The Illinois State Police has yet to certify any of the state’s gun dealers as required under a law Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed days after taking office in January.
The agency was supposed to begin issuing certifications to federally licensed gun dealers July 17, but the rules required to implement the law still haven’t been established. In the meantime, gun dealers that have applied under the Firearm Dealer License Certification Act are allowed to continue operating as if they’ve been certified. […]
Critics of the measure — including Rauner, who vetoed an earlier version — said the law was unnecessary because gun sellers already are licensed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Illinois State Rifle Association has sued the state to block the law. […]
Under the law, gun dealers also are required to install surveillance cameras, maintain an electronic inventory, establish anti-theft measures and make sure employees go through annual training. But specific rules for those requirements also still must be established.
Authorities arrested a man on Monday who allegedly opened fired inside a Chicago VA hospital.
The unidentified man allegedly entered the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago with an assault rifle at around 2 p.m on Monday and began firing shots, according to the FBI. The agency said shots were fired both inside and outside the hospital.
* From the US Attorney’s office…
A convicted felon has been charged with a federal firearm violation for allegedly illegally possessing a semi-automatic rifle at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago.
BERNARD HARVEY, JR., 40, of Indianapolis, Ind., is charged with one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Harvey illegally possessed the rifle on Aug. 12, 2019, at the medical center, 820 S. Damen Ave. in Chicago, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Harvey is scheduled to make an initial court appearance today at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox.
Scroll down…
The rifle in Harvey’s possession at the VA medical center had been reported stolen last month from a federal firearms licensee in Indiana, the complaint states.
An FBI intelligence bulletin specifically cited the pro-Trump QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy theory groups in a memo warning such groups pose a domestic terrorist threat.
The document, issued by the FBI’s Phoenix field office on May 30 and published by Yahoo News on Thursday, warns that “conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists” pose a growing threat. […]
The FBI also cited an unnamed California man arrested with bomb-making materials in his vehicle in 2018. The man planned to “blow up a satanic temple monument” in the state capitol rotunda in Springfield, Illinois, in order to “make Americans aware of Pizzagate and the New World Order, who were dismantling society.”
Click here to read that FBI report. The endnotes explain that the unidentified man was arrested by the Seaside, California police department. Click here for background on that Satanic Temple-Chicago monument in the Rotunda last December. The “New World Order” is, among other things, part of that bizarre QAnon conspiracy.
Illinois officials said Tuesday they were aware of a 2018 threat to set off a bomb in the state Capitol rotunda directed at a satanic display there last Christmas season.
Dave Druker, spokesman for Secretary of State Jesse White, whose office provides security at the Capitol, said federal authorities notified the office of the threat.
“We tightened up security around the building,” Druker said.
Nothing happened in Springfield as a result of the threat. However, a man in California was arrested in connection with the incident.
Today, State Treasurer Michael Frerichs endorsed Elizabeth Warren for President. Frerichs was elected Treasurer in 2014 and previously served in the Illinois Senate. Frerichs has spent his career as a leading downstate voice for Illinois consumers, against climate change, and making it easier for students to go to college.
“Senator Elizabeth Warren has dedicated her life to protecting everyday Americans from the powerful entities that have controlled Washington for too long,” said Treasurer Frerichs.
“While others paid lip service to reform while cashing lobbyist checks, Elizabeth challenged the status quo and refused to be bought. She is focused, tireless, and the right person to lead us in our fight against corruption.”
“I am grateful to have Treasurer Frerichs in this fight with me. Mike is a stalwart guardian for investments in Illinois and a fierce advocate for consumers,” Warren said. “Whether he’s taking on giant corporations on behalf of workers or fighting the Trump Administration to protect our environment, Michael has repeatedly demonstrated his commitment to what our movement for big, structural change is all about.”
I’d heard yesterday that Frerichs was about to make this announcement and it got me to thinking about his future. I suppose the second-term treasurer could run for US Senate if Dick Durbin ever retires. But that could be a long way off and white Downstate males ain’t exactly the party’s base or its future. So, a White House job could be a good gig. But that would depend on Warren winning the primary and the general and I do not want to get into that discussion here.
* The Question: What are your thoughts about Treasurer Frerichs’ political future? Make sure to fully explain your musings, please. And stay on-topic. Thanks.
[Anthony Sarros, executive director of the ILGOP] said that a banner, a flag and signs promoting President Donald Trump were stolen overnight from the Republican Party of Illinois’ tent at the Illinois State Fair. […]
Gone, he said, was an eight-by-four foot banner with Trump’s name and the words “Make Illinois Great Again.” A three-by-five foot flag with wording “Keep America Great” and “2020” was also taken, as were about 20 yard signs.
“Weirdly enough, we have a life-size cutout of the president, and that was still there,” Sarros said. “That was zip-tied around the center pole,” he added, so it’s possible it couldn’t easily be taken. The entry flap to the tent is also zip-tied each night.
Sarros said the party was filing a police report.
* Maxwell…
"This is indicative of political discourse at the moment. It's unfortunate and it shouldn't happen. We urge the person who stole the items to return them and engage in more productive political activities." - Joe Hackler, @ILGOP spokesman.
A dispute arose last week over website URL’s in the 6th CD GOP primary, and Monday the plot thickened. First, Republican candidate Jeanne Ives posted accusations on her Facebook page that her primary opponent Evelyn Sanguinetti’s campaign had pulled a URL switch.
Evelyn Sanguinetti told Illinois Review her campaign wasn’t guilty of Ives’ accusation:
“I checked with all my staff, vendors, and anyone associated with my campaign and confirmed we do not own any websites with Jeanne Ives’ name. I do not know who owns that URL. Honestly, Jeanne really should have just called me to ask if I did this before spreading a lie about me. We are both Republicans and we are better than this pettiness,” Sanguinetti said.
Ives’ described the maneuver as “petty, immature and dishonest”
Wirepoints’ analysis uses national state-by-state migration data compiled by the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS reviews tax returns annually to track when and where people move. It also aggregates the ages, income brackets and adjusted gross incomes of filers.
In this first piece, we’ll cover Illinois’ net loss of tax filers and their incomes since 2000.
