* Cases are down 12 percent from last week, test positivity remains the same, hospitalizations fell by 22 percent, ICU usage declined by 18.5 percent, ventilator usage fell by 31 percent, deaths are down 17.5 percent…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 7,467 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an increase of 123 deaths since March 11, 2022.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 3,053,185 cases, including 33,198 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since March 11, 2022, laboratories have reported 596,385 specimens for a total of 56,328,379. As of last night, 528 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 88 patients were in the ICU and 35 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from March 11-17, 2022 is 1.3%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from March 11-17, 2022 is 1.2%.
A total of 21,273,924 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 8,104 doses. Since March 11, 2022, 56,726 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, more than 76% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 68% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated, and more than 49% boosted according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
All data are provisional and will change. Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.
Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.
The average daily dose rate also continues its spiral, down 15 percent from last week’s average.
More than 250 city employees across several departments are asking a downstate judge to block Chicago’s vaccine requirement.
The motion is the latest chapter in the ongoing fight over the mandate. The request for a temporary restraining order was filed by Tom DeVore, the same attorney who used the same downstate court to grant a restraining order against the state of Illinois’ school mask mandate.
ABC7 legal analyst Gil Soffer pointed out that previous efforts by Chicago police and firefighters have failed, and said the city still has a lot of authority to deal with a situation like COVID.
“Since this is not an order that applies to all citizens of the city or the state, but to employees of the city, the courts are inclined to say the city has the right to condition further employment by its employees on their willingness to have this vaccine,” he said.
* Gov. Pritzker was named in the lawsuit and was asked about the legal maneuver today…
There’s so little that I can say about these lawsuits that have been filed, the vast majority of which have failed. The ones that where judges have ruled temporarily in favor of the plaintiff go to appellate court, get overturned. So, I don’t believe that any of this will be upheld, that is that these lawsuits will stand. There are people that wanted to tear down the system of mitigations that we’ve put in place since the very beginning. They’re continuing to do it today. They were wrong then and they’re wrong now.
* Related…
* America’s Flu-Shot Problem Is Also Its Next COVID-Shot Problem: Flu is highly contagious and highly dangerous, a staggering burden on public health; and for years and years and years, Americans, even those trained in disease control and prevention, have almost entirely ceased to care. Vaccines capable of curbing flu’s annual toll have existed since the 1940s. Close to a century later, some 50 to 60 percent of Americans adults still do not bother with the yearly shot. The crux of the uptake shortfall “is this normalization of death,” Poland told me. He predicts this pattern will play on repeat, and at higher volume, with SARS-CoV-2—another devastating respiratory virus that’s tough to durably thwart with shots.
* America Is Zooming Through the Pandemic Panic-Neglect Cycle: Third, many of the measures that would make a difference against COVID—better ventilation, paid sick leave, equitable health care, a stronger public-health infrastructure—would also protect people from other diseases and health problems. In this respect, even the $15 billion that the White House asked for (and now won’t get) is insufficient. And to consider such money as “COVID funding” is part of the problem—a misguided approach of tackling health problems one by one, instead of fixing the inequities that underlie them all.
Committee Hearings
With the exception of Executive Appointments, all Senate committees next week will be conducted in-person only. Members, staff, and witnesses will need to be physically present in committees.
Staff Testing
COVID Testing will remain in place for Members, staff, lobbyists, and members of the public. A PCR test taken within 72 hours or a SHIELD Test will be necessary for entry. SHIELD Testing is strongly encouraged for efficiency. […]
· PCR TESTS taken by local health care professionals or pharmacies (not rapid tests) will be accepted, provided they are taken within the prior 72 hours.
o Please be mindful of the time it takes to receive results; Friday is the best option for Monday entrance; Saturday is the best option for Tuesday entrance; Sunday is the best option for Wednesday entrance.
Updated Protocols: Senate Reopening Phase Two
A negative COVID PCR or SHIELD test and wristband is still required for any person entering into Senate committees, galleries, or offices. Lobbyists and members of the public must obtain wristbands at the North Entrance desk for entry. The following changes will apply:
· The Senate elevators will be unlocked.
· People are allowed in committees with wristbands.
· The galleries with remain at 50% capacity, with wristbands.
· Lobbyists will be allowed on the benches outside the chamber, with wristbands.
· Those without wristbands should be directed to the check-in point at the North Entrance.
· For people in our areas with wristbands, masking is strongly encouraged.
COVID Guidance & Reminders
Face masks, which cover the nose and mouth, are strongly encouraged but not required for all persons in Senate areas of the Capitol. Please take care and respect in approaching or meeting with another person within 6ft as to their preference on mask-wearing. Social distancing remains strongly encouraged.
If at any time, you feel uncomfortable or you are aware of individuals not following COVID protocols, please contact xxxxxxxxxxxx and we will assist you.
If a you test positive, please immediately contact xxxxxxxx, conduct contact tracing, and follow Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. Full CDC guidance and COVID-19 information can be found here.
We are continuously monitoring the virus and guidance from health organizations and will update our policies as necessary.
I strongly support the idea of in-person hearings and opening up access.
However, remote testimony by people who can’t make it to Springfield definitely found its place in the past couple of years. People who were never able to testify before the pandemic were suddenly able to have their voices heard. It was a very positive thing. The Senate doesn’t currently have the technology to accept remote testimony during in-person hearings, but I’m told they have invested in that tech and will have it implemented as soon as they can.
* Related…
* A bit more normal, Illinois lawmakers welcome in-person guests for first time in two years
Building on the administration’s funding increases for child welfare and wellbeing, today Governor Pritzker announced the Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative to evaluate and redesign the delivery of behavioral health services for children and adolescents in the State of Illinois.
The Governor tasked the Initiative with building a coordinated, inter-agency approach to ensure young people with significant behavioral health needs receive the community and residential services they need to thrive while providing parents, guardians, and family members with transparency and clarity in the process. The initiative will provide a transformation blueprint by the end of 2022. The Governor also named Chapin Hall child welfare expert Dana Weiner, PhD, as Director of the Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative.
“I’m launching the Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative to evaluate and redesign the systems that support our most vulnerable kids and adolescents – so that down the line, Illinois families will be better able to access holistic, wraparound support for children in need,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Under the leadership of nationally recognized child welfare expert Dana Weiner, PhD, and six state agency heads, this Initiative will deliver a transformative blueprint by the end of the year.” […]
Governor Pritzker has increased funding for DCFS from $1.2 billion in FY2019 to $1.55 billion in FY2022 with a proposed additional increase to $1.8 billion this coming fiscal year. The Governor’s proposed fiscal year 2023 budget provides a new investment of $7 million for a completely redesigned independent living program which will better support youth transitioning out of DCFS’ care.
Additionally, the Pritzker Administration recently launched an $86 million effort to support local efforts to develop comprehensive school systems grounded in mental health and trauma.
The FY2023 budget also includes $150 million to fully implement the Pathways to Success program at DHFS, which helps Medicaid-enrolled children under age 21 who have complex behavioral health needs and require intensive services and support. The program will begin upon federal CMS approval without any additional implementation action from the GA. […]
At Governor Pritzker’s direction, HFS, DHS, DCFS, ISBE, DPH and DJJ have put together an interagency working group to better support children in need of behavioral health services and their families, whether they access services in their community, at their school, or through a residential program. The Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative turns that collaboration into a formal, step-by-step review of existing systems in order to better support Illinois children and families.
The Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative will examine:
• Needs of children requiring behavioral health services
• Allocation of resources to meet needs within existing programs
• Pathways for accessing needed services
• Eligibility requirements for levels of care
• Decision-making practices for allocation of resources
• Alignment of policies, rules, regulations to support transparent, efficient, and effective service delivery
• Barriers to effective interagency coordination
• Infrastructure needs to support new pathways and existing programs
• Best practices from other comparable child-serving systems across the country
The pandemic has only made the need for improvements more urgent. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the proportion of children’s mental health-related emergency department (ED) visits among all pediatric ED visits increased and remained elevated through October 2020. Compared with 2019, the proportion of mental health-related visits for children aged 5-11 and 12-17 years increased 24 percent and 31 percent, respectively.
* Gov. Pritzker was asked about the connection of this plan to the latest DCFS crises that we’ve already been discussing here today…
Well, that’s precisely what this is about, right, to make sure that we’re coordinating systems and services so that people don’t have to sit for 117 days or, as we heard, for sometimes longer and without getting the services they need. And parents, of course, are desperately need. Foster parents and others. And so, look, we’ve put tremendous resources in already to try to staff up, to make sure that we’re serving these kids, to make sure that we’re, at DCFS for example, hiring up to standards here. And then very importantly, creating residential beds that got destroyed under the prior administration. 500 residential beds went away. And I think everybody here that’s been involved in the system of providing these services knows that these don’t come back, like, with the snap of a finger. It takes literally years to go build back up those. And that’s why we all are committed to the consistency of systems.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE 1 *** Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert…
This is a positive, albeit long overdue, step for children and families. Of course, the devil is in the details, and I look forward seeing the comprehensive blueprint promised by the end of the year.
It must be noted that this is not an answer to DCFS’s placement crisis. And children in DCFS care don’t have months and years to wait for the placements and services they need.
Just yesterday a Cook County Juvenile Court judge held DCFS Director Marc Smith in contempt of court for the seventh time this year for failing to place children appropriately in violation of court orders. This most recent contempt finding involved a boy DCFS has kept in a shelter for more than a year, in violation of court orders, because DCFS doesn’t have a placement for him. This youth doesn’t have another year to wait for more studies.
I hope that this initiative will be implemented in a robust manner with the sense of urgency needed.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Kyle Hillman with the National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter…
We join other advocates in support of this new initiative Governor Pritzker is embarking on (in his fourth year of office) to address the mental health crisis children have been facing. While we are still unsure how this new initiative will work differently than groups like the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership, any new effort is always welcomed. We do hope this new blueprint initiative though doesn’t delay efforts to address a mental health crisis both within DCFS and within our schools that need an immediate response and a sense of urgency that has been greatly lacking.
Low-income families in Illinois who receive TANF benefits could get an extra boost thanks to a proposal in Springfield.
Rep. Marcus Evans (D-Chicago) said the Illinois Department of Human Services should increase grant amounts for temporary assistance for needy families. The state currently provides 30% of the federal poverty guidelines for each family size. Evans would like to see that raised to 50%.
His bill could help a family of three currently receiving $549 per month from TANF get $915 in benefits. Evans said his plan also allows dollars for child support to go directly to parents or guardians instead of the current system where some of the money is dispersed by the state.
Maxica Williams is a mother of three in Cook County who helped make this change a possibility. As a member of the TANF Research Advisory Board, Williams worked to eliminate barriers to the benefits for those most in need. With TANF payments so low, Williams said surviving and meeting basic needs is challenging.
* Gonna invoke Charlie Wheeler here and remind folks to read bills like this before writing about them…
The Illinois General Assembly will consider a bill condemning and sanctioning Russia, three weeks into Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Democrat state Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, D-Chicago, said it is time for Illinois to act.
“This is not a situation where we can sit back and ignore what’s happening as countries around the world are imposing tough sanctions on Russia. It is now time for us to do what we can here in Illinois,” said LaPointe.
LaPointe filed a bill Thursday for Illinois to divest from the Russian economy. LaPointe said she put the widespread condemnation of Russia into legislation after three weeks of continued support by Illinoisans for Ukraine during the invasion.
(b) For these reasons, the General Assembly urges:
(1) the pension funds and retirement systems established under the Illinois Pension Code to divest their holdings in any companies that are domiciled in Russia or Belarus and that are on the list of restricted companies developed by the Illinois Investment Policy Board
Not saying it’s a bad bill at all. Just saying that the word “urges” is much different than the word “shall.” (And, yes, the bill forbids the state treasurer from investing/depositing money in Russian or Belarusian banks, but that’s not the same as divestment.)
…Adding… Ha! I failed to take my own advice. The bill does call for divestiture…
As soon as practicable after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, but not later than 9 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, each retirement system, as that term is defined in Section 1-110.16 of this Code, shall instruct its investment advisors to sell, redeem, divest, or withdraw all direct holdings of Russian or Belarusian sovereign debt, Russian or Belarusian government-backed securities, investment instruments issued by an entity that is domiciled or has its principal place of [etc.]
All apologies. I’m gonna get some more coffee now.
…Adding… Press release…
In response to Russian’s deadly invasion of Ukraine, Governor JB Pritzker, Senate President Don Harmon, and House Speaker Chris Welch issued the following joint statement:
As Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine escalates, it threatens everyone around the world. We are unified in our belief that Putin must be stopped. Working together, our offices will advance legislation to remove any Russian companies from Illinois’ pension assets and prohibit contracting with any companies based in Russia. Beyond these financial consequences, we will also join national efforts to assist with this heartbreaking refugee crisis. We are hopeful that negotiations can bring about an end to this violence, but until then Illinois must stand strong for democracy and support the brave men and women of Ukraine in defending their country.
