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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Even more news

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Reader comments closed for the holiday weekend

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Illinois National Guard’s 144th Army Band will play us out

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Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - This just in…

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Some updates

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Leader Durkin begins exit interviews: “People look at Republicans as extremists”

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I scheduled mine for next week…


* From Brian’s interview

We were overwhelmed on Tuesday, and I believe greatly because people look at Republicans as extremist, and also they associate Republicans with Donald Trump, and also the US Supreme Court. I mean, there was a lot of factors that were in play. But at the end of the day, Illinois voters rejected us. And it was a, it was a tough night. And we, I hope we learned something from this, that you have to be able to expand and not just, you know, disqualify somebody because he may have a different position than most, than conservative Republicans on the Second Amendment, reproductive rights, or even same sex marriage and gay and lesbian rights. I mean, we’re losing a lot of people, a lot of people who otherwise thoroughly believe in the Republican positions on public safety, spending our budget, spending in our budget, but we’ve completely turned our back on them because we disagree with them on social issues. And you know what? It’s addition, it’s not subtraction. And if we continue on with this approach, and just nominate people in the most important races that appeal to the far right. We’re going to be in the same, we’ll be, we’ll be having the same elections over and over again.

Discuss.

  33 Comments      


Question of the day

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Finally, a post about the Associated Press that isn’t negative. Hooray! AP Votecaster interviewed voters all over the country, including in Illinois. It’s not actually an “exit poll” because it was conducted over eight days

AP VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News, NPR, PBS NewsHour, Univision News, USA Today Network, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. The survey was conducted for eight days, concluding as polls closed. Interviews were conducted in English or Spanish. The survey is based  on interviews with a random sample of registered voters drawn from state voter files. Participants were contacted by phone, mail and online, and had the opportunity to take the survey by phone or online. All surveys are subject to multiple sources of error, including sampling, question wording and order, and nonresponse.

* From the AP’s interactive tool


The AP’s survey of national congressional races found that 43 percent of men backed Democratic candidates while 53 percent of men backed Republican candidates. That wasn’t the case here. Pritzker won men four years ago, too.

* The Question: After clicking here and looking at the results in the governor’s race and the US Senate contest, and after clicking here and looking at the congressional results, what stood out the most? Explain.

  15 Comments      


Post-campaign notebook

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune

In January, a record number of Democrats are set to be sworn in as state representatives in the Illinois House, giving Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch a supermajority not even enjoyed by his notorious predecessor and claiming its first political victim — now-outgoing House Minority Leader Jim Durkin.

Aided by a newly drawn map of district boundaries, Welch’s Democrats say they racked up wins in as many as 77, and possibly 78, of the House’s 118 seats. That would best the modern high-water mark of 74 seats set in 2018 by Democrats led at the time by now-indicted ex-Speaker Michael Madigan, the longest-serving state House speaker in American history. […]

The final tally will likely reduce Harmon’s current Democratic majority from 41 of 59 senators to about 39 or 40, depending on when results are confirmed over the coming days. Democrats will easily exceed the 71 votes needed to control a supermajority in the House and the 36 in the Senate to exercise on issues ranging from borrowing money to overriding a veto to putting proposed constitutional amendments before voters.

Meanwhile, the AP sticks to its outdated numbers and spreads misinformation

According to vote tabulations by The Associated Press, by Wednesday afternoon, House Democrats had picked up one seat, matching their 2021-22 total of 74 votes

As another example, on election night, the AP was only reporting suburban Cook County numbers in Sen. Bill Cunningham’s race. They finally incorporated the Chicago results, but have since appear to have stopped counting. The AP claims that with “99% of precincts reporting,” Cunningham (D-Chicago) leads Christine Shanahan McGovern 53-47. He’s actually ahead 59-41.

If you’re gonna set yourself up as the ultimate factual authority, then, please, put the work in, or at least run a disclaimer.

* Yep


The AP still has Sheehan ahead by 68 votes.

