* OEIG…
In 2022, the Office of Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor (OEIG) initiated a large-scale fraud investigation project, to examine whether State of Illinois employees improperly obtained federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. PPP loans were issued to provide relief to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and were eligible for forgiveness if used for qualifying expenses.
Using publicly available information, the OEIG identified PPP loans obtained by individuals with personal identifiers matching those of employees under the OEIG’s jurisdiction. Because a preliminary review of the data revealed a large number of such loans, the OEIG initially focused the investigation on PPP loans of approximately $20,000 or more. In order to be eligible for a PPP loan of that size, a business typically would have needed to generate approximately $100,000 or more of annual net profit or gross income—earned outside of the employee’s full-time State work hours. Once the OEIG identified these PPP loans, the OEIG conducted further investigation to determine whether employees received those loans in a fraudulent manner.
To date, the OEIG has conducted the following investigative activity since beginning its PPP investigation project:
As of 9/12/23
PPP investigations initiated: 438
PPP investigations concluded: 204
PPP referrals to any law enforcement agency 177
The State of Illinois Code of Personal Conduct requires State employees to conduct themselves “with integrity and in a manner that reflects favorably upon the State.” In addition, various agency policies prohibit employees from engaging in conduct that is unbecoming of a State employee. In 177 cases to date, the OEIG determined that there was reasonable cause to believe that a State employee violated the State of Illinois Code of Personal Conduct and/or agency policy by obtaining PPP loans based on falsified information. The OEIG has, so far, issued these founded reports to the employing State agencies, as indicated below:
To date, the improper loans identified in these founded reports total more than $4.5 million in public funds. The OEIG’s PPP investigation project remains ongoing. These numbers do not reflect a final total of OEIG founded reports or a final total for any particular agency.
State employees are expected to maintain the public’s trust and confidence, and misappropriating public funds is far from acting with integrity, or conducting oneself in a manner that reflects favorably upon the State. Acting in such a manner may result in the loss of employment. Employees also are reminded of their duty to cooperate with OEIG investigations, and that failure to cooperate can also be grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal.
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* Lee Enterprise | Public defenders work 3 times too many cases, milestone study and new data show: In Illinois, public defenders in St. Clair County each handled more than 350 felonies in 2022. The old standards indicate that’s slightly more than double the recommended maximum while the updated standards suggest it’s at least six times too many cases, assuming the felonies were all low-level.
* Daily Herald | Elgin U-46 joins lawsuit targeting social media companies for harming youth: More than 300 school districts across 11 states have joined the mass lawsuit against social media giants like Meta, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok. The lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court in California.
* Sun-Times | Black CPS teens benefit most from shift from suspensions to restorative practices: Black male CPS students historically have had the highest baseline suspensions and arrests. Over the last decade, rates for students dropped the most as schools switched to restorative practices, Education Lab Research Director Fatemeh Momeni said. This study focused on high schools, but the authors say the benefits were also seen in elementary schools.
* Rockford Register Star | Rockford-area official placed on administrative leave following theft, misconduct charges: An investigation into Bliss began in April 2023 after an employee with the county clerk’s office reported irregularities that she had discovered in two of the County Clerk’s bank accounts. […] The county has hired Sikich, LLP, an accounting firm, to assist the Illinois State Police in the investigation.
* Chalkbeat | COVID relief helped Cook County child care providers stay open, but advocates say more support is needed: The federal Department of Health and Human Services says child care should only cost 7% of a family’s income according to the report. For many families who don’t meet the threshold for the state’s child care assistance program and have infants or two or more children, child care consumes a large portion of household income. In 2022, the monthly income limit to qualify for assistance for a family of four was $5,203. According to the report, the average price for center care for a 2-year-old accounted for 15% of family income in 2021, two times higher than what’s recommended. Illinois Action for Children recommends increasing eligibility for the state’s child care assistance program to support more families.
* WBEZ | Here’s what we know about Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to set up migrant ‘base camps’: As for the structures themselves, Ramirez-Rosa said they would be more like “prefabricated buildings” rather than tents, and that the rendering he saw looked like the walls were made of some type of metal, not canvas — though he wasn’t sure, and it’s unclear from a provided photo.
* BND | Closing of agency that has helped metro-east residents since the ’70s leaves ‘a big gap’: Maya Sansard was shocked to hear the “bad news” from her counselor at Call for Help Inc. that the East St. Louis nonprofit known for assisting people in need since the 1970s was shutting down. The group has “worked tirelessly to ease the burdens of people with mental illness, homeless individuals, people suffering abuse, people with major unmet immediate needs, people in despair, and families at risk,” according to a statement from Call for Help.
* WBEZ | Robberies in Chicago are at a six-year high: Robbery sprees are being reported on the West and Northwest sides of the city in larger numbers, University of Loyola Chicago criminal justice professor Arthur Lurigio said. The well-orchestrated robberies target small businesses such as liquor stores or body shops that tend to have lots of cash on hand, he said.
* Reuters | Yield hopes decline in Iowa and Illinois: The latest dry spell, which began in mid-August, has featured periodic heat and has pushed U.S. Corn Belt crops toward maturity too quickly, preventing maximization of yields. Some Crop Watch producers say their crops are now shutting down, meaning weather benefits are waning.
* SJ-R | HSHS restores MyChart electronic health records platform after two-and-a-half week outage: HSHS representatives said “federal law enforcement” was investigating the case. Rebecca Cramblit, a public affairs officer for FBI Springfield, told The State Journal-Register last week that “per FBI policy, we cannot confirm or deny whether we are or are not conducting an investigation.”
* Sun-Times | Riot Fest owner says ‘things finally made sense’ after his recent autism diagnosis: “I’m sure I’ll be thinking back on [this diagnosis] for the rest of my life in a way. … When I talked with my doctor, it was like a floodgate opened, and things finally made sense,” Petryshyn shares. Such as why he can focus on seven to eight things at a time but has trouble verbalizing them, why he can think of solutions to problems, but struggles with execution, or why he was into punk music so early on in his life that ultimately led to his calling.
* Crain’s | Northwestern, U of C move up in rankings of startup founders: Northwestern University and the University of Chicago moved up in PitchBook’s annual ranking of MBA programs for producing founders of venture-backed companies. Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management improved from ninth to sixth place, edging out U of C’s Booth School of Business, which cracked the top 10 by moving to seventh from 11th place in last year’s ranking.
* Tribune | ‘Heartbreaking’: Moroccan community across Chicagoland rallies to help after country’s devastating earthquake: As of Monday afternoon, more than 2,600 people have died and 2,500 are injured following a rare and powerful earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday. Authorities anticipate that the death count will rise as rescuers work to reach isolated mountain areas that are difficult to access. Historic sites in Marrakech, the nearest major city, were also damaged.
* Naperville Sun | Washington Post names Naperville pizzeria as the best New-York style pizza in the state: For New York-style Pizza, Naperville’s Little Pops NY Pizzeria came in first, followed by Zazas Pizzeria in Chicago and Jimmy’s Pizza Cafe in Chicago. Nearby Pomodoro E Mozzarella in St. Charles ranked fifth.
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Illinois State Fair claims attendance record
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker announced record-setting attendance totals for the 2023 Illinois State Fair. The more than 700,000 attendees over the 11-day event make the 2023 fair the most highly attended fair since industry standards were enacted.
“Once again, the hard work of the Department of Agriculture and hundreds of dedicated fair staff have resulted in shattered attendance records, serving as a testament to the value of our increased Fairgrounds funding and the spirit of Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Attractions like the new Multi-Purpose Arena and our highly attended concerts drew in hundreds of thousands of fairgoers from across the state and the country, bringing our community together in an unprecedented way.”
“While mother nature will always be a driving force in attendance for any outdoor event, the 2023 Fair benefited from a return of programming at the newly renovated Multi-Purpose Arena (MPA), a result of Governor Pritzker’s $58.1 million dollar capital investment to address years of deferred maintenance on our historic state fairgrounds,” said IDOA Director Jerry Costello II. “The 2023 Fair also greatly benefited from new promotions and big attractions aimed at bringing visitors to the fairgrounds mid-week to capitalize on discount admission days.”
