Fun with numbers
Thursday, Mar 17, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Um…
Sales have fallen significantly since Illinois dispensaries unloaded a record $137 million worth of recreational cannabis products last December, raising concerns that limited supply and sky-high prices could be pushing consumers into the illicit market.
Illinois’ 110 licensed pot shops tallied $117 million in sales in January and just under $114 million in February, the lowest monthly haul since last March.
Massive monthly receipts had been one of the few bright spots for Illinois’ highly regulated recreational pot program, which has generated over $2 billion in sales over its first two years despite some month-to-month dips.
OK, wait a second. Last year, monthly sales ranged from a low of $81 million in February, to a high of $137 million in December. Sales stayed in the range of $115 million to $123 million from April through November, except for a spike in July, which was partly attributed to Lollapalooza. So, we’re back to being about where we were then, and much higher than where we were a year ago.
Also, hmm. Doesn’t December contain a very large religious/consumer holiday known as Christmas? Gifts and holiday partying could’ve been a big reason for that spike.
You see this sort of reporting a lot with crime statistics, only in reverse. Chicago media outlets regularly compare 2020-2022 murder stats to 2019, when the city’s murders were trending lower for three years.
The truth is, February’s cannabis sales were 40.7 percent higher than last February. January sales were 31.5 percent higher than the previous January. Let’s see some more numbers before concluding there’s a gigantic problem that requires mandated price or tax cuts or whatever.
But, yeah, let’s also get more growers and dispensaries up and running, for crying out loud.
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Campaign notebook
Thursday, Mar 17, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* For a guy who doesn’t want to answer questions about former President Trump, this opens the door to even more questions. But, hey, it’s a campaign. Click the pic for the video…
“Bailey and the Never Trumper.”
…Adding… DGA…
“Richard Irvin is desperate to pass his Trump problem off to someone else because he’s afraid to tell voters where he stands,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “After months of dodging questions on who he voted for, Irvin wants to deflect to his opponents — but Illinoisans will see right through his hypocrisy. It’s a simple yes or no: did you vote for Donald Trump?”
* Danny Davis primary opponent Kina Collins…
In the 2020 election, Black women turned out and helped the Democratic party win the Presidency and a majority in the Senate. We are the bulwark of the Democratic party’s voting base, but when Black women like me choose to run, Democratic leadership immediately questions our “electability.”
If the Democratic party wants to rely on Black women to win elections, they have to fight to give us a seat at the table. Representation matters. Period.
Black women have to work twice as hard to raise the same amount of money and convince people of their electability, but we are putting in the work and shifting the narrative. Can you help us keep our momentum going by donating $15?
Donate »
In an Axios article published last Sunday, they asked me about the electability of Black women, and my answer was simple: Democratic leadership say they love Black women — until it’s time to elect us.
If elected, I will be the youngest Black woman ever elected to Congress. I am part of a generation of voters and leaders at the core of the Democratic party and we deserve to be represented in Congress.
She’s not wrong about her party.
* Valencia campaign…
After Alexi Giannoulias yesterday refused to disclose his clients and any investments directed on their behalf while he worked for seven years at BNY Mellon, a major Wall Street bank that has close ties to the gun industry and fossil fuel companies, among others, Secretary of State candidate Anna Valencia released the following statement:
“My opponent is quick to talk the talk when it comes to transparency, but he is refusing to walk the walk. It took less than two weeks for him to break his commitment to Illinoisans that he would always prioritize transparency. But voters deserve to know that instead of fighting the Trump and Rauner administrations over the last decade, he worked as wealth director for a Wall Street bank with clear ties to the gun industry, coal companies and even North Korea. Who else was he involved with?
“He cannot hide behind secret corporate agreements while pledging transparency, especially given his checkered track record that includes losing hundreds of millions of dollars in college savings for Illinois families and serving as senior loan officer at his family’s bank that gave loans to convicted mobsters. Illinois voters deserve to know who exactly my opponent was working for during his time as a Wall Street banker and how he was directing his clients’ wealth. We are waiting.”
Background
Crain’s Chicago Business reported last night that Secretary of State candidate Alexi Giannoulias is refusing to disclose his clients and any investments he led while serving as wealth director for BNY Mellon. The Valencia campaign sent Giannoulias a letter one week ago, on March 10, requesting that he follow through on his pledge to transparency with Illinois voters. Read the letter here.
Now, go to Greg’s update at the bottom of his story…
“Giannoulias’ spokesman is saying a little more. From a statement: “To clarify Valencia’s misguided attempt to distort the facts, Alexi never was an ‘investment banker.’ While he was at BNY Mellon, he never invested any money or directed any investments. During his tenure there, Alexi served as a wealth director whose role was to develop new business and introduce new clients to the firm.”
So he was a rainmaker.
* Republican SoS candidate responds to the whole thing…
As the Democrat candidates for Secretary of State squabble about whose unethical connections are more disqualifying, they are proving the point that independent leadership is needed in the Secretary of State’s office to ensure Illinoisans receive their services efficiently and effectively in all 102 counties.
John Milhiser released the following statement:
“While the candidates on the Democrat side of the aisle point fingers at one another, they are making it clear to Illinoisans that we need leaders, not career politicians, in statewide office. With the indictments of so many Illinois politicians, we need to root out corruption in state government now more than ever. I’ve investigated and prosecuted public corruption, and I have overseen a large executive office covering 46 counties in Illinois. I know what needs to be done to help restore faith in state government, and that’s something my Democrat opponents are not capable of achieving.”
