The DCCC today launched a new ad campaign in Illinois’ 6th District highlighting Jeanne Ives’ lockstep support for President Trump and his reckless agenda that would keep dangerous guns on our streets, eliminate a woman’s right to choose, and discriminate against the LGBTQ community.
As a firebrand conservative, Ives is out of touch with voters in the 6th District, refusing to support commonsense measures to keep dangerous guns out of the hands of criminals, opposing a woman’s right to choose, and discriminating against same-sex couples.
“Conservative politician Jeanne Ives supports President Trump 100% and is wildly to the right of the 6th District,” said DCCC spokesperson Mike Gwin. “From backing President Trump on opposing a woman’s right to choose, to rejecting commonsense gun safety laws, and discriminating against the LGBTQ community, we’re going to make sure voters in the 6th District know that Jeanne Ives is just too conservative for Illinois.”
The ad begins running today, targeting moderate and conservative voters in the 6th District, and will run on digital platforms including Facebook.
* Evelyn Sanguinetti press release…
Today, the Chicago Sun-Times published a story explaining how Nancy Pelosi, Sean Casten and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee are spending money to help Evelyn Sanguinetti’s primary opponent so they don’t have to face the stronger Sanguinetti in the general election.
Word out of DC is Sanguinetti beats Casten in a head-to-head informed ballot by more than 5%. DCCC will do anything they can to avoid Evelyn - even buy ads to support her primary opponent. Jeanne Ives is the Democrats’ favorite Republican in this race because she is wholly unelectable in the general election, and would force other Republican candidates around the country to answer for the outlandish things she has said.
Kathleen Murphy, an Ives spokesman, told the Sun-Times, that the DCCC is “sorely miscalculating what this race is going to be, then. Nothing we’ve seen indicates that Jeanne would be easier to beat than Evelyn Sanguinetti. That would be a serious miscalculation on their part.” […]
The DCCC ad is taking a cue from the Democratic Governors Association playbook. Before the March 2018 Illinois primary, the DGA ran an ad highlighting Ives’ conservative credentials in an attempt to defeat Rauner, who won with 51 percent of the vote.
The DGA spent quite a bit of money to push Ives over Rauner during the 2018 Republican primary. We’re not seeing that level of commitment out of the DCCC yet, but one never knows, I suppose.
According to internal documents obtained by Crain’s, Chicago-based Exelon determined that David Fein, the company’s senior vice president in charge of state government relations and its most visible executive in Springfield, violated its code of conduct in his interactions with several women at the company.
David Fein, who led state government relations for Exelon, no longer is employed there. […]
“Over the weekend, Exelon and David Fein agreed that it is in our mutual best interest for David to leave the company,” Exelon said in a statement. It said it would have nothing to add “at this time.” […]
A spokesman had no immediate comment on whether Fein was granted a severance or who would now lead government relations in Illinois. Exelon is heading into a crucial fall veto session in Springfield in which it’s lobbying for the Clean Energy Jobs Act. The bill is aimed at promoting more renewable-energy development in the state, but also providing more revenue to three northern Illinois nuclear plants that Exelon has said are at risk of closure within the next few years.
Medical device sterilization company Sterigenics will need to defend itself in Cook County court against a host of lawsuits brought by trial lawyers on behalf of people living in communities surrounding Sterigenics’ Willowbrook facility, as the judge said the company’s compliance with federal clean air rules don’t protect it from the lawsuits accusing the company of releasing emissions the lawsuits say caused the plaintiffs’ cancer.
On Aug. 15, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, who serves as chief judge for the Northern District of Illinois, ordered a collection of lawsuits filed against Sterigenics back to Cook County Circuit Court, where they had originally been filed.
In her ruling, Pallmeyer rejected Sterigenics’ assertions the lawsuits amounted to an attempt by the plaintiffs to use litigation to sidestep federal environmental laws and regulations, and extract payment from a company that had not violated any federal or state emissions rules.
“… Plaintiffs’ claims can succeed without reference to any federal statute,” Pallmeyer wrote. “Even if, as Defendants (Sterigenics) believe, a jury finds that they complied with federal standards, the jury could nevertheless determine that state common law imposes a standard of care higher than that expressly required by federal law.”
Nearly three dozen people have sued the operator of a suburban Chicago medical equipment cleaning plant they claim emits fumes that have adversely affected their health, lawyers for the plaintiffs announced Tuesday.
The 32 lawsuits filed against Sterigenics LLC this week in Cook County seek damages from the company, which operates a plant in Willowbrook.
“Nobody should have to go through anything like this,” said Burr Ridge native Jeanne Hochhalter.
NBC 5 anchor Rob Stafford on Friday filed a lawsuit against Sterigenics claiming he was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder after being exposed to toxic levels of ethylene oxide emitted by the Willowbrook facility.
Stafford was diagnosed with amyloidosis in 2018, shortly after the United States Department of Health and Human Services released a report calling the emissions from the Sterigenics facility a public health hazard, the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, Stafford lived in Hinsdale and was a regular member of a sports club in Burr Ridge during the time it was determined Sterigenics’ sterilization process resulted in ethylene oxide emission at the Willowbrook facility, causing exposure in portions of Burr Ridge and Hinsdale.
In the lawsuit, Stafford alleges negligence, willful and wanton conduct and ultra-hazardous activity, saying the defendants “had the ability to regulate the emissions of ethylene oxide” but instead failed to warn the public of the risk of their health. He is suing for damages in excess of $50,000.
In a statement Sterigenics said it “has consistently complied with applicable regulations” and intends to “vigorously defend against” the claims.
An NBC 5 spokesperson said the station does not comment about employees’ personal matters. “But I can confirm that Rob informed us about his intentions to file a lawsuit a couple of months ago,” the spokesperson added. “Since then, Rob has not been assigned to report on, or read, any stories involving Sterigenics. This practice will remain in place.”
…Adding… Andrea Thome calling out Leader Durkin. Hmm…
Sept 6 is just around the corner. Where are the people who promised to act on our behalf and draft that good-faith bill? Cashing chemical lobby checks? @jimdurkin82
So, working in the Madigan operation was not necessarily a pleasant experience. Being a female working in that environment was even worse.
Here’s what the report had to say about that.
