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* Sun-Times…
State officials announced Thursday the next round of long-delayed and highly sought after cannabis dispensary licenses will be awarded in a lottery later this month.
The 21 qualifying applicants for the 75 new licenses were informed after a global accounting firm finished grading 1,667 applications, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
All those applicants received perfect scores and qualify as social equity candidates, meaning they were afforded a leg up in the application process as part of the state’s efforts to build diversity in an industry dominated by white men. […]
Applicants with tied scores in each of the 17 regions will receive a single entry into a region’s lottery for each application they submitted, the IDFPR said. Some firms gambled and paid to submit multiple applications at a cost of $2,500 each.
* From the administration…
Social Equity Applicants
Of the 21 applicants eligible to enter the lottery process, all identified as Social Equity Applicants under the Act. See 410 ILCS 705/1-10.
14 of the 21 applicants qualify as Social Equity Applicants because they have least 51% ownership and control by one or more individuals who have resided for at least 5 of the preceding 10 years in a Disproportionately Impacted Area.
4 of the 21 applicants qualify as Social Equity Applicants because they have at least 51% ownership and control by one or more individuals who have been arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense that is eligible for expungement under this Act.
2 of the 21 applicants qualify as Social Equity Applicants because they have at least 51% ownership and control by one or more individuals who have a parent, legal guardian, child, spouse, or dependent, or who was a dependent of an individual who, prior to the effective date of this Act, was arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense that is eligible for expungement under this Act.
1 of the 21 applicants qualifies as a Social Equity Applicant because it had a minimum of 10 full-time employees, at least 51% of whom either currently reside in a Disproportionately Impacted Area or have been arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense that is eligible for expungement under this Act or member of an impacted family.
Race
Of the 21 applicants, 13 are majority owned and controlled by people of color and 17 have at least one owner who is a person of color.
Gender
Of the 21 applicants, 16 have at least one owner who is a woman.
Age
The age range of the majority owners of the 21 applicants is 26 to 77 years old.
* But the small number of qualifying applicants for the large number of licenses has infuriated several folks. Here’s Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside)…
That list is a total disappointment and a punch in the gut to the small business owners who were looking for an opportunity. 75 licenses are going to 21 applicants. Mostly shill companies. The lottery should not take place until wholesale changes happen. At this moment when our country demands racial equity, the administration has screwed us!
Ouch.
* More from Crain’s…
“I’m disappointed. This is disheartening,” state Sen. Cristina Castro, whose district stretches from Elgin to Hoffman Estates, said after hearing from several constituents who didn’t make the cut. “We had quite a few minority-led groups. Many of them paid thousands and thousands of dollars to apply and were incredibly disappointed. The same names won in every region. Given everything going on today in the discussion about social equity, we had a huge opportunity to make a mark. But we failed. I want to see where and how this came about.”
Applicants were allowed to seek multiple licenses in each of 17 regions. Several applicants are seeking licenses in every district. Each license cost $2,500 to submit. “You saw the same names in every region,” Welch said. “There’s no way for a real social equity applicant to afford to apply for licenses in every region. That shows it was big-money people who made the list. […]
Ron Holmes, co-founder of consulting firm Majority Minority Group in Chicago, worked with more than 30 applicants, none of which was successful. “The people most impacted by the war on drugs were not successful today. Folks spent a substantial amount of money on this process. They’re going to have to find a way to put their lives back together at a time when the economy isn’t flush with jobs or opportunity.”
Lots more in that story, so click here.
* On to the next topic…
* Tribune…
The move by Griffin sets up a battle among billionaires over the fate of the proposed tax amendment with Pritzker, who is an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune.
Pritzker already has pumped $56.5 million into the Vote Yes for Fairness political fund, which is promoting passage of the amendment, which is before voters on the Nov. 3 ballot. […]
Prior to Griffin’s contribution, which was reported Thursday, the anti-amendment coalition had received $950,000 in donations. They included $100,000 apiece from a trust run by real estate mogul Sam Zell, MacNeil Automotive Products of Bolingbrook which produces WeatherTech products, Craig Duchossois, who runs the diversified Duchossois Group, and Jay Bergman, president of Hinsdale-based Petco Petroleum Corp.