State Rep. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, is pushing for passage of the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity, or MICRO Act.
“I think it’s time for a change and try to bring back some of those supply lines here to the United States, so what this MICRO Act does is provide a very similar series of tax incentives that we applied to the electric vehicle industry,” Halpin said.
The proposal would provide qualifying manufacturers an enhanced version of the EDGE tax incentive over 15 years. Employers would receive a tax break on 75% of income tax withholdings attributable to new employees, which would increase to 100% if a production facility is located in an underserved area. Additional credit is available for employee training costs.
* Press release…
A rally and press conference in support of a proposal to expand Illinois’ Earned Income Credit (EIC) and create a statewide Child Tax Credit (CTC), which would benefit over 4.8 million no-, low-, and middle-income earners at moment when federal pandemic relief has expired and household costs are rising.
Leaders from the Illinois General Assembly, nonprofit advocacy groups, organized labor, and the community will come together to demonstrate the diverse and unified support for the proposal.
WHEN: Monday March 21, 2022, 10:00am Central
WHERE: Daley Plaza
50 W. Washington St. Chicago, IL
(Live stream is also available at Facebook.com/ICIRR)
WHO: Advocates, legislators, labor leaders, and community members advocating for a more fair state tax system, including:
Advocate and Statewide Coalition Manager Amber Wilson of Economic Security for Illinois
State Senator Omar Aquino (D-Chicago)
State Representative Carol Ammons (D-Urbana)
State Representative Michael Zalewski (D- Riverside)
State Representative Kam Buckner (D- Chicago)
State Senator Mike Simmons (D- Chicago)
State Representative Anna Moeller (D- Elgin)
State Senator Ram Villivalam (D- Chicago)
State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D- Skokie)
State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago)
State Representative Delia Ramirez (D- Chicago)
Erica Bland-Duroshimi, SEIU Healthcare Illinois/Indiana Executive Vice President
Community members Krystal Peters, Teresa Campa, Dexter Liggins, Alejandro Lopez, and Barbara Beltran who would be impacted by the bill
In attendance will also be dozens of members and community leaders from the Illinois Cost-of-Living Coalition representing over 40 organizations, including: Economic Security for Illinois, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Workers Center for Racial Justice, Community Organizing and Family Issues, Young Invincibles, Chicago Votes, UpTogether, United Food and Commercial Workers - Local 881, SEIU - Local 1, SEIU- Local 73, SEIU Healthcare, Children’s Home and Aid, Grassroots Collaborative, and more
* Press release…
State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart testified before the House Appropriations-General Services Committee on Wednesday night, via zoom, for a subject matter hearing. State’s Attorney Rinehart was there to explain the need for his proposed pilot program to automatically text victims and witnesses about upcoming court dates in Lake County. State Representative Joyce Mason (D-Gurnee) introduced the measure in the House and is shepherding it through the legislative process in Springfield.
The bill would appropriate $50,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office for the 2-year pilot program.
“Victims and surviving family members deserve the same notice of court dates that perpetrators receive. This pilot program will ensure that those who have been victimized are aware of upcoming hearings so they can be involved in the process,” Representative Mason said. “I am happy to be partnering with Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart to stand up for crime victims and look forward to seeing this program take effect.”
“I am so grateful that we have strong victim advocates, like Representative Mason, among our Lake County delegation in Springfield who are pushing to ensure our victims receive all the support they need,” said State’s Attorney Rinehart.
* Press release…
STATEMENT: Illinois House of Representatives Adopts Resolution in Support of Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s Efforts to Reclaim Reservation in Northern Illinois
Houses, state park now sit on a 1,000+ acre Reservation
SPRINGFIELD, ILL. – The following is a statement from Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Chairman Joseph Rupnick following the news that legislators in the Illinois House of Representatives voted yesterday to adopt House Resolution 504, which supports Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s efforts to build on its history as an original part of the DeKalb County community and encourages the U.S. Congress to pass legislation that would allow the Nation to secure 1,151 acres of land near Shabbona State Park in the southern part of DeKalb County:
“This milestone sends a strong and supportive message to Washington that Illinois legislators understand the importance of righting historical wrongs. It’s been 170 years since the U.S. government illegally sold our land in DeKalb County when my great grandfather, four generations removed, went to visit family in Kansas. Today, 170 years worth of loss and broken community has transformed into deep gratitude for the members of the Illinois House of Representatives who took this step to help put us on a path toward justice.”
A similar resolution sponsored by state Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago) is currently making its way through the Illinois Senate.
* Press release…
I’m pleased to invite you to join us next week for panel discussion titled “The Power of Sport in Illinois” where you can hear from State Legislators, former professional athletes, and sports-based youth development alumni and staff about the role that sport has played in each of their lives, the challenges that prevent young people from accessing or staying in sports programs, and the role that government can play to address some of these challenges. We’re hosting this conversation in the midst of working with the Illinois State Legislator to promote the inclusion of House Bill 4602 / Senate Bill 3994, which call for a 5M appropriation for grants to expand equity and opportunity in youth development-based sports initiatives in the 2023 Illinois State Budget. Event details below:
The Power of Sport in Illinois
• Date and Time: Friday, March 18th from 9-10am CT
• Information and Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_a7iMud-yQ7SRBhZO7tgU_A
• Panelists:
• Luol Deng, former Chicago Bull
• Michael Johnson, Laureus USA Board Member and Olympic Champion
• Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Lead Sponsor of SB 2994 and Member of Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus
• Representative Kam Buckner, Lead Sponsor of HB 4602 and Chair of Illinois House Black Caucus
• Merary Flores, America SCORES Chicago Alumni and Current Program Assistant
• Amy Mummery, Executive Director of America SCORES Chicago
A Cook County judge ordered Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith held in contempt of court for a seventh time Thursday for failing to place a child appropriately.
The order was issued by Juvenile Court Judge and former county Public Guardian Patrick Murphy.
Current Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert noted that this was the seventh time Smith has been held in contempt in the past 10 weeks. In this case, the subject of the order is a 16-year-old boy who has spent more than 375 days – almost the whole time he has been in DCFS custody – in a shelter that does not have the resources to support his needs given his intellectual and cognitive disabilities, the Public Guardian’s office said. […]
While she has been locked in the facility, she has not received services such as speech therapy. She also has not been allowed to go outdoors, and she has barely received an education.
For nearly a year now, the girl has received just one hour a day of schooling.
The Governor and Director Smith share the judge’s frustration and DCFS is working hard to find placements for these vulnerable children with special needs. Tragically, when Governor Rauner decimated social services, we were warned that it would be much easier to lose the 500 beds he destroyed than to recreate them again. Advocates warned that these services weren’t like a light switch that could be turned on and off with ease.
Since taking office, the Governor increased DCFS’ budget by over $340 million with DCFS launching aggressive hiring efforts to bring on 860 additional staff. The administration inherited a DCFS with outdated technology and inadequate trainings. Since then, technology has been overhauled and trainings and retrainings have taken place for every DCFS staff member. The DCFS hotline was backlogged with over 50% of calls requiring call backs in 2019. That’s down to under 1% now. The agency is working just as hard to create the needed placements for children.
DCFS’s placement shortage crisis has existed for at least the past seven years, when DCFS abolished 500 residential and group home beds. DCFS has not replaced these beds in all these years. DCFS’s placement shortage crisis has become so extreme that, for the first time in the more than three decades that I’ve been practicing in Juvenile Court, the court created a special consolidated docket where one judge is now hearing all of the cases with kids stuck in locked psychiatric hospitals, “temporary” shelters, offices, and the like. This docket has become known as the “placement crisis docket” and is sometimes also referred to as the “stuck kids call.” Judge Patrick T. Murphy presides over this consolidated call, and entered all six of the contempt orders against Smith. Holding a state agency director in contempt of court is extraordinarily rare. In the more than 30 years that I’ve been practicing in Juvenile Court, I cannot recall a single prior instance where a judge held the DCFS director in contempt. And now it’s happened six times in eight weeks.
The Department of Children and Family Services is dedicated to keeping children safe and strengthening families. We are working aggressively addressing the decades-long challenge of a lack of community resources and facilities for children with complex behavioral health needs, which has been exacerbated by an increased demand in social services in recent years. Every single day, DCFS works with its network of providers and foster parents in an ongoing effort to place these children in settings that can provide the appropriate level of care and in which the children can grow and flourish.
…Adding… The Richard Irvin campaign throws the kitchen sink at Pritzker…
The common theme of failure across the various agencies under Pritzker’s watch grows stronger as news today of yet another contempt of court order issued for Department of Children and Family Services agency director Marc Smith. This is the seventh contempt citation against Smith and DCFS to date.
Due to the failures of the Pritzker Administration to manage this agency, the courts have been forced to step in to address problems at the agency. Kids who were placed in the state’s care have not received necessary services, including housing, healthcare and more. Just yesterday, it was revealed there was a boy who had been living in a temporary shelter for over a year.
This is yet another massive failure in the Pritzker Administration. Earlier this week, we saw the families of veterans who tragically lost their lives due to the negligence and incompetence at the LaSalle Veterans Home seek justice. Pritzker’s Department of Insurance is also stalling in taking action against Blue Cross Blue Shield for restricting access to healthcare for central Illinoisans. And just last week, we found out that the Department of Employment Security knowingly gave funds to scammers that belonged to families and residents who were struggling during the pandemic.
“This now marks yet another state agency riddled with issues due to Governor Pritzker’s inaction, and the kids in the state’s care are paying the price. This is truly disgraceful,” said Irvin for Illinois spokesperson Eleni Demertzis. “It’s the Governor’s job to own these problems and swiftly correct them, but all we’ve seen is deflection and inaction from the administration. It seems like the only time Governor Pritzker cares about DCFS is when he’s profiting from their insurance plans.”
Personal PAC Board of Directors announces longtime President and CEO Terry Cosgrove will be retiring from his post after the November 2022 election. The Board is extraordinarily grateful to Terry for his 33 years of leadership and his lifelong dedication to protecting reproductive rights for people in Illinois.
Under his guidance, Personal PAC has surpassed the vision of its founders and has delivered upon its mission of improving access to reproductive healthcare, transforming Illinois into a 100 percent pro-choice state. Terry’s tireless political work and advocacy led to the passage of bills such as HB40 and the Reproductive Health Act, the repeal of the parental notification law, and the election of countless pro-choice elected officials, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker. This work has expanded low-income people’s access to healthcare and enshrined the protections of Roe v. Wade into Illinois law.
Personal PAC’s work is not done. Reproductive rights have been severely curtailed in states across the country, and as soon as this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to remove the constitutional protection on the right to safe and legal abortion care guaranteed by Roe. The leadership transition at Personal PAC will not distract us from the critical work ahead–ensuring that we elect pro-choice candidates to state and local office in the 2022 election is more important than ever and is critical to Illinois remaining the safe haven for reproductive healthcare in the Midwest.
Terry adds, “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as President and CEO of Personal PAC for the past 33 years and to be able to devote my life to protecting the reproductive rights and the ability of all women to shape their lives, dreams and aspirations in the same manner as men. Reproductive rights are fundamental human rights, without which we cannot claim to be a real democracy.” Click here to read his full personal note.
On behalf of Personal PAC’s Board of Directors, we thank Terry for his exemplary stewardship. We will miss his leadership, strength, tenacity, and vision, and we hope to honor his legacy by building upon the standard of excellence in advocacy he has established. We look forward to continuing to ensure that every person in Illinois can access the reproductive healthcare they need.
He took occasional heat for his tactics, but Cosgrove did more to advance that cause than any single Illinoisan I know. The House and Senate weren’t always pro-choice bodies, even with Democratic majorities, until Cosgrove started working races.
Cheryl Bruce, campaign manager for Secretary of State candidate Anna Valencia, released the following statement after Alexi Giannoulias released a new video “re-introducing” himself to Illinois voters after a 12-year absence:
“We noticed a few key pieces were left on the cutting room floor, so allow us to fill in the gaps: Alexi Giannoulias was senior loan officer for a bank that loaned money to convicted mobsters, he engaged in reckless lending practices that led authorities to seize his family bank, and he lost millions of dollars in college savings for thousands of Illinois families. Illinoisans rejected Alexi when he lost Barack Obama’s Senate seat to an opponent plagued by scandal. Now, Alexi on the ballot risks losing Jesse White’s Secretary of State office, too. Alexi’s ‘re-introduction’ video is a sorry attempt to paper over his checkered history in which Illinois families lost big when he served our state. As Jay-Z says, ‘this is all fact, I’ll never change.’