“Several female workers said that, when they started, they were warned about particular people in the Capitol workplace to avoid, either because of their inappropriate comments, crude humor, or ‘creepy’ behavior. Some female workers said that, when they started working in the Speaker’s Office, they were warned by female coworkers to take steps to avoid sexual harassment, such as not drinking alcohol with representatives, not looking ‘too available,’ and wearing a fake wedding ring. Some female workers said that they also warn new female workers about some people to avoid or give general advice to avoid being put in uncomfortable positions, including not going to after-work events.”
So the unofficial employee handbook for this operation includes wearing a fake wedding ring to hopefully fend off the creeps, which apparently included some of the elected officials? Sheesh.
* Joseph Hudak at Rolling Stone Magazine lobbed some softballs at Danny Shirley of Confederate Railroad…
This has been a strange summer for you and your band…
It is strange. Especially with us being together for so many years and having that name and it never being an issue. But the thing that makes this different, in Illinois, it was the government that shut us down. It wasn’t that there was a groundswell of people that were offended by Confederate Railroad. You had one political blogger bring it up: “Is it right to have a band named Confederate Railroad at the state fair in the land of Lincoln?” We’ve already played there twice over the years and everything went fine. Nowadays, it feels like they’re looking for something to go off about.
It was the government that hired the band in the first place, so, yeah, it was the government that shut it down. Duh.
None of this should’ve been a surprise. The governor won the Democratic primary with overwhelming black support, had an African-American running mate, helped build a Holocaust museum, regularly refers to the POTUS as a racist, etc. His opposition to giving a state contract to a band that uses Confederate battle flags in its official logo shouldn’t be a shock. And somebody else would’ve eventually “brought it up” if I hadn’t noticed. Hannah Meisel actually posted about it on Twitter an hour or so before I asked the governor’s office for comment.
The truth is the band was doomed to lose their Du Quoin State Fair slot from the moment the Department of Agriculture approved it. If Pritzker had done nothing (and there was no chance of that happening) he would’ve certainly caught heat from elements of his base.
* Also, this is probably one of the dumbest analogies ever…
Did you ever have any issues over your band’s name prior to this?
Every once in a while you’d get something. After that nut killed those people down in Charleston, when they started taking down monuments and all that, we lost some gigs there. That’s where it started.
There were photos of the shooter with the Confederate flag.
Of course there was probably 10,000 photos of him without the flag. If he were sitting there wearing Nike shoes, would we have to get rid of Nike? A lot of this is blown out of proportion.
“I have to do it,” the gunman was quoted as saying before he fired [at black people worshiping in their church]. “You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.”
When Elias Kane’s son-in-law, William Henry Bissell, ran for Governor in 1856, this provision almost disqualified him as he had famously accepted a duel from Jefferson Davis during his first term in Congress. (3/5)
The duel was later called off and in 1857, Bissell was allowed to take the oath of office as the 11th Governor of Illinois. Happy Illinois Constitution Day! (5/5) #twillpic.twitter.com/08JXbBpy5t
The governor speaks of large increases in state aid to schools, and he’s right. The state’s current spending plan increases K-12 funding by nearly $379 million. But that money isn’t necessarily going to pay for education costs, including increased salaries.
Adam Schuster, director of budget research at the Illinois Policy Institute, reports that a large share is going for teacher pensions, not salaries.
He reports that “in the coming school year, 36 percent of the money the state allocates to education will” be used for “required pension payments for retirees.”
That’s not to say the state won’t be paying more for teacher pensions next year. It will. My beef is not with Schuster or the Illinois Policy Institute here, it’s with an editorial board that mistakes need-based education funding for pension spending.
School districts in the suburbs and Downstate are only on the hook for pension contributions if their employees have negotiated it through their collective bargaining processes. Otherwise, the state itself picks up almost all of the employers’ costs, including legacy costs.
Oh, and by the way, the new K-12 funding will give lots of poorer schools more money, and those tend to be the ones which are having the most trouble paying their teachers a decent wage. The editorial was about the new state mandate for a $40,000 minimum teacher salary over time.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation Friday, which prohibits smoking in vehicles with anyone under 18.
According to Bill HB2276, it will be illegal to inhale, exhale, burn or carry a lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, weed, plant, regulated narcotic or other combustible substance in a motor vehicle containing a person under 18.
The bill also states prohibiting smoking regardless of whether the vehicle is in motion, at rest or has its windows down.
Anyone who violates the new law will receive a maximum fine of $100 for the first offense. The second offense is not to exceed $250.
A change in state law signed Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker requiring that a parent or guardian be notified when law enforcement questions a student on school grounds was prompted by the death of a Naperville North High School student.
House Bill 2627 says that before detaining and questioning a student under 18 who is suspected of committing a criminal act, a police officer, school resource officer or school security personnel must notify parents and make “reasonable efforts” to ensure they are present. […]
The proposal sponsored by 84th District state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit was in response to the death in January 2017 of 16-year old Corey Walgren. Hours after being questioned by school and police officials, he walked to the top of a five-story parking deck and fell to his death.
The staff had warned him he may have to register as a sex offender because they suspected he made a video of himself having sex with a classmate without her knowledge.
A bill focused on providing relief for independent pharmacies was signed into law.
House Bill 465 was sponsored by State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) and signed by Governor JB Pritzker Friday.
Sen. Manar said pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who negotiate drug prices on behalf of insurers, are using their position to drive up prices and get rid of competition.
* Illinois’ small businesses will soon have to abide by more stringent state human rights laws, a concern for some: Small businesses in Illinois will soon have to abide by Illinois’ human rights laws, which go beyond the existing federal regulations they were already required to follow. The bill, signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Aug. 20, takes effect next July. It removed a provision that said businesses in Illinois with fewer than fifteen workers were exempt from the Illinois Human Rights Act.
* Governor Pritzker Signs Bill Expanding Youth Hunting: Said Pritzker “Many young people, young hunters, learn better when they spend more than one season under a mentors guidance. So starting January 1, novice hunters will have the chance to spend more time honing their skills as we lift that cap. Today, youth hunting permits are only valid in their issuing county. So we are establishing a new youth deer hunting pilot program, so that novice hunters will have a chance to visit sites beyond their own backyard.”
