Post-campaign notebook
Monday, Nov 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* All opposed Illinois congressional Democrats appear to have under-performed Biden 2020 results in their newly drawn districts, which is to be expected when the party controls the White House during a midterm. But they didn’t under-perform Biden enough to lose any seats. The Dem maps/candidates/messaging held and the GOP candidates/messaging failed…
* From Tom Kacich’s story on Nikki Budzinski…
The congresswoman-elect, who is a University of Illinois graduate, did especially well in areas near the UI campus. Of nine Champaign-Urbana precincts where the student vote dominates, Budzinski currently has 3,580 votes to 424 for Deering.
Wow.
* Speaking of winning Democratic candidates, US Rep.-elect Delia Ramirez sent me a selfie from freshman orientation this morning…
* Neil Steinberg…
J.B. Pritzker … what do you say? He must really, really want to be governor. He plowed $171 million into his 2018 victory, and then put another $152 million into 2022. Can anyone make an observation about him that isn’t somehow tainted by the third of a billion dollars worth of hype firehosed at us over the past four years?
Whew.
* From a Crain’s Chicago Business editorial about what the governor should do now…
But now that he doesn’t have to talk voters—and organized labor—into supporting him, what other measures is Pritzker willing to take to further bend the pension liability curve downward?
In other words, they are demanding that the governor flip on the people who put him and kept him in office.
From the same editorial…
Finally, there’s the elephant in the room: crime. Granted, the governor is not the mayor. Beyond the Illinois State Police, he has little direct control over any particular municipality’s approach to making Illinois’ streets safer. That said, he has a massive bully pulpit—and he must use it to send a message throughout that state that he understands the urgency of the public safety challenge and will do all he can to make crime prevention and effective policing a top priority in his second term.
So… the Bailey approach of just talking about it?
* Daily Herald…
[ILGOP Chair Don Tracy] said Tuesday’s results stung, but he’s not sure what could have changed the party’s fortunes. “I’m head of the party, so obviously I can’t deny responsibility,” he said, “but I haven’t heard anybody so far say we could have done anything differently.”
Maybe ask more people?
* From last week…
One bright sign for the party: It appears to have held on to the Cook County Board seat of the retiring Pete Silvestri. Though some mail ballots are yet to be counted, GOP nominee Matt Padgorski has a better than 1,000-vote lead over Democrat Maggie Trevor.
That lead has since narrowed to 178.
* Tribune…
Durkin’s leadership role wasn’t the only casualty of the election. Several members of his leadership team — many of whom have records of bipartisanship — will be gone when the new legislature is sworn in early next year.
Along with Rep. Dan Brady of Bloomington, who ran unsuccessfully for secretary of state, Rep. Tom Demmer of Dixon lost for state treasurer and Rep. Avery Bourne of Morrisonville made a failed bid for lieutenant governor in the June GOP primary. Rep. David Welter of Morris lost to a more conservative challenger in the primary, and Rep. Keith Wheeler of Oswego was unseated in the general election. Rep. Mark Batinick of Plainfield, meanwhile, chose not to seek another term. Early Friday morning, Rep. Tim Butler of Springfield, who was reelected three days earlier, said he would resign before the new legislature is seated to take a job with the Illinois Railroad Association.
Rep. Butler, by the way, will be taking advantage of an ethics loophole that he spoke against after the bill was passed…
This legislation barely scratches the surface of what needs to be accomplished for ethics reform. Debate on the bill revealed that the revolving door prohibition outlined in the legislation would allow current members of the legislature to become lobbyists for the General Assembly one day after their retirement. This is not real reform. This is the status-quo!
As long as he resigns before his current term ends, he can begin lobbying for the railroads on the first day of the 103rd General Assembly.
* SJ-R…
The future remains promising for Illinois Democrats, but Redfield still sees some room for improvement when it comes to attracting working-class support which has increasingly favored the GOP in recent elections. The tent is large for the Democrats, which can lend way to head-butting between the moderate and progressive wings.
He said the red wave never cresting may cause some Democrats to think the gap does not need to be bridged.
“I thought the Republicans were going to do a lot, lot better,” Redfield said. “Since they didn’t, then the temptation on the Democrat’s side will be to say ‘Well, we’re doing great.’… I don’t think that’s a good policy.”
Funny how people seem to forget that Black and Latino working class voters are solidly Democratic here.
* The Hill…
A striking 45 percent of voters in Michigan’s gubernatorial race named abortion as their top priority — far higher than any other issue. Those voters broke 77 percent to 22 percent for Whitmer over her Republican opponent, conservative commentator Tudor Dixon.
Whitmer, who Republicans had believed to be vulnerable, won reelection by more than 10 points.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Crain’s | Illinois elects first Muslim, Indian woman to state legislature: Nabeela Syed, a 23-year-old Palatine native, will be one of the youngest members of the Illinois General Assembly when she assumes office in January.