* Speaking of mail, what DeVore fails to mention is that Donald Trump has actively discouraged mail-in ballots for years. The Illinois Republican Party pioneered mail-in voting years ago. It was jettisoned because rank-and-file voters now hate it. It’s truly hurting their party’s candidates and they need to get over themselves

Also, with or without mail-in ballots, DeVore woulda got clobbered. I mean, c’mon.

* Politico on the scramble to replace retiring House GOP Leader Jim Durkin

State Rep. Tim Ozinga, who was elected in 2020 and has been angling for the position for months, has already caused concern among some Republicans. Ozinga committed to helping the House Republican Majority)this cycle as finance chair and said he would personally give $2 million to the fund, according to a person familiar with the arrangement.

But Ozinga didn’t end up committing anything after all. He gave more to the Senate Republicans than he did to the House Republicans.

Ozinga, whose family runs a well-known concrete company, sat on the sidelines at a time when Republican candidates could have used the financial help. But he did create something he calls the “Big Tent Coalition,” which provides candidates with services on the campaign trail. Ozinga charged a 15 percent fee for the work.

The day before the election, Ozinga also deposited $1 million into his political account, maybe in an effort to show members he has money to share. But some saw it as an insult because it wasn’t used to help any candidates win office.

Another potential candidate for GOP House leader is state Rep. Martin McLaughin. He’s also been in the House since 2020 and before that was a Barrington Village president. Away from his public job, he runs a pension firm, a position that could put him under some scrutiny. He has opposed pension consolidation legislation and has employed a lobbyist in Springfield for his business in order to influence legislation for his firm’s benefit.

Yikes.

* Golden Horsehoe winner Candy Dogood in comments

Speaking of 2024 speculation, it’d be nice if reporters would recognize that JB cannot state his intention to run for president without triggering an immediate requirement to file with the FEC and to comply with quite a few laws regarding what he can do, how he can do it, and how he spends money.

So, he can’t answer in the affirmative. There’s also no legal difference between an “exploratory committee” and a regular presidential campaign committee, they just call it exploratory so it’s less embarrassing when the candidate decides not to run.

JB benefits from others talking about the possibility both in Illinois and nationally, but it’s not hard hitting journalism to ask him a question that he can’t legally answer in the affirmative at this time.

If he is ever planning on running for President a random reporter at a political event is not getting the scoop by pressing him on the issue and a state governor giving a non answer about running for president isn’t news and isn’t important. It’s also lazy to keep asking him about it.

If a journalist wants to have fun with this topic, the questions should tie back into his administration, “Do you think that the staffing difficulties and contempt of court charges at your Department of Children and Family services could detract from your national image if it was reported on nationwide?”

Asking him a yes or no question solely about running for president is a waste of everyone’s time.

It is also very unlikely that Biden would ditch his VP, and if Biden decides not to run we probably won’t hear about that affirmatively for at least another 12 months.

The Governor has a lot that needs to he addressed that his administration is directly responsible for, let’s press him on those issues and why they seem to be lingering with no one being held accountable for the failure to address them.

* Last February, Lake County Clerk Robin O’Connor, elected four years ago as a Democrat, announced she was switching parties to run as a Republican. She’s losing 54-46 to Democrat Anthony Vega. All countywide Democrats are winning. And only 5 of 19 seemingly victorious county board candidates are Republicans. JB Pritzker won the county with 51 percent in 2018. He’s winning the county this year with 59 percent.

Pritzker won DuPage County four years ago by two points, with 48 percent. He’s winning it this year by 15 points, 56-41.

Pritzker lost McHenry County four years ago by 10 points and he’s cutting his losing margin this year in half.

One potential kinda/sorta bright spot for Bailey is Will County, which Pritzker won 50-44 four years ago. Pritzker’s winning by a lesser amount so far this year, 50-47.