An abortion clinic in northern Indiana should be allowed to open, Illinois’ top lawyer argued in a court filing, because women crossing state lines to seek access to such care “can strain the health care systems in neighboring states.”
Attorney General Kwame Raoul is the main author of a document submitted with 14 other states on behalf of Whole Woman’s Health Alliance. The organization sued Indiana officials in federal court after a license application to open a facility in South Bend, Indiana, offering medication-induced abortions was denied in part because the alliance did not include information about its affiliates in other states. […]
The attorney general added facilities might face increased “levels of demand that they cannot satisfy” if women seek abortion procedures in neighboring states like Illinois. […]
Raoul added Illinois residents attend institutions of higher education in the northern Indiana area, and “although these students may have temporarily left … to pursue their education,” Illinois and the other states that signed on to the court filing “retain an interest in ensuring that they are spared the ‘stress, anxiety, shame, and financial hardship’ associated with not having access to constitutionally protected medical care.”
Raoul and the coalition point out that states have a strong interest in ensuring that abortion care, like all health care services, is provided safely. States’ interest in public health is best served when their licensing and regulatory processes are applied to protect the health and safety of patients, rather than to deny women access to safe abortion services. In the brief, Raoul and the attorneys general argue that preventing a clinic from operating in an underserved area may cause women to seek abortions from wholly unregulated sources or to undergo more risky procedures because they are forced to delay seeking care.
Furthermore, Raoul argues, when a state enforces its licensing regulations in a manner that deprives an underserved population of access to abortion care, it increases the public health risk for pregnant women. Currently, there are six abortion clinics in the state of Indiana, and half are located in Indianapolis. According to WWHA, because women in South Bend and the surrounding community do not have access to an abortion clinic, they are forced to travel significant distances to receive safe abortion care in their home state or in a neighboring state.
Raoul and the coalition also point out that when women are forced to travel to other states to access care due to their home state’s unlawful conduct, it may strain health care systems in those neighboring states. Evidence shows that women from Indiana regularly travel to Chicago to obtain abortions. In short, Raoul argues, the repercussions of Indiana’s actions are not limited to Indiana or the women who live there.
* Peter Breen, Vice President and Senior Counsel for the Thomas More Society…
Illinois is an aberration in the Midwest. Not content with setting itself up to be America’s ‘abortion destination,’ its attorney general has now led a group of east and west coast states in attacking our neighbors in Indiana for their attempt to safeguard their women and children.
The community of South Bend has the right to ensure that all businesses operate in a safe manner. Illinois and the coalition it has pulled together are interfering in Indiana’s attempts to regulate a segment of the medical industry that has been notoriously lax in oversight. This affront is akin to a group of health inspectors from around the country trying to block Chicago from closing a restaurant for code violations.
If Kwame Raoul and his cohorts have a real interest in protecting the health and safety of the residents of Indiana, as they argue, they might do better to stay in their own lane and set a good example by cleaning up their own states and focusing on true life-affirming health care.
*** UPDATE *** Ameri Klafeta, Director of the Women and Reproductive Rights Project, ACLU of Illinois …
The argument by professional anti-abortion forces ignores the reality that two federal courts – at the trial and appellate level – already agreed with the state attorneys general that Indiana was doing little more than creating hurdles to safe reproductive health care. Rather than recognize the weakness of their argument, these forces attack attorneys general from across the country (and particularly from Illinois) who seek to ensure access to health care for all persons – in every state. Cruelly denying this care in support of an ideological agenda does not advance care for residents in any state.
* Mayor Lightfoot started the bargaining with an offer to teachers of a 14 percent raise over five years, significantly higher than the final figure of 11.5 percent over eight years that Gov. Pritzker and AFSCME settled on earlier this year.
The Chicago Teachers Union has rejected an independent fact-finder’s report on its contract negotiations with the school district — a move that places the labor group one step closer to a possible strike.
The development comes as Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools officials have floated an enhanced offer that would raise teacher pay by 16% percent over five years — an increase from the 14% offered earlier by the new mayor.
“Though the wage and benefits proposals are said to be generous, they come in the context of nearly a decade of austerity and cuts,” union President Jesse Sharkey said at a rain-soaked press conference early Monday morning outside of Suder Montessori School.
The union’s rejection of the fact finder report means the district could legally strike on or after Sept. 25.
* WBEZ education reporter…
Lightfoot Says: largest and most robust salary offer ever… from teacher making $78,000 will now make $97,757
Jackson says average teacher will see increase of 24 percent. Cps is counting steps and lanes, which are increases for years of service and education accomplishments
In addition, the city is resisting many of the other demands from the union.
One of the biggest areas of disagreement is whether the contract will require the school district to hire more social workers, nurses and counselors.
The union [says] it wants specific contract language guaranteeing these clinicians will be brought on and that staff-to-student ratios reduced. Lightfoot has said she wants to bring on these staff — she has promised to hire 250 more nurses, 200 more social workers and more special education case managers over the next five years — but her team has resisted putting this in the contract.
After more than two years, the game appears to be over for Jason Gonzales in his quest to have a jury deliberate Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s campaign tactics — and whether the powerful Democrat put “sham” candidates on the 2016 ballot.
Friday’s ruling was a disappointment. I consider myself a well-informed individual, but I don’t understand the judge’s reasoning here. Still, there appears to be wide-reaching constitutional issues at stake in this case. My legal team is trying to explain the ruling to me, but even they are having difficulty explaining to me how my actions in exposing the fraud caused it to not be fraud. We we currently weighing our options.
“… The Court is cognizant that there is evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that the defendants engaged in a deliberate effort to interfere with voters’ decision making,” Kennelly said in his opinion. “Such fraudulent interference in the form of sham candidates might, in an appropriate case, undermine the ability of the electorate to hold the offending candidate to account.
“But Gonzales has not pointed to evidence - or even alleged - that the defendants’ fraud prevented the voters from punishing Madigan at the ballot box.” […]
Kennelly noted Gonzales had used the sham candidates as “a central issue” against Madigan in public statements and in the press. The judge also noted the sham candidates had been called out in an editorial published in the Chicago Sun-Times.
