Theresa Eagleson, Director
Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
Marc Smith, Director
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
Re: MCO Train Wreck
Dear Directors Eagleson and Smith:
My staff spent the day dealing with a deluge of inquiries and problems due to Illinois’ decision to precipitously dump 19,000 children into the MCO plan on Saturday despite knowing perfectly well what a train wreck it is. A few of the issues include:
• An MCO insisting to two different sets of adoptive parents that the plan’s “member” is the child (the child of one family is 9 and the child of the other child is 2) and that the MCO can only deal directly with the member unless the member signs a power of attorney. The MCO offered to mail form powers of attorneys to the “members” to sign so that the adoptive parents could access medical care for their young children.
• A 14-year-old adopted girl needed seizure medicine and her pharmacy wouldn’t take her card and couldn’t tell her adoptive parents where to go or what to do.
• The two adopted children of a woman got sick over the weekend and she has been trying to take them to a doctor today but no one is taking her card and she’s been getting the runaround.
• Adoptive parents trying to buy feeding tubes and other critical medical supplies for their adopted children.
These are just a sampling of the calls we have received today. I don’t want to be dramatic, but Illinois is going to end up with a dead child over the decision to prematurely dump all of these children in the MCO plan before all of these problems have been worked out. I implore that former youth in care be extended until April, as Illinois has already done for current youth in care.
Following reports of his alleged involvement in criminal activity, SafeSpeed, LLC terminated Omar Maani’s ownership interest in and association with the company, Sunday, February 2. Omar Maani did not and will not receive any money from the company as part of this process. The company does not believe Omar Maani should profit in any way from his alleged criminal behavior.
Until the reporting of events related to the federal criminal investigation last week, SafeSpeed did not know about the payment of government funds totaling $70,000 by Mr. Maani to Senator Sandoval and had no knowledge of the government’s use of SafeSpeed to further its investigation. That conduct did not benefit SafeSpeed; in fact, the alleged criminality of Mr. Maani and Senator Sandoval has caused significant harm to SafeSpeed’s business and its reputation. Mr. Maani’s alleged criminal activity was done without the Company’s authority; his alleged criminal actions violate every trust the Company placed in him, and contradict and undercut the company’s important work with local municipalities to promote traffic safety and save lives.
While Mr. Maani held a minority ownership interest in SafeSpeed, he has not been active in the Company’s business’s management or operations for more than a year.
To be clear, Omar Maani’s alleged criminality does not reflect the values and integrity of SafeSpeed and its employees—the people who work hard at the company every day and are invested in its success and integrity.
SafeSpeed applauds the government for rooting out corruption. We stand resolute in our commitment to continue to serve Illinois municipalities with honesty, integrity, and a commitment to the law.
The politically connected red-light camera company at the center of former state Sen. Martin Sandoval’s brazen bribery scheme has been hit along with Sandoval and several suburban officials with a federal racketeering lawsuit.
The lawsuit targets SafeSpeed LLC as well as Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski, his chief of staff Patrick Doherty, former Oakbrook Terrace Mayor Tony Ragucci, Alsip Mayor John Ryan and Summit Mayor Sergio Rodriguez.
Other defendants include Oakbrook Terrace, former Chicago Deputy Aviation Commissioner Bill Helm, former Justice police chief Robert Gedville, Worth Township Supervisor John O’Sullivan, former state Rep. Michael Carberry, Summit Police Chief John Kosmowski and Bill Mundy, head of public works in Summit.
Finally, the lawsuit names SafeSpeed co-founders Nikki Zollar and Chris Lai, as well as SafeSpeed stakeholders Omar Maani and Khalid “Cliff” Maani.
This is the same plaintiff who is suing because he didn’t get a job at PACE allegedly because of Sandoval. The suit is here.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has announced that statewide adult-use cannabis sales in January totaled $39,247,840.83. Dispensaries across the state sold 972,045 items over the 31-day period. Sales to Illinois residents totaled $30,611,632.22, while sales to out-of-state residents totaled $8,636,208.61. A portion of every cannabis sale will be reinvested in communities harmed most by the failed war on drugs.
“The successful launch of the Illinois’ legal cannabis industry represents new opportunities for entrepreneurs and the very communities that have historically been harmed by the failed war on drugs,” said Toi Hutchinson, Senior Advisor for Cannabis Control to Gov. Pritzker. “The administration is dedicated to providing multiple points of entry into this new industry, from dispensary owners to transporters, to ensure legalization is equitable and accessible for all Illinoisans.”
Last month, the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) released applications for cannabis infuser, craft grower and transporter licenses. The applications are available on the Department’s website here. IDOA will begin accepting completed applications on Friday, February 14 and all cannabis infuser, transporter and craft Grower applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. CST on Monday, March 16, 2020.
Social equity applicants will receive additional points on their application and are eligible to receive technical assistance, grants, low-interest loans and fee reductions and waivers. In the coming weeks, IDOA will be partnering with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to provide information workshops across the state to answer questions and assist interested applicants. Additional information about the timing and location of workshops will be available in the coming days.
I decided Saturday to drop by the Joliet dispensary on a fact-finding mission on my way home from a funeral and the line was about an hour long, the place was way under-staffed and the product selection was minimal. Still, it’s finally legal and pretty much everyone in that line was just happy to be there.
Monday, Feb 3, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Yesterday was Groundhogs Day. While Punxsutawney Phil could not find his shadow - let’s make sure President Trump does, and send him back to Mar-a-Lago permanently in November.
Trump is a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity, and his spray-on tan.
Mike is focused on the issues: gun safety, health care and the environment.
While Trump tried to distract America on cable news, Mike was in El Paso, Denver, Phoenix and Los Angeles releasing plans on immigration, tax reform and housing.
The most glaring omission in the governor’s address, however, was the state’s overwhelming pension underfunding crisis—an exclusion that had pundits straining to find new ways to describe the avoidance of uncomfortable conversations without invoking the proverbial elephant or gorilla in the room. To be fair, Pritzker did nod to passage of a bill last year to allow police and fire pensions outside Chicago to consolidate statewide, but the savings that will result will be nowhere near enough to fill the shortfall in the state’s public employee pensions.
What the governor apparently would rather not discuss is the need for real, structural tax reform to put the state on a path toward actuarially sound financial terrain. Pols at the Capitol and in Chicago’s City Hall want us to believe budget salvation lies in sin taxes on gambling and pot. But an agreement between the Lightfoot administration and Springfield on the best way to divvy up casino revenue and licenses has been elusive, to put it charitably. Meanwhile, the legalization of the marijuana market, with its high taxes and low supply, seems to have done more to drive pot buyers into the arms of black market purveyors than to raise a meaningful and reliable revenue stream. And yet, even if these two new taxing opportunities had been rolled out to perfection, they wouldn’t come close to being enough to fill the pension hole, which widened $3.8 billion to reach $137.3 billion at the end of fiscal 2019.
What Illinois needs even more than an intelligently functioning marijuana market and an amicable arrangement on casino revenue is a constitutional amendment allowing the state to undo the automatic cost-of-living hikes built into public pensioners’ plans—the ones that exceed the actual cost of living and are causing our debt to spiral ever upward.
The graduated income tax proposal that forms the basis of so many of Pritzker’s plans requires a constitutional amendment—creating an opening to push through a pension fix at the same time. Pritzker won’t walk through that door, no doubt because the unions that helped him win office wouldn’t like it much. But the responsibility Pritzker won was to represent the interests of all Illinoisans, not just those who carry a union card.
The governor is not a dictator. He cannot simply command legislators to do his bidding. We had three populist governors in a row who tried that route and they all failed to one extent or another.
