Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » Illinois
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax      Advertise Here      About     Exclusive Subscriber Content     Updated Posts    Contact Rich Miller
CapitolFax.com
To subscribe to Capitol Fax, click here.
Reader comments closed for the weekend

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Yonder Mountain String Band will play us out

Lord, you know they made a fine connection

  Comments Off      


Today’s quotable

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This man regularly emails state legislators, but today’s is particularly relevant considering the horrible news out of Taylorville

…Adding… Rep. Jonathan Carroll received the email as well…

I guess we all have our own definition of what constitutes a hero. I would suggest that the front-line workers and medical professionals who continue to get overrun by those who deny the science of vaccines and masks are much bigger heroes than those seeking headlines arguing with smart people.

  21 Comments      


*** UPDATED x1 - COVID pneumonia *** Please, get your shots and wear your mask

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Taylorville’s school district initially balked at the statewide mask mandate. Its superintendent also signed an open letter denouncing the state mandate as a violation of local control.

* Then the school district appeared to try to get out front of a tragic story yesterday

Taylorville High School is grieving after it was announced that a high school senior passed away last night.

Taylorville School Superintendent Doctor Chris Dougherty, in a news release sent this morning, announced that Alexia Garrison, a senior student at Taylorville High School, died last night at her home where she collapsed.

Dr. Dougherty, in the release, said there are no words to express the grief, heartbreak, and sense of loss felt by everyone in the Taylorville School District.

I was told by one area reporter that the school district pushed back against questions yesterday.

* But the facts are starting to come out

Preliminary autopsy results revealed Garrison died of natural causes with COVID-19 being a contributing factor.

Final autopsy results will be released in a few weeks.

This virus can do things to your body which can injure or kill you long after you’re no longer contagious.

* More

Garrison was quarantined for COVID-19, but had cleared her quarantine period and returned to school at Taylorville High School, according to a Christian County Public Health Official. […]

Students at Taylorville High School are planning to wear purple — Garrisons’s favorite color — to class on Friday to honor her memory.

Hopefully, this tragic death will prompt more people in the area to get vaccinated. Just 39 percent of Christian County’s population is vaxed, according to IDPH.

* Click the image from IDPH if you need a bigger version to see that unvaccinated kids aged 12-17 represent the highest case growth by far in Illinois right now…

…Adding… Rep. Deb Conroy…

Tragic. Which anti mask, my body my choice Republican will step up and take responsibility for the death of Alexia Garrison? She is everyone’s child and no child is safe when personal political gain is valued over human life.

*** UPDATE *** Get your shots, people…


  28 Comments      


Question of the day

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Sears is closing its last remaining Illinois store

The Sears anchor store at Woodfield Mall was such an instrumental part of the shopping center’s creation and early success that part of the mall’s name — the “Wood” is for legendary former Sears Chairman Robert E. Wood — pays tribute to the iconic retailer.

But now just a week after the suburban shopping mecca celebrated the 50th anniversary of its opening, Woodfield’s Sears store is preparing to close its doors for the last time.

Officials from Sears’s Hoffman Estates-based parent company Transformco announced Thursday it will close the Woodfield store, its last remaining location in Illinois, on Nov. 14, as part of a corporate plan to “redevelop and reinvigorate the property.”

“This is part of the company’s strategy to unlock the value of the real estate and pursue the highest and best use for the benefit of the local community,” the announcement states.

Sears got its start in Chicago.

* The Question: Your Sears memories, if any?

  51 Comments      


Illinois announced two aviation-related projects this week

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Today…

Governor JB Pritzker joined Boeing and community leaders to announce that the company will be investing $200 million to build a state-of-the-art facility to produce the MQ-25 Stingray, the U.S. Navy’s first carrier-based unmanned aircraft. The new 291,000 square-foot facility at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, scheduled to begin construction later this year, will help support nearly 300 good jobs for the Metro East region over the next three years.

“The world’s largest aerospace company is doubling down on Illinois because of our unparalleled assets in the transportation and logistics sector and the world-class talent of our people,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “To prepare our communities for the future, my administration is committed to making continued investments that will modernize our airports, spark new innovation and bring jobs and economic opportunities to our communities from Chicago to St. Clair and beyond. I want to thank the Boeing Company for their vote of confidence in Illinois, as well as St Clair County leadership and the MidAmerica Airport team for giving companies another reason to choose Illinois.” […]

The new production center will bring 300 jobs to the Metro East community – with initial plans to hire approximately 150 mechanics, engineers and support staff who will build the MQ-25TM StingrayTM. This project was made possible in part by an EDGE agreement from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), a tool used to support companies making large scale capital investments that lead to significant job creation. As part of its agreement with the State, Boeing has committed to an initial investment of at least $200 million over a 15-year period.

The innovative MQ-25 facility will include state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, including robotic automation and advanced assembly techniques, to improve product quality and employee ergonomics. Boeing digitally engineered the MQ-25 aircraft and its systems, resulting in high-fidelity models that drive quality and efficient production. The new facility is expected to be completed in early 2024, and aircraft production is projected to begin in the start of FY 2024.

“The team and state-of-the-art technology we’re bringing to the Navy’s MQ-25 program is unprecedented, and we’re incredibly proud to be expanding both as we build the future of autonomous systems in Illinois,” said Kristin Robertson, vice president and general manager of Autonomous Systems, Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “We’ve received great support from MidAmerica Airport and countless dedicated employees, and we’re excited to build the Navy’s first operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft right here in the Metro East.”

The new MQ-25 facility will be in addition to existing manufacturing operations at Boeing St. Clair, which produces components for the CH-47 Chinook, F/A-18 Super Hornet, and other defense products.

Boeing’s investments in Mascoutah are the latest in a series to prepare MidAmerica St. Louis Airport for future growth. Fueled by $57 million in Rebuild Illinois capital funds, the airport will deliver the airport will deliver taxiway and airfield enhancements surrounding the new Boeing production facility and significant upgrades to the passenger terminal facility.

Just a suggestion: Use some of that Rebuild Illinois money to open up more pay lanes to exit MidAmerica airport. There are only two now, and the unstaffed automated machines don’t always work, creating gridlock.

* Wednesday…

Governor JB Pritzker joined the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM), Congresswoman Marie Newman, City of Chicago officials, and members of the community today in announcing a first of its kind aviation training facility opening in Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood. With support from the State of Illinois, the new AIM campus will expand access to industry standard aviation training programs, increase the talent pipeline for Illinois’ growing aviation industry, and unlock a long-term investment of 75 permanent jobs for the community.

At 137,000 square feet, the Chicago facility will be AIM’s largest training program in the nation, and its 14th campus overall. Working with longstanding industry partners and a range of educational partners in Chicago, the new campus plans to begin enrolling for classes set to begin on September 27th.

“Our long-term economic success as a state depends on our investment in the next generation of leaders, who will soon take on the task of steering our most important industries to meet the demands of the next decades,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “As governor, I’m committed to building on Illinois’s transportation leadership by working to educate and empower new talent and bring historically underrepresented populations into the field. Today, we have a new partner in that work: with the support of an EDGE agreement from the state, the Aviation Institute of Maintenance, or AIM, is set to open its largest aviation training facility in Chicago. I look forward to watching the AIM campus take the talent, diversity, and strength of our workforce to new heights.”

Construction on the training facility is now complete at 3711 S. Ashland Ave. AIM converted a former warehouse into a modern training facility with a large hangar, 17 classrooms, an avionics lab, and 31 administrative offices to support students. The Chicago campus will be 30% larger than AIM’s two current largest campuses, which will allow them to bring aviation maintenance training currently lacking in the area. AIM is a leading provider of training for students pursuing certification in aviation maintenance.

“AIM is thrilled to bring our proven industry training programs to Illinois as we work to prepare the next generation for exciting roles in the aviation industry,” said Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM) Executive Vice President, Dr. Joel English. “Thanks to support from the State of Illinois, City Colleges of Chicago, and numerous industry partners, we will launch our latest program in the country, with an emphasis on delivering training programs to match the needs of local employers and to increase diversity in the workforce. We look forward to launching classes this fall, partnering with Olive-Harvey College and with colleges and universities statewide to bring students access to training that will allow them to compete for well-paying jobs in this fast-growing field.”

  10 Comments      


Two takes on the new climate/energy law

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* No law is perfect, and the new climate/energy law is far from it

Gov. J.B. Pritzker vows Illinois will help stop — and even reverse — climate change with a new state law that outlaws coal- and gas-fired electricity by 2045.

But the law fails to address the state’s biggest source of climate-changing pollution: coal mining.

During 2020 alone, mostly out-of-state companies that burned Illinois coal released more than 57 million tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis based on a formula developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

By contrast, the state’s coal and gas plants emitted 46 million tons of CO2 during the year.

Also: 71-36-1.

* On the other hand

The result is what proponents call the “most equitable” climate bill passed to date in the United States.

Even some of the core people behind the environmental justice parts of the legislation — which include preferences for minority businesses and hiring, training opportunities for clean energy jobs and grants for community programs — seemed shocked by how much they had achieved.

“No one believed in Illinois we would actually pass legislation that can stop oil and gas facilities from running forever,” says Juliana Pino, policy director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. […]

J.C. Kibbey, Illinois clean energy advocate for Natural Resources Defense Council in Chicago, says more needs to be done and will be done to address climate change.

Still, Kibbey says, “This would’ve been unimaginable even five years ago that we would completely move away from fossil fuels in the power sector. In a state like this, that we got it done, is a testament how the politics has shifted and how quickly the economics of coal has shifted.”

71-36-1.

  16 Comments      


COVID-19 roundup

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Shaw Media

Parkview Christian Academy is scheduled to present its case in court later this month for a temporary restraining order against the Illinois State Board of Education over its move to revoke the school’s recognition for not acknowledging the statewide mask mandate.

Oral arguments are scheduled at 1 p.m., Sept. 29, in Kendall County Court. Plano attorney Carlo Colosimo will represent Parkview Christian Academy and Illinois Assistant Attorney General Samantha Grund-Wickramasekera will represent the Illinois State Board of Education.

A commenter noticed earlier this week that a person named Carlo Colosimo is the treasurer of the Kendall County Board of Health and wondered aloud if it was the same person, which would be really egregious.

So, I reached out to Colosimo on Facebook (of course) and asked if the commenter was right…

Yes that is me.

It’s just a microcosm of what this state is up against.

* The US Census clearly warns: “These data are experimental. Users should take caution using estimates based on subpopulations of the data – sample sizes may be small and the standard errors may be large.” So, be really careful with stories like this

A new study is revealing some of the reasons why Illinoisans have yet to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 6.6 million or 61.1% of people 12 and older in Illinois are fully vaccinated.

Nick VinZant with QuoteWizard says there are five main reasons Illinoisans have avoided the shot.

