* This session just took a big turn for the better…
May 7, 2019
Dear Leaders, Appropriations Chairpersons and Appropriations Spokespersons:
We write to share the good news that Illinois received significantly stronger-than-expected revenues in April.
More than $4.1 billion in individual and corporate income tax revenues were deposited into the General Funds in the month of April 2019, up $1.14 billion or 38% from April 2018 income tax deposits of $2.999 billion. This is also more than $1.5 billion more than internally projected for April 2019.
A number of factors likely contributed to this increase, including the performance of the stock market, better federal reimbursement for Medicaid, the elimination of the federal state and local tax deduction and additional changes in the federal tax law that meant many taxpayers didn’t withhold sufficient taxes through payroll deductions, backloading their end-of-year tax payments. Anecdotally, strong revenue collections occurred in many other states in April. Additional data and analysis are required to present a comprehensive explanation for the revenue shift, and our staffs are working to provide the General Assembly with a more detailed analysis.
As an immediate result of the strong April performance, coupled with revenue collections year-to-date, the State of Illinois will be able to address most of the $1.6 billion shortfall in the enacted FY19 budget because of the April revenues alone. GOMB and the Department of Revenue will be increasing the forecast of general funds individual income taxes by $1.249 billion and general funds corporate income taxes by $186 million, for a total revision of $1.435 billion, a revision of approximately 7% from February 2019 income tax estimates.
Additionally, based on this strong performance, the Department of Revenue has also re-evaluated its FY20 projections. DOR is also projecting that income tax revenue for the FY20 general funds budget will be roughly $800 million higher than initially projected, or nearly $22 billion instead of $21.18 billion. This represents income tax collections roughly 4% higher than the initial base projections.
Several, though not all, of the factors that contributed to the April revenue growth will continue into the coming fiscal year. These factors include continued strong employment, including in Illinois.
The Department has also taken a conservative approach to its revised revenue projection by considering several of the growth factors as likely one-time sources. These sources include the stock market’s performance and taxpayers’ adjustments in their withholdings because of the new federal tax law. These factors have limited the growth that can be expected.
Governor Pritzker remains committed to a financially responsible budget that addresses Illinois’ outstanding obligations, and recommends that these additional revenues can be dedicated to the state’s statutory FY20 pension payment. The certified payments to the retirement systems total $9.1 billion. With the additional revenues due to the forecast revision, the state will be able to meet the current funding commitment to the retirement systems without extending the ramp this year. The Governor remains committed to finding ways to fund our pension commitments in a sustainable manner.
Ensuring the state’s pensions are sustainably funded continues to require significant effort, and will not happen overnight. Over the coming months, the administration will continue to work on a responsible approach to the state’s unfunded pension liabilities, which continue to threaten to crowd out vital investments in education and public safety. Both the Pension Asset Value and Transfer Task Force and the Pension Consolidation Task Force are expected to provide comprehensive reports in the coming months. Our expectation is that the Legislature will be able to take their recommendations into account as we work together to finalize a long-term pension reform plan and continue to work with the Legislature to develop a long-term pension plan.
The State of Illinois has faced much financial uncertainty in the past, and while this revised revenue estimate is certainly welcome news for our residents, the state’s finances won’t be stable in the long-term until a fair tax system is put in place.
Sincerely,
David Harris
Director
Department of Revenue
Alexis Sturm
Director
Governor’s Office of Management & Budget [Emphasis added]
Because 97 percent of Illinois workers would see a tax cut as a result of the Fair Tax proposal, opponents have had to argue that that a graduated state income tax would make it more likely for Illinoisans to see tax increases at some unspecified point in the future.
This concern, however, is baseless. For one, Illinois’ flat tax has not prevented the state from enacting income tax increases in the last ten years. Instead, the flat tax has ensured that those tax increases have been borne by everyone, rather than targeted to the wealthiest who can most afford them.
This argument also relies on simply averaging together all changes in income taxes over the last century, rather than acknowledging that different time periods have seen radically different trends in income tax rates. In particular, it assumes that changes to the income tax more than 75 years ago are a more reliable predictor of what will happen in the 21st century than what has happened, well, in the 21st century — or even the second half of the 20th. Since 2003, states with graduated income taxes have cut taxes nearly two and a half times more often than they have raised them on the middle class. In any given year, a state with a graduated income tax had a roughly 13 percent likelihood of cutting taxes — versus just a five percent likelihood of increasing them on the middle class. […]
A better approach to understanding how a graduated state income tax is likely to change over time in Illinois in this century is to take a comprehensive look at the experience of other states during a more recent timeline. Helpfully, the Tax Foundation has a database of state personal income tax rates and brackets going back to 2002. […]
Using that database, CTBA recorded every instance of states with a “Fair Tax” raising or cutting taxes since 2003 (the first year in which we can do a year-over-year comparison with Tax Foundation data). […]
Our key finding: Since 2003, states with graduated income taxes have cut taxes nearly two and a half times more often than they have raised them on the middle class. In any given year, a state with a graduated income tax had a roughly 13 percent likelihood of cutting taxes — versus just a five percent likelihood of increasing them on the middle class.
Another way of looking at this is at the total change in averages rates — just to make sure that, for example, the smaller number of tax increases aren’t larger in size than the more numerous tax cuts. […]
The answer: No, they’re not. In fact, states with graduated income taxes have seen their average rates fall — both at the top and the bottom of their brackets — since 2002.
In short, only by ignoring the recent track record of all states with graduated income taxes, and cherry-picking one or two states or a particular, long-ago time period, can one support the claim that graduated income taxes tend towards ever-higher rates. The full picture shows that this argument simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
The full list of states which have cut or raised their graduated rates over the years is here. Just four states plus DC have raised rates on $250K+ income since 2003.
…Adding… Illinois Policy Institute…
Yet again, progressive income tax backers are reinforcing why Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “fair tax” amendment would open the floodgates for massive tax hikes on Illinois’ middle class.
1) CTBA’s list of progressive income tax states that have cut taxes makes use of the same lie that earned Think Big a “mostly false” rating from PolitiFact. They include states that essentially have flat taxes because their top rate affects most income earners, e.g. Georgia ($7k), Idaho ($10,890), Arkansas ($35k) and Louisiana ($50k). It’s not reasonable to compare these states to Illinois, where politicians have run up huge deficits and the push for a progressive tax is motivated primarily by a desire for more revenue.
2) The CTBA’s own analysis shows that when progressive tax states raise income tax revenue, the middle class overwhelmingly pays the price (33 tax hikes on income below $250,000 vs. 10 increases on income above $250,000.) CTBA Executive Director Ralph Martire has repeatedly stated that Illinois should raise far more revenue than even Pritzker’s plan would bring in.
3) The CTBA research shows that in progressive tax states, tax cuts disproportionately go to the wealthy and tax hikes disproportionately hit the middle class.
4) The most reasonable apples-to-apples comparison in Illinois’ current debate on whether to adopt a progressive income tax is Connecticut, which is the only state to swap a flat tax for a progressive tax in the last 30 years, and did so in the face of similar fiscal circumstances. It is noticeably absent from the CTBA’s tax cut list.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposal to legalize sports betting in Illinois has sparked an all-out lobbying war over who will be the big winner—not only between proponents and opponents of the bill, but within the gambling industry itself.