The Illinois State Fair also unveiled new theme and discount days to enhance the fairgoer’s experience. On Thursday, August 10, the Fair started with a full day promoting County Fairs and Horse Racing Day. On Tuesday, August 15th, the Fair discounted admission as part of the new weekday theme – TWOsday. This new promotion resulted in more than 27,000 additional fairgoers. The week also allowed for more opportunities for families to attend before the start of school.
“Enhancing the fairgoer’s experience is a vital part of the planning process,” said State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark. “Providing additional entertainment on Opening Day, exposing more Illinoisans to our state’s number one industry, and offering more ways for families to affordably enjoy the Illinois State Fair are priorities that proved to be a driving factor in the growth we experienced at the 2023 Illinois State Fair.”
The high attendance numbers reflect the second highest Grandstand tickets sold in the last five years; an 86% increase from 2021 ticket sales for events at the MPA which sat dark in 2022 due to construction; and record-breaking carnival revenue ($1.58 million) led by robust sales of Mega & Jumbo passes. Thanks to dry weather on the final weekend, race fans were able to enjoy two popular auto races in the Grandstand. […]
2023 State Fair Impact by the Numbers:
• $89,800 in scholarships awarded to youth exhibitors
• 600 new first-time exhibitors
• 60 charities volunteered 20,000 service hours
Governor Pritzker has obligated over $80 million in infrastructure investments on the fairgrounds. Construction resumes this fall on Phase 2 of the Coliseum, which focuses on an electrical overhaul, underground plumbing, new seating, new restrooms, an elevator, and adding an HVAC system that will allow for year-round use.
Other projects slated to take place include:
• $9.5 million: Road construction along 8th Street between the IDOA building and the IDNR building and along the backstretch on the northwest corner of the fairgrounds; provides funding to make structural improvements to the south pedestrian tunnel leading into the fairgrounds from Gate 6/infield parking;
• $4.57 million: Roof replacements on the Junior Livestock Building, Sheep Barn, Hobbies Arts and Crafts Building, and at least three barns along the backstretch;
• $11.9 million: HVAC replacements on the Orr Building, Illinois Building, Junior Livestock Building, Artisans Building, Hobbies Arts and Crafts Building, and Grandstand;
• $2.99 million: Tuckpoint work in the Grandstand, Artisans, Hobbies Arts and Crafts, Emmerson and Block (IDOA headquarters) buildings.
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* Media advisory yesterday…
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias will testify [Tuesday morning] before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his landmark, first-in-the-nation legislation designed to prevent book bans and protect First Amendment Rights. Giannoulias initiated Bill 2789, setting a nationwide precedent in the fight to combat censorship of books and resources. The bill was signed into law on June 12, 2023, as Public Act 103-100.
Public Act 103-100 allows Giannoulias’ office to provide grant funding to libraries that adhere to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which states that reading materials should not be removed or restricted because of partisan or personal disapproval. Libraries can also issue a statement prohibiting the practice of banning books or resources. Libraries that do not adhere to the law will be ineligible for state grants from Giannoulias’ office.
Giannoulias’ law banning book bans in Illinois illuminates a path for other states to follow in an effort to turn the tide on the scourge of censorship sweeping the nation. His office has launched a website – banbookbans.com – that enables visitors to share their stories and to learn how to protect their state’s Right to Read.
* From today’s hearing…
Sen. John Kennedy: So tell me what you want, who gets to decide? All I’ve heard is ‘the librarians’ and parents have nothing to do with it. And if that’s your response, what planet did you just parachute in from? Or what country, more appropriately? This is not China.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias: Senator, with all due respect, parents absolutely have a say. My parents were immigrants, came to this country. We never checked out books without our parents seeing what books we were reading. They encouraged us to…
Sen. Kennedy: Mr. Secretary, I understand this is good for your politics back home.
Secretary Giannoulias: It’s got nothing to do with my politics.
Sen. Kennedy: It has everything to do with your politics.
Secretary Giannoulias: I’m here to…
Sen. Kennedy: But you came here with a problem and I’m trying to understand the solution and you don’t have one, other than [cross-talk] other than to tell us that ‘We don’t agree with you. You’re on the wrong, we’ll be on the wrong side of history’
Secretary Giannoulias: We solved the problem in Illinois. We fixed it.
* Giannoulias campaign email pitch at 11:35 this morning…
I just finished testifying in front of the U.S. Senate to discuss book banning. Frankly, I can’t believe this is even a conversation we have to have.
Being chief librarian was one of the duties that drew me to the Secretary of State’s office. I believe we have an opportunity to help children get ahead, to make unprecedented gains in adult literacy and aid everyone’s search for knowledge.
Books open doors and enrich minds. The last thing we should do is ban books, to censor the very freedom expression on which our country was founded, or demonize the LGBTQ community to run up the political scoreboard.
I’m willing to fight for that point, and I hope that you will too. Will you rush a donation right now to take a stand against extreme book bans?
Good government can definitely be good politics. No shame in that. Embrace it.
* Somewhat off-topic because this isn’t about a library, but it is in Illinois…
Students in Yorkville High School’s English II Rhetorical Analysis class will not be using the book “Just Mercy” as part of their coursework after all.
The Yorkville school board has reversed its decision to allow teachers to use the book as an anchor text for the class.
Earlier this year, the parent of a student in the English II course complained about use of “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson, triggering the district’s uniform grievance procedure. […]
According a statement released by [school board President Darren Crawford] as well as the meeting minutes, [board members] Knoll and Houston deemed the book “too controversial.”
The course is designed to engage students’ critical thinking skills.
About the book…
Just Mercy tells the story of Bryan Stevenson, a young lawyer who founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system.
It was also made into a movie.
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A solution in search of a crisis
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I hate to complain too much because the Better Government Association’s David Greising has finally come around to reality on a constitutional amendment for pension “reform”…
The Civic Committee and others — including me — have argued in the past for a constitutional amendment that might enable some renegotiation of retirement benefits. The state has other obligations to residents that sometimes might trump commitments it made to its retired workers, the thinking goes.
But Pritzker opposes an amendment, and he says he couldn’t pass one even if he tried. I have come to believe pension reform can be accomplished without a constitutional amendment. And one of the most interesting features of the Civic Committee plan is that this stalwart of the Chicago business community has also stopped calling for a pension amendment.
The Civic Committee’s plan relies on expanding the sales tax to services, which has gone nowhere in the past, but is still somewhat more realistic than changing the state constitution to reduce future pension benefits (which it may not be allowed to do anyway). They’ve also proposed jacking up the income tax by half a point on individuals and 0.7 percent on corporations, after having staunchly opposed a graduated income tax. Convincing Illinoisans to pay more money in taxes to fund public employee pension systems would be a very heavy lift.
* The real problem is this continued belief that pensions are still a main driver of state spending…
Illinois’ $50.4 billion budget this year is up 26% from Pritzker’s first budget, passed in 2019.
One of the biggest factors behind that increase: pensions, of course.
Pension payments in Gov. Pritzker’s first budget (FY20) totaled $8.113 billion. The FY24 appropriations plan budgets $10.135 billion, a 25 percent increase - slightly below the rest of the state’s budget growth. It’s not some outsized burden.
More importantly, pension payments represented 20.2 percent of base state expenditures in the FY20 budget as passed, and 20.1 percent of base state expenditures in the current budget. High? Yes. Manageable? Yes.
Greising also mentions pension bonds. Pension obligation and acceleration bond payments have fallen from $1.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2017 to $1.024 billion in FY24. Adjusted for inflation, the $1.6 billion FY17 payment would be $1.998 billion today, so that particular spending item has dropped almost by half in real dollars.
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Undergraduate enrollment strong across Illinois
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* WAND…
As the fall semester rolls on, universities across central Illinois have released their ten-day figures. These numbers are the traditional benchmark for reporting enrollment at colleges and universities.
Enrollment of first-year freshman at University of Illinois System universities hit a record number of 13,231 students. Total undergraduate enrollment also reached a record high with 60,013 undergrads. […]
Eastern Illinois University reported strong numbers in targeted areas. International enrollment reached record highs with both the number of students (880) and the number of countries represented (60). […]
Illinois State University welcomed its largest incoming class in 36 years with 4,147 freshmen. The student body is becoming more diverse as approximately 41% of this year’s freshman class come from traditionally underrepresented groups.
