Bernard M. Judge, one of the most influential editors in the Chicago newspaper business in the last half century and one of the last links to a bygone era of Chicago journalism, died at his Chicago home early Friday of pancreatic cancer. He was 79.
Judge was editor and publisher of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and its sister magazine from 1988 to 2007.
He held wide influence in the industry as a top editor of the Chicago Tribune and later the Chicago Sun-Times. He was also editor and general manager of the City News Bureau of Chicago before he joined the Law Bulletin.
Judge hired and promoted dozens of reporters and editors in at each stop in his career, including some who went on to great fame.
In a story first reported by Springfield TV reporter Mark Maxwell that I’ve confirmed with multiple sources, the contract for American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (commonly known as AFSCME) will run for eight years, replacing a deal that expired on July 1, 2015.
The wage hikes are relatively modest, with workers getting no hike at all for the four years that are already gone but having instead to settle for a bonus of up to $2,500 a worker that will not go into the salary base.
Raises will kick in starting July 1, with salaries to rise 11.5 percent across the board over four years. That’s on top of the raises for experience, or “step” increases, which will continue to be paid. […]
(W)orkers over the next four years will end up putting in $624 to $864 a year more [for health insurance], depending on family size—and $420 on top of that if they make more than $125,000 a year
That’s a really good point by Greg about how this contract covers eight years because the union hasn’t had a contract for the past four.
* I used the BLS inflation calculator to see what a union member making $50,000 a year as of July 1, 2015 would be making now if her wages had kept pace with inflation: $53,653.41, which would’ve been a 7.3 percent increase.
So, the $2,500 bonus (only for employees who’ve worked four solid years) won’t even cover inflation for that particular worker in one year, let alone four. And those who earn higher wages will lose out on even more.
Not to say this is a bad contract. At all. It’s pretty good. By my calculations, it works out to be about a 10.9 percent increase after higher insurance costs, which should put them a few points above CPI by the time this contract ends. However, those calculations don’t include step increases (which have been raised) and other contractual increases.
* And if you think union members should be paying more for insurance, keep this in mind…
It is the first increase in premiums or out of pocket health costs in four years. Insurance costs were not increased during the contract standoff with Rauner. AFSCME said Rauner was seeking premium increases of 120 percent and other changes that would have put Illinois state health insurance benefits near the bottom of those in any state.
As with almost everything else, Rauner demanded the moon and got nothing for four years. Such a great negotiator. All he did was defer costs to the future, like the step increases he unlawfully refused to pay. Cleaning up after this guy’s hubris-fueled mess is gonna take a long while.
The Employer will establish email safeguards in an effort to prohibit outside organizations from using state email to spread anti-union messages.
That’s obviously aimed at the Illinois Policy Institute, which is not happy with this contract, even though it’s been trying to convince AFSCME members that the union is no good…
The union will also be allowed to conduct new employee orientations during workers’ first two weeks on the job.
* More importantly for workers, perhaps, is increasing maternity/paternity leave from the current four to ten weeks. If both parents work for the state, they can take that leave together or consecutively. And all of Gov. Rauner’s privatization demands were withdrawn by the Pritzker administration.
In Illinois, children can obtain religious exemptions from mandated vaccines. In 2015, Illinois tightened the religious exemption requirement—parents claiming a religious exemption now must obtain certification from a physician that they have received education on vaccine safety. The logic at the time was that the number of religious exemptions in Illinois would fall.
Unfortunately, we were wrong. In 2013, before the law’s passage, there were 13,000 Illinois children claiming a religious exemption. This past year, the number of religious exemptions was up 46 percent, to over 19,000. Today, more than 100,000 Illinois schoolchildren attend a school with a measles vaccine rate of less than 95 percent. This is the threshold for “herd immunity,” meaning these schools are at increased risk of an outbreak. The large increase in religious exemptions also makes clear that parents opt-out of vaccination because of misinformation, not religious practice. The social media echo chamber has so frightened parents that some now don’t even trust their pediatrician.
So now what? The General Assembly needs to take up legislation in the fall veto session eliminating the religious exemption. That is what California did after a 2014 outbreak that started in Disneyland infected nearly 150 people. At that time, the vaccination rate in California was 92 percent. It is now nearly 98 percent.
In the meantime, there are steps the state can take now. The Illinois State Board of Education should issue a public report listing schools with low vaccination rates. Parents deserve to know if they are putting their children at risk. Additionally, the IDPH religious exemption process must be redesigned to prevent fraud. At present, all someone wanting a religious exemption for their child must do is give a doctor a form to sign that says the parent received vaccine-safety education. It’s all done on paper and there is no process to verify that a licensed clinician signed the form.
We all had hoped the law passed in 2014 would increase vaccination rates. We were wrong. The General Assembly must again step in and prevent Illinois from becoming the next ground zero for measles.
There are no constitutional protections that allow you to put the population at risk of deadly disease outbreaks. Look it up if you don’t believe me.
The governor has taken some unilateral actions to step up vaccinations. But it’s not gonna be enough as long as legions of clever dimwits and grifters are fooling more and more people into thinking they and their children don’t need to be vaccinated.
The Thomson prison is not a new subject and to imply it has been a long journey is an understatement. State and federal governments have made large investments in this prison and I realize the local communities have matched these efforts.
The Administrative United States Penitentiary (AUSP) at Thomson currently employs nearly 400 staff, with a future full staffing complement of over 600. While a majority of our staff and their families are from the local area, a large number have transferred from other institutions and now reside in your communities. They are a diverse group with diverse needs and their presence has a compounding effect as salaries are redistributed throughout the local area, in housing, food, goods, services, and taxes.
