* Jaclyn Driscoll…
A staff member in Speaker Welch’s office tested positive for the coronavirus. The staff member tested yesterday as part of the required protocols to return to in-person work in the Capitol. Contact tracing was performed, and those who were in contact with the staff member are now quarantining, pending negative tests. The Speaker was not in contact with the staff member and continues to stress the vital importance of public health safety measures as the House of Representatives gets back to work for the people of Illinois. Thanks to the implementation of the U of I Shield testing, the Speaker’s Office was able to catch the positive result prior to the start of session today and it remains a requirement for all staff to be tested regularly.
…Adding… Unlike the Senate, House members are not required to be tested. Instead, they’re just “strongly” encouraged to take the test. I’m sure that’ll end well.
2 Comments  
|
It’s just a bill
Tuesday, Apr 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Pretty decent summation by Politico…
Legislation we’re watching:
Elected school board in Chicago — SCOOP: Watch for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to propose her own take on the issue. This comes after Cook County Democrats endorsed Sen. Rob Martwick’s SB 2497, a bill in the General Assembly that would replace the city’s 7-member mayor-appointed school board with a 20-member elected body. The House has a similar version in HB 2908.
The budget and state’s finances: We won’t likely know until closer to the end of the session, May 31, how numbers will play out or to what extent programs will be cut, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker has indicated. Much will depend on how federal relief dollars will be spent.
Renewable energy: There are three bills focused on how to create a renewable energy marketplace and industry and whether it can be economically (and financially) feasible for nuclear power to be part of it. Watch for the bills to be pulled together into one piece of legislation.
Cannabis lottery: More than a year since cannabis has been legal in Illinois, lawmakers are trying to fix the process that would allow more Black and Latino business owners to be part of the industry. Rep. La Shawn Ford and others are working with the Pritzker administration to come up with legislation that will open up at least two lottery rounds for more dispensaries in Illinois.
Ethics: Rep. Kelly Burke is shepherding bills that will address ethics. The Ethics and Elections Committee is holding subject matter hearings on legislation with the goal of crafting an ethics omnibus bill. The next hearing is Tuesday.
Redistricting: Even though lawmakers don’t have final census data, they plan to use the most recent figures from 2019 to pull together maps that they could ideally just tweak in September when the final numbers come out. Republicans and some independent organizations have called for members of the public to draw the map, but critics of that idea, mainly Democrats who don’t want to lose control of the process, say that could also be fraught with problems.
* Bishop Michael McGovern, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, writing in the Belleville News-Democrat…
Currently, the law of the State of Illinois requires that when a minor girl seeks to have an abortion a parent or guardian must be notified 48 hours before the procedure.
This is a common-sense law that enjoys wide support among residents who fall on both sides of the abortion debate, and for obvious reasons: most reasonable people agree that parents have a right to know if irreversible surgery is going to be performed on their minor daughters.
But now, the Illinois General Assembly is considering two bills, House Bill 1797 and Senate Bill 2190, that, if enacted as law, would repeal our Parental Notification of Abortion Act, allowing an abortion provider to perform an abortion on a minor without her parents’ knowledge.
Enacting such a law would undermine families by separating children from the care, guidance and emotional support of parents. The repeal of the current law would also increase danger for minor girls.
Reputable studies of human sex trafficking patterns indicate that states that have no parental involvement laws for abortion make it possible for an adult male to take a teenage victim of abuse or trafficking to an abortion clinic in the hopes of erasing the evidence of his abuse.
The research he referred to was from Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council.
* There was no subcommittee vote on the bill…
Illinois lawmakers are looking at ways to change their state’s biometric privacy law after complaints from businesses and hundreds of lawsuits.
Members of the Senate Judiciary’s subcommittee on privacy met Monday to hear arguments on Senate Bill 300.
Sponsored by Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, the bill would give an entity 30 days to correct a potential infraction of the Biometric Information Privacy Act before a person could file a lawsuit against them unless there was a breach of the information. It would also give legal protection to companies that store biometric information in the form of algorithms. If accessed by a hacker, those groups of numbers would be meaningless, said Clark Kaericher, vice president of government affairs at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
“You can take a fingerprint scan and store it as a sequence of meaningless numbers,” he said. “We should encourage companies to do that.”
* This bill made it out of committee (along with hundreds of others) and is now on Second Reading…
State Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago) has proposed the creation of safe consumption rooms — also referred to as supervised injection facilities. Proponents of similar programs around the world argue they allow people who suffer from addiction to take substances in a safe environment and reduce the likelihood of fatal overdoses.
“We know that not meeting people where they’re at to provide the support that they need to end the struggle of a substance use disorder only harms the community with loose needles [and] only harms families with preventable drug overdoses,” Ford said.
Currently, such facilities are illegal in the United States and only exist in Canada, Australia, and 10 countries in Europe. Like other legalized injection programs around the world, Ford’s proposal would not stipulate that facilities provide illegal drugs, but rather allow patients to bring in their own supply of drugs that they buy off the street.
* This bill is also out of committee and on the House floor…
A proposal to expand the state’s legal definition of infertility is gaining momentum in the statehouse.
Current state law defines infertility as “the inability to conceive after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse, the inability to conceive after one year of attempts to produce conception, the inability to conceive after an individual is diagnosed with a condition affecting fertility, or the inability to sustain a successful pregnancy.”
“Obviously, by that definition, we are leaving out a huge portion of people who want to be parents,” Rep. Margaret Croke (D-Chicago) said on Capitol Connection. “That includes single women, LGBTQ couples, and also women who have issues too.”
“What I’m trying to do with this mandate is make sure that it doesn’t discriminate against people who do want to become parents,” she said.
* Related…
* Illinois businesses looking for limited COVID-19 liability as bills stall in committee
13 Comments
|
Won’t see him no more
Tuesday, Apr 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP a couple of weeks ago…
Former Illinois congressman and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in 2019 paid a $40,000 fine for allegedly making misleading statements to federal agents about a loan and failing to disclose it on ethics forms, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Federal prosecutors disclosed the fine late Wednesday while discussing a California case unconnected to LaHood that concerned illegal political contributions. That case involved Lebanese-Nigerian businessman Gilbert Chagoury, who is prohibited from making political contributions because he isn’t a U.S. citizen.
LaHood, 75, denied to FBI agents he received a $50,000 loan from Chagoury through an intermediary until he was shown a copy of the check. He also didn’t tell agents he knew Chagoury was the ultimate source of the loan. Authorities say LaHood, who was transportation secretary during President Barack Obama’s administration from 2009 to 2013, was suffering financial difficulties at the time.
In an agreement with federal prosecutors, LaHood agreed to repay Chagoury and pay the fine.
Prosecutors said they agreed not to prosecute LaHood because of his “willingness to acknowledge and accept responsibility” for his actions, his cooperation with the government, the nature of the offense and “LaHood’s substantial mitigating factors.”
* You wonder how these conversations even happen. “Hey, Mr. Foreign Billionaire, I’m in over my head and I need a loan to remodel my house.” I just don’t get that sort of thinking…
According to the non-prosecution agreement signed by LaHood in December of 2019, but not made public until Wednesday, LaHood met Chagoury and Toufic Baaklini, one of Chagoury’s U.S. representatives, in July 2009 at a convention in Los Angeles.
In 2011 and 2012, the agreement said, LaHood was suffering “significant financial difficulties in part due to problems from home remediation and sought funds to conduct home repairs.”
* LaHood was appointed by Gov. Pritzker to chair the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in September of 2019, just a few months before he signed that non-prosecution agreement. That took an extraordinary amount of chutzpah to seek out a position while under federal scrutiny. But then he had to step down when the news emerged…
Former U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood on Monday resigned as chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, just days after federal prosecutors said he “willfully” failed to disclose a $50,000 loan from a foreign national while a member President Barack Obama’s Cabinet.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who appointed LaHood to the Springfield museum’s post in September 2019, accepted the former Peoria congressman’s resignation, said spokeswoman Emily Bittner.
“Gov. Pritzker is grateful for Mr. LaHood’s service, and especially his vision in attracting an outstanding and historic new executive director: Christina Shutt. His stewardship of the museum during this pandemic also preserved this remarkable Illinois gem,” Bittner said in statement.
Shutt, 34, was named last month as the library and museum’s fifth executive director. She is the first person of color named to the post.
Seems awful nice considering the circumstances. But maybe Bittner had to say that to get him to leave. Whatever works, I suppose.
* LaHood’s last act on the board was severing ties with the presidential library foundation…
After months of disagreements and negotiations, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation are ending their relationship with each other.
The foundation serves as the fundraising arm of the library and museum, which means it will no longer handle fundraising duties or purchasing items for the museum’s collection. Each organization placed blame on the other.
“The ALPLM feels it is vital for the Foundation to disclose how much money it raises, where that money goes, and what fundraising plans are in the works to support this institution. The Foundation is unwilling to provide satisfactory answers to those questions,” the ALPLM said in a statement.
The Foundation shot back, saying “the State and ALPLM were inconsistent, unreasonable and threatening in their demands, and spreading misinformation about the Foundation, leading us to question if they were indeed negotiating with us in good faith.”
The foundation is a mess, so I suppose LaHood did us all a favor.