* Tribune | Laura Washington: Democrats’ meddling in primary races notched wins. Was it dirty politics?: This midterm election season ushered in a new form of gamesmanship and potent weapon in campaign arsenals: meddling. The critics are crying foul. It’s dirty politics, they say. It’s undemocratic. It’s just pragmatic politics, its proponents reply. We are in it to win it.
* Crain’s | Workers’ Rights Amendment on verge of passage, unions claim: The proposed change to the Illinois Constitution is well ahead with relatively few votes still left to be counted, labor groups point out.
* NBC Chicago | With Nearly All Vote Totals Reported, Here’s Where Amendment 1 Stands: As of Monday, 99% of precincts were reporting vote totals for the Workers’ Rights Amendment
* Center Square | ALEC weighs in on Illinois’ ‘workers’ rights’ amendment: Conversely, right-to-work laws ensure workers cannot be made to join an association or union or pay dues to it as a requirement for employment. ALEC said states with this policy tend to be more prosperous and have faster wage growth than non-right-to-work states.
* Center Square | Illinois’ election the most contested in two decades: With 3.8 million Illinoisans voting in 79 competitive Illinois House elections, the state’s 2022 general election was the most contested in the past two decades. Races included Congressional seats, Illinois House and Senate races, and a constitutional amendment.
* Shaw Local | Sauk Valley backed Darren Bailey in ways not seen since Jim Edgar’s 1994 landslide victory: Incumbent Democrat JB Pritzker defeated Bailey in statewide returns. While there has been much analysis about Bailey’s weakness in the Chicago suburbs, there was no question he energized voters in the Lee, Whiteside, Ogle and Carroll counties. In fact, it was the most votes by a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the four-county region since Jim Edgar’s landslide victory in 1994.
* Illinois Farmer Today | Farm Bureau policy director gets into weeds of farm bill: “Politics makes strange bedfellows. Nutrition advocates worked closely with the crop insurance industry and farm groups. It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort. We put a lot into it, and they do too. There are going to be many members of Congress that have production agriculture but not a lot of farmers out there who are buying crop insurance. Having the SNAP program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) included in the farm bill is a wise move. It keeps all the components together from production to consumption,” Adam Nielsen, Director of National Legislation and Policy at the Illinois Farm Bureau said.
* Tribune | How did voters respond to referendums in Chicago’s suburbs?: Voters throughout Chicagoland faced questions about tax increases, support for public services, changes in government structure, and more. Here’s a look at how some of those fared on Election Day.
* Crain’s | Health care worker union endorses Brandon Johnson for mayor: SEIU Healthcare, which represents about 36,000 Chicago workers, endorsed the progressive candidate because of a shared vision on working-class issues.
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Today’s quotable
Monday, Nov 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Eastern Bloc member Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) in Center Square…
“I just think that we need to get better organized and offer the people of Illinois a choice,” Caulkins said. “I don’t know, maybe things just haven’t gotten bad enough yet to where enough people haven’t figured it out.”
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* Press release…
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) released the annual Illinois Economic and Fiscal Policy Report showing under Governor Pritzker’s leadership Illinois is in its best fiscal shape in decades.
“Illinois’ bills are being paid on time, we have over $1 billion in our rainy-day fund, our credit ratings are up and we are honoring our commitments to long-term financial liabilities by contributing extra to Illinois’ pension systems,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “As we celebrate the tremendous progress we’ve made with our partners in the General Assembly, we remain committed to working tirelessly for Illinois taxpayers and responsibly managing the state’s finances. We’ve closed a seemingly insurmountable structural deficit that I inherited, and together we are securing Illinois’ long term fiscal stability and providing economic opportunities to its citizens.”
The future years’ budget outlook detailed in the report benefits from strong fiscal management over recent years as the Governor worked with partners in the General Assembly, the Comptroller and the Treasurer, to balance state budgets, tackle the state’s multi-billion-dollar bill backlog, repay COVID related short-term borrowings early, make $500 million in extra-ordinary payments to the state’s pension systems and put more than $1 billion in a savings account for fiscal emergencies or economic downturns. Additionally, by rebuilding the foundation of the state’s finances during the Pritzker administration, the Governor and lawmakers were able to provide $1.8 billion in tax relief this year to the hardworking people of Illinois.
Even with troubling national economic indicators, income and sales tax collections so far this fiscal year continue to exceed budget forecasts by significant margins. Coupled with other one-time revenues, the General Funds revenue forecast for fiscal year 2023 is revised upward by $3.69 billion. GOMB is continuing to monitor the revenues closely as inflation and national/international factors beyond the state’s control may impact the economy in uncertain ways. GOMB is now projecting a nearly $1.7 billion net surplus in the general funds budget for fiscal year 2023, wiping out a forecasted fiscal year 2023 shortfall of nearly $3 billion as estimated in 2019.