* Irvin campaign…
Out of control crime rates in JB Pritzker’s Illinois are all the more striking when compared to the proven success Richard Irvin has had reducing crime rates as Mayor of Aurora, as recently released stats illustrate.
The facts prove that there have been significant decreases in crime rates in Aurora in 2021 with heightened efforts to increase accountability, transparency, and engagement:
• 45.5% decrease in murders
• 40.4% decrease in burglary
• 31.8% decrease in shootings
• 24.4% decrease in robbery
• 10.6% decrease in theft
• 9.9% decrease in motor vehicle theft
“Richard Irvin’s record in Aurora of lowering crime rates, balancing budgets, and standing up to the Madigan Machine stands in stark contrast to that of J.B. Pritzker, who has allowed crime to spiral out of control, pushed for higher taxes and spending, and enabled Mike Madigan’s criminal enterprise,” said Irvin for Illinois Spokesperson Eleni Demertzis.
In addition to a reduction in crime, the city has gained nationwide acclaim and earned a number of accolades, including being named one of the Top 25 Happiest Cities in America for 2022.
…Adding… If you click on the Irvin link, you’ll see that violent crime rose by 8.2 percent year over year, mainly due to an almost doubling of Criminal Sexual Assault offenses.
* Politico…
Monica Gordon has won the endorsement of Secretary of State Jesse White in her bid for Cook County commissioner in the 5th District. Gordon heads government affairs and community relations at Chicago State University.
Gordon previously headed the Black Caucus Foundation and ran unsuccessfully for the legislature. She’s also running for Bloom Township Democratic Committeeperson.
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* Yvette Shields at the Bond Buyer...
“Corruption of public officials makes headlines, but if it is one-time in nature it is unlikely to have any credit impact,” said Emily Raimes, a vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s.
“We consider corruption as part of our overall governance assessment, however, if it is long-term or systemic, particularly if it has affected the government’s financial stability, or is likely to affect financial stability in the future,” she said.
“Anything in government relies on some level of trust. I think if corruption is rampant or repetitive it can make the next tax increase or capital request harder to approve because people don’t trust you are going to do the right thing,” said Geoffrey Buswick, sector lead and lead Illinois analyst at S&P.
“That’s the longer play that is harder to assess in credit because when does that erosion of public trust limit flexibility? It’s not always clear,” Buswick said.
There are those who believe the Fair Tax tanked for this very reason.
Plenty more quotes in that story, but I wanted to focus on what the raters said, so click here and read the rest.
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Kinda feels like the old days
Thursday, Mar 17, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The decades-old intraparty Maywood/Proviso Township war is apparently flaring up again, or it never went away. It’s been quite awhile since I looked at it. Here’s Bob Skolnik…
Two lawyers with local ties are vying to become a judge. But to get to the bench they will have to defeat the wife of the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.
ShawnTe Raines-Welch, who is married to House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside), will face three opponents in the June 28 Democratic primary race to fill the Rogers vacancy in the 4th Judicial Subcircuit which covers western Cook County from just south of O’Hare Airport to Palos Township, including Riverside resident Chloe Pedersen, former Brookfield resident Jerry Barrido and Patrick Campanelli, an attorney with a solo practice.
Pedersen and Raines-Welch both have strong political connections. Pedersen is the niece of Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough. Some might see the race as sort of a rematch of a 2006 primary when Chris Welch, then the president of the Proviso Township High School District 209 Board of Education, challenged then state Rep. Yarbrough in the Democratic primary. Yarbrough handily won that matchup with nearly 73 percent of the vote.
Yarbrough ran against Rep. Eugene Moore in the 1998 Democratic primary and lost. During that same primary, Rep. Moore won a race for Proviso Township Democratic committeeperson. The following January, Moore was appointed to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds position vacated after Jesse White won the secretary of state’s race. Moore’s ally Wanda Sharp was appointed to his House seat. Yarbrough took out Rep. Sharp in the 2000 primary, then took out Committeeman Moore in 2006, then took out Recorder Moore in 2012. Speaker Welch was on Team Gene. There’s so much more to this and I covered it extensively back in the day, but you get the gist.
* And here is some interesting bravado from another candidate in the judicial primary…
Barrido, a veteran public defender who tries cases at the Maybrook Courthouse, said he deliberately filed to run against Raines-Welch because he said he wanted to give voters an opportunity to pick someone who is independent of the Democratic Party machine.
“I picked this race to go against the speaker’s wife,” Barrido said. “I deliberately wanted to give the people a choice as to whether or not they wanted to go with the status quo Democratic politics or to have someone who is a fighter in the courtroom, who has a reputation as a zealous advocate and a hard worker period.”
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FOP declares all-out war on Martwick
Thursday, Mar 17, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told subscribers this morning about this and other FOP-involved races. Here’s Fran Spielman…
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara is demanding that three of his union’s strongest City Council supporters choose between their loyalties to his group and their allegiance to the firefighters union.
At a stormy meeting last week, Catanzara insisted that the three council members, all former firefighters — Nick Sposato (38th), Anthony Napolitano (41st) and Jim Gardiner (45th) — pledge their support to Erin Jones, a Chicago Police Department detective challenging incumbent state Sen. Rob Martwick (D-Chicago).
Martwick is a favorite of the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2, having championed a costly firefighter pension sweetener over Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s strenuous objections.
But Catanzara said his members want Martwick gone for having helped the Black Caucus push what Catanzara called a “ridiculously left-wing, radical Democrat” criminal justice reform bill through the General Assembly. […]
“Our members want Martwick’s head on a platter. … He has to go. And you either are for our member or you are for Bob Martwick, who helped champion that bill. There is no middle ground. And if you do support Bob Martwick, there will be retribution in the elections next year. You’re just going to have to answer for that support,” Catanzara said in a You-Tube message to his members posted Tuesday night.