Cutting off their paychecks didn’t work (both times it was tried), holding up a state budget for two years didn’t work, saying members were spending state money like “drunken sailors” didn’t work, threatening to finance primary opponents didn’t work (both times). He has pro-union Democratic super-majorities in both chambers and a sizable chunk of the Republican caucuses wouldn’t go anywhere near a constitutional amendment. And there is some doubt whether it could even pass muster with the voters if it got that far.
By all means, keep pounding on the guy if you want. It’s a free country. Just recognize that there’s only so much a governor can do. Even this one.
As corruption scandals worm through the establishment Democratic Party, Gov. J.B. Pritzker finds himself with new and unexpected leverage. He can push for meaningful ethics reform in Illinois government by removing the barricades his own party’s leaders erected in the past. Those Democrats are wounded. He is not.
So will he lead on real reform?
“Restoring the public’s trust is of paramount importance,” Pritzker said during last week’s State of the State address while his two chamber leaders — House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Don Harmon — stood at the dais behind him. “Let’s not let the well-connected and well-protected work the system while the interests of ordinary citizens are forgotten. There is too much that needs to be accomplished to lift up all the people of Illinois.”
That effort starts with drawing a fair map of legislative districts after this year’s federal census. It could happen through constitutional change.
Pritzker said as a candidate for governor he supported amending the Illinois Constitution to take the process out of the hands of lawmakers: “We should amend the constitution to create an independent commission to draw legislative maps.” More recently, he said he would not sign into law an unfair map.
He issued the veto pledge around the same time, but whatevs. And fair maps could also happen with a state law: 60-30-1 is a lot easier than 71-36.
Another hot topic that must have been cut from the final draft of Pritzker’s speech: remap reform, a subject that must be aired out as lawmakers prepare to redraw legislative and congressional districts after this year’s national census. Will the governor demand fair maps that give all Illinoisans a say in the state’s business no matter where they live? He missed an opportunity to call on the General Assembly to make it so.
The fairest map imaginable will not elect Republican legislators in hardcore Democratic areas nor will it elect Democrats in overwhelmingly Republican turf (2018 saw a major, if perhaps temporary, shift in voters’ party orientation, not in the maps).
What a fair map would do is make sure that legislators aren’t choosing their voters. Legislators may have large, extended family in certain parts of their districts and they may want those folks in their redrawn districts. They may have represented one area of the district as a mayor or township supervisor or whatever, or they may have a business in a town or are active in a local church or school district and they’ll want those folks who know them well in their new districts. Or they might see an up and comer and want that person mapped out of their districts. Right now, incumbents draw the maps, so they have an unfair advantage over any potential challenger (primary or general) who does not draw those maps. A fair map system would level that particular playing field.
Probably above all else, legislators also want their residences to remain within their districts. A blindly drawn map wouldn’t necessarily take that into account.
One definition of a politically “fair” map is one that results in a balance of power in the state legislature and the U.S. congressional delegation that reflects the partisan divide in that state. If roughly 55% of voters in any state are Democrats, then roughly 55% of the seats should be won by Democratic candidates, for example.
Easier said than done. Mapmakers have to take into account civil rights laws that guarantee majority-minority districts, and they often strive to keep natural communities of interest together. Even those with the purest of motives can end up drawing crazily shaped districts that may or may not seem “fair” to certain constituencies or governors.
But if it could be done in Illinois to be fair to Republicans, should it? Those who study the issue of gerrymandering estimate that, nationwide, the current political maps give the Republican Party at least 20 more seats in Congress than their actual voting strength ought to give them. Research published in 2017 showed North Carolina had three more Republican seats in Congress than it should if the state delegation mirrored the electorate. Republicans in Michigan had two more seats than they deserved.
Meanwhile, Illinois had one more Democratic seat than a “fair” map would yield.
The Democrats have since picked up two more congressional seats, but those were won in districts that were considered pretty darned Republican when they were drawn.
In other words, yes, we are most definitely gerrymandered here. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Democrats have given themselves an egregious partisan advantage. As Senate President Don Harmon recently noted, “Gov. Rauner won 35 or so Senate [districts]” in 2014. There are several seats the Republicans could very well be expected to pick up this year if they weren’t facing such strong DC headwinds. This is politics. Them’s the breaks.
In the biggest Chicago-area Democratic primary, embattled Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., enters the final weeks of the 3rd Congressional District campaign with more cash-on-hand than chief rivals Marie Newman and Rush Darwish.
And in the major Republican primary in the Chicago region, the willingness of state Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, to self-finance his bid — he’s put in $1 million so far — puts him ahead of his key competitors in the seven-way contest for the 14th Congressional District seat held by freshman Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill.
His main competition, state Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, and Ted Gradel, a Naperville businessman, also made substantial loans to their bids. They each outraised Oberweis in the last quarter of 2019.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., is the Illinois House fundraising champion, and he faces only nominal primary opposition and no Republican opponent. He has stockpiled a stunning $6,895,927 in campaign cash — more than twice than Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., who ranks second with $3,330,558 cash on hand.
For the three-month period ending Sept. 30, Lipinski reported donations of $176,741, expenses of $191,690 and a balance of $693,088. Newman reported donations of $345,640, expenses of $183,278 and a balance of $514,237. Darwish reported receipts of $210,779, expenses of $83,943 and a balance of $318,113.
13th District: Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigen out-raised incumbent GOP Rep. Rodney Davis in Q4 2019. Londrigan took in $531,090 and is holding $1.14 million heading into a Dem primary against little-known Stefanie Smith. Davis raised $360,937 and has $1.1 million cash on hand. […]
14th District: Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood raised $878,087 in Q4 and has $1.7 million in the bank. There are three leading GOP candidates in the money race: state Sen. Jim Oberweis raised $726,209 and has $1.1 million COH; Ted Gradel raised $269,650 and has $649,126 COH; and state Sen. Sue Rezin raised $217,074 and has $329,389 COH. Four other GOP candidates lag behind, each holding under $40,000.
6th District: Dem. Rep. Sean Casten has $1.9 million COH after raising $639,054 in Q4 2019. He’s awaiting the outcome of the GOP primary between Jeanne Ives and Jay Kinzler. Ives raised $267,997 in Q4 and has $313,366 COH. Kinzler raised $150,903 and has $145,534 COH.
Thoughts?
…Adding… Press release…
With just 43 days before the Illinois primary, conservative Darren Duncan has shown himself to be the clear frontrunner in the race to replace incumbent Congressman John Shimkus.
As Federal Election Commission fundraising reports were filed Friday, Duncan showed immense strength, even though he had a three month delay on Mary Miller raising money and putting together an operation. Duncan closed the end of the year with over $200,000 cash on hand, while Miller’s campaign showed about $100,000.
Miller has tried to portray herself as a fundraising juggernaut in the initial months of her campaign, but it appears much of her rhetoric was inflated. Of Miller’s roughly $100,000 cash on hand, almost $60,000 of it, more than half, is earmarked for the General Election. That means she can’t touch it without the risk of having to pay it back if she loses the primary.
None of Darren Duncan’s Q4 contributions were earmarked for November, meaning every dollar in his campaign account is accessible before March 17.
Duncan has amassed tens of thousands of views on his first web ad, “He’ll Help Trump,” and will be on the air beginning Tuesday.
Since entering the race, Duncan has put together a district-wide operation and has positioned himself as the conservative candidate who will help Donald Trump pass a conservative agenda in Washington.
A seventh-generation farmer, Duncan was endorsed by former House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway and the Rural America Counts PAC, chaired by Arkansas Republican Congressman Rick Crawford. He’ll be rolling out high profile local endorsements in the coming days.