As our staffing levels continue to grow, the demand for homes and other amenities also increase. Affordable and desirable housing along with good quality schools and day care centers determine where Bureau of Prisons’ staff reside. They need apartments, rental houses, starter homes, and larger homes for their expanding families. Unfortunately, for some, commuting a long distance is necessary, with some staff traveling as far north as Dubuque and south beyond the Quad Cities.
AUSP Thomson is now offering new Correctional Officers a sign-on bonus of 10% of their salary and after successfully completing one year of service; new staff will receive a one-time bonus of over $4,000. However, this may not be enough to entice staff to reside in the local community. Therefore, I humbly request your assistance in advocating for more housing development. Please do what you can to create conversations among community leadership and residential developers. I fear that without noticeable development, the lack of housing may become a determining factor against relocating to this area.
Thomson is a northwestern Illinois tiny town of 590 people. It had been the site of a state prison, but the state decided it didn’t need the facility and it was eventually unloaded on the feds.
“It’s hard to believe we have no retail in Thomson and we have limited housing,” [Thomson Village President Vicky Trager] said. “The housing that we do have is mostly older, small, single family homes. We have some income-based multi-unit apartment buildings.”
Michelle Horst is a Human Resource Specialist for the Bureau of Prisons. She says this lack of amenities means employees commute an average of 30 miles to work.
She says most employees reside in the Illinois cities of Thomson, Savanna, Mount Carroll, Fulton, Morrision and the Sterling/Rock Falls area, as well as Clinton, Iowa. “However, we do have some employees that commute as far as 50-70 miles or more, including a significant number in the Quad Cities area,” she said. […]
Since the release of the warden’s letter, [prison spokesperson Nicole McDowell] says several communities have responded with commitments to new development.
“Outside of Thomson, Mt Carroll let us know that they’re doing a renovation that’s going to provide lots and lots of housing, and Clinton let us know that they are about to do another housing area like the ‘landing’ that they have that will also house a lot of staff,” she said. […]
For now, the Bureau of Prisons has designated Thomson a “hard to fill” institution, allowing staff to offer a variety of hiring and pension incentives. As for Thomson itself, Trager hopes the warden’s recent letter can get the word out about new job hires and attract future developers.
Diversity concerns have prompted a battle over an appointment to a West Side judicial seat after Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke nominated a white attorney to fill a spot held by a retiring African American judge. […]
“We challenge Justice Anne Burke’s decision to replace Justice Marianne Jackson with someone who is not from our community,” said Rev. Marshall Hatch, New Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, speaking to a group of community leaders from the west side gathered in the Austin community with concerns about judicial diversity. […]
“To find that she’s been replaced by someone that’s not from our community is a travesty, I think it’s a slap in the face to the residents of the West Side of Chicago,” said 28th Ward Alderman Jason Ervin. […]
“That basically says that there is no qualified African Americans on the West Side of Chicago that are able to take that seat, and I find that highly offensive,” [Ervin] said.
“We don’t know who she is, never seen her at any events on the West Side of Chicago and for her to be representing us as a judicial appointment is a slap in the face to residents of the West Side,” Ervin said. […]
“The subcircuit back in the 1990s was designed to bring more African-Americans and Latinos to the bench. And clearly, that person does not fit either one of those characteristics,” Ervin said.
Smith’s appointment runs through December 2020. Ald. Ervin is already vowing to challenge her with a candidate from the West Side who he supports in next year’s elections.
On Oct, 29, 2018, Ald. Jason Ervin came to my office and asked me to appoint Pamela Reaves- Harris to an upcoming 7th Subcircuit vacancy. I let Ald. Ervin know that Ms. Harris was welcome to apply and that she would need to be reviewed by my Judicial Selection Committee. […]
Pamela Reaves-Harris submitted an application which included an evaluation by The Chicago Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Committee. The evaluation, executed by then President Patricia Brown Holmes, found Ms. Harris to be “Not Recommended” for the office of Circuit Court Judge and stated, in part, that while Ms. Harris was “a dedicated, busy and hardworking public servant,” her “limited practice and court experience would make it difficult for her to effectively serve as a Circuit Court Judge.” My Judicial Selection Committee similarly concluded that Ms. Reaves-Harris was not a qualified candidate. Cara LeFevour Smith was found “Highly Qualified” by both the Chicago Bar Association and my Judicial Screening Committee. The Supreme Court unanimously voted to appointment Cara LeFevour Smith to the 7th Subcircuit vacancy.
Having qualified judges is in the best interests of public safety and promotes confidence in the justice system.
Derrick Smith was appointed to a vacancy in the Illinois House of Representatives in March 2011. In March 2012, just a week before the Democratic primary, Smith was arrested on federal charges. An informant caught Smith on tape accepting a $7,000 bribe to promote a grant to a day care center. On tape, Rep. Smith can be overheard telling the man passing the money to just ‘leave it in the envelope.’ […]
Well, Smith won the primary with Democratic Party support (he was running against a one-time Republican operative for the Democratic nomination), but got booted out of the House thereafter. Despite his expulsion, Smith stayed on the ballot, beating a “Unity Party” candidate who was recruited and endorsed by the Democratic Party in Smith’s stead.
Smith could not be expelled from the House a second time for the same offense — and his case hadn’t gone to trial by the time the 2014 primary rolled around. So the party put up Pamela Reaves-Harris to oppose him. She won. (Smith was convicted in June 2014.)