* ABC 7 Chicago…
The top brass at U of I is flying high after a new admission trend. Numbers we’ve just obtained show more and more students from Illinois are going to U of I. Foreign students remain attracted to the Urbana-Champaign campus, but those numbers are shifting some.
“We have record enrollment for the incoming freshman class, extremely strong representation from Illinois at 74% of the class,” said Provost John Coleman.
Freshman enrollment for 2023 includes 6,100 incoming students from Illinois who just arrived for the fall term. […]
Almost 1,100 students from other states are new freshman on campus, and about 1,100 from other countries.
China remains the overwhelming foreign feeder nation. Almost 57% of overseas U of I students are from China. But it is a portion of the student population that has fallen some in recent years, ever since 2017 when a Chinese scholar was kidnapped from a U of I bus stop and then murdered. The story received global attention. Chinese student enrollment dipped.
* WGLT…
With over 4,000 freshman students on-campus this fall, Illinois State University is marking an enrollment high not reached since 1986.
ISU officials release enrollment totals once the data is more finalized following days of classes. Data released on Thursday show a total of 4,147 freshmen, marking a 4% increase from the prior academic year. Total enrollment — at 20,989 — is up by 1.5%, according to ISU. […]
Other enrollment figures include:
1,814 transfer students (up around 2%)
2,539 graduate students
741 international students
* We’ve already talked about SIUC…
For the first time since 2014, enrollment at Southern Illinois University Carbondale has grown. Overall enrollment for fall 2023 is 11,359 — 252 students, or 2.3%, more than last year — the highest overall boost in the number of students in 21 years and highest percentage increase in over 30 years. […]
In addition, 1,621 new freshmen are starting their college careers at SIU, which is 103, or 6.8%, more than last year. This is the first time in at least 50 years the university has increased its freshman class for four consecutive years. […]
The university also saw a 10.8% increase in new transfer students to 1,188. Part of that success can be attributed to Saluki Step Ahead agreements signed with more than 40 community colleges in Illinois, Missouri and Texas since 2021. Saluki Step Ahead provides a seamless path for students who earn associate degrees in participating community colleges to obtain their SIU bachelor’s degrees online in select programs. About 130 students, 121% more than last year, are earning their degrees through Saluki Step Ahead.
* Muddy River News…
Western Illinois University’s fall 2023 total new student (freshman, transfer and graduate for both Macomb and Quad Cities) enrollment is 2,145, according to 10th-day data released by WIU’s Institutional Research and Planning. Western’s total fall 2023 enrollment is 7,073.
Western’s 2023 Fall class contains 1,226 full-time freshmen, up by 152 students.
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* Didn’t get to this last week, but here’s COGFA…
August base revenues deposited into the State’s General Funds slowed from July’s strong start, with a slight decline of $34 million. However, when combined with July’s base growth of $396 million, revenues are up a combined $362 million to start the fiscal year, perhaps indicating a timing element to the first two month’s collection activity. The value of the August decline falls to -$214 million when factoring in last August’s $180 million in ARPA reimbursements. August had the same number of receipting days as last year.
Overall, the value of the increases/decreases in August were relatively modest. Personal Income Tax receipts experienced the largest decrease with a decline of -$38 million or -$36 million when accounting for distributions to the Refund Fund and the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). Corporate Income Taxes also slowed from its strong July numbers with a decline of -$23 million, or -$17 million on a net basis. Other State tax sources with declines include Other Sources [-$26 million]; Public Utility Taxes [-$14 million]; and the Corporate Franchise Tax [-$5 million].
The August declines were mostly offset by gains in several other State revenue sources. The largest year-over-year improvement came from Interest on State Funds & Investments, which grew $23 million thanks to comparatively higher interest rates (see page 4). Insurance Taxes bounced back from its low July numbers with a gain of $20 million. In addition, Inheritance Tax receipts were $18 million higher. Sales Tax receipts saw modest improvement with growth of $15 million. But this growth falls to only +$3 million when accounting for the non-General Funds distributions to the Road Fund and certain other transportation funds.
* Context from the Civic Federation…
Total General Funds resources are expected to decrease from FY2023 year-end estimates by approximately $2.5 billion, or 4.7%, from $53.1 billion to $50.6 billion. The largest source of this decrease is due to the end of federal COVID-19 recovery funding directed to the General Funds. During FY2023 the General Funds received transfers of $1.06 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and $1.36 billion in Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (CURE) funding, both of which were allocated by the federal government as part of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF). The FY2024 budget does not include any appropriations from these federal funding sources within the General Funds. Additionally, the amount of refund fund transfers—accounted for in the “Other Transfers” line—decreased significantly, by nearly $1.2 billion in FY2024, from an unusually high amount in the FY2023 budget due to above-average income tax receipts in that year.
Net Corporate Income Tax is also expected to decline by 12.2%, or $712 million. The decline is due to a reallocation in fund distributions that will occur in FY2024 as part of the Department of Revenue’s annual statutory reconciliation of business-related tax payments, which will result in a decline in corporate income taxes and an increase in individual income taxes. The decrease is offset by an estimated increase in Net Individual Income Tax receipts of nearly $2 billion. Sales Tax, Public Utility Tax and other revenues are expected to decline by 0.3%, 4% and 9.1%, respectively.
General Funds receipts from other State-source revenues are projected to decrease by $176 million, or 0.4%. Lottery, gaming and adult-use cannabis revenues transferred into the General Funds are all estimated to increase over FY2023. Other Transfers are expected to decrease in FY2024 by $1.2 billion, or 51.2%, again based on a larger-than-usual transfer into the General Fund from the Income Tax Refund Fund in FY2023. Federal sources, aside from ARPA and CURE funding, are expected to increase by $80 million, or 2.1%, to $3.9 billion.
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Something I did not know
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I didn’t know that the Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company has been around for so long. Press release…
Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) announced that the Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company has been awarded a $7,816,274 contract from the Defense Logistics Agency for temperate weather combat boots. The boots will be supplied to the U.S. Army for the next two years.
“Since World War I, the Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company has played a critical role in equipping the men and women serving our nation in the armed forces,” said Congresswoman Budzinski. “Today, I’m thrilled to announce that this local institution has been awarded a $7.8 million contract to continue providing combat boots to the U.S. Army. I’ve worked on a bipartisan basis to support domestic military equipment manufacturing and I look forward to continuing to support the important work happening in Belleville.”
“Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Co. welcomes the opportunity to once again serve the men and women of the U.S. Army in providing the essential Army Temperate Weather Combat Boot,” said Mark Ferguson, President of the Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company.
The Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company is the oldest and leading manufacturer of boots for the U.S. Military – beginning with their first combat boot supply order during WWI. Belleville Boot supplies the largest selection of certified boots to the U.S. Military and develops an assortment of styles to meet specialized needs.
In July, Congresswoman Budzinski introduced a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act with Congressman Mike Bost that would require the Department of Defense to examine current military footwear regulations and provide recommendations on improvements to support the footwear needs of our troops. The amendment aims to support domestic military-grade boot manufacturing, like that done by Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company, and was included in the House-passed legislation.
More history on the company is here.
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Open thread
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* WBEZ | What to expect now that cash bail in Illinois is ending: The new law requires more robust courtroom hearings to decide if a person is held in jail. Those hearings will require more time from defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges. Many experts also predict that without the cudgel of pretrial detention, fewer defendants will strike plea deals, which will mean more resource-intensive criminal trials.
* Illinois Answers Project | Greising: The Challenge to Erase Illinois’ $140 Billion in Pension Debt: So it often goes in Illinois: Well-intended efforts to fix the state’s pension problems somehow run aground. Even so, Pritzker and others in state government have not given up. And civic groups are stepping into the breach, introducing ideas that could lead to a permanent fix for a pension problem that has dogged the state for more than a generation.