Losing people and their incomes
Illinois is a national outlier when it comes to losing residents and their taxable income to other states.
In 2016, IRS data shows Illinois gained nearly 165,000 people from other states and they brought with them a combined Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of about $6.3 billion. Meanwhile, more than 250,000 Illinoisans left the state and they took more than $11 billion with them.
That means Illinois suffered a net loss of about 86,000 residents and a loss of $4.8 billion in taxable income – the equivalent of more than $100 million in state income tax revenues. […]
Illinois has lost tax filers and taxable income, on net, every year since 2000. Between 2000 and 2010, the state averaged net losses of about $1.8 billion in taxable income each year. Since then, the state’s losses have accelerated by about $500 million a year, growing to $4.8 billion by 2016.
* I asked Frank Manzo at the Illinois Economic Policy Institute to take a look. All emphasis is in the original…
Overall, the analysis of IRS numbers is correct. I arrive at the same numbers. However, there are a few problems with the analysis.
First, it’s based on “adjusted gross income (AGI)” but Illinois taxes individuals based on “net income.” Net income is AGI minus Social Security benefits, retirement income, military pay, certain business subtractions, etc. For example, if a retiree with a $100,000 pension moved to Florida, we lost their AGI but we didn’t lose income tax revenue, since retirement income is not taxed in Illinois. But we did lose things like sales tax revenue from their local spending.
Second, the data should be put in context. Clearly, the loss of population is a problem. A growing population from new births, net domestic migration, and net foreign immigration boosts economic activity. However, as the authors point out, Illinois lost about 86,000 residents and $4.8 billion in AGI in 2016. Illinois’ population is estimated at 12.7 million people and we had a total AGI of $664.7 billion in 2016. Net out-migration therefore represented about 0.7% of the population and 0.7% of AGI in Illinois. And 2016 was the worst year in terms of the data, when the state was in the middle of the two-year budget impasse which reduced business confidence, reduced funding for public and nonprofit services, and reduced state investment in higher education (note that the state also had a 3.75% individual income tax rate at this time).
Third, the authors make it seem as though the overall tax base has shrunk over time – but it hasn’t. While we have lost people who would have paid taxes, it is worth noting that both the number of tax filers and total AGI have still increased in Illinois over recent years. Look, for instance, at Illinois Department of Revenue data for 2016 compared to 2010. I’ll stick with AGI since that is what the authors used. Here’s the change over that time:
The number of tax returns filed with the Illinois Department of Revenue (i.e., the tax base) increased by 4.5%. Filers reporting $25,000 or less in AGI did decrease by 7.9%, but that was mainly due to a strengthening economy (other factors like student out-migration and Chicago’s minimum wage hikes, which raised incomes, may also have played roles). Upper middle-class filers reporting $100,001-$500,000 and affluent filers reporting $500,001+ both increased significantly, 32.6% and 44.4%, respectively. The “non-Illinois total” also rose for unknown reasons, probably due to income generated by out-of-state and foreign businesses within Illinois’ borders as the national and global economy expanded. Overall, the point is that the tax base is still increasing, but would have been larger with net in-migration.
All of that said, I’m not dismissing population loss as a non-issue. It is a problem. Illinois needs to boost economic growth, generate more good jobs with family-supporting wages, and improve its financial outlook by paying down debts in order for the tax base to grow substantially.
The potential commutation of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s federal prison sentence has been put on hold amid White House officials’ fears of public pushback, sources say.
Two sources told Fox News that on Thursday, Blagojevich, 62, made it to processing for his discharge from a federal prison in Littleton, Colo. However, a commutation was put on hold after a Trump administration official became concerned about opposition to the idea, which the president said he was “seriously” considering.
In a tweet, Trump said the issue was under review.
“Rod Blagojevich, the former Governor of Illinois, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He has served 7 years. Many people have asked that I study the possibility of commuting his sentence in that it was a very severe one. White House staff is continuing the review of this matter,” he posted.
* I’m told that this statement from the state’s GOP congressional delegation last Thursday had a lot to do with the flip-flop…
Congressmen Darin LaHood (IL-18), John Shimkus (IL-15), Adam Kinzinger (IL-16), Rodney Davis (IL-13), and Mike Bost (IL-12) released the following statement regarding former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.
“It’s important that we take a strong stand against pay-to-play politics, especially in Illinois where four of our last eight Governors have gone to federal prison for public corruption. Commuting the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, who has a clear and documented record of egregious corruption, sets a dangerous precedent and goes against the trust voters place in elected officials. We stand by our letter and urge the President to not commute Rod Blagojevich’s sentence.”
In June of 2018, the entire Illinois Republican U.S. House delegation sent a letter to President Trump opposing the commutation of Rod Blagojevich’s sentence. You can read that letter here.
* I am in the “keep him locked up” camp when it comes to Rod. But the president has teased Blagojevich’s release so many times that I actually started to feel sorry for the man yesterday (and I never thought I’d say that). And I really did feel sorry for his kids. Their hopes have been raised so many times only to be repeatedly dashed on the rocks of presidential indecision.
Amid continuing uncertainty over whether President Donald Trump will commute Rod Blagojevich’s prison sentence, the disgraced former Illinois governor’s family released a statement Monday night reiterating its gratitude toward the president.
“The family is grateful to President Trump, and they are hopeful that their 11-year nightmare might soon be over,” family spokesman Mark Vargas said in a text message that he subsequently released on Twitter.
I suppose they have to cling to their public gratefulness, but I wish the president would make a decision one way or another and finally stick with it and move on.
John Tillman, the CEO of conservative think tank Illinois Policy Institute, and Warlander Asset Management’s Eric Cole, a protege of Appaloosa Management’s David Tepper, are teaming up in an effort to invalidate a whopping $14.3 billion of Illinois debt on the grounds that the state’s pension bond sale in 2003 and securities issued in 2017 to pay a backlog of unpaid bills were in fact deficit-financing transactions prohibited by the constitution.
Warlander owns $25 million Illinois general-obligation bonds issued in 2001, 2014, 2017 and 2018. Those bonds would be more secure if the firm succeeded in having the other securities invalidated, since there would be more money available to service the debt.