* The full quote is weird, though. I isolated the audio…
It sounds to me like Catanzara said “I didn’t say that our members want Martwick’s head on a platter…” but that wouldn’t make much sense.
I still wonder how they think the FOP can win a Democratic primary with a Republican, but I suppose we’re about to find out.
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* Tribune…
A gas giveaway by entrepreneur and former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson caused a headache for some Chicagoans Thursday morning, and not from fuel fumes: Cars reportedly lined up overnight in anticipation of the 7 a.m. start time, causing backups near the preselected gas stations around the city.
Commenters on Wilson’s Facebook page complained of lines of cars stretching for blocks. […]
Wilson pledged to give away $200,000 of gasoline via $50 gifts to motorists filling up Thursday, on a first-come, first-serve basis. But from social media posts, it sounded like hundreds of people were so concerned about being among the recipients they treated the event like Black Friday.
“The soaring price of gas has caused a hardship for too many of our citizens,” Wilson said in a news release.
* Some people just love to line up for free stuff and don’t stop to think that maybe waiting in miles-long lines is probably not worth the effort and is wasted time…
* But I do agree with this take…
The Democrats at the national, state and local levels ought to pay close attention to this reaction to Wilson’s offer.
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* Press release…
New emails released by the Sullivan-Murphy campaign today show deep ties between the “Madigan enterprise” and the Pritzker administration.
In 2020, WBEZ reporting revealed Gov. J.B. Pritzker hired 35 individuals from then-House Speaker Michael Madigan’s “clout list,” costing taxpayers $2.5 million per year in salaries alone. This reporting was based primarily on emails sent by a Madigan aide.
Published today for the first time, new emails obtained via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request show how Madigan’s right-hand man, Michael McClain, worked with the highest levels of the Pritzker administration: from lobbying for patronage job placements to offering condolences for a criminal investigation into Pritzker’s “scheme to defraud” taxpayers.
The emails show:
• McClain lobbying Pritzker for an ally to get a job in the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
• McClain successfully placing a job candidate on the Prisoner Review Board.
• McClain sending resumes to the office of Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell, describing one candidate as “‘young’ to the dark side but .. impressive.”
• McClain sending Mitchell’s office a list of “double-exempt” positions. Double-exempt jobs are patronage havens as they are not subject to political hiring restrictions.
• McClain writing to Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh, “I am deeply sorry about the alleged federal investigation,” referring to the criminal investigation into Pritzker’s removing of toilets from his Gold Coast mansion to reduce his property tax burden.
• Senior Pritzker advisor Nikki Budzinski trading compliments with McClain months after news broke that his house was raided as part of the FBI investigation into Madigan.
View the McClain email log here.
Rather than strengthening Illinois’ anti-corruption rules in the wake of the Madigan indictment, Pritzker is weakening them. The governor is fighting in court to fire the federally appointed patronage hiring monitor for his administration.
“Every last Madigan patronage hire should be removed from state service,” Sullivan said.
“But instead of strengthening our watchdogs, our governor is trying to fire them. Taxpayers deserve a thorough investigation into patronage hiring in the Pritzker administration.”
On Tuesday, the Sullivan-Murphy campaign released the 10-point Clean Up Illinois agenda to fight corruption in state government.
Some of this is a stretch, but most of it will make for hot stuff in the fall campaign. It’s quite a hit.
Also, for a guy who regularly told people to never put anything in writing, he sure put a lot of stuff in writing.
Also too, I should note that one of the Madigan “patronage hires” is Jim Edgar.
*** UPDATE *** Natalie Edelstein at the Pritzker campaign…
Try as they may to make this election about Mike Madigan, the facts are clear: The governor passed comprehensive ethics legislation to clean up Springfield and stands ready and willing to work with the General Assembly to do more to restore trust in government. As U.S. Attorney John Lausch said, there are absolutely no allegations of wrongdoing against Governor Pritzker or his staff.
Given Jesse Sullivan’s inability to give a straight answer on questions like whether or not he supports the $15 minimum wage, it is no surprise that he is desperately and falsely attacking the governor in an attempt to break out of a messy, crowded primary.
McClain was hated by top Pritzker staff for doing stuff like this…
Two weeks before Anne Caprara stepped into one of the highest profile political roles of her life, she got a call from Gov. J.B. Pritzker with some uncomfortable news.
Pritzker sounded upset, according to a high-level source close to the governor. He said people were “trashing” Caprara to several others, including reporters, in an attempt to squash her appointment as Pritzker’s chief of staff.
That maneuvering didn’t start after the election, either. McClain tried to force Caprara out of her campaign manager’s job before the 2018 primary and then again after the primary. As that article notes, he wasn’t exactly welcomed into the office.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The White Sox will play that other Chicago baseball squad tomorrow in a spring training game. Your thoughts on the upcoming season?
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Campaign notebook
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Apparently, some 13th Ward captains passed some of Valencia’s petitions…
Strategists say that [Anna Valencia’s secretary of state] campaign received help in circulating petitions from groups with ties to Madigan’s organization. It also included help from Mike Kasper, the Valencia campaign’s attorney, who is one of Madigan’s closest aides.
Ald. David Moore, one of Valencia’s opponents, has criticized her campaign for its affiliations with Madigan’s organization.
“The elements of what he controlled, the people he controlled, are still there, so they have an interest in still maintaining what is going on in that Secretary of State seat,” he said.