* WAND | Illinois could address problematic video gambling, underage customers buying alcopop: The Illinois Gaming Board hopes the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules will approve a policy to deter video gambling addiction. Gambling terminal operators could be required to provide signs with information for customers seeking help with problematic gambling.
* Shaw Local | Simpson announces Illinois Statehouse campaign: Shabbona Village Trustee David Simpson has announced he is running as a Democrat for state representative in Illinois’ 74th District as he seeks to fill the seat currently held by first-term incumbent Republican Bradley Fritts.
* Metropolis Planet | Windhorst seeking re-election: “I believe my constituents are best served when their conservative values are heard in Springfield and when I can stand in the way of radical liberal legislation to ask tough questions and point out flaws in bills,” Windhorst said. “In my position as Floor Leader, I help to organize and direct debate on key bills and that means greater representation of the values of the people that I serve.”
* Sun-Times | Facing ethics questions, city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin pauses Congress bid: The allegations include questions about whether Conyears-Ervin asked staff to run personal errands and whether she leaned on a bank to issue a mortgage for the building housing the aldermanic office of her husband, Ald. Jason Ervin (28th). There are also questions about why the treasurer’s office made a $100,000 confidential settlement with employees.
* Tribune | Chicago Ethics Board defends handling of Melissa Conyears-Ervin allegations, referred case to inspector general: The allegations against Conyears-Ervin and the lack of resolution highlights central weaknesses in the city’s internal system to mete out accountability. The Board of Ethics is hamstrung by a lack of investigative power and instead must rely on the IG’s office, which generally operates in secrecy until it releases quarterly reports.
* WBEZ | Is the worst behind us? What unemployment data for metro Chicago indicate: In recent months, however, the industry appears to have rebounded. Restaurant-related unemployment has been below 4% in six of the eight months between December 2022 and July 2023. And the region’s estimated number of workers in that industry topped 340,000 in July 2023, the highest such figure since June 2019.
* Sun-Times | Comptroller candidate grilled, then approved, by City Council committee: Exhibit “A” for Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) were comptroller-designate Chasse Rehwinkel’s own social media posts after campaigning for three candidates who want to reduce the Chicago Police Department’s $1.94 billion-a-year budget: U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill.; Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd), running for ward committeeperson; and state Sen. Graciela Guzman.
* Block Club Chicago | Chicago’s ‘Migrant Camps’ Will Be Modeled After New York City’s Tent Shelters: Even behind closed doors, mayoral officials did not specify locations but “have places they’re working on, and talking to leaders in those communities first,” Hadden said.
* Tribune | Chicago City Council set to vote on $25 million payout to 2 men wrongfully convicted in murder of Chicago basketball standout: In 2016, Tyrone Hood and Wayne Washington independently of each other sued the city, alleging police, including then-Detectives Kenneth Boudreau and John Halloran, fabricated evidence and coerced testimony to win murder convictions in the May 1993 killing of Marshall Morgan Jr. The Tribune reported last month about a tentative deal to settle both lawsuits simultaneously for a total of $25 million, pending approval by the City Council.
* Tribune | Two ex-DCFS workers go on trial for child endangerment in murder of 5-year-old AJ Freund in Crystal Lake: McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally argued that the two were “lazy and heartless,” saying they were, “two criminals who didn’t give a damn.”
* Tribune | Migrant mother charged with felonies over bathroom dispute with Chicago police speaks out: The migrant mother from Venezuela who was arrested Saturday after allegedly blocking traffic and scuffling with police said the confrontation began when police officers wouldn’t allow her to bring her 3-year-old child into the public bathroom inside the Southwest Side police station. “I was desperate,” Dayrelys Coy, 21, told the Tribune Monday. “All the children and women needed to use a clean bathroom.”
* AP | Illinois appeals court to hear arguments on Jussie Smollett request to toss convictions: If the appeal before the Chicago-based First District Appellate Court fails, Smollett would have to finish a 150-day stint in jail that his trial judge ordered during his 2022 sentencing. Smollett spent just six days in jail before his release pending the outcome of the appeal. A ruling is expected to take several weeks.
* Crain’s | Chicago groups take part in ambitious bid to cure cancer: Crain’s health care reporter Katherine Davis talks with host Amy Guth about the Chicago biotech companies and health systems involved with President Joe Biden’s “cancer moonshot” project.
* Sun-Times | Chicagoans to be told this week where they can receive free updated COVID-19 vaccine: The new vaccine is specifically created to cover all current strains of COVID-19. ‘We already have the vaccine in Chicago,’ said Dr. Geraldine Luna, medical director for the Chicago Department of Public Health. ‘We are just waiting for the CDC to make their final recommendations before we begin the rollout.’
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* ScribbleLive is still down. Twitter has stopped allowing people to embed list feeds on websites. So, click here or here to follow breaking news.
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Monday, Sep 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* Herald-Review | Live updates: ADM workers’ conditions unknown after blast; several airlifted from Decatur: Eight workers were hurt in the blast, the fire department said. Four Medivac helicopters were used to airlift the injured to trauma centers for a higher level of care. No firefighters were hurt during the operation that remained ongoing as of 11:30 a.m.
* Tribune | Migrant mother charged with felonies after allegedly blocking traffic, resisting officers at Southwest Side station: Video of the incident sent to the Tribune by a source showed several migrants arguing with police at the desk about access to the bathrooms in the station. A higher-ranking officer speaking in English could be seen telling the migrants through another officer translating into Spanish that there were portable toilets for them outside and to take it up with the city if they had an issue.
* Chicago Mag | No Country, No Home: The previous administration really didn’t have a plan, other than just opening up a few respite centers and shelters. Mayor Lightfoot spent [$120 million] in hotels and other policies that were never intended to provide any sustainable solution. Time was lost in coordinating an effort to address this huge issue. It is a problem that demands federal intervention. What has changed is the new administration’s collaborative approach in addressing the seriousness of this problem.
* Bloomberg | Response to migrant crisis could cost over $300 million by end of year: On Thursday, Mayor Brandon Johnson told the Chicago Sun-Times that the city would move 1,600 migrants out of police stations before cold weather settles in and into what the mayor called “winterized base camps.” Each tent structure would hold up to 1,000 people, according to Johnson.
* Daily Herald | Medical marijuana users push back on McHenry County state’s attorney’s stance:[McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally] also threatened to sue dispensaries if they do not remove references to the medical benefits of marijuana from their marketing and add signage “to warn customers of the mental health dangers associated with use, including psychosis, depression and suicidal ideation.”
* Sun-Times | Head of the class: new Education Board president Jianan Shi, 33, is praised for ‘thoughtful, insightful’ leadership: It’s a meteoric rise from teacher to nonprofit leader to overseeing the nation’s fourth-largest school system in less than a decade — and one that represents the growing influence of the once-small Raise Your Hand, a close ally of the Chicago Teachers Union.
* Daily Herald | Glendale Heights president pleads ‘not guilty’ to disorderly conduct charges: Khokhar is accused of reporting to two police officers in April and May that village Trustee Mohammad Siddiqi had threatened to bite him. He filed the reports knowing there were “no reasonable grounds for believing that the offense had been committed,” according to the indictment.[…] Officers reviewed a videotape and said it showed Siddiqi and another trustee walking together, followed by Khokhar, and Siddiqi going downstairs, then exiting the building. The report says it does not appear Siddiqi and Khokhar said anything to each other.
* Sun-Times | Winner picked for Pershing Road project; plans would reinvent an industrial colossus: Last week, the Department of Planning and Development said it will work with Chicago-based IBT Group on its proposal for a $121 million makeover of the sites, which include a vacant 571,000-square-foot warehouse. Built in 1918 for the U.S. Army, the building has vast floors with scores of pillars to hold bygone loads. It figures in the district’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places, so wrecking it is strongly frowned upon.
* WTTW | Half of Chicago Schools Are Under Herd Immunity Levels for Measles, But Rates Have Improved Over Past Year: Within the Chicago Public Schools district, almost half of the schools reported measles vaccination rates below 95% for the past school year, according to data from the Illinois State Board of Education. That mark is an important one, as measles, an extremely contagious disease with devastating consequences, requires about 19 of 20 people to be vaccinated to prevent its spread via herd immunity.