*** UPDATE *** Ken Griffin, Citadel Founder & CEO…
People aren’t waiting until November to vote against the economic hardship created by the Springfield’s spending addiction – they’ve been voting with their feet for the past decade as Illinois has lost more residents than any other state in the nation. In that time, two tax increases have already failed to improve our situation, and what’s now being marketed to voters under the guise of a “fair tax” is nothing more than a graduated tax scheme engineered to extract the greatest amount of money possible from all Illinois taxpayers. As we’ve seen in other states with a graduated tax scheme, everyone inevitably pays a higher rate. It’s time the Governor and Illinois legislature stop taking advantage of constituents and wasting hard-earned taxpayer dollars. It’s time for the Governor and the legislature to focus on spending our money wisely to provide for better schools, better public safely, better infrastructure and greater opportunities for all our citizens.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Vote Yes For Fairness Chairman Quentin Fulks…
Ken Griffin and his billionaire friends have collectively made more than $42 billion a week since the Coronavirus pandemic began, and yet he pays the same tax rate as our essential workers. Mr. Griffin reportedly made $1.5 billion last year, and under the Fair Tax, he would have had to pay $45 million more in taxes while 97% of Illinoisans would have seen their taxes go down or stay the same. It’s no surprise he’s now doing everything he can to protect the special deal he gets under Illinois’ current tax system. If Mr. Griffin would like to explain why he thinks it’s fair that he pays the same tax rate as our nurses and grocery store clerks, that’s a conversation we welcome having
* Vote Yes for Fair Tax chairman John Bouman…
Yesterday—the day that unions representing more than 1 million Illinois workers stood up to support Fair Tax reform—the state’s richest billionaire Ken Griffin spent $20 million to protect the broken status quo.
Griffin took home $1.5 billion in 2019 alone, yet paid the same state income tax rate as teachers, nurses, grocery store clerks and other essential workers. That’s wrong and it’s exactly why Illinois needs the Fair Tax amendment.
To end the sweet deals for the super-rich, cut taxes for everyone under $250,000 a year, make the wealthy pay their fair share and invest in shared priorities like education and health care, it’s time to Vote Yes for Fair Tax
* Coalition To Stop The Proposed Tax Hike Amendment…
We are encouraged that people from throughout Illinois, especially bipartisan small business owners, are responding positively to our message that this is the worst possible time to raise taxes. The Coalition welcomes support from anyone who believes we must stop Springfield Politicians from having new power to increase income taxes on every group of taxpayers, whenever they want.
The Constitutional Amendment sets no limit on the number of tax brackets that can be created and no limit on how high tax rates can be increased on groups of individual taxpayers – including middle-income families.
If passed, it would immediately result in billions in new taxes that would be especially devastating to over 100,000 small businesses, family farmers and large employers –causing tens of thousands of lost jobs that hurt women and minorities the most.
* Moving right along…
The full opinion is here.
* And…
* Jeanne Ives has complained for a while now about how Democratic US Rep. Sean Casten won’t debate her. But…
The Jeanne for Congress campaign has made the decision not to participate in the Editorial Board endorsement processes with the Daily Herald, SunTimes or Northwest Herald. […]
We value a free and fair press. And we are happy to continue to work with those in the media who report with fairness and accuracy. But we won’t continue the charade. We are not going to pretend that our message and ideas have been fairly or accurately represented by these three outlets, or that they have held our opponents to the same level of scrutiny. We can simply no longer trust in the objectivity of the Daily Herald, SunTimes and Northwest Herald.
* On to our last topic. IDPH press release…
Earlier this week, a slowdown in data processing within Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) systems affected the reporting of tests due to the large volume of testing occurring in Illinois. All available resources were deployed to improve the data systems, which are now fixed, and the backlog created by the slowdown has been cleared. Two system upgrades were put in place and the systems now have significantly faster processing capacity. Although the slowdown did delay the reporting of some additional aggregate numbers, it did not affect the reporting of positive or negative results to individuals in any way.
IDPH today announced 5,368 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 29 additional confirmed deaths.
