General Funds revenues took a dramatic turn in April 2023 as receipts fell a stunning $1.844 billion as compared to the same month the year prior. Despite having the second highest monthly revenue total on record, this month’s General Funds total of $6.193 billion was well short of the historic monthly high of $8.037 billion received a year ago. Greatly contributing to the decline was April 2023 having one less receipting day than April 2022.
The main contributor to the falloff was Personal Income Taxes, which fell $1.763 billion below last April’s levels, a drop of $1.507 billion on a net basis. While a substantial decline was anticipated, as final tax payments were expected to struggle to repeat last year’s extraordinary performance, the extent of the decline is much steeper than the Commission had projected. Midway through April, revenues were on pace with last year with a month-to-date total of $1.0 billion. However, this changed drastically over the last ten receipting days of the month as only $2.7 billion was receipted in the second half of April 2023 compared to the whopping $4.4 billion that was receipted at the end of April 2022. This discrepancy was greatly enhanced by an extra receipting day in April 2022 where $553 million in gross personal income taxes were receipted, thereby contributing to a year-over-year 32.4% decline in April revenues. [Further details behind this sharp decline and a history of April receipts are provided on page 13 of this briefing].
Corporate Income Tax receipts were also down in April, but not nearly as severe as personal taxes, with a decline of $94 million or down $66 million on a net basis. Considering the comparatively high levels from a year ago, the extent of the corporate income tax declines here is better than anticipated. Sales Tax revenues slowed again in April with a year-over-year decrease of $5 million, a drop of $31 million when adjusting for the nongeneral funds distributions to the Road Fund and to other transportation funds. […]
The substantial declines in April erased nearly all of the growth accrued throughout the fiscal year. With only two months remaining in the fiscal year, General Funds receipts in FY 2023 are now only $132 million above last year’s pace. In comparison, at the end of February, FY 2023 receipts were $2.5 billion higher than FY 2022 year-to-date levels, which shows the extent that revenues have fallen over the last two months. When removing the increase of $325 million from one-time ARPA reimbursement funds, “base” receipts in FY 2023 are now actually down $193 million through April.
Again, the driver of this sharp decline is Personal Income Tax receipts, which is now $1.430 billion behind last year’s levels on a gross basis [-$1.241 billion on a net basis]. Year-to-date gains in the majority of the other State sources have helped soften this dramatic falloff. Despite the April declines, Corporate Income Tax receipts remain $467 million above last year’s levels [+$398 million on a net basis]. Sales tax receipts remain up $544 million [+$203 million net] despite its recent slowdowns.
* COGFA has now updated its FY23 revenue forecast…
The steeper-than-expected drop in General Funds revenues necessitates that the Commission make a downward adjustment of $728 million to its forecast, reducing the FY 2023 outlook to approximately $51.2 billion.
* But its FY24 forecast will not be significantly revised…
In regard to FY 2024, in light of April’s tax performance, the reduced revenue expectations for FY 2023 instantly created downward pressure on the Commission’s FY 2024 revenue projections. Despite this, the Commission will not be making a significant change in the overall FY 2024 general funds estimate, thereby keeping the estimate at approximately $50.4 billion. While the appropriate adjustments to the revenue base have been made in response to April’s revenue falloff, the primary reason that the FY 2024 estimate will not be effectively altered relates to the implementation of future tax disbursement changes by the Department of Revenue.
The CGFA FY 2023 updated forecast of $51.176 billion is now $183 million below the GOMB February FY 2023 estimate of $51.359 billion. CGFA’s May FY 2024 projection of $50.446 billion is $729 million below CGFA’s FY 2023 updated forecast.
CGFA’s updated FY 2024 forecast is now $501 million higher than the Governor Office’s February FY 2024 estimate of $49.945 billion. However, it should be noted that the GOMB estimate would not reflect the recent information from the Department of Revenue and the expected modification of income tax disbursements into FY 2024.
To protect people’s freedom to read, State Senator Laura Murphy passed legislation to prevent the banning of books.
“Our nation’s libraries have been under attack for too long—they are bastions of knowledge and proliferate the spread of ideas,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “We have a duty as lawmakers to protect the rights of our people—including the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression.”
Under this measure, a library or library system must adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights or develop a written statement prohibiting the practice of banning books or materials in order to be eligible for state grants.
Nationally, the number of attempts to ban books has been on the rise, with 681 attempts involving more than 1,600 titles throughout the U.S. in 2021, according to the ALA. Seven states have passed laws to impose restrictions on libraries, including Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida and Utah. If signed into law, Illinois would become the first state in the nation to ensure intellectual freedom for all across the state.
“Libraries are the beating heart of our communities, providing vital knowledge and invaluable services that allow our communities to thrive,” Murphy said. “Librarians are trained professionals, and we need to trust that they will stock our libraries with appropriate materials—they were hired for their expertise, and they deserve our respect.”
House Bill 2789 passed the Senate on Wednesday.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias along with original House sponsor Rep. Anne Stava-Murray and Sen. Murphy will hold a press conference about the bill today.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is supporting new state legislation that would establish an Illinois health care insurance exchange, an effort to protect an important Affordable Care Act provision in Illinois in the event future federal leaders ever look to roll back parts of the landmark law.
The proposed legislation in Illinois is being introduced through amendments to the state’s Administrative Procedure Act, or House Bill 579, and calls for Illinois to create its own one-stop shop for health care insurance. The federal marketplace, established under former President Barack Obama’s ACA in 2010, requires states to pay a fee to the platform, which gives every American the opportunity to buy a health plan. But by building its own exchange, Illinois would have control over its health care insurance market and insulate itself from any changes in federal policy.
* From the US Attorney’s office regarding the ComEd Four…
Sentencing dates have not been set. Count 1, charging the conspiracy, has a possible punishment of up to five years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Counts 2, 5, 6, and 8, charging bribery, have a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Counts 3, 4, 7, and 9, charging record falsification, have a possible punishment of up to 20 years in federal prison, a fine of $5,000,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
* Illinois State Police yesterday…
The Illinois State Police (ISP) has located another fatality from the May 1, 2023 crash on I-55 near milepost 76. Initially, six individuals were found deceased at the crash scene. However, the severity of the crash masked the remains and what was previously believed to be the remains of one individual was two. ISP is working closely with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office to confirm the identification of the seven deceased individuals and information will be released once identification is complete and proper notifications have been made. The coroner previously confirmed 88-year-old Shirley Harper of Franklin, WI. died in the crash.
A total of 37 people were transported to area hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to critical and ages spanning 2-years-old to 80-years-old. Approximately 72 vehicles are known to be involved in the crashes that occurred in both northbound and southbound lanes of I-55 between mile post 72 and 78 near Farmersville in Montgomery County shortly before 11 a.m. on May 1, 2023.
Apocalyptic.
* IDPH…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced updated consumption advisories today for sport fish caught in Illinois waters. These changes are the result of continued sampling by the Illinois Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program. IDPH maintains an interactive Fish Advisory Map that includes consumption advisories for more than 100 publicly accessible bodies of water across the state.
This year, IDPH added Lake Chaminwood, Lake McMaster, and Ramsey Lake to the list of waters with site-specific methylmercury advisories and issued more restrictive advisories for certain species in Anna State Pond, Lake Nellie, Wabash River, and Arrowhead, Gillespie, Kinkaid, and Pinckneyville City Lakes.
In line with the statewide trend of declining polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels, no new PCB advisories were issued. PCB advisories were relaxed for certain species in the Fox Chain O’Lakes, the Illinois River, and Waukegan North Harbor. PCB advisories were removed for certain species in the Fox Chain O’Lakes, Frank Holten State Lakes, Powerton Lake, and the Illinois, Mackinaw, Mississippi, and Wabash Rivers. Most notably, all PCB advisories were removed for channel catfish throughout the Mississippi River.
In addition to this year’s site-specific updates, a statewide methylmercury advisory remains in place for all Illinois waters. The statewide advisory cautions sensitive populations (those who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant, and children less than 15 years of age) to eat no more than one meal per week of predatory fish. Predatory fish include all species of black bass, gar, salmon, and trout, as well as striped bass, white bass, walleye, sauger, flathead catfish, muskellunge, northern pike, and associated hybrids.
While there is no known immediate health hazard from eating contaminated fish from any Illinois water body, there are concerns about effects of long-term, low-level exposure to PCBs and methylmercury in fish. More information is at the IDPH Fish Advisories website.
* IDOA…
The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) has announced the return of poultry shows for the 2023 fair season. The influx of highly pathogenic avian influenza cases forced the cancellation of in-person junior and open poultry shows at Illinois county fairs and the Illinois State Fair in 2022, with only virtual poultry shows being held.
“We have seen a decline in highly pathogenic avian influenza cases over the last several months prompting the Department to lift the ban of poultry shows at our fairs,” said Dr. Mark Ernst, IDOA State Veterinarian. “We still want to remind our exhibitors to practice good biosecurity on your farm and monitor your flock for signs of disease, especially the birds you plan to exhibit for 14 days prior to the show.”
* Vallas workers still unhappy…
Protestors outside of Paul Vallas’ home saying they were not paid for many of the days they worked for his mayoral campaign including on Election Day. @PaulVallaspic.twitter.com/37ku1K5QfG
* Last night’s game was probably the most exciting House vs. Senate match I’ve ever seen…
The House wins the annual softball game 12-11 on a walk-off RBI single from Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights. Great effort from the Senate though. They have half the members and are a little older on average than the House but they still made it a game. #twillpic.twitter.com/WpffWDgHSB
It's Illinois Bacon Day!!! Director Costello thought there was no better way to celebrate than by frying up some delicious bacon!!! #bringhomethebaconpic.twitter.com/yl23dGEkrL
— IL Department of Ag (@ILAgriculture) May 3, 2023
That, um, doesn’t look like Jerry’s hand at the end.
* Crain’s | Illinois near the top in U.S. in pot taxes collected: Michigan, which has a lower tax rate and pot prices but higher overall sales than Illinois, took in $326 million in taxes to rank No. 4, according to data compiled by the Marijuana Policy Project.
* Block Club | As Migrants Wait For Shelter Openings At Police Station, Northwest Side Neighbors Flock To Help: Brandelli, 32, has lived at the station, 5151 N. Milwaukee Ave., with his daughter and wife alongside two other families as they wait for space in city shelters to open up. Calls are made to 311 every day to try to place the families, but the city is struggling to find room for them and desperately needs federal assistance to deal with the “humanitarian crisis,” local officials and advocates have said.
* SJ-R | Horace Mann moving forward with parking lot, DiCenso calls action ’shameful’: Dave Leonatti, a Springfield architect and vice president of the Heritage Foundation, said he wasn’t surprised Horace Mann continued with demolition and that the company, outside of meeting with his group, has shown “little interest in being a good downtown neighbor.”
* Ohio Capital Journal | Billionaire backing effort to raise Ohio amendment threshold funded election deniers, Jan. 6 rally: The Columbus Dispatch last week reported that Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein had donated more than $1 million to a PAC supporting the effort to require 60% of the vote to pass a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment, as opposed to the current 50% requirement, which has been in place since 1912. Even though proponents want to make future amendments 20% harder, the one they’re pushing can pass with just the current 50% threshold.
* NBC Chicago | Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson Releases Details on Inauguration Day Festivities: According to Johnson’s inaugural committee, the swearing-in ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Credit Union 1 Arena, formerly known as the UIC Pavilion. Johnson will take his oath of office during the event, along with members of the Chicago City Council and citywide elected officials, including Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and City Clerk Anna Valencia.
* Crain’s | Merchandise Mart’s landlord Vornado looks to unload office buildings at depressed prices: Occupancy rates and cash flows are falling while borrowing costs march higher along with interest rates. Last week Vornado suspended its dividend payout to conserve cash. Its stock price, at $13.80 a share, is the lowest since 1996 and fell by another 6% Tuesday as executives acknowledged they may have to part with properties at prices they wouldn’t have considered before.
* Block Club | Chicago Is About To Have The Gayest City Council In The Country: The number of openly LGB-identifying alderpeople in Chicago will grow from seven to nine, comprising one-fifth of the council, when members are sworn in May 15. No openly transgender or nonbinary alderpeople have been elected in Chicago.
* Sun-Times | Amtrak now offering faster trains between Chicago, St. Louis: Right now, the fastest trains between the two Midwest cities take a little more than five hours — about as long as it takes to drive, said Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesman. “The goal is to make it demonstrably faster than driving,” Magliari said. For now, the rail service isn’t making any changes to the scheduling for those trains. “Trains will continue to operate at 110 mph for several weeks without a change in schedule to ensure everything on the system is running properly and to monitor the actual travel time between stations,” John Oimoen, Illinois Department of Transportation’s deputy director of rails, said in a statement.
* Sun-Times | Jerry Reinsdorf and the truth make an appearance as the White Sox struggle: The Sox usually do one of two things when media members want to talk with Reinsdorf about an underperforming team: They either refuse all interview requests for the man in charge or they choose a reporter they consider a friend of the program so Reinsdorf can take his cuts at softball questions. But put him in front of a crowd of smiling, nodding, lanyard-ed conference goers, and here comes the unfiltered truth. He told them about the importance of having faith in the people who work for him. As followers of the Bulls and Sox know, this is one of Reinsdorf’s great weaknesses. He gets comfortable with his front-office staff and does nothing when, year after year, nothing resembling a championship is in sight. This is how it has been with Rick Hahn. Since he became the Sox’ general manager in 2013, they’ve had a winning record just twice.
* NPR | Elon Musk threatens to reassign @NPR on Twitter to ‘another company’: In a series of emails sent to this reporter, Musk said he would transfer the network’s main account on Twitter, under the @NPR handle, to another organization or person. The idea shocked even longtime observers of Musk’s spur-of-the-moment and erratic leadership style.
* AP | Facebook misled parents, failed to protect privacy of children using its Messenger Kids app, FTC says: U.S. regulators say Facebook misled parents and failed to protect the privacy of children using its Messenger Kids app, including misrepresenting the access it provided to app developers to private user data. As a result, The Federal Trade Commision on Wednesday proposed sweeping changes to a 2020 privacy order with Facebook — now called Meta — that would prohibit it from profiting from data it collects on users under 18. This would include data collected through its virtual-reality products. The FTC said the company has failed to fully comply with the 2020 order.
* I followed up with one of the House Republicans who issued a press release after the ComEd Four verdicts to ask what ethics bills he supported. From his spokesperson…
Here is the full list of ethics reform bills filed by members of the Republican caucus:
HB 1641 (Wilhour) – amends the definition of “representation case” so that it includes going before local government and not just state agencies.
HB 2983 (Wilhour) – 3-year revolving door.
HB 3577 (Windhorst) – stricter ban on lobbying by legislators at the municipal, county, or township level
HB 3582 (Wilhour) – LIG doesn’t need the approval of the LEC to issue a subpoena. Requires the ethics commissions to make reports available within 60 days of receiving the report
HB 3756 (Ozinga) – LIG doesn’t need approval to issue a subpoena, and provides for the release of founded and unfounded reports
HB 3953 (Wilhour) – Amends the Lobbyist Registration Act to expand the definition of “officials” to include more positions at the local level. Expands the definition of lobbying regarding what is considered lobbying.
HB 3956 (Wilhour) – Adds more items for disclosure for the Statement of Economic Interest
* The Question: Which, if any, of these ideas do you support the most and which, if any, do you oppose? Make sure to explain your answers, please. Thanks.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
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* Always a good idea to pass an ordinance that your corporation counsel considers illegal…
Abortion has become a fiery topic for the City of Danville. On Tuesday night, Danville City Council voted to pass an ordinance that would prohibit the shipment of abortion pills, such as Mifepristone, to the city.
Council members voted 7 to 7 with Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr. casting the deciding vote in favor of the ordinance. […]
James Simon, Corporation Counsel, with the city’s legal division also says legally, it does not add up.
“I do not believe under Illinois law or federal law that this is ordinance is legal,” said Simon.
OB/GYN Dr. Bethany Halloran described other uses for medications restricted by the ordinance, and said: “Put simply, it will unnecessarily endanger the lives of women and could very well lead to preventable death.”
The city’s Corporation Counsel James Simon called the ordinance “poorly written,” saying it would still interfere with the mailing of medications that could be used both for abortions and the treatment of other conditions. He also stated during the meeting he believes it is illegal under state law, namely the Reproductive Health Act and related provisions, and wouldn’t be protected by the federal Comstock Act if the city is sued.
Audience members who spoke in support of the ordinance cited religion, morals and feelings of guilt they say women can have after receiving an abortion as reasons they believe voting “yes” is the right thing to do.
Before its passage at a lengthy meeting attended by hundreds, the council amended the ordinance so that it wouldn’t go into effect until the city “obtains a declaratory judgment from a court” that the ordinance can be enacted and enforced. All court appeals must also be exhausted before the measure can go into effect, city officials said.
Some aldermen seemed to believe adding this language might help protect the city from legal action. In a recent letter to city leaders, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois threatened that passing the ordinance or attempting to enforce it “will do nothing other than expose the city to significant legal liability and fees.”
Shortly after the council approved the measure — even with the amendment — the ACLU of Illinois put out a statement calling it “an unlawful and unenforceable ordinance to limit access to abortion in the city.”
Full ACLU IL statement…
Earlier this evening, the Danville City Council after a long community discussion voted to approve an ordinance that would declare the community a “sanctuary city for the unborn” and attempts to place limits on abortion care in the community. The ordinance is illegal under Illinois law. The following can be attributed to Ameri Klafeta, director of the Women’s and Reproductive Rights Project Director at the ACLU of Illinois:
Today the Danville City Council adopted an unlawful and unenforceable ordinance to limit access to abortion in the city. Illinois has explicitly protected the right to abortion in this state, free from governmental interference, and Danville’s vote today is in clear violation of that law. We are evaluating next steps to challenge this unlawful ordinance.
Since 2019, Dickson and his partner, the former Texas solicitor general Jonathan F. Mitchell, have persuaded 65 cities and two counties to adopt the bans, almost entirely in sparsely populated rural areas. […]
In the past six months, the pair also have lobbied cities to adopt ordinances based on the 19th-century Comstock Act, which prohibits the shipment of “obscene” and “lewd” materials, including instruments, drugs and information related to abortion and contraception. While the law has not been enforced in decades, it remains on the books. […]
By and large, they also have not prevented people from getting abortions, said Andrea Miller, the president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health, an advocacy group. The existing ordinances collectively cover a population of fewer than 1 million people — mostly in states that already restrict abortion, or in rural communities that lack access to reproductive health clinics, she said.
That all changed with the Danville ordinance because it’s intended to stop a clinic from opening.
* Protesters on both sides gathered last night…
BREAKING: after Danville council members were split 7-7 on an abortion ordinance they’ve been advised is illegal under state law, the vote came down to Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. He voted yes, effectively accepting legal liability on behalf of his city. Here’s the scene outside: pic.twitter.com/75Elu2D4Ko
The passage of this ordinance is an overt attempt to restrict the personal rights of residents of Danville and the surrounding region. It is also a blatant violation of the Illinois Constitution and the Illinois Reproductive Health Act, and will surely lead to legal action against the City of Danville. Danville voters should know that Mayor Williams and the seven members of City Council who cast aye votes on this ordinance will undoubtedly cost them untold taxpayer dollars in litigation fees when advocates to protect our rights inevitably file suit. The movement to protect reproductive rights isn’t backing down.
…Adding… Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez…
“I’m thankful for all of our partners at Personal PAC and the advocates at Planned Parenthood of Illinois and the ACLU of Illinois who work hard everyday to ensure reproductive freedoms are safe and secure in our state. While it’s become abundantly clear that women’s and reproductive rights will continue to face threats from the right as we navigate a post-Roe world, I am equally confident that these attempts to strip away civil liberties will never go unchallenged in Illinois. DPI will continue to defend our most fundamental freedoms against attacks from regressive politicians at every level of government,” said DPI Chair Lisa Hernandez. “People in every corner of Illinois, as well as those who come seeking refuge from retrograde laws in our neighboring states, must have access to abortion. I am deeply disappointed by the Danville City Council’s decision to strip away bodily autonomy from thousands of women in the area. This is an extreme overstep which prioritizes the Council’s personal beliefs over the wellbeing of the local community.”
Local and state officials are investigating whether neglect by new management was the reason a Lincolnshire nursing care facility with 104 residents was so understaffed that three residents had to receive care at a nearby hospital.
A contract employee at the facility at 150 Jamestown Lane called 911 for help Monday morning after no medical staff and only about one-third of the facility’s total employees arrived for duty, Lincolnshire police and Illinois Department of Public Health officials said Tuesday.
Monday was the first day The Wealshire LLC took over as the facility operator from the previous owner, Warren Barr Rehab Facility, said Lincolnshire Deputy Chief Kimberly Covelli.
* IDPH is investigating. Here’s the press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has opened an investigation into a nursing home in Lincolnshire after receiving reports yesterday that there were no medical staff on duty at Warren Barr Lincolnshire, a skilled nursing facility licensed to house 144 beds at 150 Jamestown Lane.
IDPH nursing home surveyors responded immediately to the home Monday morning after being alerted to the lack of clinical care staff. The Lincolnshire Fire Department EMS units also responded to the home to assist in caring for residents. When IDPH staff arrived, they encountered the facility medical director who had arrived to check on patients and no nursing or other clinical staff on duty at the facility.
The IDPH surveyors assisted in assessing the facility for safety and quickly worked to contact staff who had previously worked at the facility. IDPH worked with the staff to develop a plan for continuing care coverage for the residents for the next 24 hours and through the next week. There were 104 residents in the home at the time.
“Our first priority was to ensure the care and well-being of all affected residents,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said. “A comprehensive review and investigation is underway. We are grateful for the swift response by local EMS and police officials in Lincolnshire, as well as our sister agency, the Illinois Department on Aging, all of whom assisted in responding to this urgent issue.”
IDPH is investigating a failure to provide adequate staff and to provide for the health and safety of residents under Illinois’s Nursing Home Care Act. The department is also coordinating the investigation with federal CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) which is responsible for long term care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The investigation will assess if penalties will be handed down, including the possibility of citations and monetary fines.
Monday was the first day The Wealshire, LLC took over as the facility operator from the previous owner, Warren Barr Rehab Facility, said Lincolnshire Deputy Chief Kimberly Covelli. […]
Covelli said three residents were taken by paramedics from the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for medical treatment. At least two of the residents received the type of care they usually get at the facility when there are enough employees, Covelli said.
State officials said IDPH nursing home surveyors responded immediately to the facility Monday morning after being alerted to the lack of clinical care staff.
Employees who had worked under the previous owners were called in to help and provide proper care to patients at the facility. IDPH officials worked with staff to make a plan to provide care for the residents.
Ceil Barrie said when she came to move her parents out, she found nearly no staff on site, leaving some seniors without medical care for hours.
“It’s criminal that they left those people unattended for that long,” Barrie said. “Walked through the front doors, police everywhere, and then just an eerie, eerie silence.” […]
Residents were made aware of the ownership changes in two letters last week. Barrie said when she arrived, the place was nearly empty of all staff.
“People, that morning, were calling ambulances. They were calling 911 just to get their parents out because they needed care,” she said.
The care facility, previously called Warren Barr Lincolnshire sent a letter to patients and their families late last week, notifying them of an ownership change in two days.