The clock is ticking to March 17 and Darren Duncan has shown himself to be the frontrunner for Congress.
Pritzker said “over the past year, Illinois has reduced its unemployment rate more than all of the top 20 most populated states in the nation — and more than our Midwestern peers.”
Federal data back that up. However, the differences between those states’ reductions are minimal, and Illinois’ unemployment rate remains higher than 12 of the states included in that comparison.
The U of I Flash Index began the new year with a slight decline in January, falling to 105.4 from its 105.6 reading in December.
The index remains in the narrow range it has occupied the last 18 months. “This reflects the now-familiar story of both the national and Illinois economies continued growth at a moderate, steady rate,” said University of Illinois economist J. Fred Giertz, who compiles the monthly index for the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. An index reading above 100 denotes growth.
The recently-released fourth-quarter GDP growth rate shows a return to the near 2 percent level that has seems to be the new norm with 2.1 percent, 2.1 percent, and 2.0 percent registered respectively for the last three quarters. “On a positive note, this is actually good news compared with recession fears raised mid-year in 2019,” Giertz said.
The Illinois employment rate fell to 3.7 percent, the lowest in more than 50 years and only two-tenths of a percentage point above the national level.
Two components of the index, the corporate and individual income tax receipts, declined. Sales tax receipts increased slightly compared with the same month last year after adjusting for inflation. The lower corporate receipts may be a response to strong revenues over the last quarter of 2019.
State Representatives Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) and Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore) issued the following statement today upon the announcement that the Ferrara Candy Company will move into a new 1.6 million-square-foot distribution center in the ChicagoWest Business Center near Interstate 88 by the end of 2020:
“Today’s announcement from Ferrara brings a significant investment of 1,000 new jobs that will boost our local economy in the DeKalb region, with 500 new jobs in the first phase alone. We have both said that creating jobs is one of our top priorities. As part of the bipartisan state budget and capital bill approved by the General Assembly last year, we were able to enact pro-business reforms that will lay the groundwork for thousands of new jobs for years to come. Specifically, these reforms included the creation of the Blue Collar Jobs Act to attract large-scale construction; reinstatement of the Manufacturer’s Purchase Credit to encourage further investments in manufacturing in Illinois; and elimination of the Franchise Tax. Passage of these pro-business reforms made it possible for DeKalb to land Ferrara to the ChicagoWest Business Center, and the capital bill secured the funding necessary to prepare the site for such a large investment.
The third-party audit certified by Auditor General Frank Mautino found the [State Board of Elections] had not adequately protected confidential or personal information “most susceptible to attack.”
“The lack of adequate cybersecurity programs and practices could result in unidentified risk and vulnerabilities and ultimately lead to the Board’s volumes of personal information being susceptible to cyber-attacks and unauthorized disclosure,” according to the audit.
The audit’s finding comes after Russian intelligence officers tried to hack into Illinois’ voter registration database in the run up to the 2016 presidential election.
The hackers accessed at least 76,000 voters’ data, but were unable to change voter information data, according to Illinois officials. An indictment obtained by former special counsel Robert Mueller alleged that two officers of the Kremlin’s Main Intelligence Directorate stole voter data from Illinois.
The Elections Board lacks “an adequately documented and tested disaster recovery plan” according to the audit.
McHenry and Nunda Township Road District officials have named Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in a lawsuit challenging a decision to afford voters to right to eliminate townships.
Pritzker signed a law in August allowing McHenry County voters to dissolve the area’s 17 townships through referendum. The new law is an initiative to reduce property taxes in McHenry County by reducing levels of government. If a township is dissolved, its operations, property and employees would be transferred to the county government. The option to eliminate both McHenry and Nunda Townships will appear on the March ballot, but the townships road districts’ officials have questioned whether the law is constitutional. […]
McHenry Township Highway Commissioner James Condon agreed that the law’s specificity to McHenry County means that it is “special legislation,” and therefore in violation of the Illinois constitution.
“It’s our understanding that the constitution doesn’t allow you to write a law that is specific to one group when that same law can be applied to all groups, in other words, to the whole state,” Condon said. “And the law they wrote, they apply only to McHenry County. So they’re singling McHenry County out.”
State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, introduced the bill, which was signed into law in August. Reached by phone Friday, McSweeney wasn’t concerned about the road districts’ amended lawsuit, calling it “a complete waste of time.”
The General Assembly shall pass no special or local law when a general law is or can be made applicable. Whether a general law is or can be made applicable shall be a matter for judicial determination.
This is a standard pilot project, so I’m figuring it’ll be fine with the courts. We shall see.
Mary Miller, Candidate for Congress in the 15th District, will debut her first television spot to coincide with the Super Bowl.
The ad highlights Miller’s support for President Donald Trump, religious freedom and the recent Illinois Farm Bureau ACTIVATOR endorsement.
The ad will debut in conjunction with the Super Bowl and will also run during the State of the Union Address.
Miller (no relation that I know of) is embroiled in a four-way GOP primary race to replace retiring GOP US Rep. John Shimkus. President Trump won this district by 45.5 percentage points in 2016. She is married to Rep. Chris Miller, an Eastern Bloc member. I do not know how much money she has behind this spot.
I’m Mary Miller. My husband and I run a grain and cattle farm. But the crop I’m most proud of are our seven children, who grew up to be strong, Trump-loving Christian conservatives.
Today, Democrats are turning freedom of religion into freedom from religion, degrading our Christian values and our way of life. That’s why I’m running for Congress.
I’ll put an end to godless socialism, defend the unborn and support President Trump’s America First agenda.
Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, was elected to the Senate’s top job on Jan. 19. The election was preceded by two months of constant intrigue, horse-trading, betrayal and plenty of angry finger-pointing.
Along the way, egos were bruised, friendships and alliances were torn, and careers were damaged.
Harmon’s predecessor, John Cullerton, was the Senate president for 11 years before he abruptly announced his retirement in November. Michael Madigan became the Illinois House Speaker in 1983 and, except for two years after the 1994 national Republican landslide, he’s ruled his chamber ever since. He’s served with five different Senate presidents and is the longest-serving legislative leader in American history.
Madigan has chaired the Democratic Party of Illinois for 22 years after he took command from his former protege and chief of staff, Gary LaPaille. Madigan has been the Democratic committeeman for Chicago’s 13th Ward since 1969. He is, by many measures, the most successful politician in state history.
Madigan takes care of his House members similarly to how he would treat a family member, maybe better. Everything they need, from jobs to sports tickets to getting their relatives out of trouble, is done for them. He routinely raises more than $30 million every campaign cycle to keep his members in office and defeat Republican incumbents.
He has, in other words, made himself irreplaceable to his members.
But after watching the Senate Democrats slug it out among themselves, I started wondering what replacing Speaker Madigan might look like.
“It’s hard for me to swallow how [people] make so much off of you. Right? And I gotta do the work.”
That’s from the July 31, 2018 federal surveillance of now-former state Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) complaining, according to media reports, to one of the founders of the red-light camera company SafeSpeed. Sandoval was bemoaning how he was killing and passing bills on the company’s behalf while watching other people make bank off the red-light cam industry.
This was, apparently, not new behavior for Sandoval. “I usually say, ‘What’s reasonable? You tell me,” Sandoval told the SafeSpeed official when discussing what his bribe would be. He was obviously practiced at shaking people down and ended up demanding $5,000 a month.
His plea deal claims he took $70,000 from the SafeSpeed official (the money was supplied by the government). Overall, though, Sandoval “accepted over $250,000 in bribes as part of criminal activity that involved more than five participants.”
Well, at least we now know how Sandoval could afford the expensive suits he always wore.