“Now, Alexi is refusing to be transparent with Illinois voters about what he’s been up to over the last twelve years while he worked as a Wall Street banker, including for a big bank with close ties to gun manufacturers, coal companies and even North Korea. While Anna — who was raised by working class parents in a union household and has delivered bold and innovative ideas as Chicago City Clerk — was fighting for our communities during the Rauner and Trump administrations, Alexi helped rich people get richer. His commitment to transparency and accountability is worth nothing as long as he refuses to come clean about his clients and investments from the last decade-plus. Illinois voters are waiting.”
Sales have fallen significantly since Illinois dispensaries unloaded a record $137 million worth of recreational cannabis products last December, raising concerns that limited supply and sky-high prices could be pushing consumers into the illicit market.
Illinois’ 110 licensed pot shops tallied $117 million in sales in January and just under $114 million in February, the lowest monthly haul since last March.
Massive monthly receipts had been one of the few bright spots for Illinois’ highly regulated recreational pot program, which has generated over $2 billion in sales over its first two years despite some month-to-month dips.
OK, wait a second. Last year, monthly sales ranged from a low of $81 million in February, to a high of $137 million in December. Sales stayed in the range of $115 million to $123 million from April through November, except for a spike in July, which was partly attributed to Lollapalooza. So, we’re back to being about where we were then, and much higher than where we were a year ago.
Also, hmm. Doesn’t December contain a very large religious/consumer holiday known as Christmas? Gifts and holiday partying could’ve been a big reason for that spike.
You see this sort of reporting a lot with crime statistics, only in reverse. Chicago media outlets regularly compare 2020-2022 murder stats to 2019, when the city’s murders were trending lower for three years.
The truth is, February’s cannabis sales were 40.7 percent higher than last February. January sales were 31.5 percent higher than the previous January. Let’s see some more numbers before concluding there’s a gigantic problem that requires mandated price or tax cuts or whatever.
But, yeah, let’s also get more growers and dispensaries up and running, for crying out loud.
* For a guy who doesn’t want to answer questions about former President Trump, this opens the door to even more questions. But, hey, it’s a campaign. Click the pic for the video…
“Bailey and the Never Trumper.”
…Adding… DGA…
“Richard Irvin is desperate to pass his Trump problem off to someone else because he’s afraid to tell voters where he stands,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “After months of dodging questions on who he voted for, Irvin wants to deflect to his opponents — but Illinoisans will see right through his hypocrisy. It’s a simple yes or no: did you vote for Donald Trump?”
* Danny Davis primary opponent Kina Collins…
In the 2020 election, Black women turned out and helped the Democratic party win the Presidency and a majority in the Senate. We are the bulwark of the Democratic party’s voting base, but when Black women like me choose to run, Democratic leadership immediately questions our “electability.”
If the Democratic party wants to rely on Black women to win elections, they have to fight to give us a seat at the table. Representation matters. Period.
Black women have to work twice as hard to raise the same amount of money and convince people of their electability, but we are putting in the work and shifting the narrative. Can you help us keep our momentum going by donating $15?
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In an Axios article published last Sunday, they asked me about the electability of Black women, and my answer was simple: Democratic leadership say they love Black women — until it’s time to elect us.
If elected, I will be the youngest Black woman ever elected to Congress. I am part of a generation of voters and leaders at the core of the Democratic party and we deserve to be represented in Congress.
She’s not wrong about her party.
* Valencia campaign…
After Alexi Giannoulias yesterday refused to disclose his clients and any investments directed on their behalf while he worked for seven years at BNY Mellon, a major Wall Street bank that has close ties to the gun industry and fossil fuel companies, among others, Secretary of State candidate Anna Valencia released the following statement:
“My opponent is quick to talk the talk when it comes to transparency, but he is refusing to walk the walk. It took less than two weeks for him to break his commitment to Illinoisans that he would always prioritize transparency. But voters deserve to know that instead of fighting the Trump and Rauner administrations over the last decade, he worked as wealth director for a Wall Street bank with clear ties to the gun industry, coal companies and even North Korea. Who else was he involved with?
“He cannot hide behind secret corporate agreements while pledging transparency, especially given his checkered track record that includes losing hundreds of millions of dollars in college savings for Illinois families and serving as senior loan officer at his family’s bank that gave loans to convicted mobsters. Illinois voters deserve to know who exactly my opponent was working for during his time as a Wall Street banker and how he was directing his clients’ wealth. We are waiting.”
Background
Crain’s Chicago Business reported last night that Secretary of State candidate Alexi Giannoulias is refusing to disclose his clients and any investments he led while serving as wealth director for BNY Mellon. The Valencia campaign sent Giannoulias a letter one week ago, on March 10, requesting that he follow through on his pledge to transparency with Illinois voters. Read the letter here.
“Giannoulias’ spokesman is saying a little more. From a statement: “To clarify Valencia’s misguided attempt to distort the facts, Alexi never was an ‘investment banker.’ While he was at BNY Mellon, he never invested any money or directed any investments. During his tenure there, Alexi served as a wealth director whose role was to develop new business and introduce new clients to the firm.”
So he was a rainmaker.
* Republican SoS candidate responds to the whole thing…
As the Democrat candidates for Secretary of State squabble about whose unethical connections are more disqualifying, they are proving the point that independent leadership is needed in the Secretary of State’s office to ensure Illinoisans receive their services efficiently and effectively in all 102 counties.
John Milhiser released the following statement:
“While the candidates on the Democrat side of the aisle point fingers at one another, they are making it clear to Illinoisans that we need leaders, not career politicians, in statewide office. With the indictments of so many Illinois politicians, we need to root out corruption in state government now more than ever. I’ve investigated and prosecuted public corruption, and I have overseen a large executive office covering 46 counties in Illinois. I know what needs to be done to help restore faith in state government, and that’s something my Democrat opponents are not capable of achieving.”
* Irvin campaign…
Out of control crime rates in JB Pritzker’s Illinois are all the more striking when compared to the proven success Richard Irvin has had reducing crime rates as Mayor of Aurora, as recently released stats illustrate.
The facts prove that there have been significant decreases in crime rates in Aurora in 2021 with heightened efforts to increase accountability, transparency, and engagement:
• 45.5% decrease in murders
• 40.4% decrease in burglary
• 31.8% decrease in shootings
• 24.4% decrease in robbery
• 10.6% decrease in theft
• 9.9% decrease in motor vehicle theft
“Richard Irvin’s record in Aurora of lowering crime rates, balancing budgets, and standing up to the Madigan Machine stands in stark contrast to that of J.B. Pritzker, who has allowed crime to spiral out of control, pushed for higher taxes and spending, and enabled Mike Madigan’s criminal enterprise,” said Irvin for Illinois Spokesperson Eleni Demertzis.
In addition to a reduction in crime, the city has gained nationwide acclaim and earned a number of accolades, including being named one of the Top 25 Happiest Cities in America for 2022.
…Adding… If you click on the Irvin link, you’ll see that violent crime rose by 8.2 percent year over year, mainly due to an almost doubling of Criminal Sexual Assault offenses.
Monica Gordon has won the endorsement of Secretary of State Jesse White in her bid for Cook County commissioner in the 5th District. Gordon heads government affairs and community relations at Chicago State University.
“Corruption of public officials makes headlines, but if it is one-time in nature it is unlikely to have any credit impact,” said Emily Raimes, a vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s.
“We consider corruption as part of our overall governance assessment, however, if it is long-term or systemic, particularly if it has affected the government’s financial stability, or is likely to affect financial stability in the future,” she said.
“Anything in government relies on some level of trust. I think if corruption is rampant or repetitive it can make the next tax increase or capital request harder to approve because people don’t trust you are going to do the right thing,” said Geoffrey Buswick, sector lead and lead Illinois analyst at S&P.
“That’s the longer play that is harder to assess in credit because when does that erosion of public trust limit flexibility? It’s not always clear,” Buswick said.
There are those who believe the Fair Tax tanked for this very reason.
* The decades-old intraparty Maywood/Proviso Township war is apparently flaring up again, or it never went away. It’s been quite awhile since I looked at it. Here’s Bob Skolnik…
Two lawyers with local ties are vying to become a judge. But to get to the bench they will have to defeat the wife of the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.
ShawnTe Raines-Welch, who is married to House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside), will face three opponents in the June 28 Democratic primary race to fill the Rogers vacancy in the 4th Judicial Subcircuit which covers western Cook County from just south of O’Hare Airport to Palos Township, including Riverside resident Chloe Pedersen, former Brookfield resident Jerry Barrido and Patrick Campanelli, an attorney with a solo practice.
Pedersen and Raines-Welch both have strong political connections. Pedersen is the niece of Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough. Some might see the race as sort of a rematch of a 2006 primary when Chris Welch, then the president of the Proviso Township High School District 209 Board of Education, challenged then state Rep. Yarbrough in the Democratic primary. Yarbrough handily won that matchup with nearly 73 percent of the vote.
Yarbrough ran against Rep. Eugene Moore in the 1998 Democratic primary and lost. During that same primary, Rep. Moore won a race for Proviso Township Democratic committeeperson. The following January, Moore was appointed to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds position vacated after Jesse White won the secretary of state’s race. Moore’s ally Wanda Sharp was appointed to his House seat. Yarbrough took out Rep. Sharp in the 2000 primary, then took out Committeeman Moore in 2006, then took out Recorder Moore in 2012. Speaker Welch was on Team Gene. There’s so much more to this and I covered it extensively back in the day, but you get the gist.
* And here is some interesting bravado from another candidate in the judicial primary…
Barrido, a veteran public defender who tries cases at the Maybrook Courthouse, said he deliberately filed to run against Raines-Welch because he said he wanted to give voters an opportunity to pick someone who is independent of the Democratic Party machine.
“I picked this race to go against the speaker’s wife,” Barrido said. “I deliberately wanted to give the people a choice as to whether or not they wanted to go with the status quo Democratic politics or to have someone who is a fighter in the courtroom, who has a reputation as a zealous advocate and a hard worker period.”
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara is demanding that three of his union’s strongest City Council supporters choose between their loyalties to his group and their allegiance to the firefighters union.
At a stormy meeting last week, Catanzara insisted that the three council members, all former firefighters — Nick Sposato (38th), Anthony Napolitano (41st) and Jim Gardiner (45th) — pledge their support to Erin Jones, a Chicago Police Department detective challenging incumbent state Sen. Rob Martwick (D-Chicago).
Martwick is a favorite of the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2, having championed a costly firefighter pension sweetener over Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s strenuous objections.
But Catanzara said his members want Martwick gone for having helped the Black Caucus push what Catanzara called a “ridiculously left-wing, radical Democrat” criminal justice reform bill through the General Assembly. […]
“Our members want Martwick’s head on a platter. … He has to go. And you either are for our member or you are for Bob Martwick, who helped champion that bill. There is no middle ground. And if you do support Bob Martwick, there will be retribution in the elections next year. You’re just going to have to answer for that support,” Catanzara said in a You-Tube message to his members posted Tuesday night.
* The full quote is weird, though. I isolated the audio…
A gas giveaway by entrepreneur and former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson caused a headache for some Chicagoans Thursday morning, and not from fuel fumes: Cars reportedly lined up overnight in anticipation of the 7 a.m. start time, causing backups near the preselected gas stations around the city.
Commenters on Wilson’s Facebook page complained of lines of cars stretching for blocks. […]
Wilson pledged to give away $200,000 of gasoline via $50 gifts to motorists filling up Thursday, on a first-come, first-serve basis. But from social media posts, it sounded like hundreds of people were so concerned about being among the recipients they treated the event like Black Friday.
“The soaring price of gas has caused a hardship for too many of our citizens,” Wilson said in a news release.
* Some people just love to line up for free stuff and don’t stop to think that maybe waiting in miles-long lines is probably not worth the effort and is wasted time…
You don't have to like Willie Wilson to see that he has keen awareness of how to make people feel like they're being heard by somebody who actually wants their needs to be met. Direct help gets people excited because it's such a departure from means testing and business as usual. https://t.co/fYvhRv50pX
New emails released by the Sullivan-Murphy campaign today show deep ties between the “Madigan enterprise” and the Pritzker administration.
In 2020, WBEZ reporting revealed Gov. J.B. Pritzker hired 35 individuals from then-House Speaker Michael Madigan’s “clout list,” costing taxpayers $2.5 million per year in salaries alone. This reporting was based primarily on emails sent by a Madigan aide.
Published today for the first time, new emails obtained via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request show how Madigan’s right-hand man, Michael McClain, worked with the highest levels of the Pritzker administration: from lobbying for patronage job placements to offering condolences for a criminal investigation into Pritzker’s “scheme to defraud” taxpayers.
The emails show:
• McClain lobbying Pritzker for an ally to get a job in the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
• McClain successfully placing a job candidate on the Prisoner Review Board.