Warren Barr was out and the Wealshire Rehab Center was in, with little explanation. The incoming owner, Arnie Goldberg followed up with his own letter to residents: “The memory care facility would suddenly now be “devoted to kidney and cardiac rehabilitation” instead.
The letter was enough for Ceil Barrie to decide to move both of her parents out.
“There were a few red flags that something wasn’t quite right,” Barrie said.
On May 1st, the ownership transition was set to take place, the same day Barrie was moving her parents out.
…Adding… Press release
State Senator Julie Morrison is calling on the Warren Barr Lincolnshire nursing facility to ensure residents have 24/7 access to critical care staff, following reports that staff numbers were at dangerously low levels Monday morning.
“There is absolutely no excuse for medical staff to be at dangerously low levels,” said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “Nursing home management has a duty to provide around the clock care. A delay in care could be the difference between life and death.”
The Illinois Department of Public Health opened an investigation into the Lincolnshire Nursing Home after reports that there was a lack of clinical care staff to help the facility’s 104 residents Monday. The agency quickly worked to develop a plan for continuing coverage and is launching a full investigation into the matter.
Morrison thanks IDPH for taking swift action, but is calling upon Warren Barr Lincolnshire to improve its operations so a future tragedy doesn’t occur.
“Our state’s most vulnerable residents are often in nursing homes for access to 24/7 care and assistance,” Morrison said. “The issue at Lincolnshire should have never happened in the first place – and we must ensure it never happens again.”
Morrison will continue to monitor the situation and work with IDPH to ensure residents are cared for.
* We’ve talked about this before, but the CTBA has taken a new look at the Rauner-era school funding ramp…
Hi Rich,
Sending along the release from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA), attached, and the link to the report released today - Fully Funding the Evidence-Based Formula: FY 2024 Proposed General Fund Budget – which finds that Illinois’s K-12 funding formula remains short of its goal of ensuring every school in the state has the capacity to meet the educational and social-emotional needs of all children it serves.
If Illinois continues its current rate of increasing its annual investment in the Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act (EBF), the legislation will not be fully funded in real, inflation adjusted terms until 2038, which is over a decade later than what the legislation calls for. The EBF was passed by the Illinois Legislature in 2017. CTBA’s report recommends that the state’s annual increases in funding for the EBF grow from $300 million to $500 million. That bump in the rate of investment would fully fund the EBF by 2031, and not only benefit districts across Illinois, but also save a full generation of students from attending an underfunded public school system.
An earlier report from CTBA, Educating Illinois: A Look at the Evidence-Based Funding Formula, underscores the value of the EBF: it is working to close Illinois’ significant and inequitable funding gaps between schools in property-rich and property-poor districts, as well as between schools in predominantly white communities and schools that serve predominantly students of color.
Many thanks,
Rick
= = = = = = = =
Richard Melcher
Principal
Melcher+Tucker Consultants
The EBF establishes two ongoing funding metrics for state-level investments in K-12 Education. First, the EBF sets a target of having state-level formula funding for K-12 Education increase on a year-to-year basis by at least $300 million (the “Minimum Target Level”). Note that is $50 million less than the $350 million amount actually specified in Section (g) of the EBF. The reason for this is the Property Tax Relief Grant or “PTRG” established in paragraph 9.5 of Section (g) of the legislation.
Under the statute, the dollar amount of any year-to-year increase in funding the state appropriates to the EBF in a given fiscal year that is in excess of $300 million, up to and including $350 million, is dedicated to the PTRG— not to formula funding. This creates up to $50 million for property tax relief under the EBF for the fiscal year in question. The statute further provides, however, that if any of the funding earmarked for the PTRG is not actually used for property tax relief in a given year, then such unused PTRG revenue will be distributed to school districts as additional formula funding
This effectively reduces the state’s Minimum Target Level for increased, year-to-year formula funding from the $350 million specified in statute to $300 million each fiscal year. And that is precisely how the EBF has been interpreted by the Illinois State Board of Education (“ISBE”) since the EBF was first implemented in FY 2018. […]
Given its current, flawed tax policy, Illinois state government lacks the financial wherewithal to fund the EBF [$1.149 billion each year] by the statutory deadline—or even within a reasonable period of time. Building the state’s fiscal capacity to invest an adequate amount of funding in education within a reasonable period of time is an urgent matter. Which is why it is imperative that legislators in both parties drop partisan differences and work with the governor to resolve the state’s fiscal shortcomings as soon as practicable. Illinois’ school children should not have to wait another two decades to receive an adequately funded public education
The purpose of this Section is to ensure that, by June 30, 2027 and beyond, this State has a kindergarten through grade 12 public education system with the capacity to ensure the educational development of all persons to the limits of their capacities in accordance with Section 1 of Article X of the Constitution of the State of Illinois.
Republican lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly have reached a deal on legislation that would place restrictions on most abortions after 12 weeks.
Assuming the agreement holds, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, who has worked to enshrine abortion rights, would be unable to block the legislation due to a veto-proof GOP supermajority in the state that was reached last month after a Charlotte-area Democrat switched parties.
Senate Bill 20, dubbed the “Care for Women, Children and Families Act,” bans any licensed physician from performing surgical abortions after the 12th week of pregnancy. It provides exceptions in the case of rape and incest through 20 weeks of pregnancy or in the event of a “life-limiting anomaly” through 24 weeks. […]
The bill would additionally prohibit any health care provider who objects to abortion “on moral, ethical, or religious grounds” from being required to participate in medical procedures that would result in an abortion.
Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature agreed on Tuesday to shield the publicly-funded travel records of Gov. Ron DeSantis, giving his administration a way to block inquiries from the media and political opponents ahead of an expected run for president.
The far-reaching bill would not only apply to DeSantis’ future movements but also could be used retroactively to deny access to information on trips he’s already taken.
GOP legislators muscled the bill through just days after lawmakers agreed to change state law to ensure that DeSantis doesn’t have to resign if he becomes the Republican nominee for president. Taken together, the moves by the GOP-controlled Legislature pave the way for DeSantis to more easily jump into the presidential race and prevent further scrutiny of his travel.
The House approved the bill by an 84-31 vote along long strict party lines — and there were four votes above the required two-thirds threshold needed to enact a public records exemption since Florida has some of the strongest open records laws in the country. Republicans gained supermajorities in the House and Senate last November at the same time voters overwhelmingly elected DeSantis to a second term.
Deborah Dorbert’s son Milo died in her arms on March 3, shortly after he was born, just as her doctors had predicted he would. […]
She said her pregnancy was proceeding normally until November, when, at 24 weeks, an ultrasound showed that the fetus did not have kidneys and that she had hardly any amniotic fluid. Not only was the baby sure to die, her doctors told her, but the pregnancy put her at especially high risk of preeclampsia, a potentially deadly complication.
Her doctors told her it was too late to terminate the pregnancy in Florida, which bans nearly all abortions after 15 weeks. The only options were to go out of state to get an abortion or to carry the baby to full term, and Dorbert and her husband didn’t have the money to travel.
What followed was an agonizing 13 weeks of carrying a baby she knew would die and worrying about her own health. It left Dorbert with severe anxiety and depression for the first time in her life.
Louisiana legislators joined the national debate on if transgender minors should have access to gender affirming care. The debate was a long and tense debate over conflicting statistics and passionate pleas from the transgender community.
HB463 State Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock, would punish doctors who provide gender affirming care which includes hormone treatments and gender reassignment surgery to minors. Already parents have to give permission for kids to get the care.
Firment made claims people are against the bill because it makes them a profit and claimed a lot of the statistics from doctors who treat transgender kids are not accurate. […]
Discussion from those in favor of the bill talked about kids regretting their transition and misinformation spread about the percentage of transgender people de-transitioning. The percentage point varied from speaker to speaker. Proponents for the bill brought in two young women who have testified across the country about having negative experiences transitioning young and have de-transitioned.
Parents of transgender kids talked about how it is already a years-long process to get access to hormones and surgery is in most cases off the table for kids. One parent said the conversation around the hormones being prescribed without care is not what they experienced and his child even struggled to get access to the treatment.
A Texas bill calling for the abolition of the position of elections administrator in Harris County is inching closer and closer to final passage after a Monday vote moved the legislation out of the Texas House Elections Committee. Senate Bill 1750 already passed the Senate on April 18. House Bill 3876, an identical piece of legislation, will be up for debate in the House Chamber.
The measures call for the “abolition” of election administrators in counties with populations larger than 1,000,000—a metric that only applies to Harris County, which Republican state lawmakers have taken a keen interest in in the aftermath of the 2022 midterm elections.
Local and conservatives have keyed in on paper ballot shortages and a number of voting machine malfunctions that were reported at a small number of polling locations on Election Day— incidents that prompted a district judge to extend voting by 1 hour at Harris County polls. Since then, the Harris County Elections Office report concluded that they couldn’t determine if potential voters were pushed away because of the issues at polling centers.
In the aftermath, a number of Houston Republican candidates who lost their races filed lawsuits against the county, alleging that those issues led to them losing on election day. They have requested to overturn the election results and redo their races.
A judge ruled on Tuesday against a Montana legislator who had sought a court order allowing her to return to the House of Representatives after she was barred during an escalating standoff over her remarks on transgender issues.
The lawmaker, Representative Zooey Zephyr, was ousted from the Republican-controlled chamber last week after making impassioned comments against a ban on hormone treatments and surgical care for transgender minors. The remarks led Republicans to silence her during debates on other legislation, prompting protests and arrests.
Ms. Zephyr, a Democrat from Missoula who is transgender, filed the lawsuit on Monday arguing that her rights had been violated, along with those of her 11,000 constituents. “I’m determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard,” she posted on Twitter. A spokeswoman for the state’s Republican attorney general called the legal action “political activism masquerading as a lawsuit.”
Judge Mike Menahan, who served in the House as a Democrat before being elected to the state’s First District Court a decade ago, said in a five-page order issued late Tuesday that he did not have the authority to intervene in the legislative dispute.
* Zephyr has been working outside the House chamber…
On Thursday, Zephyr started working on a bench just outside the House floor the day after her censure, although the Speaker first tried to stop her from using the space to work. On Monday, women who identified themselves as wives of legislators but did not wish to provide their names, sat on the bench Zephyr had been working on– one of them had a name tag that read Beth Hinebauch, which identified her as the wife of Sen. Steve Hinebauch, R-Wibaux. Darin Gaub, director of Montana’s Freedom Caucus Network, also sat on the bench. The women denied that they were making a statement by sitting on the bench, but said they were aware that Zephyr had been working there. They asked where else they could go, although seats were available outside the Senate Chamber.
Zephyr tweeted in response to the bench she’d been using being occupied, saying “some folks showed up early this morning and sat on the public benches near the entrance to the House, so Seat 31 has moved.”
“I’m up and ready to work. Plus, I hear stand desks are all the rage these days.”
As officials strain to discern the impact of a sweeping proposal enacted last week that could affect transgender Kansans in virtually every facet of life, the clearest effect could well be on identification documents, such as driver’s licenses and birth certificates. […]
The bill has the impact of effectively counting transgender individuals for data collection purposes based on their sex assigned at birth, as well as requiring a whole host of state agencies to do the same. The bill also could restrict transgender individuals to using public facilities that align with their sex assigned at birth. […]
A spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Revenue said the agency was reviewing the bill ahead of July 1 and “will take the time to review the language as it pertains to the driver’s license act and make adjustments as necessary.”
Advocacy groups have urged transgender and gender non-binary Kansans to change their driver’s license or birth certificate before July 1, if they had considered doing so previously.
Democrats in the South Carolina Senate turned debate about a bill to set guidelines for history curriculum on subjects like slavery and segregation into discussion about why the body can’t take a vote on a hate crimes bill.
South Carolina and Wyoming are the only states in the U.S. without a law allowing extra punishment for hate crimes — which a judge or jury determines were motivated by hate over someone’s race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or physical or mental ability.
For the past three years, a hate crimes bill has made it through the South Carolina House and to the Senate floor, only to stop there. The outlook for the bill this year is grim. The Republican-dominated chamber has not held any debate or brought the proposal up for a vote despite the support of survivors of a racist attack that killed nine at a Charleston church, in addition to business leaders.
“You look at the news all day long, I think we can agree, hate is all around us. Hate exists. So why is this bill more important than the hate crime legislation?” Democratic Sen. Kevin Johnson asked.
“This bill actually has the potential to address hate,” said Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, about allowing students to come to their own conclusions based on facts about the history of slavery and segregation. “That bill doesn’t. That bill isn’t going to change how people act.”
Illinois Senate Democrats hope a new piece of legislation will create racism-free schools across the state.
Sen. Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) introduced a bill this spring requiring all Illinois schools to create, implement, and maintain at least one written policy prohibiting discrimination and harassment against students based on race, color, or national origin.
This proposal also bans retaliation against students who submit complaints to school administrators.
“This is a bill that would define racial discrimination, prohibit it in schools, and provide an avenue for some restitution and correction of that behavior,” Murphy explained Tuesday. […]
Senate Bill 90 passed out of the Senate Education Committee on a 11-3 vote. The plan now moves to the Senate floor for further consideration.
* HB4041 was introduced last month and has been referred to Rules. The Chicago Tribune…
Illinois may legalize online sports betting on in-state college teams, with HB4041 currently under deliberation. Right now, you can only bet on teams like Illinois football or Northwestern basketball at in-person sportsbooks. […]
Under the bill, mobile sportsbooks could offer pre-game betting or Tier 1 wagering on the 13 schools that play Division I basketball and the seven FBS schools. Tier 1 betting is considered “determined solely by the final score or final outcome of the sports event and is placed before the sports event has begun,” so things like full game spreads and totals, not props.
Critically, Carroll’s bill does not include any language about player props and there has been much more substantial pushback against that type of betting. Of the nearly 40 states that have legalized sports betting, roughly half include provisions barring collegiate player props as university officials have cited concerns over student safety. […]
That push, however, has not swayed many university officials, including University of Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman. Whitman spoke on behalf of the 13 local schools against the expansion during the Tuesday hearing.
Whitman highlighted that colleges were not getting support from the state to diminish the mental health risks to students and noted a supposed uptick in social media bullying of student athletes in the wake of the 2021 sports betting expansion.
The Illinois State Senate has passed, without a single dissenting vote, a bill that would make it more difficult for Lyons Township High School to sell the approximately 70-acre tract of undeveloped land it owns in Willow Springs.
The bill, which passed the state Senate on 55-0 vote on March 31, would limit how a school district can sell land and give other units of local government a right of first refusal.
If a school district wants to sell property under the provisions of the local government transfer act, according to the text of the bill passed by the Senate, it must get at least three appraisals of the land within the current zoning and must first offer the land to the municipality, park district or school district within whose boundaries the property sits at the median price set by the three appraisals.
The bill, which seems to be inspired by LTHS’ attempt to sell the Willow Springs property to an industrial developer, would give the village of Willow Springs a right of first refusal to buy the land at a lower price than what was offered to LTHS when the school put the land up for sale a few months ago.
Environmentalists rallied at the Capitol on Tuesday, urging lawmakers to pass legislation regulating the carbon capture and sequestration industry in Illinois.
Two bills were discussed during a brief rally held in front of the Lincoln statue, one which advocates support and another, which they claim is more industry-friendly, that they oppose. The bill they back is the Carbon Dioxide Transport and Storage Protections Act listed under Senate Bill 2421 and House Bill 3119.
Both pieces of legislation - sponsored by Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview and Rep. Ann Williams respectively - have yet to advance out of their chambers, but action could still happen before the May 19 spring session adjournment of the Illinois General Assembly. Lawmakers could tack the existing or modified language through an amendment to a shell bill- a tactic oft-seen near the end of legislative sessions. […]
The other set of bills, House Bill 2202 and Senate Bill 2153, have support from industry groups like Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Navigator CO2 Ventures and the Illinois Manufacturers Association. Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, and Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago are the bills’ sponsors - neither making it to a full chamber vote so far this session.
* HB3296 passed 68-40 yesterday and now heads to the Senate. From WAND…
State lawmakers hope to raise the annual credit union regulation fee for the first time since 2008.
Credit union operators currently pay $140,000 to be regulated by the state. House Bill 3296 could adjust the fee cap to $210,000 based on the consumer price index.
Sponsors were able to negotiate this change with the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation and the Credit Union League. […]
Croke noted that Illinois has seen what happens when the financial industry isn’t regulated. However, House Republicans said they couldn’t support a fee increase.
In March, the Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill that would remove liability protections for ride-share companies such as Uber and Lyft.
Illinois does not currently classify ride-share drivers as “common carriers” like train conductors, airline pilots and taxi drivers. That means if a rider sues a driver, the company will not be held liable for any damages. The proposed legislation would remove this exemption.
State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview), the House sponsor of the bill, said current legislation must be reformed to reflect the modern transportation market. […]
The bill currently awaits a vote in the Illinois Senate, scheduled for Wednesday. […]
The bill passed mostly along party lines, with some Republican state legislators voicing opposition to the bill. According to We Are Central Illinois, State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) called the legislation “another attack on the free market.” State Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Harrisburg) said on the House floor that increased regulation could drive Lyft and Uber away from Illinois.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
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Support Renewable Energy Credits for Illinois’ public universities to help offset the cost of solar power on campus, help fight climate change and create good-paying union jobs.
* From my in-box. We’ll start at the top with Gov. Pritzker…
Since taking office, Gov. Pritzker has advanced the cause of ethics reform in key areas, especially in bringing more transparency to the process and tightening requirements for lobbyists. The Governor believes we must restore the public’s trust in government and today’s verdicts are proof that no one is above the law.
Background:
Among the measures the Governor has taken:
• Increasing the level of detail required on statements of economic interest
• Increasing lobbyist disclosure requirement, including whether they are elected officials anywhere in Illinois, whether they are registered lobbyists in any unit of local government and whether they subcontract
• Requiring the Secretary of State’s office to create a publicly accessible and searchable database combining registered lobbyist disclosures, contributions by registered lobbyists and statements of economic interest
On top of those important reforms, the clean energy package signed into law by the Governor also included additional reforms to address transparency and reporting for public utilities and their lobbyists to address the alleged conduct cited in the deferred prosecution agreement involving Com-Ed.
* House Speaker Welch…
“At every step, I have emphasized the need for due process and that the federal courtroom was the appropriate venue for questions of guilt or innocence. After reviewing the entirety of the evidence, this jury has sent a clear message that the behavior of the defendants was criminal.
“Since my election as Speaker, I’ve been clear that restoring trust in government was paramount. I’m proud to stand with a new generation of leadership in Illinois who share these values.”
* Senate President Harmon…
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, issued the following statement regarding the verdict in the ComEd trial.
“The behavior brought to light and put on display at this trial was shockingly gluttonous and unhealthy to democracy. We’ve taken concrete steps to discourage bad behavior. But most importantly, I believe we have people committed to behaving better.”
* House Republican Leader McCombie…
After a nearly seven week trial that included testimonies from 50 witnesses and countless FBI recordings, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie released the following statement in response to the trial’s conclusion:
“We have had an opportunity to tackle ethics in our statehouse for years. This trial has been a costly seven week reminder of just what is wrong in state government. This guilty verdict has proven that the system of doing business in Springfield is broken. This should not have been the first step to rooting out corruption in Illinois, but after today, it is clear there must be a sense of urgency in bringing back the people’s trust in state government.”
* Senate Republican Leader Curran…
Senate Republican Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) offered the following response to today’s GUILTY verdicts in the ComEd corruption trial:
“Today’s verdicts show that no one is above the law, and I hope it will be a catalyst for changing how business is done in Illinois government. We need real reforms that shine a light on the process and confront the culture of corruption that has gone unchecked for decades. It’s time to restore the public’s trust in their state government.”
* Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro…
On Tuesday, Rep. Sanalitro (R - Bloomingdale) released a statement regarding the return of the guilty verdicts in the ‘ComEd Four’ trial.
“A culture of self-dealing was allowed to thrive in the environment of secrecy created by former leadership. I look to spend my time as a State Representative contributing to a new era where service to the public is more common than service to oneself.”
* Rep. Rosenthal…
Following the announcement of the verdict in the “ComEd Four” trial, State Representative Wayne Rosenthal (R-Morrisonville) issued the following statement in response:
“This is my second stint serving in the Illinois General Assembly, and the mob-like culture of corruption that Mike Madigan allowed to spread has been little changed,” said Rosenthal. “Until Democrats get serious about ethics reform, there will be more trials like this, and trust in state government will continue to fall, if that’s even possible. The people of Illinois deserve better, and I will keep fighting for the serious reform we need.”
* Rep. Wilhour…
State Representative Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) is issuing the following statement on the ComEd Four guilty verdicts today.
“When everyday citizens have the opportunity to see how business in Springfield gets done, people go to prison.
Justice is being served with this guilty verdict, but the question needs to be asked, what will change in Springfield as a result of these convictions? If recent history is any indication, the answer is nothing. The influence peddling is as bad as it ever has been. Self-dealing, influence peddling, and backroom cronyism are the norm, not the exception, in Illinois.
Our state was held hostage to special interests before the ComEd Four went to trial, and we are still being held hostage. When Former Speaker Michael Madigan goes to jail, we will know things are really serious.
If we are going to move forward with credibility in this state, we need to enact the toughest anti-corruption laws in the nation to ensure these corrupt scumbags never have power over the citizens of Illinois again.”
I’ve asked his spokesperson whether he has reported his “The influence peddling is as bad as it ever has been” observations to the FBI. I’ll let you know if I get a response.
* Sen. Chesney…
On Tuesday, the “Com-Ed 4” were found guilty on all counts. In response to the verdicts, State Senator Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) issued the following statement:
“Justice was delivered today as key players in Illinois’ Com-Ed scandal were finally held accountable for crimes that have eroded the public’s trust in the utility giant and in their state government. There is a complicated and complex pay-to-play system in place at the Statehouse, and this verdict highlights how pervasive this culture of corruption is in Springfield. I applaud the jury for their decision to find all four defendants guilty on all counts related to their involvement in a multi-year conspiracy to bribe former House Speaker Mike Madigan in exchange for favorable votes on legislation that benefitted Com-Ed.
“With the arrival of these verdicts, I hope the majority party will finally recognize that Republican efforts at ethics reforms can no longer be swept under the rug and ignored. I believe Illinoisans will be outraged by the guilty verdicts and will demand action. With three weeks remaining in the legislative session, we still have time to pass meaningful reforms. We’ve seen huge legislation pushed through in a matter of hours, so there’s no excuse why we can’t approve sweeping ethics reforms prior to our May 19 adjournment.
“Government should be transparent. That means that major pieces of legislation should be developed and debated in the public eye rather than behind the scenes and in back rooms. By focusing on transparency, special interest groups and the politically connected cannot woo legislators into voting in favor of their legislative priorities.”
* Rep. Weber…
Following the announcement of the verdict in the “ComEd Four” trial, State Representative Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa) issued the following response:
“Today’s verdict in the ‘ComEd Four’ trial is a small victory for the people of Illinois, but it can’t stop here,” said Weber. “Hardly anything has changed to Illinois’ weak ethics laws since Mike Madigan left office, and we must act to stop this self-serving culture. This trial exposed the mobster mentality of self-dealing, pay-to-play politics, and it will happen again unless Democrats join us in passing the strict laws we need to hold politicians and lobbyists accountable to the people.”