The feds may have had Sandoval under surveillance since at least August 16, 2017, when they apparently recorded a phone conversation with the SafeSpeed official about the company’s annual $10,000 campaign contribution.
The feds raided Sandoval’s Statehouse office two years later, in late September of 2019. They seized $3,000 in cash that day and another $18K a few weeks later.
Sandoval has agreed to cooperate in full, meaning all those folks he shook down, or who eagerly ponied up cash to get something done or who profited with him on villainous schemes probably haven’t been sleeping well.
He was the longtime chairman of the Transportation Committee, so it’s assumed Sandoval will be giving up road-building industry types. His federal search warrant mentioned several other types of companies and individuals, including video gaming and sweepstakes businesses.
His plea agreement notes that Sandoval “also engaged in corrupt activities with other public officials.” So, we can expect him to roll over on whoever those folks may be. I assume we can start with some of the local officials whose offices were raided right around the same time as Sandoval’s was searched.
Sandoval was a brazenly greedy bully who specialized in intimidating people who needed something from their government.
His annual golf fundraiser, which was a must-attend for anyone who needed something from him, had grown to lavish excess. And last August, the event wound up attracting unfavorable national news coverage when photos emerged of a server “shooting” someone wearing a Donald Trump mask with a tequila gun. It’s probably no surprise that some of the people who helped Sandoval run that gaudy fundraiser are also under federal scrutiny.
But maybe Sandoval can finally do some good for his state (and himself, by reducing his prison sentence) by helping weed out the people who prefer to take the short-cut of illegal cash rather than doing the real work usually required to get things done.
Also, here’s a little bit of unsolicited advice: If you’re a legislator or a local government official and you’re starting to become envious of the people around you who are making a lot of money, please quit your job right away. Go be a lobbyist or something. Or stop hanging out with rich people.
I’ve seen this happen over and over again and it never ends well. Save yourself the trouble and get out now. There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to better one’s financial situation. But if you can’t do it honestly then you’re heading for disaster. You will be caught. Heck, you may already be caught and don’t even know it, like Sandoval was for two years.
Just go away.
And the leaders have to stop enabling these people. It was no big surprise when Sandoval was busted. Yet, Senate President John Cullerton routinely assigned red-light camera regulation bills to Sandoval’s committee knowing exactly what he would do with them, and also put Sandoval in charge of the massive infrastructure bill last year.
And House Speaker Michael Madigan created a new appropriations committee especially for now-former Rep. Luis Arroyo to oversee the capital plan’s formation. That’s like giving a gas can to a pyromaniac. Arroyo (D-Chicago) was arrested last year for bribery.
Yes, the people of their districts elected them, but the leaders do not have to continually enable their worst clowns.
Illinois State Police executed a search warrant Wednesday at Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s Capitol offices as they investigate allegations of wrongdoing, including sexual misconduct and stalking, against Jack Franks, a former state representative who now serves as McHenry County Board chairman. […]
The search warrant — obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times via a Freedom of Information Act request — says Illinois State Police justified the search because “probable cause exists for the crimes of criminal sexual abuse, criminal sexual assault, official misconduct, stalking and aggravated battery.”
Police requested personnel, human resources or other files “containing information related to allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct by former Illinois State Representative Jack D. Franks.”
It also asked for “reports or complaints related to sexual misconduct, harassment, stalking or other misconduct by Franks.” […]
The speaker’s office on Friday said a complaint was first received about alleged sexual harassment involving an employee of the speaker’s office and a former state representative on Nov. 19, 2018. Madigan and his chief of staff were notified, and an investigation began. […]
In February 2019, the speaker’s office determined the harassment allegations were “credible,” and the speaker asked Illinois Secretary of State Police to ban Franks from entering the Capitol without an escort, the speaker’s office said.
A month later, the speaker’s office said they received even more information about the allegations, which increased in severity, and based on that, the office called various law enforcement agencies to report “possible criminal conduct.”
There’s lots more, so click here to read the rest. Franks is also openly backing Brian Sager in the 63rd House District Democratic primary against Peter Janko.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Speaker Madigan’s office…
The Office of the Speaker today released information about a complaint involving allegations of sexual harassment. In an effort to protect the alleged victim’s right to privacy, personal information and private details have been redacted.
On November 19, 2018, the Office received a complaint alleging sexual harassment involving an employee and a former Illinois state representative. In accordance with the Office’s policy, Speaker Madigan and the Chief of Staff were immediately notified and an investigation was initiated. Based on the allegations involved in the complaint, Speaker Madigan directed his Counsel to notify the alleged perpetrator that they were prohibited from any contact with employees in the Office and from visiting the Capitol complex. The Office also took immediate action to assess whether the alleged victim was in danger and whether any immediate accommodations were necessary. The alleged victim requested confidentiality and due to unforeseen circumstances could not fully participate in the investigation for a period of time, but ultimately provided information and assisted with the investigation.
In February 2019, the Office determined that the allegations were credible. As a result, the Office of the Speaker took additional steps to protect the alleged victim and requested the Secretary of State Police ban the alleged perpetrator from entering the Capitol Complex without an escort.
In March 2019, the Office received additional information about the allegations. Based on this information and numerous facts discovered during the investigation, the Office initiated contact with various law enforcement agencies to report possible criminal conduct. Speaker Madigan called the Sangamon County State’s Attorney to advise that the Office had information about possible criminal conduct and would fully cooperate with any investigation. Following that call, the Chief Counsel contacted the State’s Attorney and was advised to contact the Illinois State Police. The Chief Counsel and Human Resources Director met with the Illinois State Police to provide information about the allegations. Shortly after this meeting, the Office facilitated a meeting between the State Police and the alleged victim. Additionally, the Office informed Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope and Maggie Hickey, a partner at Schiff Hardin, who was then engaged in an independent investigation of the Office of the Speaker and Office of the Clerk. Simultaneously, the Office contacted the Secretary of State Police to confirm the Capitol Police were aware that the former member should not be allowed in the Capitol Complex without a security escort. In an effort to cooperate with any potential outside investigation, the Office of the Speaker preserved all documents related to the investigation and offered full cooperation.
On January 24, 2020, the Illinois State Police contacted the Office to request the investigatory file. On January 27, 2020, the Chief Counsel contacted the Counsel for the Illinois State Police to offer cooperation and discuss protocol for transmitting the documents. On January 28 and 29, the Chief Counsel made several attempts to contact the State’s Attorney to discuss how the Office could cooperate and transfer any documents; however, there was no response. On January 29, 2020, the Illinois State Police executed a search warrant at the Office to expedite receipt of documents related to the allegations, and documents were immediately provided. In addition, the alleged victim was notified of the search warrant the following day. Because the State Police search warrant was not filed under seal, the nature of the allegations and the name of the accused are now publicly available. The Office of the Speaker has therefore decided to release the information that can be made public surrounding the complaint.
The confidentiality of the complainant involved in this matter has been and continues to be of paramount importance. The Office’s response and actions related to this complaint were made, to the extent possible, in consultation with the complainant and consistent with the complainant’s wishes. In this instance, the alleged victim has requested confidentiality, and the Office will continue to be committed to respecting the complainant’s request for privacy.
For information on crime victim’s assistance please contact the Crime Victims Assistance Line (800-228-3368). For information on sexual assault please contact the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (www.icasa.org or call 217-753-4117).
