The Irvin for Illinois campaign today is questioning the changing standards in coverage from the Chicago Tribune after the Tribune approached the campaign with the intention of writing a misleading story attempting to connect Richard Irvin to a 2008/2009 court case in which he had no involvement.
Following the Tribune’s inquiry, the campaign became aware that 10 years before Gary Martin killed six people at Henry Pratt, a law partner (now-Judge Reginald Campbell) of Richard Irvin represented Martin in local court proceedings. Irvin did not have knowledge of his partner’s clients and had no knowledge of his representation of Martin. Irvin and Campbell had no profit-sharing agreement, therefore Irvin never made money off Campbell’s clients and Campbell did not make money off Irvin’s clients. The two merely shared office space and split the cost of overhead.
In their initial request to the campaign, the Tribune acknowledges, “according to court records, he wasn’t the lawyer who represented Martin in court.” It has also come to our attention that Judge Campbell even told the Tribune that Mayor Irvin had nothing to do with this case. Yet, despite the facts presented to a reporter and a top editor, the Tribune has chosen to ignore the facts, pushing forward with a narrative that only serves to mislead the public into believing that Mayor Irvin was somehow involved in these cases from 2008/2009.
Unfortunately, it is clear that the paper’s intent is to imply that Irvin represented Martin or somehow had an association with Martin, which is not something we would expect from reputable journalists. Nor is it a standard we have seen applied to other candidates.
We do not make this statement lightly, however, the campaign is deeply disturbed by the changing standard and the willful refusal of the reporter and top editors to acknowledge the plain facts. This incident further erodes public confidence in the media.
I’ve seen this done by a campaign before, but it’s rare and it’s bold. And, in this case, the campaign looks to be justified. But stay tuned to see how this goes.
Tribune Editor Mitch Pugh declined to comment in an email, so I guess we’ll find out when and if the story actually runs.
But the case is a little more complicated than Team Irvin is conceding. For instance, the statement refers to the other lawyer as Irvin’s “partner.” And the website of the law firm, which has been disbanded, indicates that Irvin was its sole owner and the other lawyer the firm’s only “associate.” Yet, Irvin knew nothing?
The Irvin folks say privately they’re just trying to knock down a bad story. Perhaps. But perhaps they’re taking anti-media politics to a new level by trying to spin a story before it’s even published. Either way, it’s a risky strategy. We’ll see how it plays out.
* Let’s start the roundup with a couple of “It’s just a bill” items. From the synopsis of HB1727, which currently has 15 sponsors and co-sponsors, including House Speaker Chris Welch, and was placed on 2nd Reading by the Rules Committee…
Creates the Bad Apples in Law Enforcement Accountability Act of 2021. Provides that a peace officer subjecting another person to the deprivation of individual rights is liable to the person for appropriate relief. Excludes sovereign immunity, statutory immunity, and statutory damages for claims brought under this provision. Provides that qualified immunity is not a defense to liability under this provision. Allows attorney’s fees and costs to be awarded to the plaintiff.
* Our next piece of legislation comes to us from Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego). Here’s subsection (c) from the original law…
(c) In any case in which a party has any administrative rule invalidated by a court for any reason, including but not limited to the agency’s exceeding its statutory authority or the agency’s failure to follow statutory procedures in the adoption of the rule, the court shall award the party bringing the action the reasonable expenses of the litigation, including reasonable attorney’s fees.
For purposes of this subsection (c), “invalidated” means any action by a court of competent jurisdiction that declares or renders an administrative rule unenforceable or without legal effect for any period of time, whether pursuant to a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, permanent injunction, or final decision on the merits. The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly are declarative of existing law.
Since this would make the provision “declarative of existing law” and essentially retroactive, I wonder which lawyer in the news recently for obtaining a TRO on enforcement of a state administrative rule would be entitled to legal fees if this bill became statute? Hmm. The name’s right on the tip of my tongue. Devour? No. That’s not it. Wait. It’ll come to me.
…Adding… From the House Repubs…
Quick FYI, Wheeler’s bill is from ima to get their legal fees paid after the work comp emergency rule was withdrawn as gov office refusing to do so.
There’s even a Democratic copy of this bill in the Senate. I’m told the final bill will not benefit DeVore.
The man who killed Illinois State Police Trooper Layton Davis in 1976 was released from prison Thursday under a new law that allows parole for medical reasons.
Aaron Hyche, 71, who fired the shot that killed Davis, had been denied parole after a hearing in August. A relative of the trooper said the family was initially told the medical hearing would not be until March, and was surprised when Hyche was released before they could object.
“Jan. 1 of this year, a new law gave prisoners the right to request a medical release,” said Effingham Deputy Police Chief Kurt Davis, the slain trooper’s grandson. “If they have major medical issues, they can request early release, which he did. As soon as the New Year struck, his attorney submitted a medical release for him.” […]
“As a result of his health challenges, his memory, speech, and mobility have diminished such that he can only eat soft foods,” says the petition. “… He will soon undergo complex dental surgery to remove all of his teeth, and he is falling so regularly he necessitates a helmet. He requires a wheelchair to move.”
The state in 2020 granted parole to James E. Taylor, Hyche’s accomplice on March 18, 1976. While Taylor held Trooper Davis down, Hyche fired the fatal shot.
ILGOP…
“With each new day, news comes out that Governor Pritzker’s pro-criminal, anti-police agenda has helped a violent criminal escape real justice,” said ILGOP Spokesman Joe Hackler. “In Governor Pritzker’s Illinois, cop-killers like Aaron Hyche are released early while the slain officer’s family is denied the opportunity to object. As violent crime rages on in Illinois, Governor Pritzker’s solution is to take it easier on criminals and demean law enforcement. The real solution is to elect a new Governor in November.”
* But nothing from the ILGOP about this prisoner release, perhaps because, according to this story, a law passed in 2015 during a Republican administration is the reason she got out…
Nancy Rish was released from the Logan Correctional Center in downstate Illinois Thursday morning.
A week ago, the 60-year-old Rish was resentenced for her part in the murder of Kankakee businessman Stephen B. Small in September 1987. […]
Edwards, Rish’s then-boyfriend, kidnapped Small and buried him in a box to extort money from his family. There was inadequate ventilation that caused Small to suffocate. […]
In 2019, Rish’s attorneys requested a new sentencing based on an Illinois law amended in 2015 that benefits people who can show their crimes were related to being abused. In appeal, Rish said that Edwards abused her and her son and threatened to kill them if she did not aid his plan.
Rep. Marie Newman, D-Ill., is keeping on her campaign payroll — at an unusually high salary for part-time work — the man who is the key witness against her in a pending House Ethics Committee investigation.
Two congressional ethics watchdog groups — FACT, the conservative Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust — and the left-leaning CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington — agree that continuing payments to Iymen Hamman Chehade while the House panel is conducting its probe raises ethical questions. […]
Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for CREW, with a focus on Republican ethical lapses, told the Sun-Times, given the ethics investigation Newman is facing, having Chehade “on the payroll in what appears to be such a disproportionately high salary raises serious ethics questions.
“…This continues to make us wonder what is at the heart of this financial relationship.”
The Illinois attorney general’s office and the city of Chicago yesterday urged the Illinois Commerce Commission to more than double the refund Commonwealth Edison should make to ratepayers over its admitted bribery scheme.
In testimony filed with the ICC, the state’s chief consumer advocate, the city and the Citizens Utility Board called for a refund exceeding $49 million. ComEd in December offered to pay $21 million.
A felony charge has been filed against a woman accused of throwing a memorial photograph of slain Chicago police Officer Ella French in the trash.
Anna Kochakian, 26, tore the photograph from a memorial at the Thompson Center the evening of Aug. 19, crumpled it and discarded it in the garbage at a nearby CTA platform, the Illinois State Police said.
Kochakian was arrested Wednesday at her home in Chicago. The state police said she was restrained with handcuffs that belonged to French’s partner, Officer Carlos Yanez, who was badly wounded in the shooting.
Grand jury charges former Madigan chief of staff Tim Mapes with perjury, obstruction of justice: “The charges bring the feds closer than ever to Madigan, who has not been criminally charged and denies wrongdoing. It also lifts the curtain slightly on a grand jury drilling deep into Illinois politics,” by Sun-Times’ Jon Seidel and Better Government Association’s Rachel Hinton.
Clean-tech startup LanzaJet is partnering with an Illinois ethanol producer to build a new plant that will supply more environmentally friendly aviation fuel.
LanzaJet and the Marquis family, which operates an ethanol refinery in Hennepin, will build a plant capable of producing about 120 million gallons of sustainable jet fuel a year. At that size, it would be one of the largest plants of its kind.
Hennepin is on the Illinois River not far from Peoria.
* This Crain’s story should spark lots of state scrutiny…
One of the main bidders to own and operate Chicago’s proposed casino is pitching a plan that would allow it to buy out its minority investors within just a few years—potentially leaving it with no minority ownership long term.
Even as Mayor Lori Lightfoot is seeking diversity in casino ownership, a term sheet being circulated by bidder Bally’s Corp. indicates that, six years after opening its proposed Chicago operation, it “will have the right to purchase” the 25% of ownership shares that the company has promised the city it will make available to minorities.
The minority owners would not have the right to refuse, and the sale price would not be negotiated at the time but based on the profitability of the casino in the preceding year.
— Jonathan Jackson on running for Congress, his famous family: “It’s not a dynasty. It’s a legacy of service,” he tells Sun-Times Fran Spielmana. WITH AUDIO
— State Rep. Delia Ramirez has been endorsed by Rep. Lauren Underwood (14th) in her bid for the newly drawn 3rd Congressional District. “Delia has a proven track record of standing up for Illinois’ working families,” Underwood said in a statement.