“People are worried about side effects, they are waiting to see what’s going to happen with the vaccine, they don’t believe they need it, they don’t trust the government, or they don’t trust the vaccine specifically,” said VinZant.

* Also be careful of media outlets that equate case numbers with crises in highly vaxed areas like Israel.

Israel’s vaccination rate for those 12 and above is 78 percent. Illinois’ vaccination rate for the same age group is 63.5 percent. Israel’s population is 71.4 percent of Illinois’ population. According to NPR, 600 people are hospitalized in Israel with COVID, which is just 29 percent of the 2,082 hospitalized in Illinois. Israel’s most recent 7-day average deaths is 22, which is 54 percent of Illinois’ 41.

* IDPH…

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 25,956 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 285 additional deaths since reporting last Friday, September 10, 2021. More than 80% of Illinois adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and almost 63%% of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of Illinois’ total population, more than 67% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and more than 52% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated.

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,590,342 cases, including 24,546 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since reporting on Friday, September 10, 2021, laboratories have reported 638,918 specimens for a total of 30,395,751. As of last night, 2,082 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 502 patients were in the ICU and 275 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 10-16, 2021 is 4.1%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from September 10-16, 2021 is 4.4%.

A total of 14,284,288 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 20,292 doses. Since reporting on Friday, September 10, 2021, 142,041 doses were reported administered in Illinois.

*All data are provisional and will change. Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at http://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19.

Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.

* A couple of relevant tweets…


* More…

* Some East St. Louis parents demand schools provide remote learning due to COVID cases: “One of the reasons that we’re out here is that since school has started, there have been so many outbreaks of COVID in the school,” Rice-Barnes said during the protest. “We have been reaching out to the school district asking for answers, asking for options for our children. There is no school board, no school district without our kids and our families. We are the collateral. There is no school district without parents and without children. We do not feel safe.”

* Judge to rule on Pritzker’s latest motion to dismiss dining prohibition lawsuit

* ‘Schools aren’t meant to be empty vessels’: How districts are trying to stay COVID-19 safe

* Illinois Manufacturers’ Association encouraging vaccines and mask wearing

* Parents Are Tired of Waiting for Vaccines for Their Kids. So They’re Lying.

  11 Comments      


It’s just a bill

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) has no co-sponsors yet on his new bill

Creates the Stop Social Media Censorship Act. Provides that the owner or operator of a social media website that censors or deletes a user’s religious or political speech is subject to a private right of action by certain social media website users in this State. Authorizes the recovery of actual damages, statutory damages, and punitive damages. Provides for the award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Prohibits a social media website from using alleged hate speech as a defense. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action on behalf of social media website users. Defines terms. Effective July 1, 2021.

Emphasis added. The relevant passage

A social media website may not use the social media website user’s alleged hate speech as a basis for justification or defense of the social media website’s actions at trial.

So, website owners could be forced to pay damages if they deleted commenters who used the n-word? Yeah. Hard, hard, hard pass on that one, dude.

This appears to be stock language that’s being introduced in other states.

* Meanwhile, Rep. Kelly Cassidy’s TExAS Act has picked up 14 co-sponsors and is starting to get noticed by some TikTokers…


@progressivehorsegirl

My kinda petty #illinois #democrat #politics #texasact #leftist #liberal

♬ Shivers - Ed Sheeran

@_hotmess_mama2.0

#illinois #texasact #iunderstoodtheassignment #fyp #AEJeansHaveFun

♬ The Assignment - Tay Money


* From Hannah Meisel’s story that’s linked and referenced above

Ralph Rivera of Illinois Right to Life Action didn’t find Cassidy’s bill very funny, though he did say he would be on board for legalizing bounties for rapists. Otherwise, he speculated some of the broader strokes in the bill might be found unconstitutional.

“We’re talking about human life,” Rivera said. “It’s not silly. Taking a serious matter and trying to be flippant…she could’ve just stated that and not filed a bill.”

  27 Comments      


*** UPDATED x2 *** Campaign roundup: Welch is third leader to bust the caps; Cronin replacements emerge; Davis the frontrunner?

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* House Speaker Chris Welch busted the campaign contribution caps yesterday with a $100,001 contribution to his personal campaign fund. He is now the third legislative leader to break the state’s contribution caps. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin has not yet done so, but he has in the past. From Welch campaign spokesperson Alexandra Sims…

This is another step by Speaker Welch to protect Democratic House members, as well as potential Democratic candidates, in the upcoming primary and general elections.

The caps are also off in the governor’s race, among others. [Sheesh! Another SoS mistake. I have a smooth spot on my brain about that office today.]

* Candidates are emerging to replace retiring DuPage County Board Chair Dan Cronin

Greg Hart, a sitting board member from Hinsdale, will run for his party’s nomination for the chairman’s position in 2022.

On the Democratic ticket, Liz Chaplin, once the party’s sole county board member, is vying to take the seat held by Republicans for generations. First elected in 2012, Chaplin took the helm of the finance committee after Democrats won control of the board in 2020 for the first time since the Great Depression.

State Rep. Deb Conroy, a Villa Park Democrat, said she’s also considering a run for the county’s top seat. Her fifth term expires next year.

“I will decide where I can best serve DuPage County in the coming weeks,” Conroy said Thursday.

She represents the one-time seat of former Illinois House speaker and conservative stalwart Lee Daniels, another sign that the traditionally ruby red DuPage has skewed more Democratic.

The last paragraph just blows me away. That part of the world used to be at the very epicenter of Republican politics in this state.

* The second white man with union leadership credentials has said he’s running for the vacant 72nd House District

Democrat Jeff Deppe has announced his candidacy for state Representative, Illinois House District 72.

Current state Rep. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, is running for 36th District state Senate.

Deppe’s roots run deep in Rock Island County, and he already wears many hats in the Democratic Party: He is vice president of the Rock Island County Democratic Party and is a Rock Island County board member, representing District 9. He was appointed to the county board in 2015 and elected in 2016, currently serving as chairman of the county governance, health and administration committee.

Deppe is employed as the secretary and treasurer of Laborers Local 309 (LiUNA) and was elected Illinois vice president of the Quad-City Federation of Labor in May. He sits on the boards of directors for Arrowhead Youth and Family Services and the Bi-State Regional Commission.

Thurgood Brooks, a young Black activist who narrowly lost the Rock Island mayor’s race this year is also considering a bid.

* Not sure if I totally agree with this yet, but we will certainly find out if Davis gets into the race

A Freeburg, Illinois native and newcomer to state politics is making a splash with a lot of cash.

Venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan announced he would run for the Republican nomination for Illinois governor. Sullivan joins three other nominees hoping to unseat Democratic incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker.

Even though some of his competitors have an advantage with their political experience, Sullivan may use his connections and capital to light his way towards the nomination, according to John Jackson of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. […]

Jackson feels the frontrunner is U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL 13th Dist.) who hasn’t announced his candidacy yet.

” I think [Davis] has… [the] political experience and party connections that would make him the automatic frontrunner if he were to announce,” Jackson said.

*** UPDATE 1 *** Gary Rabine press release…

The Job Creators Network (JCN) is preparing a lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate on companies with 100 or more employees, a move Gary Rabine, a JCN Board member, endorses.

Rabine is issuing the following statement on the JCN lawsuit against the Biden Administration.

“Biden’s Administration, the Administration that Pritzker & AOC support is off their rockers! Their main goal seems to be kill jobs, kill freedom, and tax more!

As one of the founding board members of Job Creators Network, I endorse this lawsuit against Biden. We have been a strong voice against terrible regulations that kill jobs but this mandate by Biden might be the most aggressive, freedom crushing bill that we have ever seen. If we allow this, what freedom will we give up next?

Our businesses at the Rabine Group have amazing people who are like family to us, and some will choose not to take this vaccine for their own personal reasons. Some of these invaluable people will choose to leave the small businesses they call home to work for a smaller company that doesn’t fall under the mandate. Some of them will move to a state that fights for their freedom against a tyrannical federal government. How many more Illinoisans can we afford to chase out?

As Governor, I will fight for the freedom of my teammates and all employees in our state. I will fight against a Biden and Pritzker tyrannical government to maintain a state of Illinois that will honor freedom and create abundant opportunity.

I endorse Job Creators Network 100% and I call on all freedom loving business leaders to join me in protecting the freedom of employees and small business.”

That’s quite… something. I’m not sure which Republican candidate would get crushed worst in a general election at the moment.

*** UPDATE 2 *** Heh…


  28 Comments      


*** UPDATED x1 *** Dowell says she would require all secretary of state campaign workers to be vaxed

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From Ald. Pat Dowell, a Democratic candidate for secretary of state…

My campaign for Illinois Secretary of State will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The pandemic has taken its toll in my community and all across Illinois. Every day, I learn of more people losing loved ones to this virus. Everyone must get vaccinated. It is the way to stop the pandemic.

I appreciate that Governor JB Pritzker and his campaign team are taking a strong stand by believing in science and trusting medical experts. I am proud to join him in this fight for the health and safety of the people of Illinois.

I’ll be asking the other campaigns for their reacts.

Your thoughts?

…Adding… Fixed my headline because I need much more coffee. Sorry! I even asked the wrong campaign person for a react earlier. Sheesh! Not sure what’s wrong with me today, but I may need a nap.

And, yes, Secretary White has mandated vaccines for employees already, but the testing opt-out is not exactly strong…

Employees who don’t show proof of vaccination by Sept. 1 will be required to undergo a COVID-19 test every other week, White said.

*** UPDATE *** Anna Valencia…

“Since the City Clerk’s office returned in June 2020, we have been providing crucial essential services since and have done everything to protect constituents doing business with the office. Much like other personnel decisions during the pandemic, we’re working with our partners in labor to ensure we implement vaccination standards in a way that makes sense for our workers and customers. As the only person in the race who has had to manage a large government entity which interacts with our most vulnerable citizens during the pandemic, I know that this policy is the very least we can do. I will also have the same policy on our campaign.”

  23 Comments      


Today’s must-read

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Mitchell Armentrout at the Sun-Times

Nurses work 18-hour shifts while administrators are pulled from their offices and outfitted with personal protective equipment to help staff the hospital’s bustling COVID-19 testing site.

Other workers scramble to clear an intensive care unit bed that’ll immediately be filled by another coronavirus patient.

For the others waiting in line for critical care — including heart attack victims, car crash survivors and others who haven’t come down with severe respiratory symptoms from the virus — they’re looking at a five-hour ambulance ride to find the nearest available ICU bed.

And that’s only if the ambulance isn’t already behind schedule from its last out-of-state run with an infected patient.

It’s not a look back to 2020. It’s a September night in southern Illinois this week, nine months after life-saving vaccines were deployed in the pandemic fight. […]

The Illinois Department of Public Health said by the end of the week, it’ll have sent more than 100 additional health care workers to the region. The state agency also helped receive federal approval to start sending civilian patients to three V.A. hospitals.