The Governor intends to pursue several actions to continue Illinois’ strong path forward, and put the state in the best possible fiscal position to prepare for the economic uncertainty that lies ahead. The Governor’s recommended actions include working with the Legislature to:
• Make additional deposits of $1.3 billion into the state’s rainy-day fund, bringing it to more than $2.3 billion. While Illinois currently has its highest balance ever at $1.045 billion, Illinois is still among the smallest state rainy-day funds.
• Set aside funds to pay off revenue bonds issued in 2010 to help the state pay bills that mounted during the Great Recession. About one-third of the $1.5 billion borrowed at the time remains outstanding.
• Make an additional contribution toward the Unemployment Insurance Trust fund. The Trust Fund’s remaining debt to the federal government is $1.345 billion plus interest. The Governor and the General Assembly have already taken several steps to reduce the amounts owed from last year’s level of $4.5 billion.
Illinois’ significant improvement to its fiscal outlook has been noticed by the state’s credit rating agencies, which have upgraded Illinois’ General Obligation Bond credit ratings a total of six times during the past year.
GOMB is required to annually submit an Economic and Fiscal Policy Report to the General Assembly outlining the long-term economic and fiscal policy objectives of the state, along with the economic and fiscal policy intentions for the upcoming fiscal year and for the subsequent four fiscal years.
The reports are available to the public online and can be found here: https://budget.illinois.gov/policy-reports.html.
* Attached charts…
* More from the report…
For fiscal year 2023, the Governor proposes to direct funds towards the remaining Railsplitter Tobacco Settlement Authority bonds. In December 2010, the Railsplitter Tobacco Settlement Authority issued revenue bonds in the amount of $1.5 billion to address a portion of the State’s unpaid bill backlog resulting from the Great Recession. The repayment stream is the State’s tobacco settlement payments under the Master Settlement Agreement between various states and various cigarette manufacturers. Of the original $1.5 billion issued in 2010, approximately $561 million – or over 1/3 of the original issue ‐ remains outstanding.
The Governor proposes working with the legislature to provide funds towards a cash defeasance of a portion of the remaining outstanding bonds with proceeds from a recent Attorney General settlement resolving claims regarding certain payments from tobacco companies. Once the bonds are paid off, the tobacco payment stream would be freed up to be used as ongoing annual state revenues to support the State’s Medicaid program.
* And the walkdown…
* An important excerpt from the full report…
Additionally, a larger than forecasted end of fiscal year 2022 balance in the Income Tax Refund Fund (due to stronger than expected income tax performance last fiscal year) has contributed a one‐time bump in the annual transfer from the fund of $1.28 billion. […]
Note that most of this fiscal year 2023 revenue forecast revision is assumed to be one‐time in nature.
And with a currently projected $384 million deficit in FY2025 rising to a $708 million projected deficit in FY2028, putting any of that new revenue into base spending would probably not be prudent. We’ll see if the Democrats can hold themselves back.
Thoughts?
…Adding… Comptroller Mendoza…
I wholeheartedly endorse Governor Pritzker’s proposal to put $1.3 billion more in the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
This will continue Illinois’ progress catching up to other states on preparing for any possible economic downturn. It protects Illinois’ important programs that care for our state’s most vulnerable, our schools and our health care systems.
I will continue to fight for passage of my Rainy Day Fund bill, HB 4118, which makes funding the Rainy Day fund and the Pension Stabilization Fund an annual obligation.
This responsible budgeting will send exactly the right message to the bond rating agencies that Illinois remains a good investment and is serious about restoring our fiscal health.
It’s prudent to be cautious about the impact inflationary pressures from the national/international economies can have on Illinois government. The report notes the Federal Reserve tries to mitigate these pressures, encouraging less spending and more savings. Likewise, with state government, Illinois should heed this direction to spend less and to save more and must better prepare for economic downturns that could hamper our ability to meet state obligations. This is why continuing to build the state’s Rainy Day Fund is essential. It is also the best path to further bond rating upgrades.
I urge legislators to get behind Governor Pritzker’s proposals to put more money in the Rainy Day Fund and toward the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, including funds to address technology funding shortages. Any urge to spend one-time revenues on new programs must be resisted. Now is not the time to spend. It is time to shore up our reserves and continue exhibiting strong fiscal discipline.
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* From the BGA’s new Illinois Answers Project…
Illinois’ top Medicaid contractor has repeatedly failed to deliver basic medical services to thousands of foster children, from dental visits to immunizations to well-being checks, leaving foster parents to scramble to find health care, wait months for appointments and pay medical expenses out of their own pockets for the abused and neglected children they take into their homes, an Illinois Answers Project investigation has found.
Since 2020, the state of Illinois has paid nearly $370 million to the for-profit insurance powerhouse Centene Corp. to manage health care for 36,700 current and former foster children as part of the state’s YouthCare program.