Allies of casino operator Neil Bluhm and others that already have a brick-and-mortar presence in the state are battling with internet operators DraftKings and FanDuel, which are in the market with a form of betting on fantasy sports despite a 2015 advisory opinion from then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan that the practice was illegal under current Illinois law.
Bluhm is pushing an amendment to disqualify DraftKings and FanDuel from being licensed under the sports betting bill. “They are free to team up with other entities that did not violate the law,” like Bluhm’s Rivers Casino, says Bluhm attorney Paul Gaynor, a former top official with Madigan’s office.
The internet gamers respond that Bluhm is just trying to parley the clout he’s built with millions of dollars in campaign contributions into anti-competitive legislation. In fact, New Jersey raised far more for their treasuries via gambling taxes than California, which excluded them, they contend.
A House subcommittee is scheduled to hold an initial hearing tomorrow on whether to adopt Bluhm’s “penalty box” amendment.
Poor Illinoisans with legal troubles would get $10 million to help them navigate court systems across the state under a bill pending in the state legislature.
Rep. Art Turner on Monday urged his fellow state lawmakers to pass his Access to Justice Act before the legislative session ends next month.
“We should not leave [Springield] without making sure this is funded in this budget,” Turner said at a press conference at the Westside Justice Center, a community organization that runs a Chicago-based version of what could be a statewide model for legal services. […]
Executive Director Tanya D. Woods said the $10 million would build organizations across the state similar to the Westside Justice Center. That Lawndale-based legal clinic helps poor residents battle in courtrooms over matters ranging from getting a car out of an impound yard to fighting city building code tickets that might end up forcing a low-income family out of their home.
In an email statement, Pritzker’s office said: “He believes creating an independent commission to draw legislative maps is the best way to accomplish redistricting reform, but it’s important that any plan to do so reflect the gender, racial, and geographic diversity of the state.”
That last part about diversity is essential to advancing the 2020 referendum vote — and it’s where previous remap efforts floundered because of opposition from influential African Americans, including former ComEd lobbyist John T. Hooker, Chicago businessman Elzie Higginbottom, former ComEd CEO Frank Clark, and the Reverend Leon Finney Jr., CEO of the Woodlawn Organization, a community activist group. They feared an independent commission would reduce the number of districts dominated by black residents, particularly within Chicago’s South and West Sides, thereby diluting those communities’ political power in Springfield.
Backers of the newest referendum assert the proposed law will comply with voters’ rights and antidiscrimination laws. But such assurances may not be enough to assuage critics. Hooker, for one, harbors doubts: “If it comes back the same way as the last two times, I would not be in agreement with where they’re going.”
Echoing that sentiment is Maze Jackson, host on WVON-AM 1690 and a political consultant, who argues that black districts might be better off with the politically astute Madigan at the mapping helm. “While I have not been the biggest Madigan fan in the past, we have a common interest here,” says Jackson. Madigan didn’t support early drafts of the 2010 map, which Jackson says would have watered down black representation.
* Coming to this a bit late. Sorry for that. Rick Pearson at the Tribune…
From his 1970 win of a state Senate seat as a political upstart, Thomas C. Hynes’ gentle but lawyerly public demeanor belied his role in becoming one of the most influential Democratic forces in Chicago, serving as Illinois Senate president, Cook County assessor and a top member of the Democratic National Committee.
But it was in his role as 19th Ward Democratic committeeman, a post he held for three decades until 2005, that Hynes demonstrated the basic power of politics and public service by understanding and meeting the bread-and-butter concerns of constituents and organizing them into a huge political force. […]
The son of Irish immigrants, Hynes spent three years studying to become a priest at Quigley Preparatory Seminary. But he abandoned the idea and enrolled at Loyola University. He graduated in 1959 and three years later he graduated first in his class from Loyola Law School.
His first job as a lawyer was at one of the city’s most prestigious law firms, Jenner & Block. He later taught law at John Marshall Law School.
Though neither his father, a foreman at a chemical factory, nor his mother, a telephone operator, was politically active, family dinners often concluded with a debate about public policy.
The courtly, soft-spoken Hynes was a product of the 19th Ward organization and had a meteoric rise similar to House Speaker Michael Madigan’s, becoming Senate president in 1977 before the age of 40. In the wake of Mayor Richard J. Daley’s death, Hynes’ coronation was chaotic: It followed a six-week deadlock and 186 ballots.
The following year, Hynes chose to abandon the Springfield life, saying it took too much time away from his family. He ran for Cook County assessor and was elected to the first of five terms before quitting midway through the last one to pave the way, in Chicago fashion, for an anointed successor, Jim Houlihan.
“He was a strong part of the machine and regarded as such, but he was a reasonable guy and supporter of progressive ideas that other cohorts in the machine ignored—a more-open guy,” said political consultant Don Rose.
His son Dan, a former state comptroller and gubernatorial candidate, said, “People just saw him as somebody who could forge relationships. People trusted him.”
As a senator, Hynes was chief sponsor of legislation to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and drafter of homeowner exemption legislation that granted property tax breaks, his son said.
But Hynes was also known as a very cautious politician, and he stayed put in the assessor’s job.
That changed in 1987 when he decided to run for mayor against Washington, who was seeking a second term after the racially-charged tumult of the Council Wars years.
Instead of competing in the Democratic primary, Hynes chose to run under the banner of the newly-created Chicago First Party.
The move was out of character for the risk-averse Hynes, and it ended badly.
Squeezed between Washington and former Ald. Edward R. Vrdolyak, who was running for mayor as the Solidarity Party candidate, Hynes’ campaign failed to catch fire, and he ended up dropping out less than two days before the election.
“I love Chicago enough not to be mayor,” he declared at the time, but his challenge to Washington created ill will in the African American community that lingered long afterward.
Dan Hynes, whose own defeat years later to Barack Obama for U.S. senator could be traced in part to that resentment, said it was a highlight of his father’s later years that he was able as a member of the DNC Rules Committee to support Obama in a fight over super delegates with Hillary Clinton.
Visitation will be held May 8, from noon to 8 p.m., at St. John Fisher Roman Catholic Church. The funeral Mass will be held May 9, at 11:30 a.m., at St. John Fisher. McGann and Son Funeral Home is handling the arrangements. […]
Hynes is survived by his wife of 55 years, Judith; his children, Cecilia (Cheever) Griffin, Thomas (Carol), Daniel (Christina) and Matthew (Mari); his grandchildren, David, Clare, Matthew, Benjamin, Anna, Charlie, Liam, Finley, Trudie and Thomas Joseph; and his brothers, Timothy and Jack.
In lieu of flowers, donations are appreciated to the Thomas and Judith Hynes Scholarship Fund at St. Ignatius College Prep at ignatius.org.
In Willowbrook, where the census tract most affected by ethylene oxide is 77 percent white and has an average per capita income of more than $71,000 a year, the EPA sent high-level officials last August to explain the risk locals faced from the chemical as soon as the federal report identifying it was made public. On the same day, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, or ATSDR, also released a report the EPA had requested about ethylene oxide in Willowbrook. In November, the EPA began monitoring the air there. And by February, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency closed the plant. The governor sent out a tweet celebrating the closure and committing to protect “the health and well-being of every Illinoisan.”
