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*** UPDATED x1 - Governor’s office rebuts *** Mayor doubles down

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Leigh Giangreco and Justin Laurence at Crain’s…

Illinois and Cook County have pledged about $250 million in funding to aid the ongoing migrant crisis, but the city says it never committed to provide its own share of $71 million.

State, county and city officials identified $321 million needed through 2024 to support ongoing shelter and support services, according to a Feb. 15 state and county joint statement.

A spokesman for the mayor’s office told Crain’s the “city never made that commitment” to provide the additional $71 million.

Mary Ann Ahern…

Earlier this month, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle met with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson at City Hall to discuss the need for more funding.

Multiple sources tell NBC Chicago that all three agreed on what it would take to prepare that funding, but the mayor later distanced the city from the agreement.

*** UPDATE *** Jordan Abudayyeh rebuts…

After a month of meetings where the state, county and city worked to assemble a long term funding plan, it was widely reported that the Governor attended a meeting at City Hall on February 5th.

At that meeting the state, county and city agreed that an additional $321 million was needed to sustain current operations to continue providing much needed humanitarian aid.

The Governor agreed to ask the General Assembly for $182 million to cover more than half of the additional funding, while it was agreed that the county and city would go to the county board and city council for the rest of the funding.

With the understanding of those commitments the staffs from each office, including the Mayor’s Office, met to discuss making the joint funding announcement and briefing our respective legislative bodies.

By Wednesday of that week the city pulled out of a staff level planning meeting and by the weekend the Mayor called the Governor to notify him the city would not be a part of the joint announcement.

* From Isabel…

* Sun-Times | To trace the origins of busing migrants to Chicago, start with Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz: Pritzker said he worried about what would happen after May 11, 2023 — a day “burned in my head.” That was the expiration date for Title 42, the federal coronavirus health order enacted under the Trump administration to allow U.S. authorities to quickly send migrants back to Mexico. “We all knew that that could mean that there would be a big flow into the country — not knowing if the governor of Texas was going to now flood them into Chicago or to some other location,” Pritzker said.

* WIFR | Winnebago Co. Board discusses resolution for potential migrant crisis: Leaving the floor open to the public, board members took input from residents on how the situation should be handled. Board member Paul Arena says the point of the discussion was to make it clear that the discussed resolution applies only if migrants are abandoned in the county en route to Chicago. “We hope that it eases the public’s mind. That they are made confident that number one we are responsibly using their tax money and secondly to people that are concerned about the welfare of migrants, that we are going to give them proper care, should this happen.”

* CNN | I asked criminologists about immigration and crime in the US. Their answers may surprise you: Charis Kubrin and Graham Ousey literally wrote the book on immigration and crime. They’ve been researching these issues for decades and analyzed numerous studies for their 2023 book, “Immigration and Crime: Taking Stock.” […] Ousey: Human beings commit crime in pretty much all societies across the globe. But the bottom line is what gets lost in those anecdotal stories — those lead you to a flashpoint of negativity in which you ignore all the potentially good things that immigrants bring to our society. And it’s frustrating to try to bring evidence to the table and try to contextualize things and put it statistically when you’re arguing against this flashpoint that allows people to more or less kind of ignore everything else.

* NYT | Big Burden of Migrant Influx Strains Denver: In his first six months in office last summer, the mayor of Denver, Mike Johnston, managed to get more than 1,200 homeless people off the streets and into housing. That seemed like a fitting feat for a city that prides itself on its compassion. It would turn out to be a footnote compared with the humanitarian crisis that Denver would soon face as thousands of migrants flooded the city, many of them bused from the southern border by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and almost all of them in need of shelter and support.

* Axios | Most Americans say the feds are doing a bad job with the migrant crisis: About 80% of Americans say the U.S. government is doing a bad job dealing with the large number of migrants at the border, including 45% who say it is doing a very bad job, a new survey finds. […] About 78% of respondents say the large number of migrants seeking to enter the country at the U.S.-Mexico border is either a crisis (45%) or a major problem (32%), according to the Pew Research Center survey.

* CBS | How much is Massachusetts spending to shelter and feed migrants and homeless? I-Team obtains vendor contracts: Records obtained by the I-Team show the state has 17 contracts for housing totaling more than $116 million. Those contracts are only for fiscal year 2024 and end in June. […] In some cases, the hotels are collecting money from the state for three meals a day, $16 for breakfast, $17 for lunch and $31 for dinner. That means $64 dollars a day per person.

* Wired | YouTube Livestreamers Made Money ‘Hunting’ for Migrants Along the US Border: “Anybody in there,” said Dennis Yarbery, one of the YouTubers, as he approached a migrant camp at night in Jacumba Hot Springs, California, near the border last week. Yarbery was livestreaming to thousands of people. “Come out, come out wherever you are.” Yarbery is one of three men who split off from the Take Our Border Back convoy in Texas and, according to their livestreams, spent days driving along the border in Arizona and California to harass migrants and volunteers with nonprofit groups.

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Live coverage

Friday, Feb 16, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* You can click here or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.