These payments were made even as Centene repeatedly failed to meet common benchmarks, government records show.
The failures have forced foster parents — people who take in abused or neglected children frequently in need of urgent medical care — to grapple with a health care program that’s often underperforming and in disarray. That’s according to state data obtained through a lawsuit and interviews with foster parents, medical providers and state officials.
* To get Centene’s basic performance records, the Better Government Association filed a lawsuit in 2021 after being defined records…
The contract has rolled out in phases as some foster parents complained they could not fill prescriptions or even schedule regular check-ups for children with serious medical conditions.
Last year, Meridian began producing for state officials quarterly slideshows with basic data about its performance in delivering care. The slides are meant to outline whether Meridian is meeting timeliness and quality standards, and what it’s doing to overcome problems.
But when the BGA asked last month to see those slideshows, state officials turned them over almost completely redacted — with entire slides blacked out.
The contractor’s performance data constituted “trade secrets,” HFS explained in its denial letter to the BGA.
* Across the country, Centene has showered politicians with contributions while settling over-billing allegations. Missouri Independent…
Since 2015, the Clayton-based insurance behemoth, its subsidiaries, its top executives, and their spouses have given more than $26.9 million to state politicians in 33 states, to their political parties, and to nonprofit fundraising groups, according to a KHN analysis of IRS tax filings and data from the nonpartisan, nonprofit group OpenSecrets. That total doesn’t include the millions of dollars Centene and its subsidiaries have given to state politicians’ political action committees because OpenSecrets doesn’t track those donations. The KHN analysis also does not include giving to congressional and presidential candidates.
It’s a purposeful political investment: Centene earns billions of dollars from governments and then uses its profits to back the campaigns of the officials who oversee those government contracts. The company has developed this sophisticated, multipronged strategy as it pursues even more state government-funded contracts and defends against sweeping accusations that it overbilled many of those very governments.
Centene declined to make a representative available for an interview and didn’t respond to specific questions about its political giving. But company spokesperson Suzy DePrizio said in a statement that the company follows all local, state, and federal laws and records all contributions from its political action committee. She said Centene’s contributions “are intended to serve as support to those who advocate for sound public policy healthcare decisions, which is evident by our nearly equal support of candidates from both parties.”
This year, according to IRS filings that go through Sept. 30, Centene has given $2.2 million, combined, to the Republican and Democratic governors’ associations, which help elect candidates from their respective parties. And Centene gave $250,000, combined, to the Republican Attorneys General Association and its Democratic counterpart.
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Proft offers an explanation
Monday, Nov 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Dan Proft explains to Greg Hinz why his messaging failed…
The first: “Making personal safety the referendum question was the best play we had. It put Pritzker (and Lightfoot) on defense the entire race. It kept him focused on me rather than Bailey and it had the added benefit of broad bipartisan opposition–prosecutors, judges, sheriffs, et al.” So it worked, up to a point.
However, he continued, “At the end of the day, as in New York, there are not enough motivated voters, to the extent they exist at all, to make a change even with broad agreement on an issue that was essentially even with abortion in terms of animating votes (per a lot of polling).” Or as he put it earlier in the email, “Many of those Rs you think are in the suburbs aren’t. And many who are left are either fatalistic–about a lot more than Bailey (see the congressional and leg(islative) races)–or cowered into inaction by the Leftist mob’s vilification.”
Retort…
Proft “doesn’t do meaningful research on voters and tailor messaging to it. He just figures out what will make Dick Uihlein get his rocks off,” says Tom Bowen, who currently is working for Lightfoot. “Voters have competing priorities. You can’t just say ‘crime, bad. BOO!’ and hope that works if you don’t credibly put forward a plan as an alternative. Also, you can’t divorce that from what’s going on elsewhere.”
The crime issue failed spectacularly in the primary for Richard Irvin and then Proft amped up the volume to 11 in the general. Only Proft and Uihlein believed it could work, apparently, to the tune of $42 million.
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Abortion news coverage roundup
Monday, Nov 14, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* St. Louis Public Radio…
For months, abortion providers in the Metro East have described a surge in patients since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
A national report from the Society for Family Planning has documented that increase. It notes that Illinois clinics performed nearly 30% more abortions in August than in April, even as the total number of procedures fell across the United States. […]
The group began compiling the list in early 2022. It found that Illinois providers performed nearly 7,000 abortions in August, up from 5,400 in May and April and nearly 6,000 in June.
The jump in abortions performed by Illinois clinics comes as states in the south-central region of the United States saw a 96% decrease in the number of abortions between April and August. Many patients are coming to Illinois, where abortion remains legal, from Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and other states where lawmakers swiftly banned the procedure.