* NBC | FDA clears new Covid boosters: 5 things to know: Anyone age 5 and older can get an updated booster shot from either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, regardless of whether they were previously vaccinated, the FDA said in a statement. People who have been vaccinated should wait at least two months before getting the updated booster.
* AP | What you should know about new COVID shots: The FDA will soon decide if each company has met safety, effectiveness and quality standards. Then the CDC must sign off before vaccinations begin. A CDC advisory panel is set to meet Tuesday to make recommendations on how best to use the latest shots.
* NYT | As Covid-19 Cases Tick Higher, Conspiracy Theorists Stoke New Fears: There is little evidence that the current wave of Covid-19 cases will prompt the kinds of extreme countermeasures seen during the worst of the pandemic. The share of Covid-19 cases nationwide peaked at 14.1 percent in August — in line with most surges since the pandemic began — but hospitalizations were at near historic lows.
* NBC Chicago | Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth tests positive for COVID-19: Duckworth made the announcement on social media Sunday, saying she is experiencing mild symptoms from the virus. “I will continue working for the people of Illinois in isolation and follow medical guidance on when to return to the Senate chamber,” she said.
* Crain’s | Chicago’s largest law firms see dip in local attorneys: Polsinelli (tied for No. 23 with Amundsen Davis and Perkins Coie) reported the greatest plunge (17.4%) in local attorneys since last summer. Seyfarth Shaw (No. 11) and Baker McKenzie (No. 17) likewise reported significant drops of nearly 13% and 12%, respectively.
* WCIA | From textbooks to tombstones: Champaign students learn how to locate lost graves: She and her classmates participated in the STEM Cemetery Project at St. Mary’s in Champaign. They are searching for headstones underneath the surface that may be hiding graves. Bill Vavrik, Vice President at Applied Research Associates, calls it underground mapping.
* Sun-Times | Dragonflies seem to be everywhere along Chicago’s lakefront. Here’s why: That’s because Chicago is a pit stop on their multigenerational mass migration across North America, which happens every spring and fall.
* Tribune | Illinois’ Underground Railroad: A glossary of terms to know: Too often, details about the hundreds of years of bondage, trauma and disenfranchisement have been avoided, ignored or blatantly misrepresented. This project was conceived with the goal of centering stories from the Black community, with narratives about enslaved people’s paths to freedom, be it a first-person account, oral history passed through generations, or documentation that shares a glimpse of that journey.
* SJ-R | Springfield area business owner wins Miss Illinois United States; vies for national title: When Aaliyah Kissick was 17 years old, she could be spotted in the Springfield area holding a cardboard sign on the side of a road to advertise her clothing boutique. Now, at 23, Kissick is bringing her passion for small business development and financial literacy to the forefront as Miss Illinois United States. “I’m advocating for House Bill 1375 which would require mandatory financial literacy for all students across the state of Illinois. If I become Miss United States, I will be advocating for mandatory financial literacy at the national level as well.”
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Hinz announces semi-retirement
Monday, Sep 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz…
For good or bad, the way of the world is that nothing lasts forever. Even political columnists, though we’re a long-lived breed. So below are some thoughts as, after an amazing half-century of watching Illinois politics and government, I dial way back on my tasks here at Crain’s.
Much as a few internet trolls would prefer, I won’t be disappearing. You can still call me a raging progressive, or a MAGA-loving Republican. I’ll still do a monthly column here, as well as an occasional special project. But this is a good time to take stock.
Let’s start with the pols — who, despite speculation to the contrary, I really don’t hate. I find politicians and government leaders in general to be no better or worse than the rest of humanity. Their egos may need regular stroking — an offense that surely applies to journalists — but most are just people trying to do their job and look out for their future. […]
A few thoughts for my media colleagues: Remember who your writing and reporting is really for: your readers and subscribers, people who count on you to inform them. Be passionate; if you check out at 5 o’clock and don’t go the extra mile, your readers will be shortchanged. In other words, it’s personal. Treat public officials and candidates with respect, but insist in turn that you be treated with respect because you’re doing a job that, in a democracy, needs to be done.
I’ve known Greg since before he landed the Crain’s job and we’ve always worked together well. You don’t have to always 100 percent agree with someone to like them. Good luck, Greg!
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* Here you go…
* Reuters | China’s Gotion to set up a $2 billion lithium battery plant in Illinois :Gotion will be eligible to receive tax benefits totaling $213 million over 30 years and also get $125 million in capital funding from the U.S. state’s Reimagining Energy and Vehicles incentive package. Gotion’s property tax abatement for 30 years was also approved by local authorities.
* Forbes | China’s Gotion To Build “Historic” $2 Billion EV Battery Plant In Illinois:Gotion’s investment will be supported by a “Reimagining Energy and Vehicles” incentive package, a new “Invest in Illinois” fund, and “other incentives” worth a total of $536 million, the statement said. Gotion’s will be the first recipient of Invest in Illinois funding following its creation in early 2023 to make Illinois more attractive when vying for large projects in highly competitive sectors like clean energy, the statement said. Gotion was further approved by local authorities for property tax abatement for 30 years. […] However, the economics favor working together, he said. “If the US automakers are going to build profitable (electric) vehicles below a $50,000 price point, then they’re going need Chinese batteries,” [Chairman] Le said. “We don’t have the capacity. We don’t have the mining, we don’t have the refining, and we won’t have it in significant volumes through this decade,” he said.
* Sun-Times | Illinois lands Chinese EV battery plant as Pritzker, Duckworth seek more deals with Asian companies:[Senator Duckworth’s] own push to get more Asian companies to do business with Illinois included a personal pitch last month to Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the president of the Philippines, to use Illinois-based ethanol, which is made mostly from corn. She’s also been traveling with members of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, touting the expansion of ethanol will not only help Illinois corn farmers but reduce carbon emissions and the demand for foreign oil. […] “I’ve been working very hard to counter that and say, ‘Here’s the data. Look at the productivity, and in fact, the unions are your friends. The unions can do things like mandatory drug testing and can be partners with management and to bring the most well-trained, the most productive workers to the table,’” Duckworth said. “And LG ended up going into Decatur.”
* Tribune | Lured by $500 million in state incentives, Chinese firm plans $2 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Manteno: Officials said full-time workers at the facility would be paid at least 120% of the average wage of similar jobs — or roughly $55,000 a year — in the Manteno area. […] Pritzker’s praise of a Chinese company such as Gotion comes at a time when some Republicans, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is vying for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, have argued against encouraging businesses with ties to China because of the country’s adversarial relationship with the U.S. A Pritzker spokesman dismissed such criticism as “nothing more than political grandstanding.”
* Capitol News Illinois | Battery Manufacturing Plant Coming to Illinois With $530M Incentive Deal: The roughly $2 billion project is set to create 2,600 jobs and begin production in 2024. The plant will produce battery cells, battery packs like the kinds used in electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage systems. […] Gotion is also in the process of setting up a plant in Michigan. This has sparked controversy from Republicans in that state, who cite concerns about the company’s Chinese ownership.
* Crain’s | Illinois finally lands a big EV battery plant: Pritzker said the state had many things to offer Gotion, but the “deal closing fund,” approved last year by the General Assembly, was critical. “It sent a signal to the nation and the world that Illinois is open for business,” he said. […] Illinois already has two EV assembly plants, Rivian’s factory in Normal and Lion Electric’s facility in Joliet, which makes buses and other commercial vehicles. Just as important, the state has been in extensive discussions with Stellantis, the parent company of Dodge and Jeep, about converting its now shuttered Belvidere plant to make EVs and hopes to eventually get Ford to convert or replace its Torrence Avenue factory on Chicago’s South Side to EV production.
* WAND | Gov. Pritzker and Gotion announce new $2 billion EV battery gigafactory in Kankakee County: Illinois will also fund a new manufacturing training academy nearby and award an additional grant to workforce providers to expand training and prepare regional employees for the new jobs.
* Center Square | Michigan 3rd in Midwest EV registration race, trailing Illinois, Minnesota: Michigan is trailing Illinois and Minnesota in the Midwest race to register the most electric vehicles. Illinois leads with nearly 80,000 EVs, while Minnesota has 41,417 and Michigan has 34,380. Michigan targets 2 million EVs by 2030, while Minnesota and Illinois each target 1 million by the same year.