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McCann decides to plead guilty

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Crazy town…

Breaking: on the third day of trial and before prosecutors could rest their case against McCann, he has decided to plead guilty on all counts.
While McCann would like home confinement awaiting sentencing, Govt is opposing that. AUSA Tim Bass pointed to this video as one factor⬇️ https://t.co/HRNiGbvhft

— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) February 15, 2024

…Adding… Sen. McClure…

State Senator Steve McClure (R-Springfield) released the following statement after former State Senator State Senator Sam McCann pled guilty:

“I got into politics because I was concerned that my senator at the time, Sam McCann, was corrupt. Justice was served today as McCann finally took responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty. I commend the U.S. Attorney’s office for their outstanding work. We have to root out corruption in this state at all levels because Illinois deserves better.”

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GOP property tax proposal shows how pension costs are declining as percent of state budget (Updated)

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a Rep. Tim Ozinga (R-Mokena) press release…

“There is a great injustice occurring in the state of Illinois that we have the power to fix,” said Rep. Ozinga. “The high property tax burden is suffocating families, communities, and businesses, especially in areas that are already struggling. But the extremes of property tax rates vary greatly across our state, sometimes even between towns in the same county. It’s time we ask - why are some struggling communities across our state paying four times the effective tax rate than more affluent communities?

“This crisis is why I, along with my colleague State Representative Dan Ugaste, have introduced House Bill 4866. This legislation would create the Education Property Tax Relief Fund, which would award property tax relief grants to school districts. While all areas of the state would see significant property tax relief, the hardest hit areas would see up to a 50% reduction in school district property tax rates.”

* I asked how the tax relief program would be funded. Response…

This would be funded through the Fixed Pension Payment Property Tax Relief Plan which would tie pension costs and property tax relief into a certain percentage of each year’s budget.

I attached a graph that demonstrates how much money would be allocated to the grant program if we freeze the pension spending at 25% of each year’s budget. With pension costs decreasing each year, the gap between the actual pension costs and the 25% budget allocation would be the funding used for this program.

* Here’s the chart. Click the pic for a larger image if you need it…

Zoom in…

You can clearly see the problem with this idea. The percentage of state spending on pensions is currently way below 25 percent and is expected to continue that decline. A rough calculation shows that this plan would cost taxpayers an extra $2 billion or so in the coming fiscal year, and more in future years if Ozinga’s chart is accurate.

* But the chart does dramatically show why you’re not hearing so much about the state pension “crisis” any longer. Again, if the projections hold up, pension costs become much more manageable as a percentage of total state spending.

Perhaps Rep. Ozinga could lock in his plan at 21 percent instead and use that extra money for property tax relief going forward. Then again, the best local property tax relief is probably the state spending more on K-12, which takes the burden off local taxpayers. This is Gov. Pritzker’s explanation earlier in the week…

When I came into office we were funding education from the state level at only 24 percent. So all the rest of it was coming, most of the rest of it coming from local property taxes. We vowed to do something about that, so evidence-based funding and funding education K-12 in general, allows us to do what I’m about to tell you which is we move from 24 percent funding to 30 percent funding. The average state is 46% funding. You can see how far behind we are, but we’re making tremendous progress. And as we move up the scale of state funding, we can lower local property taxes because this will fall more to the state than it will to local residents.

I dunno about “tremendous” progress, but the arrow is slowly pointing in the right direction for a change. And that started under Bruce Rauner, who signed evidence-based funding into law.

…Adding… From Rep. Ozinga…

“I’m fine locking in at 21% because at the end of the day, some relief is better than none. I am willing to work across the aisle for a solution to this problem, but the more relief the better. We are spending hundreds of millions, potentially billions, on new programs for non-citizens due to the crisis at the border. I think that eventually needs to go to relief as well.”

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*** UPDATED x9 *** State, county announce more money for asylum-seekers, but city conspicuously missing

Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Notice any entity missing from this press release?…

Governor JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced their commitment to a joint funding plan to ensure shelter, wraparound services and healthcare remain available for asylum seekers sent to Chicago from the Texas border. Following a long-term planning exercise, State, County and City teams concluded that an additional estimated $321 million is needed to maintain shelter and services this calendar year, on top of previously committed funding. The Governor and President are pledging a combined investment of over $250 million to help close this gap.

In November, the State of Illinois committed an additional $160 million to the asylum seeker response to invest in three critical areas: welcome, shelter, and independence. That commitment was in addition to the $478 million the State has spent since the start of the response. As part of the joint funding plan, the State is pledging an additional $182 million, which will be part of the Governor’s upcoming Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal to the General Assembly.

“With thousands of asylum seekers continuing to come to Chicago in desperate need of support and with Congress continuing to refuse to act—it is clear the state, county, and city will have to do more to keep people safe,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I’m thankful to President Preckwinkle for working with us to help close this budget gap and maintain critical services in the year ahead.”

Cook County has already committed more than $100 million in its current FY24 budget for new arrival related costs, primarily for healthcare, and the President will work with Cook County commissioners to commit up to $70 million more for this joint funding plan.