Bond County: 1 male 70s
Cook County: 1 male 40s, 2 males 50s, 2 females 70s, 1 male 80s
Cumberland County: 1 female 90s
Edgar County: 1 female 90s
Henry County: 1 male 90s
Kankakee County: 1 male 90s
Lake County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s
LaSalle County: 1 female 80s
Macoupin County: 1 male 70s
Madison County: 2 male 70s
McHenry County: 1 male 80s
McLean County: 1 male 90s
Moultrie County: 1 female 90s
Perry County: 1 male 60s
Richland County: 1 female 90s
Rock Island County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 90s
Stark County: 1 male 80s
Tazewell County: 1 female 80s
Will County: 1 female 70s
Williamson County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 245,371 cases, including 8,143 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from August 28 – September 3 is 4.1%. Using a 7-day rolling average for this metric helps account for any variation in day to day data collection, such as a data processing slowdown, and provides the public and decisions makers with a consistent picture of trends over time. As of last night, 1,621 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 360 patients were in the ICU and 155 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 149,273 specimens for a total of 4,309,941.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
* Also from IDPH…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 29 counties in Illinois are considered to be at a warning level for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A county enters a warning level when two or more COVID-19 risk indicators that measure the amount of COVID-19 increase.
Twenty-nine counties are currently reported at a warning level – Boone, Bureau, Clinton, Coles, Cumberland, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Greene, Henry, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Lake, Lawrence, Madison, McLean, Monroe, Pulaski, Randolph, Rock Island, Shelby, Stark, St. Clair, Union, Wabash, Warren, Williamson, Will.
Although the reasons for counties reaching a warning level varies, some of the common factors for an increase in cases and outbreaks are associated with college parties, weddings, large gatherings, bars and clubs, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings, travel to neighboring states, and spread among members of the same household who are not isolating at home. Cases connected to schools are beginning to be reported. General transmission of the virus in the community is also increasing.
Public health officials are observing people not social distancing, gathering in large groups, and not using face coverings. In some counties, local law enforcement and states’ attorneys are not enforcing important mitigation measures like social distancing and the wearing of face coverings. Additionally, some people refuse to participate in contact tracing and are not providing information on close contacts or answering the phone. Individuals are also waiting to get tested believing their symptoms are allergies or some other cause.
Several counties are taking swift action and implementing mitigation measures to help slow spread of the virus, including increasing testing opportunities, working with schools, meeting with local leaders, and educating businesses and large venues about the importance of mitigation measures.
IDPH uses numerous indicators when determining if a county is experiencing stable COVID-19 activity, or if there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the county. A county is considered at the warning level when at least two of the following metrics triggers a warning.
New cases per 100,000 people. If there are more than 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the county, this triggers a warning.
Number of deaths. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly number of deaths increases more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
Weekly test positivity. This metric indicates a warning when the 7-day test positivity rate rises above 8%.
ICU availability. If there are fewer than 20% of intensive care units available in the region, this triggers a warning.
Weekly emergency department visits. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly percent of COVID-19-like-illness emergency department visits increase by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
Weekly hospital admissions. A warning is triggered when the weekly number of hospital admissions for COVID-19-like-illness increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
Tests perform. This metric is used to provide context and indicate if more testing is needed in the county.
Clusters. This metric looks at the percent of COVID-19 cases associated with clusters or outbreaks and is used to understand large increase in cases.
These metrics are intended to be used for local level awareness to help local leaders, businesses, local health departments, and the public make informed decisions about personal and family gatherings, as well as what activities they choose to do. The metrics are updated weekly, from the Sunday-Saturday of the prior week.
* Related…
* Metro East school district decides to return to in-person learning: The Superintendent of Collinsville Schools announced to families today the district will start hybrid learning on Tuesday, September 8. Students will attend two days a week and learn remotely the other three. … The Metro East area of Illinois had a seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate of 9.6%, according to numbers released by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health on Tuesday. Two weeks ago, the positivity rate was 9.2%.
* Covid-19 has killed more police officers this year than all other causes combined, data shows: At the state level, Texas stands out for having the highest number of law enforcement covid fatalities with at least 21, according to NLEOMF. At least 16 of those represent officers with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which manages the state’s correctional facilities. Louisiana has 12 covid-related officer deaths. Florida, New Jersey and Illinois round out the top five with eight each.
* Herd Immunity Is Not a Strategy: But “herd-immunity strategy” is a contradiction in terms, in that herd immunity is the absence of a strategy. Herd immunity is an important public-health concept, developed and used to guide vaccination policy. It involves a calculation of the percentage of people in a population who would need to achieve immunity in order to prevent an outbreak. The same concept offers little such guidance during an ongoing pandemic without a vaccine. If it were a military strategy, it would mean letting the enemy tear through you until they stop because there’s no one left to attack.