* The day the agreement was finally disclosed, an op-ed penned by LaHood was published by the Sun-Times…
As secretary of transportation under President Barack Obama, I traveled to all 50 states. I traveled to 225 cities. I’ve looked at literally hundreds of different plans centered on transit — the infrastructure backbone that built this country. And I can say, without a doubt, that ONE Central is a first-of-its-kind and visionary model that will unlock opportunities for Chicago to be the leader, nationally and internationally, in more equitable economic development and transit infrastructure delivery.
Yeah, I’m thinking his days of hawking gigantic Illinois projects may be over.
* But what gets to me the most was how saintly sanctimonious LaHood was last year when he was going after Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride…
“People recognize Kilbride’s name, but they also recognize Madigan’s name. They know that Madigan has been there too long. They know that Madigan has ruined Illinois,” LaHood added. “And they know that Madigan is under investigation by the state of Illinois, the city of Chicago, and the Department of Justice. So who does Kilbride report to? Not the constitution of Illinois. Kilbride reports directly to Speaker Madigan.”
He took a secret personal loan from a foreign national while he was a Cabinet member then lied about it to the FBI and then had the unmitigated gall to say that about Kilbride. Also, his son got some of the Chagoury campaign money. Not shady at all, Ray.
28 Comments
|
Question of the day
Tuesday, Apr 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico…
Republican Kirk Dillard has been approached “by prominent business and Republican leaders” to run for governor, but he told Playbook he’s not interested.
Dillard wouldn’t need training wheels for the job given he was chief of staff to Gov. Jim Edgar and has legislative experience.
“Currently, I have a wonderfully balanced personal and professional life,” he said. “These civic leaders came to me, not vice versa. I am not harboring a desire to run for governor.”
Dillard, who is chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority’s board of directors, said he’s “laser focused” on guiding the Chicago area regional mass transit system out of the pandemic. “It’s an economic engine and an economic equalizer for our local communities and the state of Illinois.”
All eyes are watching to see if Reps. Rodney Davis or Darin LaHood make a move for the governor’s office. They haven’t ruled out running, and their decisions could be based on how their districts are redrawn.
Kirk mentioned his stint as Edgar’s chief of staff more often than Scott Drury talked about being a former federal prosecutor. Anyway, no surprise there. He has a good life after losing two gubernatorial primaries by razor-thin margins.
And LaHood’s voting record would not be great in a general election race for governor, to say the least. And, frankly, neither will Davis’. You can be considered a moderate in DC, but still be a far-right candidate statewide here.
* Meanwhile, from Mark Maxwell…
Six months after his colleagues quietly removed him from power, former Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady is contemplating a political comeback.
In a Wednesday night phone call en route from Florida to Illinois, Brady (R-Bloomington) said he’s considering a potential statewide run for office as Secretary of State, Governor, or perhaps Senator Tammy Duckworth’s seat in the U.S. Senate.
“I’m interested in public service, and I’m entertaining different ways I can serve,” Brady said.
Senate Republicans ousted him in a private meeting last fall, opting instead to hand the reins of the caucus’ top job to Senator Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods). Brady announced his retirement from his Senate seat shortly thereafter.
Go read the whole thing before commenting. Quite the oppo dump in there. Whew.
* The Question: Should Bill Brady run for statewide office? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
web survey
36 Comments
|
* From a Crain’s Chicago Business op-ed by Gov. JB Pritzker, Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Chris Welch…
First, we believe it’s important to pay the remaining $2.5 billion of COVID-related Federal Reserve short term debt, and the unpaid bills and borrowing incurred over the last year that allowed us to protect working families from devastating cuts to our public schools, health care and human services, keeping the lights on in the darkest days of the pandemic. In Illinois, we’re all too familiar with how debt and accrued interest can cripple a state budget. Paying off these bills immediately will avoid interest charges and put us in a stronger fiscal position for the future.
Second, at the heart of our agenda are the working families and everyday Illinoisans who have too often in the past been left out and left behind. That’s why the ARP funds must also be dedicated to spurring job creation and igniting economic growth. Putting people to work and growing our state’s economy means accelerating our infrastructure plans for rebuilding Illinois, supporting small businesses—our greatest job creators—and making sure our educational and health care institutions thrive.
Over the last year, fiscal discipline and a science-based pandemic response has meant that our state economy and fiscal situation are stronger than expected. In fact, over the last month, investors and credit rating agencies have taken a more positive view of Illinois’ fiscal future. That’s an important signal to workers and job creators that Illinois is on a good path toward a firm fiscal foundation.
We need to stay the course by managing our state and federal funds responsibly and we are committed to doing so.
* Greg Hinz has some analysis…
The column particularly deals with the $7.5 billion the state expects to receive in one-time funds under President Joe Biden’s $2.9 trillion national plan, which was approved several weeks ago by Congress on a party-line vote.
The governor and legislative leaders make it clear that repaying loans will be the top priority. […]
According to Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, outstanding COVID-related debt includes $2.425 billion still owed to the U.S. Federal Reserve under its Municipal Liquidity Facility borrowing program, $1.043 billion in intrafund borrowing to shore up day-to-day spending in the state’s operating (general funds) account and $400 million in other borrowing. […]
After paying that debt and spending other funds that Congress earmarked for specific purposes, between $1 billion and $1.5 billion will be leftover for the Legislature to spend otherwise, Springfield sources say. And it’s in that area that today’s column offers some hints.
7 Comments
|
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
4,000 Illinois homeowners and businesses tried to go solar this year – instead, they got waitlisted. A map of the waitlisted projects in each legislative district is here.
Illinois approved more than 25,000 new wind and solar projects in a few years before the state’s program went over the funding cliff in 2020.
Now thousands of Illinois residents and businesses are lined up to invest in renewable energy, but our state policy has put everything on hold.
The Illinois Power Agency ran out of funding to approve new renewable energy projects in December. With state incentives in limbo, many solar businesses across the state haven’t sold a new system all year. That puts thousands of jobs at risk unless we pass legislation to fix this.
Customers are ready to invest, solar installers are desperate to get to work and our clean energy goals are slipping further out of reach. The General Assembly needs to act before it’s too late. Take action at www.pathto100.net
Comments Off
|
Lawsuits! Lawsuits! Lawsuits!
Tuesday, Apr 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Capitol News Illinois…
A Kane County restaurant’s legal challenge to Gov. JB Pritzker’s ban on indoor dining can continue, a Sangamon County judge ruled this week.
Attorneys for Pritzker tried to have the lawsuit dismissed but Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow on Wednesday declined to do so. While Grischow decided not to dismiss the case, she did not reach a decision on the merits of their argument.
The order is here.
* Cook County Record…
A federal judge has not only refused to grant Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s wish to end federal oversight of state employment and hiring practices, but has also granted a modest expansion of that watchdog duty.
“The message is not getting across to employment decision-makers” that overseers “will root out the problems and that there is a price to pay,” said Judge Edmond Chang.
On March 31, Chang, of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, denied motions by Pritzker to kill off the so-called Shakman Decrees, court orders requiring federal court oversight of hiring practices in a host of government agencies in Chicago and Springfield. […]
Chang acknowledged the state has made “significant” progress in its employment practices, and he might be receptive to another request late this year to terminate oversight. Chang noted that if the Cook County sheriff, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the city of Chicago and Cook County have been able to satisfy Shakman, then “so can the State.” These governmental bodies are no longer under federal monitoring. […]
Adding that implementation is “complex,” Chang noted there is “evidence of ongoing noncompliance.” He particularly noted problems with Pritzker’s attempt to persuade the court to place trust in the Inspector General’s office. The judge pointed to an “apparent lack of sanctions for disregarding recommendations” made by the OEIG.
The opinion is here.
…Adding… The governor’s office points to this passage from page 30…
“t bears repeating and emphasis that this is not to cast pejorative criticisms on any particular institution or person. It just is not easy to durably protect State employees from partisan decision-making in employment, because those in power will do much to keep unlawful employment decisions out of the light and employees who lose out naturally fear retribution if they speak up. Nor does the Court downplay the significant progress made by the State, especially in the past two years, toward implementing a durable remedy. Indeed, as the implementation of the CEP continues, and as HEM continues its efforts and—it is hoped—increases its impact on State agencies, then the Court would be receptive to consider another motion to terminate in the last quarter of this year.
* Cook County Record…
A coalition of road construction contractors have asked the Illinois Supreme Court to step into the first court fight over whether an Illinois state constitutional amendment can be used to force Cook County and other local governments to spend money from local transportation-related taxes on actual transportation projects, and not county operations.
This week, attorneys for the group, headlined by trade lobby group, the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, filed a petition with the Illinois Supreme Court, seeking permission to appeal to the state high court of a state appellate court’s decision.
In that decision, a panel of the Illinois First District Appellate Court declared their belief that Cook County is free to spend transportation-related tax dollars as the county government deems fit, despite a state constitutional amendment intended to lock away transportation funding from being spent elsewhere.
In their petition to the state Supreme Court, the road builders said the high court needed step in to set the precedent that local governments – not just the state government – must abide by the language of the so-called Safe Roads Amendment, and dedicate transportation money to transportation projects.
“This is not only a matter of first impression, but one of great public importance,” the road builders wrote. “At stake are hundreds of millions of dollars in transportation tax revenue that, under a constitutional amendment that the people of Illinois overwhelmingly approved, must be invested in our transportation infrastructure.”
The petition is here.