The following statement is attributable to Speaker Mike Madigan:
“After receiving a report of alleged sexual harassment, my office immediately took steps to protect the alleged victim and conducted an investigation. Based on information received during the investigation and subsequent to it, my office informed the appropriate authorities of the allegations and the investigation, including the Sangamon County State’s Attorney, the Secretary of State Capitol Police, and the Illinois State Police for further review and action. I remain committed to working to protect the victim and will see this matter to its conclusion in order to ensure the victim’s safety. My office has taken significant steps to strengthen the process for filing a complaint of sexual harassment. I remain committed to better protecting employees and ensuring a safe and supportive workplace for all.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Press release…
State Representative Steve Reick (R-Woodstock) issued the following statement upon learning that the Illinois State Police executed a search warrant Wednesday at Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s Capitol offices investigating allegations of wrongdoing, including sexual misconduct and stalking, against McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks:
“The news that Jack Franks is under investigation because probable cause exists for the crimes of criminal sexual abuse, criminal sexual assault, official misconduct, stalking and aggravated battery, according to the Illinois State Police, goes beyond anything that can be easily dismissed with a blanket denial,” Reick said. “These allegations stem from actions that occurred as far back as 2016, and they demand a complete investigation.”
According to a report in the Chicago Sun Times: “Madigan’s office said it received a complaint in 2018 about alleged sexual harassment by a former state representative, investigated and found the complaint credible. Madigan’s office said appropriate law enforcement agencies were informed the following year.”
“I have to wonder why it is that predatory actions that allegedly occurred as far back as 2016 took until 2018 to be communicated to and investigated by the Speaker’s office, and why it then took until the following year for law enforcement to be informed of them.” Reick said. “Where will this end?”
“Jack Franks has no choice but to immediately resign as the Chairman of the McHenry County Board.” Reick demanded.
“Everything he does in that role going forward will be tainted by the credible allegations of abuse against an innocent victim of what by all accounts is predatory behavior. The people of McHenry County deserve representation that is not tainted by allegations of misconduct of such breathtaking proportions. Until these allegations are fully dealt with, he has no business holding a position of trust. He must immediately resign.”
The Second Amendment Foundation and Illinois State Rifle Association have filed suit in U.S. District Court against the Illinois State Police, ISP Director Brendan Kelly and Jessica Trame in her official capacity as Bureau Chief of the Illinois State Police Firearms Services Bureau, alleging they have allowed Firearm Owner Identification Card and Concealed Carry applications to languish for interminable periods, thus violating the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Illinois citizens.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Illinois residents Ryan A. Thomas and Goran Lazic. Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys David G. Sigale of Wheaton and Gregory Bedell of Chicago. The lawsuit is known as Thomas, et.al. v. Illinois State Police, et.al.
The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division federal court, says ISP “has swept or transferred funds totaling more than $29,500,000.00 from the State Police Firearms Services Fund, the State Police Operations Assistance Fund, and the State Police Services Fund away from these funds and into other accounts.” According to the complaint, “The money was to be used for three purposes: administration of the Firearm Owners Identification Card (“FOID Card Act”), background checks for firearm-related services, and concealed carry licensing pursuant to the Firearms Concealed Carry Act (“FCCA”). Instead, the more than $29,500,000.00 has been subject to interfund transfers which are ostensibly to be repaid but which have not been, or swept into other accounts without an obligation to reimburse the funds at all.”
“The sweeping of funds has denied qualified Illinois citizens their rights and the ability to defend themselves and their families,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Because of this practice, ISP processing of FOID and concealed carry applications has slowed to a crawl, allowing paperwork to languish. That’s not just poor performance, it’s pathetic.”
“The citizens of Illinois have been delayed getting their FOID cards for months,” added ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. “It is evident that these fund sweeps have caused these delays.”
Thomas has been fighting the system for nearly three years. He had previously held a FOID card and carry license, but lost them simply because he moved out of state for a while. Since his return, to be closer to his children. Lazic had a FOID and CCL appeal pending since 2017 when a charge against him was dismissed and later expunged.
“It is inexcusable that the ISP has simply allowed these cases to gather dust,” Gottlieb said. “Denial of rights under color of law is an abomination to the Second and 14th Amendments of the Constitution and Illinois state law. ISP has had plenty of time to do the right thing, and didn’t. Now we’re asking the court to make them do it.”
Illinois State Police officials said they are working through a backlog of FOID renewal requests. Last month, the agency reported a backlog of more than 60,000 applications.
“The FOID card this year is a huge issue with the renewals,” state Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia, said. “Having people nervous about having their Second Amendment right taken away because we’re behind on getting their new FOID card – that’s a big issue.”
Anderson said he doesn’t blame state police.
“We’re in one of those ten-year cycles where everybody’s FOID card is coming up for renewal at the same time,” he said.
This week, Sean Casten voted against a bipartisan measure to extend a federal ban on the illegal sale of fentanyl – a synthetic opioid that in one year killed over 32,000 Americans.
The opioid crisis is destroying lives and hurting families across the nation, and has created additional pressures on the law enforcement community. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that in one year killed over 32,000 Americans, and nearly 1,300 in Illinois. The measure may not be a permanent solution, but it protects communities until a more meaningful solution to the overdose crisis can be found.
Sean Casten, apparently, is not concerned with protecting vulnerable communities. Had the vote gone his way, Fentanyl would no longer be treated as a Schedule 1 Drug (a drug with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse). This means it would have been substantially harder for federal law enforcement to prosecute those who deal drugs that are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths over the past several years.
To be clear, a study by the RAND Corporation found, “The sudden appearance of the drug fentanyl in the US has driven up overdose deaths dramatically…”
“Sean Casten truly represents the extreme left-wing of the Democrat base,” Ives said. “His reason for voting against this common sense measure was his worry that street dealers would be over prosecuted. It is because of radicals like him that Democrats are becoming the party of lawlessness and anarchy. We have to wonder: What will be the next law Casten won’t want enforced? How will he tie law enforcement’s hands next?
“He supports sanctuary city policies, which prevent violent criminals - in the country illegally - from being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He advocates more gun control laws, but won’t hold Kim Foxx accountable for refusing to prosecute gun crimes in Chicago. Now, he protects drug dealers rather than the families in his district.”
Want to see where this ends? Just look at the city that made ‘Jussie Smollett’ a household name: Chicago - a deep blue sanctuary city inside a sanctuary state. According to areavibes.com, Chicago’s rate of crime averages 79% higher than the rest of Illinois while the rate of crime on a national scale is 62% higher than. The occurrence of violent crime in Chicago is 149% higher than the average rate of crime in Illinois and 164% higher than the rest of the nation. Similarly, crime involving property stands 65% higher than the remainder of the state of Illinois and 45% higher than the nation’s average.
“It’s no blueprint for the rest of the country,” Ives continued. “And Sean Casten is no representative of the Sixth District.”
Um, that would be the kitchen sink in its entirety. Plus the refrigerator.
In a phone interview, Casten said voting for the bill, which would put into federal law a temporary fentanyl ban that was imposed administratively, might have helped him get a few votes at election time. But, “I’m not in this job because I’m a politician,” he added. “I’m in it for policy.”
“You can’t find any instance in history where criminalizing a drug has prevented its use,” Casten continued. “Until we invest in rehabilitation and treatment, we’re not going to solve the problem,” and the bill did not fund such efforts. […]
“The opioid crisis has been ravaging communities across the country, and fentanyl in particular poses a grave national threat that I take extremely seriously as the vice chair of the Homeland Security Committee,” said [US Rep. Lauren Underwood]. “While I am supportive of expanding law enforcement’s ability to quickly go after new fentanyl analogues, it must be paired with a strong, comprehensive public health approach to the opioid crisis that includes access to treatment and giving judges the sentencing discretion to make the best decisions for communities on a case-by-case basis.”