• McClain sending resumes to the office of Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell, describing one candidate as “‘young’ to the dark side but .. impressive.”
• McClain sending Mitchell’s office a list of “double-exempt” positions. Double-exempt jobs are patronage havens as they are not subject to political hiring restrictions.
• McClain writing to Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh, “I am deeply sorry about the alleged federal investigation,” referring to the criminal investigation into Pritzker’s removing of toilets from his Gold Coast mansion to reduce his property tax burden.
• Senior Pritzker advisor Nikki Budzinski trading compliments with McClain months after news broke that his house was raided as part of the FBI investigation into Madigan.
Rather than strengthening Illinois’ anti-corruption rules in the wake of the Madigan indictment, Pritzker is weakening them. The governor is fighting in court to fire the federally appointed patronage hiring monitor for his administration.
“Every last Madigan patronage hire should be removed from state service,” Sullivan said.
“But instead of strengthening our watchdogs, our governor is trying to fire them. Taxpayers deserve a thorough investigation into patronage hiring in the Pritzker administration.”
On Tuesday, the Sullivan-Murphy campaign released the 10-point Clean Up Illinois agenda to fight corruption in state government.
Some of this is a stretch, but most of it will make for hot stuff in the fall campaign. It’s quite a hit.
Also, for a guy who regularly told people to never put anything in writing, he sure put a lot of stuff in writing.
Also too, I should note that one of the Madigan “patronage hires” is Jim Edgar.
*** UPDATE *** Natalie Edelstein at the Pritzker campaign…
Try as they may to make this election about Mike Madigan, the facts are clear: The governor passed comprehensive ethics legislation to clean up Springfield and stands ready and willing to work with the General Assembly to do more to restore trust in government. As U.S. Attorney John Lausch said, there are absolutely no allegations of wrongdoing against Governor Pritzker or his staff.
Given Jesse Sullivan’s inability to give a straight answer on questions like whether or not he supports the $15 minimum wage, it is no surprise that he is desperately and falsely attacking the governor in an attempt to break out of a messy, crowded primary.
Two weeks before Anne Caprara stepped into one of the highest profile political roles of her life, she got a call from Gov. J.B. Pritzker with some uncomfortable news.
Pritzker sounded upset, according to a high-level source close to the governor. He said people were “trashing” Caprara to several others, including reporters, in an attempt to squash her appointment as Pritzker’s chief of staff.
That maneuvering didn’t start after the election, either. McClain tried to force Caprara out of her campaign manager’s job before the 2018 primary and then again after the primary. As that article notes, he wasn’t exactly welcomed into the office.
* Apparently, some 13th Ward captains passed some of Valencia’s petitions…
Strategists say that [Anna Valencia’s secretary of state] campaign received help in circulating petitions from groups with ties to Madigan’s organization. It also included help from Mike Kasper, the Valencia campaign’s attorney, who is one of Madigan’s closest aides.
Ald. David Moore, one of Valencia’s opponents, has criticized her campaign for its affiliations with Madigan’s organization.
“The elements of what he controlled, the people he controlled, are still there, so they have an interest in still maintaining what is going on in that Secretary of State seat,” he said.
NBC 5 has learned that in her 2020 and 2021 Statements of Economic Interests, she did not disclose her husband’s lobbying work, and failed to report his income.
Valencia admitted her failure to disclose Monterrey and multiple other lobbying clients; Kazmi hasn’t.
On March 15, 2022, NBC Chicago (WMAQ) aired a news report about Valencia’s failure to disclose her husband’s lobbying for Monterrey Security Consultants. Per the report, a spokesperson for Valencia acknowledged she had made a “mistake” and amended her form to “add Monterrey Security and three other businesses that her husband also lobbied for that does business with the city.”12 Her amendment (dated March 15, 2022) shows these other clients to be “National Youth Advocate Program”, “Chicago Commons”, and “Black Dog / Chicago Petro.”
[Valencia’s spouse Reyahd Kazmi] has not filed a similar amendment to report Monterrey Security Consultants or additional clients of his that have now been reported by Valencia (i.e. Chicago Commons and Black Dog / Chicago Petro).
Local state Rep Michael J. Zalewski (D-Riverside) will have a primary opponent this year for the first time in more than a decade. On March 14 afternoon, less than three hours before the filing deadline, former county board and Cook County Board of Review candidate Abdelnasser Rashid filed to run against Zalewski in the Democratic race for the 21st District.
Zalewski last faced a contested race in 2010, just two years after he was first elected to office, when he walloped Chicago lawyer and former police officer Terrence Collins, winning 71 percent of the vote in the 2010 Democratic primary.
But Rashid could pose a more formidable challenge. Rashid, 32, is a Harvard graduate who in 2018 lost a close race for a seat on the Cook County Board to Republican Sean Morrison. […]
Rashid worked as the Illinois deputy director of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2016, served as the field director of Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s Chicago mayoral campaign in 2015 and has worked for Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi and former Cook County Clerk David Orr. Rashid is now a partner at the progressive political consulting firm Democracy Partners.
Rashid says people are frustrated for many reasons, including political corruption and the recent indictment of former longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
[Republican gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan] said he is for shifting to Web 3.0, which is an internet form that uses Artificial Intelligence technology and work in tandem with Metaverse. Web 3.0 is the third generation of internet services for websites and applications that will focus on using a machine-based understanding of data to provide a data-driven and Semantic Web. Sullivan also believes the American dollar will remain in tact if crypto becomes the way of Illinois’ economy.
“I think there are different use values…there’s Bitcoin, which is the store value…a replacement for gold. Then there are a lot of other use cases that have nothing to do with currency, even though they are labeled that way…it has a lot more to do with smart contracts, which is a way of taking all these industries that have made a ton of money off our backs, like international exchanges and remittances they take 10% of all the money sent between nations. For me it’s about these other use cases of technologies that we are going to create whole industries out of,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan said “hand on the Bible” he will not do the bidding of his big crypto currency donors or any others.
“I want to go to Heaven more than being Governor,” said Sullivan. “I owe no man anything when I step into office. So all my top donors, that I have gotten to know, have done this work with me around the world…trying to back companies and create jobs…didn’t even really know my politics. For me, the one area that I believe in that they also believe in is in the future of the internet.”
At its core web3 is a vapid marketing campaign that attempts to reframe the public’s negative associations of crypto assets into a false narrative about disruption of legacy tech company hegemony. It is a distraction in the pursuit of selling more coins and continuing the gravy train of evading securities regulation. We see this manifest in the circularity in which the crypto and web3 movement talks about itself. It’s not about solving real consumer problems. The only problem to be solved by web3 is how to post-hoc rationalize its own existence.
* Sen. Darren Bailey was on WGN Radio the other day…
Q: The last time you joined us on Chicago’s afternoon news, I asked how you were going to appeal to Chicago because a lot of people in your district just don’t like Chicago, and they feel they don’t have a voice. And you said along the lines, you said you wanted to restore Chicago to what it was. At what point in time do you think Chicago was the great city that you identified it as?
A: Well, that’s interesting, I’m gonna tell you something, I’ve used the word restore a lot. And the Greek meaning of restore is to make something better than it’s ever been before. My wife and I have a lot of antiques in our house. And we like restoring furniture. And you know, any time you restore something it’s never as good as it was before. So, you know, I reference the 1932 World’s Fair a lot. You know, I reference that time and the amazing developments that Chicago showcased. And, and, you know, let’s go back, and let’s let’s let’s get things fixed. Unfortunately, I think corruption and crime have always been synonymous with Chicago. And but I don’t ever see in time when anyone has ever stood up and confronted the issue boldly and and try to you know, and I think the people of Chicago are fed and I think they’re ready. So Illinois is better as one, we work to better Better Together with a great city and a great…
The host mercifully cut him off. I have no idea what the heck that word salad was supposed to mean. I tried and tried to confirm his explanation for the Greek meaning of the word “restore” and, friends, I couldn’t find any evidence, even in Ancient Greek.
— Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso, a Republican candidate in the 6th Congressional District, has been endorsed by former House Republican Leader Tom Cross, former state Sen. Kirk Dillard, and former Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar. Grasso faces Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau in the GOP primary for a November contest against Democratic Reps. Sean Casten or Marie Newman.
— Anna Valencia has secured endorsements from 13 LGBTQ+ leaders, including, Thresholds CEO Mark Ishaug, Chicago House CEO Michael Herman and AIDS Foundation Chicago CEO John Peller. Full list here.
— Democrat Eileen Dordek has been endorsed by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and IUOE Local 150 in her bid for the 13th District state House seat now held by Rep. Greg Harris (who’s not running for reelection).
* A lot of buried nuggets in this dense and long oppo report…
Keith Thornton, who first gained notoriety in 2021 as the voice over police radio the night officer Ella French was shot and killed, has officially launched his campaign for state representative in the 19th district against incumbent Lindsey LaPointe. There’s just one snag: he appears to be lying about his background, and has been for quite some time.
* Rep. Curtis Tarver (D-Chicago) has been doing a good job of getting the word out about his bill, which is still stuck in Rules Committee. WICS…
Rep. Tarver filed House Bill 5046, which would bar someone from holding a state or municipal office if they committed a felony while they are serving in office.
“But if you did something bad while you were in office, you would be banned from running for office ever again. That’s what it would do, uniformly across the entire state,” Rep. Tarver said.
Tarver’s bill would apply to both state and municipal offices. He believes this would make things more equitable.
“We’re the only state in America that bars you based on the type of office and not the type of crime. It just makes no sense,” Rep. Tarver said.
* NASW Illinois…
The National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter asks if we could just not mace abused and neglected children?
In the long line of well-intended yet misguided attempts to address caseworker/social worker safety in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the latest to be fast-tracked is SB1486 which flew out of the Illinois Senate with minimal opportunity for advocates to weigh in. The “hand caseworkers mace and hope they make good decisions” bill is now teed up for the Human Services Committee with an ever-growing list of cosponsors.
The National Association of Social Workers-Illinois Chapter is calling for members of the Illinois House to address questions of child safety, reporting, and use of force in the bill if the plan is to send this to Governor Pritzker.
Questions like: When can caseworkers use mace/pepper spray on families? Can they use it against a six-year-old neglected child that has a traumatic breakdown? What about a 16-year-old youth-in-care who gets upset that DCFS is transferring for the 13th time in 10 years? What about pregnant women or children who are known to have asthma? Both of which have known cases where mace was fatal. Can caseworkers use it as a threat to families or kids? If the caseworker uses mace on a family, do they have to call 911, or can they leave children they were sent to protect, gasping for air in an enclosed home? Do they have to report this use of force publicly so that we know how many times kids and families are being maced? Will we know the racial breakdown of who is being maced, or are we to trust children and families of color aren’t being targeted? Is there a standard for what kind of mace and potency they can carry, or will caseworkers be able to buy their own? If they can purchase their own, will they be able to carry pepper spray guns that shoot projectiles at people? (You can buy pepper spray guns on Amazon that come in both handgun and assault rifle forms). Will there be any accountability for caseworkers who violate these rules if these questions are answered?
The department does not need SB1486 to implement caseworkers carrying mace, yet they have never implemented this. There is a reason for that, and it has everything to do with the genuine liability and safety concerns not addressed in this bill.
None of this will create fundamental safety within DCFS. Real safety reforms require enhanced in-person training and improved risk assessments. Real safety reform requires the state to increase pay and benefits for this population to recruit fully qualified human service staff to levels in which the department can send caseworkers in teams. However, if the Illinois General Assembly intends to pass this bill with incredible liability and safety risks, can we address some of these outstanding questions, like can we at least not mace abused and neglected children.
* Media advisory…
I wanted to alert you to a legislative discussion Thursday morning about a critical economic issue coming out of the pandemic.
State Rep. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, will join the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association tomorrow (Thursday), March 17, at 9 a.m. for a virtual hearing in the Illinois House Revenue and Finance Committee for a subject matter hearing on Senate Bill 3917, creating tax incentives for companies that produce microchips.
Senate Bill 3917 already has cleared the Illinois Senate: https://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=3917&GAID=16&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=139010&SessionID=110&GA=102.
The Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) program would provide financial incentives to manufacturers of semiconductors and microchips, in very short supply during the pandemic and today produced largely in China and Taiwan. Companies who locate here to build the new tech would have to meet certain qualifications and benchmarks to receive and keep the tax credits, much like for manufacturing of electric vehicles that lawmakers acted on last year.
Rep. Halpin is not calling the bill for a vote tomorrow but does expect it could be included with other incentive proposals in a package as the end of the legislative session comes in early April.
* Media advisory…
[Springfield, Illinois]— Workers Center for Racial Justice gathers supporters and community members to urge lawmakers to pass HB 3215, The SAFER Communities Act. This bill seeks to invest in high quality jobs for formerly incarcerated workers. The SAFER Communities Act would establish a living wage job creation program for up to 20,000 formerly incarcerated workers. This five year pilot program would offer local businesses wage subsidies of up to $15,000 annually for employing workers with conviction records into newly created, high-quality jobs.