“This publicity placed the alleged misconduct squarely within the political realm, enabling voters to rebuke Madigan by electing his challenger,” Kennelly said. “Instead, Madigan prevailed by a substantial margin.”
Citing the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in the 2018 decision Jones v. Markiewicz-Qualkinbush, Kennelly said he believed a judge “may not appropriately second-guess the voters’ choice ‘without displacing the people’s right to govern their own affairs and making the judiciary just another political tool for one faction to wield against its rivals.’”
Madigan attorney Adam Vaught said the ruling showed that Gonzales can’t “come into federal court and try and overturn the voters’ decision.”
“The judge found Gonzales ran on this issue, it was publicly broadcast, and the voters’ overwhelmingly rejected Gonzales and reelected the speaker,” Vaught added.
Tony Peraica, Gonzales’ attorney, vowed to appeal. He accused Madigan of engaging in electoral shenanigans. “With this decision, he will continue to do it with impunity. It’s a sad day for all citizens of Illinois,” said Peraica, a former Republican Cook County commissioner.
Illinois’ illicit weed market is expected to remain lucrative for illegal pot growers and sellers even after the drug is fully legalized. That’s largely because state-licensed pot shops won’t be able to match the prices offered by the neighborhood weed man, whose business won’t be stifled by expensive licensing fees and high taxes.
Five years after Colorado legalized weed for adult use, 82% of total consumers are purchasing pot through the legal market, according to Kagia.
Maybe that should’ve been at the top of the story? Colorado has long been a leader in the illicit cannabis market. And yet, legalization has almost fully taken hold there.
Since Toronto’s Hunny Pot opened in April, pot consumers have beat a steady path to the door, company Communications Officer Cameron Brown said. The average purchase costs about $65 and the number of customers ranges from 1,500 to 2,000 a day.
With 56 strains of cannabis, the experience can be daunting for novices, so numerous “budtenders” or pot sommeliers hover around the shop to advise customers.
Shopper Rhys Paxton called his shopping “a good experience. … It’s a lot better than buying it in a dark alley.”
“Everyone has a different vision about what a marijuana dispensary is supposed to look like,” Brown said. “We take the stigma away.”
Your local weed dealer will never have 56 strains of cannabis for sale at the same time, along with a variety of edibles.
You don’t have to read past the first sentence of Tim Mapes’ statement last week to see one of the core problems with the way he ran the Illinois House Democratic operation. Mapes was responding to an investigative report commissioned by House Speaker Michael Madigan to get to the bottom of allegations of sexual harassment and bullying in his Statehouse operation.
”For over forty years,” Mapes wrote in his response, “I had the privilege of serving in the Illinois State Legislature.”
Um, no.
Mapes worked “for” the Legislature, he didn’t serve “in” it. But he always seemed to behave as if he was one of the most important people in all of the General Assembly.
Mapes managed to accumulate just about every power possible: Madigan’s chief of staff, executive director of Madigan’s Democratic Party of Illinois and House Clerk. That meant every single person in Speaker Madigan’s world - from legislators, to lobbyists, to campaign workers, to committee clerks to legislative secretaries - had to answer to him and only to him. He was the indispensable one, until Madigan told him to quit over sexual harassment allegations.
”(T)he recent criticisms made against me do not truly appreciate the size of the responsibility of my position,” Mapes also claimed in his statement. “The daily needs of my position required constant attention in order to ensure the successful operation of our government,” he wrote, passive-aggressively blaming Speaker Madigan for allowing him to attain so much power.
On that point, however, he wasn’t wrong. Mapes made all of Madigan’s trains run on time. Meticulous to a fault, he made Madigan’s life easier, even meeting with lobbyists on their legislation — at least some of whom once worked for Mapes on staff and were expected to raise money from clients and run important legislative campaigns.
Madigan allowed Mapes to take a firm helm of all the various parts of his machine. Mapes eventually became more important than the people who were actually elected to office, and not just in his own mind. This was all by design.
The investigative report claimed Mapes’ efficiency was a “product of the fear he engendered.” But he couldn’t have done any of that without Madigan’s assent.
Notably, nowhere in the report does anyone claim that Madigan was present during Mapes’ threats or outbursts. Indeed, most people I’ve talked to on this topic believe Madigan would’ve put a stop to Mapes’ behavior if he had seen what was really going on.
But that’s still on Madigan. Did he not want to know what was happening?
Let’s go back to the report: “Multiple workers described having been physically intimidated by perceived superiors. These situations varied from a perceived superior yelling in someone’s face to grabbing or pushing someone.”
Mapes himself is accused of various forms of abuse, from throwing a pencil at a worker who had forgotten to bring one to a meeting, to “regularly” threatening to fire people, to an allegation that he “angrily grabbed a staffer because he thought — mistakenly — that the staffer was in the wrong place.”
Mapes apparently kept his methods a secret from his boss. But the big boss is always ultimately responsible. And Madigan has been forced to clean up the mess he ultimately made for over a year now. He has a new chief of staff, a new state party executive director and a new House Clerk, and, most importantly, they’re all different people.
It’s a good start, but more needs to be done.
For decades, all four caucuses have offered the same basic career ladder to select employees: Work immensely hard during session, then bust your hump during campaigns, then eventually supervise campaigns, then become a lobbyist and oversee multiple campaigns every cycle. It’s basically the foundation of the contract lobbying system in Springfield.
The House report focuses solely on the House Democratic operation, but it notes a big potential problem with this system: “Workers said that the lines between the political and state sides can blur because their bosses are sometimes … lobbyists or other people who do not work for the Speaker’s Office.”
According to the report, “Some workers said that people who do not work for the Speaker’s Office will sometimes continue to direct them as if the Speaker’s Office workers were still subordinates.”
That’s a real problem if lobbyists with clients paying them to pass or kill legislation are ordering around state legislative staffers as if they are subordinates. It’s one thing to do that on a campaign. It’s quite another when those staffers are on government time.
* The Illinois House Speaker contributed $100,001 today to Friends of Michael J. Madigan. Under state law, his personal committee can now accept unlimited contributions. Madigan did the same thing in 2018, but that was in the months leading up to the general election. Click here for the fresh A-1.
As we’ve already discussed, Madigan’s been spending a lot of money on legal fees this year. But this is also probably a good indication that he’s serious about expanding his partisan margin and protecting his members next year - in both the primary and general elections.