* On to the budget. Ralph Martire likes the governor’s proposed budget, but does have one criticism…
In fact, the biggest policy shortcoming with the proposed tax relief is that it isn’t targeted solely to low- and middle-income folks who really need it. Illinois would get significantly more bang for its tax-relief buck if it instead expanded its earned income tax credit, or created a means tested child tax credit, thereby ensuring the full dollar value of the tax relief went to families with the greatest needs. Bottom line though, is while the governor’s proposal may not be perfect, it merits bi-partisan support that it hasn’t received.
Protesters gathered outside the Discovery Center Museum, where Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker made an appearance Thursday, to protest children wearing masks in schools.
About 20 protesters held up signs both supporting Pritzker’s Republican challengers and calling for an end to the mask mandate in Illinois schools.
* I may do a news roundup today, but it’s a state holiday and I have some personal things to attend to, so comments will remain off unless something huge happens. Richard Dobson will play us out…
Forever don’t mean much in passing
Forgotten don’t mean that it’s done
In the disturbing case of an Illinois teen allowed to walk free after being convicted of rape, all eyes have turned on the judge.
Adams County Judge Robert Adrian sparked nationwide outrage with his ruling on the case of 18-year-old Drew Clinton, who was found was found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl at a graduation party in May 2021.
Clinton pleaded guilty to all charges against him and his defence claimed he believed the sex was consensual.
But despite the October conviction for felony sexual assault, Judge Adrian on 3 January freed Clinton - who faced a minimum sentence of four years - from jail after a mere 148 days, saying that was “plenty of punishment”.
Judge Adrian has subsequently faced heated calls to step down from the bench over his perceived miscarriage of justice.
* Press release…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today filed a petition for a writ of mandamus urging the Illinois Supreme Court to order Judge Robert K. Adrian to impose a lawful sentence in an Adams County sexual assault case that has attracted national attention.
Attorney General Raoul filed the mandamus complaint and a motion for supervisory order today asking the Illinois Supreme Court to direct Judge Adrian to sentence Drew S. Clinton in accordance with state law. Adrian found Clinton guilty of felony criminal sexual assault following a bench trial in October 2021. On January 3, 2022, Adrian vacated Clinton’s conviction, which resulted in Clinton being released from the county jail.
“The mandatory sentencing range set by the Illinois General Assembly for felony criminal sexual assault is four to 15 years in prison. In addition to the insensitivity to the victim in this case, the judge’s decision to vacate the conviction and call the 148 days Clinton served in county jail ‘plenty of punishment,’ demonstrates an abuse of power,” Raoul said. “I appreciate our collaboration with the Adams County State’s Attorney and the Illinois Office of the State’s Attorney Appellate Prosecutor. I am urging the Illinois Supreme Court to direct the judge to sentence the defendant in accordance with state law.”
Clinton was charged with three counts of criminal sexual assault for assaulting a minor female at a graduation party in Quincy, Illinois. The 16-year-old victim was unable to give consent when she was assaulted by Clinton, who was 18 years old at the time. Adrian found Clinton guilty of one count of criminal sexual assault, a felony, after a bench trial that included testimony from the victim and witnesses at the party. However, when sentencing Clinton, Adrian plainly stated his intention to not sentence Clinton to prison, as mandated by Illinois’ mandatory minimum sentencing requirements, saying the almost five months Clinton had already served in the county jail was “plenty of punishment.” Instead, Adrian vacated the conviction and released Clinton from custody. Raoul’s mandamus complaint urges the court to order Judge Adrian to reinstate the verdict and issue a sentence consistent with the mandatory sentencing range set in statute.
“Victims of sexual assault often make the decision to not come forward because they believe that the criminal justice system will not believe them nor protect them. The victim in this case took the brave steps of reporting the crime, cooperating with the investigation, and testifying at trial. Because of her courage, the defendant was convicted of his crime. There is nothing more frustrating and disheartening to our community, this victim, and to all victims of sexual assault when any defendant avoids the legal consequences of his conduct,” Adams County State’s Attorney Gary Farha said. “We appreciate the hard work of the Attorney General and the Appellate Prosecutor’s Office in ensuring that this brave young woman have the opportunity to hold her attacker responsible.”
In the complaint, Raoul points out that criminal sexual assault is a Class 1 felony with a statutory sentence range of four to 15 years in prison. Raoul argues that Adrian exceeded his authority when he concluded – in defiance of the General Assembly’s intent – that 148 days in county jail was a “just sentence” due to Clinton’s age and lack of criminal record. Raoul points out that by refusing to enforce a valid criminal statute, the judge acted as a quasi-legislator and usurped the authority of the legislative branch while undermining confidence in the judicial process. Raoul further argues that Judge Adrian’s comments at the sentencing hearing demonstrate his own recognition that he lacked the authority to depart from the mandatory minimum sentencing range.
Judge Adrian’s sentence attracted national attention and widespread criticism.
It’s a faster decline in hospitalizations than at any point in the pandemic, Pritzker said.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said 89 percent of those hospitalizations are in unvaccinated individuals. Approximately 75 percent of the state’s population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, according the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, putting Illinois at the top of Midwestern states.
Ezike said lifting the [mask] mandate does not signify an end to COVID-19, but the latest in the state’s effort to “coexist with COVID.”
“Your actions that you’ve already taken have helped to reduce the amount of virus circulating and it absolutely has saved lives,” she said. “But be clear that COVID is not gone and it won’t be gone on Feb. 28. So, we are going to continue to find ways to live with the virus.”
* The Question: Your suggestions for more ways to “coexist with COVID”? Explain, of course.
Q: What do you think of the governor’s comments involving masking yesterday?
A: I’ve always been opposed to mandates. And it seems like only a few days ago the governor was talking about, we got to continue to keeping masks for science now, and all of a sudden he’s decided, okay, we’re going to remove the masks. So he’s making his decisions based on politics. Everything he’s doing is gimmicks for an election year.
* DGA…
Richard Irvin has flip-flopped and contradicted himself on almost every issue since launching his campaign — and now he’s been caught trying to rewrite his record on COVID-19 and mandates.
Irvin has leaned into anti-science talking points since declaring his candidacy in the Illinois GOP primary, hypocritically accusing Gov. Pritzker of inconsistency and claiming in an interview this morning that he has always stood against COVID mandates.
But Irvin’s own words contradict his recent lies. Just two years ago, he called Gov. JB Pritzker’s mitigation efforts “logical.” “I fully support his decision and encourage all Aurorans to abide by this new mandate,” Irvin wrote in a March 20, 2020 Facebook post.
This isn’t the first time Irvin has tried to distance himself from his repeated praise of Gov. Pritzker. As a DGA video highlights, Irvin once lauded Gov. Pritzker as “a great friend, a great leader, who has guided our state with professionalism and compassion throughout this entire pandemic.”
“Richard Irvin’s views on COVID safety measures are based on what’s politically convenient,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “Irvin has flip-flopped and failed to answer questions on almost every issue that Illinoisans care about — from Donald Trump to abortion to the pandemic. Irvin even praised Gov. Pritzker, the man he’s now trying to run against. If Irvin doesn’t even know what he stands for, why should anyone vote for him?”
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Illinois, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin said Wednesday he is cracking down on businesses that are not enforcing the wearing of face masks. […]
He warned of COVID-fatigue, especially as we enter the Labor Day Weekend. In recent days health officials, both local and national have been keen to make the point that, unlike the start of the pandemic back in March, some of the biggest drivers of infection now are in smaller family and neighborhood gatherings where people let down their guard.
“Aurora has entered a new month and a new season. It is imperative that we all must recommit to doing what is necessary to fight COVID-19,” Mayor Irvin said. “Clearly, it is not over.”
Mayor Irvin also issued a stern warning to businesses that continue to defy the mask mandate, allowing customers to enter without one, saying that while no fines have been issued yet, he will not hesitate to impose restrictions on those who do not comply.
It has been a whirlwind complete with ebbs and flows and highs and lows as we all learn to navigate our new normal, react and respond quickly and pivot at a moment’s notice and then pivot again at the next moment.
Apparently, pivoting to deal with rapidly changing conditions, like fast-dropping hospitalization rates after a bizarre and fast-moving variant tore through the state, is no longer acceptable.
Yesterday on Wednesday, July 15, Governor JB Pritzker announced the state’s new action plan to combat the resurgence of COVID-19 through a series of mitigation efforts. The governor called me on Tuesday evening to explain to me his plan for the state. But none of us want to take steps back. I understand his concern, and pledge the support of Aurora to do our part to help in the statewide effort. […]
I fully support the governor’s decision to expand the state to 11 EMS regions and to better group our areas accordingly. Now we can really ramp up our efforts to do our part to keep our region below all the baseline measures that would force our region to become more restrictive. […]
We know masks are effective in slowing the spread of COVID-19. You’re not just wearing a mask for you, you’re wearing it for everyone else you may come in contact with. […]
And we all did, me as mayor and him as governor, the best that we possibly could to address the situation as it unfolded in front of us. You know, looking at hindsight we say is 2020. There’s a lot of things we could have done to make our circumstances better, probably here in Aurora and statewide, absolutely countrywide.
When the income tax was approved decades ago at the request of then-Gov. Richard Ogilvie, the locals were supposed to get 10% off the top, money they could use to hire police, pay pensions, pave streets or whatever. But the state gradually has clawed that back and, according to the Illinois Municipal League, its members collectively get only 6.06% of tax proceeds, not a tenth. […]
League allies are pushing two bills, both sponsored by Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights. One would gradually bring the municipal share back to 10%; the other would split the difference, allotting 8% of tax receipts for the fund.