Another congresswoman who opposed the legislation, Matteson’s Robin Kelly, said the bill should have contained an exemption for medical research and should not have included mandatory minimum sentences.
Theresa Eagleson, Director
Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
Marc Smith, Director
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
Re: MCO Train Wreck
Dear Directors Smith and Eagleson:
Since I sent my letter this morning, we have continued to be inundated with inquiries from adoptive parents and subsidized guardians about the dump of their children, along with 19,000 other children, into the MCO scheme scheduled to take place tomorrow.
These parents are far more eloquent than I. I’ve reproduced one of the emails we received today to give a flavor of what these parents are going through. It is from a woman who adopted two medically complex children, yet has still not even received a medical card or insurance information for either of them with the transfer scheduled to happen tomorrow:
“I am a DCFS licensed foster parent. I also have been a pediatric registered nurse for 28 yrs. I adopted a now 4yr.old boy from foster care in 2019. He is legally blind with multiple, complex medical and behavioral issues. I also currently have a 2.5yr.old foster daughter; who I will be adopting next week. She was severely abused and shaken multiple times in the first four months of life. She has severe cerebral palsy. She cannot walk or talk, has cortical blindness and cannot swallow so receives tube feedings.
I still do not have medical cards or insurance information for either child. I spoke to IllinicareYouthcare multiple times; last on 1/28/20. They told me they “hoped” information and cards would “start” to be mailed this week. I asked what PCP [primary care physician] was assigned. They said “all children were assigned a random PCP based on zipcode” and that I would need to call and choose a different PCP if desired after 2/1/20. They said they were “offering” six months of continuity of care with out of network providers, but that the providers did not have to accept it.
My children have 9 specialty physicians and 6 therapists providing 10 hrs. of therapy a week. We have 11 prescription medications that are given daily, including a $5,000 per month daily injection from a specialty pharmacy. The uncertainty of all parts of this transition makes me very nervous since my children’s lives depend on medications and that services go without interruption.”
It is alarming that DHFS and IlliniCare have not even started to distribute information and medical cards to many parents, or to assign primary care doctors, even for parents of such medically fragile children. This is unacceptable if the rollout is to happen tomorrow.
Another of the inquiries we received just today is from another adoptive mother who has still not received the medical card for her son. She asks, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is supposed to go live tomorrow. How can that be? How can something go live tomorrow and the [children and their parents] don’t even have a card to show at the doctor or hospital?”
This adoptive mother also reports that many people have received cards from a different network than the one they selected and a different primary care provider than they selected. She asks, “What was the point of going online or waiting hours to talk to a representative when you are just going to do what you want anyway? Things are not ready. This change needs to be put off.” She urges that “this drastic move in insurance [be delayed] until everything has been figured and all the foster parents who adopted do not have to scrounge for answers and worry whether our children’s medical needs will be covered as promised to us when we adopted them.”
People who adopt and care for these children are saints. They deserve a medal, not this disgraceful treatment. And their children deserve continuity of their medical care.
If you go forward with this tomorrow, knowing full well of all the problems, you will own this and all of the deleterious consequences that are inevitable.
The infant grandson of a Chicago man who was diagnosed with coronavirus has developed a fever and is being tested for the virus, family members told NBC News.
The baby and other family members who had close contact with the man were under isolation following the recent diagnosis. The infant was taken to an area hospital after his fever developed, though it remains unclear if the child was experiencing any other symptoms and the cause of the fever remained unclear.
At least 21 people were under investigation for potential coronavirus exposure in Illinois as of Thursday, state health officials said.
The child’s grandfather this week became the second person to test positive in the state and the first case of human-to-human transmission in the U.S., health officials announced. The man’s wife, who had traveled to Wuhan, China - the epicenter of the recent outbreak - was diagnosed with coronavirus last week.
* The Question: How concerned are you about the coronavirus? Explain.
Three decades ago, it became the first casino to open in Illinois. Now, it’s the first to apply to open a sportsbook.
Illinois Gaming Board officials on Thursday announced the Argosy Casino Alton submitted its sports betting license application Jan. 23, putting it first in line to offer sports betting once state regulators finish vetting bids and hand out licenses.
Two other casinos applied the next day: the Grand Victoria in Elgin and Rivers in Des Plaines. […]
All 10 existing Illinois casinos and three horse racing tracks are eligible to apply, plus up to seven large sports venues such as the United Center and Guaranteed Rate Field, and, eventually, the holders of six new casino licenses that also were created as part of the state gaming expansion signed into law last summer by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
They won’t be ready by Super Bowl Sunday, but it’s a good bet the first Illinois sports books will be open by March Madness. […]
Rep. Mike Zalewski, a Riverside Democrat who helped craft the state’s sports betting legislation, said the three casinos that have filed their applications “have the best chance” of being ready for the Final Four.
“There’s a healthy dose of optimism that they’ll be able to make a bet by March Madness,” Zalewski said Thursday. “That’s a reasonable goal given where we are on the timeline.”
Rivers Casino got a head start on the process when it opened BetRivers SportsBar in December, with 32 leather lounge chairs, a 47-foot-wide video wall topped by a sports ticker and five betting windows.
The complex sports gambling bill drew attention from all corners of the political world—calling for slots at O’Hare and Midway airports, along with horse racetracks.
Paging Mayor Lightfoot. Paging Mayor Lightfoot. Those still-untapped revenues could help spruce up your airports.
Haven Gaming Attorney Scott Sypolt said any time there are changes, they must go before the gaming board. Sypolt called the changes “minor tweaks” and said their goal is to “include as many minorities and women as possible” for the Danville casino ownership.
He said it’s “mostly middle-aged, balding white men” who own casinos.
Sypolt, who is Native American, said the goal is to really get to 25 percent women and minority equity owners. They are bringing in more minorities in terms of vendors and the equity piece, he said. […]
Another issue across the border in Indiana is the race to see if a Danville or Terre Haute, Ind., casino opens first, but the Indiana casino has been put on hold due to an investigation into a firm that worked with Terre Haute’s chosen casino operator possibly violating campaign finance rules.
State gambling regulators on Thursday dealt Matteson village officials a fresh hand in their bid for a coveted new south suburban casino license after residents in neighboring Frankfort railed against the initial proposed location.
The development team vying for the license will instead aim to set up shop at the shuttered Lincoln Mall at Lincoln Highway and Cicero Avenue in Matteson, after the Illinois Gaming Board voted to allow them to amend the application they submitted three months ago.
South Suburban Development LLC, which is led by Hinsdale investor Rob Miller and championed by Matteson Village President Sheila Chalmers-Currin, had initially pitched a site on an undeveloped plot near Lincoln and Harlem Avenue.
But after the Matteson group submitted an application for its $300 million proposal to the Gaming Board in October, several neighboring community groups and the Frankfort Township Board publicly slammed the casino plan for being “directly adjacent to two schools and three densely populated residential subdivisions.” A junior high school and elementary are each within about a mile of Harlem and Lincoln.
* Related…
* Rockford mayor says he won’t accept donations from Hard Rock investors: Cutting off a lucrative source of funding could be a challenge if McNamara seeks re-election and has a strong challenger. But a mayor’s decision to decline contributions from large-money donors is a calculated risk, said Scot Schraufnagel, chairman of Northern Illinois University’s political science department.
Williams: How do you justify that to the, the accountant or the bursar or the CEO or the CFO? All of the people that are in a big multi million dollar company like that? How do you say ‘I need $60,000 in $20 bills, and I need another $50,000. Oh, and I need $250,000.’ I mean, where’s the accounting on that if nothing else? And so those people are just as criminal as the state lawmakers, right?