But in Waukegan, where the census tract most affected by the chemical is only 25 percent white and has a per capita income of just over $14,000, the same dangerous chemical is still in the air. Although the EPA and the state have known about the ethylene oxide in Lake County and other hotspots around the country since at least August, Burdette and the others residents learned of its presence in their air from the newspaper six months after Willowbrook residents were briefed about it. No high-level officials came to Waukegan or Gurnee to address the local risk.
And while Sterigenics was stopped from releasing ethylene oxide in Willowbrook, the Medline plant in Waukegan and the Vantage facility in Gurnee continue to emit the chemical. So far, the EPA has not done any air monitoring for ethylene oxide near either plant. Meanwhile, the federal agency has continued collecting air samples in Willowbrook even after that plant closed in February. […]
The lag in the federal and state response to their problem has left some Lake County residents feeling like second-class citizens. “We want what Willowbrook got,” Jolanta Pomiotlo, a Gurnee resident of 18 years and founding member of Stop EtO in Lake County, told me recently. “We’re being told by our government agencies that all of the resources are being dedicated to Sterigenics, and they can’t afford to pay for testing in Lake County. Apparently only wealthy communities are entitled to resources from the state.”
* Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed a 32 cents per pack increase on cigarettes and a 36 percent tax on the wholesale price of e-cigarettes, so once again Senate President John Cullerton is going his own way on taxation…
Today, Senate President John Cullerton joined health advocates from organizations across the state to announce new legislation that would increase taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
The bill includes a $1-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes sold in Illinois, which would bring the statewide tax up to $2.98 per pack. To parallel that new amount, the legislation also increases taxes on other tobacco products, like cigars and smokeless tobacco, to 64% of the wholesale price.
“It’s rare that you can sponsor legislation and know that it will save lives. That’s exactly what this will do,” Cullerton said. “It will stop children from starting to smoke and cause many adult smokers to quit, sparing them from a lifetime of addiction and associated health problems. That’s why the public supports it.”
In addition to the legislation, advocates released poll results that indicated broad support for an increase in tobacco taxes. Approximately 66% of respondents were in favor of the $1-per-pack increase on cigarettes, and 75% were in favor of taxing other tobacco products, like cigars and smokeless tobacco, at the same rate as cigarettes. The poll was conducted by Fako Research and Strategies between April 27 and May 2, 2019.
Attending advocates expressed gratitude and enthusiasm for the new legislation. They included Dr. Douglas Carlson of the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Shana Crews, Illinois government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network; Kathy Drea, vice president of advocacy for the American Lung Association; Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health; Tom Hughes, executive director for the Illinois Public Health Association; Matt Maloney, director of health policy for Respiratory Health Association; Julie Mirostaw, government relations director for the American Heart Association; and A.J. Wilhelmi, president and CEO of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association.
“Regular and significant tobacco tax increases are part of an effective, comprehensive tobacco control plan,” the group said in a statement. “Investing this tax revenue into the state’s tobacco prevention and cessation programs is crucial to preventing kids from starting to use tobacco and helping people already addicted to quit. We’re thankful for President Cullerton’s leadership on this issue and look forward to helping it become law.”
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in Illinois. Increasing the tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack is expected to prevent 28,700 Illinois kids under 18 from becoming adults who smoke and help 48,700 Illinois adults who currently smoke quit. It’s also anticipated to reduce the state’s long-term health care costs by $1.56 billion.
* Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) on legislation that will allow households to grow up to five cannabis plants in secured rooms…
“They’re going to be growing it on the back porch and selling it on the front porch,” Moylan said. “Listen, do you want this stuff in your neighborhood?” he asked.
Dude, I got news for you: Cannabis is already in your neighborhood. Your neighbors are consuming it, perhaps even right this moment. And most of your neighbors want it legalized.
All you’re doing is defending the economic interests of the often violent criminal network that grows and then distributes the product in your own neighborhood.
“Minorities have said to me we don’t want this stuff in our neighborhood,” state Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, said at a news conference outside the Thompson Center in the Loop.
I…
I just…
Nevermind.
*** UPDATE *** I took a look at the totals from the 2016 countywide referendum on whether cannabis should be legalized. Moylan lives in Maine Township Precinct 14. The referendum passed 69-31 in his home precinct. That’s a better showing than the district-wide vote of 62-38.
• The hotline is unable to take calls as they are received, resulting in call backs. The number of call backs increased substantially during FY15-FY17, from 39.6 percent of total calls in FY15 to 55.7 percent in FY17.
• Investigator caseloads were not in compliance with the B.H. Consent Decree. For FY15-FY17, 78.7 percent of investigators (729 of 926) had at least 1 month during the audit period in which they received more than 15 new assignments. […]
• The overall timeliness of completion for investigations declined significantly over the three-year period FY15-FY17. In FY15, 7.6 percent of investigations were not completed within 60 days. For FY17, 12.4 percent of investigations were not completed within 60 days.
• Investigators did not always accurately document that they assessed the need for services by completing the Level of Intervention field in the Department’s information system known as SACWIS. Of indicated investigations sampled, 16 investigations (10.7%) had no Level of Intervention listed (services recommended). Further, 39 indicated investigations (26.0%) had “No Service Needed” as the Level of Intervention. Additionally, of the investigations sampled, for 64 (42.7%) we found that the Level of Intervention was inaccurate.
• For 65.3 percent of indicated investigations sampled, there was a lack of documentation regarding whether any services were received by the families involved and the duration of those services. The Department could not provide basic information for Intact Family Service cases, such as referral forms, to document that a formal referral for services was made. […]
According to data provided by the Department, for FY15-FY17 the number of abuse and neglect investigations increased significantly, going from 67,732 in FY15 to 75,037 in FY17 or 10.8 percent. Within the three-year timeframe, there was a notable spike in FY16 to 78,572 investigations. The increase in investigations between FY15 and FY16 represents an increase of 16.0 percent. As is shown in Digest Exhibit 1, indication rates (the percentage of cases where there was credible evidence that the incident occurred) decreased during FY15- FY17, from 28.3 percent in FY15 to 24.8 percent in FY17.
The Department also does not have written procedures regarding the process for calling back individuals who report allegations of abuse or neglect that do not complete the intake process at the time of their initial call.
“Two years ago we were at basically a crisis point. I had on my caseload 80 pending investigations. Some of my colleagues had up to 100 pending investigations,” said 24 year DCFS veteran Stephen Mittons.
Mittons has worked as an investigator his entire tenure with the agency. In March alone, he says DCFS investigators received 6800 reported abuse or neglect cases. Investigators have 60 days to close or outsource a case.
Right now, Mittons is working on 40 cases. Alishia Glover is also an investigator. Her service area is more than 130 square miles, from the South Side of Chicago to the southwest suburbs.
“Nine to 5 is almost non-existant as a child protection investigator and a typical day really isn’t typical,” Glover said.