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* From the Rockford Register Star’s recent story on the SAFE-T Act’s September 18th effective date…
The change means no more bond court. Instead, in Winnebago County there will be a courtroom reserved full time mornings and afternoons for initial court appearances and pretrial detention hearings. Similar measures are being made in Boone County where courts are adding a Monday morning court call for anyone arrested and held over the weekend. […]
Those accused of violent crimes, sex assaults, gun crimes and domestic battery among others are also considered detainable in jail before a trial. But to deny a defendant pretrial release, prosecutors must within 48 hours of their arrest show by clear and convincing evidence a defendant is a flight risk or a danger to specific people or the community.
Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley said the new law will take plenty of adjustment both in terms of staffing and approach.
* This argument may work for the hometown media, but it may work against law enforcement at the Statehouse bargaining table…
Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll said revenue generated by cash bail helps to fund several things, including both his own office and the circuit clerk’s office. The elimination of cash bail “will dramatically affect the funding of our criminal justice system here in Morgan County,” with smaller counties being hit even harder, he said.
“Generally speaking, the smaller the county, the more it relies upon bond money to fund the criminal justice system,” Noll said. “Larger counties have the benefit of being able to spread out real estate taxes among all their residents to help fund the criminal justice system, whereas smaller counties don’t have that luxury.” […]
Noll believes the county will begin to feel the effects of cash bail’s end three or four years from now. The county has several criminal cases on its hands that will be resolved in that timeframe, he said, and, because those cases predate the end of cash bail, the fines, fees and court costs will be resolved under the bond money system. Once those cases are cycled through, that source of revenue will dry up, he said.
Noll isn’t sure how the difference in revenue will be made up, though he said the state has provided certain parts of Illinois criminal justice systems, such as public defenders, with more funding.
* But that’s downright mild compared to Center Square’s report, which quotes somebody from another state whose livelihood is based on the existence of cash bail…
Outside looking in, Ken Good, an attorney and member of Professional Bondsmen of Texas, predicts things will be chaotic.
“Your criminal justice system will collapse unless they just are hiding it by dismissing cases until people decide to work together to find policies that will provide public safety,” Good told The Center Square.
* WBEZ…
The new law requires more robust courtroom hearings to decide if a person is held in jail. Those hearings will require more time from defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges. Many experts also predict that without the cudgel of pretrial detention, fewer defendants will strike plea deals, which will mean more resource-intensive criminal trials.
“It is going to be a real issue in some of the smaller counties,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin warned.
Advocates for bail reform have suggested counties take resources saved from the decreased jail population and put them toward courtroom operations.
One of the criticisms of pretrial detention is that it was indeed used as a “cudgel” to force the accused to cut a deal.
* Back to the Jacksonville Journal-Courier…
[Jacksonville Police Chief Adam Mefford ] believes there will be cases when the department has to release someone back into the community that people feel should be held.
“Some people will also think we held someone who should be released. But that will be up to the courts. There are always differences of opinions. We will continue to provide professional law enforcement services,” Mefford said.
Mefford said he sees a positive side to the Pretrial Fairness Act.
“With the current system, if someone committed a violent crime, and they had money, they could get out. If they are held (after Sept. 18), they can’t bond out even if they have the money. So, we will keep some people in jail that should be in jail because there is no bond associated with it. That is a positive if the system works correctly,”” Mefford said.
* Back to WBEZ…
The jail population is expected to shrink, but also change.
According to researchers at Loyola University, nearly 200,000 people are held in county jails throughout Illinois each year. Most experts expect the jail population to significantly decrease across the state. That’s because the law sets a higher bar for who can be held in jail while they are awaiting trial and judges won’t be able to keep someone just because they can’t afford bail.
But it’s possible defendants of some crimes may actually be more likely to be held in jail. For example, people accused of domestic violence are often given the option of cash bail in the current system, and the amounts can be relatively small. That means if they can afford to pay bail, they can walk free. But domestic violence charges often raise clear safety concerns, so it’s possible judges may hold more of these defendants in jail. A study from Loyola University researchers found that people arrested for domestic violence charges are likely to make up a large portion of people charged with “detainable” offenses.
That Loyola study is here.
* Back to the RRStar…
“DUI is a non-detainable offense unless you pick up a second DUI while on pretrial release,” Hanley said. “That’s frustrating to me. As we have been doing bond court, I am like ‘how the heck can we not argue this person is a danger to the community?’ This person has two or three prior DUIs. That to me is a hole in the law in that they have removed the judge’s discretion to detain someone pretrial in certain circumstances.”
* Meanwhile…
The Illinois Supreme Court issued an order Wednesday granting courts in the state greater flexibility to conduct detention hearings remotely as they brace for bail reform next month. […]
In announcing the order, Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis said the high court made the decision due to “the anticipated volume of investigations and hearings on pretrial detention” when the act goes into effect on Sept. 18.
“The courts will be conducting initial hearings not only for newly arrested individuals but also for the over 9,000 individuals who are currently in pretrial detention, resulting in a temporary but significant influx of these types of hearings,” the order states.
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Bill Black
Monday, Sep 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bill Pickett…
A former longtime member of the Illinois General Assembly from Danville has died. Bill Black was 81 when he died on Saturday, September 9, 2023.
Black was a former Assistant Minority Leader for Republicans when he served in the Illinois House of Representatives. He was known for his sometimes feisty debate style on issues on the House floor.
Black is survived by his wife, Sharon, and two children. When he announced he would not be seeking re-election to his House seat in 2010 he said he wanted to spend more time with his family, including his grandchildren. Black had served in the House since 1986.
* This excerpt of a News-Gazette story about Bill’s retirement pretty well sums him up…
House members gave Black, one of the senior members of the chamber, an extraordinarily warm and lengthy tribute. More than 30 of his colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, spoke and offered praise and thanks to the lawmaker known for his sometimes-bombastic, sometimes-eloquent speeches and for his playfulness.
“I hope you know how much I love this place, how much I love the process,” Black said in a 23-minute-long response to all the accolades from his colleagues. “Look around here. Look where you work. There are few people who ever get this privilege. This ain’t exactly a 6-foot by 6-foot cubicle. This is a phenomenally beautiful, historic building that has been well-maintained. And you should always consider it an honor and a privilege to sit in this chamber.”
House Republican Leader Tom Cross, who last spring demoted Black from his leadership position after Black voted for a Democratic-backed pension borrowing bill, was the first to pay tribute to Black.
“He’s a guy who is incredibly passionate about his district and, above all, at the end of the day, he cares most about what’s best for Danville, what’s best for central Illinois,” Cross said. “He has never ever forgotten his district or the people he represents.”
Beloved, controversial, civic-minded and locally focused.
* From his retirement resolution…
WHEREAS, Representative Black has championed other issues important to families in his district, including protecting the funding for roads and other needed infrastructure improvements, helping low income families and seniors keep warm in the winter by removing the sales tax on natural gas, creating jobs through the creation of Job Renewal Zones, cracking down on drunk and distracted drivers that pose a deadly hazard on our roads, and protecting the rights of adoptive parents; and
WHEREAS, Representative Black successfully worked to keep our State parks and recreational areas open for the education and enjoyment of our families and worked with colleagues across the State and Chicago city leaders to stop the infamous phantom Chicago parking tickets; and
WHEREAS, Representative Black’s good humor is infectious, and House Republican members and staff can always count on Representative Black to make them laugh on long session days by ambushing them with squirt guns, silly string, and other toys, or by relaying a funny story or joke; and
WHEREAS, Representative Black has received many honors for his service to his local communities, including several Outstanding Legislator Awards from various Illinois associations; he was also named one of the ten Outstanding State Legislators in the country in 1991;
* He could also be a humble man. From his retirement announcement…
“I have always tried my best to represent the legislative districts which I served. I may not have always succeeded, but I always tried.”