* And Scape…
When the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in June, Missouri became the first state to outlaw abortion. Since then, logistics centers and clinics in neighboring states where abortions are legal are feeling the brunt of the decision. Demands for services are increasing, and people from Missouri are flocking to Illinois or Kansas get an abortion. […]
In 2020, a year after state legislators passed a strict ban on abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy, 3,391 Missourians received an abortion. Of that number, 1,837 white women and 1,160 Black women underwent the procedure. That same year, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, doctors in Illinois performed 6,578 abortions on Missouri residents. Meanwhile, the 2021 Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s preliminary data found that 3,458 Missouri residents received an abortion in Kansas. […]
A recent report from Missouri’s health department found that Black women are three times more likely to die while pregnant or within a year of pregnancy than white women. And over the past 10 years, Missouri’s maternal mortality rates have increased. Some factors for Black women residents include late entry for prenatal care, pregnancy-related homicides, and that Black mothers in rural areas of the state experience low birth weight and preterm births at a greater rate than white mothers in rural or urban areas or Black women in urban parts of the state.
This data exposes the inequities in health care access and maternal health outcomes for African American women, which points to why advocates say more Black women in Missouri will die because of lack of access to abortions.
* Shaw Local…
John T. Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, said pollsters and Republicans across the country believed crime and inflation were “the twin issues that would shape the election.”
Abortion, Shaw said, was likely a larger issue propelling voters than pollsters accounted for.
“It is unclear if this is the fault of polling or if people were propelled by that issue but didn’t want to disclose that to pollsters,” Shaw said. […]
No other issue came close, the AP report said, but many other issues were named most important by about 1 in 10 voters, including abortion, health care, climate change and gun policy.
* The Tribune…
The upcoming session is not expected to address other issues that played high profile roles in the election, including additional protections for abortion access and a proposed ban on assault-style weapons. Those highly fraught topics likely will be pushed off into the new year, when the current crop of lawmakers returns to Springfield for a lame-duck session before newly elected legislators are sworn in. […]
One of the challenges facing lawmakers in the upcoming session is that any measure that passes requires a three-fifths majority in both chambers if it is to take immediate effect. While Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers, rounding up enough votes on controversial matters to clear that hurdle isn’t always a given.
That’s a major reason why any action on hot-button issues like gun control and abortion is more likely to come after the new year, when only a simple majority would be needed. […]
Pritzker and other Democrats also have been looking for ways to strengthen the state’s already formidable protections for abortion access, and to support providers who are grappling with an influx of patients from other states, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer.
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Question of the day
Monday, Nov 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Secretary of State-Elect Alexi Giannoulias’ RevUpIllinois.com…
* The Question: Do you have any ideas about these and perhaps other secretary of state-related issues? Explain.
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Speaker Welch claims reelection victory
Monday, Nov 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Not a surprise, considering how well he did last week…
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch released the following statement Monday:
“The people of Illinois have called on House Democrats to continue our efforts to move our state forward, and with the support of an expanded Democratic Caucus, I’m proud to say that I have secured the necessary votes to continue these efforts as Speaker of the House. I’m honored by the trust my colleagues and my neighbors have placed in me, and I’m ready to build on the progress we have made in the past two years.
“Thanks to Democrats we have taken significant steps to get our fiscal house in order and help families make ends meet amid turbulent global markets. We’ve expanded resources for our community outreach programs and law enforcement to help keep families safe. We’ve invested in our students and teachers, and taken steps to rebuild confidence in state government. And we’ve made it clear that Illinois will always protect the right to choose, no matter what extremist judges say. We have more work to do– and with a strong, diverse, and talented Democratic Caucus alongside me, I am excited to continue the work Illinoisans have sent us to do.”
In addition to securing the votes of legislators, Welch is supported by a broad coalition of advocacy groups including:
AFSCME Council 31
Chicago Federation of Labor
Chicago Teachers Union
IBEW Local 134
IBEW State Council
Illinois AFL-CIO
Illinois Education Association
Illinois Federation of Teachers
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
Ironworkers Local 63
Laborers International Union – Midwest Region
Operating Engineers Local 150
Personal PAC
Sheet Metal Workers (SMART) Local 265
SEIU Illinois
United Food and Commercial Workers
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* Tweet…
Spreadsheet with the data is here.
…Adding… Election results from the Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights folks are here.
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It’s just a bill
Monday, Nov 14, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* WBEZ…
There are some proposals dealing with cannabis issues that could theoretically still pass within a couple months, and though that’s unlikely, at least one lawmaker is still hopeful.
A bill (HB3415) sponsored by state Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, would create a Cannabis Control Commission with seven governor-appointed members and an executive director. It would assume the functions of various state agencies that handle specific components of cannabis regulation.
Right now, a person may have to go to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to seek a dispensary license. But if they want a license for a 5,000- to 14,000-square-foot craft grow facility or 210,000-square-foot cultivation center? That’s the Department of Agriculture. The Department of Revenue handles cannabis income. […]
Akele Parnell, CEO of Umi Farms and also a board member of Chicago NORML, said a single commission would make sense.
