Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Fox Fire restaurant appellate decision is now legal precedent

Monday, Nov 16, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I told you last week, the Pritzker administration asked the 2nd District Appellate Court to “publish” its opinion on the Fox Fire restaurant case upholding the IDPH mitigation rules. Publishing the case would make the decision legal precedent.

Well, on late Friday the court did just that. Click here for the published decision.

More background is here if you need it.

* Meanwhile, from a recent Decatur Herald & Review editorial…

There’s scant evidence that open restaurants have led to any of the increases in COVID-19 positives.

Um, from a Wall Street Journal article…

Researchers from Stanford University and Northwestern University have used the mobile-phone data of 98 million Americans to model how the virus spread during the first wave of Covid-19 in the spring.

The study, published in journal Nature this past week, showed that restaurants, gyms, hotels, cafes and religious organizations carried the biggest risk of spreading infections.

* On to the Illinois Municipal League. I’m not sure why they’re complaining about lack of help with enforcement. Do they ask for state assistance to deal with shoplifters, too? Just enforce the law. How difficult is that to do?…

The Illinois Municipal League (IML) is calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Administration to convene a working group comprised of mayors and other local officials to better coordinate coronavirus response efforts at the community level as cases surge across Illinois.

Since April, mayors across Illinois have repeatedly asked to be included in the process of developing mitigations and enforcement measures. A lack of communication from the state as well as little support in enforcing mitigation measures has frustrated mayors who are seeking to protect their communities but have been met with resistance. A more collaborative approach will help ensure the state is better informed of local issues caused by the pandemic, including challenges related to mitigation compliance, and will help promote a more effective community-level response by ensuring local officials are apprised of the latest data driving mitigation efforts.

“We have consistently advised all municipal leaders to abide by health guidelines issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, there is a clear need for additional collaboration,” said Brad Cole, IML Executive Director. “The governor has called for an ‘All-in’ approach to address this crisis yet has rebuffed requests to work hand in hand with local officials to implement solutions that protect our residents. Simply blaming mayors for rising cases does nothing to address the underlying issues preventing more effective mitigation results, including distrust of state mandates among residents and the need for state and county enforcement of mitigation measures. It is time for the state to work together with mayors, not just point fingers at them, to stem this rising tide.”

Most cities, towns and villages have a limited set of tools when it comes to implementing coronavirus mitigation measures. For instance, they have no control over food licenses. It falls on the individual county public health departments to revoke an establishment’s food license for failing to abide by mitigation measures. And county state’s attorneys have the sole authority to prosecute violations of state laws and orders.

Further, many mayors are limited in their enforcement authority because they oversee non-home rule communities, where they are only able to put in place measures specifically allowed by state statute. There are 1,081 non-home rule communities in Illinois, compared to 217 home rule communities, which have more discretion to set their own stricter regulations or impose those outlined in the governor’s executive orders.

While mayors have been told by the state to refer enforcement issues to the county public health departments or state police, there has been little follow up by those entities. This has led to uneven compliance across our cities, villages and towns where some individuals and businesses are abiding by mitigation efforts, but others are blatantly disregarding state and local orders while facing no consequences. Confusion over how data is analyzed by the state has also made it difficult for mayors to explain to residents why additional mitigation efforts are required and why they are only applied to certain professions or specific aspects of the service economy.

“These sorts of inconsistencies have caused some residents to question all mitigation efforts, making it even more difficult for local officials to receive compliance with safety regulations,” said IML President Ricky J. Gottman, mayor of Vandalia. “We will keep asking our residents and businesses to comply with state mandates, but we must work together to put in place effective mitigation strategies to protect our communities and the wellbeing of everyone across the state.”

Um, one big reason why there is “distrust of state mandates among residents” is because so many local officials constantly scoff at the state. Before he caved to reality, Springfield’s mayor was confidently saying that the IDPH mitigations wouldn’t work, without citing a single source.

Also, I’ve asked about this non Home Rule bit. Can’t they just enforce state law?

* Sangamon County is finally taking action instead of belly-aching…

Sangamon County Public Health officials have suspended the food permits of five Springfield-area restaurants for defying pandemic restrictions and continuing indoor service.

A Sangamon County spokesman told WAND News the action was taken against Charlie Parkers, D&J Cafe, Fox Run, Sweet Basil Cafe and Casa Real.

WAND News learned from county officials that three of the businesses, D&J Cafe, Sweet Basil Cafe and Fox Run, were cited Friday. All received citations for allowing indoor dining.

Each business was fined $500.

…Adding… Contrast that whiny can’t-do IML statement with this one from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus…

The 275 Member Mayors of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus called upon residents and businesses today to commit to some common sense steps to help the Chicago region flatten the COVID-19 curve for the second time.

Acknowledging the need to combat the exponential increases in COVID cases across Chicagoland and the State in recent weeks, regional Mayors ask area residents and businesses to take the following actions for at least the next three weeks or until the rate of infection consistently declines:

• Continue to comply with regulations to wear face coverings whenever you are indoors at a public place or outdoors encountering people outside of your immediate household. The Center for Disease Control reinforced the importance of facemasks last week, saying they protect both the wearer and individuals they may encounter;
• When leaving home, continue to practice social distancing by always staying 6-feet apart from others;
• Continue to wash hands or use hand sanitizer often. Avoid touching surfaces frequently touched by others and keep your hands off your face;
• Consider limiting trips outside your home to going to work, attending school, and obtaining vital goods and services, such as medical care, food, or household essentials;
• Limit gatherings to no more than 10 persons – and remember it is safest to only associate with members of your own household;
• If possible, avoid all non-essential travel.