* Other governors might have made Jerry wait until after the session so he could vote with the governor’s agenda. But Gov. Bruce Rauner did the same sort of thing by appointing legislators who didn’t love his policies to top agency jobs (pro-AFSCME folks like Raymond Poe) and then replacing them with people who would be more, um, amenable…
Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker appointed state Rep. Jerry Costello II to serve as the Director of Law Enforcement at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
“After serving his country in the battlefields of Iraq and the people of Southern Illinois in the statehouse, I’m thrilled Jerry Costello is continuing his public service by leading law enforcement at the Department of Natural Resources,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “His wide-ranging experience brings much value to an important piece of state government.”
“It’s an honor to lead the dedicated group of men and women who keep Illinoisans safe while they enjoy our state’s natural resources,” said state Rep. Jerry Costello II. “I’m excited to start this new chapter, and I thank Gov. Pritzker for the opportunity to serve.”
Background
Jerry Costello II will serve as the Director of Law Enforcement for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Costello has represented the 116th district in the Illinois House of Representatives since 2011 and currently chairs the Agriculture and Conservation committee. A graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Costello decided to serve his country by joining the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. Not long after signing up, he and his unit saw combat during Operation Desert Storm. Following his military service in Iraq, Costello returned to Illinois where he became a police officer and started a family. Initially a patrolman, he would rise through the ranks and become assistant chief of police. Born and raised in Southern Illinois, Costello lives in Smithton with his wife Lori and their three children.
Beginning his transition into the new role, Rep. Costello resigned from his House seat effective today.
* Yeah, I know. Lots of Madigan posts. But he rarely talks to reporters these days, so it’s kinda big when he does. Last one I think. From the SJ-R…
Something that isn’t contentious, according to the speaker, is his relationship with Pritzker, unlike the one Madigan had with the governor’s predecessor.
Madigan says he has been supportive of the governor’s programs “from the very beginning,” such as raising the compensation level for “key people in the government” and raising the minimum wage.
“So far, so good,” Madigan said. “My goal is to work with the governor and other people in the legislature to have a productive session.”
Define “productive,” Mr. Speaker and maybe everyone can breathe a little easier.
Of Republican lawmakers who have complained they are not being included in the legislative process, Madigan said they have a “pretty clear record of non-participation,” especially regarding the budget in recent years, but that he is “willing to work with them.”
Some of that cooperation could come on a comprehensive capital bill, to which House Republican Leader Jim Durkin has offered to lend some of his party’s votes, according to Madigan.
“I’d be interested to know what he thinks should be in the capital bill before he puts votes on it,” Madigan said.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
If Roe is overturned, Illinois law could again require:
· Spousal consent
· Doctor consent committees
· Restrictions on some forms of birth control
· 24 hour waiting periods
· Misinformed consent
· Unnecessary regulation
· Bans on assisted reproductive techniques
· Criminal penalities
“Minor violation of the Cannabis Control Act” means one or more arrest, charge not initiated by arrest, conviction, order of supervision, or order of qualified probation (as defined in subsection (a)(1)(J)) for a Class 4 felony or misdemeanor violation of Section 4, 5, or 8 of the Cannabis Control Act, provided that (i) the individual did not receive a penalty enhancement under Section 7 of the Cannabis Control Act and (ii) the minor violation of the Cannabis Control Act was the only offense associated with the arrest, charge not initiated by arrest, conviction, order of supervision, or order of qualified probation to be expunged.
* So, keep that in mind when reading this. The House Speaker admits he hasn’t yet been briefed on the bill and the author of this story apparently didn’t realize this goes beyond convictions…
Madigan said there are several issues regarding marijuana legalization that will be “very important” when trying to rack up the 60 votes needed in the House to pass the bill.
That includes expunging criminal records for those with lower-level marijuana-related convictions and who will be entitled to get licenses to grow and process marijuana in Illinois. […]
“The key on that (expungement) issue is how far do you go in terms of the expungement?” Madigan said. “If you’re talking about some teenager who’s doing drugs and who’s only guilty of possession, that’s one thing. If you’re talking about people who are actually in the business, that were dealers, and you want to expunge those records, that’s a different case.”
For his part, Madigan said he is attempting to work with all the participants to see how to resolve the issues.
A little bit of context is required here. If this proposal passes, companies will be legally selling thousands of pounds of cannabis a year. The bill’s expungement language would apply to up to 500 grams (with no additional charges), which is barely over a single pound. That could very well be changed if people get nervous, but it doesn’t seem right to keep people locked up for stuff that others are doing under cover of law.
Madigan said the decision process for which businesses will receive new licenses would affect the vote as well.
“Among the minorities in the Legislature, they would argue that there oughta be some leg up for minorities in terms of licenses to cultivate or be a dispenser. Here again, language will be important in terms of finding 60 people to vote for the bill,” Madigan said. […]
The governor budgeted for $170 million in new revenues next fiscal year from licensing fees associated with legalization.
…Adding… I forgot about this video…
Speaker Madigan outlined what he sees as "very controversial aspects" of the proposal to legalize marijuana in a closed press event with UIS PAR interns this morning. He also highlights opioid issue, which has actually improved since medical cannabis rollout. pic.twitter.com/muSJNOcP8i
At the end, he talks about opposition to the bill…
And then you’ll have many people who are concerned about the opioid crisis, who feel that in light of that this is not a good time to be legalizing the use of marijuana.
Um. What? Those sorts of red herring excuses could be dragged out at any time in history and he really should know better.
Madigan said, passing sports betting will require the cooperation of many interests, including gaming CEOs, racetracks, video poker representatives and more.
“It’s always been very contentious,” he said. “It’s no different this time than any prior legislative session.”
Madigan also said he’d be “prepared to support” a casino in Chicago, either city-owned or private.
When it comes to sports betting, Madigan said he’s not certain whether it will get tied up with other gaming legislation.
“You can go in one of two directions; you could have a sports betting bill that only deals with sports betting, or you can have one that deals with sports betting plus the other issues,” he said.
A lobbyist for the city of Chicago said at a recent hearing on the topic that outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration will support sports betting if a casino for the city is included.
While Madigan said he would be prepared to support a city-owned casino in Chicago, this is something else that could go two ways.
“It can be city-owned, or it can be like the other casinos,” he said. “That’s something that would be resolved here in the legislature.”
* Related…
* Gov. Pritzker optimistic he’ll get his legislative wish list: The idea of a casino to generate revenue is not new. Regional differences have slowed attempts to expand gaming in Illinois. Pritzker said he doesn’t want “regional disputes” to upend the process. When asked if he backs a Chicago casino, Pritzker said that what he is focused on is making sure lawmakers maximize the opportunity to balance the budget.
The administration is withdrawing the nominations of Julie Hamos and Michael Geldner to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board in order to appoint members who more closely share the governor’s vision for hospitals around the state. We appreciate their willingness to serve. The governor’s priority is to work with communities to ensure their health care needs are met.
* As you’ll recall, Hamos and Geldner both voted against delaying the closure of Westlake Hospital last week until the lawsuits that were filed to keep the hospital open could be adjudicated. After that motion to delay failed, the full board voted to allow the hospital to close…
Board member Julie Hamos said Tuesday that losing hospitals is tough for communities, but she expects to see more hospitals closing in coming years as advances in medicine make inpatient care less necessary.