Despite increasing the number of available ICU beds to 94 yesterday, from 84 earlier in the week, the region still has none available.

Go read the whole thing.

  58 Comments      


Open thread

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Something to maybe get you started…


Anything else on your mind?

  19 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

  Comments Off      


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

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

  Comments Off      


*** LIVE COVERAGE ***

Friday, Sep 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive


  Comments Off      


Treasurer’s OEIG Rendleman out after Republicans complain about Facebook posts

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Center Square

The nominee for the Executive Inspector General for the Illinois Treasurer has withdrawn from consideration after controversial social media posts were revealed.

Acting Treasurer OEIG Dennis Rendleman has been on the job since February 2020 with a $100,000 a year salary.

“Dennis Rendleman is a nationally recognized expert on ethics,” said Treasurer Michael Frerichs spokesman Greg Rivara. “However, Mr. Rendleman has asked us to withdraw his nomination and indicated that he will work with the Treasurer’s Office to provide an orderly transition to a new nominee as Executive Inspector General.” […]

State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, sponsored Rendleman, saying in committee he supported him, but then requested the appointment be held back after social media posts were revealed.

“We saw bad language, we saw posts that were accusing Republicans of killing people, essentially,” McClure said. “We saw just over the top extremist language which is just totally inappropriate for someone who wants to continue to serve, by the way, he’s been serving in this capacity while making these posts, but someone who’s supposed to be an inspector general, kind of above the fray, fair, impartial, that is not what we were seeing with these posts.”

Some posts obtained by The Center Square showed Rendleman writing on Facebook “White ‘Christian’ nationalists = Taliban/ISIS/Al Qaeda” and linking to separate Politico and NPR online articles. Another post Rendleman shared showed three people wearing Klu Klux Klan outfits with the text “when you accidentally wash your KKK robe with your MAGA hat.”

“They were of the most extreme types of political discussions on his Facebook page and all of us believed they were inappropriate,” McClure said. […]

“In Mr. Rendleman’s nearly 40-year legal career, there have been no issues or concerns raised about his ability to separate his personal opinions from the objective and neutral positions with which he has been entrusted by [University of Illinois Springfield], [Illinois State Bar Association], the [American Bar Association], and the Illinois Supreme Court,” [Treasurer Michael Frerichs spokesman Greg Rivara] said.

His Facebook account is here. And people on the right keep saying that the left is pushing “cancel culture.”

  38 Comments      


Question of the day

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The setup

It used to be that running a broadcast TV series was the top of the mountain for those in the small-screen business. These days, you’re more likely to hear about an old broadcast series like “Friends” or “Seinfeld” moving to a streaming platform in search of a second life.

The streaming era has stolen the spotlight from the once-vaunted industry, which is long past the halcyon days of “Must-See TV.” As showrunner Saladin Patterson puts it: “Right now, my kids could not tell you where ABC is on the TV.”

* The Question: How often do you watch traditional broadcast network television, and for what?

  69 Comments      


COVID-19 roundup

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I checked this afternoon and it’s still zero

All 88 of the [southern Illinois] region’s ICU beds are in use, as COVID-19 case numbers continue to climb, leaving the area worse off than the rest of the state in terms of emergency care, according to state health department data.

There were zero ICU beds available in Region 5 as of early Tuesday afternoon, according to IDPH’s metrics.

* The U of I really needs to get its act together, like today

As of Wednesday, 449 public school districts and private K-12 school organizations in Illinois had signed up to implement SHIELD testing. About 79 of them had actually started testing, according to SHIELD Illinois. […]

SHIELD leaders say they have plenty of supplies and capacity. But they, and school leaders, say it’s taking time for schools to communicate with parents, get parental permission and then send rosters of participating students to SHIELD.

Further exacerbating the situation, the testing organization was hit with a wave of demand in the month before school started, with hundreds of school districts signing on in late July or August. In late August, Gov. J.B. Pritzker publicly announced that all schoolteachers and staff would be required to get vaccinated or get tested for COVID-19 once a week. That month, the state also detailed an optional new test-to-stay program, in which students and teachers who are close contacts of people with COVID-19 may stay in school so long as they test negative on days 1, 3, 5 and 7 after exposure.

It can now sometimes take days for SHIELD to answer schools’ questions about implementing testing because of the high demand and a limited number of SHIELD staffers, said Ron Watkins, managing director of SHIELD Illinois, which is a nonprofit unit of the University of Illinois system. SHIELD is working to hire more people to help answer schools’ questions in the next few weeks, and upgrading its software to help make the process of getting started more efficient for schools.

* Center Square

The Illinois Department of Public Health was in the hot seat Wednesday during a House committee hearing on nursing home reform.

Nursing homes and long-term care facilities house a small part of the U.S. population, but are estimated to account for about 3 in 10 deaths from COVID-19. IDPH reported 46% of all deaths from COVID-19 in Illinois occurred in long-term care facilities.

Lawmakers had questions for IDPH representative Becky Dragoo, including the number of deaths in long-term care facilities during the pandemic, and the number of nursing homes that were cited by the state for a lack of protocols.

State Rep. Lakeshia Collins, D-Chicago, was not happy that Dragoo did not provide the number of deaths in Illinois nursing homes during the pandemic.

“If there’s no numbers that you can present to us when we get on these calls and you have to give us a follow-up, that’s a problem because you know we are going to ask these questions,” Collins said.

* Maybe the southern states should try harder to not need such massive amounts of a drug in limited supply

(U)ntil recently, the [Biden] administration had shipped the antibody treatments to states on an as-needed basis — with top health officials in early August going as far as encouraging those battling the Delta surge to seek even more supply.

But demand from a handful of southern states has exploded since then, state and federal officials said, raising concerns they were consuming a disproportionate amount of the national supply. Seven states — Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Louisiana and Alabama — accounted for 70 percent of all orders in early September.

The imbalance prompted an effort to rein in control of supplies, over concerns that the government wouldn’t have enough on hand to respond to Covid-19 surges elsewhere in the country. […]

DeSantis has similarly touted efforts to make the treatment widely available, while downplaying the virus’ threat and criticizing the Biden administration’s support for vaccine mandates and school mask mandates.

* Related…

* COVID-19 hospitalizations level off, but ICU availability continues to shrink

* End of COVID-19 homeowner protections is unlikely to bring a wave of foreclosures

* ‘It’s A Nightmare’: Families Concerned About COVID-19 ‘Outbreak Status’ At State Run Facilities

* ‘We’re desperate’: Southern Illinois schools scramble to find substitute teachers

* Hospital staff must swear off Tylenol, Tums to get religious vaccine exemption: The move was prompted when Conway Regional Health System noted an unusual uptick in vaccine exemption requests that cited the use of fetal cell lines in the development and testing of the vaccines. … The list includes Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, aspirin, Tums, Lipitor, Senokot, Motrin, ibuprofen, Maalox, Ex-Lax, HIV-1, Benadryl, Sudafed, albuterol, Preparation H, MMR vaccine, Claritin, Zoloft, Prilosec OTC, and azithromycin.

* 39-year-old Illinois teacher hospitalized for weeks with complications related to COVID-19 has died

* How Child Care Providers Are Dealing with a Staff Shortage

  17 Comments      


It’s not even a bill yet (and may never be)

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here if you need it. There’s something very important missing from this WIFR TV story

Recent charges filed against the Winnebago County Coroner inspire area lawmakers to hold elected officials accountable.

State Senator Dave Syverson is one local lawmaker trying to push a bipartisan bill into the Illinois House and Senate.

Syverson says the piece of legislation addresses how to hold accountable any elected officials potentially abusing their power.

“We want to protect the Constitution, protect those people who are duly elected from being a political victim. But in cases where an elected official, is clearly abusing their, their position, then we have to find a way to take them out of those duties,” Syverson says.

Other area lawmakers, like Senator Steve Stadelman, are also on board with this initiative.

“I think it’s something that needs to be explored it kind of sets up an interesting situation, ultimately comes down, you want the public trust your elected office,” Stadelman says.

The story goes on like that, but never explains what the bill would do. That’s because, according to Sen. Stadelman, there is no bill yet “and I’m not sure there’s a legislative fix to this situation.”

Statutorily requiring the removal of elected officials from office after they’ve only been indicted or charged with a crime would likely be problematic.

  10 Comments      


Rate the new DGA video on GOP opposition to COVID mitigations

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

The DGA is launching a new video in Illinois that slams the growing GOP gubernatorial field for their reckless disregard for public safety throughout the pandemic.

While the rest of the field have already gotten a head start, Jesse Sullivan, the newest to join the growing primary, has quickly jumped on the anti-science bandwagon. Sullivan has repeatedly opposed measures to mitigate the spread of COVID, and he’s not the only anti-science Republican in the race. Gary Rabine, Darren Bailey, and Paul Schimpf have all similarly opposed common-sense safety measures.

Sullivan, Rabine, Bailey, and Schimpf have baselessly criticized the leadership of Gov. JB Pritzker, who acted swiftly to protect the health of Illinoisans when the pandemic hit. As Republicans flounder on public safety, Gov. Pritzker is putting Illinois back on a firm fiscal footing to emerge from the pandemic even stronger.

“As Republican primary candidates vie for the support of Trump’s extremist base, they’ve taken to spreading dangerous lies and threatening public safety with their negligence,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “The growing primary field is in a full-on race to the far-right, and that means adopting an unpopular anti-science, anti-safety, and anti-Illinois platform that voters will reject at the ballot box.”

I’ve asked whether this is just a YouTube video or if the DGA is putting any money behind it online. My guess from reading lots of releases like this is it’s just a video, but I’ll let you know if I hear back. [I was right. Just a video.]

* Video

* Transcript

Reporter: What would you tell people today who are still holding out, who have not been vaccinated?

Gary Rabine: Mandating of this vaccine, of these vaccines, is crazy.

Jesse Sullivan: Mandating and forcing actions is not the way that I would handle things.

Reporter: Today, Bailey says he believes everything in the state should be open — no capacity limits, no restrictions.

Paul Schimpf: I voted against the governor’s mask mandate.

  14 Comments      


Pritzker campaign mandates COVID vax as condition of employment

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* JB for Governor campaign manager Mike Ollen…

“The JB for Governor campaign is requiring full vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. We are leading by example and following the same science and medical advice from doctors, nurses and medical professionals that has guided Governor JB Pritzker in his strong leadership to protect the lives and livelihoods of Illinoisans during this deadly global pandemic. The best way to help end this pandemic is for all of us to listen to the science, and that means getting vaccinated. As always, we’ll continue putting the health and safety of all Illinoisans first.”

It’s not unexpected. But they’re one of the first major campaigns in the country to do this, and it’ll mean other Illinois candidates in both parties (statewide, congressional and legislative) will likely be asked about it.