* Also from that story…
NBC 5 has learned that in her 2020 and 2021 Statements of Economic Interests, she did not disclose her husband’s lobbying work, and failed to report his income.
Valencia then filed an amended disclosure. But that wasn’t enough to fend off a formal ethics complaint…
Valencia admitted her failure to disclose Monterrey and multiple other lobbying clients; Kazmi hasn’t.
On March 15, 2022, NBC Chicago (WMAQ) aired a news report about Valencia’s failure to disclose her husband’s lobbying for Monterrey Security Consultants. Per the report, a spokesperson for Valencia acknowledged she had made a “mistake” and amended her form to “add Monterrey Security and three other businesses that her husband also lobbied for that does business with the city.”12 Her amendment (dated March 15, 2022) shows these other clients to be “National Youth Advocate Program”, “Chicago Commons”, and “Black Dog / Chicago Petro.”
[Valencia’s spouse Reyahd Kazmi] has not filed a similar amendment to report Monterrey Security Consultants or additional clients of his that have now been reported by Valencia (i.e. Chicago Commons and Black Dog / Chicago Petro).
Um, that’s not good at all.
* Meanwhile, I told subscribers about this race yesterday, but Bob Skolnik fleshes it out…
Local state Rep Michael J. Zalewski (D-Riverside) will have a primary opponent this year for the first time in more than a decade. On March 14 afternoon, less than three hours before the filing deadline, former county board and Cook County Board of Review candidate Abdelnasser Rashid filed to run against Zalewski in the Democratic race for the 21st District.
Zalewski last faced a contested race in 2010, just two years after he was first elected to office, when he walloped Chicago lawyer and former police officer Terrence Collins, winning 71 percent of the vote in the 2010 Democratic primary.
But Rashid could pose a more formidable challenge. Rashid, 32, is a Harvard graduate who in 2018 lost a close race for a seat on the Cook County Board to Republican Sean Morrison. […]
Rashid worked as the Illinois deputy director of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2016, served as the field director of Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s Chicago mayoral campaign in 2015 and has worked for Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi and former Cook County Clerk David Orr. Rashid is now a partner at the progressive political consulting firm Democracy Partners.
Rashid says people are frustrated for many reasons, including political corruption and the recent indictment of former longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
* Web 3.0 is one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard of. Click here to read about it, but there’s a couple naughty words. Cities929…
[Republican gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan] said he is for shifting to Web 3.0, which is an internet form that uses Artificial Intelligence technology and work in tandem with Metaverse. Web 3.0 is the third generation of internet services for websites and applications that will focus on using a machine-based understanding of data to provide a data-driven and Semantic Web. Sullivan also believes the American dollar will remain in tact if crypto becomes the way of Illinois’ economy.
“I think there are different use values…there’s Bitcoin, which is the store value…a replacement for gold. Then there are a lot of other use cases that have nothing to do with currency, even though they are labeled that way…it has a lot more to do with smart contracts, which is a way of taking all these industries that have made a ton of money off our backs, like international exchanges and remittances they take 10% of all the money sent between nations. For me it’s about these other use cases of technologies that we are going to create whole industries out of,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan said “hand on the Bible” he will not do the bidding of his big crypto currency donors or any others.
“I want to go to Heaven more than being Governor,” said Sullivan. “I owe no man anything when I step into office. So all my top donors, that I have gotten to know, have done this work with me around the world…trying to back companies and create jobs…didn’t even really know my politics. For me, the one area that I believe in that they also believe in is in the future of the internet.”
You cannot separate Web 3.0 from crypto…
At its core web3 is a vapid marketing campaign that attempts to reframe the public’s negative associations of crypto assets into a false narrative about disruption of legacy tech company hegemony. It is a distraction in the pursuit of selling more coins and continuing the gravy train of evading securities regulation. We see this manifest in the circularity in which the crypto and web3 movement talks about itself. It’s not about solving real consumer problems. The only problem to be solved by web3 is how to post-hoc rationalize its own existence.
* Sen. Darren Bailey was on WGN Radio the other day…
Q: The last time you joined us on Chicago’s afternoon news, I asked how you were going to appeal to Chicago because a lot of people in your district just don’t like Chicago, and they feel they don’t have a voice. And you said along the lines, you said you wanted to restore Chicago to what it was. At what point in time do you think Chicago was the great city that you identified it as?
A: Well, that’s interesting, I’m gonna tell you something, I’ve used the word restore a lot. And the Greek meaning of restore is to make something better than it’s ever been before. My wife and I have a lot of antiques in our house. And we like restoring furniture. And you know, any time you restore something it’s never as good as it was before. So, you know, I reference the 1932 World’s Fair a lot. You know, I reference that time and the amazing developments that Chicago showcased. And, and, you know, let’s go back, and let’s let’s let’s get things fixed. Unfortunately, I think corruption and crime have always been synonymous with Chicago. And but I don’t ever see in time when anyone has ever stood up and confronted the issue boldly and and try to you know, and I think the people of Chicago are fed and I think they’re ready. So Illinois is better as one, we work to better Better Together with a great city and a great…
The host mercifully cut him off. I have no idea what the heck that word salad was supposed to mean. I tried and tried to confirm his explanation for the Greek meaning of the word “restore” and, friends, I couldn’t find any evidence, even in Ancient Greek.
…Adding… The Chicago World’s Fair was in 1933, not 1932, Senator.
* Politico…
— Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso, a Republican candidate in the 6th Congressional District, has been endorsed by former House Republican Leader Tom Cross, former state Sen. Kirk Dillard, and former Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar. Grasso faces Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau in the GOP primary for a November contest against Democratic Reps. Sean Casten or Marie Newman.