…Adding… In other campaign news…
Milestone: We just surpassed 500,000 voters registered since Illinois' Automatic Voter Registration law went into effect in July 2018.
Against a backdrop of sexual and workplace harassment in the state capital, one of Illinois’ most politically potent corporations is grappling with a #MeToo moment of its own.
According to internal documents obtained by Crain’s, Chicago-based Exelon determined that David Fein, the company’s senior vice president in charge of state government relations and its most visible executive in Springfield, violated its code of conduct in his interactions with several women at the company. The documents were prepared for separate human resources meetings in May, one with Fein and another with one woman who had complained about his behavior. Crain’s obtained the documents after they were inadvertently distributed electronically to multiple company employees. […]
Fein, 52, is Exelon’s primary senior-executive voice in Springfield and these days is arguing for legislation that would funnel more ratepayer money to Illinois nuclear plants that are struggling financially amid low wholesale power prices. The company has said in Securities & Exchange Commission filings that three power stations—Dresden in Morris, Byron near Rockford and Braidwood in Braceville—are at risk of early closure within the next four years if financial conditions don’t improve or the state doesn’t bail them out. […]
The document called this Fein’s “final warning” and informed him he could be fired for cause if he took a chance that any future overtures would be “welcome.”
Embattled Ald. Edward Burke is no longer a partner at the downtown law firm where he did property tax appeal work for a long list of influential businesses and where federal authorities allege he tried to strong-arm people into becoming clients in exchange for help at City Hall, records show.
According to paperwork the Klafter & Burke law firm filed with Secretary of State Jesse White’s office in April, Burke dissociated from his partnership in the firm. That leaves Burke’s daughter, Jennifer, and two others as partners in the firm, according to the documents. […]
It was unclear from the paperwork whether Burke retains a relationship with the firm or if he profited from dissociating himself from the partnership. […]
Klafter & Burke filed the paperwork less than two weeks after Lori Lightfoot won the mayoral election on a platform that prominently featured her hammering the alderman as a vestige of the bad old days of Chicago politics where connected insiders get rich and the public suffers because of it. Lightfoot has called on Burke to resign as alderman.
A former assistant director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs made “sexually-oriented comments” and used “inappropriate and highly offensive race-based language” while on the job, according to a recently released report from the Office of Executive Inspector General.
The investigation that led to those findings was underway in May 2018 when Harry Sawyer resigned from his post at the state VA. The inspector general found that Sawyer’s sexually inappropriate comments did not rise to the level of violating state ethics laws.
Sawyer, of Lombard, a Navy veteran and 36-year state employee, was briefly in line to head the Department of Veterans’ Affairs after then-Director Erica Jeffries turned in her resignation amid the fallout over the agency’s handling of a deadly outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease at a veterans home in Quincy in western Illinois.
Instead, Sawyer, who earned $98,543 annually as assistant director, resigned the same day Jeffries left office, May 18, 2018. He now collects an annual state pension of $58,358.64.
As we discussed yesterday, Director Jeffries knew of the probe into Sawyer when she announced he’d be taking over for her.
IDVA Assistant Director Sawyer retired this past summer after 33 years of service to our Illinois Veterans. He joined IDVA in 1982 as a VSO and worked over three decades assisting our Illinois Heroes and family members. As a young man, Harry enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served aboard the USS Agerholm (DD 826), including a tour off the coast of Vietnam. Completing his enlistment in 1970, he received an honorable discharge and returned to Illinois where he worked as a florist until 1979, when he began assisting his fellow veterans as a service offi- cer with the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Sawyer is a member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and other organizations. Thank you, Harry, for your service and your leadership here at IDVA.
And the accompanying photograph of a retirement ceremony held for Sawyer after he was reportedly allowed to resign rather than be fired…
* I asked IDVA’s spokesperson these three questions at noon today…
1) Why did IDVA hold a retirement ceremony for Harry Sawyer after he quit instead of being forced to resign?
2) Why did IDVA then include a photo of that ceremony in its October, 2018 newsletter?
3) Why did IDVA general counsel/ethics officer Pennix and deputy general counsel Eddington attend that ceremony?
This is what they sent me a few minutes ago…
Harry Sawyer’s comments were completely inappropriate, violating both the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs handbook and the State of Illinois code of personal conduct. The IDVA is working with the new administration to ensure a safe and respectful work environment so that it can focus on its top priority: Providing our veteran heroes with the highest quality care and services.
More than two dozen strategists, analysts and campaign advisers who spoke to POLITICO said the hiring and pay trends they’re seeing this presidential cycle represent a sea change in an industry long dominated by men. No longer elbowed out of major decision-making, women more than ever are shaping messaging and strategy as well as steering policy and financial decisions of presidential campaigns.
Anne Caprara, who ran Hillary Clinton’s 2016 super PAC, Priorities USA, said for years it was common for female staffers to earn $10,000 or $20,000 less than men for doing the same work on different campaigns, or even within the same operation.
“On behalf of all the women who have worked on campaigns, it is about f***ing time that this has happened — and you can quote me on that,” Caprara said. “I really relish the day when this is not a story, when we’re not having these conversations of ‘are we paying men and women equal?’”
Caprara is, of course, Gov. Pritzker’s former campaign manager and current chief of staff.
What purpose does Michael J. Madigan serve for Illinois Democrats anymore?
Until recently, the speaker of the Illinois House was the state party’s problematic but predictably dogged counterpuncher to former Gov. Bruce Rauner, a ruthless enforcer of discipline on matters of policy and power if not principles, a deployer of patronage armies, an arbiter of who got what votes, money and, bottom line, permission to pursue any agenda of import in Springfield. To be frozen out by Madigan was to be frozen out—period—and generations of Democrats during his three-decade-plus hold on the legislative reins learned to live with the downsides of his omnipresence in exchange for the seemingly ineradicable grip on control that his speakership guaranteed the party.
All that power, remarkably concentrated in one man, could have been wielded for the larger good since Madigan became speaker in 1983—resolving, say, the pension crisis that threatens to swamp Illinois’ government and ultimately its economy, improving education and services for Illinois residents, or enacting taxation and regulatory reforms that would make the state more competitive with its neighbors as a place to live, work and invest. Instead, that firepower has seemingly been targeted toward one distinct purpose: the acquisition and maintenance of one man’s influence, that of Michael J. Madigan, the longest-serving leader of any state or federal legislative body in U.S. history.