…Adding… Related…


  11 Comments      


Oh, great: “A cocktail mix of heavy disease pressure”

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I believe we were promised a killer meteor quite some time ago

As Ken Ferrie travels through parts of central Illinois this week, he sees a corn crop that has changed radically in the past seven days.

“Disease pressure is bringing fields to their knees, and a lot of that corn here will die before it can finish the race for yield,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist and owner of Crop-Tech Consulting, Heyworth, Ill.

Corn that typically would be filling kernels this time of year is, instead, prematurely shutting down due to a cocktail mix of heavy disease pressure coming at it from many fronts – gray leaf spot, northern leaf blight, common and southern rust, tar spot and, most recently, Goss’s bacterial wilt and leaf blight.

“That picture-perfect photo finish you like to see with the top of the plant still green and the husk turning ripe is getting harder and harder to find as you visit these fields,” he says.

D and L-1 hybrids are a concern. Ferrie says the late disease push is particularly hard on D hybrids. These are hybrids that have kernel depth changes, positive or negative, based on populations and environmental conditions during the last 30 days of grain fill.

This post is mostly snark because I couldn’t resist putting that quote into a headline

The silver lining is that the pressure has developed late enough that many of the D hybrids will still produce average to even slightly above-average yields but not record-setting yields.

  23 Comments      


Another day, another Fourth Circuit pro-virus transmission order

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here if you need it. 30-day TRO from Judge M. Don Sheafor, Jr. requested by two parents. You can guess who the attorney of record is

Plaintiffs have shown there exists a clearly ascertainable right in need of protection, namely that the Children, while on school property, are being forced to utilize a device to allegedly prevent the spread of an infectious disease without a lawful order of quarantine having issued against them by the local health department. Plaintiff has shown, have shown there is a fair question that Plaintiffs will succeed on the merits in that the Children cannot be required to utilize a device to allegedly prevent the spread of an infectious disease absent, inter alia, an order of quarantine issuing against any or all of the Children from the local health department.

Plaintiffs have shown they will suffer irreparable harm if an injunction does not issue, namely the Children are being refused access to their education unless they unwillingly utilize a device to allegedly prevent the spread of an infectious disease even in the absence of a quarantine order against them; and

It is clear from the pleadings that given in this order precludes the local health department from issuing a lawful order of quarantine against any or all of the Children, which could compel them to utilize a device to prevent the spread of an infectious disease. […]

WHEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:

While the Children are on school property, the Defendants, are enjoined from requiring any or all of the Children who attend within the school district to utilize any type of device, including a mask, for the purposes of allegedly preventing the spread of an infectious disease unless an order of quarantine has issues against any or all of the Children from the local health department as required by the Illinois State Board of Education.

* This statement from Annie Thompson at the Illinois Attorney General’s office was issued yesterday regarding the previous case. It’ll suffice for this one, too…

We are reviewing the court’s decision. It is disappointing that some people do not support the right of all students, including those who have disabilities or other comorbidities, to safely access education in the classroom. Because we are dealing with a highly transmissible virus, the decision of some students to not wear masks affects not only them, but also the rights and health of every other student, teacher and staff member with whom they interact in a school setting. We remain committed to defending in court the governor’s actions to protect Illinois residents and our students from the spread of COVID-19, and the highly transmissible Delta variant in particular.

  42 Comments      


It’s just a bill

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* There is so much wrong with this lead story that I almost don’t know where to begin

The same dark-money group that fueled opposition to the graduated income tax ballot measure Illinois voters rejected last year is helping launch “a statewide grassroots campaign to give voters the power to recall their elected officials.”

Although the group’s organizers aren’t yet revealing details about their campaign, the Illinois Opportunity Project, a conservative tax-exempt organization that does not have to disclose its donors, is joining forces with state Sen. Jason Barickman and state Rep. Mark Batinick, both Republicans, in the effort. Both lawmakers have been outspoken critics of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s handling of the pandemic.

The IOP, which is connected to the conservative Illinois Policy Institute, spent nearly $1 million to successfully oppose the graduated income tax ballot measure. Now we’re wondering how much it would spend to potentially create a recall referendum.

The first step is getting the idea on the ballot.

Plans to kick off its campaign Wednesday were delayed because media attention was focused on Pritzker signing the clean-energy bill. A spokeswoman says the recall effort will be launched next week instead.

All this comes on the heels of California Gov. Gavin Newsom easily beating back a recall effort this week, a signal of the uphill challenge Republicans here would face.

Illinois doesn’t have a recall law on the books and Pritzker is likely to have won a second term before one can be put in place, potentially putting the focus on legislators. […]

Illinois GOP political operative Jon Zahm, who has worked on statewide policy campaigns, says, “I am all for recalls and citizen referendums being easier to access for voters. However, when I was deeply involved in term limits and fair maps, the Democrat-majority Supreme Court threw out the petitions on technical grounds. I support these new efforts to educate voters and fight for change. But it’s a very steep climb.”

1) The press conference wasn’t intended to “launch” any actual recall “effort.” I checked in with Rep. Batinick and asked whether he supports recalling Gov. Pritzker: “Nope,” was his response.

2) Batinick has hardly been an “outspoken critic” of the governor’s mitigation measures. “I’ve supported most of the governor’s mitigations,” he told me today.

3) Yes, we already do have a recall law here. Illinois voters approved a recall amendment to the Illinois Constitution in 2010. It was designed to be almost completely unworkable

The recall of the Governor may be proposed by a petition signed by a number of electors equal in number to at least 15% of the total votes cast for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election, with at least 100 signatures from each of at least 25 separate counties. A petition shall have been signed by the petitioning electors not more than 150 days after an affidavit has been filed with the State Board of Elections providing notice of intent to circulate a petition to recall the Governor. The affidavit may be filed no sooner than 6 months after the beginning of the Governor’s term of office. The affidavit shall have been signed by the proponent of the recall petition, at least 20 members of the House of Representatives, and at least 10 members of the Senate, with no more than half of the signatures of members of each chamber from the same established political party.

4) The first step is not getting a recall on the ballot. The media event was designed to highlight HJRCA4, a proposed constitutional amendment that’s stuck in the Rules Committee. Synopsis

Proposes to amend the Suffrage and Elections Article of the Illinois Constitution. Provides for the recall of all State Executive Branch officers, legislative leaders, the Auditor General, members of the General Assembly, and local government officials. Makes changes to the procedures for the recall of the Governor. Effective upon being declared adopted.

The full text is here.

5) The California recall process “sucks,” Batinick told me…

You should never have a system where someone with 49 percent of the vote can be replaced with somebody with 20 percent of the vote. It also should not be used so blatantly for partisan purposes

This proposal, Batinick said via text, would be much better…

What we proposed was to follow the normal replacement process. So if Blagojevich were to be recalled he would’ve been replaced by the lieutenant governor - Quinn.

We have a 60 percent threshold to recall somebody. It needs to be a super majority.

Finally, people only think about recall in terms of governors. We’ve had local officials do their jobs from Florida at townships. When that’s discovered there should be a process to recall those people.

…Adding… Oops. Forgot one. John Zahm’s “Vote NO Kilbride 2020″ campaign committee reported spending a grand total of $558 last year. That is not a typo.

  20 Comments      


More good fiscal news

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Midwest Bond Buyer correspondent…



  29 Comments      


Open thread

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Illinois-centric only, please. Thanks.

  40 Comments      


*** LIVE COVERAGE ***

Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive


  Comments Off      


Question of the day

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I stopped at the Pontiac Wally’s for the first time several months ago while my brother Devin and I were driving from our parents’ house to our uncle’s house. We needed gas anyway and my only superstition is to always stop in Pontiac on my way through. I don’t usually care about such things, but wow is it ever big and impressive


My uncle loves jerky, and Wally’s actually has a jerky bar. Imagine that.

* All during the spring session and then through the summer’s special sessions, I heard legislators, lobbyists, reporters and staff talking about how much they loved the place and how they always ran into somebody they knew there. I was driving back from Chicago after a White Sox game and ran into Sen. Patrick Joyce while he was filling his tank. Senate President Don Harmon ran into Gov. JB Pritzker at Wally’s a couple of weeks ago. “I saw somebody I knew at Wally’s” has truly become a thing. From today

Patterson was on his way back from today’s Chicago bill-signing ceremony. He was supposed to send me some Wally’s pics, but I guess he forgot.

* The Question: Your best Wally’s story?

  40 Comments      


The Fourth Circuit strikes again with pro-virus transmission order

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* You may recall the Fourth Judicial Circuit as the one which produced Judge Michael McHaney, who issued a weird ruling early last year that was eventually tossed. Here we go again

Three children in Effingham County can’t be forced to wear masks without an official quarantine order from the county health department, a judge ruled Wednesday.

The attorney who brought the case [Tom DeVore] anticipates more such cases across the state. […]

On Wednesday, DeVore took a different case a step further and successfully argued in Illinois’ Fourth Judicial Circuit that masks are a medical device that can’t be required without quarantine orders. […]

“Plaintiffs have shown they will suffer irreparable harm if an injunction does not issue, namely the children being refused access to their education unless they unwillingly utilize a device to allegedly prevent the spread of an infectious disease even in the absence of a quarantine order against them,” the judge’s temporary order says. “Nothing in this order shall prohibit the local health department, or the Illinois Department of Health, from issuing a lawful order of quarantine against any or all of the children as allowed by law.”

The Teutopolis school district, where the three students attend classes, did challenge the issue, DeVore said.

Masks as a medical device. Novel. The order is here. What DeVore appears to want to do here is tie up the courts with quarantine cases to the point where nobody can keep up.

But if disease-infected kids attend a school and refuse to wear a mask, the result could very well be that part or all of that school will be shut down for remote learning.

  36 Comments      


If you want people to support local news, then please don’t be so bad at it

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Oh, for crying out loud…


The plant, not the utility, will have to close in 24 years unless CWLP can reduce/capture all carbon emissions.

…Adding… They thankfully deleted the tweets. I saved one of them, though…

  21 Comments      


Caption contest!

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Senate President Don Harmon, House Speaker Chris Welch and Gov. JB Pritzker pose with a copy of the climate/energy legislation after today’s bill-signing ceremony…

  40 Comments      


Pew: “Illinois is getting closer to stabilizing pension debt”

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, Illinois’ average annual pension contribution growth rate was 12 percent in 2009-19

A Growing Share of States Have Achieved Positive Amortization of Pension Debt

Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania led this trend in increasing [pension] contributions, with an average growth in scheduled pension payments of 16% each year from 2009 to 2019. These states have been among the worst-funded states for two decades, and their contribution increases are part of long-term plans to address the large legacy pension debt each has accumulated. As a result, Kentucky and Pennsylvania achieved positive amortization in 2019, with Illinois and New Jersey expected to begin reducing pension debt once the outsized investment returns in fiscal 2021 are recognized. In each case, the turnaround was prompted by state policymakers’ acknowledgment that a return to pension plan funding discipline—paying down pension debts in addition to the value of annual benefits as they are earned—is the only path forward in order to avoid pension fund insolvency.