* Rep. Ozinga…
Following the conclusion of the ComEd trial, State Representative Tim Ozinga (R-Mokena) released the following statement:
“This trial gave the public a look at the rampant corruption that plagues our state government, yet nothing in Springfield has changed to prevent this unethical behavior in the future”, stated Rep. Ozinga. “Numerous bills have been introduced to fix the problems that our state is facing, yet a majority of them never even made it to a vote on the House floor.
“It’s time for the politicians to begin holding themselves accountable for the years of corrupt and unethical behavior. Our state has many problems, but we will never be able to fix them until we pass serious and comprehensive ethical reform.”
* Rep. Fritts…
Following the conclusion of the ComEd trial, State Representative Bradley Fritts (R-Dixon) released the following statement:
“This trial is just one example of the disappointing and corrupt behavior that has plagued our state government for years,” said Rep. Fritts. “This is why I filed House Bill 2964, which would have placed term limits on leadership positions in the General Assembly. Unfortunately, this bill never moved past the Rules Committee. As members of the General Assembly, it is our responsibility to work together and finally pass some serious reform to prevent his corruption from continuing.
“To the people of District 74, I can promise that I will continue to act ethically in the Illinois General Assembly. As a representative of our community, it is my duty to uphold strong moral values, and to urge others to do the same.”
* Rep. Jed Davis…
Following the conclusion of the ComEd trial, State Representative Jed Davis (R-Yorkville) released the following statement:
“The ComEd Trial is just a small portion of the deep-rooted corruption in our state’s Democratic Party,” said Rep. Davis. “For years, the taxpayers of Illinois have seen indictment after indictment, with virtually zero ethical reform passed in the General Assembly.
“Enough is enough. It’s clear that Illinois Democrats are unable to police themselves. Now is the time for us to get serious about fixing corruption by working to pass a series of much-needed bills to end the shameful, unethical policies of the Madigan era.”
* Rep. Niemerg…
State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dietrich) is issuing the following statement on the guilty verdict of the ‘ComEd Four.’
“These convictions are certainly well-deserved, and when former House Speaker Michael Madigan is found guilty, we can close this chapter of corruption in Illinois. But we need to bring a permanent end to the culture of corruption that has become far too commonplace in Illinois. These convictions should not be the end of this story. If we want to close the book on corruption in Illinois, then we need to enact meaningful laws that will systematically end the pay-to-play politics culture in our state. If we do nothing, we are merely setting up a future ComEd Four scenario just with different people and different special interests. If we don’t take action and root out corruption in Illinois, these convictions will be for naught.”
* Rep. Ugaste…
In response to the conclusion of the infamous “ComEd Four” trial, State Representative Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) released the following statement:
“I have called the federal investigation of Mike Madigan a disgrace to our chamber and yesterday’s actions indict the culture of corruption that thrived under his inner circle. The public has now seen how influence was peddled for personal gain and self-dealing under Democrat supermajority control. Given the evidence at trial, is it any wonder the Republicans have spent so much of the last 15 years in the superminority.
“It’s obvious the Democrats will not police themselves and the taxpayers of Illinois cannot wait for comprehensive ethics reform any longer. Democrats need to get serious, work with Republicans on the ethics reform for which we have advocated for many years, restore the broken trust with the residents of Illinois and allow Illinoisans to fairly pick who represents them in Springfield after these shameful abuses of power.”
* Rep. Haas…
Following the conclusion of the “ComEd Four” trial, House Assistant Minority Leader Jackie Haas (R-Kankakee) released this statement:
“Today’s court actions indict the culture of corruption that was allowed to thrive under Speaker Madigan’s inner circle. Illinoisans should be furious, and nothing has changed in Springfield to prevent this kind of behavior. We owe our constituents and taxpayers changes that create real accountability for these reprehensible actions; not actions like the Democrats’ so-called ethics reform bill that was so fundamentally flawed, the Legislative Inspector General resigned in protest.
“Unfortunately, though House Republicans introduced dozens of ethics and corruption reform bills, none have been addressed by supermajority Democrats. Democrats need to finally get serious about ethics reform in Illinois and do what’s right for the people of Illinois.”
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
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* Press releases with reactions to the verdict will be posted later this morning…
* Sun-Times | Jury convicts all four defendants in ComEd bribery trial — and fires a warning shot at Michael Madigan: That indictment was the result of an aggressive federal investigation into Chicago-style politics that has had Madigan at its center since 2014. It helped end Madigan’s record-breaking grip on power in the Illinois House of Representatives in January 2021. But it’s also clearly bound for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and maybe beyond. The panel of seven women and five men listened over the last two months as lawyers battled in a 17th-floor courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse over the difference between honest, legal lobbying and criminal activity. In the end, the jury rejected the idea that the allegations amounted to politics as usual.
* Sun-Times | ComEd jurors say they didn’t believe the jobs and money that went to Madigan allies were just legal lobbying: During their weeklong deliberations, jurors “ached about” how the allegations crossed the line from legal lobbying into criminal activity, according to the jury foreperson, Sarah Goldenberg. “The term we reviewed heavily was goodwill, where goodwill is to have those relationships with representatives in the political arena for the benefit of the company you’re associated with. And we felt this went beyond goodwill to ‘intent to influence,’” said Goldenberg, a 34-year-old data analyst.
* Capitol News Illinois | ‘ComEd Four’ found guilty on all counts in bribery trial tied to ex-Speaker Madigan: Speaking to reporters after the verdict, jury member Amanda Schnitker Sayers said the jury grew to like the defendants over the course of the trial. “All in all, they’re good people that made bad decisions,” she said. Schnitker Sayers said the jury stayed away from discussing Madigan outside of his role in the case at hand, but said they came to believe the speaker’s involvement with ComEd “was key.” “He really did cause this all to happen,” she said. “If it wouldn’t have been for him, these people would not have been in the position that they would need to commit crimes in the first place.”
* Sun-Times | ComEd verdicts jolt Illinois political world — sparking strong reactions from Republicans (and a few Democrats): “Since taking office, Gov. Pritzker has advanced the case of ethics reform in key areas, especially in bringing more transparency to the process and tightening requirements for lobbyists. The Governor believes we must restore the public’s trust in government and today’s verdicts are proof that no one is above the law,” governor’s office spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement.
* CBS Chicago | Guilty verdict in ‘ComEd 4′ trial is likely to be bad news for Mike Madigan: “I don’t want to speak for the whole jury about Madigan, we tried not to discuss him as far as outside of this case. But his involvement with this case, of course, was key – and our perception was that he really did cause this all to happen,” said juror Amanda Schnitker Sayers. “If it wouldn’t have been for him, these people would not have been in this position they would need to commit crimes in the first place.”
* ABC Chicago | All defendants found guilty on all counts in ‘ComEd 4′ trial surrounding ex-Speaker Mike Madigan: “The state of Illinois unfortunately has a deep-seated public corruption problem. Corruption that erodes and eats away at the people’s confidence in their government and in their elected officials. Rooting out and prosecuting those who participate in that corruption has been, is and will continue to be the top priority of the United States Attorney’s Office,” said acting US Attorney Morris Pasqual after the verdict was announced.
* WTTW | ‘ComEd Four’ Found Guilty of Conspiring to Bribe Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan: When Madigan said jump, MacArthur said, the defendants asked “how high.” Prosecutors argued the four did this through a number of means, including paying Madigan allies as ComEd subcontractors, who in turn would actually do little or no work for the utility company. They also allegedly offered a lucrative contract to a law firm run by Madigan ally Victor Reyes and fought to get Juan Ochoa appointed to the ComEd board of directors at the former speaker’s behest.
* WGN | ‘ComEd Four’ found guilty in bribery trial: Bhachu likened the alleged conspiracy to a toll that drivers pay to continue their journey on state highways, and suggested Madigan was the gatekeeper. “It was a corruption toll to make sure that Mr. Madigan was not an obstacle to their legislative agenda,” said Bhachu, according to the Chicago Tribune. “And they paid that toll every month, from 2011 to 2019, when they were caught.”
* Tribune | Illinois lawmakers react to ‘ComEd Four’ convictions and actions that led to them: ‘Shockingly gluttonous and unhealthy to democracy’: “How many indictments is too many? How many more court rulings do we need to make unethical behavior stop?” state House Republican Leader Tony McCombie of Savanna said at a GOP news conference following the verdicts. “There’s definitely some folks on the other side of the aisle that are honest, transparent and work in good faith. Now whether or not they can get the rest of the Democratic caucus to follow their lead will be the question that only time will tell.”
* WAND | Illinois House Republicans demand ethics reform following ComEd Four guilty verdict: Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) said the Legislative Inspector General should also be given subpoena powers to help the office perform thorough investigations and root out bad behavior. State senators voted on a joint resolution to appoint former judge Michael McCuskey as the next Inspector General on Feb. 16, 2022. Former Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope told state lawmakers in July 2021 that she would resign at the end of that year. She later pushed back her exit date, hoping to help a successor transition into the role.
* BGA | “ComEd Four” Trial Underscores Need for Strengthened Ethics Reforms: In response to today’s guilty verdict in the federal corruption of former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, lobbyist Mike McClain, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, and former lobbyist and City Club president Jay Hooker, Better Government Association President David Greising said the following: “The jury’s guilty verdict on all counts strikes a blow against the culture of corruption that for years has robbed Illinois residents of their right to an honest and accountable government. It is a flat rejection of the claim that the systematic effort to corruptly influence House Speaker Mike Madigan was just ‘politics as usual.’ The jury spoke for all Illinoisans in demanding better from government officials, as well as from businesses and lobbyists who seek to influence policies that affect all Illinoisans, not just the connected, powerful and wealthy among us.”
* Tribune | Staffers for Illinois House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch seek to unionize: The staffers, members of the newly formed Illinois Legislative Staff Association, issued a statement on Twitter saying that since Welch, a Democrat from Hillside, became speaker in early 2021, “it has been more of the same for his legislative employees.” “Many employees struggle to pay their bills, are forced to work overtime hours with little compensation, and work extra jobs to make ends meet,” the association said in a statement. “These conditions have led to unsustainable staff turnover and have impeded our ability to serve the people of Illinois.”
* WAND | Danville City Council votes to move abortion ban ordinance forward: Abortion has become a fiery topic for the City of Danville. On Tuesday night, Danville City Council voted to pass an ordinance that would prohibit the shipment of abortion pills, such as Mifepristone, to the city. Council members voted 7 to 7 with Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr. casting the deciding vote in favor of the ordinance.
* The Trace | Chicago’s Violence Prevention Committee Hasn’t Met in Nearly Two Years: Lance Williams, a professor at Northeastern Illinois University, said he wasn’t surprised to hear that the committee was no longer active. “To this day I think that the Lightfoot administration’s strategy to deal with gun violence was a public relations strategy,” Williams said. “They didn’t have a strategy to deal with the structural problem of violence and gun violence.”
* Crain’s | Kaegi moves to jack up Bears’ Arlington Heights tax tab: Kaegi concluded the property was worth not the $33.5 million that 2022 owner Churchill Downs’ taxes were based on but $197 million — almost exactly the $197.2 million the Bears paid Churchill Downs for the property in February. Assuming property taxes rise by the same proportion, the bill for the property would go from $2.75 million to an estimated $16.5 million.
* WTVO | Illinois drivers’ data at risk without funding for upgrades, warns Giannoulias: “We have no choice,” Giannoulias warned. “We have to this. We have over 2 billion pieces of data in the office from people’s driver’s license numbers, their social security numbers, their credit card information, very personal data, that is very susceptible to hacking and cybersecurity threats. So we have no choice. This is not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”
* WLS | Most Asian Americans elected to Chicago city council, Illinois legislature in 2023: More Asian Americans, particularly women, have been elected to the Chicago City Council and Illinois state legislature, part of a new wave of Asian Americans serving in public office. Chicago Alderman Nicole Lee is the first Chinese American to represent the city’s 11th Ward, which is also the city’s first ever Asian American majority ward. But her history in the city is deep; some of her relatives are on display in the Chinese American Museum of Chicago.
* Daily Herald | Three Des Plaines aldermen move to disregard term-limit vote but come up short: “The passage of the binding referendum made the will of the voters clear,” Goczkowski said. More than 64% of Des Plaines voters favored a proposal on the April 4 ballot that strengthened the rules for term limits. It passed 2,857 votes to 1,590 votes. From now on, the mayor, the city’s eight aldermen and the city clerk are limited to two terms in each of those positions.
* Sun-Times | White Sox shuffle deck with 11 roster moves, top Twins for second consecutive win: On a night the Sox beat the Twins 3-2 in 10 innings for their first two-game winning streak of the season, the rash of moves points to where the Sox, still a woeful 9-21 after Andrew Benintendi’s walk-off single, were standing on the second day of May. Is there such a thing as two-game momentum?
Acting U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual is on hand for the verdict. Judge Leinenweber is on the bench but says he'll wait for awhile longer for everyone to assemble
Employees in Democratic Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office have declared their intent to unionize citing, among other grievances, low pay and confusing compensatory time off policies. The union push is months in the making and has been slowed down in part by caveats in the state’s labor laws.
Two-dozen staffers in Legislative and Research and Appropriations roles asked the Speaker’s Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel for voluntary recognition in November 2022, January 2023 and again in April, but the office said it won’t voluntarily recognize the Illinois Legislative Staff Association. […]
An internal survey distributed among potential bargaining unit members showed 79% of respondents don’t have enough savings to cover an emergency and 84% of respondents were struggling to pay bills. Of those surveyed, 75% said they likely wouldn’t stay on staff longer than two years without improvements. […]
The Speaker’s Chief Counsel, James Hartmann, in an email to unit members on May 1, told them the Speaker would not voluntarily recognize the union because that would deny an opportunity for a democratic election. ILSA in response contended a separate election isn’t required as a majority of would-be members are in support.
About a quarter mile south of where the pavement is burned to a crisp on 55, a bunch of cars and trucks were pulled off as another dust storm kicked up and made for bad visibility.
Once it settled, we had a bunch of dust clouds out to the west.
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi has thrown a haymaker punch at the Chicago Bears as they ponder whether to proceed with plans to build a stadium complex in Arlington Heights, moving to raise six-fold the property tax value of the land involved even before any construction occurs.
The move is being appealed to the Cook County Board of Review, a three-person panel that can overrule Kaegi’s decisions. But if the assessment is upheld, it would cost the team roughly an additional $15 million a year in property taxes — a very steep price the NFL franchise would have to pay while it decides whether to develop the former Arlington International Racecourse property.
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is giving the city of Naperville until next Monday to provide further information regarding its local ordinance prohibiting the sale of certain high-powered weapons.
Barrett’s request comes after a Naperville gun shop owner asked her to temporarily halt enforcement of Naperville’s gun ban and Illinois’ similar ban while both are being challenged in lower courts. […]
The National Association for Gun Rights claims in a statement Barrett’s request “indicates interest from the Supreme Court in granting the request for relief.”
“We’re thankful the Supreme Court is taking the Second Amendment rights of Illinoisans seriously,” said Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights. “Any ban on so-called ‘Assault Weapons’ is plainly unconstitutional, and now it is on the city of Naperville to explain the legal justification for their ban. Of course, there isn’t any. The bans were ludicrous from the start, and if Illinois had any sense, they would wave the white flag now and save us all some time.”
* G-PAC…
Today, the Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) released the following statement from its CEO and President, Kathleen Sances, in response to reports of gun shops experiencing surges in sales following a judge’s recent decision to place an injunction on Illinois’ assault weapons ban.
“As our country continues to reel from a slew of mass shootings, gun dealers in our state are using a recent court decision to continue to push the gun industry’s agenda of guns everywhere for anyone. Once again, we’re reminded that the gun lobby’s primary goal is to make a profit at every turn – and they’re willing to sacrifice the safety of our communities and families to make it happen.
“Make no mistake, assault weapons only serve one purpose, and that is to kill and injure as many people as possible as quickly as possible. They have no legitimate civilian use, and their accessibility to the public only increases the risk of mass shootings, homicides, and other violent crimes.
“While the gun lobby remains hellbent on turning back the hands of time on Illinois and doing away with critical laws, our people-powered movement of lawmakers, survivors and gun safety advocates is prepared to fight for the future of our state. We have a right to be safe, and we are determined to protect it.”
The University of Illinois Flash Index for April 2023 continued to decline from 103.1 in March to 102.9 in April. This suggests growth is slowing, but still positive. Any index value above 100 indicates expansion.
“In the ongoing recession watch, the needle has moved more toward a recession later this year according to many observers.”
GDP for the first quarter slowed to 1.1% accompanied by many reports of layoffs in the formerly hot tech sector. However, the unemployment rate continues its robust performance with both the Illinois and national rates falling one-tenth of a percentage point. These rates remain near the post-WWII low.
The three main components of the Index (individual income, corporate, and sales tax receipts) were all down in inflation-adjusted terms from April 2022. Individual income tax revenues fell the most compared to the strong receipts in the April 2022 filing period.
President Biden is flipping the script on Republicans by casting himself as the protector of “freedom,” going on offense by using a word and concept conservatives have frequently cited to push back on the president and his party.
Biden’s campaign launch video was titled “Freedom,” and he referenced “freedom” or “freedoms” six times over the course of the clip. The campaign’s first official ad used those words seven times.
* No news yet today…
ComEd Bribery Trial Update⤵️
We are at Dirksen for day 5 of ComEd jury deliberations
Following the news that Dr. Cristina Pacione-Zayas will leave the Illinois State Senate to join the administration of mayor-elect Brandon Johnson as his First Deputy Chief of Staff, six northwest-side grassroots, independent political organizations have come together to host a “People’s Appointment” process for the pending vacancy in the 20th State Senate District.
The People’s Appointment process will ensure that 20th State Senate District residents vet applicants for the Senate vacancy in an open, transparent, and democratic process. Upon Senator Pacione-Zayas’s resignation, 20th State Senate District Ward Democratic committeepeople will have 30 days to fill the vacancy via a weighted vote. 1st Ward Democratic Committeeman Daniel La Spata and 35th Ward Democratic Committeeman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa have already committed to participate in the People’s Appointment process and abide by the results.
“Illinois’ 20th State Senate District is one of the most progressive districts in the nation,” said Cesareo Moreno, a leader with United Neighbors of the 35th Ward, “our community will not accept an insider selected behind closed doors. The People’s Appointment process will democratically identify a candidate our community and our Democratic committeepeople can proudly support.”
The community groups convening and supporting the People’s Appointment are United Neighbors of the 35th Ward, 1st Ward United, 33rd Ward Working Families, United Northwest Side, 30th United, and 39th Ward Neighbors United. 20th State Senate residents interested in the process can sign up at: https://www.tinyurl.com/20thAppointment. All Democratic committeepeople in the district are invited to participate in this open and democratic process.
…Adding… DPI…
On Saturday, members of the Democratic State Central Committee voted to approve the Democratic Party of Illinois’ Delegate Selection Plan for the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
Illinois will use a proportional representation system based on the results of the March 19, 2024 Primary Election for apportioning district level delegates to the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Participation in the state’s delegate selection process is open to all voters who wish to participate as Democrats.
Prior to its passage, the plan was publicized and open for public comment for 30 days and was reviewed during a convening of the appointed Affirmative Action and Inclusion Committee where members discussed strategies for achieving outreach and inclusion goals. The plan includes educational and informational materials and programming that will commence in September to ensure the delegation is representative of the demographic diversity across Illinois. Diversity is a high priority of the Democratic Party of Illinois, and for this reason, DPI has increased delegate representation goals across historically underrepresented constituencies by 15% over National Party recommendations. To achieve those goals, DPI will hold educational workshops in each delegate district beginning September 2023 open to all Democratic voters. […]
The approved Illinois Delegate Selection Plan is being submitted to the Democratic National Committee for review by the Rules and Bylaws Committee for final adoption.
* Perhaps the dumbest “both sides” argument I’ve seen in a while…
Under his direction the Chicago Tribune achieved the largest circulation among American standard-sized newspapers and led the world in newspaper advertising revenue.
* I texted Jim Edgar yesterday to “inform” the former governor that a hair style had been named after him…
Picture a bowl cut but with the bangs straight across — and the sides shaved clean.
It’s called The Edgar, and it has gained widespread popularity among Gen-Z Latinos in recent years.
The owner of a barbershop on the Southwest Side says kids request the somewhat divisive haircut with Mexican and Indigenous roots on a near-daily basis.
First popularized in border states such as California, New Mexico and Texas, the haircut has become a viral meme on social media during the pandemic.
In classic Edgar style, he wondered how much the haircut costs.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* WGN | 6 deaths in Illinois dust storm, police need help identifying 2 victims: Of the victims who died, ISP is working to identify two other adults. Police have not disclosed the genders or possible ages of those victims. However, one victim was found inside a blue Chrysler 300, while the other was found inside an unknown-colored Hyundai.
* Tribune | Fred Waller, a former chief in CPD, expected to be named interim superintendent this week: Waller, 61, retired in August 2020 after spending 34 years in CPD, climbing the ranks from patrol officer to district commander to, ultimately, chief of patrol, the third-highest rank in the department. Waller’s return could be announced as soon as Wednesday, according to the source. The terms of Waller’s agreement with the city were not immediately known and police did not immediately comment.
* Press release | Gov. Pritzker Announces Ten Appointments to Boards and Commissions: James Connolly will continue to serve as a Member of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.* Connolly has a long history working in organized labor. […] Jacqueline Gomez will continue to serve as a Member of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.* Gomez currently serves as the Director of Supplier and Workforce Diversity at the Obama Foundation, where she is responsible for the implementation and management of the Foundation’s diversity and inclusion programming.
* Crain’s | Uihleins spread their money beyond Illinois: In all, the Uihleins gave nearly $7 million in total during the first quarter of 2023, with $5.5 million of that going to the Club for Growth Action PAC which supports Republican candidates in U.S. Congress.
* WAND | Gun sellers deal with whiplash from Illinois gun ban rulings: Raymond McAfee, owner of The Piggy Bank Pawn and Guns, said within minutes of the injunction, customers were calling with questions about the new ruling. Many wanted to pawn guns they were holding on to or purchase guns that were regulated after the law was passed in January.
* Crain’s | Chicago’s $1 billion water deal shows Great Lakes wealth: Chicago has just signed a contract valued at $1 billion to sell its water elsewhere — the first such deal in 40 years — and the city expects more to come. Illinois is also launching a federally funded plan to expand its $17 billion “Blue Economy” to lure companies from water-intensive chip manufacturers to climate-tech startups.
* My Radio Link | Illinois State Fair to Host 100 Days Out Kickoff Party: The event will feature some of your favorite fair foods and drinks. State Fair favorites such as Mr. Ribeye, Coleman Concessions, Wafflelicious, and Illinois Wine will be on hand to sell fairgoers their favorite fair-food concoctions.
* The Marshall Project | Why Inflation Price Hikes Are Even Worse Behind Bars: A jar of peanut butter, for example, now costs between 25% and 35% more across the state prisons. In the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, the price of peanut butter increased 61 cents, even though the portion size decreased by 2 ounces. Soap is more expensive, too. Incarcerated people could be paying between 4% and 80% more per bar, depending on where they’re imprisoned. In Illinois state prisons, the cost of a pack of instant ramen now costs 32 cents — a 68% increase from the year before.