* While Underwood wants to boost postal funding, Oberweis suggests reducing mail delivery
….Adding… On another topic…
* From Chairman Welch…
State Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch released the following statement Friday regarding the scheduled first meeting of the House Special Investigating Committee:
“The Special Investigating Committee has scheduled its first meeting for Thursday, September 10 at 9 a.m. in Springfield. As we begin work of this committee, I ask members of the committee to come prepared to conduct themselves in a manner reflective of the serious business before us.”
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* UIUC…
Increased undergraduate enforcement of COVID-19 safety guidelines
September 2, 2020 1:02 PM
Dear Colleagues,
Recent unacceptable behavior by a small number of students has resulted in some concerning increases in undergraduate COVID-19 positive cases. Real-time data from our Shield testing program allowed us to quickly detect this rapidly emerging trend and gives us the opportunity to act quickly to break that cycle.
For two weeks, starting now, we are intensifying our efforts to identify and swiftly remove those individuals who have created this unacceptable risk for our campus and community and who have undermined your hard work to stay together. Students who continue to violate our safety policies, who fail to comply with directions from our public health officials and who engage in unsafe activities that risk spreading the virus will be asked to leave this university.
Also, starting today at 5 p.m., for the next two weeks for their own protection, we expect all undergraduate students to limit their in-person interactions to only the most essential activities. These include things like taking twice weekly COVID-19 tests, attending class, purchasing groceries and food, going to work, engaging in individual outdoor activity, attending religious services and seeking medical attention.
We have seen the majority of our students respond voluntarily and positively this semester and we expect these temporary restrictions to be adopted. Fortunately, our Shield testing program identified this trend early, and there is no evidence of any spread from students to instructors or to the broader local community.
The full massmail we will send to undergraduate students in a few minutes is included below with details about what we expect them to do and more information about our increased focus on compliance and enforcement.
These actions will repair much of the damage a few irresponsible students have caused, and this should flatten the curve.
But, if this approach does not successfully reverse this upward trend, we will move quickly and decisively to transition the rest of the semester to fully remote instruction.
The choices of our students in the next two weeks will determine the rest of our semester.
Sincerely
Robert J. Jones
Chancellor
Andreas C. Cangellaris
Provost
Danita M. B. Young
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
* From the letter…
Real-time data from our Shield testing program allowed us to quickly detect a rapidly emerging increase in positive cases that will force us to return to fully remote instruction for the rest of the semester if we do not take immediate action to break the cycle.
• Some students have ignored the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) directives to isolate or quarantine, choosing to go out even knowing they are positive for the virus.
• Some students who have tested positive are actively avoiding our contact tracers and some have repeatedly returned to testing facilities attempting to “test out” of their positive status, which is not permissible under CUPHD protocols.
• Some students have made active efforts to circumvent the Safer Illinois app.
• Over the weekend, we received 11 complaints about large gatherings inside fraternities and private houses.
• Over the weekend, we responded to more than 100 party-related calls.
* Some disciplinary measures taken so far…
• A student was issued an interim suspension for hosting a large party at his apartment on Friday.
• Another student was issued an interim suspension for violation of a quarantine order on Saturday.
• A student who posted a video on social media attempting to show people how to circumvent the Safer Illinois app is facing discipline.
• The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity has been placed on interim suspension after another large party this weekend.
• Approximately 100 additional students and organizations are facing disciplinary action for their behavior over the weekend.
…Adding… This is why I labeled this “completely predictable behavior.” From July…
Colleges Are Getting Ready to Blame Their Students
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* Press release…
On August 31, 2020, Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) filed a petition to form a Special Investigative Committee. The subject of the petition is Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and surrounds information from the Deferred Prosecution Agreement entered into by ComEd and the United States Attorney’s Office. The petition was signed by House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, Rep. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) and Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria).
“Given the facts admitted by ComEd for its nine-year-long scheme to bribe Speaker Madigan, the Illinois House of Representatives must do its job and conduct a thorough investigation,” Leader Durkin said.
The House Republican members appointed to the Special Investigative Committee are Reps. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) and Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville).
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has been advised of the petition and the legislative process moving forward. It is Leader Durkin’s intention not to interfere in any way with the federal investigation.