Reaves-Harris did not run for reelection. As a result, Melissa Conyears-Ervin, the wife of Ald. Jason Ervin, wound up unopposed in the Democratic Primary and won that seat, holding it until her recent election as City Treasurer.
Ald. Ervin raises some valid questions about diversity. But he should’ve backed a more qualified candidate so as not to give Justice Burke such an easy way out.
* On June 2nd, Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) rose to speak on Sen. Martin Sandoval’s SB1939, the bill which raised several taxes and fees to fund the horizontal infrastructure bill…
First of all, I would like to thank my good friend Sen. Sandoval. The guy put in incredible amounts of time. I assume that most of you know that. Traveling all over the state to meet with people to discuss needs and lining up support for this, as did our Sen. DeWitte on this side of the aisle.
Having said that, I’m in a position where I believe I need to vote ‘Present’ because of a potential conflict. But, again, thank you to the two of you, especially Sen. Sandoval, for putting in the time and making that happen. Thanks.
* From Oberweis’ congressional campaign Facebook page…
Sen. Rezin did vote for the bill, as did most of Oberweis’ GOP colleagues. And I dunno about you, but it sure sounded to me that night that he would’ve voted for it, too, had it not been for his unexplained conflict of interest.
On the heels of a resolution passed by the alumni council calling on Western Illinois University president Dr. Jack Thomas to resign by June 30 – or be kicked out by trustees – some school employees say he is performing well in the face of tough economic and geographic realities.
“It’s not any one person’s fault, but the leader gets blamed,” said Dr. Rick Hardy, a political science professor and dean of WIU’s Centennial Honors College. “I think our leadership should get credit for keeping this institution open and thriving.”
Most of the alumni council’s 15 members have a different view. By a vote of 15-2 in a special session June 6, the council adopted a resolution insisting that Thomas step down by the end of this month and that the university’s board of trustees terminate his contract should he not do so.
The document, signed by council president John Sanders and made public Monday, demanded other measures, including ramping up efforts to increase enrollment, cutting least-popular academic programs and establishing “tangible metrics” to gauge the effectiveness of changes.
As Western Illinois University prepares for its Summer Orientation and Registration events beginning June 4, a group of local business owners have initiated a sign campaign calling for the WIU Board of Trustees to fire President Jack Thomas.
Photos of signs outside area businesses began appearing on social media Wednesday. Perhaps the most visible was the sign on the marquee of The Forum, which reads, “Fire Jack” on the first line and “Support WIU” just below.
However, other signs have been appearing as well. One wooden sign at an unknown location reading, “Fire Jack Thomas Support WIU” in purple, spray painted stencil lettering was posted on Facebook by The Forum co-owner Roger Ward. Another, yellow sign outside of the old Farm King building on E. Jackson Street reads simply, “Fire Jack.”
If you have not heard about the recent plot to remove the first African-American president at Western Illinois University, Dr. Jack Thomas, by the incumbent Board of Trustees, listen closely. Diverse: Issues In Higher Education recently covered how the disgruntled community blames President Thomas for the pending financial shortcoming due to low enrollment. In recent weeks, Macomb, Illinois, was showered with signs declaring, “Fire Jack!” and one prominent “Fire Jack Support WIU” on the marquee of a dilapidated theater. According to the 2018 United States Census data, Macomb has a total population of 17,559 with 86.9 percent of the community identifying as White alone. Only 7.5 percent of the population identifies as Black or African-American; whereas, at Western Illinois, as of 2018, Black or African-Americans, and the Hispanic populations make up 18.8 percent and 11.3 percent respectively.
Reorganization of administrative leadership is underway at Western Illinois University following the termination of Brad Bainter, vice president for advancement and public services and executive officer of the WIU Foundation. […]
“This morning I was asked to retire effective at the end of the month. I refused. I was then terminated without cause effective today. I want to thank each and everyone of you for your service to Western. Your friendship has meant so much to me that I could never put it into words. Your service has been invaluable to Western. I am sure I will continue to see many of you throughout the coming years.”
Former Western Illinois University Trustee Lyneir Cole is accusing several of the newly-appointed board members of a “plot to fire” WIU President Jack Thomas.
Cole’s accusation is based on a series of email exchanges among trustees, retired faculty and others sent between April 25 and May 10. […]
Also in the email between Balsamo and Thompson are comments referencing concerns about perceived racism. Balsamo wrote on May 7, “I am picking up some disturbing () about the Jack situation and so is at least one other member of the group. My fear is that the Jack predicament cannot easily be separated from race. (My) guess is that right three members of the board, the two African Americans and Aguilar will be at least skeptical about any immediate move on Jack and they may be supported by some in the governor’s office and certainly some in the legislature…. I know certainly that some of the opposition to Jack is racist, but even if he were purple he has been a near total failure here.”
He later wrote on May 9, “Race hangs over this whole situation, but I have the feeling that if Jack were white or even Asian he would have been gone some time ago.”
* Check out the enrollment numbers…
Undergraduate enrollment across the nine Illinois universities’ twelve campuses fell by 11.9% from the fall of 2008 to 2018, based on a preliminary headcount. As shown in the chart, the enrollment trends vary significantly by institution: https://t.co/Yo2KCRbfbBpic.twitter.com/zZs3mOdoTj
— The Civic Federation (@CivicFederation) June 8, 2019
President Jack Thomas has announced he will serve his last day on June 30, 2019. He said he believes the university will be “best served by new leadership.”
