going towards transportation investments including 2,500 miles of roads and nearly 10 million square feet of bridge deck and $10 billion going towards our state’s rail and transit systems, airports, and ports. At its very core, Rebuild Illinois and this MYP are an investment in our future — one that leads to economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.”
Of the major elements in the program released today, $6.36 billion will go toward highway reconstruction and preservation, $6.4 billion for bridge improvements, $2.03 billion for strategic expansion, $2.48 billion for system support such as engineering and land acquisition, and $1.55 billion for safety and system modernizations.
For the first time, road projects that add capacity were evaluated by a new Data-Driven Decisions Tool supported by Gov. Pritzker for selecting critical projects to ensure greater equity and transparency in transportation planning and programming. The FY2023-28 Proposed Highway Improvement Program aims to improve 2,562 miles of roads and nearly 10 million square feet of bridge deck. Of the $24.6 billion over the six years of the highway portion of program, $3.7 billion is identified for the current fiscal year. Included in the program are scores of projects in each of IDOT’s nine highway districts.
Thanks to last year’s passage of the federal Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, IDOT increased the investment in Illinois roads and bridges in the six-year program by $4 billion, further advancing Gov. Pritzker’s goals to create economic opportunity and jobs, promote quality of life, and improve safety on both state and local transportation systems throughout Illinois. The 2019 Rebuild Illinois capital plan’s framework and investments ideally positioned Illinois, the country’s transportation hub, to take advantage of the increased federal commitment and leverage additional funding which will help rebuild the state’s infrastructure more quickly and efficiently. The new federal transportation package is expected to contribute almost $16 billion across all modes of Illinois transportation, with the state eligible to compete for billions more in discretionary programs.
In addition to the six-year program for roads and bridges, Gov. Pritzker also released the FY2023-28 Proposed Multimodal Multi-Year Improvement Program further demonstrating the commitment through Rebuild Illinois to build connections across the modes of transportation and strengthen the state’s entire transportation network, resulting in even more economic activity and job creation. The program identifies a combined federal, state, and local investment of $6.5 billion for transit, $2.5 billion for passenger and freight rail, $817 million for aviation, and $150 million for ports. […]
Passed in 2019, Rebuild Illinois is investing a total $33.2 billion into the state’s transportation system over six years, creating jobs and promoting economic growth. Rebuild Illinois is not only the largest capital program in state history, but also the first plan that touches all modes of Illinois transportation: roads and bridges, transit, waterways, freight and passenger rail, aviation, and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.
Entering year four of Rebuild Illinois, IDOT has made approximately $8.6 billion in improvements statewide on 4,422 miles of highway, 412 bridges, and 621 additional safety improvements.
…Adding… Maybe IDOT could start addressing these mounting complaints…
Another sickening tragedy on an IDOT roadway in Chicago. The department urgently needs to either change its design rules to create more pedestrian protections, or just relinquish control of these roads completely. Current policy is a blatant failure. https://t.co/BW7oewuV29
Researchers from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign say the Illinois Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment, better known as the Workers’ Rights Amendment — which will be put to voters in the November 2022 election — would boost incomes and improve working conditions for workers, as well as better the state’s economy. […]
“The data shows that the Workers’ Rights Amendment would protect Illinois’ competitive advantage for essential workers,” said Frank Manzo IV, executive director for the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and one of the report’s authors. “Construction workers, police officers, first responders, teachers, registered nurses all earn between 5% and 35% more in Illinois, and they’re also more likely to have health insurance and to own their homes in Illinois.”
The report also says union workers are less likely to live in poverty and rely on public aid than their non-union counterparts. Union workers also contribute 8% more to state income taxes, according to the report.
An amendment that gives workers the right to unionize, researchers said, would also secure the state’s labor force in a time where the U.S. is experiencing worker shortages in many sectors.
The Workers’ Rights Amendment would prevent the passage of a state law or local ordinance “that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety.”
The Workers’ Rights Amendment would support collective bargaining and the ability of workers to organize and join unions. Union workers in Illinois:
• Earn 14 percent more and are 9 percent more likely to have health insurance coverage.