What: Lobby Day 2022 Press Conference & Rally
Who: Workers Center for Racial Justice, Fully Free Campaign, Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice, State Rep. Carol Ammons, State Rep. Kam Buckner, State Rep. Justin Slaughter
When: Wednesday March 16th, 2022. 11:00 AM
Where: Illinois State Capitol Building, 401 S 2nd St: Abraham Lincoln Statue
Media Content: Lawmakers and supporters speaking. Community members chanting slogans and demands. Banners and signs will be displayed.
* Not a bill, but a rule…
Following extensive conversations with stakeholders, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) is filing rules to simplify the cannabis dispensary license application process, remove barriers for social equity applicants, and expand opportunities targeted to the communities most impacted by the failed war on drugs. IDFPR is required by the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA) to issue at least 50 new adult use cannabis dispensary licenses by the end of 2022.
“From day one, Illinois has been dedicated to leading the nation in an equity-centric approach to legalizing cannabis, and these proposed changes to the application process will make it much easier for social equity applicants to pursue licenses.” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “I appreciate all the feedback we have received from stakeholders since the start of the cannabis program, whose work informed this proposal and is continuing to make Illinois’ growing cannabis industry the most equitable in the nation.”
“We are committed to an inclusive and equitable cannabis program that continues to build on its successes while also recognizing and taking steps to improve it further,” said Mario Treto, Jr., Acting Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. “We look forward to introducing even more participants to Illinois’ adult use cannabis program and encourage all feedback to help ensure we continue to grow the program together.”
The Pritzker Administration is committed to ensuring the new legal cannabis industry reflects the diversity of the state. 100% of craft grow, infuser, and transporter licensee applicants managed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture qualified as social equity applicants. 67% of said applicants live in areas disproportionately impacted by the failed war on drugs, 15% have been personally involved with the justice system and 5% have a family member involved with the justice system.
Under the new proposed rules, applicants will be able to apply online with certain basic information (such as the name of the organization, list of principal officers, contact information, and a $250 fee). IDFPR plans to issue 55 conditional licenses to be distributed across the existing 17 BLS Regions detailed in the CRTA. During the license lottery process, principal officers cannot be included on more than one lottery entry and applicants cannot have more than one lottery entry across all 17 regions. If deemed eligible for a conditional license, applicants will need to meet certain social equity criteria before the conditional license is issued.
IDFPR anticipates opening the conditional license application window during the late summer or early fall of 2022, depending on when the rules become permanent. All applicants who submit an approved application will participate in a lottery conducted by IDFPR with the Illinois Lottery. IDFPR will post a list of applicants participating in the lottery. The date of the lottery will be announced by IDFPR in the coming months. IDFPR will publish the certified results after the lottery has concluded. If an applicant does not meet eligibility criteria, IDFPR will offer the opportunity for the conditional license to the next applicant on a list of applicants drawn chronologically after the 55 applicants selected during the lottery.
Each applicant drawn for an opportunity for a conditional license will have 45 calendar days to prove certain social equity, eligibility criteria. This includes meeting the social equity applicant ownership criteria outlined in the CRTA:
• The applicant has at least 51% ownership and control by one or more individuals who have resided for at least five of the preceding ten years in a Disproportionately Impacted Area, or
• The applicant has at least 51% ownership and control by one or more individuals who:
o have been arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense that is eligible for expungement under the CRTA, or
o is a member of an impacted family.
OR by meeting alternate criteria which will be described in the upcoming release of the new adult use lottery rules.
IDFPR will have 60 calendar days after the lottery to ensure the 55 applicants selected in the lottery meet the criteria detailed above. Applicants selected in the lottery will be provided an opportunity to provide supplemental information to satisfy these criteria.
* One of the things that might be getting a little lost in the coverage of the Court of Claims filings by the families of the residents killed by COVID at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home is that the lawyers have also filed separate lawsuits against individual staff members in LaSalle County’s district court. At least one doctor and several nurses are being sued. All of the Court of Claims and court filings are here. You can click here to see a sample lawsuit. They’re asking the district court for amounts in excess of $50,000 from each defendant in each of the 27 cases.
I asked the attorneys’ spokesperson Anne Kavanagh about why staff members were being sued…
Some staff members were named because they did not follow basic, long time safety rules that have applied to preventing the spread of all airborne viral infections not just COVID 19 for decades.
Basics like not exposing people infected with the virus to others, hand washing, wearing masks etc. Nursing 101. Especially when dealing with an elderly, at risk population who cannot protect or take care of themselves. By November 2020, these basic things were also well known to the general public. That trained health professionals did not abide by them is unimaginable. Furthermore, masks were mandated by the state in any kind of health care facility and were especially essential in a nursing home. Staff members have some personal responsibility.
For the record, although I did do some consulting work for the former governor, Bruce Rauner for a short period of time, I never worked on anything related to the Quincy Veterans Home tragedy.
* Anyway, let’s move on to a press release from GOP gubernatorial candidate Paul Schimpf…
Republican candidate for governor Paul Schimpf says the LaSalle Veterans’ Home tragedy is the result of failed leadership and a lack of accountability following the recent filing of lawsuits in LaSalle County that allege negligence and wrongful death, in what amounts to systemic failure. Schimpf says the loss of 36 Illinois veterans at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home is not only tragic, but it was avoidable.
“My heart goes out to all of the families who lost a loved one in this preventable tragedy,” Schimpf said. “We can’t turn back the clock, but we do owe it to the victims and their families to make sure a failure of this magnitude never happens again. I stand with the families of these veterans, and I will fight to ensure we have justice for the victims.”
Senator Schimpf says we’ve conveniently learned of failures at the facility and departmental level, but we still have no idea what Governor Pritzker knew—and when he knew it. “Why did his administration decide to ‘go it alone?’ Was the governor aware, or was he somehow disengaged? Why did it take twelve days for the Illinois Department of Public Health to dispatch a response team? Governor Pritzker must acknowledge that the buck stops with him, and he can’t shift the blame to his political appointees.”
The former state senator who was minority spokesman on the Veteran’s Affairs committee at the time of the outbreak demanded committee hearings when he says the facility’s area senator, Sue Rezin, was ignored by the administration. “I can’t help but wonder if this tragedy could have been avoided simply through legislative oversight of the administration. This is what happens when we assume that political appointees are up to the task.”
Now Schimpf is calling on the legislature to hold the administration accountable. “Of all people, Governor Pritzker should realize that oversight is necessary. Candidate Pritzker spent millions blasting the previous administration’s handling of the Quincy veterans’ home only to have his administration oversee the deadliest outbreak at a state facility in Illinois history. We need to institute legislative oversight practices immediately, so this kind of preventable tragedy never happens again.”
“Governor Pritzker’s billions boosted his campaign, but his money couldn’t buy him leadership. I was taught in the military that if you are in charge, you take responsibility. As a hands-on governor, my staff would’ve known to call me the minute the outbreak occurred. As governor, I won’t shift the blame to lieutenants when it’s politically expedient. I’ll stand up for Illinois veterans and working families and keep our communities safe.”
* And here’s a handy coverage roundup from the Irvin campaign…
The Pritzker Administration’s gross negligence and incompetence led to the deaths of 36 of our nation’s heroes at the LaSalle Veterans Home. Their families are now seeking the Justice they deserve.
“After sacrificing their lives for our freedoms, these veterans ultimately died due to the mismanagement and ignorance of the Pritzker Administration,” said Irvin for Illinois spokesperson Eleni Demertzis. “These heroes deserved better, and we have to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again.”
FOX 32: “In total, 36 veterans died of COVID at the VA in late 2020. Family members said even the most basic safety protocols were not followed.A report by the state inspector general, as well as other independent investigations, found management, a lack of planning training, and poor communication as part of the cause of the deadly virus outbreak. The investigation led to the firing of the home’s administrator and nursing director. The head of the State Department of Veterans Affairs also resigned during the fallout of the investigation.”
ABC 7: “The family members of 27 veterans are part of lawsuits just filed against LaSalle Veterans Home, the state of Illinois, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs and several other staff members at the long-term care facility. A state inspector general’s report last year found those deaths could have been prevented. “They had no plan; they had no training. In many cases, they weren’t wearing masks. They had no hand sanitizer. They didn’t even have morphine ordered by a doctor to mitigate the painful death many of our clients suffered,” one attorney said. The families say their loved ones died in pain, and, in many cases, alone.”
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: “The deaths have prompted a series of individual lawsuits against the state on behalf of the families of 26 veterans who died of COVID-19 or coronavirus-related illnesses. The suits come nearly a year after the Illinois Department of Human Services’ inspector general detailed systemic mismanagement from top leadership of the Illinois Veterans’ Affairs Department all the way down to the LaSalle home’s administrator. The result, according to the 50-page report, was an “inefficient, reactive and chaotic” response to controlling the virus. “The state thoroughly investigated itself and basically convicted itself with the conclusion that there was rampant negligence that resulted in unnecessary deaths,” said Steve Levin, one of the attorneys filing the lawsuits. “That’s the state. The state has done our investigation and concluded that they are guilty.”
CENTER SQUARE: “The family members of 27 veterans who contracted COVID-19 are part of lawsuits filed against the state of Illinois, the Department of Veterans Affairs, LaSalle Veterans Home and several staff members at the facility. Twenty-six of the 27 veterans listed in the lawsuit died. Lindsey Lamb, of Lockport, spoke about her grandfather, 89-year-old Richard Cieski, a Korean War vet who died when the virus swept through the facility in November 2020. “He was a loving, gentle, caring family man who didn’t deserve to die the way that he did,” Lamb said.”
NBC: “Several of the family members spoke this morning during a news conference about the lawsuits. “These men didn’t deserve to die alone. They were there to be taken care of. We put our family in their hands, and they failed us,” said Lindsey Lamb, granddaughter of a veteran who died at LaSalle. “The inspector general’s report also found staff did not wear masks, take temperature checks before working or wash their hands properly. Family members are also demanding accountability from Governor JB Pritzker, since he frequently criticized former governor Bruce Rauner for his response to the deadly legionnaires’ outbreak at the veterans home in Quincy.”
WGN: “Attorneys say these deaths were preventable. They say the staff didn’t even have hand sanitizer and didn’t always wear masks or change gloves after treating one patient and moving to another. “Is the job of a long-term care facility in these times to ensure that infections like Covid-19, do not get into the nursing home and once they do get into the nursing home, that reasonable steps are taken to prevent its spread,”said Attorney Steven Levin. And if it spread reasonable steps need to be taken to respond to those in this case, veterans who fell ill.”
CBS: “The lawsuits rely heavily on a scathing report from the state’s own inspector general, which called the veterans’ home’s response to the outbreak “inefficient, reactive, and chaotic.” “The state must be held accountable for their actions - or, in this case, inaction,” said attorney Mike Bonamarte.”
* On March 8th, radio host Dan Proft got back into the campaign game with an independent expenditure committee…
Has he relocated to Naples? I won’t be too far from him after session adjourns, so maybe I’ll stop by. /s
Anyway, he hasn’t yet reported raising any money. [See below for $1 million disclosure from Uihlein.] You’ll recall that he raised millions from Dick Uihlein before dropping out of running campaigns a few years back. Uihlein recently contributed a million dollars to Sen. Darren Bailey’s gubernatorial campaign. Proft supported Bailey in his first run for the Illinois House.
Yesterday was Tuesday. Every Tuesday up until election day in November Cindy and I will be fasting. And we’ve got a prayer page, Prayer Warriors for Bailey, I think you can go on that and follow that. Some pretty amazing things happen on Tuesday. And yesterday, there were some amazing things happening. And I haven’t got to listen to it yet, but I’m told that on AM 560 this morning I received another endorsement. There’s a Super PAC starting that’s going to be supporting our cause. So that’s amazing. That’s a result of the prayer and the fasting on Tuesday.
* That was Proft’s show. Proft talked about how he supported Bailey during his first run for the House and how he’s going to support him again…
It’s easy to take positions but, when it was time to stand up, Darren Bailey was the only legislator, one of the only Republican officeholders to stand up and take the fight to Pritzker and his one-man rule. If not for Darren Bailey, combined with Tom Devore, that mask mandate extends beyond the time it was in force, you don’t have the revolts that happened, even early on in Downstate school districts, that you have, providing examples to embolden others to be courageous and sensible at the same time. So I just think that’s such a huge credential.
And the other thing is, I have political history with Darren Bailey. Again, the previous Super PAC that I ran supported Darren Bailey as a first time candidate for legislative office coming, you know, off the farm, and out of the school that he and his wife started, a Christian school that he and his wife started, and to be a candidate for state office against an incumbent in southern Illinois, named David Reis, a conservative who I previously supported, but he voted for the Rauner tax increase, a disqualifying vote.