President Thomas has requested to be moved to administrative leave for two years at current salary, with the option to return to his faculty position after two years, which has been approved by the Board of Trustees.
Unlike those who voted against the capital bill so as not to soil their political hands by going on record as being willing to pay for those projects, yet who no doubt will celebrate when it comes time to break ground on them, I voted for that [Motor Fuel Tax] increase.
That vote was made somewhat easier because in 2016, almost four out of every five voters approved the Transportation Lockbox Amendment to our state Constitution, mandating that gas taxes only be spent on infrastructure.
We’ve seen what decades of neglect have done to our roads. Illinois’ infrastructure chickens have come home to roost, and anyone who tells you that all of this can be done by cutting spending elsewhere or waiting another 10 years for another capital bill is living in a dream world. I could not in good conscience expect $266 million to be spent in District 63 on such sorely needed projects and then ask everyone else in the state to pick up the tab.
Illinois stands at the center of the nation’s transportation system. Our roads, rails, airports and rivers carry more traffic than any other state in the Union. Illinois’ economy cannot grow without first-rate infrastructure. But it all comes at a price, and that bill needs to be paid.
As fiscally responsible Republicans, we should be talking about why the state needs such a higher percentage of our money to deal with infrastructure. Why does it cost so much more per mile to build roads and bridges in Illinois compared to many other states?
Like so often is the case, in Illinois we suffer under heavy mandates and an adversarial regulatory environment that drives costs upward. We have onerous prevailing wage rates and our taxpayers potentially pay up to five times what taxpayers in neighboring Indiana pay for workers’ compensation.
Road construction workers do make a good living here - when they’re working. Workers’ comp is a real problem. And our regulations could always use a revamp.
I, for one, do not begrudge those folks one penny of their federal subsidies. Then again, I also don’t have a real problem with road construction workers who can make enough money to send their kids to college.
Moody’s has issued a short, new report (attached) following the State of Illinois’ (rated Baa3/stable outlook) recent flurry of legislation and signing of the FY 2020 budget. The bills, which the governor is expected to sign into law, are credit positive for the state’s local governments because they will receive new funding for capital and potential new sources of operating revenue. The primary winners in the new budget are the state’s school districts designated as Tier 1 or Tier 2, including Chicago Public Schools (CPS – B2/stable), as those districts received a $375 million bump in formula funding.
For the third straight year, Illinois’ budget prioritizes K-12 education funding by exceeding the aggressive funding targets called for by the evidence-based school funding formula, which categorizes each school district into one of four tiers based on need. Tier 1 and Tier 2 districts, including CPS, receive the vast majority of any boost in state funding. For fiscal 2020, the state will increase formula funding by close to $375 million, including $50 million for property tax relief, following boosts of $350 million in fiscal years 2018 and 2019. Nearly 70% of districts are currently designated as Tier 1 or Tier 2 and will receive over 90% of the increased funding. Other districts will continue to benefit from the formula’s “hold harmless” provision, which prevents reductions in state aid for any school district even if it currently is considered funded in excess of need or there is a drop in enrollment.
Local governments will receive a significant infusion of capital dollars under the Rebuild Illinois capital plan. The statewide motor fuel tax rate will double to 38 cents per gallon from 19 cents per gallon, increasing each year thereafter in line with inflation. The rate hike is projected to yield an additional $1.2 billion in revenue each year, approximately 32% of which will go to local governments. Certain counties will also be able to increase their local gas tax on top of the statewide bump.
The impact of legislation authorizing a massive expansion of gambling is less certain. The legislation will add six casinos, including in four cities that we rate: Chicago (Ba1/stable), Rockford (A2/negative), Waukegan (A2), and Danville (Baa3/stable). There will also be an expansion at the current ten existing casinos and of video gaming. The new casinos have the potential to generate significant revenues, but those revenues are difficult to project, particularly as the gambling landscape is becoming increasingly competitive. Furthermore, revenue-sharing provisions will dilute the impact for the individual cities receiving new casinos. Importantly, all of the cities chosen for casinos are grappling with rising pension costs. If the new casinos were to generate significant revenues, it could have a meaningful impact in comparison with pension contribution gaps using reported assumptions. However, the revenues produced by existing locations have steadily declined over the last five years, a trend that could be exacerbated by increased competition.
While credit positive, most Illinois local governments will receive minimal tax revenue from cannabis sales, if the state’s experience mirrors other states with legalized recreational cannabis such as Colorado. For example, in fiscal 2016, Denver (Aaa/stable) collected $27.6 million in cannabis sales taxes on roughly $500 million in gross sales, which amounted to a minimal 2% of general fund revenue. However, as with gaming revenues, cannabis revenue has proven to be volatile.
Moody’s declaration of “credit positive” or “credit negative” does not connote a rating or outlook change. It is indicative of the impact of a distinct event or development as one of many credit factors affecting the issuer.
At a Capitol press conference on June 30, Pritzker told reporters that credit ratings agencies should look positively at the budget and capital bills, along with the revenues lawmakers approved to fund both.
“It took a lot of years for Illinois to get into the situation that we’re in today where the rating agencies have put us,” Pritzker said. “It’s going to take years for us to get out of it. But this is an enormous step forward.
“Think about it: a truly balanced budget where we’re actually going to pay off some of our debts,” the governor continued. “We’re beginning to address our pensions. We’re doing things that I think move us in the right direction from a financial perspective, a fiscal perspective, and I think the rating agencies will recognize that.”