But is that all this is about for Warlander?
* AllianceBernstein and Nuveen have filed an Amicus Brief in the debt service case. In that brief is this allegation…
Warlander is not an Illinois taxpayer – its Complaint asserts a disclosed interest in the litigation that has no economic basis and admits a “separate financial interest in the litigation” that is not disclosed at all. On information and belief, that “separate financial interest” is credit default swaps Warlander purchased that will pay off if this action causes Illinois to default on any of its G.O. Bonds.
A simple question from the bench will resolve the question raised by Warlander’s own Complaint. In any event, the Petition should not be granted until the answer is provided so that the Court can determine whether the Petition is filed not to vindicate the interests of Illinois taxpayers but to allow an out-of-state hedge fund to create a default and profit from its swaps. […]
A credit default swap is a contract similar to an insurance policy on a bond. If the bond defaults, the buyer can collect from the institution that sold the swap. The swap-buyer does not have to own any bonds when it buys its swaps; it can buy the bonds later – even after a default craters the price of the bonds – and tender the bonds to the swap-seller for 100% payment on its swap contract.
Permitting activist investors to litigate against the validity of widely held municipal bonds based on their credit default swap bets could introduce a significant destabilizing force into the municipal markets and harm investors and government entities alike. […]
If public officers “for their own protection” refuse to pay principal and interest on
the challenged bonds until Petitioners’ lawsuit is finally adjudicated, the result will be catastrophic – the bonds will default, Illinois will immediately lose its credit rating and the trading price of the challenged bonds will drop sharply. If Warlander holds swaps, it can then buy G.O. Bonds at bargain basement prices and tender them to the swap-seller at 100 cents – realizing an enormous profit from the catastrophic default it has manufactured. […]
As of the date of that report, credit default swaps on Illinois G.O. Bonds exceeded $300 million. […]
On information and belief, Warlander has bought credit default swaps well in excess of its nominal $25 million in G.O. Bonds. If swaps are Warlander’s undisclosed “separate financial interest in the litigation,” then Warlander stands to reap an extraordinary profit from the mere pendency of this litigation. [Emphasis added.]
* I asked Warlander and the Illinois Policy Institute for a response. A spokesperson said he would not be providing comment beyond a new motion to block the Amicus Brief…
The proposed brief speculates at length about the nature of Warlander’s “financial interest.” There is nothing improper about an investment firm having a financial interest in litigation—this is simply what investors do. Importantly, the existence of Warlander’s financial interest has been disclosed from the outset. Further inquiry into that interest is not relevant, has no bearing on any issues relevant to Mr. Tillman’s Petition, and stands entirely separate from the constitutional violations alleged.
An Illinois Supreme Court Justice has received a homeowners exemption on a home where he doesn’t live, NBC 5 Investigates found.
The property lists his mother as the owner, but she died 28 years ago. Judge Scott Neville will soon be asking party bosses to slate him as “the” endorsed candidate.
Judge Neville has been receiving a homeowners exemption for more than 15 years, and the rules state you must live in the home to get that tax break. Judge Neville was sworn in as an Illinois Supreme Court Justice last summer. […]
Records showed the tax break has been requested since 2000. In fact, in 2009, the home’s assessed valuation was requested again with Alice Neville as the applicant. By then she had been dead for 18 years. […]
[A campaign spokeswoman for Judge Neville] added “the Justice is unaware of this issue and does not recall applying for an exemption on any property. This is an error and since being notified of this error we are looking into this matter.”
* In July, Congressman Davis held a public forum with Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur), a member of the Eastern Bloc. As you may recall, Caulkins generally played “bad cop” to Davis’ “good cop.”
Well, Davis is holding a second forum and is partnering this time with Rep. Brad Halbrook, the sponsor of the proposal to kick Chicago out of Illinois. Press release…
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) [yesterday] announced he will be hosting his second Open Government Night following the first event held in Decatur recently where more than 250 constituents attended. The series is in conjunction with state lawmakers to allow constituents an opportunity to hear directly from their elected officials at the state and federal level on important issues. The second event will be held in Champaign with State Representative Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville).
“Ensuring constituents have an opportunity to hear directly from their elected officials continues to be my priority,” said Davis. “Open Office Hours allow me to have personal, one-on-one conversations with people about the issues they care about. Open Government Nights allow people to discuss issues facing our government at the state and federal levels. I’m looking forward to discussing these issues next Monday night.”
“Events like this are a great way for area residents to hear directly from their State Representative and Congressman about the issues important to them. We need to hear from our constituents, and so I would encourage everyone to try to make it out and let their voice be heard.” said Halbrook.
The format will mirror that of Davis’ first audience Q&A event, held July 29 at Decatur’s Richland Community College. Over that 90-minute program, Davis and state Rep. Dan Caulkins took turns answering 22 questions submitted in writing by those in a crowd of around 250. Topics ranged from the tone of President Donald Trump’s tweets to gun control and soybean tariffs.
Under this format, the moderator chooses the questions. Neither Davis nor his representatives will see them or have a hand in selecting them before they’re asked, officials said.
Some tough rhetoric pushing the re-election of U.S. Rep. RODNEY DAVIS, R-Taylorville, has been in his fundraising emails that have attacked the Springfield-born Democrat running against him as representing Chicago and made apparently false claims about where her campaign money comes from.
“I don’t think they go out under my name,” Davis told me, and he said he does not approve those messages.
Well, one that did go out and said it was from Davis stated that Democrat BETSY DIRKSEN LONDRIGAN was “Chicago’s handpicked candidate,” and added, “She’s got millions of dollars pouring in from out of state billionaires. … I want to reach my fundraising goal this month and show Chicago that downstate wants a representative to speak for them.” The Davis campaign has provided no evidence to back up the millions-from-billionaires claim, which is clearly out of whack with actual fundraising.
After he toured the Ash Street underpass construction site in Springfield last week, I showed Davis that email — including his name as the messenger. He said he hadn’t seen or approved it.
I asked if it was a problem. Davis responded with a laugh, but gave no direct answer.
Dr. Tom Tarter, a cancer surgeon from Springfield, made it official Monday: He’s running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Illinois.