McQueary: I mean, that’s a good question. How do you acquire, how do you come up with $60,000 cash or like you’re saying. I mean, one of the bribes of $15,000. The companies will say probably that, you know, they were doing lobby activity, they were hiring these people as consultants. That’s always a popular reason to throw people on your payroll.
It turns out, SafeSpeed’s money was apparently not used to bribe Sandoval. The SafeSpeed person was using the federal government’s money. From the Sandoval plea agreement…
The parties further agree, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 3583(d), that the sentence to be imposed by the Court shall include, as a condition of any term of supervised release or probation imposed in this case, a requirement that defendant repay the United States $70,000 as compensation for government funds that defendant received during the investigation of the case. Defendant will receive credit for any money collected by the government prior to sentencing, including approximately $3,150 seized by the government on or about September 24, 2019 and $18,120 seized by the government on or about October 17, 2019. [Emphasis added.]
In late 2014, then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval was angry with transportation officials.
One of his biggest campaign contributors, asphalt magnate Michael Vondra, had cornered the market on recycled roof shingles for use in road projects. But questions were mounting about whether the eco-friendly pavement material was causing roads to crack more quickly, and the Illinois Department of Transportation tightened the rules over its use.
Sandoval, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, sent a threatening letter to the acting head of IDOT criticizing the move. The senator accused her of breaking the law, told her he’d haul her in for a public hearing and suggested he would request an ethics investigation. […]
The letter, which the Tribune obtained through an open records request, was part of Sandoval’s long-running effort to increase the use of recycled asphalt shingles. He also pushed legislation that could potentially help Vondra’s business and pressed IDOT officials behind the scenes to meet with his political patron. […]
As Vondra’s two dozen or so shingle recycling plants began sprouting across the state, Sandoval passed a 2013 measure that, in effect, helped stock them. The law forbid dumping shingles in any landfill within 25 miles of a shingle recycling operation.
State Sen. Don Harmon, the new Illinois Senate president, expressed bewilderment when asked why documents from his clout-heavy law firm were among the items seized by federal agents from then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval’s office in September.
“I have no idea,” Harmon said recently.
But he offered a theory.
“It’s no secret that former Senator Sandoval and I did not get along, and he had a habit of keeping files on his political opponents,” the Oak Park Democrat said. “For all I know, that’s what it could be.” […]
In response to subsequent questions about his departure from the firm, Harmon told the Sun-Times by email: “No salary. No deferred compensation. No exit package. We are working out the details, but it will be soon. I was always an employee and never had an ownership stake in the firm.”
I’m sure Kimberly Lightford’s supporters are absolutely thrilled that the paper waited until after the Senate President’s election to run that hit. /s
* The Tribune’s McQueary was also asked if she was surprised about Sandoval’s admitted crimes…
It’s a surprise to me too. I mean, even though I’ve been covering government for as long as I have, this is someone who was taking cash bribes after the raid at at Burke’s office, after everyone knows the feds are kind of sniffing around, after their questions about who might be wearing a wire. He is still doing these transactions with this person for SafeSpeed who was undercover for [the feds]. […]
I do not think that most lawmakers are taking cash bribes in restaurant parking lots. I really don’t. I think a lot of the corruption in Illinois is more in the fabric of the way we just transact business. And it looks more like what Ed Burke is accused of doing. ‘Give my law business some business, and then I’ll be nice on these different types of legislation that you’re looking for.’
Agreed.
* And former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Cramer was just a wee bit hyperbolic with the Tribune…
“If someone had a conversation with Sandoval about anything other than the weather, you’d better get a lawyer,” Cramer said of public officials who have to be jittery about what’s next, especially those who wore wires, as state Sen. Terry Link, a Waukegan Democrat, reportedly did. “If you talked to Link about anything other than the Cubs, grab yourself a lawyer, because sooner or later two FBI agents are going to come knocking.”
A master of understatement, that one.
Also, as alluded to in comments, Link is a White Sox fan.
Friday, Jan 31, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
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State Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, likened the corruption cases to recent sexual harassment scandals in Springfield, saying both flourish because those who know about them say nothing.
“There’s a culture down here of a cone of silence,” she said.
State Rep. Grant Wehrli, R-Naperville, said lawmakers who do speak out are often punished.
“Leaders abuse the legislative process to silence those that dissent in having the integrity to call out what it is going on around here,” Wehrli said. “I take it as a form of overt bullying, and it needs to stop.”
If people see something, or know of something, they should be reporting it. I sit on the Legislative Ethics Commission, and when you talk about sexual harassment, we worked really tirelessly to help people understand and feel comfortable to report that type of behavior. We should be doing this with this as well. […]
With everything that happened with Sen. Sandoval, you see the comments in different areas that say, ‘Oh yes this is true, this happened to me, he bullied me here he shook me down for this.’ It goes back to it shouldn’t take the FBI to come and handle the situation, right? It should be that folks should step forward and report those instances right away. And that’s how you stop the unethical behavior, that’s how you change the culture. […]
Lobbyists sometimes also operate in a cone of silence and they should come forward and report improper activity.
The “comments” she was talking about, I’m told, are some of this site’s reader comments about Sandoval’s behavior.
I serve in the minority party and I’ve been a vocal critic of the process around here. And in return for that, what has happened is I’ve had bills that just don’t go anywhere. I mean, there’s an abuse of the legislative process to silence those that dissent and have the integrity to call out what is going on around here. I take that as a form of overt bullying and it needs to stop. So when you talk about calling it out, yes, I 100 percent agree, but every legislator knows that if they do that there are certain repercussions that are going to happen. That is unacceptable, it’s unethical and that needs to stop.
During his State of the State address Wednesday, Pritzker said there should be better disclosure of possible conflicts of interest lawmakers have, and consequences for voting on bills that pose a conflict.
“Disclosure of conflicts of interest and punishment for breaching them must be included in any ethics package for us to truly clean up government,” Pritzker said.
But several witnesses who testified Thursday said the current statement of economic interests disclosure form is anemic, and lawmakers who submit false information face no punishment. In addition, those who vote on bills that pose a conflict are rarely sanctioned.
“We do have a very casual attitude about conflicts of interest,” Better Government Association Policy Director Marie Dillon said.
When a legislator must take official action on a legislative matter as to which he has a conflict situation created by a personal, family, or client legislative interest, he should consider the possibility of eliminating the interest creating the conflict situation. If that is not feasible, he should consider the possibility of abstaining from such official action. In making his decision as to abstention, the following factors should be considered:
a. whether a substantial threat to his independence of judgment has been created by the conflict situation;
b. the effect of his participation on public confidence in the integrity of the legislature;
c. whether his participation is likely to have any significant effect on the disposition of the matter;
d. the need for his particular contribution, such as special knowledge of the subject matter, to the effective functioning of the legislature.
He need not abstain if he decides to participate in a manner contrary to the economic interest which creates the conflict situation.
If he does abstain, he should disclose that fact to his respective legislative body. […]
When, despite the existence of a conflict situation, a legislator chooses to take official action on a matter, he should serve the public interest, and not the interest of any person.
It’s easy enough to fix. Make those guidelines mandatory, and require lawmakers to disclose when they have a conflict of interest and abstain from voting. And add penalties for violations, as the original commission intended.
But it’s not that easy, as Dillon herself found when she was unable to cogently answer specific questions from House Majority Leader Greg Harris about how farmers, for instance, should be voting in the General Assembly.
Another panelist dismissed Leader Harris’ farmer question as a “hypothetical,” but Harris countered that this wasn’t a hypothetical in the least - it is an everyday issue and is as concrete as an issue can get for legislators.