* Sun-Times | White Sox calling up Billy Hamilton from Charlotte: The struggling White Sox will welcome the return of shortstop Tim Anderson, as well as infielder Hanser Alberto, from the injured list before they open a three-game series against the American League Central leading Minnesota Twins Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Legislation passed by the Illinois House would levy an escalating series of fines against anyone caught removing a cat’s claws for anything other than medical or therapeutic reasons. Under the measure, declawing would not be allowed simply to “make the cat more convenient to keep or handle.” […]
Republican state Rep. Charles Meier of Highland, who voted against the bill, questioned how much cats actually suffer when they are declawed. […]
Meier also brought a partisan angle into the argument, alleging that the bill’s 10 Democratic sponsors and other supporters “are willing to abort a baby right before birth but they won’t let you declaw a cat.”
Investigators Need to Find Out if 72-Car Pileup in Downstate Illinois Could Have Been Avoided if Motor Vehicle Laws Were Followed
As the investigation continues on a two-mile stretch of highway in downstate Illinois, it makes one pause as to if the 72-car pileup really should never should have happened at all. The Federal Motor Vehicle Carrier Administration and the Department of Transportation expect trucking companies and motor carriers to practice defensive driving which is an industry term to mean exercise caution in a situation like this and refrain from operating 80,000-pound tractor-trailers when visibility conditions dictated otherwise.
“Driving a tractor trailer with little to no visibility is reckless and wanton conduct that can place other motorists in the worst possible scenario – the death and injuries of innocent people,” said Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner at Clifford Law Offices in Chicago. “This terrible tragedy needs to be thoroughly examined so those whose lives have been forever changed have answers.”
Six people are reported dead and at least 30 more injured when Interstate 55 outside of Springfield, Illinois, resulted in what state police described as zero visibility on the road for about a two-mile stretch at about 11 a.m. Monday when a “dust-out” storm occurred.
Federal motor vehicle laws governing truck drivers require that truck drivers pull over. The FMVCA rules says, “If conditions become sufficiently dangerous, operations must immediately be discontinued until the vehicle can again be safely operated.” https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/safetyplanner/MyFiles/SubSections.aspx?ch=23&sec=68&sub=172
Instead, it was reported that semi-trucks carrying heavy loads and perhaps hazardous materials crashed into helpless others. “It was very dangerous – the drivers couldn’t see. Truck drivers know that it takes a long time to stop their heavy vehicles when traveling on highways at higher speeds, and if they strike something, the other person doesn’t have a chance,” Clifford said. “Drivers, particularly truck drivers, cannot be in a hurry. In situations like this, safety must take precedence over everything else.”
In the pile-up on I-55 near the state’s capital of Springfield, six people are now dead. Dozens of others are critically injured ranging in age from 2 to 80 years old, including some who had to be airlifted to hospitals. Several tractor-trailers turned over and others burned out on the highway. I-55 reopened Tuesday morning as police continue to examine what happened in this horrible wreckage that some witnesses described as a scene from 9/11.
This “dust-out” is very similar to a winter “white-out” when responsible drivers pull off of the road and seek shelter to avoid tragedies like this that can be caused by zero visibility conditions. The incident brings back horrible memories of a family whose car was crushed in a pile-up on I-90 near Rockford, Illinois, during a white-out snowstorm. The Yoder’s car was crushed. Their four-year old daughter in the back seat was killed. The little two-year-old boy suffered permanent brain damage that required round-the-clock care for the rest of life. The mom suffered severe skull and facial injuries requiring 31 surgeries. Of course, that family was devastated, despite Kevin Durkin at Clifford Law Offices obtaining a record $38.3 million verdict in 2004.
* The topic of culpability came up often during Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly’s press conference today…
Q: Why did it take until somebody got into an accident for these roads to be shut down, so that fatalities like this could be avoided?
Kelly: Well, I don’t think we have any evidence at this point that there was any reason to have shut the road down. It is a pretty extreme thing to shut a road down. We do that during blizzards, we do that when we have hazmat or circumstances like this. And the parameters for shutting a road down are not always predictable in a sense, just the weather is not always predictable. So at this point there’s nothing to indicate that IDOT or ISP or anybody had any information that warranted shutting a road down now. We are certainly looking at the timeline for what the weather warnings were. Some of those warnings in terms of the warning about there being a dust storm came after some of the accidents that occurred yesterday. You’ve obviously seen that IDOT has updated some of their signs to put information out that people can be can be more aware of this. And we’ll look at that, we’ll certainly look at that. But at this stage, we don’t have any reason to believe there were factors that indicated an interstate should have been shut down preemptively. There was nothing that just would have warranted that. […]
Q: Have any drivers been cited? Will they be cited for speed or any other factors?
A: So, our traffic crash reconstruction folks, that is what they will do. They will go through the process of trying to reconstruct what exactly happened here. They will look at things like black boxes that are in the car to be able to see what the speed was. They’ll interview as many people as possible. But we’re talking about 100 objects all moving at potentially high speeds. And maybe you know, under the speed limit, but maybe not necessarily safe for conditions. Those are questions that we have to ask, those are questions that we ask anytime there’s an accident of this nature, or even a smaller accident to determine what the events were that to this. So, we’ll see. But we’re very early in this process. We have a lot of evidence to go through, we have a lot of people to interview, we have a lot of science that has to be done to be able to see what we can determine from this.
* On to another, but similar topic…
Today’s news along I-55 is just awful. Our thoughts are with everyone involved. It’s a sobering reminder that the legislature must better fund soil health programs. Sustainable ag practices keep our soil where it belongs- benefitting us all- especially as our climate warms. https://t.co/jwiNIIfsGU
Q: Director Kelly, we have heard in the last 24 hours from some in the local farming community who are upset [saying] this was avoidable based on the farming techniques used. Is any part of your investigation looking at who may be responsible?
Kelly: Well, certainly we’re looking at the surrounding area to see what information we can ascertain that may link where the dust was coming from. But we know again, just listening to what the National Weather Service has had to say, and meteorologists have had to say about the circumstances is that there’s any number of things that could have led to this. And there’s many different ways of tilling soil. There’s no till, there’s lots of different types of agricultural activity. But some of these things may be related to a period of dryness, where there’s not as much rain as there usually has been. And we’re going to try to connect as many dots as we can and see if there’s anything we can learn from that. But we’re not jumping to any conclusions.
Q: Are criminal charges possible?
Kelly: We have a process to make that determination. And if and when there’s something that warrants that, we’ll certainly share that with the public. But nowhere, no way are we anywhere near that type of conclusion.
Q: Are you aware of any type of regulations that would limit the amount of tilling that a farmer can do…?
Kelly: Well, I can say this, again, there’s many different types of agricultural techniques that are used in terms of plowing a field. And there’s a whole host of factors that go into into how that process works. And the timing. It does not benefit a farmer to lose a bunch of their topsoil. So they have no motivation, or no reason that they would want to do something that would cause this in any way. So there’s no logic to saying that someone did this on purpose. And they were somehow skirting some sort of regulation. But again, we’re gonna look at everything. That is our job. And this is what the Illinois State Police do well, is to follow the facts wherever they take us, good, bad, ugly. But we also don’t want to jump to any conclusions beyond what the evidence shows.
It would probably be helpful if the federal departments of transportation, agriculture and environmental protection also get involved.
In the meantime, people should refrain from jumping to too many conclusions.
* Horrific aftermath videos…
We are near just some of the cars involved in the pile-up on I-55. Some burned out, others are heavily damaged and almost unrecognizable. @cbschicagopic.twitter.com/JNd0xHQTYY
Full video of the accident scene on I-55 south of Springfield, IL near the Sangamon Montgomery county line. Horrific. Dust being kicked up by 45mph winds contributing to this awful tragedy where sadly people have lost their lives. pic.twitter.com/oaWXoIHJXK
— Kevin Lighty - WCIA 3 Chief Meteorologist (@KevinLighty) May 2, 2023
A senior advisor for @RepRobinKelly helped make the final closing pitch to lawmakers for a third Chicago airport. He said the bill will finally answer the question everyone wants answered: are developers interested #twillhttps://t.co/cvfBY1P652
State Rep. Mark Walker, D-Arlington Heights, said House Bill 3479 creates the Uniform Money Transmission Modernization Act, which requires exchanges and crypto businesses to obtain a license from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
“We can add stability to our entire banking system and put them in a situation where they don’t have to be bailed out,” said Walker.
If businesses are approved for a digital asset license in Illinois, the bill allows the state to access their books and pass along relevant information to enforcement agencies.
Walker said the legislation also includes safeguards to help prevent fraudsters from taking advantage of Illinoisans. […]
As Chicago and Illinois get ready to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, our state should be paving the way towards a more democratic system of voting, starting with the presidential primary.
Bringing ranked choice voting (RCV) to Illinois is something we can all get behind, regardless of political ideology. Legislation (HB2807 and SB 1456) is now making its way through Springfield that would put Illinois on the growing list of states that are considering adopting RCV.
Such a system would benefit both voters and candidates, creating a political landscape that is more hospitable to a larger and more diverse pool of qualified candidates to run for office.
One of the biggest problems with our current presidential primary system is that votes go to waste. State primaries take place over months, and during that time, people are voting early or absentee for candidates who may end up dropping out before primary election day, or are otherwise not viable because they don’t receive enough votes. This impacts both Democrats and Republicans. During their last competitive presidential primary in Illinois, over 70,000 Democrats and 30,000 Republicans had their votes thrown out because the candidate they voted for dropped out before their primary.
* SB684 is on Second Reading in the House. Here’s 25News Now…
A proposed bill would create a new tax for people in rural McLean County, helping fund the Central Illinois Regional Airport. […]
Legislation co-sponsored by State Sen. David Koehler (D - Peoria) says “This issue is about fairness. Right now, the only tax support for the Central Illinois Regional Airport is from residents of Bloomington and Normal. The goal is to spread the support to the entire county of McLean, as we did for the airport in Peoria and Peoria County in 2007.”
Last year, about 180,000 passengers flew through CIRA in Bloomington. However, the only taxes supporting it, were the people who live in Bloomington and Normal. […]
The bill would reduce the tax rate for people in Bloomington-Normal by about 33%. It would bring their current 14 cents per $100 of assessed value to 9.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.
For people outside the Twin Cities, it would be about $55 more a year for the owner of a house valued at $175,000.
The aluminum recycling industry continues to push for new beverage container deposit programs, with an executive pointing to potential in the Upper Midwest and in the nation’s capital. […]
Henry Gordinier, president and CEO of Louisville, Ky.-based Tri-Arrows, which recycles used beverage cans (UBCs) into sheets for making cans, said that since the Aluminum Association and Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) launched their campaign to lobby for bottle bills, the industry “has been firing on all cylinders to advocate for these policies.”
Gordinier pointed to progress in the legislatures in Illinois and Minnesota, while also mentioning that Maryland lawmakers held a hearing recently on recycling refunds. He also noted that U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, is working to introduce legislation for a national bottle deposit program.
“There is strong bipartisan support for recycling refund programs,” he said, adding that states with bottle bills have aluminum can recycling rates nearly double those in states without them.
There is legislation moving through the Illinois Capitol [Added by Rich: Despite what the Center Square people claim, this particular bill is not “moving” - it has been stuck in House Rules since early March, for crying out loud] that would require auto insurance companies to undergo the same rate hike oversight that utility companies are subjected to. […]
The measure would empower the Illinois Department of Insurance to reject or modify excessive rate hikes and end the use of non-driving factors, such as credit scores, to set rates. A coalition of 15 consumer, community and civil rights organizations is backing the legislation.
“Yet again, insurance companies raise rates on families who are struggling to get by, all while lavishing its CEO with exorbitant compensation,” said Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, the bill’s sponsor. “We need accountability for these rate hikes, and we need strong rules to protect consumers from predatory, discriminatory, and unnecessary rate increases.” […]
Kevin Martin, executive director of the Illinois Insurance Association, said if passed, the legislation will do the exact opposite of what it is designed to do.
“I think if this bill is passed and signed into law, Illinois will go from probably the premiere state for insurance companies to want to do business to by far the worst,” said Martin.
Agriculture advocates gathered at the Capitol for Black Farmers Lobby Week.
State Legislators say they’ve seen a decrease in black farmers and black-owned farms across the state. […]
Advocates presented several bills to provide additional support to farmers of color:
House Bill 2557, the Farmer Equity and Innovation Act, creates a program with the University of Illinois Extension to keep small and midsize farms competitive.
House Bill 3556 creates the farmer restoration and conservancy program which helps historically underserved farmers get assistance with land access.
House Bill 3557 increases the proportion of food used by state agencies that is sources from socially disadvantaged farmers.
House Bill 2523 appropriates 5 million dollars from the general revenue fund to the Department of Agriculture to create grants for socially disadvantaged farmers.
Chicago’s response to a growing immigrant crisis has turned police stations into makeshift shelters where asylum seekers have been provided with expired meal rations and where infections and infestations are a common problem. […]
Boxes of meal rations that were sent to the Gresham District last week had expired in September 2020, and a notice was sent out urging police officials to return any expired meals they’d received, according to sources with knowledge of the situation and photos shared with the Sun-Times. […]
A City Hall source said hospitals, hotels and short-term rentals have all declined to take in the asylum seekers because they view the crisis as a public health matter, leaving city officials in a tough spot. […]
Some of the new arrivals have stayed at police stations with no beds for as long as a week, according to [Mary Schaaf, a volunteer with the online community Refugee Community Connection], who noted that some residents have opened up their homes to allow individuals to take a shower or wash their clothes while they wait for a city shelter. […]
A family staying at a police station last week developed what was believed to be lice or bed bugs, leading to a logistical scramble to get them treatment, said Dr. Evelyn Figueroa of the Pilsen Food Pantry, who has been assisting in community efforts to help the new arrivals. […]
“How long are we going to fight about politics and let people sleep in police stations?” Figueroa said. “We are trying to separate social work from policing, and yet we are coercing them into these roles we know are not right for them, not what they signed up for and overwhelm the police stations.”
A police source complained that officers are being given “zero assistance” from the city, leaving them to personally support those in need. He recalled sending a tactical officer to grab food for a group of immigrants and personally purchasing baby wipes and diapers for an infant after his district started filling up in recent weeks.
* Regardless of what’s happened in the past week or so, the city and the state have been well aware for months that a big surge was likely coming…
The Covid restriction known as Title 42 has blocked migrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum more than 2.5 million times since it was put in place at the start of the pandemic. It is the third time the Biden administration has been preparing to lift Title 42. The previous attempts were blocked by courts, but this time a court challenge does not seem likely to prevent the ban from lifting on May 11.
The city has established 20 shelters since the 108 buses were sent from Texas, [Matt Doughtie, manager of emergency management services at the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications] said. Twelve of them have closed, leaving just eight, he said.
Lovely.
So, once again, the city is engaged in a hair-on-fire crisis management situation.
Brandon Johnson could do everyone in this entire state a huge favor by not waiting for these sorts of situations to explode before finally trying to manage a problem.
* I already told you that my friend Marcus Lucas passed away last week. Marcus’ services info is here.
His family has since given me permission to tell you that he died while waiting on a kidney transplant.
This is the second friend I’ve lost because they didn’t receive a kidney in time. Another good friend of mine received his transplant last year and is doing really well. It’s like night and day.
* The Question: Do you have any stories from your life about people who were saved by an organ donation? Tell us about them. Conversely, if you know of anyone who didn’t make it while awaiting a donation, please let us know about their struggles.
By the way, if you haven’t yet signed up to be an organ/tissue donor, please click here.
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
A new report from the American Hospital Association describes the impact of rising labor, supply and drug costs—along with staffing shortages and longer hospital stays—that are debilitating financially strained hospitals and imperiling patient access to care.
Hospital expenses increased 17.5% between 2019 and 2022, the report says, due to cost pressures that include essential operations such as IT, sanitation, facilities management, and food and nutrition services.
Under extreme financial pressure, Illinois hospitals are urging state lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 1763 to invest in hospitals that are investing in patients and their communities.
• SB 1763 would provide the first General Revenue Fund (GRF) Medicaid hospital rate increase in 28 years.
• The bill would bring a much-needed 20% across-the-board increase to hospital Medicaid base rates.
With Medicaid as the state’s largest health insurer, Illinois hospitals are being squeezed by the shortfall between the cost to provide care and Medicaid reimbursement, which is less than 80 cents per $1. Research by the Illinois Health and Hospital Association shows hospital expenses have increased 85% since 1995, while Medicaid GFR hospital reimbursement has remained flat.
Support and co-sponsor SB 1763 to help preserve access to care for everyone. Discover the facts to learn more.
Interstate 55 around milepost 76, both northbound and southbound, opened around 6 a.m. today after being closed due to massive crashes due to zero visibility conditions caused by blowing dust.
— IllinoisStatePolice (@ILStatePolice) May 2, 2023
* Illinois State Police…
Preliminary information indicates the following occurred: ISP Troops 6 and 8 responded to the above area for multiple crashes with injuries. At 10:55 a.m. there was a crash on northbound Interstate 55 at Milepost 76. At the same time, there were numerous crashes on southbound Interstate 55 at Milepost 76. The crashes occurred within a two-mile stretch – from roughly Milepost 76 to Milepost 78.
At this time, 72 vehicles are reported being involved in the crash. A total of 37 people were transported to area hospitals. Injuries range from minor to life-threatening and ages span from 2-years-old to 80-years-old.
Reports show there are six fatalities, all occurring in the northbound lanes. At this time, one decedent has been identified as 88-year-old Shirley Harper of Franklin, WI. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office is working diligently to identify the other five individuals and notify their families.
The ISP is planning a press conference for 9:30 this morning.
“The only thing you could hear after we got hit was crash after crash after crash behind us,” said Tom Thomas, 43, who was traveling south to St. Louis. […]
Starrick told reporters that it was a spring version of a “whiteout situation” typically seen in winter snowstorms. Gov. J.B. Pritzker described the scene as “horrific.” […]
Kevin Schott, director of emergency services in Montgomery County, said it was a “very difficult scene” and one that’s “very hard to train for.”
“We had to search every vehicle, whether they were involved in the accident or just pulled over, to check for injuries,” he said, adding that people were “upset — visibly so, understandably so.”
Although dust storms can occur anywhere in the United States, they are most common in the Southwest, according to the National Weather Service. They rarely occur in central Illinois, Ben Deubelbeiss, a meteorologist with the service, said.
But a dry spell, combined with very strong winds, had created Monday’s conditions, Mr. Deubelbeiss added, noting that the Springfield airport — about 30 miles north of the crash site — had recorded just half of its usual rainfall for the month of April. Wind gusts at the airport were blowing up to 40 miles per hour on Monday, he added.
The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency said 10 helicopters were requested to the scene and buses from Panhandle School District were picking up stranded motorists.
The Auburn Travel Center in Divernon was established as a reunification spot for travelers.
The Springfield Fire Department sent several trucks and engines to the scene via a mutual aid call, Chief Brandon Blough confirmed and a Hazardous Materials Team from SFD was dealing with a tanker fire, doing fire suppression and damming and docking of hazardous material run-off. […]
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said deputies were assisting ISP on detours off the interstate in the southern part of the county.
* This has happened here before, but the results were not nearly as horrific. From 2017…
Dust storms causing poor visibility in central Illinois are being blamed for car accidents that killed two people.
Illinois State Police say visibility was poor when a 53-year-old Chatham man was killed when he struck a semitrailer, and another vehicle rear-ended his vehicle, Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 72. The third vehicle’s driver was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.
A 16-year-old Mahomet boy died in a separate accident after crashing into the back of a semitrailer in Douglas County an hour later. Two 17-year-old passengers suffered injuries that weren’t life-threatening.
National Weather Service meteorologist Ed Shimon says dust storms are rare in the area, but that near-perfect storm conditions existed Wednesday. Gusting winds hit speeds of 45 mph, blanketing rural interstates and roads with clouds of blinding dust.
May 6th, 1983: A dust storm, unusual in Illinois, affected central and northeast parts of the state. The dust was kicked up from freshly plowed farm fields, and blown northeast by winds up to 60 mph. The dust reduced visibility in some areas to near zero. Numerous accidents resulted, including one near Rantoul which involved 9 cars and 2 semi-trailers. […]
June 3, 1990: Strong winds to near 60 mph affected large areas of northern and east central Illinois. A 13-mile stretch of Interstate 57 was closed from Arcola to Mattoon due to blowing dust. Some damage occurred to trees, power lines, and roofs.
“Be ready for a sudden drop in visibility to near zero,” the NWS stated. “If you encounter blowing dust on the roadway or see it approaching, pull off the road as far as possible and put your vehicle in park. Turn the lights all the way off and keep your foot off the brake pedal.”
Why would you want to go dark? From the Arizona Department of Transportation, which has experience dealing with dust issues…
If your car’s lights remain on, any vehicles coming up from behind could use the lights as a beacon, crashing into your car. Remember, you’ve pulled off the roadway to avoid other vehicles. Don’t leave on the lights and increase the possibility of attracting one.
* WAND | Drivers in I-55 crash describe chaotic, blinding scene: “There was a truck in front of me and I could see that they were braking hard, and I was able to drive off the road, around the accident,” Maclean told WAND News. Maclean and his wife got out of their car, and could hear more cars crashing, but were blinded by the dust.
* Sun-Times | Expired food, infections, infestations reported at Chicago police stations serving as makeshift shelters for immigrants: “How do you let stuff out like that?” a police supervisor asked. “Even during COVID, when we were going through that, they were giving us hand sanitizer that was two years expired.” John Catanzara, the fiery president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, said bed bugs have been “a consistent issue.” There also has been a lice problem at the Near West District and cases of chicken pox at the Shakespeare District, according to Catanzara, who said it’s “improper” to use police buildings and resources to house immigrants.
* Tribune | FBI searched Ald. Jim Gardiner’s text messages amid probe into alleged $5,000 cash payment from developer, court records show: According to the July 24, 2020, affidavit, a cooperating witness saw Gardiner accept an envelope from a person while the two sat in the person’s black Mercedes Benz in May 2019. According to the unsealed records, Gardiner then passed the envelope on to the owners of the West Lawrence Avenue building in which his ward office was located as a “down payment” on new windows the alderman wanted installed. One of the owners counted out $5,000 in cash in the envelope, the search warrant application states.
* Crain’s | Guggenheim Partners readying move to Miami: Another pillar of Chicago’s financial community is headed toward the exits — and apparently has quietly slashed its Chicago workforce in recent months. Multiple industry sources report that Guggenheim Partners, an investment firm which has employed roughly 1,000 people in the West Loop, is on the verge of deciding to move its headquarters to Miami, the Florida city to which Citadel recently decamped.
* Pontiac Daily Leader | Rep. Jason Bunting settling into Springfield digs: “It has been drinking from a firehose since the fourth of February, but I think we’re finally getting settled in,” Rep. Jason Bunting told the Daily Leader in an interview Thursday morning. “And I might dare to say, even kind of enjoying it.”
* Patch | Hinsdale Central Admits Governor Not Coming: At the time, Hinsdale Central credited the school’s Student Liberal Association for inviting the governor. […] In its statement Monday, Hinsdale Central said, “Should the Student Liberal Association or another student group have a continued interest in Governor Pritzker or another state official coming to Hinsdale Central, the students will coordinate with the state official’s office and the Hinsdale Central’s building administration.”
* WBEZ | 150 years later, Dixon bridge tragedy among nation’s worst: “It’s not as though the bridge just collapsed and went straight down,” says Tom Wadsworth, 70, a retired magazine editor and expert on the calamity. “It turns over on top of these people. … As the (Chicago) Tribune said, the truss ‘fell over with the weight and imprisoned the doomed in an iron cage with which they sunk and from which there was no escape.’”