“We are really on the cusp of a very significant change in our health care system,” said Hamos, who was recently appointed to the board by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and is a former lawmaker. She said deferring the application would simply have shifted a decision on the matter to the courts.
* Hamos and Geldner had been appointed by Gov. Pritzker to the Health Facilities and Services Review Board not long before the vote and their action prompted an immediate denunciation from Rep. Chris Welch, who is a staunch Speaker Madigan ally and chairs the powerful House Executive Committee…
Following the decision, Democratic state Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch of Westchester, who is also a member of Westlake’s board of trustees, said: “Gov. Pritzker let us down. We went to bat for him, and his appointees went to bat for billionaires from California.”
The vote took place on the first day lawmakers returned to town from a two-week break, so it was a particularly inauspicious beginning to the session’s home stretch.
* Rep. Welch’s response…
It’s a good start. He never should have appointed them in the first place. Now he needs to do more to ensure our community continues to have access to healthcare.
* Meanwhile, Rep. Welch, Rep. Kathleen Willis and Melrose Park Mayor Ronald Serpico have penned an op-ed calling on AG Raoul to step in. Excerpt…
Westlake is the only hospital in the area with a major behavioral and addictions mental health wing. Chicago’s near west suburbs are ground zero for the opium epidemic. With 50 beds in a dedicated psychiatric wing, Westlake Hospital is the main organization on the front lines of this crisis.
Newly elected Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is in a unique position.
The Village of Melrose Park has filed for a temporary restraining order that would prevent Westlake Hospital from closing. In violation of Illinois law, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted last week not to defer Pipeline’s application to shut the hospital down due to pending legislation.
Melrose Park is currently suing Pipeline for fraudulently purchasing Westlake Hospital.
Raoul was elected on a platform of access to healthcare. He now has the opportunity to stop an out of state investment company from stripping healthcare access away from 40,000 low income, minority people.
The order to stay the HFSRB decision will be heard in court Tuesday.
We’re calling on Raoul to stand up for the healthcare rights of the vulnerable people who elected him to his current office.
(H)ere’s a scenario for an overtime session laid out by a lawmaker recently.
This is not an endorsement of the theory, just relating one person’s thoughts about something that could happen.
It goes like this: Until the end of May, most bills can pass with regular majorities in the House and Senate. After that date, it takes a super majority to pass bills if they take effect immediately, like the budget.
There are things that take a super majority no matter when they are passed. That includes proposed amendments to the state Constitution (like the graduated income tax) and bonds that that would be issued for a capital program. Ergo, if things get backed up as crunch time approaches, there are issues that could be pushed to June without changing how many votes are needed to pass them.
* The Question: Do you think the spring session will go into overtime? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
* We’ve been expecting a message from on high for a while now and it looks like we got two today…
In his visit with the Public Affairs Reporting program class at the University of Illinois Springfield, Madigan (D-Chicago) said legislative committees in control of budget appropriations have taken Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed levels of spending in next year’s budget and “ratcheted them down” in case measures supporting that spending do not pass.
Those measures include legalizing recreational marijuana and sports betting, which Madigan said are “not guaranteed today.”
And while he supports Pritzker’s attempts to change the state’s income tax structure from a flat to a graduated rate, Madigan said the Senate moved too quickly on the issue, and should have “given it more time.” The Senate on Wednesday, May 1, approved a bill and resolution that would put an amendment question on the 2020 ballot about instituting tax rates based on income.
Madigan’s comments indicate a slower-than-expected pace of passing new legislation with Democrats in control of the Legislature and governor’s office.
“Have you ever worked with Democrats?” he joked.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown claims the House Speaker was responding to a question about the length of the Senate’s surprisingly short seven-minute debate, not that the Senate had moved too quickly on the issue itself.
And while he fully supports Pritzker’s attempts to change the state’s income tax structure from a flat to a graduated rate, Madigan said the Senate moved too quickly when it debated for only 7 minutes Wednesday, May 1, before passing a bill and resolution that would put an amendment question on the 2020 ballot.
“It should not have gone that quick in the Senate,” he said, adding that the chamber should have given the debate “more time.”
“It’s not just a statute — it’s an amendment to the constitution,” Madigan said. “It goes right to the heart of how you finance state government…clearly something like that deserved more attention than it got.”
Nevertheless, he said he was “optimistic” the graduated tax measures will pass in the House.
Urges lawmakers to slow the process of legalizing recreational marijuana in Illinois, so that lawmakers, stakeholders, and experts alike have the chance to consider the societal impact of legalization and examine all the data from other states that have passed similar legislation.
* Moylan is no longer arguing for a go-slow approach. He said today he wants to kill it…
He admitted he wasn’t sure a coalition of 60 of his House colleagues who signed a resolution urging more time to debate legalization issues would hold together.
“There may be some [who] are going to leave, but we’ll get more in,” said Moylan, who added he’d be against any effort to legalize recreational marijuana.
* Moylan announced his shift in a recent Tribune op-ed…
The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board rightly advised lawmakers to slow down on marijuana (“Should Illinois legalize marijuana? Not so fast,” April 14). As the sponsor of a bipartisan House resolution (H.R. 157) advising lawmakers to slow down on their push for legal weed, I couldn’t agree more. Both the editorial board and I also agree it’s imperative that policymakers learn from other states. But I would argue it’s been a failed experiment in every other state that has made the move to legalize marijuana — and for those reasons, we must not bring legal recreational marijuana to Illinois too.
He went on to cite statistics from some thoroughly debunked sources that I’m not going over again because I’ve done this more than once now and I’m just bored with it. Instead, here are a few posts from the past…
* You’ll recall last week when Speaker Madigan signed on to a letter requesting $150 million out of the capital bill for the proposed third airport near Peotone. Mayor Emanuel responded over the weekend via press release…
The significant modernization programs underway at O’Hare and Midway will keep passengers connected and fuel new economic opportunities for the region for years to come. In fact, when the O’Hare expansion is complete, it will be the equivalent of adding a third airport to the area. O’Hare is already number one and our modernization will secure it and the Chicago area’s aviation future. If the state has an extra $150 million to spend, schools, mass transit, libraries and parks could wisely use those resources
Gov. Pritzker was asked about the back and forth while attending a media event with the mayor today. He mostly dodged the question, saying that economic development is “critically important” to the south suburbs, where communities are often “left out or left behind.” He said the airport was one of several economic opportunities and claimed the capital bill will “certainly take into account where we can be of help in the south suburbs.”
“The governor has to look out for the state of Illinois, I’ve got to look out for Chicago,” Emanuel then said when asked by reporters.
The one thing that you should not lose sight before we get to Peotone or a third airport, the fact that people are now talking confidently after 25 years about a capital bill in the state of Illinois. And I want to compliment the governor for actually driving this issue where others have talked about it for over 25 years, that was the last time we actually had a true capital bill. … In the past it was ‘Can we get this done?’ now it’s ‘How do you spend the resources?’ That’s a marked difference.
They’re not quite to that spending conversation yet because they haven’t yet settled on how to pay for it.