* Sen. Darren Bailey is currently leading in one Chicago ward, the 41st, way up on the city’s Northwest Side. The ward is the home to a lot of first responders. But the lead is small, 9,022-8,964, so that could get wiped out when more mail-in/provisional ballots are counted. Pritzker won the 41st Ward four years ago 51-43.

* Isabel’s roundup

    * ADDED: Rep. Theresa Mah | Asian Americans are making a big mark in Illinois politics: With these numbers, Asian Americans come closer to equitable representation for the state’s fastest-growing population. We’ll be able to advocate for our communities so that it will not be possible to make policies “about us without us” and we will more effectively fight for resources our constituents need.

    * NBC 5 | ‘Ok Then’: Pritzker Details What Was Said in His Election Night Call With Bailey: “I got on the phone… I said, ‘Senator Bailey,’ he said, ‘Governor, I want to congratulate you.’ And I said, ‘Well, thank you very much. That’s very kind of you.’ And he said, ‘Okay, then.’”

    * Daily Herald | No red wave here: Democratic congressional candidates won big in the suburbs: Despite projections of a red wave that would push Republicans into office in Illinois and across the country, Democrats — nearly all of them incumbents — swept all eight suburban congressional seats in Tuesday’s election.

    * Daily Herald | Syed’s defeat of Bos in 51st House District bucked trend of incumbent victories in Northwest suburbs : “I’m feeling very, very grateful,” she said Wednesday. “I think we laid it all out there. We communicated our message. We wanted to let constituents in this district know what exactly I would fight for in the state legislature, in our suburban district and the place that I’ve called home, and a place that I was born and raised in, and I have a lot of care for this community.”

    * WTTW | South Side Voters Speak Up for Trees in Jackson Park and South Shore. Is Anyone Listening?: Should the city of Chicago stop cutting down trees in Jackson Park and the area surrounding the South Shore Cultural Center? […] An overwhelming number of ballots — 82% — were cast in the affirmative, according to unofficial totals from the Chicago Board of Elections.

    * Tribune | Progressive challenger Brandon Johnson lands another big union endorsement: An influential labor group with ties to the Chicago Teachers Union announced its endorsement of Brandon Johnson for mayor on Wednesday, adding to the list of labor organizations opting to back the Cook County commissioner over other progressives, including U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García.

    * Jerusalem Post | Alarming rise in American Jewish children’s complaints of antisemitism at schools: The Israeli-American Council’s (IAC) School Watch initiative reported a rise of hundreds of percent of complaints on behalf of Jewish children on antisemitism in schools, one year after the watchdog’s founding. School Watch was designed to “contribute to a safe school environment and reduce incidents of antisemitism, anti-Zionism, national origin discrimination and hate,” according to its mission statement.

    * The Daily Beast | The Six Biggest Takeaways From Musk’s Groveling Call With Twitter Advertisers:Amid a mass exodus of advertisers, “Chief Twit” Elon Musk took to his newly purchased social media platform on Wednesday to assure companies that Twitter will remain a safe space for their brands. In an hour-long livestream, known as a “Twitter Space,” Musk cajoled advertisers with promises of robust content moderation and account verification practices. The billionaire faces a formidable challenge: shoring up Twitter’s revenues without alienating the highly vocal band of right-wing users who initially celebrated the acquisition.

    * Politico | Crypto kingpin bet a fortune on Democrats. Now he’s lost it all.: Crypto megadonor Sam Bankman-Fried helped bankroll Democrats’ overperformance in the midterms. But any friends he may have had in Washington won’t be there for him as his crumbling business empire threatens to torpedo the entire digital currency market.