Moody’s on Thursday did seem to recognize that, saying in a report and accompanying press release that the new budget and capital bills, along with the revenue from expanding gaming and legalizing marijuana will have a positive effect on local governments.
* Sen. John Mulroe (D-Chicago) has been talking about this for a while now…
.@SenMulroe's twitter handle will soon be out of date. #Illinois Supreme Court announces that, per the recommendation of Justice Mary Jane Theis, it's appointing Mulroe, a Democrat, to be a Cook County Circuit Court Judge (10th subcircuit). Appointment runs June 21 - Dec '20.
Governor J.B. Pritzker plans to offer pay raises, more time off work, enhanced family leave and a cash stipend to offset “financial hardship” state workers endured under the administration of his Republican predecessor, according to a copy of the Pritzker administration’s contract offer.
The one-time stipend of $2,500 will “be paid upon ratification of the agreement.” Union members will qualify for a quarter of the stipend so long as they worked one calendar day in any of the prior four years.
The new contract assures newer members they will continue to receive “step increases,” or automatic pay raises.
All members will see a pay raise of 1.5% on January 1, 2020, another pay raise of 2.1% on July 1, 2020, on July 1, 2021, a pay raise of 3.95%, and on July 1, 2022, a pay raise of 3.95%.
By 2022, the average state employee would see his or her annual salary jump from $59,679 up to $66,827 for an average net increase of more than $7,000.
Each worker’s increased contribution to the state’s health insurance program would cost roughly $624 to $864 extra each year.
I also just obtained the full document handed out to AFSCME members this week. Click here.
When State Rep. Nathan Reitz (D-Steeleville) was sworn into the Illinois House last month, negotiations for an omnibus gaming expansion bill were well on their way in Springfield — a bill that would ultimately include six new licenses for areas in the state that have long clamored for their own casinos.
Helping make the pipedream for a casino in Southern Illinois a reality this spring session was Dan Reitz, a former legislator, current lobbyist and the state representative’s father.
The younger Reitz voted for the bill. […]
The elder Reitz told The Daily Line that he’d been lobbying for Walker’s Bluff LLC in its efforts to attract a casino for “probably six or seven years.” Dan Reitz said he didn’t see a conflict of interest in his son voting for SB 690 as the House wrapped up its business on June 1.
“I don’t see a conflict,” Dan Reitz said. “Obviously he voted for the bill as a whole. I don’t think there’s a conflict just because I happened to lobby for [Walker’s Bluff]. He voted for the totality of the bill, not because of Walker’s Bluff.”
Dan Reitz said he told his son to “talk to staff” to make sure there was no ethical conundrum in voting for the gaming expansion bill given his father’s lobbying interest.
Rep. Reitz said he did just that.
The new legislator cannot control what his father does for a living, and those two aren’t the only ones with potential conflicts under the dome and the gaming bill passed overwhelmingly. Still…
* The Question: What, if anything, should be done about this situation? Make sure to explain your answer.
* Then-Rep. Steve Andersson was one of the Republican leaders of the 2017 split with Bruce Rauner which resulted in the first state budget in two years and partial restoration of the 2011 tax hike. Another leader, former Rep. David Harris, is the director of the Illinois Department of Revenue…
@GovPritzker has asked me to serve the people of the State of Illinois as a Human Rights Commissioner. This appointment will give me a great opportunity to continue to serve the public, I am very honored to take on this role and challenge. Thank you Governor Pritzker! pic.twitter.com/tcuckcCU2s
— Steven A. Andersson (@Illinois_Steve) June 13, 2019
Members receive $119,000 per year, plus expenses. [Updated thanks to a commenter. I thought they got a pay raise, along with tighter restrictions on who could be a commissioner, but I couldn’t find it.]
…Adding… Andersson opted out of the legislative pension plan, so this will have no impact on GARS because he’s not in it.
Andersson has been a licensed attorney for more almost three decades. He is a partner at the law firms of Mickey, Wilson, Weiler, Renzi and Andersson, P.C. and the Elder Law Center, P.C. He is admitted to practice law at all Illinois courts, the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Andersson was also the state representative for Illinois’ 65th legislative district from 2015 to 2019 where he served as Republican floor leader in 2018. During the 99th General Assembly, Andersson was a leader of the Republican coalition that joined with the Democratic caucus to end the longest state budget impasse in U.S. history. He has also been a strident defender of the rights of all people, including being the chief co-sponsor for the ERA, a two-time sponsor of the Equal Pay Act and chief co-sponsor of the LGBTQ curriculum bill. Prior to joining the Illinois House of Representatives, Andersson served his community as a trustee and treasurer on the Geneva Library District Board for approximately 5 years, including serving 2 years as treasurer. Andersson is a past president of the Kane County Bar Association. He is also a member of the Kane County Bar Foundation; Illinois Bar Association; American Bar Association; National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys; and served on the governing board of the Aurora Family Counseling Service and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
…Adding… CBA presidents don’t give up their day jobs…
An Illinois Deputy Governor and longtime Chicago attorney and education advocate will take the reins of leadership at the Chicago Bar Association as the CBA welcomes and installs its most diverse group of officers at the association’s 146th Annual Meeting June 18.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker will offer remarks at the meeting to welcome Jesse Ruiz, who will be installed as the 146th President of the Chicago Bar Association. Outgoing President Steven M. Elrod will pass the gavel of leadership to Ruiz.