Meanwhile, the state has suffered a slow decline, punctuated by the occasional body blow—governors sent to jail, corporate headquarters opportunities missed, one credit rating downgrade heaped atop another. Illinois now lands at No. 45 out of 50 states on U.S. News & World Report’s recent ranking of state-by-state economic growth and 50th on its measurement of fiscal stability. Illinois’ higher education system, its nonprofit social safety net and its infrastructure are only just recovering from the two-year-long budget stalemate between Madigan and his former nemesis, Rauner. And Illinois has lost population every year since 2014. Along the way, Madigan has become the most despised public official in the state, a persona so toxic as to be a public relations liability for every Democrat seeking office from dogcatcher on up.
* The Question: What purpose does Michael J. Madigan serve for Illinois Democrats anymore? Make sure to fully explain your answers, please.
* For whatever reason, a former Trump advisor running for Congress in the Chicago suburbs reached out to the New York Post to announce her campaign…
A conservative young Latina from Illinois is running for Congress as the anti-AOC.
Republican Catalina Lauf, 26, who is hoping to snag a Democratic-held seat outside Chicago, supports President Trump’s border wall, cites Ronald Reagan as an idol and hopes to be a counterweight to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional “Squad.”
If Lauf wins the seat, she would break the Bronx-Queens representative’s record as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
“I think it’s time that people step forward who want to unite the country and do it for the right reasons,” Lauf told The Post.
The self-described “lifelong conservative” on Tuesday announced she is running in the state’s 14th Congressional District west of the Windy City — and will be taking on incumbent Democrat Lauren Underwood.
Lauf is a former Trump administration adviser from Woodstock, Ill., who describes herself as “Latina by heart, American first” — born to an American father and Guatemalan mother. […]
Lauf accused the 32-year-old incumbent of not representing the mostly rural, traditionally Republican district that the Democrats narrowly won with 52.5% of the vote in the 2018 midterm election.
A bombshell new report today by NPR uncovered serious potential impropriety at the Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP), a network of political organizations which was co-Chaired by Congressman Rodney Davis during the period in which significant concerns were raised about how millions of dollars of contributions were spent. According to one former GOP lawmaker quoted by NPR: “It just all smelled really bad.”
According to NPR’s report, lawmakers and GOP operatives have questioned the use of hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign contributions by Sarah Chamberlain, the Executive Director of the groups co-led by Davis, and that there’s fear the organization may be “running afoul of campaign finance and tax laws.”
When contacted by NPR, Congressman Davis refused to answer questions, and quietly cut his ties to group, even though NPR reports that “before Election Day, sources said, there was a growing list of questions about Chamberlain’s leadership of RMSP,” meaning that these actions were happening under Davis’ watch.
Even worse? This network’s Super PAC spent $200,000 last year to prop up Rodney Davis’ re-election campaign, raising further questions about spending decisions at the organization, and Rodney’s role in them.
“Rodney Davis needs to come clean with the public about what he knew about potential violation of federal law at the shadowy political network that he helped oversee, and when he knew it” said DCCC spokesperson Mike Gwin. “We already knew that Rodney Davis is a career politician who feels more at home at high-dollar fundraisers in DC than listening to his constituents, but this report raises serious questions about what he’s been doing in the Washington swamp.”
* The comptroller stopped by the SIUC Daily Egyptian office today for about an hour. The DE’s Photography and Multimedia Editor Isabel Miller is standing next to Mendoza in this pic. Isse is my niece…
* The Illinois Municipal League has taken a very conservative approach to informing its members about the new cannabis legalization law. So, some legislators have taken it upon themselves to provide more information…
The offices of Representative Kelly Cassidy, Senator Heather Steans, Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth, and Senator Toi Hutchinson are releasing a Local Government toolkit for the implementation of HB 1438, or the Cannabis Tax and Regulation Act. All offices have received requests for assistance and information from governments across the state on the steps they need to take before implementation in their jurisdictions. Within the Cannabis Tax and Regulation Act legislators took specific steps to allow local governments to determine whether and how they would allow cannabis businesses and dispensaries within their jurisdiction.
“We are giving local governments the control they have asked for and many have already started making decisions and voting on their ordinances,” said Senator Steans, D-Chicago.
While possession and private consumption will be legal throughout the state, some governments may decide to opt out, while others will seek to go even further than the state law does in terms of social equity and inclusion. This toolkit outlines various ways to go about that process.
“We believe this toolkit will be most useful to smaller local governments that may not have the staff and resources to look into the details of the new law,” said Rep. Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria.
While organizations such as the Illinois Municipal League have compiled recommendations as well, they are focused solely on how to ‘opt out’ rather than offering the full scope of possibilities. The toolkit discusses the wide variety of options available to local governments. They have the ability to establish zoning conditions for placement of cannabis businesses, impose additional taxes, add equity provisions such as fee waivers and loans, and allow social use spaces or ‘lounges’ for consumption.
“Think of everything in the bill as a floor, not a ceiling. This is just the beginning - there is still room for change. We are allowing local governments to work on their equity provisions as they see fit,” said Senator Hutchinson, D-Park Forest.
The toolkit also provides example city ordinances and links to corresponding parts of the law itself. Governments can use ordinances created by cities such as San Francisco, Denver, and Las Vegas to model their own implementation of the Cannabis Tax and Regulation Act. The intention is to leave as much as possible up to local governments, while providing them the tools necessary to implement legalization to best suit the needs of their communities.
It’s my opinion this state shouldn’t have legalized alcohol’s “leafy cousin” until it had answers for the questions being pondered by the Effingham County Board, et al, such as: What happens when an employee or applicant tests positive for it? What are the employers’ legal rights? What are the rights of the potential hire/employee? And there are other concerns. The fact remains that marijuana in recent times was considered a “gateway” drug. What happened to that theory? Did it just cease to be now that states are legalizing it?
The employer/employee questions can be answered with a quick Google search. For instance…
The Act provides employers with strong workplace protections, more than any other state that has legalized marijuana use.