    * FiveThirtyEight | Abortion Rights Are Reshaping American Politics: Results are still pending in some key states like Arizona, but Democrats won many contests that will shape abortion access for the next few years — and in some cases, much longer. Abortion-rights supporters managed to enshrine the right to abortion in three state constitutions, including the crucial state of Michigan, where a near-total ban on abortion from 1931 has been tangled up in court battles for months. And supporters notched another consequential win in Kentucky, where a majority of the state’s voters opposed a ballot measure that would have explicitly clarified that abortion rights was not protected under the state constitution.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** DCEO offers direct forgiveable loans for cannabis social equity participants

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today announced that $8.75 million in Direct Forgivable Loans fully financed by the State will be made available to all conditionally-approved social equity loan applicants in order to provide immediate access to capital. Pending the completion of a simplified documentation process, forgivable loan amounts between $50,000-$500,000 will be released immediately.

“Equity has always been at the core of our cannabis legalization process. It’s why we expunged hundreds of thousands low-level cannabis charges and instituted the Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program. But I know that if we want to create a truly equitable cannabis industry in Illinois, we must give our business owners the resources they need to grow—both figuratively and literally,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “That’s why we are launching this Direct Forgivable Loan Program to provide a much-needed jumpstart for social equity applicants who’ve faced hurdles in pursuit of capital funding. This $8.75 million will help our social equity licensees open their doors for business—a major step towards creating a prosperous cannabis industry here in Illinois.”

The Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program is a first-of-its-kind program that launched in the summer of 2021 with the goal of providing low-interest loans to social equity licensees through a partnership with lending institutions. Program participants have encountered significant delays in receiving capital through financial institutions due to the complexities of navigating a new industry that remains illegal under federal law, as well as institutions’ fiduciary, regulatory responsibilities and underwriting standards that are set independent of the program.

In response to feedback from participants, and out of an unwavering commitment to increasing equity in the cannabis industry, DCEO’s new Direct Forgivable Loan Program will make funding from the state available to all eligible program participants regardless of their original loan application status with a lending partner. Interested participants can continue to pursue funding through the original loan program, while also receiving the new Direct Forgivable Loan.

“In Illinois, we are striving to create an ecosystem for cannabis entrepreneurs that prioritizes those who have been adversely impacted by the war on drugs,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “The creation of the Direct Forgivable Loan Program is a critical step in that mission. We are forging ahead to support social equity licensees’ businesses so that Illinoisans can thrive alongside this growing industry.”

“Creating a more equitable cannabis industry in Illinois is the driving force behind the State’s loan programs and today’s announcement will accelerate our vision by making immediate capital available to social equity licensees,” said DCEO Director Sylvia I. Garcia. “Looking ahead we will continue working closely with licensees as we implement the new Direct Forgivable Loan Program and incorporate program improvements for future rounds of funding.”

A total of $8.75 million will be available through the new Direct Forgivable Loan Program. The following loan amounts are available per participant based on the business type:

    • Craft Growers: $500,000
    • Infusers: $250,000
    • Transporters: $50,000

Because DCEO has already received significant documentation from program participants, the additional documentation requirements for a direct forgivable loan are minimal to allow for prompt disbursal of funds. The forgivable loan has an 18-month grace period with no payments or interest accrued to provide businesses with flexibility.

Loan forgiveness will be provided to recipients upon receiving documentation of a broad array of eligible expenses currently accrued or accrued during the loan period, including rent, payroll, utilities, inventory, debt, regulatory expenses, legal fees, equipment and much more. The main differences between the programs are as follows:

Looking Ahead: Continued Collaboration with Licensees
Through the original loan program, social equity applicants were conditionally approved to pursue loan funding directly with lender partners. While conditional approval did not guarantee funding through the financial institutions, the program was designed to incentivize lending to social equity licensees to the greatest extent possible. As part of the structure, DCEO committed to funding a portion of each loan– thereby assuming a portion of the risk and making lending more attractive to lenders.

With many applicants still in the process of seeking loans through the original program, DCEO will continue to work closely with partners in an effort to secure loan funding for applicants who wish to complete the loan application process. Any loan funding provided through the original program would be in addition to the Direct Forgivable Loan funded by the State. In addition to providing additional capital, securing a loan from a financial institution can help add to the legitimacy of the social equity applicant’s business model and help attract capital from additional investors.