Funding discipline has been central to the improvement in these states, though all four have also changed benefits to help reduce future costs and risks. Illinois began its long path to pension funding in 1995, with a plan to be 90% funded by 2045. This approach was criticized for pushing costs to future generations of taxpayers, as evidenced by the sharp increase in contributions required between 2008 and 2019. However, a quarter of a century later, Illinois is getting closer to stabilizing pension debt, though plan actuaries continue to encourage further strengthening funding policy.

In 2000, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania reported having fully funded pension plans, in contrast to Illinois. But those three states emerged as among the worst-funded due to a combination of shortchanging contributions, offering unfunded benefit increases, and investments that fell short of expectations. All of these weaknesses were in place before 2008. When the 2007-09 recession hit, it further strained underfunded pension systems and forced a reckoning.

In all three states, the initial response to the recession was to gradually increase the level of pension payments that would avoid immediate budget pressures but would give policymakers a plan to meet minimum funding standards. In Kentucky, it became clear that this would take too long. In 2013, further reforms required the state to start making the full payment recommended by plan actuaries and put in place a new plan design to help manage risk. Pennsylvania stuck with the ramp up in pension costs despite the strain it placed on state and school budgets. In 2017, state officials supplemented the initial response with changes to plan design for new hires to make future costs more predictable and lowered investment fees expected to save taxpayers at least $3 billion. New Jersey was the slowest to fulfill its promise to make full pension payments. Before the pandemic, the strategy was to make the full payment in the fiscal 2023 budget, but an improved fiscal situation allowed policymakers to put the full pension payment in the 2022 budget, a year ahead of schedule and the first time this century New Jersey will meet minimum funding standards.

* This is what I told subscribers over a month ago…

Gov. Pritzker traveled to New York recently to meet with the three bond rating agencies. This was his third such briefing, which is highly unusual for an Illinois governor. Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes, who is transitioning out of his job, traveled with Pritzker and Hynes chatted with me for a few minutes yesterday.

Hynes said the ultimate goal of the trip was to push for additional upgrades in the state’s credit ratings. Two of the three firms have raised the state’s rating since the new budget was enacted.

The most news-worthy item to me was about the state’s pension debt. A slide was presented to the agencies showing that by next fiscal year the state will have more employees in the much less costly Tier 2 pension program than in Tier 1. “That’s why the trend is our friend,” Hynes said. “If we just continue to make the same payment, over time, the demographics are going to work in our favor.”

Hynes explained that the “same payment” didn’t mean the dollar amount would level off, but payments would remain at about 25 percent of the state’s budget into the future. While that’s a huge chunk of the budget, “75 percent of a growing revenue pie is still a lot of money to do the things we need to do and want to do,” Hynes said. And planning will be easier. Of course, that assumes no major revenue crashes and no successful legal action on Tier 2.

  46 Comments      


A difference in emphasis

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Sun-Time has a story today trumpeting the news that the governor is “pleased” with the new COVID numbers

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday said he’s “pleased” with the way the state’s surging COVID-19 numbers are flattening out […]

“They’ve subsided a little, they’ve flattened a bit, not the case numbers necessarily, but the hospitalizations, and so I’m pleased about that,” Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference in Aurora. “But until they start to come down the other side of this, we can’t lighten up on our mitigations, because, once again, we’re trying to defeat this so that people can go about their daily lives.”

* Pritzker was responding to a question about local officials not enforcing the indoor mask mandate

Well, the first thing is, voters can vote those leaders out, because they’re not real leaders. They’re not standing up for the health and safety of the people in their communities. As you’ve seen throughout this pandemic, there have been local officials who’ve been unwilling to stand up for the people of their communities on a mask mandate. It’s perhaps now more important than ever, as we have our children back in schools, all across the state, that we’re trying to keep them healthy.

And it’s not just the mask mandate within schools that’s helping to keep those communities healthy. It’s obviously the indoor mask mandate. As we’ve seen hospitalizations and cases rise in the state, they haven’t come down. They’ve subsided a little they’ve flattened a bit, not the case numbers, necessarily, but the hospitalizations. And so I’m pleased about that. But until they start to come down the other side of this, we can’t lighten up on our mitigations because, once again, we’re trying to defeat this so that people can go about their daily lives.

One last thing, if you want to keep your business open, if you want to keep the economy going, we need people to wear masks.

  14 Comments      


Cronin on future: “I’m going to sit this election cycle out”

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Dan Cronin spent almost two decades in the General Assembly before becoming county board chairman. But he’s ready to stop for a while

DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin will step aside next year rather than seek a fourth term, but the Republican stalwart won’t rule out running for another elected office. […]

Cronin said he’s been encouraged by supporters to consider a bid for statewide office, “any office at the state or federal level.” But Cronin said it’s “highly unlikely” he’d run for governor.

“I still plan to be very much involved,” Cronin said. “I’m going to sit this election cycle out, though.” […]

He says he wants to serve on nonprofit boards and he wants to stay politically engaged, and he can still use his influence and campaign war chest to help elect like-minded candidates.

  57 Comments      


This stuff has to stop

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Marion County Board of Health meeting minutes from June 16, 2020

On June 11, 2020, Melissa received a complaint phone call from a Marion County restaurant that Sharon’s Café in Salem was allowing inside dining. Dan, our Health Inspector, went to Sharon’s Café and spoke with the owner and expressed that inside dining was not allowed in Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois plan, at this time only outside dining, curb side pickup or delivery was a part of Phase 3. Dan did inform them that inside dining would be allowed in Phase 4, which is in 2 weeks.

On June 12, 2020 Representative Blaine Wilhour visited various restaurants in Marion County and told them the health department had no authority to tell them they could not have indoor dining. Melissa contacted Bill Milner, our State’s Attorney, to advise. Mr. Milner stated no judge would side with the health department when a small business is trying to stay open to make a living. Also that inside dining is no more harmful to the public than Wal-Mart that is full of shoppers.

We went over that illogic a kabillion times here. Most people don’t shop for the hour or two that it takes to eat lunch or dinner. And you can’t wear a mask when you’re eating and drinking.

* June 12, 2020 Facebook post

Rep. Wilhour’s caption was also quoted by one of those Proft papers last year.

* Yesterday

Gut-wrenching.

* Meanwhile

It’s worse in 20 counties spanning the southern tip of the state. All 88 ICU hospital beds were occupied Monday night for a region that’s home to more than 400,000 residents and that has a testing positivity rate of 10.3%.

“We’re chugging through some pretty bad days here,” said Nathan Ryder, community outreach coordinator for the Southern 7 Health Department, which covers Illinois’ seven southernmost counties. “It looked like it was leveling off the last couple of days, but now we’re facing a pretty scary number.”

The state deployed a team of critical care nurses to the region last week when it was down to one or two available ICU beds per night, Ryder said, to open up about 10 additional beds.

“Even with that help, we still don’t have the capacity,” he said. “If you’re in a motor vehicle accident, or you’re having a cardiac trauma, a stroke — those are people who need ICU beds. At this point, if you encounter that, you’re probably looking at getting shipped off to St. Louis or Nashville. That’s an incredible strain on the patient and their loved ones.”

The region also has some of the lowest vaccination rates in Illinois — all the way down to Alexander County, where not even 17% of residents are fully vaccinated, the lowest in the state.

Take a very deep breath before commenting, please.

…Adding… Rep. Wilhour…

First off, prayers to the family that is dealing with a loss of a loved one.

I strain to see the connection between your 2 Facebook posts.

At the request of the restaurant-who stated they could not afford to shut down, I like I have throughout the past 18+ months, by request of the owner offered them my take on their statutory due process rights in light of a health department telling them they have to close without their consent or having any intent to get a court order.

THAT WAS 15 MONTHS AGO.

The tragic death that was noted in the 2nd post happened yesterday under a situation where being open was not in violation of any executive order.

Trying to insinuate that one is the result of the other is purposefully misleading at best.

This is a case study in building a false narrative for political purposes.

The right thing to do would be to immediately update your post with my full commentary. Especially since you insinuated some pretty serious stuff against me.

Now he’s a mind reader.

  50 Comments      


Unclear on the concept

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* WICS on the new climate/energy bill

The bill sets a goal of adding 1 million electric cars to Illinois’ roadways by the end of the decade. To do that, the state will offer $4,000 rebates to residents who purchase electric cars.

The problem is the rebate only applies to Chicago and its suburban counties: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, the townships of Aux Sable and Goose Lake in Grundy County, and the township of Oswego in Kendall County.

Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, says it makes no sense to push for vehicle electrification statewide and not even include the incentives for the county where state government is located.

“Unfortunately, people are not viewing this as one state. They’re viewing it as Chicago vs. everybody else,” McClure said. “Sangamon County is going to be paying for these nuclear power plants that are in that area of the state that we get no benefit from.”

Illinois Senate Democrats argue that the eligible counties and townships pay into a state account that funds the rebate, which is why their residents are eligible for the rebate.

But McClure says downstate counties shouldn’t have to pay into the fund since every Illinoisan will pay into the $694 million bailout of aging nuclear power plants that only provide power to northern Illinois communities.

1) The governor’s office says a scrivener’s error excluded Downstate counties from the rebate program and it will be added back in during the veto session, even though their counties and townships don’t pay into the rebate fund.

2) Sangamon County electricity users will not be funding the Exelon bailout. Only ComEd customers will be on the hook for that.

  23 Comments      


Open thread

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The magic number of 7 comes to my mind, but what do you want to talk about?

  9 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

  Comments Off      


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

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

  Comments Off      


*** LIVE COVERAGE ***

Wednesday, Sep 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive


  Comments Off      


Question of the day: “The TExAS Act”

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Today, State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, filed HB 4146, the TExAS Act (The Expanding Abortion Services Act). The TExAS Act seeks to affirm the steps Illinois has taken to ensure that our state remains a place where the full range of reproductive health services are available and accessible to all people, including those forced to travel out of state from jurisdictions seeking to restrict access to abortion and other reproductive health care.

Then bill creates a civil right of action enabling any person to bring a civil action against a person who commits an act of domestic violence or sexual assault, as well as anyone who causes an unintended pregnancy or any person who enables those acts. It establishes a minimum $10,000 civil award to the person bringing the action with $5,000 of that fine going into a newly created state fund to ensure that people who are forced to flee their home states to seek reproductive health care have the ability to pay for that care here in Illinois.

“When the Texas legislature, aided by the United States Supreme Court, declared open season on people seeking reproductive health care, it was very clear to me that our state is in a unique position to reach out our hands and offer people from Texas and other states who seek to restrict reproductive rights a safe haven,” said Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who was chief sponsor of the Reproductive Health Act establishing the fundamental right to reproductive health care in Illinois in 2019.