4 Comments
|
Told ‘ya
Tuesday, Apr 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mark Maxwell…
More than a month after the Democratic Party of Illinois elected Congresswoman Robin Kelly as the new chair of the party, her name still does not appear on official organizing documents at the state or federal levels while attorneys seek input from the Federal Election Commission.
The new party leaders did file updated documents to report Michael Dorf had taken over as treasurer, but did not report Kelly’s new role. The curious omission reveals how carefully the Congresswoman’s team is reviewing the fine print in election laws to avoid attracting any scrutiny from federal authorities.
Instead, state campaign records list Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough as the chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Yarbrough took over the role from former chairman Michael Madigan on an interim basis while the party leaders in the State Central Committee staged an election between Kelly and Chicago Alderman Michelle Harris. Kelly narrowly won by one vote, overcoming objections from the Harris camp that a sitting member of Congress could not run a state party and control its fundraising or spending decisions without running afoul of federal campaign finance laws.
Before Kelly was elected, election attorneys at Perkins Coie, a high-powered law firm with several Democratic clients, issued a legal memo warning that members of Congress could not “establish, finance, maintain or control” a state party apparatus without violating FEC guidelines. The memo also warned members of Congress would have to adhere to the stricter federal fundraising limits, capping how much “soft money” the state party could raise from outside groups like labor unions. […]
“The State Central Committee controls two political funds, a federal fund and a state fund,” said Hanah Jubeh, a spokesperson for Rep. Kelly. “We have updated the statements of organization for each fund listing Mike Dorf as treasurer. Vice-chair Karen Yarbrough remains listed as the chairman of our state fund, something that is permitted under the State Central Committee bylaws, while our lawyers review our structure to ensure compliance with all state and federal campaign finance laws.”
Dorf is listed as both treasurer and custodian of records on DPI’s federal disclosure forms.
Since US Rep. Kelly took over, the party has reported just one campaign contribution - $2500 from Health Alliance. It has contributed $25,000 to the Macon County Democrats, $15,000 to the Maine Township Democrats and $1,000 to the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association.
* Meanwhile, the IDCCA seems to be stepping in to handle some of the stuff that one would’ve expected from the reconstituted DPI. For example, this is from yesterday…
One week ago the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association (IDCCA) called upon Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis to give away campaign funds he received from Congressman Matt Gaetz following public reports that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Gaetz for allegedly having sex with and trafficking a minor. Today, IDCCA President Kristina Zahorik released another statement calling on Davis to speak out and give away the dirty money:
“More than a week later Rodney Davis remains silent on his political supporter Matt Gaetz’ alleged criminality. And as Illinois Republican Adam Kinzinger calls for Gaetz to resign, Davis has only made jokes and avoided taking action or a position.”
“Matt Gaetz’s partner in crime is striking a plea deal, prompting his lawyer to say ‘I’m sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable.’ Rodney Davis, the public evidence is mounting: speak out like your colleague and unburden yourself and your district of Matt Gaetz’s dirty money.”
More public revelations of electronic money transfers continue to lead back to Matt Gaetz. Joel Greenberg, a former tax commissioner in Florida and a friend of Gaetz’s, has been reported by CNN to be striking a plea deal in the face of federal charges that range from identity theft to sex trafficking of a minor. Last Thursday, Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger called for Matt Gaetz to resign.
Rodney Davis has taken $4,000 from Matt Gaetz, starting in 2018 and then again in 2020. On Monday, April 5, 2021, the IDCCA called on Rodney Davis to return the money to Gaetz or give it to charity like one of his colleagues did.
* And speaking of the Republicans…
It was revealed today that the new Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, US Rep. Robin Kelly, gave a February campaign contribution to the reelection campaign of indicted Crestwood Mayor Lou Presta.
WBEZ: “Indicted Crestwood Mayor Lou Presta’s successful re-election campaign got financial support from Congresswoman Robin Kelly — who became the new leader of the Illinois Democratic Party last month.”
“Despite being hit with federal corruption charges in August, Presta won another term as leader of the south suburb in the election a week ago. And in newly filed campaign-finance reports, Presta disclosed that Kelly gave $250 to his political committee on Feb. 12.”
ILGOP Spokesman Joe Hackler issued the following statement in response:
“For over two decades, the DPI was Chaired by political crime boss Mike Madigan, so it’s no surprise his successor Robin Kelly is following his lead in subsidizing public corruption. The people of Illinois are sick and tired of its leaders catering to political grifters and thieves instead of providing honest leadership and good government. Chairman Kelly should apologize for her misguided contribution.”
13 Comments
|
* Oy…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 3,193 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 17 additional deaths.
- Bureau County: 1 female 70s
- Cook County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
- DuPage County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s
- Jersey County: 1 female 90s
- Lake County: 1 female 80s
- Livingston County: 1 female 60s
- Logan County: 1 male 60s
- Madison County: 1 male 50s
- McHenry County: 1 female 70s
- Peoria County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 50s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,285,398 cases, including 21,540 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 58,248 specimens for a total of 21,283,370. As of last night, 2,028 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 466 patients were in the ICU and 185 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from April 6-12, 2021 is 4.3%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 6-12, 2021 is 5.0%.
The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses for Illinois is 9,343,775. A total of 7,344,112 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 132,979 doses. Yesterday, 100,729 doses were reported administered in Illinois. The Illinois National Guard has administered more than one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines at state-supported vaccination sites around the state.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
Hospitalizations and ICU admittance are at their highest points since mid-February. And with the ever-increasing cases and positivity rates, expect that lagging indicator to rise.
Peoria County is now at a 12.9 percent average positivity rate. It’s latest daily rate was 16.5 percent. I was told by the governor’s office yesterday that the Brazilian variant is spreading through the area.
8 Comments
|
Republican remap roundup
Tuesday, Apr 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If you need a good backgrounder on this topic before reading further, click here for Rick Pearson’s strong story.
OK, let’s start with WMBD…
State Republicans urged Governor J.B. Pritzker on Monday to veto redistricting maps drawn by lawmakers.
Some lawmakers said redistricting needs to be a fair and non-partisan process led by people- not politicians.
“I think the public is demanding an open and transparent process. Many of our colleagues including Governor Pritzker have said in their own words that they would like an open and transparent process,” said U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL).
Davis said more than 500,000 people in Illinois supported a ballot question for an independent redistricting commission. Davis said it didn’t make the ballot and says people want a process where politicians can’t pick their own voters.
Can’t dispute any of that.
* Again, no dispute here…
The idea of an independent redistricting commission has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past. In fact, Monday’s news conference featured a large poster board with a quote from then-candidate JB Pritzker, who said during the 2018 campaign, “We should amend the constitution to create an independent commission to redraw legislative maps, but in the meantime, I would urge Democrats and Republicans to agree to an independent commission to handle creating a new legislative map.”
Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, urged Pritzker to support the GOP plan.
“While the context may have changed, when he was asked that question, it was assumed that Mike Madigan would be drawing the maps,” she said. “His pledge has not and cannot change.”
* But, c’mon, Tim…
“We’ve got fewer Republican congressmen than we had a decade ago and two decades ago,” [Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield] said, “and that’s all because of the fact that they use political data to slice and dice these districts for political gain.”
Republicans, including Rodney Davis, now hold two Downstate seats that were drawn for Democrats (Mike Bost is the other) and they came awfully close to picking up a third (Cheri Bustos) last year. But there’s also been a sea change at the suburban level because of the GOP’s national bent. If you had boldly predicted ten years ago that a liberal Black woman would win the exurban 14th District, you might have been laughed out of the state.
* Also…
“The Latino population in Illinois is actually higher than African American population, but that’s not represented in the Illinois General Assembly,” Butler said. “It’s not.”
Hispanic voters make up more than 11% of the state’s voting age population, according to an independent analysis of Illinois’ district maps and demographics. However, Latino elected officials make up just seven percent of the state legislature, and just one of Illinois’ 18 members of Congress. […]
“Should we draw another Hispanic congressional district? Absolutely,” Davis said. “That’s something that these mapmakers ought to take into consideration.”
Butler is a well-informed legislator, so he knows that Latino voter turnout still badly lags. But, they have steadily made gains over the years, picking up seats that were once held by whites (including former Republican Sen. Jim Oberweis’ seat and via an appointment to former Speaker Madigan’s seat, to name two of the most recent). Even so, this remap will undoubtedly be important to solidify Latino population gains. And it doesn’t hurt the Republicans that Democrats will have to put one of their white Chicago-area incumbents on the hot seat to make that happen.
* SJ-R…
Butler also mentioned how Springfield’s Black population must be well represented by new maps.
“We have a very vibrant and engaged African American community here in Springfield, but unfortunately have not had a representative here in Springfield until Sen. Doris Turner was appointed … and that’s largely because the county has been divided up,” Butler said.
Um, no. The House Democrats had a perfect opportunity to elect a Black candidate 9 years ago and decided to back Sue Scherer instead. That district was created by combining Black Springfield precincts with similar precincts in Decatur. It was the only way to get it done. But the HDems took the safe way out.
* WGN…
There is speculation Democrats will erase GOP Congressman Rodney Davis’ 13th district. Davis said Democrats have long targeted his seat.
Democrats are going to play politics with redistricting, they can’t help themselves.