* AP | Hollywood writers, slamming ‘gig economy,’ to go on strike: The Writers Guild of America said that its 11,500 unionized screenwriters will head to the picket lines on Tuesday. Negotiations between studios and the writers, which began in March, failed to reach a new contract before the writers’ current deal expired just after midnight, at 12:01 a.m. PST Tuesday. All script writing is to immediately cease, the guild informed its members.
* Politico | My descent into TikTok news hell: But a Pew survey conducted last summer showed that “the share of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has roughly tripled,” from merely 3 percent in 2020 to 10 percent last year. And as Rebecca Jennings pointed out in Vox before the 2022 midterm elections, organizers on both sides of the aisle are laser-focused on using it as a tool to reach voters.
ISP now confirms 6 fatalities & 30 injuries, some life-threatening, in the wake of this morning’s massive, 100+ vehicle pileup on I-55 near Farmersville, south of Springfield. I-55 will remain closed between MP80 & MP63 TFN. More at https://t.co/vhbRxCcLibpic.twitter.com/2UiBlqqKTI
I-55 shut down Monday from milepost 63 to 80 due to a large crash involving more than 20 cars.
Police say they started receiving calls reporting the crash around 10:55 a.m. on Monday. […]
Illinois State Police say the crash involved approximately 20 commercial motor vehicles and 40 to 60 passenger cars.
Police say they have reports of more than 30 people being transported to the hospital and multiple fatalities.
The cause of the crash is excessive winds blowing dirt from fields across the highway, creating zero visibility.
Police say two truck-tractor semi-trailers caught on fire as a result of the crashes.
* ISP press release…
UNIT: ISP Troop 8
LOCATION: Interstate 55 near Milepost 76, north of Farmersville, Montgomery County
DATE and TIME: May 1, 2023 at approximately 10:55 a.m.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Preliminary information indicates the following occurred: ISP Troops 6 and 8 responded to the above area for multiple crashes with injuries. Interstate 55 is currently shut down in both directions from milepost 63 to milepost 80. Visibility in the area is reported to be low due to blowing dust. Traffic is urged to seek alternate routes.
At 10:55 a.m. there was a crash on northbound Interstate 55 at Milepost 76. At the same time, there were numerous crashes on southbound Interstate 55 at Milepost 76. Approximately 20 commercial motor vehicles and 40 to 60 passenger cars were involved. This includes two truck-tractor semi-trailers that caught fire as a result of the crashes.
At this time, we have reports of more than 30 people being transported to the hospital and multiple fatalities. The cause of the crash is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway leading to zero visibility.
This information is still preliminary and the ISP continues to investigate this crash. We will have more information at our next briefing at 4:30 p.m.
…Adding… More from ISP…
Injuries range from minor to life-threatening and ages range from two-years-old to 80-years-old.
Reports show there are six fatalities, all occurring in the northbound lanes. We do not have any additional information on those individuals at this time.
…Adding… Another ISP update…
At this time, 72 vehicles are reported being involved in the crash. A total of 37 people were transported to area hospitals. […]
Reports show there are six fatalities, all occurring in the northbound lanes. At this time, one decedent has been identified as 88-year-old Shirley Harper of Franklin, WI. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office is working diligently to identify the other five individuals and notify their families.
Northbound and southbound lanes remain closed. Once the interstate is cleared of all vehicles, the Illinois Department of Transportation will have to inspect the roadway before it is re-opened.
* Photos and videos from Twitter…
Interstate 55 in southern Sangamon and northern Montgomery counties remains closed in both directions because of numerous crashes caused by a dust storm, which has greatly reduced visibility. (photo via @wics_abc20) pic.twitter.com/rYbWKndJa6
UPDATE | I-55 crash in Montgomery County: Authorities say 30 people were taken to the hospital. Multiple people have died, but they do not have a number. The interstate will be shut down until tomorrow.
Massive pileup on I-55 south of Springfield, Illinois has closed the interstate for nearly 30 miles. Blowing dust off freshly plowed fields led to very low visibility#ilwx 🎥: Nathan Cormier pic.twitter.com/im7QLE8BTp
UPDATED: @ILStatePolice says 20 commercial vehicles and 40-60 passenger vehicles are involved in the pile-up on I-55, where a dust storm has visibility at zero.
The defining experience of Jordan Zamora-Garcia’s high school career – a hands-on group project in civics class that spurred a new city ordinance in his Austin suburb – would now violate Texas law.
Since Texas lawmakers in 2021 passed a ban on lessons teaching that any one group is “inherently racist, sexist or oppressive”, a little-noticed provision of that legislation has triggered a massive fallout for civics education across the state.
Tucked into page 8 is a stipulation outlawing all assignments involving “direct communication” between students and their federal, state or local officials – short-circuiting the training young Texans receive to participate in democracy itself.
Zamora-Garcia’s 2017 project to add student advisers to the city council, and others like it involving research and meetings with elected representatives, would stand in direct violation.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board announced Monday that it will counter-sue Disney after the company filed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Disney filed a lawsuit against DeSantis last Wednesday, alleging the Republican orchestrated a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” against the company that violates Disney’s free speech rights.
Disney is challenging the legality of a new board appointed by DeSantis to govern the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District – where the Walt Disney World resort is located.
“Disney sued us, we have no choice now but to respond,” Martin Garcia, chair of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, said Monday, according to Politico. “The district will seek justice in state court here in central Florida where both it and Disney reside and do business.”
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is suing the state’s ethics watchdog alleging it doesn’t have the authority to seize $5.1 million from a book he wrote about the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court in Albany, argues that the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying In Government is not authorized to take money from his book “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic” because the agency lacks the authority under state laws.
Cuomo’s lawyers wrote in the 46-page complaint that the move to create the new ethics commission last year “blatantly violates the separation of powers because it creates an unaccountable agency exercising quintessentially executive powers.”
“The act at issue here is a poster child for a statute that cuts at the heart of the structural protections inherent in the New York Constitution safeguarding the rights and liberties of the people,” Cuomo’s lawyers wrote. “To our knowledge, the act is unprecedented in that it creates a state entity with sweeping executive law-enforcement powers, including the authority to impose penalties, and yet utterly insulates the agency from any oversight by or accountability to the executive branch.”
Montana state legislator Zooey Zephyr is suing the state, House Speaker Matt Regier and Sergeant at Arms for the Montana House of Representatives Bradley Murfitt after being censured by House Republicans.
“The recent actions violate my 1st amendment rights, as well as the rights of my 11,000 constituents to representation,” Zephyr said in a tweet Monday. “Montana’s State House is the people’s House, not Speaker Regier’s, and I’m determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.”
Zephyr is petitioning for her legislative privileges and duties to be reinstated. […]
Zephyr has since participated remotely in the legislature from the public seating of the state Capitol building.
A Missouri judge on Monday temporarily blocked a first-of-its-kind rule that would restrict access to gender-affirming health care to children and adults, just hours before it was set to take effect.
St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo issued a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s emergency rule until a lawsuit challenging it is resolved.
In her ruling, Ribaudo wrote that those suing to block the ruling from taking effect “will be subjected to immediate and irreparable loss, damage or injury if the Attorney General is permitted to enforce the Emergency Rule, and its broad, sweeping provisions were implemented without further fact-finding or evidence.”
She wrote that patients “are at high risk of having their medical care interrupted for an unknown length of time; once the Rule goes into effect, they may lose access to medical care through their current providers until such time as the provider can come into compliance with the Rule’s requirements.”
The court’s decision was guided, in part, by concern that Bailey’s restrictions could have the effect of “creating confusion” in hospitals and clinics.
“The Rule promulgated by the Attorney General states specifically, ‘This rule does not contain an exhaustive list of the practices that violate the Act,’” the judge wrote in her ruling. “This leaves significant room for interpretation of what would and would not be covered by the Act, creating confusion for those tasked with the enforcement of the Rule and those required to comply.”
The rule would also require the patients’ doctors to sign off on documents stating the patients had no underlying mental health conditions. Transgender patients and medical advocates said the restrictions were written so broadly, they would amount to an effective outright ban on care.
A year after banning nearly all abortion procedures in the state, Oklahoma lawmakers focused very little on the issue this legislative session.
Bills that would clarify exceptions and others seeking to toughen punishments have not advanced this session.
Gov. Kevin Stitt, who pledged to sign every anti-abortion bill that hit his desk, said during a campaign debate last year there should be exceptions for rape and incest. But lawmakers did not send the governor any bill carving out additional exceptions.
“It was a nonissue to the Legislature this year, which proves that it was always a political issue,” said Tamya Cox-Touré, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, which supports abortion rights.
* Some folks who were eligible for Medicaid during the pandemic are no longer eligible because they have jobs again and can get their own insurance. So, judging the success of this effort by raw numbers alone will be difficult. Still, this is a huge test of how well the Pritzker administration can govern…
As the COVID-19 pandemic policy of pausing annual Medicaid renewals for customers comes to an end, the Pritzker administration is committed to protect coverage for eligible Illinois Medicaid customers, as annual eligibility verifications, or redeterminations, resume in Illinois. The first week of May is a critical time, as the first round of customers to go through the resumed renewal process will be receiving time-sensitive redetermination notices in the mail.
In Illinois, there will not be a “coverage cliff,” where everyone loses coverage at one time. Rather, redeterminations will happen on a rolling basis through mid-2024. Everybody’s due date is different, and all Illinois Medicaid customers will have a chance to go through the redetermination process.
“My administration is committed to making this renewal and redetermination process as smooth and efficient as possible, so that every Illinoisan knows the healthcare options that are available to them,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “We’ve been preparing for this moment for many months now, from increasing staffing to our widespread Ready to Renew marketing campaign. And we are collaborating with community health centers, local organizations, and public health partners to deliver resources for Illinois residents that will be most impacted by the restart of the Medicaid redetermination process.” […]
In the month of June, approximately 113,600 cases in Illinois are up for renewal. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), which administers the Illinois Medicaid program, has conducted an ex parte screening on all cases using electronic data sources and known information to determine the customer’s continued eligibility. Thanks to robust preparations and enhanced data connections, HFS was able to automatically renew 51% of Medicaid customers due in June. […]
Customers who do not respond or are no longer eligible lose their Medicaid coverage a month after their due date. Anyone who is no longer eligible for Medicaid coverage will be notified and will receive information about how to enroll in alternative coverage.
* ComEd 4 jury deliberation update from the Tribune…
Shortly after resuming talks Monday, the jury sent a note asking the court to “clarify a possible discrepancy with the use of conjunctions and/or” in the indictment and instructions. It was a nearly identical question sent by the jury in the sexual abuse trial last year of R. Kelly, which was also in front of Leinenweber.
“This is precisely the same issue I had with the Kelly case” the judge said. The problem is the indictment is conjunctive, using the word “and” while describing the probable cause for the various elements of the bribery counts, while the instructions use the word “or.”
The judge said he would respond the same way he did in the Kelly case, which is to follow the instructions.
The Kelly jury later acquitted Kelly and his two co-defendants of the conspiracy counts that contained the confusing language.
Defense attorney Patrick Cotter objected on behalf of all ComEd Four defendants, saying “we believe the instructions constitute an improper amendment of the indictment” that lessens the government’s burden of proof.
Leinenweber overruled the objection, but said, “I don’t blame you at all for raising that point.”
* April numbers were up year over year, but the rest of the year was better. WTTW…
The number of shootings and homicides in Chicago are each down more than 10% through the first four months of 2023 compared to the same time last year, according to police department data.
There have been 166 homicides recorded in the city year-to-date, according to the Chicago Police Department. That’s fewer than the same time periods in both 2022 and 2021, but higher than the 156 homicides recorded through the end of April in 2020. […]
According to CPD data, vehicular hijackings are down more than 25% this year compared to last, while violent crime on the CTA is down 6% year-to-date.
[Cook County state’s attorney’s office’ chief data officer, Matthew Saniie] told the Tribune that prosecutors get digital files from more than 100 municipalities, many of which use wildly different systems. The county maintains one computer that runs Windows 2000 — a technology more than two decades old — because prosecutors still receive files that can only be played on that operating system, he said.
As we saw at the beginning of the pandemic, local public health departments and hospitals were using fax machines to report their data.
* Full video is here. The lack of bollards causes very real dangers…
This intersection cracks me up. Look at the posts Chicago uses to protect a building (Sears Tower) versus the ones to protect pedestrians. pic.twitter.com/Hy8ndBvPdk
While the rate at which murders are solved or “cleared” has been declining for decades, it has now dropped to slightly below 50% in 2020 - a new historic low. And several big cities, including Chicago, have seen the number of murder cases resulting in at least one arrest dip into the low to mid-30% range.
“We saw a sharp drop in the national clearance rate in 2020,” says Prof. Philip Cook, a public policy researcher and professor emeritus at Duke University and the University of Chicago Urban Labs who has been studying clearance rates for decades. “It reached close to 50% at that time nationwide, which was the lowest ever recorded by the FBI. And it hasn’t come up that much since then.”
That makes the U.S. among the worst at solving murders in the industrialized world. Germany, for example, consistently clears well over 90% of its murders.
While reasons behind the drop are multi-faceted, Cook and other experts warn that more people getting away with murder in the the U.S. is driving a kind of doom loop of mutual mistrust: low murder clearance rates impede future investigations which in turn potentially drive up killings in some communities where a lack of arrests undermines deterrence and sends a message that the police will not or cannot protect them.
…Adding… People driving back to Springfield today from points south should check ahead…
A portion of Interstate 55 is shut down in both directions Monday afternoon after a dust storm caused a “large crash” in south-central Illinois.
Illinois State Police said a crash involving multiple vehicles happened about 11:40 a.m. from milepost 62 to 80 in Montgomery County.
The National Weather Service said on Twitter that visibility in the area was poor after a “combination of newly plowed fields and gusty northwest winds” generated a dust storm.
* Sun-Times | Why we’re launching The Democracy Solutions Project: In the runup to the 2024 election, the Sun-Times, WBEZ and the Center for Effective Government at the University of Chicago will be collaborating on a project to educate our audience about the threat to our democracy and how we can form “a more perfect union.”
* Crain’s | Brandon Johnson names John Roberson as city’s incoming COO: Roberson, a former 2004 Crain’s 40 Under 40 honoree, said in press release: “I’ve dedicated my career to public service, and it’s an honor to serve incoming Mayor Johnson in this capacity. I look forward to working closely with Mayor-elect Johnson to identify our goals and policy priorities to achieve our vision for a safer, stronger city that delivers for residents.”
* Crain’s | Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson names more appointees to transition subcommittees: Nearly 400 people — including politicians, activists, civic leaders and businesspeople — are on the lists. Among some of the more notable names that were added to the groups: Alds. Jeanette Taylor, 20th; Byron Sigcho Lopez, 25th; and Matt Martin, 47th; as well as state Rep. Will Guzzardi; Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi; Michael Sacks and Choose Chicago’s Lynn Osmond.
* AP | Midwestern hospitals that denied emergency abortion broke the law, investigation finds: The federal agency’s investigation centers on two hospitals — Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri, and University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas — that in August refused to provide an abortion to a Missouri woman whose water broke early at 17 weeks of pregnancy. Doctors at both hospitals told Mylissa Farmer that her fetus would not survive, that her amniotic fluid had emptied and that she was at risk for serious infection or losing her uterus, but they would not terminate the pregnancy because a fetal heartbeat was still detectable.
* Crain’s | Rivian’s troubles don’t end at a 93% stock price wipeout: The relentless erosion in Rivian Automotive Inc.’s share price is revealing an ugly truth: Investors have little faith left in the ability of the Amazon.com Inc.-backed company to compete in a crowded electric-vehicle market. A market capitalization that exceeded $150 billion days after a blockbuster public trading debut in late 2021 now stands at less than $12 billion after a 93% stock wipeout, reflecting almost no value beyond the company’s cash hoard.
* Sun-Times | Greyhound terminal makes departure plans. Will riders be kicked to the curb?: “What we’re seeing around the country is, these stations close … and in numerous cases [bus service is] ending up occurring on the curb,” said DePaul University professor Joe Schwieterman, director of DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development. But a city with two major airports, and Union Station west of the Loop for Amtrak travelers, must have a facility for the 500,000 people who arrive here yearly by intercity bus.
* WICS | Gas prices down in Illinois according to GasBuddy: According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Illinois was priced at $3.33/g yesterday while the most expensive was $4.99/g, a difference of $1.66/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $3.33/g while the highest was $4.99/g, a difference of $1.66/g.
* Crain’s | Return-to-office numbers haven’t been this high since before the pandemic: More Chicago workers are back in the office now than at any time since pandemic lockdowns turned downtown into a ghost town. That’s according to data from real estate technology firm Kastle Systems, which analyzes building security card swipes and compares current figures to early 2020.
* Mashable | WordPress drops Twitter social sharing due to API price hike: According to a statement released by WordPress, the platform is removing Twitter from JetPack, an official plugin run by WordPress and its parent company, Automattic. Among its many security and marketing offerings, JetPack Social provides users with the ability to automatically share content directly to an array of social media platforms from their WordPress sites.
* Salon | Political “polarization” isn’t the real problem in America: One pole is a lot worse than the other: This unspoken anti-political and even anti-democratic bias is addressed in a new paper from Daniel Kreiss and Shannon McGregor, both at the University of North Carolina. They argue that the focus on polarization as such, while ignoring the actual content of politics that produces polarization, is fundamentally mistaken: “As a concept, polarization does not provide a normative or even conceptual way of distinguishing between White supremacists and racial justice activists, despite their asymmetrical relationship to liberal democracy.”
* Robert Reiter and Tim Drea | The heart of labor is beating strong in Chicago and Illinois: On Monday we celebrate May Day, also known as International Workers Day, a holiday forged by the Haymarket Affair that took place right here in Chicago in 1886. May Day is a moment to reflect on the vital role that the labor movement in Chicago and Illinois have played — and continue to play — in the battle for economic and social justice.
Monday, May 1, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Support Renewable Energy Credits for Illinois’ public universities to help offset the cost of solar power on campus, help fight climate change and create good-paying union jobs.
Another Pontiac problem is the number of incarcerated people designated as seriously mentally ill: 26%, according to state data.
Rob Jeffreys, who just stepped down after nearly four years as director of the department of corrections, acknowledges the state has been hit with two lawsuits leading to a consent decree over its physical and mental health care programs.
“Corrections has become default for mental health,” Jeffreys told WTTW News. “Unfortunately, we have 42 to 43% of our population is on some type of mental health caseload. Of that 43%, about 14% are essentially mentally ill diagnosed. And that only increases when we start talking about the female population. I think 70% of our female population is on a mental health caseload.”
But Jeffreys claims the state has been working to address the issues.
Jeffreys says IDOC has partnered with the Department of Human Services on both policies and accreditation to open a treatment center at Joliet, where DHS will operate mental health programming.
“We have to provide programming, out-of-cell time, and to be able to do that we need to be able to consolidate our resources,” he said. “I think Pontiac serves as one of our mental health facilities along with Dixon which has a mental health treatment unit.
Jeffreys said the agency is in the process of hiring a new mental health provider.
The rising Mississippi River tested flood defenses in southeast Iowa and northwest Illinois as it neared forecast crests in the area Monday, driven by a spring surge of water from melting snow. […]
The river is expected to crest at around 21.6 feet (6.6 meters) on Monday in the Quad-Cities area, where several neighboring cities sit along the Iowa-Illinois line. Some roads and parks near the river are closed. The record at that spot is 22.7 feet (6.9 meters).
Once the river crests in an area, it may take up to two weeks for the floodwaters to fully recede.
The flooding is expected to ease as the spring surge of water from melting snow works its way further down the 2,300-mile (3,700-kilometer) length of the river on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the tributaries in Iowa, Illinois and other Midwest states are running lower than usual, so they won’t exacerbate the flooding by dumping large amounts of water into the river.
Cleanup efforts are underway after a train derailed Thursday afternoon in southwest Wisconsin, sending two cars tumbling into the Mississippi River.
Officials said the derailment occurred about 12:15 p.m. near the villages of Ferryville and De Soto in Crawford County, about 30 miles south of La Crosse. Four members of the train crew were transported to the hospital for medical evaluation.
On Friday morning, Gov. Tony Evers tweeted that he was on his way to De Soto to survey the site and speak with emergency personnel.
A spokesperson for the railroad company, BNSF Railway, said the two cars that floated downriver contained non-hazardous “freight of all kinds.” Some of the cars that crashed and remained on land contained paint and lithium-ion batteries.
* Be safe out there…
Correspondent McNeil reporting from the Mississippi River shoreline. We won’t hit 1993 or 1965 flood levels, but this one packs a punch. pic.twitter.com/oKFDuxVMhe
The power of Mississippi River flood waters rolling by our window in the reflected sun. River velocity seems higher. You can see the inundated trees on the Illinois side. #IaPolitics#Burlingtonpic.twitter.com/br89fikgjc
Closer to St. Louis the Mississippi is forecast to hit moderate flood stage of 22 feet in the Quincy area midweek. It isn’t cause for major concern, said John Simon, the emergency management director for Adams County.
“There’s going to be some roads that start to get flooded,” he said. “No major thoroughfares until we hit about 23 feet. Where we’re at is really in that monitoring phase.”
Simon said some lower-lying park and open land areas will see some flooding too. The county’s actions to respond to flooding mainly center around when the river hits the major flood stage at 26 feet, he added.
Additional rainfall in the coming days and weeks could make the river’s level rise or mean higher levels last longer, Simon said.
For decades, Davenport city councils have opposed controversial plans to build a floodwall or levee, citing costs and such a structure impeding access to or views of the river. Instead, the city has opted to rely on a system of temporary sand-filled barriers and pumps, allowing riverfront parks to hold floodwaters, and buying up or tearing down property in flood-prone areas. […]
“When people do talk to me straight up with that, this is what I tell them: How do you want us to do this? Where would you like us to get the money?” [Davenport Mayor Mike Matson] said.
An estimate in 2014 put construction of a flood wall at $174 million, but Matson said more recent estimates would be much higher, more than half a billion dollars.
Instead, the city is just starting to implement a 2021-approved plan that starts underground in the storm sewers and would eventually raise parts of River Drive to protect the city up to river stage 22 feet without temporary barriers.
* Crest forecast…
Here is the latest forecast crest information for the Mississippi River. The river will be cresting from Fulton to Muscatine today and tonight. Be careful walking near riverbanks and don't drive around barricades or into flooded areas.
Savanna is doubling down its preparation just days from seeing waters approach downtown.
“They’ve built approximately 850 feet of wall in the past 48 hours,” Carroll County Emergency Management Jim Klienefter said.
More than a dozen inmates from prisons in East Moline and Kewanee pitched in to help build roughly 45,000 sandbags.
“The plans have really worked out well over the last 72 hours,” Klienefter said.
* Congressman Sorensen…
The flood walls are holding firm against the Mighty Mississippi in Rock Island, Illinois today. Thinking of everyone affected by flooding right now. #IL17pic.twitter.com/umLYepGMyG
In North Buena Vista, the neighborhood across the railroad tracks from the Mississippi River is several feet underwater, but at least a few area residents are still living in their flooded homes. […]
Scott Blum and Heath Davis are among those who have adapted to living in a semi-aquatic community. […]
“When the river comes up like this, it leaves a lot of mud, silt, you know what I mean, ‘cause it just sits out there,” Davis said. “And so I’m sure we’re going to have to scrape and clean and new rock on everything.” […]
“It’s kind of fun,” Blum said. “Before I lived by the river, and now I live in it.”
* Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week on the flooding…
The Army Corps has closed 18 locks and dams from the Twin Cities to Illinois because of high water levels, halting barge traffic during the river’s busy spring shipping season.
Some of them, like Lock and Dam 4 in Alma, closed because the water has overtopped the lock chamber where boats typically pass through, Moes said. Others closed because the rushing current was pushing barges too close to the dam.
“I’ve been here 13 years and I’ve never experienced the amount of closures we’re dealing with this year,” Moes said. “It’s truly a historic flood.”
A few may open again April 29, but that will ultimately depend on the flood conditions, he said.
So far, locks 1-10 are closed but expect to all be open by May 4. Locks 11 through 18 are closed with no opening dates forecast yet. The Mississippi River at Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois, (lock 15) is nearing record flood stage of 22.7 feet, but the crest is expected to be at 21.6 feet on May 2. However, the river there will be in major flood stage at least through May 8.
One bill worth watching that you haven’t heard much about: Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s request to convert the state’s Affordable Care Act — aka “Obamacare” — insurance exchange from federal to state control. That would allow the state to, for instance, guarantee coverage for abortion and birth control if the White House were to flip back to Republicans.
If you click the link, keep in mind that session is scheduled to end two weeks from Friday, not one week.
Uber is out with a six-figure radio ad buy that opposes a state House bill that sponsors say would hold rideshare companies accountable for the safety of passengers. Uber opposes the bill, saying it’s more about ending “frivolous lawsuits,” which would make rideshare “more expensive for everyone,” according to the ad.
* Press release…
A new proposal from Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and State Representative La Shawn Ford (8th District – Chicago) would no longer make it illegal for motorists to have items hanging from their rearview mirror, which often serve as a pretext for traffic stops.
Under House Bill 2389, law enforcement would no longer have the authority to stop a motorist for simply hanging items like air fresheners, rosaries or disability placards from their rearview mirror while driving. This legislative effort – which passed the Illinois House on March 24 and is awaiting an expected floor vote in the Senate – follows through on a campaign promise Giannoulias made in 2021.
Current Illinois law prohibits such items from hanging from a rearview mirror, or affixed to a windshield, on the grounds that they obstruct a motorist’s vision. Such unnecessary encounters over minor vehicle code offenses can lead to violent confrontations between police and motorists. Additionally, this arcane law can serve as a pretext for racially motivated traffic stops for minor infractions.
“Pulling someone over for merely having an air freshener attached to the rearview mirror is not only archaic, it’s ridiculous,” Giannoulias said. “Amending the law by prohibiting traffic stops that encourage discriminatory practices will ultimately make our streets safer for both motorists and police officers.” […]
House Bill 2389, which is sponsored in the Senate by State Senator Christopher Belt (57th District – East St. Louis), passed the Senate Transportation Committee 17-1 on April 19, sending it to the full Senate for consideration. If the bill passes the full Senate, it will advance to the governor’s office.
* HB3601 is still in the House Rules Committee and never even received a committee vote. But, here’s WGEM…
Illinois Bill, HB 3601, looks to provide schools the information, tools, spare parts, software, and other means to extend the life of classroom devices.
The Quincy Public School District’s IT Director, Dan Ware said Chromebooks are cheaper to use and buy compared to other laptops. He said it’s also easier for both students, and teachers to use for learning purposes.
However after a certain amount of years, he said Google will no longer support certain Chromebook models which can cost $400 to replace, depending on the model. […]
Ware said their Chromebooks will expire in 2030. He said while it’s possible to put new software on the Chromebooks, it can be tricky to find and would be more expensive than buying a new one. As for parts, it can also be tricky depending on the type. He said keyboards are the most common part they have to replace, which can range up to $15, depending on the condition of it. For other parts, it can vary on prices, and availability. But the bill could make it easier for them.
A push in the Capitol would require animal shelters and animal control facilities to waive adoption fees for veterans. […]
The bill passed unanimously out of the House and is waiting further action in the Senate.
“This gives our vets who have sacrificed so much, just an opportunity to have that extra support, that extra comfort, that camaraderie, that friendship that we have with our animals, with our pets that become part of the family,” State Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood), the bill’s sponsor in the Senate, said. […]
Some shelters like the Animal Protective League (APL) in Springfield work with veterans on a case-by-case basis and have, in some instances, waived or discounted the fees.
An Illinois bill that would establish guardrails on income-share agreements, a controversial method of financing a college education, has stalled in a Senate committee.
Income-share agreements, or ISAs, allow college graduates to pay back their tuition and fees through a monthly portion of their salaries over a set time frame with little to no initial costs. However, ISA critics argue these deals are often difficult to parse, potentially saddle students with greater debt, and have minimal government oversight.
Illinois’ draft legislation would allow ISA providers to take up to a 20% cut of graduates’ income until their tuition is repaid. Providers would also need to ensure graduates wouldn’t pay an effective annual percentage rate greater than 36%.
* Maybe there should be a bill to stop these online newspaper subscription scams…
Change the state where you live in your account to California and it will let you cancel
Q: You pushed back on [Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson’s] financial transaction tax, but he’s also looking for state help with the possible real estate transfer tax, changes to the school funding formula. Any negotiation room on those plans?
Pritzker: Well, it’s not something that, obviously, as governor, I’m not the one in the General Assembly, in the committees that are talking about this. But I do not think we’re going to see a lot of movement on the tax front.
But I do think that there are a lot of things that we’re doing at the state level that will be very, very helpful to the new mayor, to the city of Chicago. Always we’ve focused on providing the resources necessary to fight crime, to make sure that they’ve got violence interruption programs that are well funded. We’re providing literally tens of millions more dollars than ever before, each year to help do that. We’ve got to address that issue. That’s certainly one of the top ones and the mayor talks about that as well. And then of course, education funding. We’re increasing education funding, that will help CPS. So there’s a lot that’s coming to the city and we’re going to be as helpful as we can.
Look as Chicago goes, as you know, so goes the economy of the entire state. We need to make sure we’re supporting businesses across the state and job creation and people and working families. But it turns out, as you know, that the majority of the economy of our entire state is in the Chicago area. And so the mayor of Chicago and I and the legislature all need to work together to make sure we’re growing our GDP.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
Thoughts?
…Adding… Yep…
Honestly not looking forward to the most ardent supporter backlash when every mayoral campaign promise can't be funded everywhere all at once.
Passing new revenue source bills is hard. Even harder when same body gave City a new casino four years ago that's still not open. https://t.co/iVhYEx5hCo
Not to mention the many years that the city refused to allow video gaming and instead allowed gray market sweepstakes machines to establish themselves, even though the machines don’t produce a thin dime of city revenue.
* The governor, via the Democratic Party of Illinois, supported two candidates for Hinsdale Township High School 86’s board. Only one prevailed, and now the folks who took over the board are up in arms about an upcoming Pritzker visit. Here’s David Giuliani at the Patch…
A Hinsdale High School District 86 board member is asking the district to cancel the half-hour assembly at Hinsdale Central High School with Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker as the speaker.
In a text to Patch, Board member Jeff Waters said that as a resident, he was “beyond disappointed” that Pritzker had been invited.
“It is inappropriate, completely lacking in precedence, and fails to serve the interest of students,” Waters said. “At the same time, it drives chaos and distraction to a student body needing nothing but calm and concentration.” […]
On Wednesday, the terms for Held and members Kathleen Hirsman and Cynthia Hanson end. Three new board members take office that night, with the new majority expected to be at odds with Superintendent Tammy Prentiss.
At Thursday’s board meeting, incoming member Catherine Greenspon said the assembly runs the risk of violating the school code. She also said it could be a logistics issue, with up to 40 percent of students who don’t agree with the governor opting out.
With Waters and Greenspon opposed, they would need just two more votes to cancel the assembly. In his statement, Waters suggested the board take action to end the event.
*** UPDATE *** From Jordan Abudayyeh…
We declined the invitation because it’s during the last week of session.
So, apparently the school district got ahead of itself when it announced the visit before confirming the governor’s attendance. And now everyone is angry over nothing.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is creating a “humanitarian crisis” as his state prepares to resume bussing migrants to Chicago — when the city already doesn’t have room for them.
Lightfoot sent a letter Sunday to Abbott, saying Chicago officials learned he will resume bussing migrants Monday and calling it a “inhumane and dangerous action” as the city has already reached a “critical tipping point” in its ability to help people. […]
Lightfoot said Abbott is attempting to “cause chaos and score political points” by bussing people to Democrat-led cities in protest of federal immigration policies.
The mayor called upon the federal government to freeze all emergency funding to Texas if it resumes buses to Chicago.
“We simply have no more shelters, spaces or resources to accommodate an increase of individuals at this level, with little coordination or care, that does not pose a risk to them or others,” Lightfoot said in the letter. “To tell them to go to Chicago or to inhumanely bus them here is an inviable and misleading choice.”
It is inhumane. But you can’t on the one hand hold your city (and state) out as a welcoming place for immigrants and on the other hand say “We didn’t mean that many all of a sudden!”
They’re just gonna have to deal with it somehow.
* During the mayoral campaign, Chicago police were sent to O’Hare to sweep out homeless people. But then came last week…
About 40 migrants, mostly young women and children, wrapped themselves in blankets and tried to sleep Wednesday morning outside a homelessness center inside O’Hare Airport.
The Venezuelan migrants said they crossed the border into Texas and were offered free flights to Chicago while staying at a shelter in San Antonio. They’re just dozens of the thousands of migrants sent here from Texas since last summer. […]
Upon arriving at O’Hare, the migrants were first directed to Haymarket Center’s O’Hare homelessness outreach program, a nonprofit with an office by the airport’s Blue Line. A Haymarket spokesperson said in recent days they’ve been dealing with a “unique and developing situation,” are unprepared to handle asylum seekers and “doing what they can” to connect them to appropriate social service groups.
The Haymarket Center helps folks deal with substance abuse issues. The group is simply not equipped for this particular task. And it’s taking their staff away from the invaluable services they provide to some of the city’s most vulnerable people.
There has been a tenfold increase over the past 10 days in daily arrivals of migrants, said Brandie Knazze, commissioner of the Department of Family and Support Services. Migrants — often families with children — are now sheltering in police station lobbies across the city. […]
The city has established 20 shelters since the 108 buses were sent from Texas, Doughtie said. Twelve of them have closed, leaving just eight, he said. […]
But none of this work can be done without appropriate funds at the state and federal levels, said Chicago budget director Susie Park. The total anticipated cost for January through June is $124.8 million, which includes planning for the current surge to reach a peak of 4,700 new arrivals per day, Park said.
Leveraging state and city funding and anticipated funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency still leaves a shortfall of about $53 million to meet needs through June 30 alone, she said.
* Yet, when politicians want the federal government to pay for security at and around their quadrennial party conventions, they act fast to protect the host cities from fiscal pressures…
The city of Chicago is obliged to provide “at no cost” to the Democratic National Convention Committee “police, fire, security, bomb disposal, emergency and rescue service and all other goods or services related to security” according to the contract, obtained by the Sun-Times. […]
The Democratic and Republican presidential conventions are each routinely designated as a National Special Security Event. That opens the door to substantial federal funding. Presidential inaugurations have the same designation, as did the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago.
Since 2004, host cities receive $50 million in federal funds to help pay security costs. Congress is being asked to boost this to $75 million each for Chicago and Milwaukee.
Quigley, D-Ill., is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Illinois lead in asking Congress for more cash. In a letter to House and Senate appropriations leaders, he wrote that “the City of Chicago anticipates the current federal funding of $50 million will not be adequate” for the 2024 convention, “due to inflation, potential supply chain issues, increased public safety personnel and equipment needs and increased insurance costs because of potential security threats.” […]
The contract outlines some of the special security needs: for police escorts to deliver credentials to state delegations and media at their hotels and lots of extra security at convention hotels and convention offices and all kinds of screening equipment for weapons and bombs at convention venues.
They’re gonna use cops to deliver delegate credentials? Are you freaking kidding me?
The city will expedite all permits and other permissions needed to build out the convention
Chicago is notorious for over-permitting. One can’t help but wonder if that’s a problem with the migrant housing situation as well.
* Like the convention, the city and state simply cannot afford to handle this migrant influx on their own (and, for that matter, neither can Texas). US Rep. Quigley and others need to put at least the same effort into dealing with this problem as they are to ensure delegates’ credentials arrive safely at their heavily guarded hotels.
*** UPDATE *** Gov. Pritzker was asked about this today. A couple of his responses…
Just to be clear with everybody, we’ve already provided about 150 million of state dollars and services to serve those asylum seekers that are coming to Illinois. That’s since August and continues on today. In January, we passed an additional supplemental appropriation that included money for the city of Chicago and for other agencies, about $90 million, again, to make sure that we were providing the services necessary. […]
But it is true, and the current mayor said it, that our resources are stretched. And we’ve gone to the federal government. I’ve spoken directly with the President, with the chief of staff, with the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and others, and they are helping to push the money from FEMA out the door to states, but it isn’t enough. […]
We believe, we hope, we’ve heard that perhaps we’re going to receive some of that [federal] money this week, or next week. And we’re hopeful of that, but who knows. Meanwhile, my job is to balance the budget of the state of Illinois and take care of the people that are here in our state, all of our residents.
On Tuesday, the Danville City Council is scheduled to vote on the ordinance, which is titled “requiring compliance with federal abortion laws.” It’s unclear how the local ordinance, which directly conflicts with Illinois law, could be legally enforced in this rural city of about 30,000 people located roughly three hours south of downtown Chicago.
Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. said the proposed ordinance invokes the Comstock Act, an 1873 federal law that barred the mailing of contraception, “lewd” writing and every “article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion.”
The 19th Century law has been largely considered moot for nearly 50 years, while the 1973 landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade guaranteed the right to an abortion nationwide. But the Comstock Act has been in the spotlight since the high court overturned Roe in June, leaving the matter of abortion rights to be decided by individual states.
“The difficulty here in my opinion is we have state laws and statutes that contradict federal law, specifically the Comstock Act,” Williams said. “We made an oath to uphold the laws of the state of Illinois and the United States, so what do we … do when they contradict one another?”
* The ACLU Illinois argues the Comstock Act is not applicable in Illinois…
The ordinance references the federal Comstock Act, which is a century-and-a-half old federal law that purports to prohibit the sending of abortion-inducing drugs and supplies by mail or common carrier. The ordinance’s attempted reliance on this law is misplaced and misguided.
As the federal Department of Justice has explained, there is over a century of judicial, congressional, and administrative understanding that the Comstock Act’s reach is “narrower than a literal reading might suggest.” Application of the Comstock Act to the Mailing of Prescription Drugs That Can Be Used for Abortions, 46. Op. O.L.C. __ (Dec. 23, 2022) at 5. The Comstock Act does not apply where the sender did not intend the materials to be used unlawfully. Id. at 1, 5-11. It is thus impossible for the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs or supplies to violate the Comstock Act in Illinois as abortion care is lawful and affirmatively protected by law throughout the state.
Furthermore, regardless of the meaning or scope of the Comstock Act, this ordinance exceeds Danville’s authority under state law and is preempted by the RHA
“Proposing an unenforceable ordinance is a political maneuver that causes confusion and that harms people seeking care,” Chaundre White, a lawyer with the ACLU of Illinois, said.
Abortion rights advocates are organizing a protest at the Danville City Council meeting on Tuesday where the council could vote on the ordinance. […]
Many residents said they supported the measure because they want to prevent a proposed abortion clinic from opening in Danville.
“It’s not like the passage of this ordinance prevents women from choosing to pursue their rights in very near locations, unfortunately,” said Josh Hayes, a speaker at the meeting. “But I think it’s an opportunity for us to say this is against federal law and not in our community.”
* WCIA reported on last week’s City Council committee meeting…
Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. explained that anyone shipping or receiving abortion pills or abortion-related supplies would be subject to fines of $1,500 per offense. There was discussion over an abortion clinic that may open up in Danville soon. Williams acknowledged that while he doesn’t think the ordinance would stop the clinic from opening, he said it could provide a means by which they couldn’t perform abortions.
Alderman Tricia Teague noted internal counsel estimates that if litigation was brought against the city, it could cost up to $1 million to defend, or more if it goes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. […]
Ultimately, the committee voted 3-1 to recommend the ordinance be considered by the full City Council – the first step toward an outcome many who described themselves as pro-life during public comment are hoping for. That same group of speakers called providing abortions a “grisly business” that doesn’t belong in their city, while the other side says it’s necessary health care – telling the government to stay out of the doctor’s office.
Also during the meeting, Williams mentioned receiving a letter from a lawyer who offered to represent the city if it is met with litigation over the proposed ordinance. WCIA reached out to attorney Anthony Mitchell, who said via email: “Yes, I have offered to represent the city at no charge to the city or its taxpayers in any litigation arising out of the ordinance.”
You can read the full language of the ordinance here, beginning on page 123.
The full vote will happen during the Danville City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 2nd, at 6 p.m., at 17 W Main Street, in case you’d like to voice opposition to this action.
It should be noted that Danville currently has a crisis pregnancy center, the Women’s Care Clinic, with a website brimming with misleading information about abortion.
C) Except as provided by subsection (D), it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in conduct that aids or abets the violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1461 or 18 U.S.C. § 1462 described in subsection (A).
(D) This section shall not apply to any conduct taken by a hospital, or by any employees, agents, or contractors of a hospital, that is necessary to ensure that a licensed physician is prepared to perform an abortion in response to a medical emergency.
(E) No provision of this section may be construed to prohibit any conduct protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as made applicable to state and local governments through the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, or by article 1, section 4 of the Illinois Constitution.
(F) Under no circumstance may the mother of the unborn child that has been aborted, or the pregnant woman who seeks to abort her unborn child, be subject to prosecution or penalty under this section.
(G) Any person found guilty of violating any provision of this section shall be fined $1,500 for each offense. In addition to any fine imposed under this chapter, the offender shall be ordered to pay all of the costs and fees incurred by the City in prosecuting the violation, which shall include but not be limited to the costs associated with an administrative adjudication proceeding or court proceeding, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
*** UPDATE *** AG Raoul…
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued the following statement after sending a letter to the mayor of Danville, Illinois regarding a proposed city ordinance that, if enacted, would violate state law.
“Today, I sent a letter to the mayor of Danville urging the city to reject a proposed ordinance that would violate the Illinois Reproductive Health Act by purporting to ban or severely limit access to abortion care in the city of Danville.
“The Reproductive Health Act enshrines the fundamental rights of individuals to make autonomous decisions about their reproductive health. The act clearly states that units of local government cannot limit abortion rights, and Danville has no authority under Illinois law to enact a municipal abortion ban.
“The ordinance proposed in Danville violates state law. I am calling upon the city’s elected officials to refrain from passing or attempting to enforce this unlawful ordinance and avoid exposing the city and taxpayers to unnecessary and potentially costly legal liability.
“Illinois law could not be clearer. Our state is a proud safe haven for access to reproductive health care that respects bodily autonomy and fundamental rights. I will continue to stand up for the rights of everyone in Illinois to access reproductive health care, and my office stands ready to take appropriate action to uphold Illinois law.”
* More…
* Scientific American | This 19th-Century Obscenity Law Is Still Restricting People’s Reproductive Rights: The law forbids the sending of obscene materials through the mail. Comstock was enforcing the law by ordering thousands of items through the mail, from contraceptives and sex toys to erotic images and abortifacients [substances that end a pregnancy]. Then, after receiving the items, he would prosecute the people sending them. He was targeting people who were known to be selling the raw material but also, more importantly, people who were selling any kind of information that was education-related, not obscene—literally things like “Here’s how to make a baby” and also information about birth control and abortion.
* WBBM | ACLU could sue city of Danville over abortion clinic ordinance: “You won’t know until the finality, which could go beyond potentially to the Supreme Court level,” said Alderman Ethan Burt. “My response to that would be are we willing to donate a million dollars to find out? Is it worth a million dollars to find out?” Alderwoman Tricia Teague asked.
* Fox Illinois | Danville committee recommends ordinance restricting abortion to city council :“Illinois law is very clear that Danville does not have the authority to do this. In 2019, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Illinois Reproductive Health Act, which ensures that abortion remains legal in the state of Illinois, that law applies to municipalities like Danville,” explained Ameri Klafeta, director of Women’s and Reproductive Rights Project with ACLU Illinois.
According to testimony at the federal ComEd Four trial, then-House Speaker Mike Madigan’s former 13th Ward Ald. Frank Olivo was brought on as a subcontractor under then- ComEd Chairman and CEO Frank Clark.
Clark retired in September 2011, almost a dozen years ago. He has never been charged nor has it ever been claimed he did anything illegal. And Olivo didn’t officially register as a lobbyist until the beginning of 2012, according to a 2019 report by NBC Chicago.
Olivo was put on ComEd lobbyist Jay Doherty’s payroll as a subcontractor, according to a secretly recorded video of a conversation Doherty had with ComEd’s top in-house lobbyist at the time, Fidel Marquez. Doherty explained that John Hooker, ComEd’s former top in-house lobbyist, was the person who carried the news to him.
It didn’t stop there, of course. The alleged ComEd scheme was drastically expanded and even perfected under Clark’s successor, ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, who appeared to express surprise when she was told by Marquez how, long ago, Olivo had been hired and by whom. “Oh my God,” she said on a secret government recording when told the news.
Pramaggiore, Doherty, Hooker and former statehouse lobbyist Mike McClain are now all on trial for allegedly carrying out a massive scheme to bribe Mike Madigan.
Give Madigan an inch, and he would always try to take a mile. But this sort of thing often happens with big bureaucracies, private and public. Assign a bureaucracy a task, and it’ll tend to stay on that path, sometimes to a ridiculously absurd conclusion — although rarely does that conclusion wind up with a federal criminal trial, as it has here.
Putting Olivo on the payroll eventually led to a level of absurdity that surpassed anything seen before or since, even if there are legitimate arguments the behavior was not criminal.
Needless to say, this is not how it was all supposed to end when Olivo was awarded a $4,000-a-month Doherty subcontract a dozen years ago.
But there’s an aspect to this lobbying topic that isn’t really being addressed at the ComEd Four trial.
Over the decades, Madigan built a giant “farm system” that became the backbone of his political and statehouse organization. Young people either started out on campaigns before they were put on Madigan’s issues staff or were subsequently sent out to work on campaigns after joining the staff.
The most favored were moved up to the top of the in-house food chain, and the most favored of them were eventually sent forth into the lobbying world, where they could make very good money and continue overseeing campaigns, training the young people hired for the next cycle.
Every other legislative leader had a similar operation, although none were nearly as extensive as Madigan’s far-flung operation. Madigan, as was his habit, “perfected” it to the point where companies and other special interests believed they had to hire his people as contract or in-house lobbyists or their bills wouldn’t advance.
A buddy of mine recently recalled a conversation with a former legislative leader who only half-jokingly predicted a certain bill wasn’t going anywhere because the proponents hadn’t yet hired enough Madigan people to work the legislation.
None of the current legislative leaders have been around long enough yet to set up anything like that. Senate President Don Harmon is the most senior leader, but he’s had the job a little over three years. House Speaker Chris Welch has led his chamber for a bit more than two years, and the two Republican leaders just started in January.