It wasn’t until Common Cause Illinois’ Georgia Logothetis spoke that the “right” answer was finally heard from the panel of testifiers. To paraphrase, if legislation benefits agriculture in general, then farmers can vote on it. If the legislation benefits a farmer-legislator in particular, then the legislator can’t vote on it. In other words, statewide farmland property tax relief? Go for it. Property tax relief focused on farmland in your section of your township? Run away.
Even so, the reformers inexplicably offered no specific statutory language to address this serious problem.
“How do you not come with a copy of a model law from X state and say, ‘Here, let’s try this, it works there,’” marveled one baffled supporter.
Many, many legislators want reform, but they’re absolutely not going to pass any regulatory laws that will unexpectedly or unfairly trip them up. “We’ll know it when we see it,” is, to them, a recipe for disaster. They’ll pass broad, draconian laws and let the executive branch sort out the rules for everyone else, but not when their own necks are on the line.
Nope, nope, nope. One wrong vote and poof goes the career. Ain’t gonna do it.
Most legislators want reform, but they also don’t want to pay the ultimate price or be eternally dragged through the mud by over-zealous, nitpicky investigators because they were too busy, ill-advised or incompetent to properly fill out some form that nobody will read until somebody gets raided by the feds.
Instead, they want “crystal clear” language to make sure that honest legislators always know where the line is, as Sen. Dan McConchie (R-) explained during yesterday’s hearing. The reformers should’ve brought specific proposed language with them. Instead, some couldn’t even answer basic questions.
Nicholas Birdsong, a policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said conflict of interest laws vary widely among the states. He said 35 states require lawmakers to recuse themselves from votes in which they have a conflict of interest and 13 states, including Illinois, leave the decision up to the lawmaker.
In Tennessee, where the rules are different in each chamber, the state House has a mandatory recusal policy and the state Senate has a discretionary policy. Utah, Birdsong said, requires legislators to vote if they are present, regardless of whether they have a conflict.
Birdsong said some states have adopted the idea that lawmakers should be able to vote, even if they have a conflict of interest, because “legislators are elected and they’re obligated to vote according to the will of their constituents regardless of whether or not it serves or hurts their interest, and so having these sort of mandatory recusal rules essentially limits their ability to do their jobs.”
When former state senator Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty to bribery charges, and named the red light camera company Safespeed as the source of the dirty money, he caused aftershocks across the political landscape in Illinois.
ABC 7 confronted House Republican Leader Jim Durkin about the $7,500 he’d received from Safespeed.
“I don’t want that money, it will be sent off to a charity in my area, and we will be doing that very soon,” Durkin said. “But in hindsight you don’t know, you expect that people are going to play within the rules, and acting a lawful manner, but I will not accept that tainted money.”
In January 2018, Safespeed made a $5,000 donation to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
Raoul said on Thursday, “I haven’t decided what charity yet, but it is my intent to donate the contribution to charity.”
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle was evasive on her plans for the $7,500 she’s received from Safespeed.
Click here to see all campaign contributions from the company, which should probably start laying low.
…Adding… Leader Durkin’s spokesperson said his committee mailed two checks before the State of the State address to Special Olympics Illinois and The Home 2 Home Project.
Following last year’s historically successful state fair season which generated record-breaking revenue and the highest grandstand attendance in years, Illinois State Fair Manager Kevin Gordon announced six of the eleven concerts for the 2020 Illinois State Fair today.
“We are excited to announce the first wave of concerts today. The lineup reflects a diverse mix of genres from both established artists and emerging stars that will appeal to a wide variety of fans,” Gordon said. “Toby Keith’s mix of country anthems and party tunes are the summer staple we can build the rest of this year’s lineup around. And when that lineup already includes popular hip-hop artist and actor LL Cool J, country’s newest stars like Kane Brown and Chris Young, and alternative rock powerhouses Puddle of Mudd and Fuel, we are well on our way to having another record-breaking State Fair lineup.”
Country music megastar Toby Keith brings his ‘Country Comes to Town’ tour to the 2020 Illinois State Fair on Sunday night, August 16, capping a full day of special activities for our State’s veterans on Veterans Day at the Fair. Fittingly, Craig Morgan — a U.S. Army veteran himself – will serve as Keith’s opening act.
Keith, a multi-platinum selling singer and songwriter, has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide during a career spanning 25 years. He has had 61 singles on Billboard’s Country Charts including 20 number one hit songs. Hits like “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” and “As Good As I Once Was” have made Keith a can’t miss country concert across the nation. In addition, in what Keith himself describes as his most rewarding experiences, his 11 USO Tours to date have enhanced the lives of nearly 256,000 troops and military families in 18 countries with more than 285 events. He was recognized for his commitment with the Spirit of the USO Award (2014).
Veteran Craig Morgan is best known for his hit single “That’s What I Love About Sunday,” but has had six songs – including “International Harvester” and “Bonfire” –
reach the Billboard Chart’s top ten.
Country’s rising superstars also are slated to hit the Illinois Lottery Grandstand stage this year with Kane Brown headlining the concert on the Fair’s first full day, Friday, August 14 and Chris Young performing on Tuesday night, August 18.
Debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Kane Brown’s newest album “Experiment” was released in November 2018. The acclaimed singer/songwriter, who first rose to stardom on social media, released his first full-length album, self-titled “Kane Brown,” in December 2016. The hit single “What Ifs” came from the album, and in October 2017, Brown became the first artist to have simultaneous number ones on all five main Billboard country charts.
Following a record year on the road in 2019 playing to more than 400,000 fans on his headlining tour, multi-platinum entertainer Chris Young will bring his arena/amphitheater “Town Ain’t Big Enough World Tour 2020” to Springfield on Tuesday, Aug. 18. Chris will be joined by multi-platinum performer Scotty McCreery as direct support along with Payton Smith.
In what is sure to be one of the Fair’s most hopping nights at the Grandstand, Wednesday, August 19, features award-winning rapper, actor and producer LL Cool J. A two-time Grammy Award winner, LL Cool J is best known for hip-hop favorites “Mama Said Knock You Out”, “Going Back to Cali”, and “Hey Lover”. In 2010, VH1 placed him on their “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” list and in 2017, LL Cool J became the first rapper to be honored with the Kennedy Center Honors.
Yet another genre will be the highlight of Thursday night, August 20, as legendary post-grunge alternative rock artists Puddle of Mudd and special guests Fuel, as well as Trapt and Tantric, will slash their way through their electric sets. The Fair is offering special pricing for this show, with all tickets – including seats in the Grandstand and standing room only on the Track – costing only $12 each.
With Puddle of Mudd having sold more than seven million albums to date and having a string of number one mainstream rock hits, including “Control” and “She Hates Me” off their triple-platinum album “Come Clean;” and with Fuel having their massive hit single “Shimmer,” and their second album hitting multi-platinum driven by the singles “Innocent” and “Hemorrhage”, which remained at #1 for ten weeks, this is sure to be one rocking night at the Fair with the additional support from Trapt and Tantric.
At an even greater bargain, The Traveling Salvation Show will play a FREE show on Senior Night at the Fair, August 17. The Neil Diamond Tribute returns this year after inclement weather pushed up the start time of last year’s scheduled performance which caused many disappointed fans to miss this concert. This up-tempo, rock-oriented tribute to the legendary Neil Diamond will have everyone dancing and singing along to all of Diamond’s classic hits.
Tickets will go on sale Saturday, April 25 during the Illinois State Fair’s “Corndog Kickoff” special event. Stay tuned for additional details about both the Corndog Kickoff and ticket sales for the Illinois Lottery Grandstand concerts at the 2020 Illinois State Fair.