“It would 100% help the licensees, and I think the consumers,” Parnell said of Evans’s bill. “There’s a one-stop shop for guidance on how to operate, guidance on what the product should look like, guidance on, you know, recalls and consumer complaints and just general information, as opposed to several different … government agencies with different processes and different approaches.”
Other related bills floating around focus on cannabis delivery to homes and businesses, rules for delivery license applicants and issue 200 conditional licenses to those who want their own cannabis delivery business.
* The Tribune…
Illinois has issued its first two social equity marijuana dispensary licenses, and at least one of them is expected to open by next week in Chicago’s River North area.
Green Rose Dispensary is soon to open on the site of the old Carson’s Ribs restaurant at Ontario and Wells streets, one of the most prominent locations in the city. The state also issued a license to open to Ivy Hall, a boutique dispensary in Wicker Park, but it has not announced when it will open. […]
The wealthy and connected owners of Green Rose — GRI Holdings, Inc., — also include restaurateur Phil Stefani and former CTA executive John Trotta. Consultants on the project were Ross Morreale, co-founder of downstate Ataraxia cultivation center, and Jay Steward, former head of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which controls marijuana licensing for the state.
GRI qualified for the state’s social equity designation, which comes with bonus points for license applications, by hiring at least six employees who qualify for social equity by coming from neighborhoods with high rates of poverty or marijuana arrests, or who had prior minor cannabis convictions.
* Sun-Times…
With a deadline to open their doors this spring, minority marijuana business entrepreneurs will have an $8.75 million pool of state-backed loans, state officials announced Thursday.
The state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will release the funds to more than 30 businesses with “social equity” licenses to grow, sell, process or transport cannabis and related products, with firms eligible for up to $500,000 at zero interest for 18 months. […]
The 35 businesses that were awaiting word on their applications for loans under a previous loan program — which offered below-market interest rates from banks — will be eligible for the Cannabis Social Equity Loan program. Loan funds used for a range of key expenses, such as rent, payroll, utility bills and other costs won’t have to be repaid, said Emily Bolton, spokeswoman for the commerce department.
The announcement comes less than a week after Vargas and other would-be minority pot entrepreneurs told the audience at a City Club luncheon that as many as eight out of 10 social equity license holders would probably miss a March deadline to have their businesses up and running. Entrepreneurs who haven’t secured all necessary permits, found a permanent location, ordered inventory and purchased equipment and other signs of viability by March risk losing their license. The costs of starting a craft growing operation can top $2 million, Vargas said.
* More…
* Crain’s | Vegas weed company picks Waukegan over Chicago for its pot shop: “We looked everywhere in the region. We were kicking a lot of tires in the city, downtown and elsewhere,” said Bob Groesbeck, co-CEO of Planet 13. “Waukegan checked the boxes: proximity to an area that’s not oversaturated, the ability to drive some traffic down from Wisconsin. There’s very supportive local government and not a lot competition because a lot of communities in the area opted out” of recreational cannabis.
* St. Louis Business Journal | Missouri’s expanded cannabis market could negatively affect Illinois, experts say: After Tuesday’s election, both Missouri and Illinois could soon have legalized recreational marijuana markets. The difference? Tax rates. “My gut reaction is that it won’t be a positive for Illinois.”
* Marijuana Moment | Local Illinois Lawmaker Pushes For Psychedelics Decriminalization With New Bill: Councilmember Devon Reid’s proposal would make possessing, cultivating and delivering entheogenic substances like psilocybin punishable by a $100 fine without the threat of jail time. That fine could be waived for people who complete a drug treatment program or “reasonable public service work.”
* MI Biz | ‘Unprecedented’ $10M cannabis hospitality project planned in Muskegon: A group of Michigan and Chicago-based entrepreneurs are developing a one-stop cannabis destination in Muskegon that would include a growing and processing facility, dispensary, consumption lounge, outdoor venue, restaurant and bar.
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
State Rep. Tim Ozinga (R-Mokena) made the classic blunder of not focusing on one election at a time. But his flub does give us an excuse to look at a few fundraising issues.
It’s been no secret that Ozinga wanted to be the next House Republican leader. But he hasn’t really been involved in many House Republican races this year and then, the day before Election Day, all of a sudden reported giving his own campaign fund a million dollars.
As I pointed out to my newsletter subscribers last week, that money could’ve really helped some suburban or Downstate candidates who struggled to raise money and then lost. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin relied on the word of billionaire Ken Griffin that he’d have plenty of money for the fall campaign. But when Griffin left Illinois in a huff over rival billionaire Richard Uihlein opposing his efforts to nominate Republican Richard Irvin for governor, that commitment was discarded.