*** UPDATE *** Press release…

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) announced today it has issued the first full adult use cannabis dispensing organization licenses to social equity applicants. IDFPR issued a social equity applicant license to Ivy Hall, located at 1720 N. Damen Ave. in Chicago in Cook County, which is 61% African American owned. IDFPR issued a second social equity applicant license to Green Rose, located at 612 North Wells Street in Chicago, which is 15% Latino-owned and 2.5% African American owned.

“In the coming months, Illinois is set to more than double the number of cannabis dispensaries, with every single new license holder being a social equity applicant,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “With equity as our north star, today marks the first step for retail cannabis operations to begin repairing the devastating harm caused by the failed War on Drugs on communities of color. Congratulations to Green Rose and Ivy Hall – and we look forward to welcoming many more social equity-owned dispensaries to our great state.”

“This is but the first two of almost 200 new full dispensary licenses IDFPR anticipates issuing in the coming months, and we’re proud to welcome Green Rose and Ivy Hall to the most equitable cannabis market of any state in the country,” said Mario Treto, Jr., Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. “IDFPR is committed to ensuring a diverse and well-regulated cannabis industry in Illinois, and we look forward to welcoming even more entrepreneurs in the time ahead.”

To date, IDFPR has issued 192 conditional adult use cannabis dispensing organization licenses from a series of lotteries in 2021 and 2022. Full licenses will be issued as the Department receives and reviews the applications for the full licenses, before completing the mandatory on-site inspection as required by the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. Of the businesses selected through the lottery process, 41% are majority Black-owned, 7% are majority White-owned, and 4% are majority Latino-owned, while 38% of awardees did not disclose the race of their owners. To open, applicants still need to receive agent and agent-in-charge badges, create an account with the state traceability system, and place their first order for cannabis products.

  15 Comments      


What’s next for the SAFE-T Act?

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* NBC 5

The SAFE-T act may not have been on the ballot during the 2022 Midterm Election, but it played a big role. Now that Election Day is over in Illinois, attention is turning to the new law set to take effect early next year, but what exactly it will look like by then remains unclear.

Facing mounting criticism from a variety of groups and officials over provisions of the “SAFE-T Act” that will ban cash bail in the state beginning on Jan. 1, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said changes could soon be in store.

“There’s a lot of work that’s been done by the General Assembly over the last number of months and working groups,” he told reporters Wednesday, one day after securing his second term in office. “And so they’re going to bring that to the veto session and I’ll be watching carefully. I’ve made my thoughts clear. And we’ll see if we can get something done during the veto session to address the changes that we ought to be making.”

* The People’s Lobby and some allies pushed back hard on that TV news framing…

Midterm elections in Illinois have shown that the majority of voters were not swayed by far-right Republican fear mongering around the SAFE-T Act and the end of money bond in Illinois.

Not only did Governor Pritzker win a resounding victory over State Senator Darren Bailey, who made attacking Pritzker on crime central to his campaign, but suburban seats that republicans were trying to flip remained blue: State Senator Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights), State Senator Ellman (D-Naperville) and State Representative Stava-Murray (D-Naperville) all beat their republican opponents.

Despite facing a deluge of racist disinformation ads funded by Florida resident Dan Proft and billionaire Trump supporter Richard Uihlein about the “end of days” that would come as a result of the end of money bond, voters weren’t fooled. Illinoisans voted in record numbers during this midterm election and they overwhelmingly showed their support for candidates who prioritize public safety and are committed to creating a more just pretrial system.

“My constituents are concerned about crime, but they understand that the current system isn’t working,” said State Senator Gillespie. “Criminalizing poverty hasn’t made us safer–if anything it’s made things worse by feeding the cycle of incarceration, joblessness and poverty.”