Republicans are pushing a bill that would give ordinary Illinoisans the power to draws the maps. Under the plan, the Supreme Court would appoint citizens to a redistricting commission.
I kinda got the feeling that Congressman Davis was using yesterday’s presser to warn Democrats about messing with his seat, which is kinda the opposite of a blind and fair mapmaking process.
* Meanwhile, here’s a Daily Herald editorial…
Without question, the Illinois General Assembly is in a bit of a bind as a constitutionally imposed June 30 deadline looms for approving new legislative and congressional boundaries.
Because of delays caused by the pandemic, the U.S. Census Bureau has not provided population data for states to use in drawing required new maps — and the bureau doesn’t expect to have the data until the end of September. By that time, potential candidates for statewide and county offices will have barely two months to solicit signatures on petitions to qualify for seats, so leaders have justified concerns to put boundary lines in place as soon as possible. […]
The anti-gerrymandering watchdog group RepresentUs says Illinois’ one-party dominance in both legislative chambers and the governor’s office puts it among 25 states at extreme risk of letting political power rather than objective review of population data determine the boundaries that will shape the state’s legislative and congressional boundaries for the next decade.
Legislative leaders say they’re driven by the desire to meet the constitutional deadline. If they miss it, instead of having boundaries that reflect input from the public and all 177 lawmakers in the House and Senate, the redistricting process will move to a commission of just eight members, whose work, if ultimately deadlocked, will be decided by a one-person appointed tiebreaker. Clearly, that alternative, too, is objectionable. But these are not the map makers’ only options.
The National Conference of State Legislatures has taken note of the problem in states like Illinois and offers suggested actions states can pursue, including appealing to the courts to permit a delay in creating the boundaries.
From that Represent.US report on Illinois…
Democrats hold the governorship and have strong majorities in both legislative chambers. This allows the party to have total power over how to draw the maps, creating clear risk of partisan bias. There’s less of a chance of manipulation if the redistricting commission is tasked with drawing the maps, which could be a real possibility considering the Census delays.
The first part is accurate. The second part is wildly false. Whenever the redistricting commission has been activated, it’s always ended up in a very partisan outcome because the two sides haven’t been able to come to an agreement, preferring to take their chances with a lottery.
From the NCSL…
1. Ask courts for relief.
Redistricters can petition the appropriate state court to seek relief from their statutory or constitutional redistricting deadlines. For example, California successfully pursued this option in mid-2020.
The California legislature successfully petitioned its Supreme Court to delay its constitutional filing deadlines. It doesn’t work that way in Illinois.
* Related…
* Census Delay Complicates Once-a-Decade Redistricting Duty
13 Comments
|
* Press release…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced the Office of the Attorney General’s network has been compromised. Attorney General Raoul released the following statement:
“In the early hours of Saturday morning, it was discovered that the office’s network was compromised. Since then, information technology staff and investigators from the Attorney General’s office have been working closely with federal law enforcement authorities to evaluate the extent to which the network was compromised.
“This investigation is ongoing, and I am committed to resolving this situation as soon as possible to ensure that the Attorney General’s office can continue to provide critical services to the people of Illinois.”
The investigation into the extent to which the Attorney General’s office’s network was compromised is ongoing. Additional information will be made available at a later date.
I heard yesterday that the AG’s office suffered a massive computer network outage. I haven’t been able to get any confirmation of what exactly caused it, but emails have been bouncing back from the attorney general’s office for at least 24 hours.
4 Comments
|
* AP…
The U.S. is recommending a “pause” in using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday they were investigating unusual clots that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48; there was one death and all remained under investigation.
* IDPH…
In accordance with recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) will pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine out of an abundance of caution. The CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine.
IDPH has notified all Illinois COVID-19 providers throughout the state to discontinue use of the J&J vaccine at this time. In order to keep appointments, IDPH is strongly advising providers to use Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
Moderna and Pfizer make up the vast majority of doses on hand in the State of Illinois. This week, the state’s allocation of J&J was 17,000 doses. For the week of April 18, 2021, the expected allocation for the State is 483,720 total doses. Of that total allocation, 5,800 doses were expected to be J&J.
Per the federal health authorities, people who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider. Patients with other clinical questions should contact their health care provider.
IDPH will continue to update the public as additional information becomes available.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Johnson & Johnson…
The safety and well-being of the people who use our products is our number one priority. We are aware of an extremely rare disorder involving people with blood clots in combination with low platelets in a small number of individuals who have received our COVID-19 vaccine. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases out of more than 6.8 million doses administered. Out of an abundance of caution, the CDC and FDA have recommended a pause in the use of our vaccine.
In addition, we have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities. We have made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe.
We have been working closely with medical experts and health authorities, and we strongly support the open communication of this information to healthcare professionals and the public.
The CDC and FDA have made information available about proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot. The health authorities advise that people who have received our COVID-19 vaccine and develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.
For more information on the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, click here.
A commenter asked how many people would die from contracting COVID-19 as a result of this pause. It’s a good question.
…Adding… Another good point…
*** UPDATE 2 *** Block Club Chicago…
The state will send 50,000 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to Chicago as the city suspends using its Johnson & Johnson doses. […]
The pause is only expected to last several days, officials have said.
The one-shot vaccine has been administered to tens of thousands of people in Chicago, and officials hoped that, as supply of the doses increased, it would play a significant role in getting residents vaccinated as quickly as possible — especially with cases on the rise in the city.
*** UPDATE 3 *** IDPH…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is developing and implementing plans to move forward with COVID-19 vaccinations in Illinois after putting a pause on administration of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine, including robust communication with all providers and the transfer of 50,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Chicago.
Earlier today, at the recommendation of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), IDPH paused the use of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine out of an abundance of caution. The CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine, out of a total of more than six million Americans who have received the J&J vaccine. In Illinois, of the total 7.3 million doses administered to date, 4% or approximately 290,000 have been J&J. These individuals remain fully vaccinated and do not need to seek out an alternate vaccine. People vaccinated with J&J should consult with their medial provider if they develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination.
“Public health officials made a commitment that any safety signals that came up concerning COVID-19 vaccines would be fully addressed in a transparent manner, which is what is occurring right now with the J&J vaccine,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “The blood clot cases appear to be extremely rare and there are no reported cases associated with either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccines. IDPH is taking immediate action to ensure as little disruption to Illinois residents as possible during this pause, and I strongly encourage people to continue to get vaccinated. Millions upon millions of people have already been safely vaccinated and it will take millions more before we can put this pandemic behind us.”
Upon learning of the recommendation, IDPH took the following actions to ensure COVID-19 vaccine providers and health care workers in Illinois were aware of the pause and received the support they needed to adjust their planning:
• Immediately sent notification about the pause to COVID-19 providers, local health departments, and health care providers via the State of Illinois Rapid Electronic Notification system, which included follow-up calls, text, and emails.
• Directly emailed and called all local health departments through IDPH Emergency Response Coordinators, to assess impact and work to mitigate using Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
• Connected with all mass vaccination sites, Illinois National Guard vaccination missions, and one-day J&J clinics scheduled in EMTrack to develop alternate plans where necessary and ensure the least amount of disruption possible on individuals with appointments.
• Sent notification to hospitals, emergency departments, physicians, and other health care providers about treatment for this specific type of blood clot
The pause on the J&J vaccine will not have a large impact on state vaccination efforts as the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines make up the vast majority of doses on hand in the State of Illinois. No state-supported mass vaccination sites will be closed and no rapid response team clinics, faith-based or equity clinics, or rural clinics have been cancelled at this time. They will all move forward with a different type of vaccine.
The total allocation of J&J vaccine to Illinois, including Chicago, is 760,300, of which 290,615 doses have been administered. This week, the state’s allocation of J&J was 17,000 doses. For the week of April 18, 2021, the expected allocation for the State is 483,720 total doses. Of that total allocation, 5,800 doses were expected to be J&J.
In an effort to vaccinate as many people as possible across Illinois, the State is allocating 50,000 first doses of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to the City of Chicago over the next seven days to help meet demand. The State will also be allocating 50,000 doses to Chicago when second doses come due to be administered.
IDPH encourages people to register with V-safe After Vaccination Health Checker, a smartphone-based tool that uses text messages and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after you receive a COVID-19 vaccine. For more information on v-safe, go to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/vsafe.html.
35 Comments
|
Welcome aboard!
Tuesday, Apr 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Catching up on some more old news here. Sean Anderson has been on contract with Speaker Welch since January and Jaclyn Driscoll is a former Illinois Statehouse reporter…
Any unsolicited advice for the newbies?
16 Comments
|
* The state’s gigantic drop in weekly unemployment applications has barely registered on the state’s media radar. But here’s a bit more good news from Greg Hinz…
Illinois usually comes out near the bottom of multi-state surveys on business conditions, with concerns over taxes, pensions and related matters rising to the fore. But a report out today suggests that the state is extremely well positioned to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in a critical area: small business.
According to a study by WalletHub, a personal finance website, small businesses in Illinois are the sixth-best positioned of the 50 states to bounce back from COVID-19 as pandemic-related restrictions are lifted. […]
Though Illinois ranks no better than mediocre on things such as business conditions and financial support, the factor that counted most is the share of small companies and workers employed in industries highly affected by COVID. In other words, Illinois has a lot of firms in the “right” industries for a recovery now, such as arts and entertainment, education and other services.