If enacted, the fund would be managed by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and would be used to provide financial aid to women who may come to Illinois to seek reproductive health care in a safe and accessible way. The person found responsible for causing an unintended pregnancy, or a person committing an act of domestic violence or sexual assault, or someone who enabled those actions would be responsible for paying the damages.

“The measure in Texas is just one piece of the radical attempt to dismantle reproductive rights and access to reproductive health care across the nation. I’m proud to come from a state that will uphold the fundamental right for a woman to make the best decision for her own health,” said Cassidy. “When the legislature codified into the law the Reproductive Healthcare Act, we have ensured that the right to choose will remain in Illinois, no matter what may happen with Roe v. Wade, or what other states may do in creating irresponsible and dangerous policies like Texas.”

* The Question: Do you support the state creating a “civil right of action enabling any person to bring a civil action against a person who commits an act of domestic violence or sexual assault, as well as anyone who causes an unintended pregnancy or any person who enables those acts”? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…


polls

…Adding… Hannah Meisel

House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) spokeswoman Jaclyn Driscoll said it’s up to Cassidy to request a hearing on the bill, but “the speaker certainly wouldn’t stand in the way of one.” Welch has also pushed for reproductive rights in his time in office.

At an event in Aurora Tuesday morning, Planned Parenthood of Illinois President and CEO appeared with Gov. JB Pritzker and three Democratic members of Congress to promote legislation seeking to enshrine abortion rights in federal law. Welch said Planned Parenthood facilities in Illinois have already seen an uptick in people traveling across state lines to get abortions in Illinois.

“It only took two days after [the Texas law] was enacted for us to see Texas patients here in Illinois, despite those long distances they had to travel,” Welch said. “We expect those numbers to significantly increase when these dangerous laws continue.”

Cassidy said she’s heard the same anecdotally from abortion providers, and recalled doubt from colleagues and others when she sponsored the Reproductive Health Act in 2019, saying she was told it was hyperbolic to predict Roe v. Wade would be overturned.

  36 Comments      


JCAR recommends that State Board of Education issue formal rule over mask enforcement issue

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Center Square…

A body of state lawmakers says the Illinois State Board of Education may be overstepping its authority by revoking recognition of schools, public and private, because of masking policies.

“There is a concern that policy outside of rule may exist and [Joint Committee on Administrative Rules] encourages ISBE to place all guidance and policy in rule,” the clerk for JCAR read during Tuesday hearing.

Ten of the 12 members of JCAR, a bipartisan panel of state legislators, approved the resolution.

The motion also requests ISBE clarify the process of revoking school recognition.

The vote came after ISBE took questions from members of JCAR in Chicago.

Kristen Kennedy, a deputy legal officer with ISBE, said they didn’t intend to file any rules and said they believe state law and administrative rules that exist now gives them the authority to punish schools, public and private, for not following the governor’s health guidance.

JCAR Co-chairman state Rep. Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego, said there’s oversight of rules from JCAR.

JCAR can’t force ISBE to issue the rules, but they get a headline.

Also, of course, the members of JCAR are all legislators, so they could get together and introduce an actual bill.

  10 Comments      


Complaint filed in Michigan over $250,000 Pritzker campaign contribution to fellow Dem governor

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Detroit News in July

The leader of the conservative Michigan Freedom Fund filed on Wednesday a campaign finance complaint against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s reelection committee, contending it committed “the largest money grab ever seen in Michigan to ignore contribution limits.” […]

Supporters of the governor said she could do it because she was facing recall campaigns. Decisions in the 1980s from then-Secretary of State Richard Austin allowed an officeholder fighting a recall to raise unlimited amounts from donors.

In response to the new complaint, Mark Fisk, Whitmer’s campaign spokesman, labeled the claims “bogus” and “without merit.”

“There have been nearly 30 recall petitions filed against Gov. Whitmer, and governors under threat of recall are exempt from campaign finance limits to defend themselves,” Fisk said.

In 1983, Austin ruled that a Michigan officeholder can accept contributions that exceed normal limits if the officeholder’s recall is “actively being sought.” To allow committees aiming to recall officeholders to raise unlimited amounts while not allowing the officeholders to do so would be “absurd and unfair,” Austin said.

There’s more to this, so go read it all if it interests you. Among other things, the Whitmer campaign claimed that since some of the recall attempts were still tied up in court the contribution caps didn’t apply.

Why do we care?

* Today

Designating 10 major donors to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer the “$100,000 Club,” the Michigan Freedom Fund on Tuesday filed a formal campaign finance complaint. […]

MFF took the dollar amounts and donor names from Whitmer’s July Campaign Finance Statement filed with the Office of the Secretary of State. According to state law, political officeholders facing recall efforts are allowed to collect unlimited donations – but no recall efforts are currently underway for Whitmer. Absent that exception, the state campaign contribution limit is $7,150.

Among those donors named in the MFF complaint are attorney Mark Bernstein and Illinois Gov. J.D. Pritzker. […]

Pritzker, meanwhile, donated $250,000 to the governor on July 8.

Sachs asks the secretary of state to force the governor to relinquish any amounts from a single donor exceeding $7,150, as well as pay a fine equal to the illegal amount.

I’ve asked the governor’s campaign for comment.

  2 Comments      


COVID-19 roundup

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Get your shots and wear your masks, people…


Update

The ICU bed availability data is constantly in motion. According to the Region Five Hospital Coordinating Center, three ICU beds opened up at Carle Richland Memorial Hospital on Tuesday.

Hopefully, it wasn’t because anybody died. But local leaders have got to start taking this thing a whole lot more seriously. Their people are getting sick and clogging up the healthcare system, and some are dying, yet they either stand by silently or encourage “resistance.”

* Remember personal responsibility? Yeah, it’s still a thing

[SIU Chancellor Austin A. Lane] stressed the need for everyone to exercise personal safety.

“It is incumbent upon everyone, especially our adults — and I’m calling our students adults at 18 — it is your responsibility to act responsibly. Be well informed and get the information you need to know to keep yourself safe, and don’t be reckless, because that could have consequences that now that we know can lead to death. I’m putting that responsibility on all of the adults to take care of yourselves and each other. It is your responsibility to help us in beating this pandemic, because we’re definitely fighting it right now,” he said.

The adults out there acting like spoiled-rotten brats just make my blood boil.

* And the unvaccinated are costing us all big money. From a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis, which it admits is “conservative”

Our analysis of HHS and CDC data indicates there were 32,000 preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations in June, 68,000 preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations in July, and another 187,000 preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations among unvaccinated adults in the U.S. in August, for a total of 287,000 across the three months. We explain more on how we arrived at these numbers below.

If each of these preventable hospitalizations cost roughly $20,000, on average, that would mean these largely avoidable hospitalizations have already cost billions of dollars since the beginning of June.

From June through August 2021, preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations among unvaccinated adults cost over $5 Billion

The actual number is $5.7 billion, but who’s counting?

* Just pathetic

The percent of the Kankakee County population with COVID-19 vaccinations crossed 40 percent last week after more than eight months of vaccine distribution efforts.

Currently, 40.53 percent of Kankakee County’s population is fully vaccinated, or 44,588 people, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

After inching along in July, the county’s daily vaccination rate increased slightly during August and early September. The seven-day average for daily doses administered is 183.

Kankakee County Health Department administrator John Bevis is hoping the county can continue to increase its vaccination rate.

* More…

* COVID-19 update: 2,263 hospitalized, 40 more deaths, 4,660 new cases

* The Lives Lost to Undervaccination, in Charts

* Covid-19 Hospitalizations Map: The Pandemic’s Impact on I.C.U.s

* Millions lifted out of poverty due to COVID-19 relief funds, census data show

* ‘More frustrating than anything else’: McConchie describes his breakthrough COVID-19 case: Overall, “I’ll say it was relatively mild and my doctor says because having been vaccinated, it probably assisted in keeping that mild, and having no expertise I took him at his word.

* John A. Logan offering $200 to fully vaccinated students

* ‘Fiddle while the city burns’: Inside Peoria’s tense council meeting on COVID relief money

  10 Comments      


Bailey fails to make the grade with American Conservative Union

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

The American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF) launched a new platform to hold lawmakers accountable to conservative principles for the 50th Anniversary of ACU’s Ratings Program. The ACUF, host of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) will deploy the platform to its activist base, where tools such as the lawmaker comparison function highlights to voters which conservative champions to rally behind.

View the Scorecard of Illinois State Lawmakers Here

Sen. Craig Wilcox (94%) will be presented with ACUF’s Award for Conservative Excellence for earning a score above 90%.

The following lawmakers will be presented with ACUF’s Award for Conservative Achievement for earning scores 80% and above [for 2020]: Sen. Sue Rezin (85%), Sen. Steve McClure (83%), Sen. Jason Plummer (83%), Sen. Jason Brickman (81%), Rep. Thomas Morrison (81%), Sen. Dan McConchie (81%), Sen. Jil Tracy (80%), Sen. Dale Flower (80%) and Rep. Jeff Keicher (80%).

“Our new ACU Ratings website offers an accessible and dynamic way for voters across the country to discover whether their lawmakers use their power to advance conservative principles,” said ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp. “Over our 50-year history, we’ve compiled 15,000 lawmakers in our database and scored them across 186 different policy areas. For the first time, voters have access to a huge breadth of information that offers a distinct impression of the way lawmakers view the role of government in a person’s life.”

ACUF’s Ratings of Congress and Ratings of the States are initiatives of ACUF’s Center for Legislative Accountability (CLA). These ratings are designed to reflect how over 8,000 elected officials across the nation view the role of government while illustrating the differences between chambers of the legislature and revealing lawmakers’ positions across 186 policy areas that directly affect citizens.

ACU Foundation reviewed each piece of legislation voted on in both chambers of the legislature to produce average scores of each chamber as well as individual scores for each sitting member.

* Sen. Darren Bailey isn’t on the list because his 2020 score was 74 percent, although his 2019 rating was 88 percent. He was in the House in 2020 and 2019, and here is how he voted against the ACUF’s agenda (with explanations in brackets)

* SB54: “Deregulating the Alcoholic Beverage Industry by Permitting the Delivery of Alcoholic Drinks.” [Repealed a ‘blue law’ so the Eastern Bloc voted against it.]

* HB1559: “Empowering the Chicago Teachers Union to Dictate the Length of the School Day and Year.” [Matched Chicago collective bargaining rights to everywhere else and only 3 House GOPs voted against it]

* SB1864: “Proliferating Government Dependency by Weakening Medicaid Integrity Provisions.” [Passed House unanimously]

* HB2455: “Raising Employer Costs by Abusing Worker’s Compensation.” [Only 2 HGOPs voted no]

* HB3902: “Expanding Cronyism through a Sales Tax Exemption for Aircraft Equipment.” [Near unanimous override of Pritzker veto]

  17 Comments      


Cook County Forest Preserve District ban on licensed concealed carry overturned partly because it would’ve been allowed in the year 1791 - But ruling stayed to give legislature time to respond

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* United States District Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr...