Tarter hopes to take on a fellow Springfieldian, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, in November 2020, but the first step is the March primary, where another Republican, former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran, has also said he is running.
In an announcement statement, Tarter said of Durbin: “I am running to replace an out-of-touch career politician who no longer represents Illinois values, and who obstructs progress.” […]
Tarter, a native of Portland, Oregon, is a graduate of Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon; got a doctorate from Oregon Health Sciences University, based in Portland; and his medical degree is from Albany Medical College, Albany, N.Y. He has lived in Springfield for more than 17 years.
I saw a couple of his yard signs when I was at the State Fair on Saturday.
I am proud to announce my campaign for U.S. Senator from Illinois in 2020. Voters are going to have clear choices in November 2020. Dick Durbin stands for a single-payor health care system, and I stand for improving our health care system that the majority of Americans find excellent or good. We can reduce the cost of health care in the United States without forcing every American into an inferior single-payor plan, especially those who have paid into Medicare all of their working lives. Dick Durbin is the second ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, and his party stands for an open border policy. I stand for a sovereign nation with secure borders. I stand for immigration reform. American citizens need to decide who gets invited into the American family. With your support, I can replace Dick Durbin and make progress in health care and immigration for our state and our country. I hope you will continue to follow my journey to the United States Senate.
The Illinois Department of Transportation is expanding its Life or Death Illinois campaign to include Scott’s Law, calling attention to the need to protect first responders, emergency personnel and frontline highway workers. A new video that will air statewide comes after Gov. JB Pritzker recently signed legislation strengthening the law while bringing together stakeholders to find solutions to prevent future tragedies on Illinois roads.
The video features footage of Kyle Deatherage, an Illinois State Police trooper struck and killed while making a traffic stop near Litchfield in 2012. Deatherage was survived by his wife and two young children. The video will air on TV, various online platforms and social media.
“We are humbled to be able to put a real name and face to Scott’s Law and the human toll that comes with all fatalities on our roads,” said Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “Sadly, these deaths are almost always preventable. Trooper Deatherage’s family has shown bravery and courage by helping IDOT raise awareness of these life-and-death issues.”
Scott’s Law requires drivers to slow down and move over, if possible, when approaching any vehicle with flashing lights. It was named after Chicago firefighter Scott Gillen, who was struck and killed while assisting at a crash scene. In the past year, three state troopers have been killed while performing traffic stops.
“The Illinois State Police is grateful to IDOT for including Scott’s Law in the Life or Death Illinois campaign,” stated Acting ISP Director Brendan Kelly. “This campaign will honor the life of Trooper Deatherage and his family as well as the lives of countless other troopers, first responders and frontline highway workers by bringing a greater awareness to the sad consequences of violating Scott’s Law.”
Life or Death Illinois is the first comprehensive approach by IDOT to reduce injuries and fatalities associated with motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, seatbelt use, work zones, and impaired and distracted driving. The campaign, which this year features stories of Illinois residents who died in traffic crashes, is made possible through federal funds administered by IDOT.
Chicago casino feasibility study concludes that the tax structure set up by the Illinois General Assembly (where the operator only keeps 33% of the revenues) would be too onerous and make it virtually unprofitable. That said, Michael Reese site would make most $$$
Not feasible due to the onerous tax and fee structure
The gaming expansion legislation that allows for a casino in the City of Chicago is very onerous from a tax and fee perspective. Our understanding is that on top of the existing tax structure on Adjusted Gross Receipts (“AGR”) paid by all Illinois casinos, the City of Chicago casino would also pay an additional 33 1/3% privilege tax on AGR. The developmental impact of high taxes and fees notwithstanding, we forecast that a casino in the City of Chicago has the potential to become the highest grossing casino in Illinois, significantly higher than the current market leading Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, which generated $441.8 million in AGR in calendar 2018. For example, the highest AGR potential for the five sites selected for the study by the City of Chicago is approximately $806 million (Former Michael Reese Hospital, 31st St. and Cottage Grove Ave.). Based on the prevailing AGR and admissions taxes alone (set aside for the moment other operational-phase taxes and fees), a casino in the City of Chicago would pay approximately $311 million in AGR and admissions taxes, or an effective rate of approximately 39% relative to AGR of $806 million. When combined with the 33 1/3% additional privilege tax on AGR specific for the City of Chicago casino, the effective tax rate is approximately 72%. AGR projections for all of the five sites result in a broadly similar effective tax rate.
It can be further expected that a casino’s operating expenses (e.g. advertising, marketing, payroll, rent, utilities, etc.) can easily approach the equivalent of 30% of AGR, if not higher. Combined with the effective tax rate of 72% yields an expense structure that could exceed casino revenue. Ultimately the additional privilege tax on AGR specific to the City of Chicago results in none of the five sites being financially feasible. The amount of profit generated relative to total development costs, inclusive of licensing and reconciliation fees, represents at best a 1% or 2% return annually, which is not an acceptable rate of return for a casino developer on a greenfield project. But for this incremental tax, any of the sites analyzed herein would likely have a profit margin broadly in line with the Illinois and regional casino peer group average in the low-to-mid 20% range. However, we believe a reasonable casino developer would not move forward with a greenfield casino project that has, at best, a low single digit profit margin.
To the extent a casino operator could pare down expenses and realize modest revenue and profits from non-gaming amenities (as we have projected herein), total enterprise profit margin would, in a best-case scenario, likely equate to a few pennies on the dollar – and that would require the casino to be developed without incurring any debt as we believe no traditional financing would be available for such a development as debt servicing would likely well exceed any modest profits generated. […]
Casino profit margins can’t support the special privilege tax
Noted above, it is not unreasonable to think that the operating expenses of a casino in Illinois could approximate 30% of AGR or higher. By way of example, and while Illinois casinos are not required to report detailed financial information publicly, we were able to calculate various financial margins for the Grand Victoria in Elgin that was recently sold. Based on press releases provided by the acquiring company, 2017 EBITDA was calculated to be approximately $36.4 million. Based on data available from the IGB, the casino generated $168.7 million in AGR in 2017 and paid $55.5 million in gaming and admissions taxes and fees. With these data points available, operating and other expenses can then be estimated at approximately $76.9 million, or 46% of AGR (and well above the 30% estimate above). […]
The absence of the special privilege tax would yield a profitable casino
Our analyses suggest that, at best, the highest earning of the five sites would operate on very thin profit margins of around 3%, which compares very unfavorably to the in-state and regional peers in the low-to-mid 20% range. In the absence of the special privilege tax on AGR specific to Chicago, the profitability of a casino in the City of Chicago would receive a material boost. While not all of the tax “savings” would drop to the bottom line in the event the special privilege tax is rescinded, most of it would. In this scenario, and while the casino would certainly allocate some of the savings to, for example, increased marketing efforts, the lack of the special privilege tax would allow a casino to operate with margins broadly in line with the in-state peers.