Ruiz will be joined by the new slate of CBA Officers including First Vice President Maryam Ahmad, Chief of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Juvenile Justice Bureau; Second Vice President E. Lynn Grayson, of Nijman Franzetti LLP; Secretary Ray J. Koenig III, Managing Partner of Clark Hill, and Treasurer Timothy S. Tomasik of Tomasik Kotin Kasserman LLC.
The CBA’s 2019-2020 Officers represent the most diverse group to lead the association in its long history, including Ruiz, a Hispanic male, Ahmad, an African American female, and Koenig, a gay man.
* Researchers sprout hemp plants, plan new class for cannabis science initiative: More than 500 industrial hemp plants aimed at producing CBD oil and destined for the fields of a local start-up company are rising from containers under the watchful eye of Karla Gage, assistant professor of plant, soil and agricultural systems at SIU. Gage, along with Aldwin Anterola, associate professor of plant biology, are working under a Department of Agriculture research permit to look into the science of growing, harvesting and finding industrial and medicinal uses for the plant.
* From state Reps. Blaine Wilhour (R-Effingham), Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills), Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), Chris Miller (R-Oakland), Allen Skillicorn (R-Crystal Lake), Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) and John Cabello (R-Machesney Park)…
Transportation is a vital part of the Illinois economy.
When it comes to Interstate highways, Illinois has the third most Interstates in the nation. New York has 31 Interstates, while California and Texas both have 25. Illinois comes in third with 24 Interstates. There is no question that Illinois, with its location in the center of the country, is a transportation hub in the Midwest.
Funding our roads and infrastructure is important not just to the Illinois economy, but in the national economy as well. Funding transportation needs, though, should be handled responsibly. Unfortunately, Illinois’ track record on responsible spending is abysmal.
Does anyone really trust Springfield politicians to put real priorities over political priorities? We certainly do not.
The Capital plan the House and the Senate approved at the end of the legislative session has very little specifics on where the money is going, while simultaneously doubling the gas tax on poor and middle-class families and raising the license plate renewal by $50 on Illinois drivers. Illinois Taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent, and legislators who voted for these tax hikes without specifically knowing how the money would be allocated have done a disservice to these taxpayers.
It is especially discouraging to see many Republican leaders not only vote for these tax increases, but then promote false narratives that are constantly perpetuated by the tax and spend Democrats in order to excuse their votes.
To hear some Republican leaders talk about how we have to raise taxes because Illinois taxpayers don’t currently pay enough to cover our spending programs is shocking. These are Democrat talking points and they are embarrassing. We hear them say, “we haven’t raised the gas tax since 1990.” What they fail to mention is that Illinois taxpayers are already burdened with a gas tax that is top 10 in the nation.
We are willing to work alongside the Republican leaders as we tackle tough issues in the future, but these kinds of policies were exactly what our voters sent us to Springfield to oppose. Illinois taxpayers deserve political leadership that is willing to find solutions that deal with the real underlying issues. Watching as our party blindly accepts that raising taxes is the only way forward is an injustice to the taxpayers and constituents that sent us here, and we won’t be any part of it.
As fiscally responsible Republicans, we should be talking about why the state needs such a higher percentage of our money to deal with infrastructure. Why does it cost so much more per mile to build roads and bridges in Illinois compared to many other states?
Like so often is the case, in Illinois we suffer under heavy mandates and an adversarial regulatory environment that drives costs upward. We have onerous prevailing wage rates and our taxpayers potentially pay up to five times what taxpayers in neighboring Indiana pay for workers’ compensation.
We should be talking about how Illinois taxpayers are getting robbed by Springfield politicians on behalf of the powerful special interests. Why should more taxpayer dollars be spent to prop up special interests? We should be demanding that Springfield prove they can be trusted to deal with the big cost drivers in government. That is the only way to ensure that we are maximizing taxpayer investments. Middle Class taxpayers are being forced to pay more because Springfield politicians will not deal with the tough issues.
The Republican Party is supposed to be the party of fiscal responsibility. If infrastructure is indeed the priority everyone says that it is – then why are we not budgeting for it every year instead of coming around every decade with a massive spending proposal that is funded by borrowing and tax increases?
The truth is we can’t budget for this every year because the state is saddled with debt from unpaid bills, excessive mandates, job-killing regulations, crushing pension and Medicaid burdens, and record setting numbers of government taxing bodies. Once we deal with these issues, then we will be able to properly get our funding priorities in line.
Instead, we hear career politicians opining about how courageous they are to take more of our hard-earned money to pay for their mismanagement and out of control spending. We are told that raising taxes is, “a tough but necessary vote.”
Raising taxes in Illinois is not courageous. It is just business as usual in Illinois.
Select Republicans may have curried temporary favor with the Springfield Special Interests with this vote, but it has come at the high cost of losing credibility with the middle-class taxpayers.
Speaker Madigan, Governor Pritzker and the special interests can chalk up a big win by getting some Republican leaders to recite their talking points and vote for another tax increase without specific and measurable reforms.
Once again, Democrats feast like Kings while “Republicans” are happy begging for the crumbs and the persecuted Illinois taxpayers take yet another uppercut to the gut.
We probably shouldn’t get all too worked up about this. It’s one of the oldest plays in the book. Scream about the taxes to appease the folks back home, then gleefully spend the money… to appease the folks back home.
I remember hearing Gov. George Ryan pitch a fit after he passed his Illinois FIRST plan about how then Rep. Jack Franks loudly spoke against the taxes to fund the $12 billion program but, he said, was the first guy in his office with his hand out for projects.