Plaintiff Simon Solomon challenges a state law and a forest preserve ordinance that prevent concealed carry license holders from carrying concealed weapons in the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. He alleges that the statute and the ordinance violate the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, as well as the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. He sued various Cook County entities and officials, who, along with Intervenor-Defendant the State of Illinois, vigorously defend the statute and the ordinance on the grounds that the entire Forest Preserve District is a “sensitive place” on which firearms regulations are presumptively lawful, and that the regulations pass intermediate scrutiny because they are substantially related to public safety. […]

To sum up, under the Seventh Circuit’s framework for analyzing firearms regulations, Defendants bear the burden of showing that Section 65(a)(14) and Ordinance 3-3-6 prohibit activity that was understood in 1791 to be outside the scope of the Second Amendment. If the activity was within the scope of the Second Amendment at that time, or if the historical evidence is inconclusive, Defendants must then offer evidence showing that the regulations’ burden on Second Amendment rights is justified by the ends the government achieves through the regulation. In analyzing that evidence, the Court considers the strength the governmental interest that the regulation serves and the “fit” between that end and the chosen means, including whose rights the regulation affects and how severely the regulation burdens rights within or close to the core of the Second Amendment. The more law-abiding people it affects or the heavier the burden on a right close to the core, the closer the scrutiny the regulation receives.

At the first step, Defendants bear the burden of demonstrating that the regulated activity is categorically outside the scope of the Second Amendment as it was understood in 1791. Moore, 702 F.3d at 935; Ezell I, 651 F.3d at 702-03. Defendants articulate this position in two ways: first, by citing a pair of 18th century statutes to argue that carrying weapons in wooded areas was forbidden in 1791, and second, by asserting that all of the Forest Preserve District is a “sensitive area,” the regulation of which they say is beyond the bounds of the Second Amendment. Neither argument is convincing. […]

Nonetheless, in support of its argument that the regulated activity is outside the scope of the Second Amendment, the State of Illinois points to two colonial laws that prohibited carrying firearms in wooded areas, [103 at 6], one from Pennsylvania9 and one from New Jersey,10 but neither takes Defendants’ argument very far. First, both statutes exempt anyone carrying a firearm or hunting if that person has a license, but there is no licensing or permitting scheme that allows concealed carry on FPDCC property (and the Court expresses no opinion on whether any hypothetical permitting scheme would allow the law to pass constitutional muster). Second, both statutes primarily regulated hunting, not carrying for self-defense, and applied to private property—regulating a person’s action on “the improved or inclosed lands of any plantation other than his own”—not public spaces. […]

Even if these statutes had addressed carrying firearms for self-defense in public recreational areas, they would likely not be enough to carry the day. The Seventh Circuit has previously found that offering two historical statutes “falls far short of establishing that [a regulated activity] is wholly outside the Second Amendment as it was understood” in 1791. […]

In sum, the Seventh Circuit has recognized a right to carry firearms outside the home for self-defense purposes, and the record contains little evidence about the history of that right on publicly owned land, whether developed into a public recreational space or undeveloped and left as wilderness. The historical and textual evidence does not persuade the Court that licensed concealed carry of firearms for self-defense in public recreational areas was categorically outside the scope of the Second Amendment as it was understood in 1791. […]

In determining how closely to examine the fit between a regulation and its purported goal—the government’s chosen means and the ends it pursues—courts should consider whose rights the regulation affects and how severely the regulation burdens rights within or close to the core of the Second Amendment. The more law-abiding people it affects or the heavier the burden on a right close to the core, the stricter the scrutiny the regulation receives. […]

While Heller and its progeny primarily recognized a right to possess handguns for purposes of self-defense in the home, those cases and subsequent Seventh Circuit precedent strongly suggest a closely related right to carry handguns for self-defense outside of the home. Heller itself observed that the right to “bear arms” historically referred to a right to “wear, bear, or carry upon the person or in the clothing or in a pocket, for the purpose of being armed and ready for offensive or defensive action in a case of conflict with another person.” […]

Barring concealed carry by CCL holders across all FPDCC properties is not, under the evidence submitted by the parties, substantially related to the government’s interest in protecting Forest Preserve District visitors. […]

Almost none of the data in the record concerns CCL holders, or if it does, the parties have not disaggregated CCL holders from non-CCL holders. Defendants rely heavily on crime statistics from Cook County and the City of Chicago, but amidst all the violent crimes that the record lists and that Defendants argue show a threat to public safety, no one identifies any violent crimes committed by CCL holders. Turning to the FPDCC in particular, of all the crimes committed in the Forest Preserve between 2014 and 2019, only 4 were committed by CCL holders, [94 at ¶ 63], and those were all violations of Section 65(a)(14)—the crimes committed by CCL holders were only unlawful concealed carry, not murder, assault, armed robbery, or other violent crimes. … The record does not contain evidence that CCL holders committed other crimes in or out of the FPDCC, which makes the link between regulating their conduct and public safety tenuous. Nor does the record contain evidence that prohibiting CCL holders from carrying firearms in the FPDCC will otherwise reduce crime, prevent injury, or save lives. […]

This is not to say that the government necessarily must justify such a restriction on a site- by-site basis. See Kanter, 919 F.3d at 450 (rejecting plaintiff’s suggestion that ban on felons possessing firearms should be based on “highly-individualized” determinations rather than categories of convictions because it raised “serious institutional and administrative concerns”). It may be able to do so for categories of sites or activities, such as—hypothetically—nature centers or athletic facilities. Nor are Defendants persuasive in their argument that it would be impossible or unworkable for them to identify places within the Forest Preserve where children are present, perhaps even in a way that would qualify as a “sensitive place” under Heller. Contrary to their response briefs, nothing in the caselaw suggests that they would have to write regulations that vary by time of day or that apply only when children are present; school zone laws without such variance have been upheld despite children not being physically on school grounds twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week, three hundred and sixty-five days per year. In fact, the Illinois General Assembly has already made these kinds of distinctions. […]

Accepting that Section 65(a)(14) is unconstitutional as written does not resolve all questions about whether or how to regulate concealed carry of firearms in different places in the FPDCC going forward, and, even if the Court had the authority to answer those questions, it could not do so with the information currently before it. More fundamentally, those are judgments best left to the legislature, and the legislature ought to have an opportunity to make those judgments. Therefore, the Court temporarily stays enforcement of its ruling for a period of six months—i.e., until March 15, 2022—to provide the General Assembly an opportunity to act on this matter if it chooses to do so. […]

Plaintiff also asserts claims under the Due Process and the Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Defendants argue that both claims must fail, and they are correct.

Emphasis added. The date “1791″ appears ten times in the opinion.

  34 Comments      


Illinois will soon start paying interest on its huge unemployment insurance trust fund debt

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Route Fifty

At least four states paid back money in the last week they borrowed from the federal government to cover unemployment benefits—narrowly avoiding additional interest on the loans.

Hawaii, Nevada, Ohio and West Virginia announced the loan repayments within the last week. A remaining 10 states have a combined outstanding balance of more than $45 billion that they will now begin to accrue interest on, according to the Treasury Department.

When states exhaust their unemployment trust funds, they are allowed to borrow money from the federal government to ensure benefits continue to be paid. Twenty-two states took out what are referred to as Title XII advances during 2020. The loans were initially interest free, but starting Monday, states with outstanding loans began to accrue 2.3% interest on the borrowed sums. […]

Unemployment benefits are paid for through taxes that states levy on businesses. When unemployment trust funds are depleted, state and federal laws trigger higher business tax rates on employers to replenish the funds. The 10 states that have outstanding loan balances California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas—could be poised to see significant tax hikes on employers next year if they do not pay the money back before increases are triggered.

Illinois has $5 billion in leftover federal stimulus money. A large chunk of that will likely be used to pay down its $4.2 billion debt unless the federal government somehow intervenes.

  11 Comments      


Climate/energy bill final passage coverage roundup

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Capitol News Illinois

The Illinois Senate put the final legislative stamp on an energy regulation overhaul bill Monday, sending it to Gov. JB Pritzker, who says he will sign it.

It’s the culmination of years of negotiation, and it marks a policy win on one of Pritzker’s biggest outstanding first-term campaign promises as the 2022 campaign heats up. The measure passed by a 37-17 vote, with Republicans Sue Rezin, of Morris, and John Curran, of Downers Grove, joining Democrats in support. […]

While the subsidies and investment programs are staggered in their implementation dates, the Citizens Utility Board estimates that it will cause an increase to ratepayer bills of about $3 to $4 a month over the next five years.

In terms of percentages, bill sponsor Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Frankfort, said residential electric bills would increase by about 3-4 percent, commercial bills by about 5-6 percent, and industrial bills by about 7-8 percent.

The industrial bill increase is what has the IMA and others upset. But this is a good point in Hannah Meisel’s WUIS story

Democrats acknowledge the total cost of the legislation will mean more for ratepayers’ bills, though the exact sum is not settled and estimates vary widely. But State Sen. Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago) defended the monetary cost by comparing it with the environmental costs and poorer health outcomes for people in her district, which includes Little Village, where a developer last spring demolished a long-decommissioned coal plant smokestack sending dust for blocks.

“I have a lot of folks that are wanting and really asking for renewable sources of energy — the same community that also pushed very very hard to decommission this power plant,” Villanueva said.

* Even so

Illinois Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Maisch told WMAY before the vote the measure will remove Illinois’ ability to remain affordable for businesses.

“Be ready for cost increases and that means hiring decisions, investment decisions, anything that’s financial is going to be impacted, there’s no doubt about it,” Maisch said.

Democrats said without the measure, energy costs would have increased on job creators.

* More from WUIS

Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), who had been at loggerheads all summer with Gov. JB Pritzker and environmental groups over the best way to deal with fossil fuel shutdowns, said Monday that he was irritated with pundits framing the issue as any sort of zero sum sport.

“This isn’t a game. What we do here affects people’s lives and livelihood,” Harmon said in closing debate on the bill. “The people in Byron don’t think this is a game. Their schools, their tax base, their economic existence hinges on what we do here. My 17-year-old daughter Maggie doesn’t think that this is a game. She’s been wondering for far too long if the grown-ups are going to do anything to leave her a habitable world.”

Deflection much?

* More deflection

Despite serving as chief sponsor of the 2016 bill that bailed out two Exelon plants and set up a renewable energy subsidy program, State Sen. Chapin Rose railed against the legislation passed by the Senate Monday. Rose asserted Democrats’ motivation in passing an energy and climate plan he considers half-baked lay in “issu[ing] press releases that you’re getting rid of carbon.”

FEJA’s green provisions were downright modest in comparison to this bill.

* Sen. Turner voted “Present,” which I found quite odd

Senator Doris Turner (D-Springfield) was one of three Senate Democrats who did not vote in support of the proposal.