“Midway is an incredible economic force for the Chicago’s Southwest Side. Its growth has been a major driver for development of the area and the city’s tourism industry. I am committed to supporting economic development that transforms neighborhoods, but we must also protect the existing institutions which have been spearheading so much current investment and growth,” Lightfoot said in a statement to the Sun-Times.
“If and when the time comes, I will be actively engaged in the conversation about an additional airport while ensuring that our investments in Midway continue to provide economic development.”
Democrat Marie Newman, in a second primary bid to oust Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., is being endorsed by six leading progressive organizations, with the groups jumping in the race months earlier than they did for her in 2018.
The Monday joint endorsement of Newman from EMILY’s List, MoveOn, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America sends a strong signal to progressives in the 3rd Congressional District.
Democracy for America earlier announced its support for Newman.
“Just getting started earlier is the big thing because that just expands the universe of voters that we can have ongoing conversations with,” Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
In the March 2018 primary, Lipinski, from Western Springs, defeated Newman, who lives in LaGrange, by only 2,145 votes, or 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. The district includes parts of Southwest Side Chicago and takes in south and western suburban turf.
“I’m honored to receive support from EMILY’s List, MoveOn, NARAL, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the PCCC,” said Marie Newman, candidate for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. “Illinois working families need a real Democrat with real plans to make everybody’s everyday lives better. I’ll never stop fighting to create an economy and society that works for everyone.”
Rep. Lipinski, the current representative for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District, has made a name for himself siding with anti-choice activists and supporting a bigoted agenda instead of standing up for the real values of his constituents in a solidly progressive district. He has consistently attacked reproductive freedom and a woman’s right to make her own decisions about if, when, and how to start a family. He has refused to sign onto the Equality Act to guarantee equal protection to LGBTQ Americans. And he has repeatedly sided with Donald Trump and his racist and extreme agenda. He is out of touch with his voters and his party, and is not the representative the people of Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District deserve.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced earlier this year that it would not deal with vendors who work for candidates challenging Democratic incumbents in primaries. Newman told Politico last month that four consultants had left her campaign as a result of that policy.
*** UPDATE *** Dan Lipinski…
These endorsements make clear that Marie Newman is again running a “tea party of the left” campaign at the behest of national interest groups rather than focusing on taking care of the everyday concerns of people in the district as I have a track record of doing. This type of campaign, along with Ms. Newman’s hateful, Trump-like rhetoric, her penchant for spreading falsehoods - which she was called out for recently by an independent fact-checker, and the #metoo issues in her 2018 campaign she has still yet to address, will once again be rejected by voters. I continue to be focused on working with my Democratic colleagues in the House to deliver relief for middle class families with better job opportunities, improved infrastructure, more affordable health care and college education, safer gun laws, and lower taxes.
Moody’s has written a new report on the current discussion regarding the State of Illinois’ (rated Baa3/stable outlook) potentially replacing its flat income tax system with a tiered, or “progressive” income tax for additional revenue. The report states that if Illinois makes the replacement, it would likely gain increased revenue-raising flexibility to tackle a growing pension burden and unbalanced budget, but in order to change to a progressive tax system voters must pass a state constitutional amendment, a politically difficult process.
“A positive outcome for the state’s credit standing would require that the new system yield substantial net new revenue, without material damage to the economy, and the new revenue be largely allocated to addressing the state’s retirement benefit liabilities on a recurring basis,” said Ted Hampton, Vice President & Senior Credit Officer
While the new flexibility to impose higher tax rates on wealthier residents offers the potential to help the state address its increasingly onerous pension funding burden, it would also leave the state more vulnerable to the volatility inherent in financial market performance and other sources of revenue that drive high-income tax payments. Illinois already relies on income taxes for about 44% of revenue, which could increase to more than 50% with progressive tax rates, depending on the tax rates ultimately adopted.
The report’s highlights include:
The scale and use of incremental revenue would determine credit effects. If the constitutional amendment ultimately passes, its impact would depend on the degree to which the state derives new resources and uses them to address core credit challenges, most prominently pension obligations.
Economic and revenue strength provides capacity for higher income tax rates. Industrial diversity and high wealth levels give Illinois the ability to support a higher tax burden, even though it already ranks above the 50-state average in terms of state and local government tax revenue as a share of GDP.
Flexibility to set multiple income tax rates would help Illinois, but not without risks. Increasing reliance on income tax revenues and on higher-earning taxpayers would expose the state to greater revenue volatility.
* The report takes note of the opponents’ claim that the progressive tax will drive people out of state…
However, while rising state tax burdens would likely have some impact, migration between states is more likely to reflect demographic or employment factors.
But that point about revenue volatility is important. Large fortunes rise and fall with the markets. Some money needs to be set aside to deal with this prospect.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is evaluating a developer’s request for state help to fund construction of a $3.8 billion transit center as part of a megadevelopment along Lake Shore Drive across from Soldier Field.
Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said administration officials, including Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes, the governor’s budget point man, “have met with the developers to understand their proposal.”
“The administration is reviewing the plan and we look forward to continuing discussions,” Abudayyeh wrote in an email.
Lawmakers in the Illinois House will be briefed on the developer’s proposal — which would have the state assume ownership of the transit center after construction costs are paid off — at a hearing scheduled for Thursday in Springfield. Legislation that would make the arrangement possible has not been filed.
Pritzker has wisely stopped short of endorsing the proposal or Dunn’s specific request to pass legislation this year to allow his company to be reimbursed for the cost of building the transit center from new state tax revenue that the overall development would create. The final figures are not available. Taxpayers need to know a lot more about the risks involved in this arrangement before getting aboard this particular train. This city may be good at making real estate out of nothing, but until it finds a way to make money out of nothing, its elected leaders—whether in Chicago or Springfield—should proceed on this idea with caution.
* Press release…
The Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus released the following statement urging the passage of legislation that would ensure greater representation of Latinos, African Americans and women on corporate boards:
“As elected officials of one of the most diverse states in our country, it is on us to ensure that the communities we represent have a seat at the table. Communities of color and women have and are still underrepresented in positions of power, and that is unacceptable.
“Members of all of our communities have had tireless leaders who have fought not only in securing their own rights and access to economic, social, and political opportunity, but to create a fairer and more just society for all Americans. Ensuring women and people of color are represented on corporate boards will build on that progress, ensuring that we live up to our ideals of inclusion.
“We urge our colleagues in the Senate to move swiftly and ensure that all residents in Illinois have a say when decisions are being made.”
Diversity in the boardrooms of Chicago’s biggest public companies is improving, but the gains aren’t spread evenly.
Women are far better represented today than they were five years ago. There are 103 women serving on boards of the 40 largest corporations on Crain’s list of public companies. Five years ago, there were 74, according to a review of proxy statements for each of those companies.
Minorities—defined as African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans—today number 72 on those boards compared with 59 five years ago.
Corporate Chicago’s percentages are generally in line with similarly sized public companies throughout the country. Female directors make up 24 percent of the board members of Chicago’s top 40. The national average also was 24 percent at companies last year in the S&P 500, according to recruitment firm Spencer Stuart, which tracks boardroom trends annually.
Minorities make up 16 percent of directors locally. That’s just shy of 17 percent nationally last year for the top 200 companies by revenue in the S&P 500. At the 20 largest Chicago corporations—which would correspond more closely to the top 200 in the S&P 500—the percentage of minorities also is 17 percent.