And the theory about cannabis being a gateway drug is still being pushed by some folks. It’s not really a great argument, however. For one, legalization takes weed out of the hands of illegal drug dealers, who likely have other, more potent drugs available for customers. Legal dispensaries will not be selling heroin, cocaine or crack. Again, try the Google.
* Related…
* Weed-bill sponsors worry local governments will get greedy - If municipalities and counties charge the maximum tax of 6 percent, it could cut into legalized sales, legislators warn
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* The high road: Cannabis will be legal in Illinois as of Jan. 1 and Beloit police are worried: “You’re talking Madison here,” said South Beloit Mayor Ted Rehl. “Like, ‘Oh, my god, Disneyland just moved closer.’” … But with the prospect of a 3% cut of tax revenue from cannabis sales, South Beloit is all in. In a cash-strapped community where property values have remained stagnant for the past decade, it’s a no-brainer for Rehl.
* Plano City Council to soon start recreational marijuana talks: Hausler said he does not know how the full City Council feels about recreational marijuana, but it seems like most are in favor of the city opting in and taxing those sales. He said he also has had discussions with law enforcement about their concerns, including how no one knows for sure how it will affect the city’s police department or calls for service.
* Bloomington Seeks To Lift Gambling Moratorium, Create Cannabis Plan: Carrillo got a lukewarm response from her colleagues to her request to establish a task force to examine how the city should foster a marijuana industry when its recreational use becomes legal next year. She noted the Town of Normal has already started its own discussion.
* In an informal 4-3 vote, the Highland Park City Council opted to take a “wait and see” approach to recreational cannabis businesses: Although the vote was informal, the opinion expressed by majority means it will be practically impossible for a business to open up in town on Jan. 1 when the first early approval licensees can begin selling recreational cannabis to adults in Illinois.
* The Auditor General’s report is here. It covered two fiscal years, ending June 30, 2018. Center Square…
An audit of Illinois’ Department of Children and Family Services found significant deficiencies and noncompliance that a family justice advocate said shows the state agency is failing.
While the number of instances where the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services didn’t follow up on cases in a timely manner was small, Family Justice Resource Center Executive Director Michelle Weidner said each case involved the life of a child. […]
Nearly half the cases reviewed were not completed in a timely manner, the audit found. Nearly two-thirds of the cases didn’t have initial service plans in a timely manner as required, and 80 percent didn’t have integrated assessments completed.
The audit said failure to follow procedures, regulations and state law could result in inadequate care, unauthorized services or misuse of state funds. Findings of incomplete child welfare files were first reported in state audits more than 20 years ago. […]
While the percentage of cases of neglect and abuse that the agency failed to investigate within 24 hours was also a fraction of a percent (116 of 81,229, or 0.14 percent), the audit said failure to respond to such reports could result in further endangerment.
Weidner said people should not let small numbers downplay the significance.
“That fraction of a percent is represented by the cases that people don’t want to talk about,” Weidner said. “The cases like AJ Freund and Ja’hir Gibbons (both cases of DCFS-involved children who died this year) and the cases in which people are facing medically-based wrongful allegations and these cases matter. It matters to the people who are part of that small percentage.”
The detailed audit report by Sikich published by the Auditor General also found in fiscal 2017 three of 250 child death reviews were not conducted within the 90-day time frame as required by law.
“Failure to comply with the Act diminishes the effectiveness of the purposes for which the child death review teams serve and also is noncompliance with duties mandated by the Act,” the audit said.
The report found there was no documentation of a state central register created for 45 percent of the 60 examined hotline calls.
In other words, if someone calls the hotline about a child, it is supposed to be logged into a central registry – so that if someone calls about the child again, DCFS workers are aware and respond accordingly.
[Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert] said the lack of a prior report could impact the attention a child’s case receives.
The auditor general also found the DCFS has only half of the required number of bilingual caseworkers, which could also impact services.
Several other internal control violations were reported, including some related to untimeliness in the department in its requests for federal reimbursements, filing of accident reports, employee performance evaluations, and approval of contracts. Three findings were duplicated in a separate financial audit, also released Thursday.
In a management assertion letter in the report, child welfare leaders said they acted appropriately in the use of state funds, followed accounting and record-keeping procedures, and complied with applicable laws and regulations “other than what has been previously disclosed.”
Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza’s office today is releasing $14.7 million that has been held up for years for improvements at Chicago Rockford International Airport.
The airport’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility opened years ago. The state’s share of the cost was tied up by the state budget impasse that paralyzed Springfield for two years. The airport was paying up to $100,000 a month on interest payments to cover the state’s share while Springfield tried to get its act together.
“The people of the Rockford area have waited long enough for the money they were promised for the Chicago Rockford International Airport,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “Keeping our transportation facilities competitive and modern is a priority, and so is keeping our promises.”
Former Gov. Bruce Rauner visited the airport in June 2018 and said the money was on the way. On Wednesday, the voucher arrived in the Comptroller’s office from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, and it is being processed and issued today.
It is important to note that this funding is not part of the new $45 billion Build Illinois capital construction program; the $14.7 million is coming from old capital funds that were approved years ago.
The funding was frozen in 2015 by Quinn’s successor, former Gov. Bruce Rauner, amid a budget impasse with lawmakers. State Sen. Steve Stadelman included a $14.7 million appropriation for the airport grant in a budget bill approved by lawmakers last year.
“Our airport is major driver of economic development in the region,” Stadelman said in news release Thursday. “It is important the state honor its commitment, as the airport continues to expand operations and grow in prominence.”
The $14.7 million represents the state’s contribution to the airport’s $40 million maintenance, repair and overhaul center, which opened in 2016. The airport leases the twin-hangar facility to AAR Corp., a Wood Dale-based company that is a global leader in the aircraft maintenance and repair industry.
* Meanwhile, on a related note…
Legislation sponsored by State Representative Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa) to ensure stable funding for County Cooperative Extension programs, such as 4-H, is now law. House Bill 2264 clarifies language in state statute to ensure funds intended to support extension programs cannot be withheld by the state. The bill was signed into law by the Governor last week.