“Republicans know the facts and data about pretrial incarceration are on our side, so they tried to win people over by stoking fear and outrage,” said State Rep. Stava-Murray. “What they don’t understand is that Trumpian tactics don’t work in the suburbs. Here, people want politicians to give it to them straight, and the truth is that we all want to feel safe in our communities and we’ll continue to work with all stakeholders to achieve that goal. We all know we aren’t made any safer when a person accused of a crime languishes in jail because they can’t afford to pay a low bond or when wealth can buy the freedom of someone who may hurt someone while out on bond.”

The People’s Lobby supported Gillespie, Ellman and Stava-Murray on the ground, talking to voters at the doors for months leading up to the election. We knocked on the doors of 6,800 people and called 9,600 people. What we heard across communities was largely the same: once people understood more about how the current system of pretrial incarceration works, and heard more about what the Pretrial Fairness Act actually does, they supported the end of money bond.

“I’ve lived in Arlington Heights for 20 years, and I know what safety looks like for my community: it’s fully funded mental health programs, affordable housing, and thriving schools. It is not locking people up and throwing away the key,” said People’s Lobby member and longtime Arlington Heights resident Peg Lane. “Over the last few months, I have knocked hundreds of doors, and tonight’s results have confirmed what I already knew: my neighbors and I can see right through the fake newspapers and internet ads that have been bombarding us. We support the Pretrial Fairness Act provision of the SAFE-T Act and the legislators who voted for it.“

“Four years ago, the suburbs saw democrats’ win as part of the Blue Wave that grew in response to the election of Donald Trump,” said State Senator Ellman. “We rejected his views then, and we rejected them again in these midterms. Despite dark money churning out misinformation and fear, voters clearly weren’t fooled.”

They’re having a press conference today.

* Meanwhile

The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office was selected as lead counsel on SAFE-T Act litigation.

The selection came from the 62 other state’s attorneys who had filed similar suits challenging the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act to litigate on their behalf.

Also selected as lead counsel were Kankakee County, Kendall County, Sangamon County, Vermillion County, and Will County.

As the case will be decided on legal issues, the parties have agreed to an expedited briefing schedule on cross-motions for summary judgment. A summary judgment occurs when a court decides the outcome of a case based on legal arguments without empaneling a jury, swearing in witnesses, or hearing evidence in open court.

  26 Comments      


Do better, AP

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I’ve been grumpily informing subscribers about the Associated Press’ performance for two days, but if you go to the New York Times site and pull up its list of the county-by-county vote on the proposed constitutional amendment and scroll down, you’ll see a bunch of counties that have not yet been tabulated by the Associated Press

If you go to Kane County’s website, the results are there. The AP is just not reporting them.

* The AP’s coverage of this year’s election results has been shoddy, at best. It’s far behind in way too many contests. They have, for instance, Kane County results for some local races and other top statewide races, but not for the proposed amendment.

They are also claiming that 100 percent of precincts are reporting in the 45th House District and that GOP Rep. Deanne Mazzochi is ahead by 157 votes. As of right around 9 o’clock this morning, Rep. Mazzochi was trailing by 6 votes. In an age when election denial is so intense, the AP has got to stop doing stuff like this.

It’s not a new problem, either. Back in 2014, you may recall, the AP stopped posting updated tallies in the super-tight state treasurer’s race. Scott Kennedy was generating up to the minute numbers, which I posted here, but no other reporters used them so their stories were just plain wrong for weeks. It was embarrassing to watch.

* Back to the Workers’ Rights Amendment…


If the union total is correct, then the Workers’ Rights Amendment has enough votes to win.

  15 Comments      


Despite Darren Bailey dropping the idea, a handful of people still want to secede from Illinois

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I’ve been getting several emails from Google lately…

xxxx (xxxx@gmail.com) is requesting access to a file via an old link, which is no longer valid due to a security update. Share the file with this person directly, or copy and send the new link in sharing settings.