What’s interesting is who’s a chief co-sponsor of the second bill: House Speaker Chris Welch. I’m told his interest is real, but how real depends on a few other things. Like what the munis say they’ll do with the influx, and whether this spending would impact Pritzker’s proposed tax cuts or other budget priorities, like replenishing the state’s deeply indebted Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.
So … we’ll see. But big money is involved. According to the league, raising the rate to 8% would cost an additional $500 million a year. Going back to 10% would divert $1 billion from other spending.
I understand where they’re coming from, but local governments are flush right now, so it’s not a great argument this year.
Although survivors legally cannot be held financially responsible for rape exams, in Illinois, private insurance can be billed, which could mean an assault inadvertently disclosed to someone through, for example, insurance records.
Proposed state legislation would provide a way to let rape survivors opt out and avoid this. […]
Illinois is one of few states to require that private insurance be billed for a medical forensic exam. Patients who do not have insurance still do not have to pay for services; health care facilities submit a request for reimbursement to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
But advocates say this can create situations where a rape survivor might be hesitant to go ahead with an exam if they feel the insurance policy holder — a parent or a spouse, for example — will find out.
Morrison said the bill was a response to issues raised by advocates and health care workers. “It does hopefully provide a little bit more safety for the victim and gives, usually, her a little bit more peace of mind,” she said. “It’s got to be pretty traumatic to go through this procedure and then have to worry about, is dad or my husband or whoever going to see this, and are they going to know?”
Natural gas utilities in Illinois warned of job losses and possible risks to public safety if state lawmakers repeal a law allowing them to add a surcharge on customer bills that consumer advocates say is being used to gouge customers.
“This provides around 500 good jobs annually and creates opportunity for diverse contractors,” Eric Kozak, vice president of gas operations for Ameren Illinois, told a House committee Wednesday. “And modernizing the system sets the stage for the state of Illinois to become a leader at utilizing renewable natural gas, synthetic natural gas, and even hydrogen, which can attract new businesses and retain industry.”
At issue is a 2013 amendment to the Public Utilities Act that allows large natural gas utilities – those serving more than 700,000 customers – to add a surcharge onto customer bills to recover costs associated with investments in “qualifying infrastructure plant,” or QIP. […]
That law is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2023, but House Bill 3941 would move that date up one year, to Dec. 31, 2022.
Members of the Illinois Senate Education Committee heard testimony Tuesday on legislation that would require schools to give teachers specific reasons for termination.
The bill would apply to teachers who are terminated after finishing their probationary period while also having shown proficient performance while teaching.
Senate Bill 3981 was filed last month by state Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago. Sims said the bill hopes to address a growing issue the state is facing.
“This legislation is aimed at addressing the teacher shortage crisis we have before us and giving school districts the opportunity and ability to get teachers into the classroom,” Sims said.
* Press release…
Youth in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services are one step closer to receiving the financial resources they need to be ready for adulthood thanks to a measure championed by State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago).
“The state needs to be proactive at helping youth in care build a strong future during their final years of care,” Peters said. “We need to do all we can to ensure that they have access to a financial head start before they have to live on their own.”
Senate Bill 3470 would require DCFS to save or invest a minimum percentage of a youth’s benefits once they reach the age of 14. This will ensure that when DCFS no longer serves as the financial representative of the youth, they will have some money to help them transition into a successful adult life.
The minimum percentages that DCFS will be required to invest are:
● 40% for youth between the ages of 14 and 15
● 80% for youth between the ages of 16 and 17
● 100% for youth between the ages of 18 and 20
Senate Bill 3470 would also require the DCFS to take defined actions when applying for and managing certain federal benefits that the department receives on behalf of any youth in care.
“State services should help empower youth and give them strong support to enter our society,” Peters said. “We should not be sending young people out into the world without the resources they need to live independently, and we must ensure that they are able to make the transition into adult life.”
The measure passed the Senate Judiciary committee on Tuesday.
Michal Kasper of Chicago, who rescued three St. Clair County judges from likely denial of retention in 2016, represents legislators defending a law that tilted the scales of justice in Madison County toward Democrats.
Kasper, an elections lawyer with deep, longstanding connections to the state Democratic Party and former Speaker Michael J. Madigan, petitioned to intervene in Madison County’s challenge to the law, as counsel to House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Chicago) and Senate President Don Harmon (D-Chicago).
In his Feb. 7 filing, Kasper identifies himself as a special assistant attorney general.
* Not sure if it’ll help much, but…
I am honored to receive @RandPaul's endorsement of my campaign for U.S. Congress.
Senator Paul is a true champion in the fight to protect and promote liberty.
On day one, I will take on Dr. Fauci and the unconstitutional mandates coming out of Washington. pic.twitter.com/UlaS1Jh8mi
While GOP gubernatorial hopeful Richard Irvin has been raking in big donations from the likes of former Abbott CEO Miles White ($150,000), Pathways founder Shirley Ryan ($250,000), and major donors like Sam Zell and Craig Duchossois, other members of his statewide GOP slate have yet to log any.
All of the candidates have established fundraising committees, but have not recorded what are known as A-1s, a report of any contribution of $1,000 or more. Those must be reported to the State Board of Elections within five days of receipt. That’s raised some eyebrows as Irvin has raked in money and the campaigns have been up and running for more than a month now. Irvin and others could transfer funds over to other campaigns, too, but that hasn’t happened yet either.
The campaigns are still being built out, a spokesman for Secretary of State candidate John Milhiser, Attorney General candidate Steve Kim, and Comptroller candidate Shannon Teresi said in an email. All three share a campaign treasurer with Irvin. “Fundraising events are being planned right now. In the meantime, each of the candidates is continuing to have important conversations with voters every opportunity they are able to.”
Not sure where those “conversations” are taking place, and most of their Twitter posts look like they were written by bots. Maybe they could fill their time by doing interviews with reporters.
Police union raises dues to beef up PAC: The board of the Fraternal Order of Police in Chicago voted yesterday to raise union dues by $10 per check to beef up the organization’s political action committee fund. FOP President John Catanzara said on a Facebook post last night that the goal is to create a $2.5 million fund to help political candidates beat “the crooked politicians.” Catanzara added: “Enough is enough. … Whether it’s Springfield or City Hall, change is coming. You were warned.” […]
Israel takes center stage in Newman v. Casten race: “[T]he ongoing investigation into whether Rep. Marie Newman gave a job to a potential rival has damaged Newman ahead of a June primary with Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) — and her vote against funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense had already set up a brutal primary. Casten, a two-term Democrat from another part of the Chicago suburbs, is endorsed by the Democratic Majority for Israel and other groups that want to defeat candidates who, like Newman, have broken with the party’s position on Israel to oppose military aid or criticize the Jewish state,” by the Washington Post.
Farewell to Champaign County’s longtime “I voted” stickers.
The next stickers to be handed to voters at the polls are going to be works of art designed by local kids and adults.
County Clerk and Recorder Aaron Ammons has launched a contest inviting kids from kindergarten on up and adults to submit their original sticker designs using the theme “this is what democracy looks like.”
Ammons said the county has used the same stickers for at least a decade, and he’s seen other counties use more creative designs.
…Adding… I completely forgot about this email from early today until a commenter jogged my memory…
Republican candidate for governor Paul Schimpf released the following statement regarding Governor Pritzker’s recent action in support of General Iron and urged the Mayor of Chicago to reject his efforts to issue a permit to a known polluter.
“It astounds me that in today’s age of environmental awareness, the Governor would ignore concerns from a local community and approve an operating permit for a company with a track record of pollution. The past actions of General Iron do not warrant any assumption of safety or environmental compliance on their part. Illinois needs leaders who will listen to communities and insist upon following proper procedural safeguards. I urge the Governor to reconsider his callous disregard of local concerns about the General Iron permit and the Mayor of Chicago to deny this permit.”
* We’re seeing a 24.1 percent decrease in hospitalizations since last Friday, a 20.9 percent decrease in ICU usage and a 24.2 percent decrease in ventilator usage. Tomorrow is a state holiday, so that’s why we’re getting this week’s numbers early. Deaths are still increasing because they are the ultimate lagging indicator, but they’re not increasing by as as last week’s report. Again, though, this is a truncated reporting week. Positivity rates continue to decline, but so is the vaccine uptake rate, although that’s probably to be expected as the omicron fear wears off. IDPH…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 29,939 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an increase of 499 deaths since February 4, 2022.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 2,987,502 cases, including 31,795 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since February 4, 2022, laboratories have reported 707,521 specimens for a total of 52,553,574. As of last night, 2,380 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 432 patients were in the ICU and 238 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from February 3-9, 2022 is 4.5%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from February 3-9, 2022 is 5.8%.
A total of 20,803,108 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 24,334 doses. Since February 4, 2022, 150,651 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, more than 75% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 66% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated, and 48% boosted according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
All data are provisional and will change. Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.
Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.
* Let’s move on to the roundup. From the latest Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus poll comprising 1,049 interviews conducted February 4-7 with a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points…
The American public is clearly divided on how we should be handling the pandemic right now.
• When given the choice, people are split roughly into quarters on whether we should open up and get back to life as usual with no restrictions (21%), move in that direction with some precautions (29%), mostly keep requirements in place (23%), or increase mask mandates and vaccine requirements (21%).
• Americans are also evenly divided on their support for businesses requiring customers to show proof of vaccination before being allowed into stores or restaurants (51% favor, 48% oppose).
• A bare majority (55%) oppose federal, state, and local government lifting all COVID-19 restrictions.
• Throughout all of these data points, there are clear divisions by party affiliation and vaccination status. For example, 64% of Republicans support government entities lifting all restrictions, compared to just 23% of Democrats. Independents are right in the middle (47% support). There is a roughly 30 percentage point gap between the vaccinated and unvaccinated on this topic as well, with the latter more inclined to support lifting restrictions.