— Anna Valencia has secured endorsements from 13 LGBTQ+ leaders, including, Thresholds CEO Mark Ishaug, Chicago House CEO Michael Herman and AIDS Foundation Chicago CEO John Peller. Full list here.
— Democrat Eileen Dordek has been endorsed by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and IUOE Local 150 in her bid for the 13th District state House seat now held by Rep. Greg Harris (who’s not running for reelection).
* A lot of buried nuggets in this dense and long oppo report…
Keith Thornton, who first gained notoriety in 2021 as the voice over police radio the night officer Ella French was shot and killed, has officially launched his campaign for state representative in the 19th district against incumbent Lindsey LaPointe. There’s just one snag: he appears to be lying about his background, and has been for quite some time.
Whew.
* More…
* GOP group backing Donald Trump’s baseless election fraud claims among more than 700 candidates filing for June primary
* 35 candidates running for McLean County Board primary: 14 incumbents and 20 newcomers are vying for 20 McLean County Board spots this year.
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It’s just a bill
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Curtis Tarver (D-Chicago) has been doing a good job of getting the word out about his bill, which is still stuck in Rules Committee. WICS…
Rep. Tarver filed House Bill 5046, which would bar someone from holding a state or municipal office if they committed a felony while they are serving in office.
“But if you did something bad while you were in office, you would be banned from running for office ever again. That’s what it would do, uniformly across the entire state,” Rep. Tarver said.
Tarver’s bill would apply to both state and municipal offices. He believes this would make things more equitable.
“We’re the only state in America that bars you based on the type of office and not the type of crime. It just makes no sense,” Rep. Tarver said.
* NASW Illinois…
The National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter asks if we could just not mace abused and neglected children?
In the long line of well-intended yet misguided attempts to address caseworker/social worker safety in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the latest to be fast-tracked is SB1486 which flew out of the Illinois Senate with minimal opportunity for advocates to weigh in. The “hand caseworkers mace and hope they make good decisions” bill is now teed up for the Human Services Committee with an ever-growing list of cosponsors.
The National Association of Social Workers-Illinois Chapter is calling for members of the Illinois House to address questions of child safety, reporting, and use of force in the bill if the plan is to send this to Governor Pritzker.
Questions like: When can caseworkers use mace/pepper spray on families? Can they use it against a six-year-old neglected child that has a traumatic breakdown? What about a 16-year-old youth-in-care who gets upset that DCFS is transferring for the 13th time in 10 years? What about pregnant women or children who are known to have asthma? Both of which have known cases where mace was fatal. Can caseworkers use it as a threat to families or kids? If the caseworker uses mace on a family, do they have to call 911, or can they leave children they were sent to protect, gasping for air in an enclosed home? Do they have to report this use of force publicly so that we know how many times kids and families are being maced? Will we know the racial breakdown of who is being maced, or are we to trust children and families of color aren’t being targeted? Is there a standard for what kind of mace and potency they can carry, or will caseworkers be able to buy their own? If they can purchase their own, will they be able to carry pepper spray guns that shoot projectiles at people? (You can buy pepper spray guns on Amazon that come in both handgun and assault rifle forms). Will there be any accountability for caseworkers who violate these rules if these questions are answered?
The department does not need SB1486 to implement caseworkers carrying mace, yet they have never implemented this. There is a reason for that, and it has everything to do with the genuine liability and safety concerns not addressed in this bill.
None of this will create fundamental safety within DCFS. Real safety reforms require enhanced in-person training and improved risk assessments. Real safety reform requires the state to increase pay and benefits for this population to recruit fully qualified human service staff to levels in which the department can send caseworkers in teams. However, if the Illinois General Assembly intends to pass this bill with incredible liability and safety risks, can we address some of these outstanding questions, like can we at least not mace abused and neglected children.
* Media advisory…
I wanted to alert you to a legislative discussion Thursday morning about a critical economic issue coming out of the pandemic.
State Rep. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, will join the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association tomorrow (Thursday), March 17, at 9 a.m. for a virtual hearing in the Illinois House Revenue and Finance Committee for a subject matter hearing on Senate Bill 3917, creating tax incentives for companies that produce microchips.
Senate Bill 3917 already has cleared the Illinois Senate: https://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=3917&GAID=16&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=139010&SessionID=110&GA=102.
The Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) program would provide financial incentives to manufacturers of semiconductors and microchips, in very short supply during the pandemic and today produced largely in China and Taiwan. Companies who locate here to build the new tech would have to meet certain qualifications and benchmarks to receive and keep the tax credits, much like for manufacturing of electric vehicles that lawmakers acted on last year.
Rep. Halpin is not calling the bill for a vote tomorrow but does expect it could be included with other incentive proposals in a package as the end of the legislative session comes in early April.
* Media advisory…
[Springfield, Illinois]— Workers Center for Racial Justice gathers supporters and community members to urge lawmakers to pass HB 3215, The SAFER Communities Act. This bill seeks to invest in high quality jobs for formerly incarcerated workers. The SAFER Communities Act would establish a living wage job creation program for up to 20,000 formerly incarcerated workers. This five year pilot program would offer local businesses wage subsidies of up to $15,000 annually for employing workers with conviction records into newly created, high-quality jobs.
What: Lobby Day 2022 Press Conference & Rally
Who: Workers Center for Racial Justice, Fully Free Campaign, Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice, State Rep. Carol Ammons, State Rep. Kam Buckner, State Rep. Justin Slaughter
When: Wednesday March 16th, 2022. 11:00 AM
Where: Illinois State Capitol Building, 401 S 2nd St: Abraham Lincoln Statue
Media Content: Lawmakers and supporters speaking. Community members chanting slogans and demands. Banners and signs will be displayed.