Click here for the WalletHub stuff.
* Related…
* 28 closed or temporarily closed businesses on the Magnificent Mile: Block-by-block analysis of where North Michigan Avenue stands after impact of pandemic, unrest
8 Comments
|
* I tried catching up on as much stuff as possible yesterday, but I still have a ways to go. Here’s my weekly syndicated newspaper column, which was published at the start of spring break…
Since 2006, federal law has capped annual interest rates on payday loans to active duty military members at 36 percent. The interest rate cap was broadened in 2015 to include several more types of personal, unsecured loans.
In Illinois, meanwhile, payday loan borrowers have been subjected to average annual interest rates of close to 300 percent.
Illinois lawmakers tried to tackle this issue in 2005, and passed a rate cap that was widely heralded. But the industry took advantage of a gaping loophole and then kept right on with their business.
That legislation was painstakingly negotiated over many months. Under the old regime of House Speaker Michael Madigan, most every interest was given a seat at the table and then they were told to hammer out their best deals. Madigan often said he was a big fan of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s use of that same method to pass much of his own legislation.
I don’t know about FDR, but MJM also had mouths to feed. The political machine he built (which was copied by the other legislative leaders) provided a path for his most favored former state staffers into contract lobbying jobs, where they continued running his campaign apparatus as well as representing a huge number of interests under the Statehouse dome. Hiring one of Madigan’s former staffers didn’t necessarily guarantee any specific industry a win, mainly because those folks represented all sides of almost every coin. But it did mean they were listened to. And oftentimes bills couldn’t move until their concerns were addressed, sometimes leading to very complicated laws that appeared on the surface to be wins for liberal Democrats, but, as with the payday loan bill, turned out to be paper tigers.
As always, there were notable exceptions during the years, but this overall approach began to change after the 2018 gubernatorial election. A new liberal Democratic governor and empowered progressive legislators and interests were no longer content to settle for incremental surface wins and pushed for big things like a $15 minimum wage. Madigan for decades would only agree to small minimum wage increases, but he quickly realized he couldn’t stand in the way of that freight train.
Then, as the Legislative Black Caucus truly united for the first time during the tumult of 2020 and began working on a massive package of reform legislation, Madigan found himself under fire from all corners. Federal prosecutors were clearly coming after him, and a steadily increasing number of his own caucus members were growing weary of his leadership and wanted him gone. He needed some allies and he needed them fast.
Those two phenomena, combined with a new and untested (because of the pandemic’s cancelation of 2020’s legislative session) Senate president, a national mood shift and numerous other factors, produced an environment that the Black Caucus fully took advantage of to pass a remarkable number of wide-ranging bills on criminal justice, education and the economy during the brief January lame duck session.
The days of Madigan’s “everyone at the table” incrementalism were ended by straight-up progressive bills that were far from watered down. Madigan’s long and storied career also ended in January. His gambit didn’t work.
Last week, Gov. Pritzker signed into law the Black Caucus’ huge package of bills dealing with economic reform. Among them was SB1792, a bill that basically applied the military’s simple but seemingly effective interest rate cap on payday and other personal loans. The payday loan folks expressed outrage at how they’d been cut out of the process and predicted their industry’s imminent demise.
We’ll see if the industry’s dire predictions turn out to be true, but it’s as plain as day that massive change is happening, not just in the types of bills that have passed, but in how they’ve passed.
The question now is whether January’s session was a super-intense brushfire that will burn itself out and/or be extinguished by more moderate Democrats, or whether the path the General Assembly is on will be sustained.
Case in point, Rep. Curtis Tarver’s,D-Chicago, bill to eliminate qualified immunity for police officers advanced out of committee last week.
The Black Caucus’ criminal justice reform bill originally contained that qualified immunity provision, as well as limits on collective bargaining rights for police unions. But their bill was only able to gain enough votes when they agreed to strip out those items at the request of some moderate Democrats.
Tarver’s bill could put more heat on those same moderates and create tension within the party. So, this bill could be one to watch.
11 Comments
|
* Friday on Twitter…
* Saturday in the Tribune…
Populationwise, 1 in 5 Black Chicagoans has gotten a first dose while that number is 1 in 4 for Latino residents and 1 in 3 for white Chicagoans.
6 Comments
|
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Employers in Illinois provide prescription drug coverage for nearly 6.7 million Illinoisans. In order to help keep care more affordable, employers work with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who deploy a variety of tools to reduce prescription drug costs and help improve health outcomes. In addition to helping employers, PBMs also work with the Illinois Medicaid program in the same way to help control costs. Over the last five years, PBMs have saved the state and taxpayers nearly $340 million.
Today, Illinois faces a multibillion budget shortfall as more Illinoisans are relying on Medicaid to help meet their health care coverage needs. As legislators work to address these challenges, one way to help ensure continued cost savings is by strengthening the PBM tools that the State and employers use, which are poised to save employers, consumers and the State $39 billion over the next 10 years. These are meaningful savings that will help continue to contain costs, ensure consumer access to medicines and drive savings in public health programs.
Amid a pandemic and economic challenges, now is the time to strengthen, not limit, the tools that employers, consumers and the State rely on to manage costs and ensure consumers can access the medicines they need.
Learn more
Comments Off
|
Open thread
Tuesday, Apr 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Heh…
Please do your best to keep your conversation Illinois-centric and polite. Thanks.
9 Comments
|
|
Comments Off
|
|
Comments Off
|
* Jordan Abudayyeh…
Reporters—
During routine COVID testing today a member of the Governor’s Office staff tested positive for COVID-19.
This employee was NOT in close contact with the Governor today or in previous days.
All staff members identified as a close contact will follow CDC protocol for quarantine.
The positive employee had recently received their first dose of vaccine.
The Governor’s Office continues to follow COVID-19 safety protocols including testing staff multiple times per week, weekly deep cleaning procedures, mask wearing, social distancing, and limiting the number of staff reporting to the office for in person work.
Thanks!
Jordan
3 Comments
|
* The governor has been quite silent and the Republicans want to hear his thoughts…
Representative Elizabeth Hernandez
Chair, House Redistricting Committee
109 Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
Senator Omar Aquino
Chair, Senate Redistricting Committee
627 Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
Dear Chairs Hernandez and Aquino:
Comments from Members of the Democratic party during hearings on the 2021 redistricting process lead us to believe that the majority fully plans to enact new maps for both the Legislature and U.S. House of Representatives through a process that includes Governor Pritzker signing legislation by June 30, 2021.
To date, not a single House or Senate hearing has included testimony from the Governor or anyone representing his office.
We request the Governor, or a high-level member of his office, testify at our only scheduled joint House-Senate hearing on Monday, April 19, 2021, 5:00 p.m. in East St. Louis.
In March of 2018, then-candidate JB Pritzker said that without a constitutionally-implemented independent commission, “I would urge Democrats and Republicans to agree to an independent commission to handle creating a new legislative map”.
On January 30, 2020, Governor Pritzker stated “we should have compact, contiguous districts as best we can.” Additionally, the Governor added “I am going to veto any unfair map that gets presented to me.”
On January 5, 2021, the spokesperson for the Governor reiterated the position by saying the Governor “has been clear he will veto a partisan map.”
Given the Governor’s numerous stated positions in favor of fair mapping, as well as a commission process for redistricting, it is vital that both the people of Illinois and our Committees hear directly from the Governor in a public hearing as to his views and plans for redistricting.
We ask that you immediately invite and confirm the Governor’s presence at the April 19 hearing so plans can be made accordingly.
Sincerely,
Senator Jason Barickman
Spokesman, Senate Redistricting Committee
Representative Tim Butler
Spokesman, House Redistricting Committee
Frankly, I wouldn’t mind seeing that, either. I’ve asked Pritzker’s office for comment.
*** UPDATE *** Jordan Abudayyeh…
As the Governor has said, he believes legislative maps should reflect Illinois’ gender, racial, and geographic diversity, along with preserving the Voting Rights Act decisions that help ensure racial and language minorities are fully represented in the electoral process.
* Meanwhile, I went over this topic with subscribers earlier today…
The statement below can be attributed to Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee, and Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, Vice Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee:
“As Republicans nationwide seek to silence Black and Brown communities, Democrats in Illinois remain committed to the creation of a fair map that reflects the great diversity of our state. We have invited communities of interest across Illinois to participate in this process, including establishing an online portal that allows anyone to draw and submit their own proposed maps. Meanwhile, Republicans are presenting the public with a false choice by promoting legislation that is legally unsound. They know a bill cannot supersede the Illinois Constitution, which requires the General Assembly to undertake the redistricting process every ten years. Democrats are focused on inclusion, not legally questionable distractions.”
* Related…
* Tom Kacich: Will Illinois Democrats opt for inferior data in map-making?
* Aurora hearing gives residents chance to speak out on redistricting
* Who Draws The Line? - Northern Illinois Residents Discuss Redistricting During Recent Hearing
* Elected officials, witnesses debate best ways to redraw legislative districts at CLC hearing
15 Comments
|
* Chicago never opted in to legalized video gaming, so those gray-market sweepstakes games have popped up all over. The same sort of thing is now happening with the slow rollout of cannabis dispensaries and on-site consumption…
A growing number of Chicago businesses are now exploiting a loophole in federal law that appears to allow the unfettered sale of a trendy hemp byproduct called Delta-8-THC, which has commonly been described as “marijuana-lite” or “diet weed.”