The link is to this image

* I’m pretty sure the interest in that older map has something to do with this story

Illinois residents wanting to separate their communities from Chicago and Cook County is nothing new in the political world, but three counties took things one step further during the midterm elections, passing non-binding resolutions indicating that they want their elected officials to potentially explore seceding from the state.

These so-called “separation referendums” were on the ballot in Brown and Hardin counties, as well as a portion of Madison County.

The thrust behind the referendums was to allow the county board of each area to coordinate with other county boards to explore the possibility of seceding from Illinois due to the influence Chicago and Cook County have on the state’s political decisions.

Brown County, located in western Illinois, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the non-binding ballot question, with nearly three-in-four voters approving it. […]

Hardin County, located in southeastern Illinois, also voted on a similar measure and passed it. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a population of 3,649 residents, making it the least-populated county in the state.

More

The [Brown] county board’s vice chairman Mike Yingling said a group of citizens petitioned to put the measure on the ballot. The decision directs the county to seek to join other counties who wish to cast off the influence of Cook County.

“If I recall, one of the proposals was that parts of downstate Illinois would become part of Iowa,” Yingling said. “And parts would become part of Missouri and parts become parts of Indiana and not a separate state.”

Since it passed, Yingling said the board now has more to add to its agenda.

“We’ll have to research that and see what that referendum mandates us to do,” Yingling said. “Which obviously just passed yesterday so we don’t know exactly what our requirements are going to be.”

Darren Bailey won Brown County with 82 percent of the vote. Sounds like a bunch of sore losers.

* From 2018

Longstanding political dialogue in Illinois is that downstate Illinois does not receive its fair share when it comes to a return on state funding and resources.

While there is not an equal funding distribution across the state, research by the Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute shows that despite heavy rhetoric, the downstate region receives more than it pays into the state coffers. The best deals are received in central Illinois and Southern Illinois. […]

The research breaks the state’s 102 counties into six specific regions, including Cook County, a five-county suburban section that surrounds Cook County, and the 96 remaining downstate regions, which are subdivided into north, central, southwest and southern regions.

The research shows the south region receives $2.81 in state funds for every $1 generated. The central Illinois region of 50 counties receives $1.87 back for every $1.00 sent to Springfield. All of the downstate regions receive more from the state budget than they pay in taxes. By comparison, Cook County receives 90 cents for every $1, and the suburban counties only 53 cents for every $1 generated.

The study is here. And here’s the map

Discuss.

  68 Comments      


Rate Chuy Garcia’s mayoral announcement video

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Here you go

We’re not going to do a ton on the mayor’s race, but I thought you’d like to see this and weigh in.

  28 Comments      


Speaker Welch reacts to Leader Durkin stepping down

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Background is here if you need it. From House Speaker Chris Welch…

I want to congratulate and thank Leader Durkin on nine years of leading the Republicans in the Illinois House of Representatives. As leaders of our own respective parties, we of course have fundamental differences on policy, but we love Illinois the same and I know Leader Durkin worked passionately on behalf of those who elected him to serve.

I look forward to working with a new Republican leader as we head into the 103rd General Assembly. I’m hopeful to find opportunities to reach across the aisle, to mend some of the relationships that have been strained in this political climate, and to build on our common purpose as public servants for the people of Illinois.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - An update and a supplement to today’s edition

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Open thread

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* How are y’all doing today? Any Veterans Day plans?

  16 Comments      


Morning briefing

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* A 2024 preview?…


* Here’s a roundup to start your day…

* And Mr. Bigger has gone Hollywood on us…


More to come!

  8 Comments      


Live coverage

Thursday, Nov 10, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive


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« NEWER POSTS PREVIOUS POSTS »
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup
* Map shows historical decline of county populations, with about a third peaking between 1870 and 1900
* Question of the day
* 23 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Illinois remembers the lives lost
* IDOC responds to more Menard claims from Sen. Bryant
* Open thread
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* Energy Storage Now!
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
* Live coverage
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Yesterday's stories

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