* Not a bill, but a rule…
Following extensive conversations with stakeholders, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) is filing rules to simplify the cannabis dispensary license application process, remove barriers for social equity applicants, and expand opportunities targeted to the communities most impacted by the failed war on drugs. IDFPR is required by the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA) to issue at least 50 new adult use cannabis dispensary licenses by the end of 2022.
“From day one, Illinois has been dedicated to leading the nation in an equity-centric approach to legalizing cannabis, and these proposed changes to the application process will make it much easier for social equity applicants to pursue licenses.” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “I appreciate all the feedback we have received from stakeholders since the start of the cannabis program, whose work informed this proposal and is continuing to make Illinois’ growing cannabis industry the most equitable in the nation.”
“We are committed to an inclusive and equitable cannabis program that continues to build on its successes while also recognizing and taking steps to improve it further,” said Mario Treto, Jr., Acting Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. “We look forward to introducing even more participants to Illinois’ adult use cannabis program and encourage all feedback to help ensure we continue to grow the program together.”
The Pritzker Administration is committed to ensuring the new legal cannabis industry reflects the diversity of the state. 100% of craft grow, infuser, and transporter licensee applicants managed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture qualified as social equity applicants. 67% of said applicants live in areas disproportionately impacted by the failed war on drugs, 15% have been personally involved with the justice system and 5% have a family member involved with the justice system.
Under the new proposed rules, applicants will be able to apply online with certain basic information (such as the name of the organization, list of principal officers, contact information, and a $250 fee). IDFPR plans to issue 55 conditional licenses to be distributed across the existing 17 BLS Regions detailed in the CRTA. During the license lottery process, principal officers cannot be included on more than one lottery entry and applicants cannot have more than one lottery entry across all 17 regions. If deemed eligible for a conditional license, applicants will need to meet certain social equity criteria before the conditional license is issued.
IDFPR anticipates opening the conditional license application window during the late summer or early fall of 2022, depending on when the rules become permanent. All applicants who submit an approved application will participate in a lottery conducted by IDFPR with the Illinois Lottery. IDFPR will post a list of applicants participating in the lottery. The date of the lottery will be announced by IDFPR in the coming months. IDFPR will publish the certified results after the lottery has concluded. If an applicant does not meet eligibility criteria, IDFPR will offer the opportunity for the conditional license to the next applicant on a list of applicants drawn chronologically after the 55 applicants selected during the lottery.
Each applicant drawn for an opportunity for a conditional license will have 45 calendar days to prove certain social equity, eligibility criteria. This includes meeting the social equity applicant ownership criteria outlined in the CRTA:
• The applicant has at least 51% ownership and control by one or more individuals who have resided for at least five of the preceding ten years in a Disproportionately Impacted Area, or
• The applicant has at least 51% ownership and control by one or more individuals who:
o have been arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense that is eligible for expungement under the CRTA, or
o is a member of an impacted family.
OR by meeting alternate criteria which will be described in the upcoming release of the new adult use lottery rules.
IDFPR will have 60 calendar days after the lottery to ensure the 55 applicants selected in the lottery meet the criteria detailed above. Applicants selected in the lottery will be provided an opportunity to provide supplemental information to satisfy these criteria.
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More on the LaSalle Veterans’ Home lawsuits
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* One of the things that might be getting a little lost in the coverage of the Court of Claims filings by the families of the residents killed by COVID at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home is that the lawyers have also filed separate lawsuits against individual staff members in LaSalle County’s district court. At least one doctor and several nurses are being sued. All of the Court of Claims and court filings are here. You can click here to see a sample lawsuit. They’re asking the district court for amounts in excess of $50,000 from each defendant in each of the 27 cases.
I asked the attorneys’ spokesperson Anne Kavanagh about why staff members were being sued…
Some staff members were named because they did not follow basic, long time safety rules that have applied to preventing the spread of all airborne viral infections not just COVID 19 for decades.
Basics like not exposing people infected with the virus to others, hand washing, wearing masks etc. Nursing 101. Especially when dealing with an elderly, at risk population who cannot protect or take care of themselves. By November 2020, these basic things were also well known to the general public. That trained health professionals did not abide by them is unimaginable. Furthermore, masks were mandated by the state in any kind of health care facility and were especially essential in a nursing home. Staff members have some personal responsibility.
Ironically enough, Kavanagh was brought in as a consultant to Gov. Bruce Rauner, who subsequently had to deal with fallout from deaths at the Quincy Veterans’ Home.
…Adding… From Anne…
For the record, although I did do some consulting work for the former governor, Bruce Rauner for a short period of time, I never worked on anything related to the Quincy Veterans Home tragedy.
* Anyway, let’s move on to a press release from GOP gubernatorial candidate Paul Schimpf…
Republican candidate for governor Paul Schimpf says the LaSalle Veterans’ Home tragedy is the result of failed leadership and a lack of accountability following the recent filing of lawsuits in LaSalle County that allege negligence and wrongful death, in what amounts to systemic failure. Schimpf says the loss of 36 Illinois veterans at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home is not only tragic, but it was avoidable.
“My heart goes out to all of the families who lost a loved one in this preventable tragedy,” Schimpf said. “We can’t turn back the clock, but we do owe it to the victims and their families to make sure a failure of this magnitude never happens again. I stand with the families of these veterans, and I will fight to ensure we have justice for the victims.”