(House Rule 91) 91. Special Investigating Committee.
(a) Disciplinary proceedings may be commenced by filing with the Speaker and the Minority Leader a petition, signed by 3 or more members of the House, for a special investigating committee. The petition shall contain the alleged charge or charges that, if true, may subject the member named in the petition to disciplinary action by the House and may include any other factual information that supports the charge or charges.
(b) Upon filing the petition, a special investigating committee consisting of 6 members shall be created. The Speaker shall appoint 3 members from the majority caucus and the Minority Leader shall appoint 3 members from the minority caucus. The Speaker shall appoint the Chairperson from among the 6 members. Members signing the petition may not be appointed to the special investigating committee. The contents of a petition for a special investigating committee shall be confidential until the appointment of all members except as to the member named, the members signing it, the Speaker, the Minority Leader, and the members of a special investigating committee.
(c) The Chairperson shall give reasonable notice of all meetings to the member named in the petition and to the public. All meetings of the special investigating committee shall be open to the public, unless, pursuant to Article IV, Section 5 (c) of the Illinois Constitution, the House votes by the affirmative vote of 79 members to hold proceedings in executive session. The Clerk shall keep an audio recording and transcripts of all meetings.
(d) The member named in the petition has the right to counsel during all meetings of the special investigating committee.
(e) The Chairperson may establish procedural rules (subject to the approval of the Speaker). The Committee may, in the discretion of the Chairperson, administer oaths and compel by subpoena (subject to Rules 4 (c) (9)) any person to appear and give testimony as a witness or produce papers, documents, or other materials relevant to the charge or charges.
(f) This Rule may be suspended only by unanimous consent.
Couldn’t help but notice there are two Tier One targets on that committee, Wehrli and Mazzochi.
* From House Speaker Michael Madigan…
“When I learned that Minority Leader Jim Durkin and two Republican members requested the House of Representatives establish an investigative committee related to the ComEd deferred prosecution agreement, I immediately recused myself and designated House Majority Leader Greg Harris to handle all aspects of this matter.
“As I have stated previously, I have never made a legislative decision with improper motives. The notion that the passage of two consequential pieces of energy legislation was tied to the hiring or retention of a few individuals is seriously mistaken. Those bills had the broad support of Democrats and Republican members, other legislative leaders, labor supporters, consumer advocates, and environmentalists. The bills could not have passed without such broad support, and they were the product of years of deliberation, negotiations, and consensus building. Rep. Durkin knows this because Republican members and staff were directly involved in the negotiations of these bills. They witnessed firsthand that House Democrats challenged representatives of ComEd and Exelon on critical portions of their proposed bills. Rep. Durkin knows it, and all those actually involved in the process know it.
“The law does not prohibit members of the General Assembly from making job recommendations. If Rep. Durkin wants to question whether legislators should be allowed to make job recommendations, I encourage him to be transparent and disclose all of the jobs he has requested or lobbyists he has recommended over the years. He should also disclose the various actions he personally took to pass the energy bills, both in 2011 and 2016.
“The request by Rep. Durkin and his members is a political stunt only months away from one of the most consequential elections of our lifetimes. Republicans don’t want to focus on the fact that we have a federal administration that has used the White House to prop up Donald Trump’s wealthy campaign donors and friends at the expense of the American people. The Republicans don’t want people to focus on the nearly 200,000 COVID-19 deaths or the countless number of Illinoisans who have lost their jobs, healthcare coverage and retirement savings due to Trump’s mismanaged COVID-19 response. They certainly don’t want people to draw attention to the intense racial divisions Donald Trump relishes.
“I can’t identify one thing Rep. Durkin and the Illinois Republican Party have done to help Illinois residents struggling from a global pandemic and a weakened economy. Rather than focusing on ways to get us out of Donald Trump’s mess, Republicans have spent their time and dollars trying to convince people I am to blame for the type of corruption and unethical conduct Donald Trump emulates every day. They have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to convince people I am the problem so they don’t have to own up to their allegiance to Donald Trump and their political party. However, none of this is surprising, given that for four years Jim Durkin and the Illinois Republican Party sat on the sidelines and took millions of dollars from Bruce Rauner in exchange for their silence as Rauner tried to drive Illinois off a cliff and wage a war against Illinois’ working families.