So, Darren Bailey stepped up then and I backed him. Bailey stepped up during the pandemic and I’m backing him, along with others like Jeannie Ives and others backing him again. […]
I’m watching from afar as I can’t coordinate with campaigns. I’m not talking to him or his campaign. I can’t do that by law. So I’m going to do my own thing.
* Speaking of Naples, the other candidate Proft mentioned above adjusted his travel plans and is headed for the swanky town of Naples…
The guy’s firm has a case against CPS in court and candidate petition filing deadline was Monday and he’s bragging about being in Florida. Weird.
Overall, the number of murders [in Aurora] has hovered in a narrow range, from seven in 2016, the year before Irvin took office, to a high of 12 and then down to six last year. In comparison, the number of homicides reported by the Chicago Police Department on its website has soared recently, moving from 576 in 2018 to 770 in 2020 and 797 last year.
The number of reported robberies and burglaries in Aurora has dropped steadily during Irvin’s tenure, even during the pandemic.
Other categories, following national trends, rose when the pandemic hit in 2020 but dropped back in 2021. For instance, the number of reported shootings went from 110 in 2019 to 154 in 2020 to 105 in 2021.
But the number of criminal sexual assaults have risen steadily from 57 in 2016 to 135 in 2021. Aggravated assault or battery also are up, though not as much, going from 359 in 2019 to 513 last year.
[Aurora Police Department spokesperson Paris Lewbel] said much of that is due to the pandemic, with people staying home more (and getting in more domestic fights) and with some domestic violence shelters having to restrict their operations with COVID-19 raging.
Criminal sexual assault reports dropped in Chicago during the period ending in 2020.
* But here’s some background info from the campaign…
Aurora Police believe that the increase in reported sexual assaults is due to people returning to school and work, where sexual assault incidents typically occur. Efforts in recent years to reduce the stigma around reporting sexual assault may have also contributed to the increase.
…Adding… If you include 2021, which Irvin did, then sexual assaults rose in the city as well. WGN…
The number of sexual assaults have increased in almost every part of the city, according to data released by Chicago police.
Chicago Police Department data shows 19 of the city’s 22 police districts saw an increase in reports from 2020 to 2021.
In some areas, the numbers doubled.
The highest percentage change in 2020 was in the Jefferson Park neighborhood with numbers up 121%.
…Adding… DGA…
“Richard Irvin is running on lies because his true record is too weak to stand on,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “If Irvin wants Illinoisans to believe he’s ‘tough-on-crime,’ then he should stop manipulating statistics and answer for his history of profiting from keeping violent offenders out of jail, and reject his megadonor’s gun money.”
* Related…
* Lights and noise at Irvin’s State of City address, where Aurora Christkindlmarket is announced: Three protesters started shouting during the part of his speech where he praised the Aurora Police Department, when he said there were huge decreases in murders, burglaries and shootings. The protesters couldn’t be heard, however, as Irvin spoke louder and people started standing and applauding the police.
Watch for GOP governor candidate Jesse Sullivan to see his petition signatures challenged. Copies of some of the petition pages that his campaign turned in Monday show signatures that look strikingly similar. Check out here, here and here. His campaign’s response: “We’re not surprised that our opponents prefer to focus us in court than on the campaign trail.”
Click those links. This may not be enough to kick him off the ballot, but those signatures are probably going to get a closer look.
Due to the improving economy in Illinois and the statewide unemployment rate falling to 5%, the Employment of Illinois Workers on Public Works Act is no longer in effect as of March 14th. The law, which requires employees on all public works projects to be comprised of a minimum of 90% Illinois residents, took effect on July 1, 2020, when the jobless rate was above five percent for two consecutive months.
On March 14th, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the state’s jobless rate was five percent, triggering the suspension of enforcement of the Employment of Illinois Workers on Public Works Act.
“Following two challenging years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois’ economy is improving thanks to policies implemented by the Pritzker Administration,” said Illinois Department of Labor Acting Director Jane Flanagan. “The Illinois Department of Labor will continue enforcing the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act to ensure public tax dollars are granted to local contractors and workers.”
The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) administers the Employment of Illinois Workers on Public Works Act, which was enacted to alleviate unemployment in Illinois by ensuring that most workers on public works projects are residents of the state.
More information about the Employment of Illinois Workers on Public Works Act can be found here.
* The Question: Should the Employment of Illinois Workers on Public Works Act be altered to mandate that employees on all public works projects be comprised of a minimum of 90 percent Illinois residents at all times? Explain your answer.
The past couple of weeks have been tough when it comes to the cause of freedom.
Forty-four million people in Ukraine face the threat of an autocratic tyrant after Vladimir Putin started an illegal invasion of their sovereign country. Millions of Ukrainians have fled their homes and left everything behind to protect their families from brutal repression.
But many more have stayed to repel this assault on their democracy. They’ve inspired people around the world to join them in defense of their homeland and one example happens to be a member of our own Democratic Party of Oak Park. Her story is worth your time.
Maria (her last name is being withheld for her safety) has called Oak Park home for the past decade. She was born in Kyiv and has many family members facing grave danger today in this conflict.
A week ago Saturday, Maria was married in Oak Park. Soon she and her husband will cross the border between Poland and Ukraine to join President Volodymyr Zelensky’s newly formed International Legion of Territorial Defense. You can read more about Maria and her husband here:
I could not be prouder that a member of our community and volunteer in our own Democratic Party family has chosen to defend her homeland at such great personal risk.
Maria’s bravery and the spirit of the Ukrainian people compel us to renew our effort in our own democracy. It is easy to fall prey to the pessimism and hopelessness we all feel when times get tough.
But we don’t give up. We move forward, do the work necessary, and remember that the stakes in every opportunity to renew our democratic values are as high as they ever have been.
I pray for the safety of Maria, her husband, her entire family, and the people of Ukraine. Their example is an inspiration to us all.
A Chicago-area Republican congressional candidate on Monday said a now-fired staffer was responsible for a tweet on his account that called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “corrupt thug” while Zelenskyy and his people defend their country against Russia’s invasion.
The tweet, which has since been deleted, appeared on 14th District candidate Jack Lombardi’s Twitter page about midnight Sunday.
It read, in part: “The Ukrainian people are in my heart and prayers. However, President Zelensky is a corrupt thug who leads a corrupt government.”
Lombardi said he didn’t write the tweet and that a campaign worker who had been assisting with tweets did. Lombardi said he learned about the tweet Monday morning after being contacted by the Daily Herald and someone else.
* Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) is doing his bit by distributing this yard sign…
Moylan said he’s sending out 2,000 postcards at a time to his constituents, regardless of party, asking if they want a sign. He’s usually getting about 500-600 responses per round and then he and his crew delivers the signs and puts them into yards. “The first batch was gone in a week,” Moylan said.
* Richard Irvin’s campaign has the most active press shop of anyone right now. He’s also taking more fire from the Democrats. So, I’m just gonna corral everything I have in this post, although I did put his statement on the LaSalle Veterans’ Home lawsuits on that post.
Let’s start with Madigan and Pritzker…
It’s been a game of stop and go for JB Pritzker on the fallout in state funding to Mike Madigan’s pet projects after he pleaded not-guilty Wednesday to 22-counts of federal charges. Everything Mike Madigan touched is coming into question, including the over $10 million in campaign funding JB Pritzker designated to the criminal enterprise.
Last week, Democratic lawmakers pleaded for Pritzker to freeze the millions of dollars in state funding that was designated towards projects Madigan backed in the Illinois House. After agreeing to freeze them, following an internal caucus fiasco, the funding will again be released. But the larger question looms: if everything tied to Madigan deserves scrutiny, are campaign funds held to the same standard?
To date, it was reported that Madigan has spent nearly $5 million in campaign funds to pay for his ongoing legal fees as the federal investigation rages on. But just a few years prior, JB Pritzker gave $10 million to pad Madigan’s campaign coffers, which he used to enable his criminal enterprise, and now defend it in court.
“The money JB Pritzker gave to Mike Madigan enabled him to keep his power and channel that money to expand the scope of his criminal enterprise that has been under investigation for over two years,” said Irvin for Illinois Campaign spokesperson Eleni Demertzis. “There is no clearer sign that JB Pritzker has let the culture of corruption live on in Springfield.”
* Road trip report, with one of the originally attached photos…
Gubernatorial candidate and Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and his running mate, State Representative Avery Bourne, traveled throughout more than 20 counties over the last week on their #TakeItBack tour where they talked to voters throughout the state about how they will take Illinois back from out-of-control crime, skyrocketing taxes and public corruption.
Counties visited: Adams, Christian, Cook, DuPage, Fayette, Jefferson, Jersey, Kane, Lee, Macon, Madison, McDonough, McHenry, Montgomery, Morgan, Ogle, Peoria, Rock Island, St. Clair, Saline, Sangamon, Tazewell, Williamson and Winnebago.
* Blue Cross Blue Shield…
The JB Pritzker administration is facing scrutiny for failing to act after a recent investigative report into Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois uncovered a dire situation where thousands of Central Illinois residents are facing higher health care costs and difficulty accessing healthcare. Blue Cross Blue Shield’s decision to remove Springfield clinic and its over 600 doctors from its provider network has resulted in countless Central Illinois patients being forced to choose between joining ever-longer waiting lists at other healthcare providers, or paying inflated out of network charges to continue being treated by their current doctors.
But while Blue Cross Blue Shield was refusing to cover visits to Springfield Clinic, it continued to list Springfield Clinic doctors and specialists on its provider network directory, creating what experts term a “ghost network.” The Blue Cross Blue Shield incident is just one example of what the President of the Illinois State Medical Association calls a statewide problem.
In light of this startling news that has left Illinoisans without proper care under the state’s watch, the Irvin for Illinois campaign is calling on the Pritzker Administration to take the following steps:
• Swiftly investigate Blue Cross Blue Shield’s compliance with the state’s network adequacy requirements, and impose fines for every day it is in violation.
• Order Blue Cross Blue Shield to provide true continuity of care coverage as required by state law and re-adjudicate previous claims that should have been considered in-network.
• Consider capping Blue Cross Blue Shield’s enrollment if the company does not swiftly come into compliance with provider network adequacy requirements.
“This unfortunately isn’t the first time the health and wellbeing of Illinois residents was threatened under JB Pritzker’s watch,” said Irvin for Illinois Spokesperson Eleni Demertzis. “Mismanagement of state agencies is becoming a recurring theme of this administration and it’s clear that Illinois residents can’t afford to rely on this kind of leadership.”
Signing on to this letter again puts him at odds with his running mate on gun control. You’ll remember Irvin called it a “distinct honor” to host the signing ceremony for HB 562 and thanked Governor Pritzker and “bold legislators” who “crossed the aisle to make House Bill 562 reality.”
Bourne voted against HB 562 and said we need to “reform or repeal our FOID System.” Bourne attacked Democrats for rejecting her repeal of the FOID card, saying “What’s worse is that the Democratic majority is doubling down on this failed process by rejecting Republican calls to repeal the FOID…”
Irvin said he wanted to “ensure we get less guns in criminals’ hands” which the Gun Dealer’s Licensing Act that Bourne voted against in 2018 would have also done.
And the other day, Irvin said he wanted to strengthen FOID requirements when asked if he favored getting rid of it altogether.
* DGA…
After two months of hiding from Illinoisans, Richard Irvin continues to dodge and refuse to answer questions. An updated website is now tracking the key issues Irvin’s remained radio silent on.
The DGA updated GriffinSlate.com with a new scorecard today. View the site here.
So far, Irvin has dodged or flip-flopped on abortion, supporting Trump, denouncing the January 6th insurrection, being funded by megadonor Ken Griffin’s gun manufacturing money, and more.
“Radio Silent Richard continues to hide where he stands in a desperate attempt to hide his flip-flopping and unpopular views,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “Keep your eyes peeled for updates to the scorecard as Irvin continues to duck and dodge questions from his opponents, reporters, and Illinoisans.”
* While we’re on that topic, Benjamin Cox on WOYM interviewed Irvin the other day and the transcript came in over the transom…
Cox: Mr. Irvin, thanks for coming to Jacksonville. Appreciate it.
Irvin: Hey, it’s good to be here in Jacksonville.
Cox: So obviously, there’s going to be all kinds of questions that you have probably answered 100 times and I really, I don’t want to rehash any…
Irvin: No, no problem at all. I don’t mind answering again.
Cox: The question that I want to ask is, obviously, the litmus test for Republicans in this election is the Donald Trump question. What is your answer to the Donald Trump, January 6 Question?