* Mayor Lightfoot has been claiming all along that the tax structure wouldn’t work. The latest from the Tribune…
With word on the odds of success for potential Chicago casino sites due this week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday she isn’t sure whether a gambling operator can make enough money given the upfront costs they must pay under the current state law.
Consultants at Union Gaming Analytics are expected to deliver their view of a city casino’s feasibility by Tuesday — and supercharge speculation about where a massive gambling hall could stand, and if it can make enough money to soften the city’s budget burden. […]
As it stands, state law would send one-third of a Chicago casino’s adjusted gross receipts to the city. Currently, the city casino operator also would have to pay a $250,000 application fee upfront, a $15 million “reconciliation” fee when the license is issued and up to $120 million in gambling position fees — which cost $30,000 each. […]
“We asked for the feasibility study, as you know, because we were very concerned that the tax structure that the legislature put in place was one that wouldn’t lend itself to funding of a casino,” the mayor told reporters Monday at City Hall.
*** UPDATE *** From Emily Bittner at the governor’s office…
This study provides valuable insights that will help make sure a Chicago casino works right for the both the city and state. We look forward to working with stakeholders, including the Mayor and General Assembly, to refine this approach and ensure that we maximize the opportunities for jobs for residents and revenue to address our financial obligations.
In other words, expect a trailer bill in veto session.
The Office of the Attorney General has ruled that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) improperly withheld information from NewsChannel 20.
In April, NewsChannel 20 asked DCFS for the “names of DCFS and private agency employees who had their Child Welfare employee Licenses revoked, suspended, or relinquished, or have pending charges filed in FY2018.”
We also asked for the charges they were or are currently facing, along with information describing any charges the employees may have faced since being licensed.
DCFS failed to give us the proper records.
The attorney general’s opinion is here. Pretty straight-forward stuff.
Well, I’m the first person to say that we want full transparency and make sure we’re revealing any information… We need to be as transparent as we possibly can be.
Yeah, except for the undisputed fact that his own agency deliberately withheld a list of alleged bad actors.
Sheesh.
I’m not sure what the FOIA process entails these days, but during the previous administration the governor’s office was given a copy of every information request and was kept in the loop about what would be handed out and what would be withheld.
If your elected representatives are trying to persuade you that you’re not being properly represented in state government, they just might be right.
That’s the insight former Republican governor Jim Edgar imparted as he jabbed the inexperience and lack of accomplishment of the far-right conservative lawmakers who are stoking regional tensions and calling for a downstate divorce from Chicago at rallies around the state.
“I think the voters need to send competent people to Springfield,” Edgar told WCIA on Sunday afternoon. “Because if you’re not getting anything from Springfield, maybe it’s not just because you’re from downstate. Maybe you don’t elect the right people.” […]
“They can say whatever they want, and they can feel that way. And a lot of people feel that way,” Edgar acknowledged. “I’m just saying if you’re working in a system where you’re in the minority and you want to help your constituents, then you have to try and figure out how you can work with them. Fighting with people might be fun, and maybe it plays well back home, but it’s not very effective.”
“Illinois is one state, contrary to what some people might say,” Edgar said. “There’s no way they’re going to kick Chicago out of the state. Sure, maybe it sounds great at a rally in Mount Vernon or some place, but in reality that’s not going to happen.”
* I was tagged in this tweet about a recent IEPA hearing on Sterigenics during my break, but I watched the video anyway and was appalled…
The IEPA was unprepared and disrespectful to our community throughout this meeting. We’re deeply disappointed that we have to continue fighting our own government to breath air free of a carcinogen. We won’t give up. #twill@GovPritzker@capitolfaxpic.twitter.com/R0SnN2p9Tq
My tweeted response: “Dean Studer is paid by the state to run public hearings for the IEPA. Go to about the :50 mark to see what Illinois is paying for. Not acceptable. The folks living, working and going to school near the Sterigenics plant deserve much better treatment than this.”
Our hearings should be orderly. We should have people accepting comments from the public in an appropriate way. I understand that that worker in particular has been suspended from engaging in those kinds of hearings and there’s disciplinary action that’s being considered by the EPA.
* From IEPA Director John Kim…
This behavior was not appropriate and does not reflect our commitment to listening to and respecting the communities we serve. This employee will no longer be conducting these types of hearings and appropriate disciplinary action is being considered.
* But I also asked Gov. Pritzker if the IEPA should hold another hearing in Willowbrook “to give people a legitimate chance this time to express their grievances.” Pritzker’s response…
I didn’t listen to the whole hearing, to be honest. I don’t know whether that incident that you’re referring to which I saw a clip of is something that occurred throughout the hearing or whether people got an opportunity to stand up and say what they wanted to. So, obviously people need to be heard and I believe strongly that action needs to be taken.
The Stop Sterigenics group then called yet again for an immediate special session to address the issue.
Thoughts?
* Related…
* Illinois Cities Consider Eminent Domain to Stop Sterigenics: Illinois communities are contemplating using eminent domain to block the reopening of a Sterigenics U.S. LLC medical-device sterilization facility that emits harmful gases. The mayors of Burr Ridge, Darien, Hinsdale, and Willowbrook are scheduled to meet late Aug. 9 to develop strategies to keep closed the Sterigenics facility, which emits ethylene oxide. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency ordered the Sterigenics facility shut down in February over concerns about its emissions.