Senator Schimpf says we’ve conveniently learned of failures at the facility and departmental level, but we still have no idea what Governor Pritzker knew—and when he knew it. “Why did his administration decide to ‘go it alone?’ Was the governor aware, or was he somehow disengaged? Why did it take twelve days for the Illinois Department of Public Health to dispatch a response team? Governor Pritzker must acknowledge that the buck stops with him, and he can’t shift the blame to his political appointees.”
The former state senator who was minority spokesman on the Veteran’s Affairs committee at the time of the outbreak demanded committee hearings when he says the facility’s area senator, Sue Rezin, was ignored by the administration. “I can’t help but wonder if this tragedy could have been avoided simply through legislative oversight of the administration. This is what happens when we assume that political appointees are up to the task.”
Now Schimpf is calling on the legislature to hold the administration accountable. “Of all people, Governor Pritzker should realize that oversight is necessary. Candidate Pritzker spent millions blasting the previous administration’s handling of the Quincy veterans’ home only to have his administration oversee the deadliest outbreak at a state facility in Illinois history. We need to institute legislative oversight practices immediately, so this kind of preventable tragedy never happens again.”
“Governor Pritzker’s billions boosted his campaign, but his money couldn’t buy him leadership. I was taught in the military that if you are in charge, you take responsibility. As a hands-on governor, my staff would’ve known to call me the minute the outbreak occurred. As governor, I won’t shift the blame to lieutenants when it’s politically expedient. I’ll stand up for Illinois veterans and working families and keep our communities safe.”
* And here’s a handy coverage roundup from the Irvin campaign…
The Pritzker Administration’s gross negligence and incompetence led to the deaths of 36 of our nation’s heroes at the LaSalle Veterans Home. Their families are now seeking the Justice they deserve.
“After sacrificing their lives for our freedoms, these veterans ultimately died due to the mismanagement and ignorance of the Pritzker Administration,” said Irvin for Illinois spokesperson Eleni Demertzis. “These heroes deserved better, and we have to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again.”
FOX 32: “In total, 36 veterans died of COVID at the VA in late 2020. Family members said even the most basic safety protocols were not followed.A report by the state inspector general, as well as other independent investigations, found management, a lack of planning training, and poor communication as part of the cause of the deadly virus outbreak. The investigation led to the firing of the home’s administrator and nursing director. The head of the State Department of Veterans Affairs also resigned during the fallout of the investigation.”
ABC 7: “The family members of 27 veterans are part of lawsuits just filed against LaSalle Veterans Home, the state of Illinois, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs and several other staff members at the long-term care facility. A state inspector general’s report last year found those deaths could have been prevented. “They had no plan; they had no training. In many cases, they weren’t wearing masks. They had no hand sanitizer. They didn’t even have morphine ordered by a doctor to mitigate the painful death many of our clients suffered,” one attorney said. The families say their loved ones died in pain, and, in many cases, alone.”
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: “The deaths have prompted a series of individual lawsuits against the state on behalf of the families of 26 veterans who died of COVID-19 or coronavirus-related illnesses. The suits come nearly a year after the Illinois Department of Human Services’ inspector general detailed systemic mismanagement from top leadership of the Illinois Veterans’ Affairs Department all the way down to the LaSalle home’s administrator. The result, according to the 50-page report, was an “inefficient, reactive and chaotic” response to controlling the virus. “The state thoroughly investigated itself and basically convicted itself with the conclusion that there was rampant negligence that resulted in unnecessary deaths,” said Steve Levin, one of the attorneys filing the lawsuits. “That’s the state. The state has done our investigation and concluded that they are guilty.”
CENTER SQUARE: “The family members of 27 veterans who contracted COVID-19 are part of lawsuits filed against the state of Illinois, the Department of Veterans Affairs, LaSalle Veterans Home and several staff members at the facility. Twenty-six of the 27 veterans listed in the lawsuit died. Lindsey Lamb, of Lockport, spoke about her grandfather, 89-year-old Richard Cieski, a Korean War vet who died when the virus swept through the facility in November 2020. “He was a loving, gentle, caring family man who didn’t deserve to die the way that he did,” Lamb said.”
NBC: “Several of the family members spoke this morning during a news conference about the lawsuits. “These men didn’t deserve to die alone. They were there to be taken care of. We put our family in their hands, and they failed us,” said Lindsey Lamb, granddaughter of a veteran who died at LaSalle. “The inspector general’s report also found staff did not wear masks, take temperature checks before working or wash their hands properly. Family members are also demanding accountability from Governor JB Pritzker, since he frequently criticized former governor Bruce Rauner for his response to the deadly legionnaires’ outbreak at the veterans home in Quincy.”
WGN: “Attorneys say these deaths were preventable. They say the staff didn’t even have hand sanitizer and didn’t always wear masks or change gloves after treating one patient and moving to another. “Is the job of a long-term care facility in these times to ensure that infections like Covid-19, do not get into the nursing home and once they do get into the nursing home, that reasonable steps are taken to prevent its spread,”said Attorney Steven Levin. And if it spread reasonable steps need to be taken to respond to those in this case, veterans who fell ill.”
CBS: “The lawsuits rely heavily on a scathing report from the state’s own inspector general, which called the veterans’ home’s response to the outbreak “inefficient, reactive, and chaotic.” “The state must be held accountable for their actions - or, in this case, inaction,” said attorney Mike Bonamarte.”