Richard Irvin: Listen, you know, I think we have to look forward to the future. You know, this election is about who the next governor of Illinois is going to be. And everything that we need to do to compare, you know, myself, and all the other candidates, you know, running on Republican ticket to JB Pritzker. Now, I’m a former prosecutor. So I’m always gonna, you know, focus. And I believe in the Constitution. So, I believe people have the right to peacefully protest. When people break the law, as a former prosecutor, I think they’ve got to be prosecuted. But you know, I don’t know that we should be focusing on the past. We’ve got to focus on the future. We’ve got to focus on the failures that JB Pritzker has had here in the state of Illinois, and what we need to do to get Illinois back on top.
Executive Director José Alvarez submitted a letter of resignation effective today and Chairwoman Dorothy Abreu accepted his resignation and thanked him for his service. Since joining the Tollway in 2019, Alvarez helped the Tollway continue to deliver on its $14 billion Move Illinois capital program, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. Alvarez informed the Board of his decision to step aside to prioritize his family’s needs and to afford the new chairwoman the opportunity to establish new leadership.
The Illinois tollway’s executive director resigned Tuesday, a few weeks after the board chairman departed following a tumultuous 2021 when state senators scrutinized a power struggle at the agency. […]
Alvarez and former Chairman Will Evans were placed on the tollway by incoming Gov. J.B. Pritzker in early 2019 as part of a reform team following the mass exodus of an administration appointed by former Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Concerns about a power struggle between Alvarez and Evans surfaced in 2021 and the state Senate’s Transportation Committee held a hearing on the issue in December.
Evans retired from the tollway on Feb. 18. Alvarez’s last day was Monday, sources said.
Maybe now things can calm the heck down over there.
A Republican businessman running for governor says taxes are too high in Illinois. If he wins, Gary Rabine would take over a state agency that has unsuccessfully tried to collect more than $10,000 in delinquent taxes from one of his dissolved companies.
“My accounting firm is a great accounting firm, and we’re very seldom actually delinquent,” Rabine said in an interview.
Tax records show the Illinois Department of Employment Security filed a tax lien for $10,262 against Rabine Utility Pavements, LLC, in 2017. Rabine dissolved that company in 2019, according to records filed with the Illinois Secretary of State, but the bill remains unpaid.
When we asked Rabine to explain the delinquency, he said he was unaware of the outstanding debt until we asked him about it. His campaign aides claimed it never showed up in a rigorous financial background check.
“You found the needle in the haystack,” Rabine said in an emailed statement, before blaming the state for failing to properly notify him of his company’s debts.
Pritzker doesn’t have a slate of candidates, per se, but he is expected to support Rep. Margaret Croke in the 5th District and lobbyist and political insider Liz Brown-Reeves in the 15th.
There are state reps running for central committee seats, too, including Rep. Delia Ramirez, who’s separately running for Congress in the new 3rd Congressional District.
In the central committee, Ramirez is challenging Cook County Clerk of the Court Iris Martinez, a longtime committee member who also has served on the Democratic National Committee’s Hispanic Caucus.
“I’m very disappointed that Delia would challenge me. It shows some disrespect for people like me who have opened doors for women,” Martinez told Playbook. “I’m ready for the fight. And it’s going to be a fight that spills into the 3rd Congressional District race.”
Ramirez countered in a separate interview, saying, “It’s sad that a woman in this seat for almost two decades is upset that another woman dares to run for that seat. We should be celebrating. We need more women to run.”
Other contested central committee seats: Senate President Don Harmon is challenging Rep. Danny Davis. And Rep. Bobby Rush, who is retiring from Congress but wants to keep his central committee seat, is being challenged by state Sen. Elgie Sims, state Reps. Marcus Evans and Lamont Robinson; and Anthony Hargrove.
* Sullivan looked silly trying to dodge these questions, but governors cannot “outlaw” cannabis or reverse minimum wage laws on their own…
Jesse Sullivan wants to run against J.B. Pritzker, but how far would he go to campaign against Pritzker’s first-term agenda items? Would he outlaw cannabis? Would he slow or reverse the $15 minimum wage? Sullivan suggests he’d keep those progressive policies in tact if elected. pic.twitter.com/ib84s5nRJO
Sullivan, who was joined by his running mate, Kathleen Murphy, said the move to file on the last day was “strategic.”
“We had more than enough signatures at the beginning of this whole week,” the Petersburg resident told reporters outside the board’s headquarters, apparently meaning the beginning of the filing period.
“We decided that for strategic purposes, we wanted to hold off,” Sullivan said before entering the building. “We kept collecting signatures all the way to the end.”
Two candidates, Terry Martin, a Republican, and Ellis Taylor, a Democrat, filed to run in the 13th Congressional District. Democrats Nikki Budzinski and David Palmer, and Republicans Regan Deering, Matt Hausman and Jesse Reising filed last week.
State Rep. Sandy Hamilton, R-Springfield, and businessman Bill Eddington filed to run as Republicans in the 48th Illinois Senate District. State Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Springfield attorney Kent Gray, who was Illinois state director for former President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, filed to run against state Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, in the 95th Illinois House District Republican primary. […]
Democrat Sharon Chung, a member of the McLean County Board, filed Monday to run for the 91st Illinois House District. She will face Karla Bailey-Smith in the Democratic primary. Republicans Scott Preston, a member of the Normal Town Council, and James Fisher will face off in a primary.
Attorney Thomas DeVore, who has been at the center of several COVID-related lawsuits against the Pritzker administration, filed petitions to run for Illinois Attorney General. He will face Steve Kim and David Shestokas in the Republican primary. Incumbent Democrat Kwame Raoul is unopposed in the primary.
DeVore has been in Florida since last week. Sen. Jason Plummer filed his petitions for him.
* Press release…
Today, the Democratic Party of Illinois (DPI) and Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association (IDCCA) announced that applications are open for the inaugural Illinois Local Candidate Training Cohort. The Training Cohort is an intensive 12-week program run in partnership with the National Democratic Training Committee (NDTC) for Democratic candidates running at the countywide level or below to learn the skills necessary to win local elections and lead in their communities.
“Local elected leaders are the backbone of the Democratic Party, and the DPI is committed to supporting Democratic candidates at every level,” said Rep. Robin Kelly, Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois. “Local candidates are often running for office for the first time and do not have the resources or capacity of state or federal campaigns. This Local Candidate Training Cohort is a way for us to build the bench in a sustainable, real-time way for candidates who are running for office right now. The DPI is proud to lead this critical effort along with our Democratic partners in Illinois.”
“The IDCCA recruits, trains, and elects Democratic candidates at every level throughout the state, but we know more can be done building the bench and ensuring good people who share our values are governing. This partner program dovetails with our efforts already underway to support local candidates, which includes our annual Boot Camp.” said Kristina Zahorik, President of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association. “This expanded work with DPI will ensure our candidates get the best possible preparation to win in November. I am excited to partner with DPI because together, we are laying the foundation for the next generation of Democratic leaders in Illinois.”
“We’ve seen it time and time again: a strong investment in training local candidates yields big electoral dividends down the road,” said Kelly Dietrich, founder and CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee. “It is encouraging to see Illinois Democrats continue to invest in their local candidates, and we’re excited to bring this program to the Land of Lincoln.”
Candidates included in the training cohort must be actively running for office in the 2022 midterm elections and cannot be running in a primary against another Democrat. The free training program will cover all basic campaign strategies and tactics. It will take place online weekly in the evenings to give cohort members real-time feedback on the challenges and opportunities faced on the campaign trail. Candidates will continue to receive support after the cohort concludes through their victory in November.
More information about the program, including application information, is available at www.ildems.com/cohort. The application period closes April 1.
* More…
* As Candidate Filing Closes in Illinois, Some Want System Reformed: A candidate would approach a voter and ask if they’re a registered voter within that district. If the voter agrees to “do democracy a solid,” as Cassidy puts it, and agrees to sign the petition, “I hand you my tablet instead of my clipboard. I’ve just pulled you up in the voter file. You verify that that’s you, you check a box, you sign, it verifies that your signature is relatively the same — because we all know what we do on those electronic things too … and bada-bing, bada-boom.” Cassidy says it would mean elections attorneys would lose some business, and incumbents like her would see more competition.
* DPI: QAnon Followers, Big Lie Believers, Trump Acolytes, January 6 Truthers Highlight 2022 ILGOP Line Up
* NARAL Endorses Nikki Budzinski in IL13: Today, NARAL announced their endorsement of Nikki Budzinski in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. NARAL is a national organization that works to organize their 2.5 million members nationwide for a pro-choice, pro-reproductive freedom agenda. NARAL has 19,364 members in Illinois.
* Big field in Democratic primary for Lake County Board with eight races: With the weeklong filing period now closed, the primary race for sheriff will feature Democrat William C. King challenging incumbent John Idleburg. On the Republican side, Mark A. Vice II, John K. Van Dien II and Jonathan “Jon” Harlow will square off to represent the party in the November election. Only the race for Lake County sheriff will have primaries. The offices of Lake County treasurer, clerk and regional superintendent of schools also are up for contest this year, but none will have a primary race. One wrinkle in the Lake County clerk’s race is that incumbent Robin O’Connor switched parties and is running as a Republican. In November, she’ll face Democratic nominee Anthony Vega, Idleburg’s chief of staff.
…Adding… Press release…
State Representative Sam Yingling’s campaign for Illinois State Senate continues to gain momentum as the Illinois State Conference of the Transport Workers Union of America joins the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois with their endorsement.
“Ilinois’ Labor Unions built the middle class. The Transport Workers Union and the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois give their members a voice in their workplace, protects their rights, and make our communities stronger. I will continue to be a strong voice for Illinois Labor in the State Senate. I am honored to have their support,” said Yingling.
“On behalf of the thousands of Transport Workers Union members in the great state of Illinois, we officially endorse Sam Yingling’s candidacy for the Illinois State Senate. We believe he is the right choice for working men and women because of his continued efforts to protect working families in Illinois. We proudly endorse his candidacy and recognize his advocacy for working families.”
“Our members and their families are under increasing pressure to make ends meet in the face of worsening economic pressures. Having elected officials who understand these challenges and will fight to ease the burden on workers is central to our success. We are confident that Sam Yingling will continue to work for our members and their families, as he has previously done in the past working with our Transport Workers Union Locals in Illinois,” said Terry Daniels, Illinois State Conference Director Transport Workers Union.
“Sam Yingling’s support of issues affecting professional firefighters in Illinois has earned our endorsement. The Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois (AFFI) represents more than 15,000 professional firefighters in 224 affiliates across the State. We wish him the best in his campaign and look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead,” said Chuck Sullivan, President of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois.
…Adding… Press release…
Norma Hernandez submits the most signatures in the 77th House District
Melrose Park, IL - Norma Hernandez released the following statement after filing the most signatures for Illinois’ 77th House District. Her campaign submitted over 1,200 signatures in the first day of filing; three times the amount required.
“After yesterday’s close to the filing period, we confirmed that we have the greatest momentum in the field. We went door-to-door and connected with the most voters, and collected the most signatures of any other campaign in the 77th. I am ready to become the first Latina to represent Illinois’ 77th House District! With Latinos making up almost 60% of the population in the district, it is important they have the opportunity to elect someone who understands them, speaks their language and shares their experience. We are looking forward to the next phase of the campaign.”
Hernandez was amongst the first in line at the board of elections on the first day of filing. Also submitting on the first day, incumbent Representative, Kathleen Willis (D-Addison) who turned in 936 signatures. The two will have their names drawn next week to decide ballot position in the Democratic ticket. Later in the week, perennial Republican candidate Anthony Airdo submitted 1,000 signatures.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan today announced his “Clean Up Illinois” anti-corruption agenda. The roadmap follows on the heels of arraignment of Illinois Democrat House Speaker Michael Madigan on federal racketeering charges.
“We have long known that corruption runs deep in Illinois politics. And that corruption transcends party lines. For decades, Democrats and Republicans have used their positions to curry favor and enrich themselves, and everyday Illinoisans suffer,” Sullivan said.
“We cannot trust political insiders to rid our state of patronage hiring and pay-to-play politics. Only a political outsider – who doesn’t see politics as a career pathway, but as a form of service, can deliver the type of governance, oversight, and accountability that our state so desperately needs.”
The 10-point anti-corruption agenda is the strongest ethics plan released by any gubernatorial candidate, and follows the endorsement of Sullivan’s campaign by former Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope.
Agenda:
1. Implement strict term limits for elected officials. Public service is an act of love for our neighbor, but it is also an act of trust. We cannot allow politicians to use their positions to enrich themselves and their friends. There is no better safeguard than a limit on how long they can hold power.
2. Support fair maps. Fight for a constitutional amendment for a fair legislative redistricting process, which would put redistricting in the hands of an independent commission rather than partisan lawmakers.