There’s more, and toplines are here. Also, a 55-44 split on opposition/support of lifting all restrictions is definitely not a “bare majority.”
Chicago and suburban Cook County health officials said they anticipate that the city’s proof of vaccine requirement and indoor mask mandate will lift around the same time as the state’s. […]
Shortly after, Chicago health officials released their own statement saying if the city continues to see declines in these leading COVID metrics, it, too, should be in a position to lift restrictions at that time.
Proof of vaccination would no longer be required for patrons of restaurants, bars and gyms, along with the indoor mask mandates applying to those spaces in the city.
As with the state, the changes would not apply to public transit, health care facilities or schools, and business owners can still impose stricter requirements if they want to.
The news was met with mixed reactions. At Charbella Salon in Lakeview, customers wore masks while getting their hair done, as did their stylist. The owner said so far no one has complained about it, but once the mask mandate is lifted she still plans to ask for proof of vaccination.
“I believe lifting these mitigations is premature at this time,” said Murphy, executive director of Northwestern University’s Institute for Global Health and a professor of infectious diseases at the Feinberg School of Medicine. “These decisions should be based on science and not political. That said, we are definitely trending in the right direction, and I think soon it will be safe to pull back.”
He said new case metrics are becoming difficult to monitor because so many are diagnosed through at-home tests that might not be reported to local health departments. The best metric, he said, is hospitalizations, which are tracked very closely each day. The trouble is that hospitalization numbers tend to lag after infections; testing other environmental sources, like waste water, might also be a good indicator, he said.
Murphy also warned that the new BA.2 subvariant of the virus, often dubbed stealth omicron, is more transmissible than the earlier omicron variant, which fueled this most recent surge. He added that vaccine mandates should be kept in place for now.
“If we loosen too quickly, we’ll be back with another wave sooner than later,” he said.
Up to 7 million immune-compromised Americans have been left behind in the nation’s wobbly efforts to get back to normal. A weak immune system simply can’t rev up to fight the virus after vaccination like a healthy one does. Not only do these fragile patients remain at high risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19, they can harbor lengthy infections that can help spark still more variants.
With more of the country now abandoning masks and other precautions as the omicron wave ebbs, how to keep this forgotten group protected is taking on new urgency.
This is ‘quickly transitioning into an epidemic of the vulnerable,’ said Dr. Jacob Lemieux, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. While healthy vaccinated people may return to pre-pandemic activities with little worry about severe consequences, ‘the immunocompromised — despite vaccination, despite taking all precautions — cannot, and remain at risk.’
School officials are reacting to an incident at Maine South High School in Park Ridge this week that involved a group of students acting out and yelling obscenities in opposition to the continued mask requirement in school.
About 75 students left the Park Ridge school campus on Feb. 8 after some students became disruptive over the school’s mask mandate in the school commons area and nearby hallway between passing periods, said Principal Ben Collins. […]
Maine Township High School District 207 Superintendent Ken Wallace called the incident a premeditated act that was committed with the aim of disrupting the school day.
“The hardest part of navigating through the pandemic is the increasing loss of civility,” Wallace said Wednesday. “People think if you just yell and insult and call names it somehow makes their position right. And it’s just the opposite. We have to remember when we disagree that we do it respectfully and listen to each other to try to have an understanding.”
McConchie: Pritzker “using our kids” in a “naked power grab”
It’s even yuckier that Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie would specifically tailor a statement to the same network of publications which has been pushing the blatantly false “Rep. Deb Conroy wants to create concentration camps” garbage.
If you respond to their questions, I can only assume you believe they are legitimate.
Members of a far right group protested Tuesday in front of Conroy’s district office with police cars providing protection. She was forced to close her Villa Park office after receiving multiple death threats for misinformation spread about legislation she is proposing.
“I can’t explain to you the things that people said, the words they used,” Conroy said. “There is a word that begins with the letter “C” that I can tell you at my age I’ve never said it out loud. And I’ve read it so many times, it’s disturbing.” […]
In a response [to Speaker Welch], Durkin said Republicans are not immune to threats, writing, in part: “In an effort to be part of the solution, I encourage you to allow voices of the minority party to be heard and not continue to be disregarded.”
“I was really disappointed in Leader Durkin’s response because he is not addressing doing anything to stop it,” Conroy said.
Yesterday, Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger tweeted the following in response to yet another Republican dodging when asked their view on the RNC’s “legitimate political discourse” portrayal of the Jan. 6 insurrection:
@AdamKinzinger: “Every Republican needs asked this question and only this question until they answer clearly. The time for choosing is now…”
Kinzinger’s tweet was in response to gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey angrily storming out of a press conference when asked about the description. Bailey joined candidate Jesse Sullivan who also refused to take a stand on the topic when asked.
But many Republicans have simply avoided answering questions all together. To date, voters have no public response to the issue from the Illinois Republican Party. Ditto for gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin or Attorney General candidate Steve Kim. Nor have we heard from Kinzinger’s Republican colleagues in Congress including Darin LaHood, Rodney Davis, Mike Bost, or Mary Miller. And what about the Republican congressional candidates who seek to work in the very building that was attacked?
It is crystal clear that many Illinois Republicans would love nothing more than for the press to simply move on from this story and stop asking them questions about where they stand on “legitimate political discourse” and the insurrection. As Kinzinger said, every Republican must be asked “this question until they answer clearly. The time for choosing is now.”
After Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot downplayed her administration’s slow implementation of police reforms during a speech in 2020, a lawyer for the Illinois attorney general responded in court by criticizing the city’s handling of the consent decree.
Lightfoot fired back by texting Attorney General Kwame Raoul directly that his office took a “cheap political shot” by questioning her administration’s handling of police reforms instead of calling her first personally to discuss it.
“Kwame, do you really want (a) public fight with me over the consent decree? Your flak’s comments today in court were way over the line. You have never once engaged with me over the consent decree, so this is shameful,” Lightfoot texted Raoul. “It was a cheap political shot that I would have thought was beneath you, but now I know the terms of engagement.” […]
“Your person didn’t just say it was slow. She mocked my announcement from earlier this week, called me out by name and said the city is intentionally, intentionally foot dragging,” Lightfoot wrote in a follow-up message to Raoul. “I know you are pissed at me, but throwing gasoline on a raging fire is stupid and irresponsible. If you actually wanted to discuss the consent decree process, I would have expected you as the leader of your office to actually reach out to me. I have had zero engagement from you, so the comments today were ridiculous in light of the lack of engagement by you personally.”
Lightfoot promised to “highlight the lack of engagement” if she was asked about it by reporters.
Raoul responded: “I fully expect you to do that. … I will communicate as well.”
* But also read this story from last year for context…
A top adviser to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot resigned in August while raising concerns about the city’s ability to “keep moving the ball forward” on its violence prevention efforts and Police Department consent decree implementation, records obtained by the Tribune show. […]
Lee’s resignation came one week before Chad Williams, the former civilian commanding officer of the Chicago Police Department’s audit division, wrote Lightfoot to say he had been proud to lead the unit but had become disillusioned and was resigning his post.
“Unfortunately, my disappointment with the inability of this department’s top leadership to even feign interest in pursuing reform in a meaningful manner has made it impossible for me to remain involved,” Williams wrote in the email, as previously reported by the Tribune. “Even more unfortunate is that my experience is far from unique. Many well-meaning and talented civilians have signed up to help improve the nation’s (second largest) police department, only to find themselves steadily thwarted by its perverse incentive structures until they inevitably depart due to demoralization.”
…Adding… Also, she should maybe take her own advice…
As a chronic polluter sought city permission to set up shop on Chicago’s Southeast Side, recently released emails show there was a stark divide in the administration of Mayor Lori Lightfoot — one the mayor wanted to keep secret from the public.
The fall 2020 emails, released to the Tribune under an open records request, offer a window into the extent to which Lightfoot hoped to stop the public from learning details of the behind-the-scenes debate over General Iron’s attempted move from a wealthy, largely white Lincoln Park neighborhood to a lower-income, predominantly Latino one on the Southeast Side.
Despite campaigning on a promise to “bring in the light” at City Hall, Lightfoot admonished staffers for sending her emails that could later be made public, if somebody happened to request them under the state’s Freedom of Information Act, commonly known by its acronym FOIA.
The mayor scolded her top environmental adviser for sending her a memo on General Iron, saying the aide’s written recommendations have “no FOIA protections and that just cannot be a thing.”
In contemporary politics, demography is destiny. Just how true this has become can be demonstrated by a simple calculation using 3 basic demographic variables.
For all 50 states, we looked at 3 variables that are increasingly linked with partisan voting:
— What percentage of the state’s residents 25 or older have at least a bachelor’s degree?
— What percentage of the state’s residents are white?
— How urban or rural is the state?
Put simply, Republican candidates now perform strongest among white voters without a college degree, especially if they live in rural areas. And Democrats, conversely, are performing best among minority voters, those with at least an undergraduate degree, and those who live in or near urban areas.
To make our calculations, we drew on the most recent education data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Digest of Education Statistics, the most recent racial data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and FiveThirtyEight’s urbanization index.
For each of these 3 metrics, we ranked the states on a 1-to-50 scale.
Specifically, the state with the lowest percentage of residents 25 or over holding a bachelor’s degree was ranked 1, while the state with the highest percentage holding a bachelor’s degree was ranked 50. For the racial measurement, the whitest state was ranked 1, while the least-white state was ranked 50. For the urban-rural measurement, the least urban state was ranked 1, while the most urban state was ranked 50.