And the “We need to take care of all of our problems before we do infrastructure” argument is also as old as the hills. But if we waited to do that, our infrastructure would be in far worse shape than it is now. It’s been ten years since the last capital bill and every day we wait is another day the tab grows ever larger - exactly like the pension problem.
* But this letter is different than past blow-ups because the signatories are obviously targeting House GOP Leader Jim Durkin. They’re basically calling Durkin and the 19 other HGOPs who voted for the tax hikes sell-outs. We haven’t really seen that before.
I asked Rep. Wilhour whether they were calling for Durkin to step down. “Speaking for myself at the moment, the Leader Durkin issue is a 2020 deal,” he said.
Stay tuned.
…Adding… From the guy who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat Durkin in the 2018 GOP primary…
Are there any legislative Republicans in IL willing to take on the Bipartisan Combine (H/T @John_Kass)? Yes. There at least 8, but that's not going to be enough. https://t.co/wV0Mfxo7gi
*** UPDATE *** This almost seems like a direct response to the missive above…
On Friday, June 14 at 7:30 AM, State Representative Avery Bourne (R- Raymond) and other Illinois lawmakers will do a site visit to inspect infrastructure improvement work being done at the intersection of IL Route 4 and Divernon Road south of Auburn. The legislators will review the progress of the $4.68 million project and discuss the importance of Illinois’ renewed commitment to improving Illinois’ roads. The project site is part of a 6.3-mile section of road that is being improved on IL Route 4 from just south of IL 104 in Auburn to the Macoupin County line, and from the Sangamon County line to north of George Street in Virden.
State Senator Sue Rezin, a pro-life Republican from Morris, could soon decide if she plans to run to challenge House Democrat Lauren Underwood, a freshman incumbent, in the state’s 14th Congressional District.
Illinois Republican Party officials tried to recruit Rezin to run against 22-year veteran Senator Dick Durbin, the second ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, but Rezin said Wednesday she remains “fully committed to exploring a run for the 14th Congressional District.”
Other possible candidates showing interest in the seat include state senator Jim Oberwhttps://capitolfax.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=42412eis and state representative Allen Skillicorn. Rezin said she is not surprised the primary race is “very crowded because it’s a seat we shouldn’t have lost.”
Rezin painted Underwood as out of step with a district that has been represented by a Republican for 76 of the last 80 years.
“She’s with the AOC group in Washington, D.C.,” Rezin said, referring to Underwood’s fellow freshman member of Congress and progressive firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist from New York. “They have a very progressive agenda that doesn’t match with the Midwest or the 14th District,” she said.
Finding a “real” Republican opponent for Sen. Durbin won’t be easy in this climate.
Freshman Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville), recently removed references to a potential Democratic US Senate primary against Durbin from her campaign Facebook page. Her ActBlue page only references the Illinois House. I’ve asked her about this a few times, but have yet to receive a response. I’ll let you know if she does get back to me.
Will County GOP Board Member Mike Fricilone announced a congressional bid Tuesday, a move that could prevent a repeat of 2018, when an admitted Holocaust denier, anti-Semite and white supremacist was the Republican 3rd District nominee.
Fricilone, 64, who lives in Homer Glen, is in his third term on the board, where he is the minority leader.
While four Democrats are running in the March 2020 Illinois primary in the Democratic-tilting district now represented by Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., Fricilone is the first Republican to launch a bid. […]
Fricilone, a furniture salesman at Midwest Office Interiors in Woodridge, said he was not recruited to run by GOP officials. “It was my idea.” […]
“He’s got a pretty big fight on his hands,” Fricilone said. “And I see Dan starting to move toward that liberal side of the Democratic Party in some of the messages I’m hearing out of him for fear of losing to the Democratic Socialist Progressive person,” who he did not name.
* ADDED: As she governs, Lightfoot kicks her political operation into high gear: In a series of little-noticed actions, the mayor has hired a continuing political team that will have a downtown office, begun exploring financial ways to pursue her agenda and raised well over $1 million since her election, with more fundraising yet to come.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on June 6 signed a 2020 state budget that will cost $40.6 billion in general revenues, as much as $1.3 billion more than the state will bring in for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
The Illinois House and Senate passed the budget, Senate Bill 262, on bipartisan votes of 83-35 and 40-19. Despite public claims from both Republicans and Democrats, the 1,581-page spending plan is out of balance by between $574 million and $1.3 billion, depending on the optimism used in the revenue estimate.
Their “optimistic” baseline revenue forecast for Fiscal Year 2020 of $38.956 billion is only $120 million above the projected revenues for Fiscal Year 2019, after factoring in the new revenue enhancements. Seems to be a stretch.
The official revenue projection is $40.187 billion, which is $1.342 billion above the current fiscal year’s income. That FY20 projection includes $850 million in natural revenue growth, which is not specifically included in the Institute’s chart. [Actually, it is included.]
And their spending estimate of $40.6 billion is about $500 million higher than the official projection.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law Wednesday the Reproductive Health Act, which supporters said will guarantee abortion rights in Illinois should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade.
Surrounded by dozens of lawmakers and abortion rights advocates, Pritzker signed the controversial legislation that he said will ensure that Illinois is “going to be there for women if they have to be refugees from other states.” […]
Pritzker said the law simply codifies what was already case law in the state through a series of court decisions over the years.