3. Pass the harshest public corruption penalties in the country. Support penalty enhancements laid out in 2018’s House Bill 5878, including increasing the fine for bribery from $25,000 to $1 million; doubling the fine for receiving contributions on state property from $5,000 to $10,000; and increasing the maximum fines for engaging in prohibited political activities and improperly serving on state boards and commissions to $10,000 and $35,000 respectively.
4. Make the legislative inspector general a watchdog, not a lapdog. Illinoisans deserve the strongest legislative watchdog in the nation. The LIG should have publishing power, subpoena power, the power to proactively pursue a case rather than simply respond to filed complaints, and the jurisdiction to hold legislators accountable for any egregious actions inside or outside of their official capacity. At minimum, the LIG should have as much power as Chicago’s Office of the Inspector General.
5. End the “honor system” for conflicts of interest in Springfield. Illinois law requires lawmakers to file financial disclosure statements, but not to declare when they face a conflict of interest before taking a vote. Most states require all members of the legislature to disclose conflicts of interest for each measure, and ban lawmakers from voting at all in the case of a conflict. Illinois should require the same.
6. Reform the Legislative Ethics Commission. Add a seat to the Legislative Ethics Commission for a non-legislator citizen, so that the commission cannot kill investigations into their political allies with 4-4 split votes along party lines.
7. Drop J.B. Pritzker’s fight to fire the federally appointed hiring monitor. The people of Illinois should be able to trust that we have their best interests at heart, not the interests of a special few. Our administration will end Pritzker’s fight to fire the patronage hiring monitor and ban paying any gubernatorial staff members with private money, as Pritzker does.
8. Ban sitting lawmakers from coming before the Property Tax Appeals Board as property tax attorneys. Lawmakers should not be able to enrich themselves through an insider appeals process that only exists because of their political malfeasance.
9. Amend conflict of interest laws. We must ensure no lawmaker’s firm can represent client interests before any government agency or legislative body. This ban on self-dealing would function similar to Chicago’s “cross-lobbying ban,” which bars state lawmakers from lobbying City Council.
10. Put an end to the revolving door between legislators and lobbyists. The last “ethics reform” legislation was insufficient. Currently, a loophole allows a legislator to retire a day before the end of their term and begin lobbying their colleagues the next day. Florida has a six-year ban on legislators moving into lobbying positions. We propose a seven-year ban for Illinois, which would be the strongest in the nation. Becoming a legislator should be a form of temporary public service, not a pathway to a lucrative lobbying career.
Agree with it or not, Sullivan is the only Republican candidate who is producing actual ideas. The campaign released its anti-crime agenda not long ago.
Two incumbent state senators appear ready to retire, conveniently leaving their seats open for close friends and family members who turned in petition signatures on the last filing day yesterday.
State Sens. Antonio Muñoz and Steve Landek are listed as candidates for the 1st and the 11th districts, respectively, but so are two of their buddies.
Muñoz’s son-in-law and former campaign manager Javier Loera Cervantes, filed at the last minute to run for the 1st District seat that his father-in-law has held since 1999.
Political insiders call it a shrewd move that would see Muñoz drop out of the race, allowing Cervantes to get on the ballot with no competition for the June 28 primary.
Cervantes, who was taken aback that Playbook would point out the icky optics of him sliding into Muñoz’s seat, said: “Everybody has their opinion. I’m just looking forward to serving if that comes my way.”
Similarly, Landek is expected to step aside to allow his chief of staff, Mike Porfirio, who also filed signatures on the last day, to win the seat. Neither Landek nor Muñoz returned Playbook’s calls or texts for comment.
Political insiders expect the veteran lawmakers want out of politics after seeing their associates operate close to the legal edge.
Bill Lipinski dropped out after the primary and had his kid appointed to the ballot. I don’t recall yesterday’s maneuver being used in the past, but maybe some of y’all have seen this before. As long as no other candidate files, it’s kinda foolproof. And the reformers are gonna absolutely hate this, but I’m not sure you can create a rule to stop this from happening.
State Sen. Chuck Weaver (R-Peoria) announced Thursday he’s retiring at the end of his term.
In his place, Widmer Fabrics CEO Win Stoller will fill the Republican nomination for the district, which stretches from Peoria to Galesburg.
“With Central Illinois at a turning point, everyone must serve where they can cause positive change,” Weaver said in a statement. “I believe I can now make the most positive impact closer to home by serving my community in a different position of service.”
Richard Cieski for years received care at the veterans home in downstate LaSalle that his family recalled as “amazing.” The 89-year-old decorated Korean War Army veteran schmoozed with friends, participated in an array of activities and excelled in an environment even as he coped with escalating dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
“They had church. They had animals that came in. They had coffee and conversation. They had haircuts. Physical therapy. Everything. He was clean. His hair was combed. He had his room and it was clean,” a granddaughter, Lindsay Lamb of Lockport, said. “He was thriving in there until it happened.”
That was in November 2020, when the COVID-19 coronavirus began to sweep through the state-run, long-term-care facility for veterans. As the coronavirus ran its deadly course through the LaSalle veterans home, the outbreak led to the deaths of Cieski and 35 other veterans.
“Six of the men ate lunch with my dad and his whole table died. There’s no one left that ate lunch with my dad. They all died within a week of each other,” said one of his daughters, Leslie Lamb of Seneca. “It could have been prevented if protocol was followed.”
The deaths have prompted a series of individual lawsuits against the state on behalf of the families of 26 veterans who died of COVID-19 or coronavirus-related illnesses. The lawsuits, which began being filed last week in LaSalle County, allege negligence and wrongful death and could cost the state millions of dollars.
* Press release…
Levin & Perconti filed lawsuits for the families of 27 veterans who contracted COVID-19 due to a preventable outbreak at LaSalle Veterans’ Home in late 2020. Twenty-six of those veterans needlessly died and suffered painful deaths isolated from their families according to the lawsuits. The families filed lawsuits against the state of Illinois, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, LaSalle Veterans’ Home and several senior administrative, medical and nursing staff members at the long-term care facility. The lawsuits allege although COVID-19 safety protocols were well known by the time of the outbreak, LaSalle Veterans’ Home did not have a comprehensive COVID-19 plan nor did staff members abide by even the most basic safety protocols.
The outbreak began November 1, 2020, when two residents and two employees tested positive for COVID-19. By the end of the month, more than 200 people had tested positive. In all, 36 veterans died. According to the lawsuits, various LaSalle employees — including nurses, nursing assistants and nurses’ aides — attended an off-site party on October 31, 2020. As residents and staff tested positive for COVID-19 in the following days, nursing staff continued to report to work and care for residents and veterans who tested positive were not isolated from other residents. Staff members were not following safety protocols, such as wearing masks, temperature checks, or washing their hands. The facility did not even have effective hand sanitizer according to the complaints.
“It’s not like they did something and did it wrong. It’s not like they took action that turned out to be wrong in light of greater knowledge. They did little to nothing. That is what is so shocking,” said Levin & Perconti founder and senior partner, Steven Levin. “Many of these veterans died alone, suffering from air
hunger and respiratory failure. It is true human suffering to be unable to breathe, alone and frightened, without any comfort or support.”
In a scathing report, by the Illinois Inspector General, state investigators called staff’s handling of the outbreak “inefficient, reactive and chaotic” and found a lack of preparation “contributed to the scope of the outbreak.” According to the report, LaSalle leadership failed to effectively communicate, train and educate employees. Many staffers acted like they were unaware of basic infection control protocols.
“The state investigated itself and found itself guilty. The state of Illinois now must take accountability and do the right thing for the families of the victims,” said Levin & Perconti managing partner Michael Bonamarte. “When families learned about the extent of the negligence at LaSalle, it was particularly shocking and devastating and made the loss of their loved ones so much more painful. These men chose to spend their final years at LaSalle Veterans’ Home because they trusted they would be safe. The state betrayed that trust.”
Ironically, the families of the victims were following established COVID-19 protocols. They were not allowed inside the veterans’ home to see their loved ones in an effort to keep them safe from the virus. By late 2020, many of the veterans’ families thought there was light at the end of the tunnel. They had kept safe distances, communicating through windows. Vaccines were about to become widely available.
Plaintiff David Liesse’s father. Jerome Liesse, tested positive for COVID-19 on a Friday in November 2020, and died the following Tuesday. Liesse was a World War II veteran who earned three medals for his service.
“My dad died before he should have. Someone had to bring COVID into his room and it was not the families. It didn’t jump through the window,” said David Liesse. “How can you have an administration that allows people to run a veterans home with such lax security and scrutiny over what’s happening? Someone needs to be responsible for what was done, what wasn’t done and what was supposed to be done.”
Plaintiff Mary Beth Schomas said no one from the VA notified her that her father died after contracting COVID-19 during the LaSalle outbreak. She learned about his death from the hospital where he passed. Her father, U.S. Army veteran Bernard Schomas, served as a medic in World War II under General George S. Patton. Schomas was at the Battle of the Bulge and earned numerous medals.
“When I went to LaSalle to pick up his stuff, they just acted like it was no big deal. Here it is. Go. He was one of the healthiest old guys there. There was no reason for him to die had they taken care of him,” said Mary Beth Schomas.
“We gave them our trust to take care of him and that was betrayed,” said Lindsay Lamb. Her grandfather, Richard Cieski served during the Korean War. He earned three service medals and entered LaSalle Veterans’ Home in 2017 due to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. He suffered without morphine for some of the final hours of his life as he struggled to breath because the home ran out of it.
“These men served our country and protected us and probably experienced things that we could never understand. And they weren’t treated correctly. They weren’t given the same type of respect that they gave us, and it’s not fair. To be left alone to die is even worse,” said Lamb.
Making matters more frustrating for the families is that, starting in 2015, a series of similarly mishandled outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease occurred at Quincy Veterans’ Home in downstate Illinois. At least 14 deaths were linked to the preventable, water-borne illness. The state was sued by multiple families and paid out millions in settlements.
Governor JB Pritzker referred to the outbreaks as “fatal mismanagement,” at the time when he was running against incumbent Governor Bruce Rauner for governor. In the aftermath of the Legionnaires’ outbreak at the Quincy Veterans’ Home, a third-party audit in 2019 made recommendations for improvement of the infection control policies at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home. “These recommendations were ignored and disregarded. Neither the state nor the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs learned from their previous mistakes,” Bonamarte said.
“The families’ hope in bringing these lawsuits is to effectuate change and garner the attention of the people in power to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again,” Levin said.
“It is time for the state of Illinois to finally be accountable and make our veterans homes a model for the nation rather than a poster child for how not to treat those who have given our nation so much.”
There’s a press conference this morning to discuss the case further.
* Gary Rabine…
Over the last several days, multiple lawsuits have been filed on behalf of the veterans who died from COVID at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home. They describe in detail the gross negligence and utter neglect by the Pritzker Administration in caring for these veterans. As JB continues to do his victory lap on his handling of the COVID pandemic, the truth is now revealed; while he was ordering businesses to shut their doors and issuing mask mandates, he was also ignoring veterans dying on his watch. JB can’t pass the buck to the former Illinois Director of Veterans Affairs any longer. He needs to be brought before the legislature and explain how and why he ignored our veterans and let them die horrific deaths on his watch. JB needs to be held accountable.
…Adding… Jesse Sullivan…
“Today’s lawsuit confirms the tragic reality of what we already knew: The Pritzker administration’s incompetence and abdication of duty cost Illinois veterans their lives. These families deserve justice in court. If state government cannot guarantee the safety of our heroes, it needs to get out of the business of managing these facilities altogether.”
…Adding… ILGOP…
“Our nation’s heroes deserve nothing but the best care,” said ILGOP Executive Director Shaun McCabe. “But under Pritzker, they got our worst. And sadly, many succumbed to preventable deaths. These families deserve to be heard and the Governor must be held accountable.”
…Adding… Richard Irvin…
“These veterans put our freedom first when they proudly and selflessly served our country. Extreme negligence and incompetence by the Pritzker Administration led to their tragic deaths. Their families deserve swift justice, and we must ensure this travesty never happens again.”
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
Every life lost to coronavirus weighs heavily on the hearts of the Governor and all members of his administration. That’s why Gov. Pritzker implemented public health strategies like mandatory mask use and indoor gathering limits to prevent the spread of COVID and protect the state’s most vulnerable residents. The Governor appealed to members of various communities who fought against proven mitigation strategies to think of their family, neighbors and friends that were more susceptible to the worst outcomes of COVID, urging everyone to comply. While IDVA was working to address the COVID outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home, the state conducted a thorough transparent review of the response to identify shortcomings, immediately take corrective actions and hold those who fell short of expectations accountable. The Governor has appointed a new director of IDVA who has a medical background with years of experience running veterans homes and has worked to implement new policies and procedures to keep residents healthy and safe.