* From the Danville Commercial News…
“On his DACC resume, you’d have to point out that he once ran the public-relations department at the college. Then after getting elected to the State House, Bill was a passionate and successful advocate for those of us in his district, and especially for Danville Area Community College. As an Illinois Representative, he brought desperately needed funds to bring the DACC campus to a state of good repair,” according to [DACC President Stephen Nacco].
“On a personal note, I met Bill in June 2016 when he was a member of the DACC board that hired me as the college president. He’s one of the most colorful and entertaining people I’ve ever met. One of my favorite memories of Bill was when Dave Harby (board chair), Bill, and I went to Springfield for a community college ‘Lobby Day’ visit to the offices of elected officials. By that time, Bill had been out of office for almost 10 years. But whenever someone spotted him in those majestic hallways — elected officials and staffers and even building workers — they’d stop whatever they were doing and rush over to him to give him a handshake, a hug, a pat on the back, and they’d say how much they missed him and that Springfield needed him to come back. It’s quite a legacy he left as someone who was enormously popular and was able to touch so many lives,” stated Nacco.
When state Rep. Mike Marron first started in the position once held by Black, Marron said he will work tirelessly to uphold the tradition of excellence that has embodied the House seat from Harry “Babe” Woodyard to Bill Black to Chad Hays.
“He (Black) was the best. Personally he was a friend, a mentor, and someone I’ve looked up to since I was a kid. As public servants go, he was the gold standard. He is a legend in Springfield to this day, and you will never find anyone who fought harder for Danville and Vermilion County. He is going to be missed by us all,” Marron stated.
…Adding… Treasurer Michael Frerichs…
I had the privilege of knowing and working with Bill Black and the honor to call him a friend. My heart goes out to Sharon and all of Bill’s family on his passing.
I was blessed to have Bill as a mentor when I was elected to the State Senate. The Republican Representative from Danville and the Democratic Senator from Champaign were able to get a lot done for our constituents in Champaign and Vermillion counties. Bill was a loyal Republican, who frequently served as a floor leader aggressively challenging Democratic legislation. But he knew how to put aside partisanship to get things done for our constituents. I’m grateful for all he taught me and for his lifetime of service to his community and our state. Leaders like Bill Black are all too rare today – and our world is all the worse for it.
* Sen. Chapin Rose…
“Bill was one of a kind. As much as he will be remembered for his fierce and fiery speeches as a staunch defender of the people of East Central Illinois, his wit and sense of humor were unparalleled. He also deserves much credit and respect for his support of quality education. He was a huge advocate for the community college system here in Illinois, and even served in later years as trustee at his beloved Danville Area Community College. He truly understood and believed in the power of a quality education to transform lives.
“I was lucky enough to serve in the House of Representatives with Bill for several years. As a young legislator at the time, Bill was someone I looked up to,” said Rose.
“I extend my sincerest sympathies to Sharon and the rest of the family. There will never be another like him,” he concluded.
* Comptroller Susana Mendoza…
A legend has passed. State Representative Bill Black, R-Danville, was such a great mentor to so many of us who served in Illinois’ General Assembly. I was honored to be part of his tradition of hazing new legislators. I had been forewarned and donned protective gear when I introduced my first bill. He found that highly amusing and we got on great ever since. I’ve missed his insightful commentary since he retired. Illinois was lucky to have him as long as we did. I send my prayers to his family. May he rest in God’s peace and eternal glory.
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* Tom Kacich in the Champaign News-Gazette…
The city of Champaign stands to get $850,000 for capital improvements in the Garden Hills neighborhood. Danville is likely to get $850,000 to help revitalize the Madison neighborhood west of downtown. Rantoul is looking at receiving $540,000 for upgrades to its youth center on the old Chanute Air Force Base. And Bloomington is in line for a $2 million grant to improve a road and spur development on its southeast side.
All of these are so-called “community project funding” ideas — formerly known as earmarks — submitted by downstate members of Congress and approved by the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee. A final vote on these and billions in other projects nationwide is expected this fall when the federal budget is considered.
But those in the 15th Congressional District represented by Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, are shut out again. No community-project-funding dollars are going to any part of the huge area — more than a third of the state — in Miller’s district. As a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Miller pledged to oppose community project funding, earmarks or any other euphemism for what has long been known as pork-barrel spending.
Fine, but what good is it to your constituents if everyone else is getting dinner and you’re not, but you’re still helping pay the bill? Even several of Miller’s fellow Freedom Caucusers, including Reps. Matt Goetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia, have reversed course and are lining up for a helping of local spending projects. The practice is as old as the republic, and it’s been practiced by most presidents, including two GOP favorites, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. Donald Trump did it too.
* Muddy River News…
Adams County Republican Central Committee Chairman Dave Bockhold also supported [Rodney] Davis over Miller and he sent an e-mail to party faithful this week that linked a Tom Kacich column in the Champaign News-Gazette that called out Miller for not bringing home the 15th District’s share of tax dollars.
“I think everyone in our 15th Congressional District should read this article from the Champaign News-Gazette,” Bockhold wrote. “I agree with Congresswoman Miller on social issues, but we are getting absolutely no return on investment on the tax dollars that we send to Washington, D.C. There are many projects in our area and across the district that could possibly be funded, but won’t even be considered for potential funding without our representative advocating for it in Congress. I think Congresswoman Miller could take some lessons from Darin LaHood and Mike Bost.” […]
It will be interesting to see how Bockhold’s remarks will play amongst his fellow Adams County committeemen and the party in general, especially at the GOP’s weekly Monday morning coffee klatch at Quincy’s American Legion hall.
Stay tuned.
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Davis Gates’ explanation doesn’t hold up
Monday, Sep 11, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
The last two Chicago mayors took some news media heat for not sending their kids to public schools, as did Chicagoan Barack Obama when he pushed for education reforms. So, this particular issue is obviously not out of bounds in the city and nobody in public life should expect otherwise.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates has in the past pointed with pride to the fact that all three of her kids attended public schools. While others often chafed at reporters’ questions about their children, Davis Gates did just the opposite, centering her children as part of who she is as a progressive activist.
“I’m also a mother,” Davis Gates said on March 6, 2022, according to NBC 5 Chicago. “My children go to Chicago Public Schools. These are the things that legitimize my space within the coalition.”
“I can’t advocate on behalf of public education and the children of this city and educators in this city without it taking root in my own household,” she told Chicago Magazine a month later.
Davis Gates has also been a fiery and longtime opponent of “school choice.” Last August, after a retired Chicago firefighter posted on social media: “School choice is the civil rights struggle of our generation. Keeping poor children of color trapped in failing public schools is inherently racist,” Davis Gates fired back: “School choice was actually the choice of racists. It was created to avoid integrating schools with Black children.”
And then it came out last week that Davis Gates was sending one of her kids to a private Catholic school.
She had to have known this would blow up in the news media. The CTU has held protests outside of elected officials’ private residences, so Davis Gates couldn’t possibly expect a privacy pass. And you don’t just walk in a day before school starts and register your kid for a private high school, so she had plenty of time to contemplate her response.
If Davis Gates had simply defended her family’s decision by saying something like her son really had his heart set on going to that school, then I don’t think anyone could really disagree with her choice.
Instead, the union president initially stonewalled when faced with questions and then offered up an explanation to a local public radio station which threw the South and West sides under the bus and, more importantly, just wasn’t true.
Davis Gates said basically three things last week to a WBEZ reporter: 1) Course offerings for high schools on the South Side and West Side “are very marginal and limited”; 2) Selective enrollment and magnet public high schools were just too far away and would’ve forced her son to, according to the article, “spend hours traveling”; 3) A public high school with a good soccer program (a sport played by her son) and strong extracurriculars are just not available close by, or are in Latino neighborhoods that were too far away.
Look, there’s no doubt whatsoever that problems exist in public schools on the South and West sides. But that doesn’t mean the areas are completely bereft, no matter what internet trolls scream online.
Just as a small sampling, Davis Gates lives only three miles from Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep, a high quality selective enrollment high school which has a soccer team and extracurricular activities.
Lindblom Math and Science Academy in the West Englewood neighborhood has a pretty darned good soccer team and is 6 miles from the union president’s home.
The Catholic school her son is attending, on the other hand, is almost 9 miles from Davis Gates’ home.