However, pro-life groups that oppose the law said it goes far beyond that and have labeled the law “the nation’s most extreme abortion expansion.” The Susan B. Anthony List said the bill “is so radical (lawmakers) even went out of their way to repeal the state’s ban on barbaric partial-birth abortions. Americans of every political persuasion are appalled by these attempts to expand abortion on demand through the moment of birth and even infanticide …”
Illinois’ partial birth abortion ban was put on hold by a US Supreme Court justice in 1999. The full US Supreme Court, however, upheld the federal partial birth abortion law in 2007. So, it’s still banned in Illinois regardless of the RHA.
The signing ceremony took place in the Grand Army of the Republic Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center, with walls bearing lists of Civil War battles. Pritzker and lead sponsor state Rep. Kelly Cassidy of Chicago both emphasized how this too was a pivotal battle on women’s rights.
Citing how Illinois just this week celebrated its centennial in ratifying the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote, Pritzker said, “Today, Illinois is making history again.
“When I became governor,” he added, “I promised Illinois would become a national leader in protecting reproductive rights. And with the signing of the Reproductive Health Act, I’m keeping that promise.” […]
Pritzker pointed to Georgia, Alabama, Ohio, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Indiana, all of which have recently passed “near-complete bans on access to abortion,” he said, adding, “Abortion bans don’t ban abortion. They just endanger women — and none more than rural women, poor women, young women, and women of color. It’s wrong, and here in Illinois we reject it.”
Under the legislation, gone is a provision for spousal consent or waiting periods. And soon, the next target will be to end parental notifications to parents of minor children, all but assuring an increase in abortions.
Spousal notification was ruled unconstitutional back in 1992.
Parental notification’s future is still somewhat up in the air…
State Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside), who sponsored the House version of the repeal bill, HB 2467, also told The Daily Line that focusing on the RHA this year was about the time crunch lawmakers faced.
“As you know we ran into problems; [the two bills] got buried in committee,” Welch said. “As we were running out of time, we wanted to focus on the RHA because of everything that was going around across the country.”
But Welch said he’ll continue to push for the repeal of the parental notice law, possibly as soon as the Fall Veto Session, which begins during the last week of October.
This comes less than three weeks after Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed a law banning abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy and the state health department is looking at taking away a license to perform abortions from Planned Parenthood of St. Louis, citing medical deficiencies at the clinic.
New pro-life bills are being introduced, sponsored, and co-sponsored at the federal level by members of Congress, including US Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri.
“I support trying to protect life,” Hawley said. “I’ve always been 100 percent pro-life. That’s why in the Senate I’ve tried to do my part to introduce legislation already that would protect life, like the Infant Born Alive Act, which actually says that every baby born in the country should get the same medical care, even if that baby was the target…of an abortion.”
“There is a war against women, a war against bodily autonomy, and our opponents are using hateful, untrue and outright misogynistic rhetoric, which escalates daily and endangers women everywhere,” Cassidy said. “At our very doorstep, in 11 days, the people of Missouri will find out if they will lose the only clinic in their state and today, with the signing of this bill, we are building a firewall around Illinois to protect access to reproductive health care for everyone.”
Cassidy and Bush had another message — “elections matter.”
“When you elect women that are here to make a difference, that’s what they do and that’s what they did and I want to be clear. The freshmen women of the House, they really did move this bill,” Bush said. “Without their help, without their commitment, without their saying ‘Not on our watch;’ We ran when a president ran and told us it was OK to grab our body parts, and we’re saying ‘no more.’” […]
The Thomas More Society, Breen added, will mount a legal challenge to the new law.
He said he was most concerned about the removal of licensing requirements for abortion clinics, but pointed out the law also requires insurance companies that cover pregnancy-related benefits to cover abortion procedures and includes language specifying fetuses have no legal rights in the state.
Alabama’s governor is a woman. Just sayin…
Employers, like Catholic hospitals, can opt out of paying for abortion insurance coverage for employees under the state’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act.
An abortion rights package signed by Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is causing political ripples nationally as anti-abortion Republicans showcase it in dozens of congressional districts that are expected to determine control of the U.S. House next year. […]
The national Republican party is describing the Illinois legislation as the handiwork of the “socialist Democrat death cult,” focusing particularly on the bill’s repeal of a dormant statutory ban on a late-term abortion procedure critics call “partial birth abortions.” […]
In Illinois, the U.S. House GOP’s political arm has targeted freshman U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., who last fall upset long-serving former GOP Rep. Randy Hultgren in her far west and northwest suburban congressional district. Also on the party’s hit list is U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., who is Emmer’s political counterpart as head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. […]
In graphic terms, Emmer specifically singled out Bustos and her silence on the Illinois legislation.
“If she’s running the campaigns for Democrat House members across the country, what’s her message? Is she embracing this far left, extremist position that basically you can suck the brains out of a child that is viable right up until the time of natural birth and even after natural birth under certain circumstances, you can take the life of that child or you can choose not to support the life of that child?” he asked. “I think you do have to ask those questions because it is important to voters, and voters can make a choice.”
Meanwhile, the Thomas More Society, a Roman Catholic legal group, says it’ll be challenging the new law in court.
“We have now gone way beyond Roe v. Wade in terms of post-viability abortions,” said attorney and former Republican legislator Peter Breen. “It’ll now be A-B-C: abortion, bankruptcy and corruption in the state of Illinois.”
There have been 53 abortion restrictions enacted in the United States this year, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization in support of abortion rights.
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee in May signed a bill that would ban abortions in the state should the U.S. Constitution be changed or if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota have passed similar laws. […]
In Kentucky, lawmakers passed a “heartbeat” bill in March — banning abortions between six and eight weeks — but a temporary restraining order was issued by a federal judge.