A longtime gun violence prevention and workers’ rights advocate, Denyse Wang Stoneback, on Monday jumped into the 2020 Democratic primary to challenge State Rep. Mark Kalish (D-Chicago) who, Stoneback said, “can’t be trusted to keep his word in Springfield” in her announcement referring to the appointed-incumbent’s flip-flop vote on a key reproductive healthcare bill during the spring legislative session.
Stoneback is backed by the Niles Township Democratic Organization and former Deputy House Majority Leader Lou Lang (D-Skokie), who last January supported Kalish’s appointment to his House seat. She also has the endorsements of MWRD Commissioner Josina Morita and Personal PAC.
During her campaign kick-off event at Emily Oaks Nature Center in Skokie, she called out Kalish not only over his flip-flop on the Reproductive Health Act, but also for caving to gun rights advocates aligned with the National Rifle Association.
The first-time candidate noted that Kalish killed his own concealed carry legislation, HB 3023, after pushback from the gun lobby.
“When he was given the chance to honor his pledge to our community to protect a woman’s right to choose and protect our community from gun violence, he reversed his course on choice and he caved to the gun lobby,” said Stoneback. “He cannot be trusted to keep his word in Springfield.”
Stoneback, who grew up in and raised her son in the 16th District and is a social media consultant and former senior adviser to the National Gun Victims Action Council, said a priority is to restore “trust and confidence” with the district’s voters.
“With falsehoods out of Washington, voters, here, in Skokie, Morton Grove, Lincolnwood, and Chicago are desperately seeking leaders that they can trust,” said Stoneback. “I pledge that I will listen to and represent my constituents to the best of my ability. I will be cognizant of issues that matter to the district and the values of the district. I will be true to my word once it is given.”
During her speech, Stoneback, who founded the Skokie-based, gun violence prevention group People for a Safer Society, offered pledges on multiple fronts, including being “a fighter for progressive change and a vocal leader on issues that this community cares about.” She promised to work “toward a safer, more equitable and just society for everyone.”
Lang held the seat currently occupied by Kalish for 32 years. He offered a full-throated endorsement to Stoneback.
“If you want a state representative that you can trust on choice and guns and who will stand up to anti-choice extremists and the NRA, Denyse Wang Stoneback is your candidate,” said Lang. “Denyse will represent the values of our communities – your values – every single day when she is voting in Springfield, unlike Rep. Kalish.”
Amends the Firearm Concealed Carry Act. Adds any building, real property, or parking area under the control of a church, synagogue, temple, mosque, or other place of worship, to the places where concealed carry of a firearm under the Act is prohibited.
*** UPDATE *** Terry Cosgrove of Personal PAC…
Personal PAC is proud to endorse Denyse Wang Stoneback for State Representative in the March 2020 Democratic primary.
As State Representative, Denyse will always vote to defend the right of women to make their own health care decisions without interference from politicians, unlike Representative Kalish.
Kalish promised publicly and privately, verbally and in writing, on numerous occasions, that he would vote for the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), but refused to do so when the RHA came up for a vote in the Illinois House.
Kalish lied to Personal PAC, lied to Planned Parenthood, lied to the ACLU, lied to Lou Lang, lied to Jan Schakowsky, lied to Ram Villivalam, lied to Josina Morita, lied to his House colleagues, lied to the RHA House sponsor, lied to everyone in this room, and most egregiously, lied to the voters of the 16th House district who have counted on their State Representative to protect them from the attacks of the right-wing who wish to make abortion and birth control illegal in Illinois.
By refusing to support the RHA and lying to everyone, Kalish stood with Donald Trump and his supporters in Springfield who are working to return women to those horrible days when abortion was illegal and women died in back alleys and hospital emergency rooms from botched and self-induced abortions.
I grew up and was raised in the 16th district. I’m a graduate of Niles West High School. I now live just a few miles from here and remain grateful for the incredible diversity of my hometown.
The real question for the voters of the 16th district in March of 2020 is which one of us, which one of you, will Kalish lie to next? When is the next time he will stand with right-wingers to cause harm to others in our communities who are under fierce attack every single day by Donald Trump and his enablers?
At this time when the right-wing is attacking women at every turn and the U.S. Supreme Court is looking to overturn Roe v. Wade ASAP, we need a State Representative who will say NO to these attempts in Illinois, and that State Representative must be Denyse Stoneback, not State Representative Kalish who is so easily willing to join in the attacks on the dignity, health, lives, dreams and aspirations of Illinois women.
A year-long CBS 2 investigation into children traumatized by Chicago police wrongly raiding their homes has led to a new law just signed by Governor JB Pritzker.
Peter Mendez was nine years old when he became the first child to speak out about officers bursting into his family home, pointing guns at him and leaving him traumatized.
CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini spent a year exposing similar cases involving 23 other children.
As a result of this investigation, State Sen. Jacqueline Collins introduced the Peter Mendez Act, signed into law Friday, requiring police officer training to understand the trauma children experience during police action and de-escalation training too.
A bill signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday, August 9 ensures that contributions of LGBTQ people will be taught in Illinois public schools.
HB 246 goes into effect on July 1, 2020.
The bill states that textbooks purchased with grant funds must be non-discriminatory.
Books will “include a study of the roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the history of this country and this State”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed a sweeping anti-sexual harassment law. But one woman who accused a lawmaker of harassment is disappointed with an aspect of the new rules.
Denise Rotheimer says she objects to part of the new law that levies a fine of $5,000 on accusers for leaking information from an ethics commission report before its official release. […]
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Melinda Bush, a Grayslake Democrat, previously said the purpose of the fine is to prevent redacted information from becoming public.
“This is not to fine victim; this is to protect everyone’s confidentiality and still allow the accuser to see the report before it becomes public,” Bush said.
What: Gov. Pritzker to sign medical cannabis legislation.
Where: Memorial Hospital Campus, Memorial Center for Learning and Innovation, 228 West Miller Street, Springfield
When: 1:30 p.m.
He officially signed the bill on Friday because the 60-day clock was about to expire.