Once we had all 3 rankings in hand, we simply added together the rankings for each state, then rank-ordered that composite score for the states from 1 to 50. The states that ranked closer to 1 offered more friendly demographics for the GOP, while the states closer to 50 offered demographics more friendly to the Democrats.
As noted in the headline, Illinois was ranked the 43rd most Republican-friendly state, tied with Connecticut. We were 39th most friendly when it came to percentages of people with bachelor’s degrees, 34th most friendly on whiteness and 43rd on urbanization.
Keep in mind, this is about presidential races, not off-year contests, which is the cycle we’re in now. Some folks are making the case these days that the Illinois Democrats have taken things for granted for far too long. We’ll see in a matter of months.
For the second time this week, Cook County prosecutors cited changes to the state’s felony murder statute as the reason for not charging a man accused of being involved in a deadly shootout that led to a murder.
On Wednesday, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said 22-year-old Tayvon Powe would have faced a first-degree murder charge prior to last summer when the statute’s changes went into effect.
“If this was prior to July of [2021] when the change in the law that went into effect, this defendant would be facing first degree murder charges,” Murphy told Judge Mary Marubio at Powe’s bond hearing. “ … He is not facing those first-degree murder charges at this point.”
Powe still faces aggravated discharge of a weapon and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon charges — counts that could land him in prison for more than a decade if he’s convicted.
Powe isn’t accused of actually killing anyone, but of starting a shootout at a house party early on Jan. 1 in Englewood that left his friend dead.
Antonio Rankin had gotten in a fight with several people at the party and called Powe to pick him up, Murphy said. After arriving outside the party, Powe and another person, who hasn’t been charged yet, allegedly opened fire on people standing on the home’s porch.
Rankin was shot and killed. Powe took him to the hospital.
* From the ILGOP…
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy released the following statement in response to the latest outcome of Pritzker signing the most pro-criminal, anti-police legislation in Illinois history:
“As violent crime surges across Chicago and bleeds into surrounding communities, we are now seeing the direct consequences of a Governor who prioritizes criminals over the safety of law-abiding Illinoisans. With each turn of the page, the SAFE-T Act reveals another way laws have been changed to give the advantage to criminals and make the job of protecting the public that much harder for law enforcement. We need to repeal the pro-criminal, anti-police SAFE-T Act immediately and elect a Governor who will make our communities safe again.”
…Adding… Former House Democratic staffer who came up during the time when the stinging 1994 wipeout was the controlling party political ideology who is now a pro-police downtown alderperson…
The attack ads are gonna write themselves this year. Democrats still have an opportunity to take this issue off the table, but the clock is ticking in Springfield. pic.twitter.com/BrQwzeYjBy
JB Pritzker’s soft-on-crime policies which went into effect just weeks ago are now taking hold and criminals who commit the most serious offenses are not being prosecuted. JB has failed miserably in his primary obligation as Governor—keeping Illinois residents safe. All of this, with an assist from the worst Prosecutor and best Public Defender in the country, Kim Foxx. People are committing murder in Cook County and getting away with it.
We need to immediately repeal Pritzker’s Safe-T Act which is the softest-on-crime piece of legislation in Illinois history. But we need to go one step further. The day I am sworn in as Governor of Illinois, I will introduce legislation allowing voters to recall rogue State’s Attorneys like Kim Foxx. Illinois residents should not be held hostage and harmed by woke and out of touch public officials who are supposed to keep us safe.
…Adding… House GOP Leader Jim Durkin…
“For a second time this week, a violent criminal has escaped accountability for instigating a shootout that resulted in the death of a young man on the streets of Chicago. Governor Pritzker and his Democrat allies’ so-called “reform” has already destroyed the families of two victims and robbed them of the justice they deserve. Illinois is truly a consequence-free state for criminals. Repeal this law and restore justice in Illinois.”
* In retrospect, appointing the Macon County Democratic Party chair as head of the CDB might not have been the wisest move. Sun-Times…
The watchdog appointed to investigate potential patronage by state officials determined the Illinois Capital Development Board made several hiring mistakes — including hiring a person on a “Clout List” with close ties to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Noelle Brennan, the lawyer assigned to monitor the state’s compliance with the Shakman consent decree, released her findings in a court filing Wednesday. Her response comes as the state has fought to vacate the decree, which it’s been under since 1972. The Shakman decree banned political considerations in hiring and firing, though there are some exceptions.
Brennan requested in the filing that the state’s motion to vacate the decree be denied, considering the recent findings.
According to the filing, the violations occurred when the Capital Development Board sought to hire several “contract specialists” as the state launched its Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan. That program saw its budget grow from $28 million in 2018 to more than $9 billion in 2021. The plan is set to invest $45 billion into roads, early childhood centers, bridges and other state facilities over the next several years. […]
The monitor initially found the hiring process used for these vacant positions violated several personnel code provisions — and, specifically, that the hiring of four people raised concerns given their history, as the Chicago Sun-Times reported last month.
The continued investigation found that two of those four people had been fired by the state previously. That included the person with ties to Blagojevich. Another person hired was the son of one of the agency’s top officials and did not meet the minimum qualifications for the position.
In a written statement in response to questions, Pritzker’s general counsel Ann Spillane pointed out that the state itself originally brought the Capital Development Board matter to Brennan’s attention and that, in her interviews with state employees, the monitor has not even asked about political patronage.
“The governor is committed to ensuring all state hiring and employment practices are conducted with the highest ethical standards and is proud to have built the most diverse administration in Illinois history,” Spillane said, adding that the Shakman case has cost the state more than $1 million in just the past 18 months.
While generally complimentary of the state’s reform efforts, Brennan suggests in her filings that the problems at the Capital Development Board could point to broader shortcomings in how the state is rolling out its new “Comprehensive Employment Plan,” which is supposed to form the basis for the job reforms that would make Shakman oversight unnecessary.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s chief legal counsel Ann Spillane…
The Governor is committed to ensuring all state hiring and employment practices are conducted with the highest ethical standards and is proud to have built the most diverse administration in Illinois history. As evidence of that commitment, we have increased resources and staffing to create a robust Rutan compliance program, established a training program for everyone involved in hiring, and implemented an electronic system to modernize the State’s human resources. The court has noted this administration’s extensive progress on improving state employment practices. No one, including the Shakman Plaintiffs and the Special Master, disputes that significant progress. The Special Master’s December report concluded by explaining that “the State has significantly improved its employment practices over the last several years,” noting that the State’s actions have led to “substantial compliance” with the 1972 Decree.
The state believes it has met all objectives of the 1972 Shakman Consent Decree in the decades since it was put in place and the continuation of the Decree is costly and far beyond its original scope. As a cost of over $1 million for just the last 18 months and an ongoing cost of nearly $100,000 per month, we believe it’s our duty to focus State resources on hiring needed employees, not paying more attorneys’ fees. At this point, the Plaintiffs cannot point to a single violation of the law in multiple administrations. In fact, Plaintiffs now say that they support the State’s motion to end the Shakman decree and believe the State should take minor steps to end the case by April.
ON CDB:
• The administration identified a procedural mistake by CDB in filling a position and flagged that mistake for the special master. That is how she learned of the procedural issue.
• The special master has now reviewed CDB’s hiring for over four months and has not identified any evidence of patronage or any evidence that any employee committed misconduct. She has identified mistakes.
• Throughout this case, the State has adopted as many of the special master’s recommendations as possible into our practices. We are reviewing the special master’s report and will use it to ensure that HR personnel learn from any procedural mistakes CDB employees made and avoid similar mistakes in the future.
* As I told subscribers earlier this week, White is still quietly mulling his options on whom to endorse for secretary of state. But the state’s most popular officeholder is clearly all-in for Rochford…
Today, Secretary of State Jesse White announced his endorsement of Judge Elizabeth Rochford in her campaign for the Illinois Supreme Court’s new Second District. Serving since 1999, Secretary White is the longest-serving Secretary of State in Illinois history and the first African American in the role. In his endorsement of Judge Rochford, Secretary White cited her judicial experience and dedication to making our court system more equitable.
“I am proud to endorse Judge Elizabeth M. Rochford’s candidacy for Illinois Supreme Court. Judge Rochford has dedicated herself to making the court system fair and accessible to everyone,” said Secretary of State Jesse White. “She is a brilliant judge and — just as important — a wonderful person who is highly decorated for her work promoting diversity and equality. We can trust that her values are our values. A Supreme Court justice needs the superb judicial experience and qualities that Judge Rochford possesses. She is the right candidate for this critical position, and I am proud to wholeheartedly endorse her.”
A first-time candidate for elected office, Judge Rochford has already earned endorsements from multiple labor organizations, including: the Illinois State AFL-CIO; Local 881 UFC; Plumbers Local Union 130 UA; the Lake County Building & Construction Trades Council and its 18 local affiliate trade unions; and the McHenry County Building & Construction Trades Councils and its 26 local affiliate trade unions.
“Secretary of State Jesse White’s legacy of service in Illinois is truly unparalleled, and I am truly humbled to receive his endorsement,” said Judge Elizabeth Rochford. “Secretary White’s leadership has been such an inspiration to me and so many others across our state. I hope to model his commitment to service as I work to bring fairness and equity to our Illinois Supreme Court.”
Judge Rochford’s legal and judicial career has spanned more than 35 years. She has served in private practice, as a former assistant state’s attorney, as a commissioner of the Illinois Court of Claims for 23 years, and as an Associate Judge on the 19th Circuit Court for the last nine years after being appointed in 2012. As an Associate Judge, she has heard civil and criminal matters with a significant focus in family law, which is a subject matter close to her heart having served as a longtime community advocate who has chaired literacy and access to justice initiatives. Judge Rochford has also served on the Illinois Judges Association (IJA) Board of Directors since 2015 and is currently its Secretary, helping to combat bias in the courts.