Not to mention the area’s charter schools, which are taxpayer-funded and privately operated.
An argument is currently being made that Davis Gates should now switch positions and support extending the life of the Invest in Kids Act, a 75% state income tax credit for donations to private school organizations that expires at the end of the year.
That’s never gonna happen, even though the private school her son attends does promote and apparently benefits from Invest in Kids. The CTU’s position is that the program takes tax revenues away from public schools, which the union has always claimed are underfunded and in bad shape.
The lesson here is that life is full of nuance and is only very rarely about evil vs. good. More people should keep this in mind because you just never know what life might bring you.
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Chicago Bears open thread
Monday, Sep 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* It wouldn’t be the best day for the Bears to have any talks about breaks on the Arlington Heights property tax…
56 Comments
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Monday, Sep 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* WVIK | Meisel: Mapes Trial Offers Rare Window into How Illinois Government Operates: Hannah Meisel, government and politics reporter for Capitol News Illinois, discusses the recent trial of top Madigan aide Tim Mapes, what the outcome means for Madigan’s upcoming trial, and why the legal proceedings are important for the state and residents.
* Tribune | ‘Black and brown tension’ evident in Democratic contest for Illinois Supreme Court seat: The brewing battle over one of Cook County’s three seats on the Supreme Court, where Democrats hold a 5-2 majority over Republicans, comes as the county’s Latino population is on the rise and the Black population is declining. It also is yet another example of long-simmering tensions between two key blocs within the Democratic coalition — divisions that historically have been stoked by white politicians to keep either group from gaining too much power or influence.
* Daily-Journal | Walters running for 79th seat: ntering her 10th and final year as the Kankakee schools superintendent, Genevra Walters was not necessarily looking for something to do when the 2023-24 school year concludes. […] Walters, 54, announced her plans late this week to seek the Democratic Party nomination for the 79th Illinois House District, which includes much of Kankakee County as well as portions of Will, Cook and Grundy.
* WLPO | Local GOP member running for 76th District: A local resident and former GOP Deputy State Central Committeewoman wants to serve in Springfield. According to a release, Liz Bishop of La Salle is running as a Republican to represent the 76th District. Bishop has served as a Republican Precinct Committeewoman and aims to turn the district seat “red” after Representative Lance Yednock’s decision to retire.
* Vermilion County First | Former State Representative Bill Black Dead at 81: Black is survived by his wife, Sharon, and two children. When he announced he would not be seeking re-election to his House seat in 2010 he said he wanted to spend more time with his family, including his grandchildren. Black had served in the House since 1986.
* Effingham Daily News | Darren Bailey talks pro-life during Effingham visit: Bailey traveled to El Shaddai Homes in Effingham Sunday for the grand opening fundraiser of the new maternity home that will provide pregnant women and new mothers in need a safe place to stay. Bailey led a prayer during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the maternity home during which he praised El Shaddai Homes for providing women in the area with an alternative to abortion.
* WSPY | State Rep. wants an open door policy in Springfield: With the conviction of former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s former chief of staff Tim Mapes for lying to a grand jury, Newark State Rep. Jed Davis thinks it’s time for an open door policy in Springfield.
* Center Square | Ending cash bail could bring ‘chaos,’ increased taxpayer costs, opponents warn: ACLU of Illinois Director of Criminal Justice Policy Benjamin Ruddell advocates for the policy. He says people are innocent until proven guilty and shouldn’t languish in a jail awaiting trial because they can’t afford to get out. Judges will still have discretion about who should remain behind bars pending trial, he said.
* Sun-Times | Big Democratic convention preview in Chicago this week, VP Kamala Harris to talk to top donors: On Tuesday, the party’s Convention Committee is hosting an event for the state and territory Democratic Party chairs and their executive directors. Democratic convention planners have already assigned hotels to each delegation.
* Bloomberg | UAW’s Stellantis chief ‘optimistic’ about rebooting Belvidere plant: Boyer said he remains “optimistic” he can hammer out an agreement with Stellantis to place new product at its Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant, which was idled earlier this year. The company offered to transfer the 1,300 workers who lost their jobs as a result. “It’s coming soon,” he said of a deal for the Illinois plant. “The minute I lock that in, which I think will know soon, I’ll scream from the top of the heavens,” Boyer said by phone Friday.
* Muddy River News | Adams County GOP chair: Congresswoman Miller could “take some lessons” from LaHood, Bost: Adams County Republican Central Committee Chairman Dave Bockhold also supported Davis over Miller and he sent an e-mail to party faithful this week that linked a Tom Kacich column in the Champaign News-Gazette that called out Miller for not bringing home the 15th District’s share of tax dollars.
* Crain’s | Where will mandated nursing home staff come from?: Newly proposed federal staffing minimums for nursing homes won’t impact Illinois right away. Predictably, unions are already praising the move while the state long-term care association cries “unfunded mandate!”The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued long-awaited proposed mandates last week. CMS estimated that approximately three-quarters of the nation’s more than 15,000 nursing homes receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding would have to hire more nurses and certified nursing assistants to comply with the rule, Crain’s sister site Modern Healthcare reports.
* Shaw Local | Criminal trial to begin Monday for former DCFS case manager, supervisor assigned to AJ Freund case: Carlos Acosta, 57, of Woodstock, and Andrew Polovin, 51, of Island Lake, each are charged with two counts of endangering the life of a child and health of a minor, Class 3 felonies, and one count of reckless conduct, a Class 4 felony, related to their handling of the AJ Freund case. If convicted on the more serious Class 3 felony, they each face between two and five years in prison and fines of up to $25,000. The offenses also are probational.
* AP | As sports betting spikes, help for problem gamblers expands in some states: Illinois approved sports betting in 2019 as part of a gambling expansion bill. Lawmakers had planned to require gamblers to register in person at a casino before placing their bets online, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker waived that requirement because of the coronavirus pandemic. Pritzker’s office estimated that gambling could bring in more than $100 million annually, which could be allocated for statewide capital projects.
* WaPo | 7 state flags still have designs with ties to the Confederacy: Amid the racial justice protests of 2020, when Confederate statues all over the country toppled, Mississippi became the last state to remove the Confederate battle flag from its state flag. It was a moment of reckoning for the Lost Cause mythology about the Civil War that dominated much of the 20th century, but for visual artist Jason Patterson, the work is not done. Patterson, a 38-year-old Black man whose art focuses on African American history, is a self-professed “flag nerd” (more formally, a “vexillophile”), and his obsession with flags has taught him something few Americans realize: A number of state flags still commemorate — in ways both obvious and oblique — the bloody attempt to create a permanent slave society.
* Shaw Local | Yorkville School District Y115 board removes book from high school English course: Students in Yorkville High School’s English II Rhetorical Analysis class will not be using the book “Just Mercy” as part of their coursework after all. The Yorkville school board has reversed its decision to allow teachers to use the book as an anchor text for the class.
* SJ-R | Lincoln Library trustees defer on endorsement of Harrison for director: The trustees of Springfield’s Lincoln Library declined to provide an endorsement for director appointee Gwendolyn Harrison prior to Tuesday’s city council committee of the whole meeting. The decision could slow down an eventual vote on Harrison’s appointment to the position.
* Tribune | Chicago Bears’ search for new stadium continues as a new season begins — with roadblocks in all directions: On Friday, Johnson said the city needs to be more restrictive about using public dollars to subsidize private developments such as potentially, new sports stadiums. Johnson did not rule out public-private economic development but said the city does not have the type of capital available to “ignite” mega-developments.
* Daily Herald | ‘A horrible hoax’: School swatting takes phony threats to a new, emotional, costly level: Students were just arriving for school when the call came in at Dundee-Crown High School. The male caller, who also contacted Carpentersville village hall, said he was at the school and planned to start shooting. […] By 11:30 a.m., Carpentersville police had cleared the building and confirmed the school was the victim of a swatting call that appeared to have come from an out-of-state number with no ties to Dundee-Crown.
12 Comments
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Live coverage
Monday, Sep 11, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* ScribbleLive is still down. Twitter has stopped allowing people to embed list feeds on websites. So, click here or here to follow breaking news.
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