The ComEd Four trial should put a damper on such things going forward. Madigan and the other leaders branded this practice as building “goodwill,” and the accused have used that in their defense. Those who wanted something done did favors for people close to the leaders to grease the skids, and what could possibly be so horrible about that was the feeling.
But doing such things now could well be seen as attempted bribery by the feds.
To be clear, many of the lobbyists themselves are not the issue here. They participated in a tradition that started long before they came to the legislature. And none of them were charged by the feds in this case, after all.
But now the statehouse leaders need to figure out where to go from here.
* Daily Herald | Kane County explores going big on lobbying: Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog recently told county board members she believes a combination of state money, remaining COVID-19 relief money and cash contributions from neighboring counties will pay off the bond the county issued to pay for Longmeadow’s construction. But that’s only if $12.5 million for Longmeadow stays in the proposed state budget through the final vote.
* Tribune | Muslim trustee from DuPage Township faces racist comments during public meeting: “He said something like, ‘You can just go back to eating your lunch,’ because I broke my fast during the meeting,” Townsend, 36, told the Tribune. “So, basically, he was mocking me for practicing my religion. In that moment I heard it, so I stood up and said to him, ‘Excuse me, I’m fasting for Ramadan. We eat this late, and I am going to sit here and eat my food.’”
* AP | Mississippi River waters keep rising in Iowa and Illinois: The National Weather Service said many of the crests across the region this season will rank in the top 10 of all time, but will remain well below the records set in past floods. Officials in many cities along the river are optimistic they’ll be able to either keep the floodwaters at bay through a combination of floodwalls and sandbags or contain it to low-lying park areas. But some homes close to the river have been damaged.
* AP | Fed failed to act forcefully to head off Silicon Valley Bank collapse and crisis: Fed report: The Fed was highly critical of its own role in the bank’s failure in a report released Friday. The report, compiled by Michael Barr, the Fed’s chief regulator, says banking supervisors were slow to recognize blossoming problems at Silicon Valley Bank as it quickly grew in size in the years leading up to its collapse. The report also points out underlying cultural issues at the Fed, where supervisors were unwilling to be hard on bank management when they saw growing problems.
Remember the old joke about going to a boxing match and having a hockey game break out? Well, something like that happened last weekend in Springfield.
Marcus Lucas invited people to his house for a cookout. I know, stop the presses, right? But …
A couple of hours into the party, Marcus disappeared. He came back wearing a white suit. His girlfriend, Jackie Price, had changed from her Dallas Cowboy jersey into a white dress.
Oh, yeah, something was up. People went to a barbecue and a wedding broke out.
“It was the first ‘pop-up wedding’ I’ve ever seen,” Rich Miller, the Capitol Fax guru who was there, wrote via e-mail, “and so incredibly romantic. People have been wondering for years when the two would get married. But instead of eloping to Vegas or having an elaborate ceremony, they kept it low-key and so very personal by just throwing a little party and treating everyone to an incredibly happy surprise. Unlike a lot of weddings I’ve attended, I’ll never forget this one.” […]
“We usually have a big cookout every year,” says Marcus. “Jackie was joking, saying, ‘I’m sure for the next one we’ll have a packed house.’ They’ll be waiting for something to happen.”
It was so much fun and the food was outstanding. I never will forget it, and neither will anyone else who was privileged to be there…
Sadly, Marcus passed away this week. I’d like to extend my deepest condolences to his family and friends. He was such a good man.
* The late, great Harry Belafonte will play us out…
This is not migration data – it’s data for where people file taxes compared to prior filing periods – its scope is limited and there are a lot of caveats. The census report is the standard for determining domestic migration.
The IRS calls it “migration data.” But the governor’s office referred me to these points in the IRS data user guide…
The address shown on the tax return is a mailing address that may not reflect the taxpayer’s actual residence. […]
Data do not represent the full U.S. population because many individuals are not required to file an individual income tax return.
Lead poisoning from consuming contaminated water can cause irreversible brain damage in children. But too many Illinois childcare facilities have old lead pipes carrying water into their buildings.
Ask Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly to dedicate $104.3 million in the FY2024 budget to eliminate lead water pipes from licensed childcare facilities.
* Press release…
Supportive Housing Providers Association (SHPA) Executive Director David Esposito testified before the Senate Health & Human Services Appropriations Hearing Wednesday night. SHPA and its partner organizations are requesting a funding Increase for Supportive Housing Program Services Supports to be included as part of the FY24 budget. SHPA continues to be grateful for the commitment to funding for supportive housing services by the Illinois General Assembly in the FY23 budget, however, the need to respond to the social and economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues. “Everyone needs and deserves safe, decent, stable housing. For some of the most vulnerable people in Illinois — people with mental illness, chronic health conditions, histories of trauma, and other struggles — a home helps them to get adequate treatment and start on the path toward self-sufficiency. But some conditions make it difficult for people to maintain a stable home without additional help. Supportive housing, a highly effective and proven strategy that combines affordable housing with intensive coordinated services, can provide that needed assistance.,” said Mr. Esposito, he went on to say, “The issues of affordable housing and homelessness have been made even more urgent by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, when it comes to homelessness, this is a challenge not just happening in Illinois, but across the nation, and it has deep and immediate impacts on the lives of all it touches,”
Supportive housing providers are experiencing the largest workforce crisis in decades, program cost increases and are struggling to meet increased demand for services from individuals who, but for the support of providers such as the those that are SHPA members, would be homeless or institutionalized, and facing steep barriers to housing, health and behavioral healthcare, and human services. Instead, they’d rely on hospital emergency rooms, jails, and prisons to meet their immediate needs.
· 10,431 Illinoisians are Homeless Tonight- 47.5% have a disabling condition- 20% are experiencing chronic homelessness.
· Illinois had the 5th highest increase in the rate of chronic homelessness in the nation.
· 17,684 Supportive Housing beds are currently dedicated to Illinoisians who have experienced homelessness or unnecessary institutionalization
· 40,749 Additional Illinoisians need Supportive Housing now-
· 8 times higher for Black/African Americans households to experience homelessness in Illinois.
SHPA is requesting the General Assembly to appropriate a total $57,095,130 (increase $14.5 million) to supportive housing services in the FY24 state budget (breakdown as follows): General Revenue:
· $ 28,060,180 Supportive housing MI Housing (IDHS-Division of Mental Health)
o $ 2,271,380 increase for 10% cost of living increase for all current homeless and supportive housing grantees to offset increased program related costs.
o $ 3,075,000 increase to support services to 308 new unit development between 2022 & 2023.
· $ 25,314,200 to Supportive Housing Services (IDHS-Bureau of Homeless Services)
o $ 1,649,010 increase a 10% cost of living increase for all current homeless and supportive housing grantees to offset increased program related costs.
o $ 7,175,000 increase to support services to 718 new unit development between 2022 & 2023.
State Grants:
· $ 3,720,750 to Supportive Housing Mental Health Services and a $ 338,250 increase to for a 10% cost of living increase for all current supportive housing grantees to offset increase program related costs.
Thank you for your continued support and recognition of Illinois’ Community Health Centers (FQHCs) as a longstanding bipartisan solution to the primary care access problems facing our state. As you proceed with the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 appropriations process, we respectfully request that you include $100 million ($50 million GRF + $50 million federal match) within the Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ budget to increase reimbursement rates for Illinois’ Community Health Centers (FQHCs).
(C)an [the Illinois Protect Illinois Communities Act] be harmonized with the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and with Bruen? That is the issue before this Court. The simple answer at this stage in the proceedings is “likely no.” The Supreme Court in Bruen and Heller held that citizens have a constitutional right to own and possess firearms and may use them for self-defense. PICA seems to be written in spite of the clear directives in Bruen and Heller, not in conformity with them. Whether well-intentioned, brilliant, or arrogant, no state may enact a law that denies its citizens rights that the Constitution guarantees them. Even legislation that may enjoy the support of a majority of its citizens must fail if it violates the constitutional rights of fellow citizens. For the reasons fully set out below, the overly broad reach of PICA commands that the injunctive relief requested by Plaintiffs be granted. […]
Assuming arguendo that there is no presumption of harm for an alleged violation of the Second Amendment, Plaintiffs still satisfy this element. For example, Barnett and Norman are no longer able to purchase any firearm, attachment, device, magazine, or other item banned by PICA, while Hoods and Pro Gun are now prohibited from selling said any item banned by PICA. These harms are irreparable and in direct violation of the Second Amendment right to bear arms in self-defense. There is no question that the right to armed self-defense is limited by PICA, and in some cases, may be prohibited altogether. It is true that not all items are banned under PICA; however, if a lawful citizen only possesses items that are banned under PICA, he or she would have to purchase a non-banned firearm in order to legally defend oneself under the Second Amendment. […]
Although Defendants challenged the veracity of Plaintiffs’ evidence, they were unable to produce evidence showing that modern sporting rifles are both dangerous and unusual. Consequently, Defendants failed to meet their burden to demonstrate that the “arms” banned by PICA are “dangerous and unusual” and thus not protected by the Second Amendment. See Bruen, 142 S. Ct. at 2128 (emphasis added). […]
Plaintiffs have satisfied their burden for a preliminary injunction. They have shown irreparable harm with no adequate remedy at law, a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits, that the public interest is in favor of the relief, and the balance of harm weighs in their favor. Therefore, the Plaintiffs’ motions for preliminary injunction are GRANTED. Defendants are ENJOINED from enforcing Illinois statutes 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9(b) and (c), and 720 ILCS 5/24-1.10, along with the PICA amended provisions set forth in 735 ILCS 5/24-1(a), including subparagraphs (11), (14), (15), and (16), statewide during the pendency of this litigation until the Court can address the merits.
The Court recognizes that the issues with which it is confronted are highly contentious and provoke strong emotions. Again, the Court’s ruling today is not a final resolution of the merits of the cases. Nothing in this order prevents the State from confronting firearm-related violence. There is a wide array of civil and criminal laws that permit the commitment and prosecution of those who use or may use firearms to commit crimes. Law enforcement and prosecutors should take their obligations to enforce these laws seriously. Families and the public at large should report concerning behavior. Judges should exercise their prudent judgment in committing individuals that pose a threat to the public and imposing sentences that punish, not just lightly inconvenience, those guilty of firearm-related crimes.
A Naperville gun shop owner is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block Illinois’ assault weapon ban while he fights the law in federal court.
Robert Bevis is seeking an emergency junction, one week after a federal appeals court in Chicago turned down his request.
“This is an exceedingly simple case,” Bevis argues in his appeal, filed on Wednesday. “The Second Amendment protects arms that are commonly possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, especially self-defense in the home.”
…Adding… Press release…
State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield), the chief sponsor of the Protect Illinois Communities Act (“HB5471”), responded to the decision from U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn of the Southern District of Illinois in East St. Louis, after McGlynn issued an injunction against the Illinois assault weapons ban that was signed into law on January 10, 2023. The decision comes after U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins, and U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall, both out of the Northern District of Illinois, separately rejected similar requests for an injunction.
“This news is disappointing, but we remain encouraged as we’ve already had two federal judges in Illinois refuse to block the law,” said Rep. Morgan. “Since its enactment, this law has already prevented the sales of thousands of assault weapons and high capacity magazines in Illinois, making Illinois communities safer for families. This is necessary and life-saving legislation, and we feel confident we will ultimately prevail in a higher court.”
This conflict in rulings will now move the issue to the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. This injunction does not impact the prohibition on rapid-fire devices, the interstate firearm trafficking strike force, or extension of the duration of a firearm restraining order established under HB5471.
Rep. Morgan serves as Chair of the Illinois House Firearm Safety Reform Working Group. He has seen firsthand the devastating effects that gun violence can have on a community. Highland Park, IL is a part of his 58th District, and he was present at the tragic Fourth of July mass shooting in 2022 during which 83 rounds were fired in less than 60 seconds, killing seven and injuring 48 people.
* G-PAC…
Today, the Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) released the following statement from John Schmidt, a former U.S. Associate Attorney General and member of the Executive Board of G-PAC, in response to Southern District Court Judge Stephen McGlynn’s decision to enjoin the state from enforcing the Illinois’ assault weapons ban.
“Given comments he made from the bench at the hearing in East St. Louis on April 12, Judge McGlynn’s decision to rule against the Illinois ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines is not surprising. But it is still disappointing. It is directly contrary to the prior decisions of two Chicago federal judges, Judge Virginia Kendall and Judge Lindsay Jenkins, both of whom found the new statute “constitutionally sound” and declined relief. We believe Judges Kendall and Judge Jenkins are right, and Judge McGlynn is wrong.
“Judge Kendall’s decision is already on appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and that Court also declined to grant any immediate relief. We have confidence that the Attorney General representing the State of Illinois will take all possible actions to try to assure that the statute continues to remain in effect while litigation proceeds.”
*** UPDATE *** Attorney General Raoul has filed a motion with the Southern District to stay the preliminary injunction pending appeal…
The Court’s Preliminary Injunction Order is inconsistent with two prior rulings from two different judges in the Northern District of Illinois rejecting requests to preliminarily enjoin the Act on materially indistinguishable Second Amendment claims. See Bevis v. Naperville, No. 22- cv-4775, Dkt. 63, 2023 WL 2077392 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 17, 2023); Herrera v. Raoul, No. 23-cv-532, Dkt. 75, 2023 WL 3074799 (N.D. Ill. April 26, 2023). The Court’s Preliminary Injunction Order neither mentions nor analyzes why those two rulings on the same Act and the same type of Second Amendment claims were erroneous. They were not. The Seventh Circuit has also had the opportunity to enjoin the Act while considering the Bevis appeal, and it denied that request on April 18, 2023. Bevis v. Naperville, No. 23-1353, Dkt. 51 (7th Cir.) (denying motion for injunction pending appeal).
In order to avoid inconsistency and confusion—particularly given that refusing to stay the Preliminary Injunction Order would have the practical effect of overriding the Seventh Circuit’s contrary order in Bevis—this Court should stay its Preliminary Injunction Order while the Seventh Circuit considers the merits of the State Defendants’ interlocutory appeal. Furthermore, the Court should stay its Preliminary Injunction Order because: the Act does not violate the Second Amendment and Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment claims will ultimately fail on the merits; enjoining the Act inflicts irreparable harm on the public by allowing the weapons preferred by mass murderers to continue to proliferate; and the public interest favors allowing the Act’s restrictions on assault weapons and large capacity magazines to remain in effect.
* Here’s a factoid I hadn’t yet seen or forgot seeing it if I did: Lori Lightfoot received fewer votes in the first round this year than she received in the first round four years earlier.
In the first round of the 2019 Chicago mayoral race, candidate Lori Lightfoot received 97,667 votes. She went on to win the runoff with 386,039 votes, or 73.7 percent, against Toni Preckwinkle.
Four years later during 2023’s first round, Mayor Lightfoot received 94,890 votes. That’s 2,777 fewer votes than four years prior and 291,149 less votes than she got in the 2019 runoff.
A Republican businessman and philanthropist from Galesburg will challenge the 17th District’s freshman congressman in November 2024.
Rafael “Ray” Estrada, 56, said he plans to tackle U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline, a former TV weatherman who took over the seat formerly held by fellow Democrat Cheri Bustos after beating GOP challenger Esther Joy King in 2022.
Earlier this month, the National Republican Campaign Committee announced its plans to put a bullseye on Sorensen and 36 other “vulnerable” Democrats […]
Estrada, whose family fled civil war Nicaragua 44 years ago when he was 12, is president of the nonprofit Estrada Global Foundation, “which provides aid to refugees and displaced citizens through direct assistance that helps provide for their basic needs and safety.” according to the release.
Direct Mail - Candidate Division
For Governor - Democrat [Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers]
Gold: Don’t Run. We Are Tracking You
Silver: Alleged “Miscarriage”
For U.S. Senate - Democrat [US Sen. Tammy Duckworth]
Silver: Relentless
Best Use of Targeting
Bronze: Don’t Run. We Are Tracking you [Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers]
Collateral
Most Original/Innovative Collateral Material - Democrat [Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson]
Bronze: Mayor Rex
Regional - Overall Division
Direct Mail - For Local/Municipal/Mayoral - AAPC West [Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass]
First place: Way Out of No Way
Yesterday, the City of Chicago released an independent study commissioned on behalf of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) that revealed Transportation Network Providers (TNP) chauffeurs, also known as rideshare drivers, are making over $1,000 weekly on average. Additionally, 25% of drivers earn between $28.90 - $37.90 per hour after expenses, while 65% of drivers make $18.90 - $27.90 per hour after expenses. The study, conducted by Crowe LLP, evaluated drivers who complete more than 30 hours of driving per week.
The study found that including all time online on an app, <24% of drivers work >30 hours per week and 25% of all rideshare drivers worked on multiple apps. Based on the findings, no full-time Uber or Lyft drivers earned < $21 a hour over the study period (all the way back to 2017) and only 0.4% of part time drivers did after expenses. Even including all online time (including duplicated time), >80% of full-time rideshare drivers and >55% of part-time rideshare drivers earned more than $20 an hour after expenses, dating back to 2017.
• The City is currently housing 2,702 migrants
• 3,936 clients have arrived on buses from the border and have been taken to shelters since September of 2022
• An additional 3,144 clients have been placed into shelters through the 311 system since September of 2022
• Catholic Charities has provided Outmigration Services for over 705 clients […]
Country of Origin
Venezuela - 3589
Colombia – 336
Nicaragua – 186
Ecuador – 84
Peru – 37
Honduras – 16
Mexico – 11
Cuba – 10
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Crain’s | Illinois delegation asks Congress for $75M to pay for 2024 DNC: In a letter to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House appropriations subcommittees on commerce, the Illinoisans are asking that a total of $150 million be appropriated, half to Chicago and half to Milwaukee, where the Republicans are due to meet.
* Crain’s | Report allegedly reveals how Dan Proft’s news sausage gets made: What makes the Post’s story notable — beyond exposing the process and that operatives for Donald Trump are interested in the platform — is the ongoing investigation by the Illinois State Board of Elections into alleged illegal coordination between Proft’s People Who Play By The Rules PAC and Bailey’s campaign during last year’s election. As an independent expenditure group, the PAC is forbidden from collaborating, either directly or indirectly, with a candidate for office.
* Crain’s | A ‘ComEd Four’ prosecutor finally explains why some executives weren’t charged: As part of his final address to jurors, lead prosecutor Amarjeet Bhachu provided an answer: No one at the utility or its parent, except Pramaggiore, had the full view of the pile of favors being done for Madigan. … In a slide shown to jurors as Bhachu discussed the issue, the names of the three were shown with this comment: “1. ‘The question is whether the defendants had corrupt intent — not someone else.’” “None of those folks had the full picture,” Bhachu said.
* Herald-Whig | Eyler kicks off campaign for Adams County state’s attorney: A Republican, Eyler has served as first assistant state’s attorney in Adams County since December 2016 when State’s Attorney Gary Farha took office. Eyler said no matter what changes lawmakers in Springfield make to criminal law in Illinois, the state’s attorney’s office will continue to prosecute crime.
* Casino | Circa Sports Approved for Illinois Betting License, Eyes August Launch: Circa applied for an Illinois sports wagering license nearly a year ago. From here, the operator must make a written request to the IGB to start accepting bets in the state. Upon approval, Circa will be the eighth gaming company to offer mobile sports betting in the sixth-largest state.
* Sun-Times | Noose found on tree at Naperville middle school: Naperville police are investigating after a noose was found on the grounds of an Indian Prairie Unit District 204 middle school. The noose was found Thursday in a tree at Scullen Middle School, according to Lisa Barry, the district’s spokesman.
* SJ-R | Springfield, Logan County receive grant money for Route 66 projects: The state announced Thursday that Springfield would be receiving $623,000 from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Route 66 Grant Program to help in the construction of 12 murals connecting the city and other cities and villages in central Illinois to other murals in the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor – located in the Chicago area – and the Great Rivers & Routes area in the Metro East suburbs of St. Louis.
* AP | Iowa flooding: Cities work to keep out Mississippi River floodwaters: The Upper Mississippi River will rise to near record-high levels as it flows through Wisconsin and Iowa, but officials said they expected to hold back floodwaters with a combination of flood walls, temporary barriers and wetlands, especially if dry weather continues.
* Fox News Poll | Voters favor gun limits over arming citizens to reduce gun violence: After a series of mass shootings this spring, including the killing of several students at a private Christian school in Tennessee, voters would prefer focusing on specific gun control measures rather than arming citizens to reduce gun violence.
* Tribune | ‘Put it on me,’ White Sox GM says of team’s worst start since 1986: “Put it on me,” Hahn continued. “I’ll tell you this, let’s make this real clear, it sure as heck isn’t on (manager) Pedro (Grifol) and his coaching staff. They are doing everything in their power to prepare, focus on what’s controllable, what’s fixable, addressing the problems as they arise. And are really doing everything in their power to get this thing right. It’s absolutely not on the manager and the coaches.
* STLPD | Elvis is in the building during Illinois Elvis Festival in Collinsville: Elvis tribute artists take to the stage to the delight of Elvis fans during the Illinois Elvis Festival at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville. The festival continues on Friday and Saturday with two shows each day. ETA Festivals, the organizers of the event, said they expect 6-8,000 people to attend the shows over the weekend. The event features 12 different Elvis tribute artists, including Bill Cherry and 14-year-old Finley Watkins from Bernie, Mo.
* CNN | Twitter’s former CEO has a new app that looks a lot like Twitter: But under the hood, Bluesky, developed by Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, is vastly different. The app, which launched in a closed beta on iOS in February and on Android this month, runs on a decentralized network which provides users with more control over how the service is run, data is stored, and content is moderated.
* Amanda Zurawski is one of five women suing the state of Texas for denying abortions after medical complications…
Listen to Amanda Zurawski testify about the physical and psychological trauma that Texas' abortion bans inflicted on her after her pregnancy failed. It's a horrific story that has played out again and again since the Supreme Court abolished the right to abortion. pic.twitter.com/DJhGo4HCgO
People often ask Dr. Leah Torres why she stays in Alabama.
The 43-year-old OB-GYN — who strides into her clinic most mornings wearing a clitoris pendant and T-shirts with slogans that declare “ABORT THE PATRIARCHY” — does not consider this conservative Deep South state her home. […]
The center was one of the busiest abortion clinics in the state, until the Supreme Court struck down Roe vs. Wade last year. Abortion became illegal in Alabama, one of over a dozen states with full bans. Now that doctors who perform the procedure in Alabama risk up to 99 years in prison, Torres finds herself, once again, unable to offer the full spectrum of reproductive medical care she was trained for.
But Torres has no intention of backing down.
“You don’t want me here? That’s why I’m gonna stay,” she said, sitting at a desk strewn with laboratory invoices and a tiny fetus replica handed out by antiabortion campaigners. “I’m not leaving, just out of spite!”
When Hollis Moore was looking for their next teaching position four years ago, they read news articles and tried to look for signs that a school district would be supportive of their identity. […]
Expectations for how Moore could describe themself changed again in February of this year. Moore said an administrator read them a new directive.
“I was not to say that I was nonbinary, I was not to say that I was not a boy or a girl, I was not to talk about ‘genderless lifestyles,’ because these things would be considered sex education, and sex education was something governed by Missouri laws,” Moore recalled.