Retailers across the city have started selling a variety of Delta-8 products in settings that resemble licensed cannabis dispensaries but aren’t subject to the same stiff regulations. Many sell everything from edibles to vaping cartridges, as well as smokable hemp flower sprayed with Delta-8 extract.
Some places are dosing food and drinks with Delta-8 and allowing customers to consume it on site. That flies in the face of a hard-fought provision in the state’s marijuana legalization law that tightly regulates on-site consumption, which isn’t allowed in Chicago yet. […]
Pam Althoff, a former state senator who now serves as the association’s executive director, said Delta-8 sellers are increasingly cropping up in “cannabis deserts,” where licensed pot shops haven’t opened.
* Related…
…Adding… This could turn into whack-a-mole, but we’ll see…
Rich -
Saw your “An unintended…” post. Wanted to flag that my legislation (expecting it to be voted out of the House this week, bipartisan support and supported by the IL Department of Agriculture and IDPH) would provide regulatory authority for the first time to the Illinois Department of Agriculture to oversee and regulate CBD and Delta 8 products.
https://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=147&GAID=16&SessionID=110&LegID=127978
Happy to provide further explanation/comment as well.
Bob Morgan
IL State Representative (58th Dist.)
9 Comments
|
* Press release…
Attorneys today filed suit on behalf of the family of 90-year-old Richard Cieski, Sr., a Korean War veteran who died in November 2020 following exposure to the novel coronavirus at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home.
The facility was negligent in failing to protect their husband and father from the virus, the family says, citing the facility’s apparent lack of precautions or preparation from the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 to the start of the November outbreak that ultimately resulted in the death of 36 residents.
Mr. Cieski died on November 15, 2020, having been exposed to the virus during that outbreak.
Media reports at the time said that many staff members attended an off-site Halloween party that could have led to the outbreak. Other reports indicated that staff members were given 3-day tests for the virus and continued to work at the facility during the 3-day period while they awaited results. The state’s Department of Veterans Affairs has admitted that hand sanitizer used at the facility was found ineffective against the virus, and has identified multiple, systemic failures at the facility including improper symptom screening, staff members not practicing social distancing, and staff touching residents without performing hand hygiene or disposing of gloves in between use.
According to state records, it took 12 days for a representative from the Illinois Department of Public Health to go to the home and investigate the November outbreak. Several Illinois legislators are calling for an independent investigation and State Senator Sue Rezin is sponsoring a bill that would require IDPH and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to make on-site visits within one business day of when an outbreak is identified.
Levin & Perconti, a law firm nationally renowned for its work representing victims in nursing home abuse and neglect cases, launched multiple investigations on behalf of families whose loved ones died from COVID-19 following exposure at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home and has already filed suits on behalf of COVID victims in a dozen private nursing homes across the state. The Cieski family’s suit is believed to be the first against an Illinois veterans’ home.
“After seeing what was happening with outbreaks at facilities nationwide, LaSalle Veterans’ Home had plenty of time to order enough PPE and properly staff the home to care for the residents,” said Levin & Perconti partner Michael Bonamarte. “Richard Cieski’s death could have been avoided had LaSalle taken appropriate precautions.”
“By November, CDC protocols and Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines were clear and well-known,” added Levin & Perconti partner Margaret Battersby Black. “There were standards in place that should have been followed and practices that could have been enforced. An appropriately fast and comprehensive response to potential staff exposure to the virus could have saved lives, but, instead, the outbreak spread for 12 days before anyone from the state of Illinois even arrived to investigate it. This suit is about holding officials accountable for that failure and ensuring that it never happens again.”
* Let’s do a roundup. Another press release…
The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) is resuming in-person visitation at its correctional facilities, affording incarcerated people the opportunity to see their loved ones for the first time in more than a year. With most people in IDOC custody now vaccinated, the Department’s Office of Health Services and Operations Unit worked closely with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to develop a multi-phase plan for resuming in-person visits in the safest manner possible. To prevent the potential for COVID-19 infection spread, IDOC, after consultation with IDPH, suspended visitation on March 14, 2020. East Moline Correctional Center is now accepting visitors and the Department’s remaining correctional facilities are preparing to reopen their visiting rooms over the next few weeks.
Visitation Start Dates
April 12, 2021: East Moline Correctional Center
April 19, 2021: Graham, Taylorville, Jacksonville, Dixon, Centralia, and Stateville Correctional Centers; Stateville Northern Reception Center; Fox Valley, Crossroads and North Lawndale ATCs; Elgin Treatment Center
April 26, 2021: Pinckneyville, Sheridan, Big Muddy River, Pontiac, Shawnee, Vienna, Hill, Lawrence, Illinois River, Robinson, and Vandalia Correctional Centers; Joliet Treatment Center; Peoria ATC; Kewanee and Murphysboro Life Skills Re-Entry Centers
May 3, 2021: Southwestern Illinois, Decatur, Logan, Lincoln, Western Illinois, Danville, and Menard Correctional Centers
“Maintaining family connection is a vital component of an incarcerated person’s mental and emotional well-being,” said IDOC Acting Director Rob Jeffreys. “Because of the aggressive measures the Department has taken to mitigate COVID-19 within our facilities, IDOC is one of the few correctional systems in the nation now reopening to visitors.”
Everyone who enters an IDOC correctional facility is symptom screened, temperature checked, and provided a surgical mask. Plexi-glass barriers have been installed on visiting tables, which are spaced apart to allow for proper social distancing. Visiting rooms and restrooms are deep cleaned between visits. IDOC is utilizing an online system to schedule visits and limit the number of visitors permitted at one time. More information on the resumption of in-person visitation is available on the Department’s website.
* WCIA…
Hotels in Illinois suffered 80% revenue losses during “devastating” pandemic closures, and occupancy rates and the price of hotel rooms lag behind rivals in other states where restrictions have been lifted, an industry lobbyist said.
“We’ve already lost business to states like Florida, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, that have been opened up quicker,” Michael Jacobson, president & CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, said on Capitol Connection. “Illinois is certainly lagging. And many states that have had these restrictions in place are definitely lagging compared to states that have reopened quicker.”
“We’re hopeful — especially with that bridge phase announcement, and eventually advancing into phase five — hopeful that this summer that we’ll be in a position to host those larger gatherings come later this year and into 2022,” he said. “So we’re hopeful that we’ll be in a position to be able to bring those people back and that we’ll be able to start rehiring our workers. The question becomes, ‘are we going to be in a position to just hold on that long while we wait for those large events to come back next year?’”
Jacobson urged the state to provide $250M in grant funding for a ‘Hotel Job Recovery Program’ that he says would allow hotels to rehire staff laid off during the pandemic.
* Press release…
The Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) and Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) have distributed over 1,100 connectivity and assistive devices to older adults and persons with disabilities who have been disproportionally affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, after receiving $1.7 million from the federal Administration for Community Living in May 2020.
Specifically, the funding was used to purchase technology devices; including iPads, tablets and internet / Wi-Fi / hotspot access to combat social isolation and loneliness among older adults and individuals who are disabled. The devices have applications like FaceTime, Zoom, mental stimulation and others so individuals can connect with family members and friends. Devices were distributed throughout Illinois beginning in August. Personal accounts of how these devices truly Made Connections, can be viewed here.
* Sun-Times live coverage blog…
CPS ‘firmly committed’ to reopening high schools next week despite CTU’s threat to stay remote
CTU members vote to work remotely starting Wednesday if high school reopening agreement isn’t reached
After Kamala Harris visit, business jumps at Brown Sugar Bakery on Chicago’s South Side
The state has also seen an increase in coronavirus hospitalizations over the last month. As of Saturday night, 1,834 beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients — up 23% from last week. Of those, 409 were in intensive care units and 173 were on ventilators, officials said.
* Related…
* The Pandemic And Hunger In Illinois
* US colleges divided over requiring student vaccinations
2 Comments
|
Question of the day
Monday, Apr 12, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I need to run to the Stratton and get tested for session. Since we haven’t chatted in a while, let’s do a wellness check. How are you and yours getting by these days?
41 Comments
|
* Dan Petrella at the Tribune…
The state of Illinois must pay two former Democratic state senators salary hikes they voted to reject while in office, a Cook County judge ruled late Thursday.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit Michael Noland of Elgin and James Clayborne of Belleville brought against Democratic state Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office. The senators argued that laws freezing legislative salaries from 2009 to 2016 violated the Illinois Constitution, which prohibits lawmakers from changing their pay during their current term.
Noland, now a Kane County judge, sued in 2017 seeking back pay for himself and “all others impacted” by the eight bills lawmakers passed to give up the annual cost-of-living raises they are automatically granted under state law.
The lawsuit, which Clayborne joined as a plaintiff in 2018, also takes issue with unpaid furlough days lawmakers approved for themselves each year from 2009 through 2013.
Then-Cook County Judge Franklin Valderrama ruled in July 2019 that the state constitution is “unambiguous” in prohibiting such action.
* AP…
Comptroller Susana Mendoza pledged to appeal the decision and called the former lawmakers “shameless grifters” pursuing a “brazen money grab.” […]
The decision Thursday applies only to them, not other lawmakers who were in office, because they filed the lawsuit as individuals, not public officials, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Noland could get about $71,000, while Clayborne is in line for $95,000.