“As they seek to distract and place blame, the Republicans are also working diligently to elect more Republicans in Springfield and suppress diverse Democratic voices in the 2021 redistricting process in order to install more pro-life and conservative members, backed by the influence of pharmaceutical and insurance companies.
“Like their president, the House Republicans know how to create a political circus, but time and again fail to show up when it’s time to govern.”
He poses some legit questions, but the feds ain’t sniffing around Durkin’s operation.
* House Majority Leader Greg Harris…
“On Monday three members of the House Republican caucus, including Leader Jim Durkin, filed a petition with the Speaker’s Office invoking House Rule 91, requesting the creation of a Special Investigative Committee to review the ComEd deferred prosecution agreement and determine if there are grounds to discipline Speaker Madigan. The petition was delivered to the Speaker’s Office in Springfield. Chief of Staff Jessica Basham notified the Speaker of the petition, and he immediately recused himself from consideration of this matter. The Speaker designated me to take the necessary actions required under the House Rules to create and administer the committee.
“The Illinois Constitution gives members of the House the authority to review the actions of its members and determine whether discipline is necessary, including overturning the results of an election or expelling a member. This is a power that should be judiciously exercised, and one that has rarely been used. In the past two decades, it has been invoked on two occasions, following the arrest and indictment of former Representatives Derrick Smith and Luis Arroyo.
“This is a political process, not action by law enforcement, and the rules are not the same as a court proceeding. The Speaker has not been accused of or charged with any criminal action or wrongdoing and is entitled to the presumption of innocence. With that said, it is important that we follow the process and provide the petitioners and the Speaker with an opportunity to address the petition.
“I have appointed Representatives Emanuel Chris Welch, who will serve as chair, Elizabeth Hernandez and Natalie Manley to serve on this Committee alongside the Republican appointees, Representatives Tom Demmer, Deanne Mazzochi and Grant Wehrli. The Committee will conduct its business in accordance with all House Rules and with health recommendations to protect all those involved and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. All proceedings will be public.
“All further inquires related to this matter should be directed to Representative Welch.”
* Rep. Chris Welch…
Speaker Madigan, like anyone else deserves due process and a fair hearing. I am confident that with the members that were chosen by the House Majority Leader and by Leader Durkin that we will be able to provide the Speaker fairness. I look forward to a strident but fair debate on this matter.
The House Rules lay out no timeline for the commencement or the completion of the investigation. So, I reached out to the new chairman, Rep. Welch, who said he was not yet certain about what would happen and when.
“They filed it as we’re heading into a long holiday weekend,” Rep. Welch said of the Republicans and their petition, “So, we’re organizing as quickly as possible.”
…Adding… Eleni Demertzis of the House Republicans responds to Rep. Welch…
We filed the petition on Monday morning, and also filed our appointments with the Speaker’s Office the same day. Per House Rule 91, the petition has to remain confidential until all members are appointed.
* Either way, unless a bombshell is uncovered (unlikely), this ultimately isn’t going anywhere, although the Republicans can make significant hay during the hearings. The House Rules have this to say about the results of the investigation…
The special investigating committee shall determine if reasonable grounds exist to authorize charges against the member named in the petition that may result in disciplinary action by the House. The special investigating committee shall vote on each charge alleged in the petition by record vote. A motion to authorize a charge requires the affirmative vote of a majority of those appointed.
Emphasis added because all three of the committee’s Democrats are Madigan loyalists.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Gov. Pritzker was asked about the development earlier today…
As I have said all along, there are questions that need to be answered by the speaker. And perhaps the creation of this legislative committee will actually get some of those answers. So, I favor more information, more transparency. And I encourage the speaker and anyone they may call to give the answers to the questions that this committee will ask.
* Is this a political stunt?
This is something that the House of Representatives has a rule about. Any member can call for this, any group of members can call for this. I hope that this is not a political stunt. I hope instead that they’re going to be seeking real answers.
* Is it wrong for Speaker Madigan to say this is a distraction?…
That’s his opinion. I want to hear the answers.
* But this is campaign season, after all. And Madigan believes this is just more fuel for the divisiveness…
Oh, sure. Everything within the zone of an election, as you well know because you cover it every two years, everything seems to become hyper-political. But, again, there are legitimate questions and I’ve said that the speaker needs to answer those questions. Very important.
*** UPDATE 2 *** I neglected to post the HGOP petition to create the special committee. Click here.
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