The Republicans’ fundraising base has badly eroded over the years. It has either aged out and/or moved to warmer climes and more hospitable politics, like Florida and Arizona. Once those folks leave, they just don’t care anymore (unless they’re getting paid, like Dan Proft, who spent millions of Uihlein’s money to help Darren Bailey). Adequate, reliable and younger replacements have not yet been found. Bailey winning the primary probably discouraged potential contributors from seeing a path to any significant wins this year.
This problematic fundraising trend has been going on for quite a few years. The wealthy Bruce Rauner exploited it to his own advantage by handing out money before, during and after his 2014 gubernatorial bid. After Rauner lost reelection and split for Florida, Griffin stepped in, until he lost the Irvin race and split for Florida.
So it’s either jump into the far-right political bed with Uihlein, or deal with the GOP’s stark fiscal reality and scramble every day to raise a few bucks here and there. It’s no wonder that Durkin retired. It’s just not worth the hassle.
Anyway, there is most definitely a void in the Republican Party structure that wealthy people like Ozinga can exploit, if only he had pitched in more during the last election instead of waiting to plunk down cash during the leadership race.
And while billionaire Uihlein didn’t give money to Durkin, he did fund a group called Common Sense Reforms independent expenditure committee. As I’ve told you before, it’s run by some Illinois Policy Institute honchos, including John Tillman.
According to a State Board of Elections website search, the group reported spending $1.9 million since early October.
Uihlein used the group in much the same way he helped Bailey through Proft’s independent expenditure committee, People Who Play by the Rules PAC. He gave a few bucks to Bailey, but most of his cash went to Proft.
Instead of concentrating the Uihlein cash on some winnable races, though, Common Sense Reforms scattered the spending among 18 House contests, with almost all of the districts receiving about the same amount of mail. I’m not sure if their spending was enough to move the needle in any individual races, but Uihlein and Tillman might have created some good will among the very small handful who won.
And, finally, a recent complaint filed against Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie’s campaign highlights a campaign finance law that’s being almost completely ignored in Illinois.
State law requires any candidates who receive 33% of their funding from a single person or group to disclose the name of the “sponsoring entity” on their state paperwork.
In McConchie’s case, the sponsoring entity was Uihlein, who contributed $2.1 million to McConchie’s personal campaign committee in the third quarter, or 78% of his total.
A spokesperson for the Board of Elections says that candidates don’t have to disclose their sponsoring entities on their “paid for by” advertising disclaimers, although one attorney I consulted disagrees.
But just think of all the candidates with sponsoring entities this year who didn’t disclose it. Irvin received tens of millions of dollars from Griffin. Uihlein has been Bailey’s sponsoring entity all year long. Kari Steele’s Democratic primary bid for Cook County assessor was almost totally funded by the Operating Engineers Local 150-connected Fight Back Fund’s million-dollar contribution.
Strengthening the law to make clear that campaigns have to disclose their sponsors in their advertising probably wouldn’t work. Uihlein and Proft could’ve just set up an entity called “I love Darren Bailey,” or something. Money always seems to find a way around regulations.
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Republicans assess the damage
Monday, Nov 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Jake Griffin at the Daily Herald…
“Everybody said this election was about crime and inflation,” said Tim Schneider, the state GOP chairman from 2014 to 2021. “But suburban women voted pro-choice, and they voted on the abortion issue, which I believe sunk us.” […]
“Until so many Republican voters stop looking as if they accept Trump as their savior, these elections are destined to go down the toilet for us,” said Arlen Gould, a former staffer on many high-profile Illinois GOP campaigns. “And it’s never going to come back as long as we’re a party of election deniers and grievances.” […]
Gould believes in many cases, any stigma attached to the Republican Party was earned by many of the party’s long-held platforms.
“We’re on the wrong side of history with abortion, gay marriage and LGBTQ rights. We’re wrong,” he said. “And what are we offering now? What are our programs? What do we stand for other than negativity?”
* Rick Pearson at the Tribune…
The GOP losses symbolize a political party that has failed to adapt to the changing diverse demographics of the suburbs, moving from a message of social moderation and fiscal conservatism to a rigid-right ideology that is aging along with its dwindling base. […]
”We had lots of really great candidates” who were “constantly attacked by the Democrats on abortion, made-up issues and alleged extremism,” [ILGOP Chair Don Tracy] said. “In the coming days/weeks, we will be doing a deeper analysis on the elections and will share our thoughts on how best to move forward.” […]
Unofficial returns showed Bailey received about 37.5% of the vote in Lake County while the official count showed Rauner got 58% of the county’s ballots eight years ago. This year, Pritzker got nearly 60% of the county’s votes, according to unofficial returns.
An AP VoteCast survey of Illinois general election voters found suburban voters representing 49% of the state’s vote and supporting Pritzker 57% to 37% for Bailey. Suburban women, always a key demographic in statewide races, cast 26% of Illinois’ votes for governor and they went 61% to 31% for Pritzker, the survey showed. […]
Durkin noted his votes in favor of ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment and a previous proposal to ban assault weapons as examples of positions on “commonsense issues” in the voter-rich and increasingly Democratic-leaning suburbs.