“As critical funding for this ongoing humanitarian crisis stalls in Congress, Cook County stands committed to the well-being of the region,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “We cannot wait for additional resources and Cook County is proud to stand alongside Governor Pritzker in this joint funding plan, ensuring that shelter capacity, healthcare and wraparound services remain accessible to those in need.”

The County, through its Health and Hospital system, has been the primary health care provider for new arrivals and have served more than 25,000 patients and provided for nearly 70,000 visits across the health system. Cook County Health (CCH) provides comprehensive medical exams and care – including physical exams, testing, lab services, standard vaccinations, complete school physicals and pediatric vaccines, as well as behavioral health screenings and counseling, care coordination and prescription medications - and provides follow up care as needed.

This joint funding plan will maintain shelter capacity as well as the continuation of wraparound and healthcare services. More than 35,000 asylum seekers have been inhumanely dropped off in the City of Chicago and surrounding suburbs over the last year and a half.

The city’s deliberately under-funded appropriation runs out in April, but the mayor isn’t announcing any attempt to convince the city council to appropriate more?

I’ve asked the state, county and city for an explanation. So, watch for possible updates.

*** UPDATE 1 *** Jordan Abudayyeh…

We put together these cost projections in collaboration with the county and city. The Governor agreed to step up and cover more than half of this cost at $182 million. The County President also stepped up to cover an additional $70 million. You will have to ask the city what their plans are for the remaining $70 million that all parties have agreed is needed to fund this humanitarian response.

*** UPDATE 2 *** Tina Sfondeles…

According to a source briefed on the discussions, Johnson initially agreed to ask the City Council for more funds, but ultimately backed off.

*** UPDATE 3 *** I’m told the mayor agreed to ask the city council for an additional $70 million during a February 5th meeting with the governor and county board president. And then the mayor apparently changed his mind.

*** UPDATE 4 *** Stay tuned…

*** UPDATE 5 *** Senate President Don Harmon…

“I applaud Governor Pritzker for initiating this needed team approach. Solving this problem is going to require engaged partnership among all government stakeholders. I’m eager to hear more about the governor’s proposed budget and look forward to continued discussions on pairing expenditures on this crisis with investments in longstanding issues facing our communities like homelessness, food insecurity and job opportunities.”

Harmon has said before that he cannot support more migrant funding without more spending on other issues, like the ones he mentioned above.

*** UPDATE 6 *** Mayor Johnson was pressed by Mary Ann Ahern on his flip-flop and he seemed to obliquely deny he changed position…

Mayor Johnson: Were you at that meeting? So you’re making an assertion that I made a promise. Were you at that meeting? … So, whatever conclusion you’re coming to, maybe I shouldn’t speak to whatever conclusion you’re coming to. All I’m saying is, is that no one in this city, let’s make it broader. No one in the state of Illinois, in this country is questioning Mayor Brandon Johnson’s commitment to this mission.

*** UPDATE 7 *** Mayor Johnson continued to resist answering the question…

Q: Are you saying the governor’s staff is lying when they say you committed to $70 million? … Why are those numbers not jiving with what you’re saying? 70 million. Were you in the meeting, was somebody else in the meeting? What’s the disconnect?

Mayor: There is no disconnect. And yes, I was in the meeting. There are a number of matters that need to be worked through. It’s not just about financial resources, as I’ve said before. […]

Q: Did they jump the gun by issuing this press release?

Mayor: [Deflected, blamed the federal government, Texas etc.]

A reporter then tried three times to get a straight yes or no answer about whether Johnson would commit to the new funding. He didn’t get a direct response.

The bottom line is the mayor gave his word ten days ago to ask for an additional $70 million and has now apparently reneged.

*** UPDATE 8 *** Mayor Johnson said he is “not aware” of the details a reporter referenced about the supposed deal. When pressed by multiple reporters to answer the question and then complained that questioning was becoming “quite hostile.”

Here’s the exchange…

Q: Your staff and the staff from the county and the governor’s office had been meeting for weeks and months. And you guys had that meeting last week with Governor Pritzker and President Preckwinkle. They walked out of that meeting believing that you had a deal in place for $321 million in extra funding, the state would provide 50% of that and the county and city would provide 25%. Are you at all concerned that they walked out of a meeting believing there was a deal that you now say you never made a commitment to?

Mayor Johnson: I’m not aware of what you are asserting. I’m not aware of that. So whatever understanding that you all might have about what was discussed in that meeting, because none of you were in that meeting, none of you were, so all I could, let’s keep a little let’s keep a little decorum. Okay.

*** UPDATE 9 *** From Chief Budgeteer Jehan Gordon-Booth and Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, leader of the New Arrivals Working Group…

“We look forward to reviewing the full details of the plan and hearing the governor outline his full budget priorities next week. We will remain focused on continuing to bring stakeholders together to continue making smart and compassionate decisions for our state and all of our communities.”

The House Speaker has said he’s basically in the same position as Harmon. Their respective caucuses want more spending on other priorities in exchange for voting for this appropriation.

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