Most of the requested actions are strategies recommended to residents since the pandemic began. These strategies are still on the regional Mayors’ recommendation list because of their history of successfully reducing coronavirus transmission. Newer recommended actions such as limiting trips and gatherings are consistent with those proposed by area public health officials. While each of our 275 member municipalities is unique, they all agree that it is critically important that we come together in the days and weeks ahead to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Endorsing these strategies is one of the most coherent methods for dealing with the current increase of positivity results

“We are at a critical point in the fight against the pandemic. This second wave requires serious attention from all of us,” said Mayor Joseph Tamburino, Mayor of the Village of Hillside. “Everyone needs to step up right now to bend the curve downward, save lives and help our businesses remain open or in some cases, to re-open.”

“These are common sense actions that we strongly urge all residents to take,” said Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering. “It is incumbent upon each of us to take personal responsibility to stop the spread of this virus. The sooner everyone consistently follows these steps, the better chance we have of reducing the rate of infection, keeping our local economies going and avoiding a complete shut-down.”

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Chuy Garcia holds an important key

Monday, Nov 16, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

With the announcement by Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, earlier this month that he will not vote to re-elect Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in January, the opposition numbered eight House Democrats, with at least a few more privately leaning their way.

They’ll need 13 or 14 Democrats, depending on final general election results, to deprive Madigan of the speaker’s gavel. So, they may need some help to get over the hump.

And there’s one person outside the House who may have enough votes to tip the balance either way.

And, no, it’s likely not Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Not yet, anyway

Pritzker controls no votes in the House. He can’t just push a button and make something happen in that chamber.

Perhaps if he had followed through on his 2018 promises to supplant the moribund state party with a true statewide political organization for all Democrats at all levels, he might have some buttons to push. But he didn’t, and the pandemic intervened and here we are.

Whatever the case, a governor directly confronting the House Speaker has never worked here. Others have tried. All have failed. A governor’s opposition would, as it has in the past, give Madigan something external and concrete to push back against in order to distract from his internal problems.

And if Pritzker’s effort to dislodge Madigan failed, so would the remainder of his legislative agenda. Not to mention that Pritzker certainly hurt himself when he not so subtly threw resources Sen. Kimberly Lightford’s way during her unsuccessful run for Senate President almost a year ago. Once bitten, twice shy.

There is definite pressure on Pritzker to act, though. As the saying goes, “governors own,” so he’ll wear the jacket in 2022 if Madigan is still standing and remains as spectacularly unpopular as he is today.

Maybe Pritzker could quietly do something at the very end to make it happen if the opposition is still slightly short, but don’t expect anything before that unless something major happens with the federal investigation into the House Speaker’s operation. But if Pritzker swings and misses, Madigan will still be around, Pritzker won’t get anything accomplished and the voters will not be pleased.

The dude spent a zillion dollars to get elected governor only to find himself in a dozen trick bags. Welcome to Illinois!

The one person outside the House who could make a real and immediate difference is U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia. As I’ve told you before, Garcia, the Chicago Teachers Union and Madigan came to an understanding not long after Garcia, with the CTU’s backing, lost the city mayor’s race in 2015. Madigan’s 13th Ward carried Mayor Rahm Emanuel to victory, but that took an extraordinary amount of work in Madigan’s Latino-dominated area. Better to just cut a deal.

Since then, one after another of Congressman Garcia’s close allies have been elected or appointed to the General Assembly.

There are probably no better examples of this than in Madigan’s own neighborhood. Garcia ally Celina Villanueva was appointed to the House in the summer of 2018 when Madigan loyalist Rep. Silvana Tabares was appointed to the Chicago City Council in the neighboring 23rd Ward. Rep. Villanueva then ran unopposed in a special election to replace resigned Sen. Martin Sandoval (Madigan’s senator) and Garcia’s congressional aide Edgar Gonzalez was appointed to Villanueva’s House seat. In between, Madigan successfully supported another Garcia staffer for a Cook County Board slot over Sandoval’s daughter.

Congressman Garcia has significant influence over at least three Chicago Democratic House members (Gonzalez, Aaron Ortiz and Delia Ramirez). But if he makes a strong statement either way on Madigan, several other progressives in the chamber could very well follow his lead.

Garcia, by the way, is also a member of Madigan’s state party central committee. A few committee members have spoken out against Chairman Madigan, but Garcia has a stronger political organization and a larger public platform. He could make a real difference there, too,

But a deal is a deal and, in the long term, Garcia has the better end of it. Madigan gets peace and Garcia gets more of his people into influential positions every time there’s a path (or close to it, like when Madigan tried unsuccessfully to block Eva-Dina Delgado’s appointment to the House this year after Garcia and the CTU supported someone else).

And that probably explains why Congressman Garcia isn’t returning my phone calls and texts these days to ask what he’s planning to do about all of this.

…Adding… Congressman Garcia didn’t respond to the Sun-Times, either…

Five members of the [Democratic state central committee] — including a congresswoman and a newly elected countywide official — are openly calling for Madigan to step down.

Four others — including the Cook County clerk — see no need for new leadership.

What the other 27 are thinking is a mystery, since they didn’t respond to the Sun-Times’ requests for comment.