Ironically, Clayborne voted in favor of turning down the raises. Noland voted against the legislation only once, the Tribune reported.
* Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie on the day of the ruling…
“Today’s court ruling, which essentially allows legislators to cast politically popular votes refusing pay increases and then, by judicial fiat, receive those pay increases anyway, is yet another vivid example of why Illinois citizens do not trust their state government. Illinoisians are growing increasingly weary of politicians saying that which is popular, while at the same time finding a path to benefit themselves and harm taxpayers.
“The votes of past General Assemblies to refuse pay increases were policy decisions, and not decisions into which the courts should intervene. I call upon the Attorney General and the Comptroller to immediately and vigorously pursue an appeal of this ruling, and continue to fight for a reversal until the taxpayers are vindicated.”
The court is right. The Constitution is clear. Legislator pay cannot be reduced during a legislator’s term of office. It’s the same sort of thing with pension reductions. Legislators were playing games, just like they did last year when they didn’t appropriate legislator pay raises even though legislator pay is subject to continuing appropriations. That’ll wind up in a lawsuit some day as well.
One day, maybe they’ll figure out that this stuff always catches up to them.
11 Comments
|
* Remember that Sundays generally have lower numbers, particularly deaths, because locals aren’t filling out the forms. Hospitalization numbers are generally accurate, though…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,433 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 18 additional deaths.
- Cook County: 1 male 20s, 1 male 40s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s, 2 males 60s, 3 females 70s, 2 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s, 2 males 90s
- Kane County: 1 female 90s
- Vermilion County: 1 female 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,282,205 cases, including 21,523 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 53,115 specimens for a total of 21,225,122. As of last night, 1,998 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 418 patients were in the ICU and 177 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from April 5-11, 2021 is 4.4%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 5-11, 2021 is 4.9%.
The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses for Illinois is 9,001,105. A total of 7,243,383 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 132,188 doses. Yesterday, 64,772 doses were reported administered in Illinois. The Illinois National Guard has administered more than one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines at state-supported vaccination sites around the state.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
*** UPDATE *** Tribune…
In the 20-county region that stretches from Kendall and Grundy counties to the Quad Cities, the seven-day average of available intensive care beds has dipped below 20% for four straight days beginning Thursday.
The percentage of available staffed ICU beds was one of the bench marks used to trigger tighter restrictions under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan. Health officials recently have said they’re reevaluating those criteria, which were developed before vaccines were available.
The test positivity rate is also rising in the region, home to Peoria and Bloomington-Normal, reaching a seven-day average of 7.2% as of Friday, up from 6.5% a week earlier.
Under the rules that were enforced during the fall surge, a rolling test positivity rate of 8% or higher for three consecutive days triggered tighter restrictions.
In suburban Cook County, where officials have been warning since last week that stricter rules could be coming if trends don’t reverse, the seven-day average for ICU bed availability was 20% Sunday for the second straight day.
13 Comments
|
More like this, please
Monday, Apr 12, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Dean Olsen…
With a new nationwide poll showing Republicans three times more likely than Democrats to avoid getting COVID-19 shots, a Central Illinois congressman and loyal member of the GOP said Thursday he wants to reduce vaccine hesitancy regardless of political affiliation.
“I want to encourage everyone that this is safe,” U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said during a visit to the COVID-19 mass-vaccination site operated by the Sangamon County Department of Public Health and Illinois National Guard at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. […]
“Putting a political litmus test on the vaccination process is something that I’m trying to warn against,” Davis said. “We, right now, have to believe in our scientists that actually do the clinical trials and the private-sector ingenuity that has allowed us to get safe and effective vaccines.
“And if you’re worried about the vaccines being safe, I will tell you, I don’t feel a computer chip in my arm, and also, hundreds of thousands of people right here in Central Illinois have safely gotten all three of these vaccines,” Davis said. “It’s safe. It’s effective. Go get it done.”
The latest NPR/Marist poll shows that 46 percent of Republican men say they won’t be vaccinated. That’s in line with its previous polling which had the “No” answer at 49 percent. 40 percent of Donald Trump voters also say they won’t be vaccinated.
Meanwhile, just 22 percent of Black respondents said they wouldn’t take the shot and a mere 9 percent of Democratic women are also refusing the vaxes.
* As NPR points out, we can’t get to herd immunity until more folks like those Republican men are vaccinated. Ironically, many of those same folks were insisting last year that the all-important herd immunity could be reached if the virus was simply allowed to run its course. That argument didn’t hold up so well when more than half a million people died. But now that there’s a real chance to reach herd immunity with vaccines, too many are balking.
More Republican Party leaders need to step up here like Davis did. Some have, but many more need to follow the lead of Black politicos and set a very public example, especially now that positivity rates are on the rise. Effingham County’s positivity rate, for example, is now 7.4 percent, as is McHenry County’s.
21 Comments
|
* Let’s start with this surprise press release on April 5…
On Monday, the eight members of the Illinois State Board of Elections voted unanimously to place Executive Director Steve Sandvoss on administrative leave after he reported being the victim of an online extortion attempt last week. Director Sandvoss reported the attempt to the Illinois State Police, which has begun an investigation.
Based on Director Sandvoss’ description, the attempted extortion scheme appeared typical of many such online scams.
However, because this attempt targeted a top official at the Illinois State Board of Elections, and out of an abundance of caution, the board has taken the cautionary step of placing Director Sandvoss on administrative leave. The board authorized Assistant Executive Director Bernadette Matthews to assume directorship at this time.
The board also authorized the agency’s Chief Information Security Officer, Jeremy Owens, to cooperate fully with the law enforcement investigation, as well as conduct an internal assessment of all SBE devices to which Director Sandvoss had access and ensure the security of the Board’s systems.
At this time, there is no reason to believe that any election data or information has been compromised. All further questions regarding the investigation should be addressed to the Illinois State Police at isp.pio.personnel@illinois.gov.
If you read the release closely, it looks like the board doesn’t believe that Sandvoss’ problems were state-related. But the probe is in the hands of the Illinois State Police, so the board isn’t 100 percent certain of what exactly happened. I-Team…
However, what prompted the alleged extortion attempt they will not disclose, nor will they discuss the nature of the communication, what was being demanded of the state election director, whether it was made on a state computer or Sandvoss’s personal device, or what they are referring to by describing the attempted extortion as typical of many such online scams.
The Illinois State Police are investigating to determine who was behind this alleged extortion attempt, and how and why Sandvoss apparently became targeted.
State police officials told the I-Team that their investigation of the reported extortion “remains open and ongoing.”
* Anyway, the board has called a special meeting for this afternoon at 3 o’clock. Their only agenda item is an executive session. By law, the board has to summarize what went on during the executive session, so we’ll likely know more later today.
Somebody’s personal business is their own personal business, but Russian hackers targeted the board in 2016 and Sandvoss apparently has a security clearance, so he’s held to a much higher standard than if a low-level state worker got catfished, or whatever. Hopefully, the board clears this up today.
Sandvoss has been with the board since 2004.
*** UPDATE *** I was logged on to the Zoom meeting just in time to hear them adjourn. I asked Matt Dietrich what happened…
The board took no action today. So Steve remains on administrative leave.
What you got in the Zoom conference is exactly what I got.
9 Comments
|
|
Comments Off
|
* Thread…
That Chatham race was quite something. Tiffani Saunders, Andrea Rediger and Ann Strahle all won seats on the board and campaigned on progressive platforms.
* Daily Herald…
Numerous incumbents in DuPage County’s most contentious school board races appeared to hold onto their seats Tuesday, fending off a flood of opposition candidates in an election largely seen as a referendum on COVID-19 restrictions and the pace of reopening classrooms.
Unofficial results indicated voters seemed to favor experience over new blood as many districts shifted to return to in-person learning after spring break while navigating a possible pandemic resurgence in DuPage.
From Naperville to Glen Ellyn, sitting board members fought off challengers who focused their campaigns on expediting school reopenings.
The debate sparked protests across the suburbs as frustrated parents called for their children to return to classrooms while school leaders said they were following the advice of health experts. It also made for clear fault lines in large fields of candidate
Lots more in there.
* More Daily Herald…
Janice Krinsky, school board president in Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59, appears to have been ousted by the political strength of widespread teacher opposition.
Krinsky, of Arlington Heights. had lost the backing of the faculty because of her previous support for departing Superintendent Art Fessler, the subject of controversy among teachers partly because of how he introduced a new currciulum.
Teachers instead backed the other four candidates in the race: longtime incumbent Mardell Schumacher of Elk Grove Village, incumbent Roberto Mancilla Jr. of Arlington Heights and challengers Daisy Espino of Mount Prospect and Joseph Sagerer of Elk Grove Village.
* Jeanne Ives…
When only 15% of voters show up to vote, expect more tax hikes, more indoctrination at your school with less learning, more public debt, overly generous public employee contracts, and more wokeness from your school boards.
The teachers union - who has kept your schools closed and property taxes high - cleaned up in the suburbs because many people didn’t care to vote.
For those of you who did show up - THANK YOU!
* Ives is not alone, however…
The Illinois Education Association’s local union chapters vetted and endorsed candidates in 38 school board and college trustee races statewide. Of 132 union-backed candidates, 107 were elected, according to unofficial results.