Also in February, a second openly trans employee heard about the same policy. Delilah Wylde said she was told she could not discuss her identity two days into her new job as a guidance counseling substitute.
“They read some very offensive policy on how they considered my gender identity to be sexual education, which I obviously was not happy about, because they have essentially sexualized my identity,” Wylde said. “And that’s a very dangerous place to be in as an educator because you’re working with kids.”
* The Lieutenant Governor of Texas…
Allowing the Ten Commandments and prayer back into our public schools is one step we can take to make sure that all Texans have the right to freely express their sincerely held religious beliefs.
Last summer, administrators at Bradford High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, met as they do every year to plan for the incoming class of ninth graders. From a roster of hundreds of middle schoolers, Assistant Principal Matt Brown and his staff made a list of 30 to 40 students who they suspected might struggle the most to graduate. […]
But in most cases, the students on Bradford’s list for summer visits land there because of a label — “high risk”— assigned to them by a racially inequitable algorithm built by the state of Wisconsin, one that frequently raises false alarms.
Since 2012, Wisconsin school administrators like Brown have received their first impression of new students from the Dropout Early Warning System, an ensemble of machine learning algorithms that use historical data — such as students’ test scores, disciplinary records, free or reduced-price lunch status, and race — to predict how likely each sixth through ninth grader in the state is to graduate from high school on time. […]
An internal Department of Public Instruction equity analysis conducted in 2021 found that DEWS generated false alarms about Black and Hispanic students not graduating on time at a significantly greater rate than it did for their white classmates. The algorithm’s false alarm rate — how frequently a student it predicted wouldn’t graduate on time actually did graduate on time — was 42 percentage points higher for Black students than white students, according to a DPI presentation summarizing the analysis, which The Markup obtained through a public records request. The false alarm rate was 18 percentage points higher for Hispanic students than white students.
Republican legislators in Kansas enacted what may be the most sweeping transgender bathroom law in the U.S. on Thursday, overriding the Democratic governor’s veto of the measure without having a clear idea of how their new law will be enforced.
The vote in the House was 84-40, giving supporters exactly the two-thirds majority they needed to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s action. The vote in the Senate on Wednesday was 28-12, and the new law will take effect July 1. […]
“When I go out in public, like I’m at a restaurant or up on campus or whatever, and I need to go to the bathroom, there’s definitely going to be a voice in my head that says, ‘“Am I going to get harassed for that?’” said Jenna Bellemere, a 20-year-old transgender University of Kansas student. “It just makes it so much more complicated and risky and unnecessarily difficult.”
Republican legislators argued that they’re responding to people’s concerns about transgender women sharing bathrooms, locker rooms and other spaces with cisgender women and girls. They repeatedly promised that the bill would prevent that.
Under new law, Uber drivers for undocumented people could potentially be guilty of human smuggling, one of many concerns raised about a broad bill enacted by the Legislature.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of House Bill 2350 Thursday, despite objections from Latino and Black Democrats who fear the legislation could punish anyone who helps an immigrant. The bill is one of several vetoed bills successfully passed into law by the Legislature.
Supporters of the bill say it will crack down on human smuggling, but several lawmakers have said the law’s wording is too ambiguous. It defines human smuggling as intentionally transporting, harboring or concealing someone known to be in the U.S. illegally while benefiting from the transaction and knowing the individual is likely to be exploited for financial gain.
In these cases, Kansas courts would have to decide whether the person being smuggled is in the country illegally, a decision usually left to federal immigration courts and one that the Kansas justice system may not be equipped to handle.
Florida Republicans are on the verge of passing new restrictions on groups that register voters, a move voting rights groups and experts say will make it harder for non-white Floridians to get on the rolls.
The restrictions are part of a sweeping 96-page election bill the legislature is likely to send to Governor Ron DeSantis’s desk soon. The measure increases fines for third-party voter registration groups. It also shortens the amount of time the groups have to turn in any voter registration applications they collect from 14 days to 10. The bill makes it illegal for non-citizens and people convicted of certain felonies to “collect or handle” voter registration applications on behalf of third-party groups. Groups would also have to give each voter they register a receipt and be required to register themselves with the state ahead of each general election cycle. Under current law, they only have to register once and their registration remains effective indefinitely.
Groups can now be fined $50,000 for each ineligible person they hire to do voter canvassing. They can also be fined $50 a day, up to $2,500, for each day late they turn in a voter registration form.
Those restrictions are more likely to affect non-white Floridians. About one in 10 Black and Hispanic Floridians registered to vote using a third-party group, according to Daniel Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida who closely studies voting rights. Non-white voters are five times more likely to register with a third-party group in the state than their white counterparts, “a fact likely not lost on those pushing the legislation”, Smith said.
Florida officials are threatening to revoke the teaching license of a school superintendent who criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis, accusing the educator of violating several statutes and DeSantis directives and allowing his “personal political views” to guide his leadership.
Such a revocation by the state Department of Education could allow DeSantis to remove Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna from his elected office. The Republican governor did that last year to an elected Democratic prosecutor in the Tampa Bay area who disagreed with his positions limiting abortion and medical care for transgender teens and indicated he might not enforce new laws in those areas. […]
Hanna has publicly opposed that law, once defied the governor’s order that barred any mandate that students wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and criticized a DeSantis-backed bill that recently passed that will pay for students to attend private school. The Leon County district, with about 30,000 students, covers Tallahassee, the state capital, and its suburbs.
“It’s a sad day for democracy in Florida, and the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, when a state agency with unlimited power and resources, can target a local elected official in such a biased fashion,” Hanna said in a statement sent to The Associated Press and other media Thursday. A Democrat then running as an independent, Hanna was elected to a second four-year term in 2020 with 60% of the vote. He plans to run for reelection next year and does not need a teacher’s license to hold the job.
One bill advancing through the Republican-controlled state legislature would conceal information about DeSantis’ travel and who he has met with at the governor’s mansion. Another would allow state political committees – like the one where DeSantis has stashed $85 million for his future political ambitions – to report their fundraising activity less frequently.
Separately, DeSantis in court cases has lately claimed “executive privilege” to block the release of records and to keep staff from testifying – a power typically reserved for presidents and which none of his predecessors had previously asserted is entrusted to the state’s governor. If realized, it would give DeSantis tremendous new discretion to keep information about his administration from the public.
Democrats contend Republicans here are trying to protect DeSantis from news stories and opposition research that could reflect negatively on the governor as he nears a run for president in 2024. First Amendment advocates in the state warn these efforts will have a far-reaching effect on Floridians’ access to their leaders long after DeSantis’ turn in the national limelight. […]
News organizations have sued his administration to obtain records that past governors regularly released upon request. Last year, a judge found DeSantis violated the state’s open records laws by failing to turn over documents related to the flights his administration arranged for migrants to fly from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (”IDFPR”) announced today it received 2,693 applications for the upcoming Social Equity Criteria Lottery (”SECL”). This lottery will distribute the next round of 55 conditional adult use cannabis dispensary licenses across the 17 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Regions. The list of applicants participating in the SECL may be found on IDFPR’s website here. Applicants are encouraged to review the list and confirm that they have been properly listed for any BLS Region in which they applied. The SECL will be conducted by IDFPR with the Illinois Lottery in early- to mid-May. The date will be announced by IDFPR as soon as possible.
“Our simplified online application process increased the accessibility for individuals of all backgrounds and from all over Illinois to have the opportunity to write the next chapter of the most equitable cannabis industry in the country,” said IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto, Jr. “As part of the Pritzker Administration, we are committed to ensuring Illinois’ cannabis industry continues to set the gold standard for social equity and that it continues to flourish to create additional resources for communities and individuals across the state.” […]
Following the lottery, each applicant selected will have 45 calendar days to prove certain social equity eligibility criteria in order to receive a conditional license. […]
IDFPR will have at least 60 calendar days after the lottery to ensure the 55 applicants selected in the lottery meet the criteria detailed above. Applicants selected in the lottery will be provided an opportunity to provide supplemental information to satisfy these criteria if needed. If an applicant selected in the lottery does not provide the supplemental information, the conditional license will be offered to the next applicant drawn in that BLS Region, who must then meet the social equity eligibility criteria.
That’s almost three times the number of applicants that competed for the 185 licenses that were up for grabs in lotteries held two years ago. […]
Under the new rules, gone are the lengthy applications that required extensive business plans, covering everything from security to operations, which ran thousands of pages and cost many applicants thousands of dollars to complete. The cost to submit an application also dropped from $2,500 to $250.
Perhaps the biggest change is allowing only one application per applicant, leveling the playing field and increasing the number of people or groups who would receive licenses. In the previous lotteries, 937 applicants who submitted 4,000 applications competed for 185 licenses. Under the new criteria, about 2,700 applicants will compete for 55 licenses. […]
Only applicants who win a lottery pick to receive a license will then have to prove they meet the criteria. One of the complaints about the prior process was that applicants spent thousands of dollars to apply and meet the standards for ownership only to lose out on the luck of the draw.
Ascend Wellness Holdings, a multi-state operator with a large grow facility in Barry, Ill., works with Western Illinois University in Macomb. […]
People have a lot of class choices in the Western program. Horticulture 357, Cannabis Production, is one of three core classes students have to take. But they can also choose from electives such as hydroponic plant production and crop biotechnology.
The production minor also requires a three-hour practicum, where students volunteer at facilities like those at Ascend or Nature’s Grace. Hennings said the idea is to integrate students into an actual operation as they’re getting ready to graduate with the skills the cannabis industry wants.
* Scabby the Rat also made a picket-line appearance…
As workers at three local marijuana dispensaries, including two in Joliet, continue to strike, the employees have gotten support from an Illinois state senator who says the workers deserve a share of the more than $ 1 billion in pot profits they are helping to produce.
Sen. Rachel Ventura (D-Joliet) said that pot sales in Illinois generated $1.5 billion in 2022 and that employees at RISE dispensaries who went on strike last week over the lack of a fair contract should benefit from those profits.
In Fiscal Year 2022, Ventura said that Illinois cannabis sales generated $466.8 million in state taxes on the $1.5 billion in sales. Illinois total dispensary sales reached over three billion in total over the last three years, she said.
Workers at the dispensaries in Joliet and Niles went on strike last week after months of negotiating for a fair contract and are seeking better wages and retirement benefits, representatives from Local Teamsters 777 said. The last straw came, union officials said, when employees were forced to remove pins they were wearing calling for a fair contract by officials from Green Thumb Industries, which runs the dispensaries.
“This is the first cannabis strike in the country,” James Glimco, president of Lyons-based Teamsters Local 777, said Wednesday as he joined striking workers at the Rise dispensary near the Louis Joliet Mall.
Workers are seeking a contract agreement with higher wages, improved retirement benefits, and better access to health insurance.
Starting hourly wage at the dispensaries is $16.50, and the union wants to raise it to $19. […]
But there have been no contract negotiations since the strike started, he said.
“They’re playing hardball,” Glimco said. “I hear they’re advertising trying to hire people.”
The owners and operators of the RISE Dispensaries last year reported more than $1 Billion in revenue last year and a 14% growth in profits. Those profits were made due to the efforts of these workers. I fully support and stand in solidarity with their incredibly brave decision to fight for better wages and benefits. […]
It doesn’t matter if you are a machinist, carpenter, teacher, plumber, or a dispensary employee. If you work here in Illinois you deserve a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work. That is what this country was built on and union organization, negotiation, and, as a last resort, strikes are what will continue to support and revitalize the middle class in these difficult post-pandemic times.
* And the latest episode in the series “Growing Belushi” has a Shelbyville angle…
Chris sells Jim on buying a “turnkey facility” in Illinois, but the operation turns out to be growing bunk weed and will need a complete overhaul.
The episode went into great detail about the tons of improvements they put into the center, including a radiation remediation machine that costs a cool $400k! They also upgraded lights, HVAC, Vertification and better waste water management.
We asked Belushi what going national meant to him. Was it licensing intellectual property? Setting up gardens in other states?
“Lot of it is licensing. But vetting out the growers and the companies,” Belushi explained. “We got a great opportunity and Shelbyville, Illinois, taking over indoor grow that was a charity grow, all the profits go to charity. And we are taking that over and actually kind of doing like a Bar Rescue of like going into this girl upgrading everything and it becomes a Belushi Farms in Illinois. So we’re going to be growing in Illinois. We’re growing in Oregon and we’re licensing other places, other states, and possibly growing in Albania.”
From the show…
If ONE thing goes wrong with this test, @JimBelushi has to say his goodbyes to thousands of dollars 🥲
…Adding… I’m told by an expert in the field that Belushi was exaggerating about Illinois law. “Some failures are immediate destruction, other test failures can be remediated. The testing rules outline the options.”
Q: These traffic stops became the Police Department’s main way of seizing illegal guns. Block Club Chicago and Injustice Watch have found that, since 2015, CPD has carried out 4.5 million traffic stops. In 2021, the most successful year for seizing weapons during those stops, the police made 156 traffic stops for every gun arrest. What are the effects of making so many stops for one gun arrest?
Skogan: One of the consequences of this enormous number of unwarranted stops — stops of innocent people — is that they come away with a very sour taste in their mouth. What they discover is that police officers don’t want to listen to what they have to say and the officers push them around and shout at them, even though they find nothing. What the people walk away with is a very bad experience, which undermines their trust in police and undermines the legitimacy of the police in Chicago.
And that has consequences. The Chicago Police Department’s real problem, starting in the early 2010s, was the collapse of its ability to solve shootings and homicides. The number of those crimes for which they recover a gun, find a suspect, make an arrest, make what’s called a crime clearance — it began to plummet. It’s now extraordinarily low. And that limits the capacity of investigators — the detectives — to do much about crime. And because no one has been arrested, that leads many community members to conclude that the police aren’t trying hard, that they’re not paying attention to the lives of people like them, that they are not being protected.
The arrival of a new mayor and police superintendent is an opportunity for some new thinking about policy. We know a lot about things that will reduce crime in the streets. Chicago has already started to mount a pretty effective campaign using violence interrupters and related community organizations that provide services and support for young men who are in trouble. More of that is always welcome.
We also know that a focused deterrence strategy — which drops the idea of stopping hundreds of people to deter one little crime and focuses instead on a very small network of high-risk, high-offending people — is a much more effective way to get more bang for your stops and more bang for your investigations. So, the incoming mayor should focus on this detective-oriented police work.
Efforts to rebuild Chicago’s Black community are also really important. That community has been getting poorer and more isolated over time. Some dramatic action to try to bring Black Chicago back into the mainstream of city economic life is absolutely important.
As a newly formed commission launches a nationwide search for the Chicago’s next top cop, campaigns endorsing current and former Chicago police officials for the job are already impacting the process and raising some alarms.
The first-of-its-kind search by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability has so far centered on three public meetings that have elicited seemingly coordinated efforts to raise the profile of certain police supervisors, including at least two who are also being pushed in online campaigns.
Anthony Driver Jr., the commission’s interim president, said those efforts are complicating the search, which relies on getting independent input from residents. […]
“We’re looking for the person to do the job, so community members’ voices are very important and their voice will be at the forefront,” he added. “But if somebody has 5,000 supporters and another person has 20 [and] the person with 20 seems way more qualified, then that’ll create an issue.”
One of the candidates even appeared in a campaign-style video. But, is it really all that unhealthy when members of the public speak up for their local commanders? We’ve seen plenty of mediocre (and worse) people chosen by “experts.” Then again, I can most definitely see where this could really get out of hand. Your thoughts?
…Adding… From David Axelrod’s interview of Brandon Johnson on what he’s looking for at CPD…
Right now, we have supervisors who supervise the supervisors, you have police officers that will have a different supervisor, sometimes three to four in one week. Now granted, they all might be part of a cadre of law enforcement but you know, every supervisor brings a different element. Right? And so having some consistency around supervision is really important, and having a superintendent who understands what it means to be compassionate, collaborative, and someone who was competent. That’s what what I’m going to look for, and that’s what we’re going to find to serve as superintendent in the city of Chicago. I’m very confident that we’re going to find someone that gives confidence to the rank and file but also understands constitutional policing.
…Adding… Final results map…
With final results by ward, Brandon Johnson @Brandon4Chicago defeated Paul Vallas by 26,448 votes & 4.3% in the Chicago mayor election. Johnson won every Black majority ward & he won northside liberal wards. Johnson won 6 Latino majority wards #chimayor23#electiontwitter#twillpic.twitter.com/IdFSbevWdY
* Isabel has some Chicago-related stories in her morning briefing, but she rounded up some more for this post…
* Tribune | What to know as Brandon Johnson prepares to become Chicago’s next mayor: Since winning election this month, Johnson has been assembling a transition team, traveling to Springfield to meet with lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly to lay out his hopes and goals for his first term and picked his chief of staff.
* Sun-Times | Frank Annunzio, who represented Chicago in Congress, was linked to the mob, his FBI file shows: The records — released in response to a public records request and now part of the Sun-Times’ “The FBI Files” online database — also reveal there was a years-long federal investigation into a “proposed bribery scheme” described as having focused in part on Annunzio. That investigation was closed in the mid-1980s without any criminal charges, the files show.
* Sun-Times | First night meeting of the Chicago Fishing Advisory Committee draws new voices: Illinois’ assistant fisheries chief Kevin Irons said they are in the process of hiring two people to replace Brenda McKinney, who retired last year, with plans to expand the Urban Fishing program; hybrid bluegills will be stocked in the Chicago lagoons but not channel catfish; and he reminded about the fishing equipment loaner program that about 150 libraries are doing statewide.
* WBEZ | After death of Emmett Till’s accuser, Chicago-area cousin says, ‘No one now will be’ held accountable: “Our hearts go out to the family of Carolyn Bryant Donham,” Parker, of Summit, Illinois, said in a statement. “As a person of faith for more than 60 years, I recognize that any loss of life is tragic and don’t have any ill will or animosity toward her. “Even though no one now will be held to account for the death of my cousin and best friend, it is up to all of us to be accountable to the challenges we still face in overcoming racial injustice.”
* Block Club | These Humboldt Park 5th-Graders Are Spreading Awareness About The Need To Protect Rainforests: A group of 10- and 11-year-old students at Casals School of Excellence, 3501 W. Potomac Ave., studied rainforests around the world for an expeditionary learning project this school year. The students then launched a multi-faceted campaign around safeguarding rainforests, urging the school community to do its part.
A federal jury deliberated for a third day Thursday without reaching a verdict in the “ComEd Four” trial alleging a group of executives and lobbyists conspired to bribe then-House Speaker Michael Madigan to win his influence over the utility’s legislative agenda in Springfield.
So far, the panel of seven women and five men has deliberated for about 15 hours over three days. They will take Friday off, as has been the schedule throughout the seven-week trial, and resume discussions Monday morning.
The only communication from the jury Thursday came in the form of three notes asking for transcripts of the recorded phone calls and meetings at the center of the case. The jurors also sent a note asking how much Juan Ochoa was paid while on the ComEd board.
Ochoa testified it was about $80,000, but U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber responded that they should rely on their collective memories.
That was the much-anticipated meeting when ComEd CEO Joe Dominguez was finally briefed about the Madigan subcontractors by Mike McCain and Fidel Marquez. McCain and other defendants were worried that Dominguez, a former Assistant US Attorney, wouldn’t approve of the scheme. But Dominguez said he was “fine” with it, although he was under the impression that the subcontractors could be deployed by the company in a pinch. Dominguez was never charged, but things did get a little rough for him on the stand…
Dominguez grew annoyed with Bhachu’s line of questioning and accused the prosecutor of taking his words out of context.
“As you full well know, I went on to tell Mr. Marquez that ‘Everything we do here needs to be on the up and up,’” Dominguez said.
Dominguez then attempted to tell the court what Bhachu allegedly told him during that September 2019 proffer meeting, but Bhachu quickly cut him off.
“If you’re going to start talking about what I said, you might want to not do that because it might not work out well for you,” Bhachu said before telling Judge Leinenweber that Dominguez was out of line in bringing up their conversation. “What I said is inadmissible.”
The dust-up elicited accusations from the defense attorneys that Bhachu was threatening a witness.
* But was the jurors’ request significant? Maybe not…
The jurors said that transcript would "not pull up on our technology."
The jurors also asked for “at least two transcript binders.” As the Tribune’s Jason Meisner quipped, “It’s fairly clear from this question that we should not be on the edge of our seats for a verdict today.”
What about other executives at ComEd and parent Exelon who not only knew of parts of the alleged scheme and did nothing to stop it, but also signed off on key elements?
As part of his final address to jurors, lead prosecutor Amarjeet Bhachu provided an answer: No one at the utility or its parent, except Pramaggiore, had the full view of the pile of favors being done for Madigan. […]
In a slide shown to jurors as Bhachu discussed the issue, the names of the three were shown with this comment: “1. ‘The question is whether the defendants had corrupt intent — not someone else.’ ”
“None of those folks had the full picture,” Bhachu said.
* Illinois Times | “Pervasive” deficiencies at Illinois State Police: The latest biennial audit report released by Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino found that the Illinois State Police did not properly manage equipment inventory, could not reconcile their accounting records, and may have lost confidential information contained on missing computers. The audit concluded that misstatements in ISP’s accounts were “both material and pervasive.”
* Chicago Tribune | Illinois Democrats denounce as ‘deceitful’ a pipeline used in last year’s elections to right-wing local news sites: The Washington Post reported Thursday that Brian Timpone, an ally and business partner of right-wing radio talk show host Dan Proft, used a password-protected portal that allowed Republicans to pitch stories, provide questions for interviews, place campaign announcements and run “verbatim” op-eds on websites and mailings that are published by the Local Government Information Services organization.
* Sun-Times | Search for Chicago’s top cop complicated by lobbying campaigns for candidates. ‘It’s not a popularity contest.’: The first-of-its-kind search by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability has so far centered on three public meetings that have elicited seemingly coordinated efforts to raise the profile of certain police supervisors, including at least two who are also being pushed in online campaigns. Anthony Driver Jr., the commission’s interim president, said those efforts are complicating the search, which relies on getting independent input from residents.
* Sun-Times | Brandon Johnson not ready to clean house at City Hall, adviser says: Don’t expect “wholesale, universal changes” in city departments, said Jason Lee, a senior adviser to Johnson’s mayoral campaign and transition team, citing a need for “at least some initial continuity so that we can make sure that government maintains its core functions.”
* WBEZ | Chicago families plead for a second chance for their closing school: Hope Institute Learning Academy opened in 2009, promising to create a unique community where students with autism and other disabilities would be catered to in an environment with students without special needs. It is run by Hope Institute, a nonprofit headquartered in Springfield, which provides programs for developmentally disabled people, including a residential academy and a vocational school. Hope Institute has a contract with Chicago Public Schools to run the West Loop school.
* Tribune | Mom of Olympian Cathy Boswell gets hearing implant just in time for daughter’s induction into Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: Cathy Boswell, a former basketball star at Illinois State University and an Olympic gold medalist, is due to be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Saturday. Clarice wanted to hear her daughter’s acceptance speech. “That was my prayer, that my hearing would be restored,” she said, “that I could hear her receive her Hall of Fame recognition. It’s very important because it’s been a long journey. And one that’s very deserving.”
* WGN | Cow located in Niles after ‘senior prank’; students cited: Authorities in Niles located a cow after it was on the loose for several hours due to a “senior prank” and the students involved have been cited. Just before 3 a.m. Thursday, police responded to the 8300 block of Ballard on the report of suspicious people in the area.