And then there was a visit with Carlinville High School seniors Andrew DeNeve, Tyler Behme, Travis Osborn, Tristen Burns, and Tucker Green.
As part of their requirements for civics class, they had to put together a Civics Action Plan that makes the case to their elected official as to why daylight saving time should be eliminated. Andrew DeNeve called my district office to ask for a meeting for them to make their case to me directly–so we met today.
After their presentation and me peppering them with numerous questions, I committed to them that I would introduce legislation next week in the Illinois Senate to abolish daylight saving time in Illinois. I was impressed with the very strong case they presented and that deserves a debate in Springfield. One catch–when our legislation is called for a hearing in a Senate Committee, they agreed to come to a Senate Committee and present their research.
A dark money group opposing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “fair tax” plans to launch a lengthy TV ad attack Monday that calls the tax shift “unfair” and dubs the billionaire governor untrustworthy in light of a reported federal investigation into his own property tax savings.
With just three weeks to go before the Illinois General Assembly adjourns, Ideas Illinois fired off a six-figure media blitz — with a TV ad to run in Springfield on broadcast and cable TV until the end of the legislative session — to try to thwart the Illinois House from passing Pritzker’s preferred graduated income tax plan. The buy also includes digital ads in Chicago, and more mailers and digital ads in six targeted districts.
ANNC: JB Pritzker says his tax plan is all about fairness:
PRITZKER NEWS CLIP 1: “A fair tax…”
PRITZKER NEWS CLIP 2: “Fair tax…”
PRITZKER NEWS CLIP 3: “I choose fairness.”
ANNC: Can we trust him? The feds don’t:
ABC7’s CRAIG WALL: “The FBI is investigating Governor Pritzker…
“Pritzker got $331,000 in tax breaks… by having the toilets ripped out, claiming the home was uninhabitable.”
ANNC: That’s not “fair” – that’s fraudulent. Maybe even criminal.
PRITZKER NEWS CLIP 4: “The wealthy aren’t paying their fair share.”
ANNC: But you will if Pritzker gets his way.
Tell legislators: Don’t let him cheat us again. Say no to his unfair jobs tax.
No Madigan? /s
* Meanwhile, the Center for Illinois Politics took a look at the spending so far. This doesn’t include what’s purported to be the new six-figure buy from Ideas Illinois…
Our analysis has found that nearly $4 million has been spent since March 18 on commercials in five media markets throughout the state - Champaign, Chicago, Rockford, Peoria and St. Louis. […]
The Chicago media market - the state’s largest media market where about two-thirds of the state’s voters live, goes up to the Wisconsin border, as far west as Dekalb and LaSalle counties and as far south as Kankakee County. There, a track of spending from broadcast and cable stations within the market shows Think Big has spent $2.8 million on broadcast and cable advertising over the last several weeks on three commercials - all 15 second spots. Illinois Policy Action has spent $43,236 on anti-tax ads, while the Coalition [Ideas Illinois] has spent $292,976 on anti-tax ads. […]
The next biggest market, Champaign/Springfield/Decatur, covers 8 percent of the state’s population and includes Springfield, where lawmakers may be watching television before, after (or even during) session. Here, Think Big has spent $177,009 on broadcast and cable ads. Illinois Policy Action has spent $23,840 on broadcast and cable ads opposing the tax. […]
In Rockford, Thing Big has spent $66,111 on ads. The anti-tax groups haven’t spent any money in the market at all.
In the Peoria-Bloomington media market, Think Big has spent a total of $110,187 on cable and broadcast ads, while neither anti-tax group has spent money in that market.
In St. Louis, Think Big has spent $139,126, while the Coalition has spent $80,664 - an indication that this is a market where they think they can make a dent by spending a bit more.
* Politifact took a look at a claim by Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) about the minimum wage…
Righter said, “The last time Illinois raised the minimum wage in 2006, the very next year this state lost 50,000 jobs” and that “the prediction this time is, we’ll lose 90,000 jobs.”
Federal employment data show Righter had his facts backwards: Job numbers for 2007 rose nearly 50,000 higher than they were in 2006.
A spokeswoman said Righter was actually referring to unemployment, which did increase that year. But experts noted that spike was likely due to broader economic forces at play as the nation headed into the Great Recession. What’s more, Illinois saw unemployment decline following wage hikes that took effect in 2004 and 2005.
Righter’s prediction that Illinois’ upcoming wage increase will result in more job loss holds up no better. We traced it back to an analysis of a different minimum wage bill produced by a group that has historically opposed minimum wage hikes.
We rate Righter’s claim False.
It all depends on how you look at the numbers, I suppose. Illinois ended 2006 with 5,821,022 jobs and ended 2007 with 5,869,157 jobs, which is an increase of 48,135 jobs.
The number of unemployed Illinoisans at the end of 2006 was 293,920 and the number at the end of 2007 was 364,530, an increase of 70,610.
The unemployment rate went from 5.3 percent at the end of 2005, to 4.4 at the end of 2006, back up to 5.4 in 2007 and then up to 7.8 in 2008 and peaked at 11.3 at the end of 2009.
PolitiFact is right that the country was slipping into recession at the time, so it’s impossible to say that one specific law caused anything. And this is particularly so because the minimum wage was only increased by 25 cents an hour in 2007.
* The Illinois News Network’s publisher and general manager has penned a column entitled “Objectivity lost when the media omits the news.” I kid you not. He goes through a long meandering introduction about his world travels and then finally gets to the point…
I have watched with curiosity how media in Illinois has covered the recent stories of two state representatives who have been charged with driving under the influence, each within a short distance from the statehouse, on what was essentially a work night. Kam Buckner, a Democrat from Chicago, was arrested on March 29 a few blocks from the capitol. Steven Reick, a Republican from Woodstock, was arrested Thursday (May 2).
Each man was arrested early in the morning during session in Springfield. […]
INN published stories about Buckner on April 3 and April 5. INN published the video, which we received via a Freedom of Information Act request, on April 29. The video was aired by WGN-TV, CBS 2 Chicago, and NBC 5 Chicago within 24 hours of moving through our news wire.
All information is neutral. If you provide facts and adhere to the journalistic standards of objectivity, as a reporter you are providing the truth.
Buckner’s DUI wasn’t covered in any way by the Springfield Journal-Register, until it was packaged at the bottom of columnist/reporter Bernard Schoenberg’s news story on Reick’s arrest, which was published on Thursday (May 2) – an hour or more after Illinois News Network broke the story. The arrest occurred less than a mile from Springfield Journal-Register’s office. […]
Politico’s Illinois Playbook, a daily email newsletter roundup of Chicago, state and federal news with implications for Illinoisans, is written and aggregated by Shia Kapos. She included a link to a story about Reick’s DUI on Friday (May 3), but still hasn’t reported on Buckner’s DUI.
That is so rich. “They’re not reporting on my publication’s stories so they are biased! Biased, I say! Biased!”
This from the same news organization which used to be owned by the Illinois Policy Institute and is now the group’s office mate in Chicago. It regularly publishes columns written by Institute employees and its stories often overlap with the Institute’s own coverage.