Leader Durkin still doesn’t get it, or isn’t publicly admitting it. His party’s official hardcore stance on abortion has ruined them in the suburbs. And that started well before Donald Trump was elected president.
…Adding… I didn’t see this story, so I stand corrected on Durkin…
Durkin specifically urged Illinois Republicans to rethink the politics of guns, abortion, and gay rights.
“Whoever succeeds me, we need to do more to not take these strident positions on issues related to firearms, to issues of reproductive health, issues relating to the gay and lesbian community. There are many people who feel very strong about those issues who would vote for Republicans,” Durkin said.
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Open thread
Monday, Nov 14, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Happy Monday folks. What’s going on in Illinois today?
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Morning briefing
Monday, Nov 14, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* This has aged well…
* Here’s a quick roundup to start your day….
* Tribune | In year’s final session, Illinois legislators set to consider changes to SAFE-T Act but likely to leave gun control, abortion for 2023: The upcoming session is not expected to address other issues that played high profile roles in the election, including additional protections for abortion access and a proposed ban on assault-style weapons. Those highly fraught topics likely will be pushed off into the new year, when the current crop of lawmakers returns to Springfield for a lame-duck session before newly elected legislators are sworn in.
* WMBD | LaHood could become next NRCC chair: No matter how the balance of power may be shaking out in Congress, one local lawmaker may soon have some more responsibility. 16th District Congressman Darin LaHood is in line to chair the National Republican Congressional Committee.
* Tribune | Illinois GOP, suffering from Trump factor and right-wing ideology, teeters on edge of irrelevance: Bailey’s losing coattails helped Democrats, who retained both U.S. Senate seats, took a 14-3 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation, kept all statewide elected offices, enhanced their majority on the Illinois Supreme Court and cast Republicans further into minority status in the Illinois General Assembly.
* Daily Herald | ‘We got shellacked’: Election results put spotlight on Illinois GOP’s future: “There were many who thought we hit rock bottom two years ago, but some of us predicted we hadn’t hit rock bottom yet,” said Collin Corbett, a longtime Illinois GOP operative who runs Cor Strategies. “Well, here we are. We got shellacked.”
* News-Gazette | Budzinski shatters one of C-U’s oldest glass ceilings: It was inevitable that a woman would win the 13th District this time — the other candidate was Decatur Republican Regan Deering — but the victory was a long time coming locally. Illinois had its first female member of Congress — Chicago Republican Ruth McCormick — in 1928. Jessie Sumner, a resident of nearby Iroquois County and an outspoken critic of Franklin Roosevelt, was elected to Congress in 1938.
* State Journal-Register | Illinois man who pleaded guilty to Jan. 6 attack is arrested in fatal Interstate 55 crash: Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said Woods was arrested for reckless homicide, aggravated driving under the influence, driving under the influence and fleeing/eluding police. He was taken to the Sangamon County Jail and his bond was set at $2 million.
* Sun-Times | Indicted Ald. Carrie Austin ‘not medically fit’ for trial, her lawyers say days after she voted on city budget: They say her medical records are “startling,” and she “cannot cooperate fully with counsel or withstand the stress of a trial.”
* Tribune | Mental health programs to start in select suburbs after voters approved property tax hikes: Publicly subsidized counseling, therapy and medical care soon will be available in select Chicago suburbs after voters approved property taxes for new mental health programs.
* Illinois Answers Project | Insurance Giant Failed Foster Kids with Inadequate Care: A nearly $370 million contract promised to improve health care for state wards — but for two years the Centene Corp. fell short on basic care, forcing foster parents to scramble.
* Belleville News-Democrat | Illinois abortions increased nearly 30% in two months after Supreme Court’s ruling: The jump in abortions performed by Illinois clinics comes as states in the south-central region of the United States saw a 96% decrease in the number of abortions between April and August. Many patients are coming to Illinois, where abortion remains legal, from Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and other states where lawmakers swiftly banned the procedure.
* Tribune | City says it’s on track to plant 15,000 trees in first step to fix Chicago’s tree disparities. But ‘real work’ starts now, advocates say.: Chicago lags behind many other cities in overall canopy coverage, and over the years, has planted significantly fewer trees in lower income communities of color on the South and West sides, a Tribune investigation found.
* NBC 5 | Here’s Illinois Most Popular Thanksgiving Side Dish, According to a New Survey: According to the survey, 66% of people across the country prefer Thanksgiving sides to the main entrée. And if you’re hosting this year, you might want to opt for larger dishes: 7 out of 10 Americans say there isn’t enough room on their plate for all the side options served, the report says.
More to come!
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Live coverage
Monday, Nov 14, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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