“I was concerned about the rate increases,” she said. With so many various cost estimates, and the question about grid reliability in Springfield if the city-operated City, Water, Light, and Power coal plant goes offline, she figured it was “better to err on the side of caution.”

* Classic example of ideology getting in the way of helping your district in the Tribune

For Republican Sen. Sue Rezin of Morris, with Sen. John Curran of Downers Grove one of the two GOP senators to support the plan, it came down to preserving jobs at the nuclear power plants, along with the carbon-free power they produce.

“Without this bill, any hope of bringing a carbon-free energy future to Illinois by 2050 will all but be impossible,” said Rezin, whose district is home to Exelon’s Dresden, Braidwood and LaSalle nuclear plants.

In the community of Byron in northwestern Illinois, Monday’s vote brought “utter relief,” said Christine Lynde, the local school board president. Byron Community School District 226 gets about three-quarters of its property tax revenue — about $19 million annually — from the nuclear plant. The district now will be able to better plan for its future, she said.

Lynde, whose husband works at the Byron plant, also expressed “huge disappointment” that the area’s two state senators — Republicans Brian Stewart of Freeport and Dave Syverson of Rockford — voted against the proposal that will keep the plant open.

* Center Square

Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said this won’t be the last word on the issue.

“Now, don’t get me wrong, there will be more votes,” Harmon said. “There will inevitably be changes. Innovations that we can’t even imagine today will happen tomorrow and we or some future group of legislators will act accordingly.”

Supporters of the measure said in anticipation of closing for-profit coal plants by 2030, there will be electric grid reliability studies by regulators in 2025.

* Sun-Times

Others, including state Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, took issue with the inclusion of eminent domain for an energy transmission line in the legislation that would allow “private, for-profit companies … the right to put up new power lines across my constituents’ homes.”

Hastings said the legislation will allow the Illinois Commerce Commission to delegate eminent domain authority for a transmission line — which he said will decrease energy costs. Landowners must be given “just compensation” and there must be three public meetings, with sufficient notice, to inform landowners ahead of any filings for that line, Hastings said.

…Adding… If Downstate legislators want their constituents to access this rebate, perhaps they should run a bill to add the fee to their constituents’ utility bills

[Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet] said it’s unfair that downstate residents wouldn’t be eligible for the bill’s $4,000 rebates for the purchase of electric cars.

Hastings said residents of several Chicago-area counties are eligible for those funds because current state law created a fund with money from electric bills paid by residents of those counties.

He said he would be open to developing future legislation to expand the fund so downstate ratepayers could contribute to the fund and then be eligible for the electric car rebates.

  9 Comments      


Ald. Gardiner messes around and finds out: Feds reportedly eyeing alleged constituent retaliation

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune

Federal investigators have launched an inquiry into Ald. Jim Gardiner’s conduct in office, including whether he retaliated against constituents for political purposes, sources told the Tribune.

FBI agents recently spoke to a variety of individuals with knowledge of Gardiner’s conduct, and approached Gardiner himself last week, sources said.

The probe is just the latest controversy facing the first-term alderman, who has been under scrutiny in recent weeks after text messages he apparently sent were made public by an anonymous Northwest Side group, The People’s Fabric, showing he referred to one City Council colleague as “a bitch” and the top aide of another council member as “his bitch,” and also used the term to describe a political communications consultant.

Block Club Chicago also published a story containing allegations that Gardiner sought to withhold services to constituents of his 45th Ward who have been critical of him and similarly used derogatory language to refer to constituents in texts that were later leaked. […]

Gardiner is facing two federal lawsuits, including one filed by a man who claimed the alderman had him wrongfully arrested in 2019 after he picked up a cellphone that Gardiner’s ward superintendent had inadvertently left at a 7-Eleven in Jefferson Park.

* Block Club Chicago

A Monday evening rally, organized by independent political organization United Northwest Side, brought residents to Gardiner’s office at 5425 W. Lawrence Ave. They decried the alderman’s vengeful tactics used against his critics shown through leaked texts, allegations that he refused city services to residents, and his sexist and misogynistic language toward constituents and City Hall staffers that residents say make him unfit to serve in public office.

Constituents who say they have been harassed or targeted by Gardiner also spoke at the rally. […]

Last week, Lightfoot called for the city’s Office of the Inspector General to investigate Gardiner.

“No one should ever be denied access to city services because of their political opinion, whom they may have supported in an election. That’s just not how we do things,” Lightfoot said at an unrelated news conference. “We’re never gonna support any effort to deny people access to city services. It’s fundamental.”

* More…

* ‘Do Not Help Her’: After Texts Show Ald. Jim Gardiner Called Constituent A ‘C-nt,’ Council Members Want Him Punished

* Ald. Jim Gardiner Used His Power To Seek Revenge Against His Critics, New Texts Show

* A to-do list for Ald. Jim Gardiner - The alderman’s apologies for his stunningly hateful and misogynistic streak are not enough.

  31 Comments      


Effingham County board members back off pro-virus transmission resolution

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* August 20

Effingham County board members this week tabled a resolution that would have embraced the idea of “My Body, My Choice.”

County Board President Jim Niemann said during a meeting that the name sounds like the board would be on the side of pro-choice in the abortion debate.

It’s not, said Board Vice-President David Campbell, who penned the resolution.

“Basically, it’s just a catch phrase to let people know, ‘My body, My choice’” said Campbell. “If I don’t want to take the vaccine, I don’t have to take the vaccine. If I don’t want to wear a mask, I don’t have to wear a mask. We’re not going to enforce it here in Effingham County.” […]

“We have to respect our authorities and rule of law,” [Board Member Norbert Soldwedel] said. “We can’t condone a society where every individual establishes what they get to do and not do.”

“This is why I support local control. I say let these school boards and other locally elected bodies establish the polices within their jurisdictions,” he said.

“You mean you would let a school board come to you telling you have to inject something into your body,” Board Member John Perry asked Soltwedel.

“The school board can come to me and tell me anything that is constitutionally permitted, which is for the betterment of that school,” Soltwedel said.

* Effingham Daily News Editorial on September 2nd

Board Vice President David Campbell penned the resolution. He described its intent this way:

“If I don’t want to take the vaccine, I don’t have to take the vaccine. If I don’t want to wear a mask, I don’t have to wear a mask. We’re not going to enforce it here in Effingham County.”

This from a board that regularly listens to increasingly dire reports from its own health department about the rapid spread here of the delta variant of COVID-19. That department on Aug. 27 reported two more COVID-related deaths, bringing Effingham County’s total to 77 since the pandemic began. […]

The county board’s proposed resolution is dangerous. Not because it would have any teeth. It wouldn’t.

It’s dangerous because it reinforces the idea that there really isn’t anything to worry about from this virus that has killed nearly 640,000 Americans – nearly 24,000 of them in Illinois. It’s dangerous because your “medical freedom” to not wear a mask or get vaccinated affects others just as surely as your “freedom” to drink and drive affects everyone else on the road.

* Yesterday

Effingham County Board Chairman Jim Niemann withdrew the proposed “Medical Freedom Resolution” on Monday during a meeting of the Legislative Committee of the Whole.

The resolution was introduced by Board Vice Chairman David Campbell as the “My Body, My Choice” resolution and amended by Niemann because he was not happy with the wording of Campbell’s resolution.

“The feedback to me has been overwhelmingly negative,” Niemann said. “I am withdrawing this. I won’t be sponsoring this. I’m not going to divide us any further.”

“If we work against each other there is absolutely nothing that will get done except fighting,” he said. “And if we work together, there is absolutely nothing we can’t do.” […]

Board Member Heather Mumma said she sent 250 text messages to her personal constituents in District C with a survey of three questions and only received 11 responses.

“Five of which said, ‘Please stop texting me,’” Mumma said.

She said she also received 11 emails that were against the resolution.

* But while some folks in Effingham are coming to their senses, a few goofs in Glen Ellyn are losing their minds. Politico

An anti-mask culture war is escalating in Glen Ellyn, where protesters opposed to the state’s mask mandates have been confronting parents and children each day as they walk into the District 41 elementary school.

The protesters carry signs and encourage drivers to honk in opposition to mask mandates, which has distracted drivers just as children are crossing the street to get to school, according to parents who spoke at last night’s Village of Glen Ellyn Board of Trustees meeting.

The anti-mask group is organized in part by former Republican Rep. Jeanne Ives, who has encouraged the protests in her Breakthrough Ideas newsletter. She calls it the “Glen Ellyn Rally for Parental Choice,” echoing Republican governors around the country who oppose mask requirements. […]

Concerned residents, meanwhile, spoke one after another about protesters hurling “inappropriate,” “hostile,” “crude,” and “vulgar” taunts presumably aimed at parents walking their young children to school. The CDC has consistently said mask-wearing significantly cut down on the transmission of Covid-19.

Parents and community members have organized volunteers to stand as a buffer between the demonstrators and the kids.

Glen Ellyn resident Karin Daly told trustees she’s worried about students’ mental health and their safety. She shared an anecdote of a driver who ran a red light while responding to protesters.

Bob Bruno, a former Glen Ellyn School Board president, said, “A child’s walk to school should not be subject to threat, intimidation, and menace. It should be the second-most joyous part of the child’s day.”

  41 Comments      


Open thread

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Have at it.

  15 Comments      


*** LIVE COVERAGE ***

Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive


  Comments Off      


« NEWER POSTS PREVIOUS POSTS »
* When RETAIL Succeeds, Illinois Succeeds
* SB 328 Puts Illinois’s Economy At Risk
* SB 328: Separating Lies From Truth
* Hexaware: Your Globally Local IT Services Partner
* SB 328 Puts Illinois’s Economy At Risk
* When RETAIL Succeeds, Illinois Succeeds
* Reader comments closed for the next week
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign updates
* Three-quarters of OEIG investigations into Paycheck Protection Program abuses resulted in misconduct findings
* SB 328 Puts Illinois’s Economy At Risk
* Sen. Dale Fowler honors term limit pledge, won’t seek reelection; Rep. Paul Jacobs launches bid for 59th Senate seat
* Hexaware: Your Globally Local IT Services Partner
* Pritzker to meet with Texas Dems as Trump urges GOP remaps (Updated)
* SB 328: Separating Lies From Truth
* Open thread
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today's edition
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Live coverage
* Yesterday's stories

Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............


Loading


Main Menu
Home
Illinois
YouTube
Pundit rankings
Obama
Subscriber Content
Durbin
Burris
Blagojevich Trial
Advertising
Updated Posts
Polls

Archives
July 2025
June 2025
May 2025
April 2025
March 2025
February 2025
January 2025
December 2024
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004

Blog*Spot Archives
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005

Syndication

RSS Feed 2.0
Comments RSS 2.0




Hosted by MCS SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax Advertise Here Mobile Version Contact Rich Miller