Judge Rochford has served on the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) Board of Governors, and as Secretary and past President of the Lake County Bar Association (LCBA). She remains active in both organizations. Her recent distinctions include the 2021 Lake County Democratic Women’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg Award, 2020 ISBA Carole K. Bellows Woman of Influence Award, the Lake County Women’s Association (LCWA) 2019 Woman of Significance Award, and the LCBA’s 2019 Access to Justice Award.
Judge Rochford’s campaign entered the election year with $215,000 on hand after raising more than $262,000 in 2021. The campaign outraised their nearest opponent by more than $150,000 in 2021 and ended the year with $110,000 more on hand.
The newly redrawn second Supreme Court District encompasses DeKalb, Kendall, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties. To learn more, visit judgerochfordforsupremecourt.com.
Judge Rochford is up against Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering and Kane County Judge René Cruz.
…Adding… Last week, Bailey was making fun of Richard Irvin for not answering questions and abruptly ending an interview…
Now, friends, you’ve got to scroll down and watch the last post that we posted last night with this Democrat Mayor Irvin that the Republican establishment has propped up to to run for governor. You’re going to love this. He’s had that, for the first time and two weeks since they’ve announced he’s been starting to having interviews. He is bombing them bad. Last night, you know, he said he was no one’s pushover. And yesterday in my live I mentioned that well, you know, you don’t push puppets you pull puppets. And in an interview last night he was asked about the abortion issue. And you could hear someone in the background saying this interview is over. And then he looked at them, he paused and he said well, I think this interview is over. Watch the one and a half minute clip that we posted. It was on Fox 32 last night.
He will not answer the Trump question. He won’t talk about who he voted for in the past. And it just seems like we’re living in some crazy days here in Illinois.
Indeed, Senator. Indeed.
…Adding… More…
Bailey breaks with Trump on vaccines. Does Bailey believe vaccinations save lives? “I do not agree with that,” he replies. pic.twitter.com/azDYm31o3X
…Adding… Does the candidate have a hearing problem?…
BAILEY BACKPEDALS: “Senator Bailey believes vaccines have helped save lives, but believes it should be a personal choice.”
After I repeated the question twice for Bailey to hear, now his campaign flak spins, says Bailey misunderstood, thought question was about mandates. https://t.co/Nu8aG8c6gY
IN A PRESS CONFERENCE ABOUT MANDATES Senator Bailey was asked “do you believe President Trump when he said it was unvaccinated people driving hospitalizations and deaths…” He replied that he didn’t agree Trump said that in regard to mandates. He then stated his opposition to mandates. Senator Bailey believes vaccines have helped save lives, but believes it should be a personal choice.
* Sam Toia, President and CEO, Illinois Restaurant Association…
“We are encouraged by the Governor’s decision to end the mask mandate in Illinois as Covid-19 cases have dropped to their lowest levels in more than two months. Restaurants continue to do their part to keep their diners and team members safe, and are eager to take this next step toward normalcy and recovery. This is a sure sign of hope for many restaurants throughout our state still struggling to rebuild their businesses.”
* Gary Rabine…
Illinois kids and parents go into day five of JB Pritzker’s mask mandate mess. Today, he will compound the chaos by beginning to lift the mandate for the general public but keep it in place for schools. Other states, including those with Democratic Governors, have figured this out. But when politics, not people, are your main concern as Governor, this is what happens. COVID chaos and a crime epidemic are Pritzker’s legacy. It’s time to take our state back.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, criticized the governor’s go-it-alone dictates that supermajority Democrats have left untouched. He said he has not been briefed by the governor on the plan.
“This is the typical approach of the governor over the past two years,” Durkin said during an unrelated news conference Wednesday. “I don’t know what he plans to say today, but I hope he does what other Democratic governors throughout the nation are doing saying that the masks are done. Let’s get back to business as usual. Let’s let business operators finally get back to work. Let’s let parents and children go back to schools without having to deal with this mask situation.” […]
The campaign of Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who’s seeking the Republican nomination for governor for the right to challenge Pritzker in the November election, sent a statement before the governor’s announcement.
“A few short days ago, this Governor refused to end mandates saying we needed to ‘follow the science’ but today says everyone can remove their masks except the lowest risk population,” Irvin said in a statement. “Illinois is being led by a Governor who puts politics and special interests ahead of parents and their children. Enough is enough.”
* SGOP…
Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie released the following statement in regard to the Governor’s new partial mask mandate, in which he failed to provide the specific data used to make his decision that schools must remain masked while lifting the mandate for everyone in most other places.
“One has to wonder if this is just about winning a lawsuit and maintaining his ability to exercise power over the people of this state.
“The Governor’s continued piecemeal approach isn’t working and leads to confusion and frustration. It’s time to get back to living in a sense of normalcy and that begins with empowering individuals to be responsible for themselves. Learning to live with COVID-19 means getting to the point where we trust individuals and families to make the best decisions for their own health and safety.”
* Sullivan…
Gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan issued the following statement:
“Under J.B. Pritzker’s new round of orders, Illinois kids don’t have to wear masks in restaurants, stores, museums or church - but they do in schools.
Mandates in schools won’t be lifted for weeks and he is already talking about reinstating them in the future.
This isn’t real science. It’s political science.
That’s unacceptable. It’s time to return parental control to our kids’ education.”
* When Gov. Pritzker announced the reinstatement of the mask mandate on August 26, 2021, hospitalizations were at 2,240, not 1,700 as claimed below. The mandate didn’t take effect until August 30, when 2,266 people were in the hospital, so Illinois was on an upswing, eventually peaking at 7,380 hospitalizations on January 12.
Illinois is currently at 2,496 hospitalizations, that’s 10 percent more than were in the hospital when the mandate went back into effect in August. During the past three weeks, hospitalizations have fallen 60 percent. It is not a stretch to believe that Illinois will be below, even well below, 2,266 hospitalizations by February 28th. Heck, they could even be below the mythical 1,700 at this rate.
Q: Despite all that’s been said just now, and I’m not gonna surprise you, there are people who are still questioning this decision and say, ‘Is it really about the science or is it about your reelection?’ On Monday you said ‘hospitalizations’ three times.
A: Yes
Q: Well, when you put the mask mandate in place, hospitalizations were at 1,700. We’re not at 1,700 now.
A: No, we’re not.
Q: So why pick February 28?
A: Because we’re seeing a trajectory of those hospitalizations. We’ve come from 7,300, more than that, down to under 2,500 just in the last couple weeks. And over the next couple of weeks before we get to February 28 I think we all expect to see a continuation of that trend.
If you’re gonna claim politics are involved in this mask decision, find a better argument.
*** UPDATE *** I didn’t notice this before, but the state is projecting that just 500 people will be hospitalized with covid ten days from now, on February 19th. We haven’t been to that level since mid-July of last year. Click the pic for the full document…
February 9, 2022
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin
316 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Dear Leader Durkin:
Thank you for your thoughtful letter. I’m sure it’s been as difficult for you as it has been for me to see the terrible toll this deadly pandemic has taken on our state. In Cook, DuPage and Will counties, excluding the City of Chicago, 9,628 Illinois residents lost their lives and 31,570 Illinoisans across the state had their lives cut short. I know we both agree that every life lost is a tragedy.
Throughout this pandemic it is the strength of the people of Illinois that has reminded me that together we can overcome the obstacles this disease continues to throw at us. Unlike at the beginning of this pandemic, we now have mitigation tools that help us prevent the spread of Covid-19, including vaccines and boosters, masks and testing. Many people have embraced the call to do all we can to keep each other safe, and it’s worked. Here in Illinois almost 70% of people 5 years and older are fully vaccinated, and for people 65+ —those who are most vulnerable to the debilitating impacts of this disease—over 85% are fully vaccinated. And Illinois has fared better than its neighbors because of mitigation efforts we’ve all undertaken. For instance, on August 30th, in the face of a growing threat from the Delta variant, Illinoisans put their masks back on – and we closed out 2021 with fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations per capita than anywhere else in the Midwest.
However, it’s unfortunate and disheartening that at the same you’re requesting that members of your caucus be more involved in decision-making about mitigation strategies, your members are spreading misinformation campaigns intended to confuse and plant seeds of doubt in the minds of the public. It’s shameful and harmful. Members of your caucus and of your party are riling up the most extreme activists against science and mitigation efforts. In recent social media posts, these fringe activists, fueled by elected Republican officeholders, threw in references evoking images of Nazis and concentration camps to appeal to the lowest forms of fear and hate humans possess. It would be helpful if you, as the leader of the House Republican caucus, would join me in both condemning their actions and standing up for science. I’m disappointed that that seems to be something you’re unwilling to do.
Despite your caucus’ attempts to undermine science-backed mitigation, I’m pleased to tell you that masks and other mitigation efforts have been so successful that, assuming hospitalization trends remain the same as they are today, I am able to lift the statewide mask mandate as of February 28th 2022.
Again, I want to emphasize that our state’s progress has been in spite of the best efforts of your members to undermine the hard work of scientists and perseverance of the people of Illinois. For your reference, I’ve attached a few examples of the shameful behavior members of your caucus have engaged in.
My team is briefing your caucus on elimination of the statewide mask mandate as you read this letter. It is my understanding that some local governments or businesses may wish to continue requiring masking. I support those efforts on the local level, and I hope you will support them as well.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or if you decide it’s time to collaborate in our science-based fight against this deadly disease.
- Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst issued the following statement regarding HB 4060…Now Deb Conroy wants to move HB 4640, which will have the effect of doing covertly and dishonestly, what Rep. Morgan tried to do overtly and honestly–expand the power of IDPH, and any local public health authority, to attain peoples’ private medical records to create the registry, without patient knowledge or consent, so long as it created under the guise of “research.” After the people of Illinois spoke so strongly on this issue, it is an insult to try to achieve the same results through a sneaky back door approach. I call on Rep. Conroy to table the bill, and for Illinois residents to yet again explain to Rep. Conroy that they do not appreciate this cynical effort to have their private medical records targeted in this way, and for this purpose.”
- Rep. Halbrook is quoted attacked Rep. Conroy’s bill and the article in general contains multiple false claims including that natural immunity is better than the vaccine.
- Conroy told Playbook she has closed down her office and is being escorted by police while investigators try to track down the origin of the threats, including a phone message that said, “I’ll take you by gunpoint.”
- …but I feel strongly that at least some of the voicemails left for Rep. Deb Conroy about her innocuous bill ought to be shared. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like this in all my years. They are profanity-laden, disgusting, misogynistic messages from hateful and violent-sounding people.
- Conroy’s bill would allow the state to “isolate or quarantine persons who are unable or unwilling to receive vaccines, medications, or other treatments.” “Former Illinoisan Ronald Reagan said it best, ‘The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help,’” McLaughlin said. “ Uh ….no thank you on HB 4640 Rep. Conroy.”
• Niemerg claims state leaders have used the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to “strip away rights” guaranteed in the United States constitution. He says his legislation is necessary to restore the right of conscience for Illinoisans.
• “I find it reprehensible that you need less information to vote or enter the country, it seems, than to go to a local pancake restaurant in Cook County,” McLaughlin said. “I’ve had enough frankly of elected officials acting as part-time epidemiologist telling us ‘it’s either vaccine or ventilator.’”
A collection of social media posts from House GOP members and County GOP Committees
Amends the Chicago Police and Chicago Firefighter Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that beginning January 1, 2023, the minimum widow’s annuity shall be no less than 150% (rather than 125%) of the Federal Poverty Level for all persons receiving widow’s annuities on or after that date, without regard to whether the deceased policeman or fireman is in service on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Makes a conforming change. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement by the State. Effective immediately.
* The governor will have a press conference at 2 pm today to talk about the mask mandate issue, but he was asked a question about the reports about him partially lifting the mandate at his morning event…
People are tired of wearing masks, that’s for sure. But I have to say, I mean, an enormous compliment to the people of Illinois. We have done such a good job, you have done such a good job of keeping each other safe. We have lots of people who are vulnerable, or seniors who are immunocompromised, and lots of people who don’t know that they’ve got an underlying condition that when they’ve been hit with COVID-19 it devastates them and, and unfortunately, we’ve seen many, many people die.
But Illinois has done better than almost every state in the Midwest. In fact, we’re better than all of the states around us at keeping people healthy and safe and certainly out of the hospital during this last omicron wave, in part because people wear their masks.
So my intention is as we’ve seen these numbers peak at about 7400 hospitalizations, and heading downward significantly. We’re now I think, under 2500 hospitalizations, so that’s almost a third of where we were at the peak and heading even further downward. The intention is to lift the mask mandate in indoor locations by February 28.
Of course, we still have the sensitive locations of K-12 schools, where we have lots of people who are joined together in smaller spaces, thousands of people interacting in one location at a time. And so that’s something that will come weeks hence.
But very importantly, things are getting better across the state of Illinois. And that’s really a credit to leaders across the state, but really to the people of Illinois.
Just six months ago while signing into law critical domestic violence legislation, the Governor spoke of being on a journey to end domestic violence. Yet domestic violence was the only essential service that lacked a significant investment in the Governor’s proposed budget. The minimal proposed increase will lead to a further depleted community of advocates and more survivors without access to services. The gender-based violence community maintains its request for an allocation of $50 million to address survivor needs.
The majority of Domestic Violence Advocates earn less than $40k annually while providing critical crisis intervention services with more hours and higher caseloads. As a result, Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline staff worked over 2,024 hours of overtime in the last two years.
Domestic violence programs remained open throughout the pandemic-providing a critical safety net for survivors. With limited funding, service providers are unable to provide the necessary wage to maintain an adequate and equipped staff. Investing in service providers means sustaining and increasing the capacity of domestic violence organizations to continue providing essential, quality services.
In 2021, the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline received contacts from more than 32,000 individuals seeking assistance. This is over an eight percent increase in contacts from 2020, which was already a record-breaking year. Hotline texts saw a drastic increase of 42% from 2020 to 2021.
Throughout the pandemic, over 50% of surveyed providers reported receiving increased requests for services. Between pre-pandemic 2019 and 2021 service needs increased: shelter (4%), legal advocacy (123%), and counseling (26%). Regions in the state experienced over 2 months without domestic violence shelter beds, cribs, or bed and cribs in 2021.
Every year thousands of survivors are turned away from services as providers do not have the capacity to meet the need. Service providers have substantial waitlists that continue to grow. Programs are unable to provide critical legal and counseling services due to increased need and loss of staff capacity. With a lack of substantial investment in services and continuing increase in needs, more survivors will continue to be turned away or added to waitlists. One survivor was even murdered by the person causing them harm while on a service provider waitlist.
Survivors are also experiencing increased forms of violence as reflected by the drastically increasing rates of domestic violence homicides and shootings[8]. The number of these homicides and shootings in Chicago is already on track to outpace 2021 rates which were already 29% and 130% higher than pre-pandemic 2019, respectively. Law enforcement officials have said on record that the only way to reduce domestic violence shootings and violence is to increase services.
From what I could gather, nobody came forward during the governor’s budget drafting process to request significantly more money, so it wasn’t included. But that could change.
* I asked the governor’s office for a response. Here’s Jordan Abudayyeh…
The Governor supports the critical work of addressing domestic violence and we look forward to working with advocates and legislators to continue supporting their efforts to keep families safe and healthy.
Closing 100 tabs is freeing, sure, but also sad because it’s the death of 100 ✨possibilities✨ …Okay, maybe like 60 because 15 of them were just @capitolfax homepage, 10 were @BlueRoomStream, eight were @IDPH and two were empty tabs I’d abandoned seconds after pressing ctrl+T.
A Cook County grand jury has declined to indict a man on a first-degree murder charge in connection with a December shooting that left a woman dead when she was struck by a stray bullet in Austin.
The case appears to be the first of it’s kind brought in the county since the state’s felony murder statute was changed as part of the SAFE-T Act — a landmark criminal justice reform bill that became state law last year.
The rewritten felony murder law was designed to narrow who could be charged with the state’s most serious offense — which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison — to a person alleged to be directly responsible for committing the murder. […]
Andrews faces a sentence of up to 14 years in prison. None of the current charges are eligible for probation. […]
“For decades, the legal system has relied on the practice of overcharging to coerce guilty pleas. Specifically, the felony murder rule has enabled the state to prosecute people for someone else’s actions, and sometimes even the state’s own actions,” the [Cook County Public Defender’s] office said. “As a result, far too many people in Illinois have served or are serving decades-long sentences for murders they did not commit and did not intend for anyone else to commit.”
* Richard Irvin campaign…
In response to the news that a man responsible for the shooting death of an innocent bystander will escape charges for her death due to JB Pritzker’s pro-criminal law, Mayor Richard Irvin released the following statement:
“An innocent life was lost, and the violent criminal will not be held accountable for her death because of the dangerous policies in JB Pritzker’s pro-criminal law. Unfortunately this is just the beginning of increases in crime and violence as more parts of this law take effect. Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in their communities, and need a Governor who will protect the working class over the criminal class.”
Just yesterday, Irvin launched a petition to repeal the dangerous anti-police policies that have empowered criminals and crippled law enforcement throughout Illinois.
I’ve asked the governor’s campaign for a response.
* Media advisory…
MEDIA ADVISORY: HGOP Calls for Repeal of SAFE-T Act After Pritzker Law Lets Criminal Evade Justice
WHO: House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), Representatives Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis), Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva).
WHAT: House Republican legislators will discuss the devastating real life consequences of abolishing Illinois’ felony murder rule, a critical component of the SAFE-T Act.
WHEN: 11 AM on Wednesday, February 9, 2022.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell, Jr…
Hey Rich, the SAFE-T Act did not abolish the felony murder rule, it just changed it.
Now to be charged with felony murder, you or another participant in the underlying felony have to be the cause of the death.
So if people A, B and C were accused of robbing a bank together and either A, B or C killed D; A, B and C can still all be charged with felony murder no matter who pulled the trigger.
The change basically says to be charged with felony murder, you or someone in your group has to be accused of murdering someone.
The rule was routinely abused; cops chasing someone in a car, the cops runs into someone in a chase, they charge the guy being chased with murder.
…Adding… Restore Justice Illinois…
In 2021, Illinois narrowly tailored its felony-murder rule. The necessary change only ensures someone is culpable for first-degree murder before they face our state’s harshest possible punishment.
Today, Illinois House Republican members are holding a press conference to call for repeal of the SAFE-T Act and to mislead the public about the scope of the Act’s changes to the felony-murder rule.
FACTS
• The SAFE-T Act did not abolish the felony-murder rule.
• The change brought Illinois into line with the majority of other states.
• Under the current law, prosecutors may still charge people with felony murder in a variety of scenarios.
• The SAFE-T Act only narrowed the scope of the felony-murder rule. It removes the possibility of charging a person with first-degree murder when the killing was committed by a third party (i.e. a store owner or a police officer).
• Felony-murder is still a viable charge, and prosecutors can continue to use it to hold people accountable for deaths caused by themselves or other participants in the underlying felony.
• Lesser - but still severe - charges are always available in cases where felony murder is not appropriate. Many of these charges include long prison sentences with no possibility of parole or early release due to rehabilitation.