Adds qualifying medical conditions that were previously approved by the Illinois Medical Cannabis Advisory Board. Allows APRN’s and Physician Assistants to certify patients in addition to physicians.
Increases the number of caregivers (up to 3) that patients can designate to help them access the medical cannabis program, particularly helping children and senior patients.
Requires 5 remaining dispensaries to be awarded using social equity as a significant factor.
Real-time changes from IDPH when qualified patients designate a new registered dispensary.
Directs the IDFPR to establish guidelines permitting returns and refunds for damaged and inadequate products, and streamlines program access for veterans.
The new law also gives qualified patients the right to grow as many as five plants in their homes.
There is confusion, [Brad Cole, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League] said, about how law enforcers will know a person who is growing cannabis in their home is doing so legally as a prescribed medical marijuana user. […]
The new law allows those who have a medical marijuana card to grow no more than five plants in their home without needing to be a licensed cultivation center or craft grower. The League’s concern, Cole wrote in his letter, is the lack of “registration or notification requirements to municipalities or their police departments” about which residences can legally grow cannabis plants.
“We’re saying, we need to know,” he said. “How do we know if these are five legal plants or five illegal plants?”
[Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, one of the statute’s framers and her chamber’s sponsor] said the idea of “a registry had been raised,” but some interest groups expressed concerns it might be a civil rights violation. She added local governing bodies would know if the plants were legal by asking whether their owner had a medical marijuana card.
Steans is exactly right. If the patients are selling their personal stash to others, then bust ‘em. If not, why do the cops need to know what people are doing in the privacy of their own homes for their own health benefits? A registry is essentially a prior assumption of guilt in this instance.
Times have changed. The stigma needs to be lifted.
Former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran on Saturday finally conceded last November’s election to John Idleburg, a Zion Democrat, two days into a four-day recount of selected precincts that he had sought.
The three-term incumbent Republican was ousted by 137 votes out of 245,633 that were cast as a Democratic wave swept the suburbs.
Former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran will seek the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate next year in hopes of challenging Sen. Dick Durbin in the November 2020 election.
Curran said Wednesday he will formally kick off his campaign Aug. 15 at the Illinois State Fair.
Curran, 56, of Libertyville, said he was encouraged to run by people in the state Republican Party, in part because there are concerns no other strong candidates will emerge to oppose Durbin’s bid for a fifth term.
“I think you’ll basically see I have all the support of the party,” he said. […]
Four other Republican candidates have declared: Peggy Hubbard, Dean Seppelfrick, Omeed Memar and Robert Marshall, who ran for governor in 2018 as a Democrat.
“I don’t have to do this,” Curran said, adding he had spoken to U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood of Peoria and former U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren of Plano about a run.
“The consensus is I would be a Tier One candidate,” he said, noting his suburban background could help Republicans in a region that is shifting Democratic. […]
He said he was not opposed to universal background checks to purchase a firearm but contended issues involving mental health and video games are more significant in dealing with gun violence than attempting to ban high-power weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
Curran said there are a lot of “societal problems causing this violence” such as “destruction of the family and glorification of violence.”
“There’s a connection to the sanctity of life, that you could kill a baby in a partial-birth abortion,” he said. “That’s why we’re in trouble on so many fronts.”
State Sen. Tom Cullerton has been removed as chair of the Illinois Senate’s Labor Committee, just days after being charged in a federal indictment for allegedly being a ghost payroller for the Teamsters — to the tune of $188,000 in salary benefits and $64,000 in health and pension contributions.
Cullerton will instead chair the Senate’s Veterans Affairs Committee — a decision made by Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, who is a cousin of the Villa Park Democrat. Tom Cullerton will still serve as a member the Labor Committee, however.
The shift in leadership posts ensures Tom Cullerton won’t lose any legislative compensation.
“After a discussion, it was a mutual decision that this was for the best,” John Patterson, spokesman for Senate President John Cullerton said in a statement.
A federal investigation that resulted in an embezzlement and conspiracy indictment announced Aug. 2 against state Sen. Thomas Cullerton hasn’t cost him the support of Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, a distant cousin.
In his first public comments since the charges were announced, John Cullerton told the Chicago Sun-Times the Villa Park Democrat remains “a valued member of the caucus and a friend of mine” — and declined to say whether federal prosecutors have contacted him.
Nor has the investigation turned off the campaign-money spigot for the now-indicted senator.
Accused of taking $188,000 in salary and other pay plus additional benefits from the Teamsters union despite “doing little or no work,” Thomas Cullerton has raised about $30,000 in campaign contributions since the first news report, in April, that he was under investigation, campaign-finance records show. Dozens of people and political groups have made contributions since WBEZ Chicago broke the news the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago had subpoenaed the Illinois Senate for Thomas Cullerton’s legislative attendance and travel records, among other documents. […]
Asked whether he has been contacted or interviewed by federal agents or prosecutors investigating his cousin in the widening corruption probe that ensnared Chicago’s former top Teamsters union official, John Coli Sr., who is now cooperating with prosecutors, John Cullerton said: “I just don’t want to answer that question … I don’t think it’d be good to talk about the case at all because it’s pending. I just don’t want to go there.”
* ILGOP…
“Sen. Cullerton must resign immediately. He may be hoping Illinoisans will forget about his criminal behavior, but the people of this state are fed up with corruption at the hands of its public officials. The self dealing must end now if citizens are ever going to put trust in their government to work for them and not the political ruling class.” -Tim Schneider
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider called on Sen. Tom Cullerton to resign last week after it was reported by the Chicago Tribune that the Democrat legislator has been indicted by federal prosecutors. Since then, it’s been business as usual for Illinois Democrats as Cullerton will be arraigned in US District Court this Wednesday - Governor’s Day at the State Fair.
Chairman Schneider is shocked at the silence from Illinois Democrats and especially the complimentary words of Senate President John Cullerton, who called his indicted cousin ‘a valued member of the caucus and a friend of mine’. President Cullerton didn’t just stop at nice words, he also cut Sen. Tom Cullerton a sweet deal, removing him from one committee chairmanship and giving him another - keeping in place the $10,500 pay hike chairs receive.