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Proft gets back into the game
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* On March 8th, radio host Dan Proft got back into the campaign game with an independent expenditure committee…
Has he relocated to Naples? I won’t be too far from him after session adjourns, so maybe I’ll stop by. /s
Anyway, he hasn’t yet reported raising any money. [See below for $1 million disclosure from Uihlein.] You’ll recall that he raised millions from Dick Uihlein before dropping out of running campaigns a few years back. Uihlein recently contributed a million dollars to Sen. Darren Bailey’s gubernatorial campaign. Proft supported Bailey in his first run for the Illinois House.
* And here’s Sen. Bailey on his daily Facebook video today…
Yesterday was Tuesday. Every Tuesday up until election day in November Cindy and I will be fasting. And we’ve got a prayer page, Prayer Warriors for Bailey, I think you can go on that and follow that. Some pretty amazing things happen on Tuesday. And yesterday, there were some amazing things happening. And I haven’t got to listen to it yet, but I’m told that on AM 560 this morning I received another endorsement. There’s a Super PAC starting that’s going to be supporting our cause. So that’s amazing. That’s a result of the prayer and the fasting on Tuesday.
* That was Proft’s show. Proft talked about how he supported Bailey during his first run for the House and how he’s going to support him again…
It’s easy to take positions but, when it was time to stand up, Darren Bailey was the only legislator, one of the only Republican officeholders to stand up and take the fight to Pritzker and his one-man rule. If not for Darren Bailey, combined with Tom Devore, that mask mandate extends beyond the time it was in force, you don’t have the revolts that happened, even early on in Downstate school districts, that you have, providing examples to embolden others to be courageous and sensible at the same time. So I just think that’s such a huge credential.
And the other thing is, I have political history with Darren Bailey. Again, the previous Super PAC that I ran supported Darren Bailey as a first time candidate for legislative office coming, you know, off the farm, and out of the school that he and his wife started, a Christian school that he and his wife started, and to be a candidate for state office against an incumbent in southern Illinois, named David Reis, a conservative who I previously supported, but he voted for the Rauner tax increase, a disqualifying vote.
So, Darren Bailey stepped up then and I backed him. Bailey stepped up during the pandemic and I’m backing him, along with others like Jeannie Ives and others backing him again. […]
I’m watching from afar as I can’t coordinate with campaigns. I’m not talking to him or his campaign. I can’t do that by law. So I’m going to do my own thing.
* Speaking of Naples, the other candidate Proft mentioned above adjusted his travel plans and is headed for the swanky town of Naples…
The guy’s firm has a case against CPS in court and candidate petition filing deadline was Monday and he’s bragging about being in Florida. Weird.
*** UPDATE *** The committee just filed a disclosure showing a $1 million contribution from Dick Uihlein.
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A look at Irvin’s claims about Aurora crime
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz takes a look at Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin’s crime-fighting claims…
Overall, the number of murders [in Aurora] has hovered in a narrow range, from seven in 2016, the year before Irvin took office, to a high of 12 and then down to six last year. In comparison, the number of homicides reported by the Chicago Police Department on its website has soared recently, moving from 576 in 2018 to 770 in 2020 and 797 last year.
The number of reported robberies and burglaries in Aurora has dropped steadily during Irvin’s tenure, even during the pandemic.
Other categories, following national trends, rose when the pandemic hit in 2020 but dropped back in 2021. For instance, the number of reported shootings went from 110 in 2019 to 154 in 2020 to 105 in 2021.
But the number of criminal sexual assaults have risen steadily from 57 in 2016 to 135 in 2021. Aggravated assault or battery also are up, though not as much, going from 359 in 2019 to 513 last year.
[Aurora Police Department spokesperson Paris Lewbel] said much of that is due to the pandemic, with people staying home more (and getting in more domestic fights) and with some domestic violence shelters having to restrict their operations with COVID-19 raging.
Criminal sexual assault reports dropped in Chicago during the period ending in 2020.
* But here’s some background info from the campaign…
Aurora Police believe that the increase in reported sexual assaults is due to people returning to school and work, where sexual assault incidents typically occur. Efforts in recent years to reduce the stigma around reporting sexual assault may have also contributed to the increase.
…Adding… If you include 2021, which Irvin did, then sexual assaults rose in the city as well. WGN…
The number of sexual assaults have increased in almost every part of the city, according to data released by Chicago police.
Chicago Police Department data shows 19 of the city’s 22 police districts saw an increase in reports from 2020 to 2021.
In some areas, the numbers doubled.
The highest percentage change in 2020 was in the Jefferson Park neighborhood with numbers up 121%.
…Adding… DGA…
“Richard Irvin is running on lies because his true record is too weak to stand on,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “If Irvin wants Illinoisans to believe he’s ‘tough-on-crime,’ then he should stop manipulating statistics and answer for his history of profiting from keeping violent offenders out of jail, and reject his megadonor’s gun money.”
* Related…
* Lights and noise at Irvin’s State of City address, where Aurora Christkindlmarket is announced: Three protesters started shouting during the part of his speech where he praised the Aurora Police Department, when he said there were huge decreases in murders, burglaries and shootings. The protesters couldn’t be heard, however, as Irvin spoke louder and people started standing and applauding the police.
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* Politico…
Watch for GOP governor candidate Jesse Sullivan to see his petition signatures challenged. Copies of some of the petition pages that his campaign turned in Monday show signatures that look strikingly similar. Check out here, here and here. His campaign’s response: “We’re not surprised that our opponents prefer to focus us in court than on the campaign trail.”
Click those links. This may not be enough to kick him off the ballot, but those signatures are probably going to get a closer look.
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Open thread
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois-centric conversation is the best blog conversation, but that’s just my opinion.
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