When the bill passed unanimously in the House back in April, Weber said, “Speaking from my personal experience with our local extension, I can tell you how beneficial these programs are to our youth and our communities. House Bill 2264 is very simple, one word simple in fact, but this one word change will have a major impact on ensuring our extension programs have the stability and security they need to continue their good work.”
As Weber noted, HB 2264 simply changes one word in state law, but by changing this one word, it ensures uniformity between the County Cooperative Extension Law and the Civil Administrative Code. Due to vagueness in previous law, funds meant for the State Cooperative Extension Trust Fund, which helps fund extension programs, was not being regularly deposited. The new uniformity created through HB 2264 means the fund will no longer be shortchanged and stability will be guaranteed for local extension programs.
An Illinois State Police officer was shot while serving a search warrant near Washington Park.
Bommarito Automotive SkyFOX helicopter was over 1426 North 42nd Street and Caseyville Ave. Images show several police departments such as the Illinois State Police, East St. Louis Police and tactical units are on scene.
Illinois State Police confirm that an officer was shot serving a warrant at the home. He was taken to the hospital to be treated for the gunshot wound. His condition is not known at this time.
A police source tells FOX 2 that there are three people under arrest. One person is still barricaded in the home.
No comments on this one. Just keep the troopers - all troopers - in your thoughts. And let’s all hope everything goes smoothly for the Executive Protection Unit at the Du Quoin State Fair.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The ISP has released a statement calling the trooper’s injuries “life-threatening”…
llinois State Police (ISP) officials announce an Illinois State Police Trooper has been shot during the execution of a search warrant in the 1400 block of North 42nd Street in East St. Louis in the early morning hours of Friday, August 23, 2019.
At 5:26 A.M., during the execution of the search warrant, there was an exchange of gunfire at the residence and the Trooper was struck. The ISP Trooper received life-threatening injuries and has been transported to a regional hospital. The Trooper is 33 years old and is a 10-year veteran of the ISP.
This is an open and ongoing investigation with an active scene. Additional information will be available at a later time.
An Illinois State Police trooper died from wounds suffered early Friday while executing a search warrant in East St. Louis.
Trooper Nicholas Hopkins, 33, of Waterloo, a 10-year veteran of the force, was wounded during an exchange of gunfire while serving the warrant at an East St. Louis home, said State Police Acting Director Brendan Kelly. He later died at a hospital.
After the shooting, police surrounded the home and arrested three people. Police remained on the scene throughout the day, uncertain if another suspect was barricaded in the house, according to authorities. The three people arrested were not identified.
Police didn’t say if anyone else was shot, nor have they revealed the issues addressed in the search warrant.
* Gov. Pritzker…
Today the entire state mourns the loss of ISP South SWAT Trooper Nicholas Hopkins, a young man who dedicated 10 of his 33 years on this earth to protecting the people of Illinois. It is the most courageous among us who choose a life of risk so their communities can go about their lives in peace. The state of Illinois stands with Trooper Hopkins’ family and the entire Illinois State Police family as they grieve the loss of another heroic officer.
* This story is a perfect example of why governors have been extremely reluctant to use taxpayer dollars to maintain the Thompson Center and the executive mansion…
Days before lowering the boom on Chicago taxpayers to erase a $1 billion shortfall, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has signed off on a $220,000 remodeling of the mayor’s office on the fifth floor of City Hall. […]
In a statement issued in response to questions from the Sun-Times, the mayor’s office described the project as a “series of routine upgrades to the mayor’s office, the lobby and hallway into the mayor’s suite and the press briefing room” where news conferences are held.
Similar work has been going on all over City Hall for several years now “to replace outdated ceilings, lighting fixtures, old carpeting, etc.,” the mayor’s office said. […]
“This was one of the last locations needing to be done. Work also includes some minor flooring and counter replacement. This is a continuation of work … started in May in the Mayor’s Office, which consisted of painting, carpet replacement, and moving furniture in and out of the office.”
Could the timing have been better for “optics”? Yup. But this stuff costs money.
The numbers for this year’s Illinois State Fair continue to demonstrate a historically successful event. While records for both revenue and ticket sales were broken for the grandstand lineup, high marks from parking, attendance and vendors were also achieved.
Estimated attendance totals of nearly 509,000 are 37% higher than 2018’s projection of just over 370,000 making it the largest estimated total attendance since 2014. Despite a reduction in admissions for Sunday through Thursday, gate revenue was up over last year’s fair. More parking passes were sold this year than the previous 17 years that this information was recorded. This year’s fair also saw an increase of vendors over last year by nearly 50.
“This year’s fair took an already wonderful event to new heights, breaking records at the grandstand and bringing Illinoisans from all across the state together to celebrate everything that makes Illinois so special,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “From barns packed with all that our agriculture industry has to offer to entertainment for Illinoisans of all ages, I’m thrilled my first state fair as governor was such a success.”
“No matter the metric, this year’s fair was undoubtedly a success,” said Illinois State Fair Manager Kevin Gordon. “Our goal was to bring families back to the fair during the week. I feel our decision to reduce admission during the week was rewarded by the attendance of the public. The weather was wonderful, our promotions were well received, our grandstand lineup was historic and I spoke with many vendors and concessionaires pleased with the crowds and their revenues. I’m excited to see what this means for our total revenues once those numbers are finalized.”
…Adding… Some commenters have asked about 2018 fair attendance. The drop was not weather-related…
The Illinois State Fair in Springfield saw 369,144 people walk or drive through its gates last month, an 8 percent drop compared to last year’s fair, state officials reported Friday.
Officials noted, however, that fairgoers this year appeared to spend more money than in 2017, according to an early look at vendors’ sales receipts.
This year’s attendance total was lower than the 401,648 who attended the 2017 fair but higher than the 347,855 who passed through the gates during the 2016 event that was plagued by flooding rains, extreme heat and power outages. The 2015 state fair, the first to be counted using a different formula, attracted 411,547.
Fair officials noted this year’s milder weather and limited rain helped the numbers.
…Adding… Historical data…
#ILStateFair attendance the past five years: 2015 - 411,547 2016 - 347,855 2017 - 401,648 2018 - 370,609 2019 - 508,901
Fair officials pulled out all the stops this year to get people back out and it looks like it paid off. Decent weather helped, too. #twillhttps://t.co/xR1hiTR0Eo