Before the SAFE-T Act, Illinois had one of the broadest felony murder laws in the country. People were charged with first-degree murder when a police officer, store owner, or other third party killed someone. Some states don’t have felony-murder laws, and in the majority of those that do, people can only be held accountable for deaths they or their co-defendants cause. The SAFE-T Act moved Illinois into that category.
Under the current law, a person can be charged with murder when they or their co-defendant directly cause the death but not when a third party kills someone.
Charging people with felony-murder, which is first-degree murder and carries a minimum sentence of 20 years (45 years if a gun is used), is an overreach in cases in which a third party kills a co-defendant. People convicted of first-degree murder today must serve their entire sentences; Illinois does not offer time off for rehabilitation nor does it offer parole-for-release opportunities to people 21 and over convicted of murder.
Long sentences do not deter crime. They continue to cause pain in the communities already torn apart by violence and over-incarceration. We need evidence-based responses to violence in Illinois’s communities.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Pritzker campaign…
Travis Andrews is facing a serious sentence, which will result in him going to prison for a long time if he is found guilty. Additionally, prosecutors still have a host of other charges available to them. The fearmongering from Republicans continues to know no bounds. Richard Irvin knows better than anyone the severity of felony charges without the possibility of parole, considering his marketing materials and how much money he’s made freeing criminals from accountability. The GOP’s near-constant exploitation of crime for their personal, political gain is disappointing, but not at all surprising.
What happened: On Friday, the RNC on a voice vote approved a resolution to censure Kinzinger, of Illinois, and Cheney, of Wyoming, and “no longer support them as members of the Republican party.”
Illinois National Committeeman Richard Porter and Illinois National Committeewoman Demetra DeMonte, members of the RNC, supported the measure.
Backfire: The censure resolution has backfire potential for Republicans because it said that Kinzinger and Cheney, the only two Republicans on the Jan. 6 panel, are participating in “a Democratic-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse, and they are both utilizing their past professed political affiliation to mask Democrat abuse of prosecutorial power for partisan purposes.”
The problem: This “ordinary citizens” statement. Obviously, the Democrats can exploit this — the ad writes itself about violent rioters being “ordinary citizens.” On the other side of the coin, Republicans in primaries trying to out-Trump their competition — and make heroes out of the Jan. 6 mob — got a gift. […]
“It will be used against hundreds of elected Republicans who were not consulted in its drafting and do not endorse its sentiment. To the extent that the party did not intend this as the meaning — and RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, already doing damage control, says it was not meant that way — its wording is political malpractice of the highest order coming from people whose entire job is politics.” [wrote the National Review editorial board]
Here in Illinois, as I recently wrote, the GOP is in the early stages of rebuilding itself. It has a nice slate of candidates for statewide office, a financier in Citadel’s Ken Griffin, and issues like crime and taxes with the power to attract votes.
But because Trump tried to do what no American president ever has done—retain power by any means necessary, be it misreading the Constitution, encouraging a riot or indicating he may well pardon the rioters if he regains the White House—Trump has set up a new threshold issue for every Republican running everywhere. And that is: Where do you stand? With Trump or against him?
Ergo a few days ago, barely had I mentioned the name “Trump” in an interview with GOP gubernatorial hopeful Richard Irvin when Irvin declared without prompting that Joe Biden is the president of the United States. But Irvin wouldn’t answer when I asked him three different times who he actually voted for in 2020. He’s between a GOP primary rock and a general election hard place.
Irvin has good reason to be skittish. In recent weeks, even as we’ve become numbed to the latest Trump revelations, just as we’ve become sick and tired of anything COVID, the threat that Trump posed and poses has become clearer than ever.
But it was Kinzinger himself who basically argued Monday in a pair of cable-news appearances that the response to the RNC’s censure should be considered a political litmus test for the GOP. On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” he called it “a defining moment for the party and I think it’s a defining moment for every member of the House or the Senate or any Republican leader.”
Kinzinger called for the media and for voters to “pin down every Republican and say, ‘Do you side with what the RNC did or do you condemn what they did?’” He added, “Trust me, politicians are really good at kind of skirting around that answer. Don’t let them on this one. I think it’s so defining.”
He said of the RNC: “Those that are driving the train have lost any sense of democracy mattering,” and went on to paint a stark picture of where the nation stands. “The RNC deserves every aspect of backlash that is going to come down on it,” Kinzinger said. “This is a defining moment in American politics and in the RNC’s future. Are you for authoritarianism? Are you against democracy? Or are you going to wake up to that slide and get back to actual democracy again?”
…Adding… DPI…
The fallout continues from the RNC’s disgraceful decision to call the violent January 6 insurrection “legitimate political discourse.” Yesterday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell split with the national party and correctly described the day as “violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.” His counterpart in the House, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, refused to state the obvious, instead running from reporters when asked his opinion of the RNC’s description. Meanwhile, Illinois Republican Adam Kinzinger called on the media to question members of his own party, saying reporters should “pin down every Republican and say, ‘Do you side with what the RNC did or do you condemn what they did?’”
Where does that leave Illinois Republicans? We do know that RNC Committeeman and recent Irvin/Bourne backer Richard Porter supported the shameful language last week, along with RNC Committeewoman Demetra DeMonte. But to date, the Illinois Republican Party has been silent about the “legitimate political discourse” flap, while Republican Congressional candidates across the state continue to hide from the question.
The question is simple: do Illinois Republicans agree with Mitch McConnell or Kevin McCarthy? Do they acknowledge Jan. 6 was a violent insurrection intended to undermine our democracy or are they willing to gaslight Illinoisans with “legitimate political discourse” spin? The voters deserve to know.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker will lay out a plan on Wednesday to phase out his mask mandate for Illinois residents in most indoor settings, sources said.
Pritzker teased the rollback earlier Tuesday, telling residents to “stay tuned” for an update on the masking policy that has been back in effect for about six months — and which has faced pushback over the past week as Illinois’ COVID-19 metrics sink to the lowest levels seen since the onset of the Omicron variant.
While Pritzker is expected to wind down the mandate for the public at large, state officials plan to continue waging a legal battle to keep masks on in schools, which present a different ongoing challenge in the pandemic, according to the Democratic governor.
“We’re very close,” Pritzker said at an unrelated Springfield news conference Tuesday afternoon. “The challenge in schools … is because it’s such a central focus of communities, and literally sometimes thousands of people are interacting in a school in a single day in one location.”
The source said the changes will impact malls, restaurants, bars and places of business, but not schools. Schools are governed by a separate mandate, and will be addressed separately.
“Because it’s such a central focus of communities, and literally sometimes thousands of people are interacting in a school, we’ve got to be very careful about how we remove those mask mandates,” Pritzker said previously. […]
The changes will also not impact prisons or nursing homes, the source said, or healthcare facilities or public transit, which are under a federal mask mandate.
…Adding… Richard Irvin campaign…
Based on initial news reports of JB Pritzker’s upcoming announcement, Richard Irvin released the following statement in response to Pritzker’s refusal to end the indoor mask mandates for all:
“A few short days ago, this Governor refused to end mandates saying we needed to ‘follow the science’ but today says everyone can remove their masks except the lowest risk population. Illinois is being led by a Governor who puts politics and special interests ahead of parents and their children. Enough is enough.”
With statewide COVID-19 hospitalization rates declining faster than any other point in the pandemic, Illinois is on track to lift the statewide indoor mask requirement on Monday, February 28, 2022. Mask requirements will continue where federally mandated, such as on public transit and in high-risk settings including healthcare facilities and congregate care. Masking requirements will also continue to apply in all daycare settings. The state intends to continue masking requirements in P-12 schools subject to pending litigation which impacts a number of schools. As the CDC reaffirmed just today, masks remain a critical tool to keep schools safe and open.
The state reaches this point with more than 21.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered to Illinois residents. Per the CDC, Illinois continues to lead the Midwest in people who have received at least one shot, with 75.7% of people having received their first dose. Illinois also has the most fully vaccinated 17-and-under population in the region, though across the nation, youth vaccination rates continue to trail adult rates.
“We are now seeing the fastest rate of decline in our COVID-19 hospitalization metrics since the pandemic began. If these trends continue — and we expect them to —then on Monday, February 28th, we will lift the indoor mask requirement for the State of Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I want to be clear: Many local jurisdictions, businesses and organizations have their own mask requirements and other mitigations that must be respected. Throughout this pandemic, we’ve deployed the tools available to us as needed. Our approach has saved lives and kept our economy open and growing.”
Today the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reporting 4,742 new confirmed and probable cases and 2,496 people in the hospital with COVID-19. IDPH is also reporting 449 people with COVID-19 in the ICU and 243 people on ventilators. With 20% of ICU beds now available statewide, this marks the fastest rate of decline in the hospital metrics since the pandemic began.
“While masks will no longer be required in most indoor locations beginning February 28, they are still recommended,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “Masks offer a layer of protection and for people who have an underlying health condition or who are around those who do, you may choose to continue wearing a mask. Similarly, if you find yourself in a crowded, indoor setting, a mask can still help protect you. We will continue to recommend masks.”
…Adding… Press release…
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin offered the following response to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s announcement Wednesday regarding COVID mitigations, noting that Pritzker has no plan for schools.
“Governor Pritzker’s failure to have a clear plan in place for schools to give parents and children hope of returning to a normal life is astounding. It is year three of this pandemic, and continuing to leave these families in the dark, with no data or metrics presented, is unconscionable and a clear sign the Governor should not be trusted to get us out of this pandemic.”
The governor publicly advised schools that weren’t part of the case to continue doing what they had been doing. Not sure what the beef is there.