Amid a nationwide measles outbreak, the Illinois Department of Public Health is taking steps to increase vaccination rates to prevent measles cases here.
“The Illinois Department of Public Health is proactively working to increase vaccination rates and educate the public on the importance of vaccines to prevent the spread of measles,” said Jenny Winkler, director of quality, safety and health policy at the Illinois Health and Hospital Association.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 704 cases of measles in 22 states. Seven measles cases have been identified in Illinois, Winkler said.
So, why aren’t they reporting on Bailey?! Biased, I say! Biased! /s
…Adding… A good point in comments…
Last week when news hit about the threatening letter concerning public pensions sent to legislators, IRN ran a story, multiple times, regarding a public school janitor suing over union dues.
Illinois is trying to do something no other state has accomplished, legalizing recreational marijuana by statute instead of coming up with a program on the fly after a ballot initiative.
That’s one of many reasons it’s taking so long. Legislators, led by Sen. Heather Steans and Rep. Kelly Cassidy, have been working on the bill for months, with the effort intensifying over the past several weeks. “No state has gone to tax-and-regulate by legislation vs. ballot referendum,” Cassidy, who started laying the groundwork for the bill with Steans more than two years ago, said recently. “That’s why it’s taken more time than other bigger bills.”
And it’s good that they’re taking some time because they’re able to see what has worked and what has failed in other states.
The Legislature is split along party lines with this issue, and although Democrats control both chambers, a few of them are on the fence and mirror the views of those in law enforcement and religious communities who worry about illegal sales and any addictive nature of marijuana.
Lawmakers have made an unusual step of introducing the bill first in the Senate, rather than presenting companion bills in both chambers. That’s likely because the Senate has been the friendlier venue for marijuana legislation then the House, which is expected to be a bigger hurdle.
Um, the issue has GOP support in both chambers. It doesn’t command a majority of the Republican super-minority, but the support is significant enough to say it’s bipartisan. As subscribers know, there is a big question about whether Republicans will support this particular proposal, but the governor said Saturday that he expects changes will be made.
Also, introducing one bill in one chamber is not unusual at all. Identical bills are occasionally introduced in both chambers because, for instance: 1) Sponsors have ego issues; 2) The General Assembly is preparing for ramming speed so that one chamber can have a hearing while the other chamber takes up an identical bill on the floor.
But this particular proposal does, indeed, have a better chance in the Senate partly because the Senate Democrats have 40 members, which would be equal to 80 House members. The House has 74 members.
One of the more colorful stories about Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s relationship with the Illinois General Assembly involves his 2011 threat to burn down a legislator’s house.
The newly inaugurated mayor was trying to pass a pension reform bill, and the House Democrats weren’t all that excited about it. Emanuel, the story goes, became so angry with Chicago Democratic Rep. Greg Harris for refusing to support his bill that he threatened to burn down Harris’ house if he didn’t comply.
Classic Rahm—the same guy who once infamously sent a dead fish to a pollster.
But the house-burning story was an outlier. Emanuel’s relationship with legislators was mostly cordial over the past eight years, particularly with legislative leaders in both parties.
His predecessor, Mayor Richard M. Daley, had his Springfield crew insert themselves into all sorts of Statehouse battles, even going so far as to help the city’s corporate interests pass or defeat bills.
Emanuel mainly limited his Springfield involvement to major asks, like when he needed the General Assembly to help him offer lakefront property to George Lucas for his poorly received “museum,” or when he wanted infrastructure money for the area around former President Barack Obama’s planned presidential center. Both zoomed through the two chambers with lightning speed.
The notoriously tax-averse Daley (to the point of driving his city to the verge of default) was furious about the 2011 temporary state income tax hike. Daley’s negative public comments ahead of the vote contributed to the General Assembly’s decision to nix the traditional cut the municipalities would have expected to receive from the tax increase.
The Chicago Police Department reported last week that the number of people murdered in the city fell ten percent during the first four months of 2019 compared to last year during the same period.
While that’s good news and part of a two-year downward trend, lost in much of the coverage was a worrisome murder spike in the month of April.
The Chicago Sun-Times counted 62 Chicago homicides in April, up from 37 in April of last year and 48 in April of 2017.
It’s too early to tell whether this is an aberration or a trend. Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot has been busily meeting with law enforcement officials over the past several days in an attempt to develop a plan before she takes office on May 20 and before summer starts, when street violence tends to increase as the weather warms.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker spent over a year on the campaign trail talking about his strong belief that violence is a public health issue. I happen to agree with him on this. We cannot police ourselves completely out of this problem. Violence often spreads like a disease and research has shown that when it’s treated as such, the contagion can be slowed or even halted.
As an integral part of treating violence as a public health issue, Pritzker touted his support for violence interruption programs, which do things like mediate conflicts between rival individuals and groups and try to prevent retaliations from spiraling out of control.
After then-Gov. Bruce Rauner blamed the city’s crime problem on the lack of jobs and even illegal immigrants, Pritzker countered during a debate last October by laying at least some of the blame at Rauner’s feet.
“Gun violence across the state of Illinois has gone up in the very same period that Gov. Rauner refused to compromise on a budget,” Pritzker said during the debate. “So many of the violence interruption services, human services that people have as their last vestige of connection with civilization, have gone away.”
Indeed, the General Assembly had appropriated $4.7 million for violence interruption programs in Fiscal Year 2015, Rauner’s first year in office. But Rauner stopped spending that money and then nothing was appropriated for the following fiscal year, which began July 1. Shootings spiked almost immediately.
In all of 2014, before Rauner took office, 415 people were murdered in Chicago. Rauner, who didn’t recognize the connection between violence and public health, was inaugurated in January of 2015 and the number of murders rose to 468.
The city saw another huge increase in violence in 2016, with murders soaring to 750.
But violence-prevention funding was mostly restored after taxes were raised over Rauner’s July 2017 veto. The murder rate began to decline, dropping to 650.
Not all of this trend can be attributed to violence interruption services, of course. But the one Chicago community which managed to secure non-state violence interruption funding in 2015 was the only one spared from that year’s bloody surge in killings.
On his first full day in office this past January, Pritzker told reporters he wanted to expand violence interruption programs.
“Those programs have been decimated across the state,” he said. “And so we should be focusing on interrupting violence as much as possible.”
And as he approached his first 100 days in office, Pritzker told ABC 7’s Craig Wall: “The fact is violence interruption programs addressing the issues that prevent violence before it occurs, that’s the most effective thing that we can do.”
Pritzker also touted an increase in anti-violence funding during his February budget address. “This budget adds funds for community-based violence interruption,” he told lawmakers.
The governor never actually said how much he was proposing to add to the program, but it turns out his requested increase is a mere $2 million.
Every little bit helps, obviously, and nobody is complaining yet, but the money doesn’t appear to match the governor’s soaring rhetoric.
When I asked the administration why more wasn’t appropriated, I was told there just isn’t enough available state money to go around to fund all of the things the governor wants to do, ergo his push for a graduated income tax.
Pritzker is right that these programs work, and Chicago isn’t the only Illinois city that has benefited from them over the years. Somehow, we need to find a way to do more.