Additional union-endorsed candidates could prevail once all votes are counted, including provisional ballots and late-arriving mail votes, IEA President Kathi Griffin said Friday.
“Some of the races are quite close,” Griffin said. “Basically, we have about 81% (of candidates) currently successful, as of yesterday.” […]
Political groups trying to influence local school board elections is cause for concern, say leaders of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters.
“It changes the game,” said Heidi Graham, president of the League of Women Voters of Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Buffalo Grove and surrounding areas. Graham said the league supports getting special interest money and influence out of local nonpartisan elections.
While Graham opposes political parties in local elections, teachers unions also should get out of the business of endorsing candidates, she said.
Or, they could move these elections to presidential/governor years.
* Related…
* Slowik: Integrity squeezed as politics creeps further into south suburban public higher education
*** UPDATE *** John Kass on March 12…
Suburban parents are rightfully angry. They pay among the highest residential property taxes in the nation and most of it goes to the public schools.
And they’ve agonized as parochial and private schools have been mostly open through the pandemic while their public schools have been closed and their children waste away on remote learning. […]
Elizabeth Bauer is a writer for Forbes and a suburban mom running for the District 214 board in the northwest suburbs. The district includes John Hersey High School and schools in Mount Prospect, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Rolling Meadows and Wheeling. Bauer knows how to read a budget. She’s well-known on Twitter as @JanetheActuary. I respect her.
The other day Bauer wrote a superb op-ed in the Tribune asking parents to run for school board seats. The headline: “Want to reopen schools and hold them accountable? Run for office.” […]
“I suppose this is a test, in my own small way, to determine if Illinois is broken at all levels,” Bauer said. “I guess we’ll find out.”
Bauer finished in 5th place. She has questions about why she lost…
if I hadn’t lost a weekend of door-knocking due to the emotional hit of the board-meeting blindside?
if the Daily Herald editorial board hadn’t endorsed the incumbent slate despite their admission that they operate behind the scenes?
if the union hadn’t sent out its postcard using the D214 logo to imply endorsement, and the Superintendent hadn’t refused to comment?
if the Superintendent hadn’t timed the full reopening to coincide with the election?
if an unrelated personal matter hadn’t taken much of my time and energy in an unplanned way?
if I hadn’t been navigating the strategy and trying to work out, from scratch, how to best get my message out, and if I hadn’t been learning as I went along, about what my key concerns were, as I watched the academic year play out and researched the board’s actions?
52 Comments
|
* Politico last week…
Conservative activist John Tillman, founder of the Illinois Policy Institute and other right-leaning groups, has started a new project aimed at electing Republicans in 2022, the Washington Post reports under the headline “stealth persuasion machine.”
The American Culture Project uses data collection and digital ads to target potential voters. That’s a standard practice in politics these days.
But what’s unusual about the American Culture Project, experts tell the Washington Post, “is how it presents its aims as news dissemination and community building. It touts transparency and civic engagement using an online network whose donors remain private — part of a bid to shape public opinion as local news outlets crater and social networks replace traditional forums for political deliberation.”
Simply put, the organization creates programming and ad messages around conservative issues but is able to skirt campaign finance laws because it’s a nonprofit. It doesn’t disclose its donors nor whether it pays federal income taxes, reports the Post.
The group is already active in five states, including Illinois, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Virginia. It is seeking to expand to six more: Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.
* Buried in the WaPo article is something you also might find interesting…
Tillman’s assets extend well beyond a handful of Facebook pages focused on battleground states. In addition to the American Culture Project and the Illinois Policy Institute, tax filings identify him as chairman of the Franklin News Foundation, a nonprofit media company that draws revenue from DonorsTrust, a donor-advised fund that backs conservative causes and allows its contributors to remain anonymous.
The news foundation recently received a $50,000 grant from DonorsTrust for a coronavirus-related news project. “This program will offer an alternate perspective to legacy media’s unfair coverage of individuals who disagree with state shutdowns as radical or heartless and will be republished around the country in state and local newspapers, which are starved for local covid-19 news content,” states the announcement from DonorsTrust, which did not respond to a request for comment.
The news network, which publishes articles on a website called the Center Square, concentrates its coverage on 36 states, with a particular focus on some of the Midwestern states where the American Culture Project is seeking an online foothold. Arise Ohio and other pages in Tillman’s network often post stories produced by the Center Square.
You gotta wonder if the newspapers that run those stories know who’s paying for it.
16 Comments
|
* Sun-Times…
A Wall Street rating agency that alone gave Chicago a junk bond rating on Friday branded as “credit negative” a bill Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed over Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s objections boosting pensions for thousands of Chicago firefighters.
“The legislation is credit negative for the city of Chicago,” said the advisory from Moody’s Investors Service, “because it will cause the city’s reported unfunded pension liabilities, and thus its annual contribution requirements, to rise.”
With pension contributions consuming 17% of the city’s operating revenue and total liabilities pegged at $46.6 billion in 2019, pensions are the “largest credit challenge facing Chicago,” Moody’s said.
Pritzker signed the bill on Monday, arguing the new law “creates a system that gives all firefighters certainty and fair treatment.” But Lightfoot, who had urged the fellow Democrat not to sign it, blasted it as a “fiscally irresponsible” law typical of Springfield’s “back room deals.”
Moody’s on Friday gave Lightfoot more ammunition.
Governors who veto bills that pass with veto-proof majorities tend to get rolled. It would also have helped if the mayor had convinced at least one Senator from the city’s delegation to vote “No” back in January. But the mayor was apparently very angry…
* Moody’s did have other things to say about the new law…
House Bill 2451 eliminates a formula based on birth date that provided lower pension COLAs to certain retired firefighters. As a result of the new law, all retirees that are considered “Tier 1” members of the FABF will now receive a 3% COLA annually on their pension, with no cumulative cap. Before House Bill 2451, retired firefighters in Tier 1 would have received a 1.5% COLA, subject to a 30% cumulative cap, if born on or after January 1, 1966. Members of the FABF receive Tier 1 benefits if hired before January 1, 2011, while those hired on or after January 1, 2011 receive less generous Tier 2 pension benefits.
One potentially advantageous effect of House Bill 2451 is that it forces immediate recognition of 3% COLAs for Tier 1 members. The state law governing Chicago firefighter pension COLAs has been amended on several occasions in the past to alter the birth date that would determine eligibility of a Tier 1 retiree for a 3% COLA versus a 1.5% COLA. The most recent such change occurred in 2016, when the law was updated to provide a 3% COLA to all Tier 1 firefighters born before January 1, 1966, compared to January 1, 1955, before the change. That change, in addition to several other provisions, triggered a roughly $227 million (4.5%) increase to the actuarial accrued liability reported by the FABF as of the December 2016 actuarial snapshot.
Since increases to benefit provisions generate new unfunded liabilities that must be amortized over time, shifting to 3% COLAs with periodic changes to state law would produce a more backloaded contribution pattern for the city, compared with an immediate recognition of the higher benefit levels. That said, now with House Bill 2451 signed into law, the flexibility to forego expanding the number of Tier 1 firefighters receiving 3% COLAs is no longer available. Whether the state will enact similar legislation for any of Chicago’s other retirement systems is uncertain. For example, the law governing the city’s retirement system for police officers contains similar birth date related COLA distinctions.
* From Pritzker’s press release…
Building on efforts to protect Illinois’ first responders and frontline workers, Governor JB Pritzker today signed legislation that codifies longstanding benefits in the Chicago firefighter pensions system. House Bill 2451 ensures firefighters are treated fairly by fulfilling promises made to firefighter pensioners.
“I’ve always believed that hardworking men and women who have earned their pension shouldn’t pay the price for local or state budget challenges,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “HB 2451 creates a system that gives all firefighters certainty and fair treatment. And to make sure that the city can meet its obligations, my administration is working to sell the James R. Thompson Center, which will return to the city’s property tax rolls and is projected to generate $45 million annually for the city and its sister agencies.”
“By signing this bill, Gov. Pritzker has once again demonstrated his commitment to fiscal responsibility and protecting future generations of middle class Chicagoans from massive tax increases,” said State Senator Robert Martwick (D-Chicago). “If we ever hope to right our financial ship, we must finally put an end to the irresponsible behavior that put us here in the first place. This law simply ensures that the city confronts the true costs of its pension obligations and makes the difficult decisions it needs to make today.”
HB 2451 addresses disparate pension benefits among Chicago firefighters. Currently, employees eligible for a pension in the Firemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago (FABF) who were born after January 1, 1966 are granted a 1.5 percent COLA. However, firefighters who may have started on the force the same day, may unfairly receive different benefits based on their dates of birth. The legislation addresses this discrepancy by adjusting the COLA for these firefighters from 1.5 percent to 3 percent.
The legislation eliminates the 30 percent cap on cumulative COLA adjustments. For employees eligible for a 1.5 percent COLA, they would have hit the cap at 20 years. The reforms made in this legislation provides firefighters the ability to plan for themselves and their families.
HB 2451 is effective immediately.
18 Comments
|
Open thread
Monday, Apr 12, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Did I miss anything? Also, check out this pitch…
31 Comments
|
|
Comments Off
|
|
Comments Off
|
|
Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
|
   
|
Hosted by MCS
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax
Advertise Here
Mobile Version
Contact Rich Miller
|