Schneider responded, saying, “The shamelessness of Senate President Cullerton’s words and actions are a slap in the face to every Illinoisan. Embezzlement and conspiracy come with jail time for regular people. For a Democrat senator, those crimes come with a new committee chairmanship and praise. Are there any Illinois Democrats who will speak up and do the right thing?”
A state employee at the Department of Innovation and Technology — the agency tasked with securing state data — inadvertently published the names, gender, birthdates, and social security numbers of some watercraft owners to the internet, an agency spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
The Department of Natural Resources collects registration information from people who own boats, jet skis, and other watercraft to provide licenses. State law requires new watercraft license applicants to submit their social security number so the state can ensure they are in compliance with any outstanding child support obligations. DoIT, the state’s IT department, manages and maintains their database.
The data was published to the Illinois Open Data Portal, which is open to the public, between April 4th and April 8th and again from April 29th through May 1st, 2019. It has since been removed, and the agency has changed its policies to prevent it from happening again.
“The State has reviewed its policies, procedures and requirements on how data is published to the Open Data Portal and taken corrective action,” DoIT spokeswoman Jennifer Schultz said in an email. “The State immediately stopped posting information to the Open Data Portal that requires a manual extraction to ensure that human error does not occur.”
* Related…
* Following Critical Audit, New Illinois CIO Talks Improvement: “Our ultimate goal by the tail end of this is that we’ll lessen our dependency on the supplier community and we can be self-sustaining and we leverage the suppliers where we need them for scale, but our ultimate goal is this is our DNA and we should run and maintain it ourselves where applicable,” Guerrier said.
When Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan announced in February 2018 that he had fired Kevin Quinn, the brother of Madigan’s alderman and political general, he said he’d done so because of Quinn’s “inappropriate conduct” with Alaina Hampton, whom he called a “courageous woman.”
Hampton had come forward with allegations of sexual harassment by Quinn and retaliation by Madigan’s organization.
But Madigan also said at the time that Quinn had failed to “exercise the political judgment I expect of those affiliated with my political organizations and the Office of the Speaker.”
In other words, Madigan was making it clear that loyalty goes well beyond merely showing up every day and working hard and meeting or exceeding goals. Loyalty, which is a trait prized most highly by Madigan, also means not doing anything that could get the boss into trouble or bring disrepute on the organization.
Quinn had worked for Madigan’s organization in one form or another for about 20 years. But he was abruptly tossed overboard without a life jacket. Or so we thought.
Several months later, starting in the fall of 2018 and continuing into the spring of 2019, a group of loyal Madigan capos wrote checks to Kevin Quinn totaling $10,000, according to a Chicago Tribune report published last month.
Madigan may have expressed public contrition in 2018, but I know for a fact (because I’ve argued this point with them) that some members of his organization have privately never forgiven Hampton for coming forward. She, in some minds, is the disloyal one for airing Madigan’s dirty laundry in public.
And, by extension, Kevin Quinn is the victim who needed their help. He had been publicly kicked out of the kingdom. He had no job and no prospects and was going through a very bitter divorce. So they stepped up with a little pin money for “their guy.” Maybe it was to help him pay child support, but his soon-to-be ex-wife claims he has shorted her on child support.
This behavior is not an isolated incident and is precisely the sort of environment which kept Madigan in hot water throughout 2018. Among other instances, some top Madigan dogs helped Madigan’s former chief of staff Tim Mapes find consulting work after he was dumped over a sexual harassment complaint.
I know most of the guys who wrote the checks to Quinn and like or at least respect some of them. I’m pretty sure that most of them believed they were trying to “help” one of their own. The same goes for the Mapes stuff.
But Madigan was absolutely right last year when he accused Quinn of not exercising proper political judgment. And he could’ve easily said the same thing about Mapes. I mean, the big boss is being besieged on all sides over sexual harassment issues and while this is all going on his top Springfield lieutenant allegedly says — on the House floor to a low-level House employee — “Are you going to sex training today?”
That’s disloyalty. Plain and simple. There’s just no other way to describe it.
And, in my mind, “helping” disloyal people is also a form of disloyalty.
Not to mention that this was done in a way that was almost sure to be discovered.
Forget about the federal investigation for a moment. I’m not sure why the feds are looking at the checks written to Kevin Quinn, as the Tribune report claimed. Maybe we’ll all find out one day, or maybe not. I doubt anyone could’ve predicted this happening.
But Quinn’s soon-to-be ex has, by all accounts, a fearsome divorce lawyer. I would bet money that lawyer went after Quinn’s bank accounts to determine how much he could afford to spend on child support. And voilà, a handy dandy paper trail emerged of $1,000 checks.
#Facepalm.
Then again, maybe they didn’t care about being discovered, which would be even worse. As I said, I really like and respect some of those guys, but they don’t call ‘em Madigoons for nothing.
Or, worst of all, Madigan knew about the “help” and either didn’t say anything or otherwise encouraged it. And if he did, then all his talk about loyalty was just that. Talk.
Time and time and time again, Speaker Madigan has sworn that he has seen the light and has promised to change the culture of his vast organization.
We’re still waiting.
* Related…
* Amid sexual harassment allegations in his organization, House Speaker Michael Madigan trumpets signing of anti-harassment law: Alaina Hampton, the former campaign worker who accused Quinn of harassment and has sued Madigan’s campaign fund and the state Democratic Party alleging she’s been “unjustly punished” for coming forward, said the new law is a sign of “progress when it comes to sexual misconduct in our state.” However, “until there is real justice for victims and meaningful accountability for bad actors, no one should be patting themselves on the back,” Hampton said in a statement.
* Pritzker signs anti-harasment bill: It limits the use of contract provisions intended to prevent an employee from reporting sexual harassment, such as non-disclosure agreements or arbitration clauses. Extends harassment protections to contract employees who do not now have it. Clarifies that it is illegal to discriminate against an employee if they are perceived to be part of a protected class (such as gender or sexual orientation) even if they are not. Allows victims of gender-related violence to take unpaid leave from work to get medical help, legal assistance, counseling and other help. Requires hotels and casinos to provide employees who work in isolated spaces with panic buttons to use if they are sexually harassed or assaulted.