• Are 3 percent less likely to be below poverty, 3 percent less likely to rely on Medicaid, and 2 percent less likely to rely on food stamp government assistance.
• Contribute 8 percent more in state income taxes, after credits and deductions.
By protecting the right to collectively bargain, the Workers’ Rights Amendment would be good for the economy. By preventing Illinois’ labor market from deteriorating, the Amendment would:
• Protect $43 billion in annual income for Illinois workers and ensure workers can negotiate pay raises that help deal with high inflation.
• Ensure that 281,000 Illinois workers would not lose their health insurance coverage.
• Prevent 135,000 Illinois workers from suffering pay cuts that cause them to lose their homes.
• Keep 70,000 Illinois workers from falling below the federal poverty line.
• Promote safe workplaces and save 900 lives over a decade, because Illinois experiences 32 percent fewer on-the-job fatalities than states that do not support collective bargaining.
The Workers’ Rights Amendment would protect essential workers. Compared to their counterparts in states that do not support collective bargaining, in Illinois:
• Blue-collar construction workers earn 35 percent more, are 17 percent more likely to have health insurance coverage, and are 12 percent more likely to own their homes.
• Police officers, firefighters, and first responders earn 31 percent more, are 1 percent more likely to have health insurance coverage, and are 7 percent more likely to own their homes.
• Pre-K through high school teachers earn 22 percent more, are 2 percent more likely to have health insurance coverage, and are 4 percent more likely to own their homes.
• Registered nurses earn 5 percent more, are 1 percent more likely to have health insurance coverage, and are 2 percent more likely to own their homes.
• Manufacturing production workers earn 3 percent more, are 2 percent more likely to have health insurance coverage, and are 1 percent more likely to own their homes.
The Workers’ Rights Amendment would prevent laws from being passed that would interfere in private negotiations between businesses and workers or restrict their ability to bargain collectively. The Workers’ Rights Amendment would not only promote superior safety outcomes and a strong middle-class economy for Illinois workers and businesses, but it would also reduce burdens on state taxpayers while reducing turnover costs for employers and ensuring labor market competitiveness in the state’s most essential jobs.
Illinois Policy’s Ann Miller said the amendment would allow lawmakers to increase taxes if they choose.
“Illinois businesses are already dealing with a high tax environment, and this amendment would just exasperate that,” Miller told The Center Square. “It opens the door for any kind of policy or anything above and beyond salaries.”
Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, told The Center Square that restaurants and other businesses have had difficulty hiring workers. Miller believes that problem could worsen.
“If we have increased property taxes, it is going to hurt their bottom lines which will hurt their funding,” Miller said. “They might have a harder time finding workers because the cost of business will go up, and employees have the option to strike any day.”
What Amendment 1 would do if passed Nov. 8 is guarantee a $2,149 property tax hike on each Illinois family during the next four years by giving union bosses the nationally unprecedented power to negotiate contract concessions that carry more weight than state law.
The measure would ensure future union strikes over a nearly limitless range of subjects unrelated to wages and benefits. It would allow government union bosses to negate over 350 state laws and give the union contracts dominance over state law. It would make government unions the only special interest with constitutional protection and make Illinois the only state seeing those protections as a good move. It would let government unions protect bad actors from proper discipline, including those who pose a threat to children.
The website is sponsored by Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights, a union-backed independent expenditure committee. It claims Amendment 1 would help voters “build an economy that works for every Illinoisan.”
In reality, the amendment would only benefit the 7% of residents working for state and local governments while the vast majority of voters would see their taxes go up to support greater government union demands that state lawmakers would be prohibited from curbing.
IPI attempts to explain its $2,149 projection here…
Uses compound annual growth rates in home prices as reported by the All-Transactions House Price Index for Illinois from 2010-2021 to project future average home values through 2026. Uses compounded annual growth rate in average property taxes as calculated by U.S. Census Bureau for 2010-2019 to project property taxes through 2025.
* Workers’ Rights Amendment campaign embeds…
Are you ready to vote to: ✅Boost incomes for working Illinoisans? ✅Improve working conditions across the state? ✅Build an economy that works for all of us?
