* Press release…
Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) State Lodge President Chris Southwood and Illinois FOP Labor Council Executive Director Shawn Roselieb issued the following joint statement today about the negotiations regarding the proposed consolidation of downstate Illinois police and fire pension systems:
“After extensive talks with legislative leaders and Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Office, state lawmakers have indicated they will amend legislation to consolidate police pension funds, and the amendments will address our major concerns with the initial legislation. We agree in principle with these proposed amendments but want to make sure they make it into the final language of the bill.
“The revised legislation would give active and retired municipal police officers a majority on the board that will control the consolidated investments. The revised bill would allow pension funds to provide the best rate of investment return for police officers. The amended legislation would also make badly needed corrections to the unfair and flawed tiered system of pension benefits.
“We are also happy that the proposed amendments keep the local pension boards in place to efficiently administer benefits.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Police Benevolent and Protective Association of Illinois Member Update…
The Police Benevolent and Protective Association of Illinois, along with other police groups and stakeholders, has been meeting throughout this week with legislative leaders and members of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s staff to discuss the proposed consolidation of downstate Illinois police and fire pension systems. We expressed our opposition to the initial legislation and its potential impact on police officers’ retirement security. Thanks in large part to our members calls and letters to the editor, we have been successful in convincing legislators to amend the bill (originally agreed to by the AFFI) to address several major concerns. We have agreed in principle with these proposed amendments and will ensure they make it into the final language of the bill.
The revised legislation gives active and retired municipal police officers a majority on the board that controls the consolidated investments. The bill includes provisions that keep police pension monies in a separate fund WHICH CANNOT BE ACCESSED, SWEPT, or USED AS COLLATERAL by the state. It also provides that this new board is limited to investment decisions, NOT decisions about benefits. The revised bill also removes outdated and damaging restrictions on pension investments so that police officer funds can be invested more appropriately under the guidance of the new police majority board.
The amended legislation also makes crucially needed corrections to the unfair and flawed tiered system of pension benefits. Finally, the proposed amendments ensure that the local pension boards remain in place to administer benefits and that their decisions will not be subject to interference by third parties
We are cautiously reviewing proposed language to protect our members’ interests as much as possible.
We will update members regarding ongoing developments as they occur.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The governor’s office has distributed a fact sheet on the compromise legislation. Click here to read it.
…Adding… Governor’s office…
Governor Pritzker is determined to address the decades of failure that have created Illinois’ pension challenges, and consolidating 650 downstate and suburban police and fire pensions will be an important step forward in alleviating the growing burden of local property taxes and produce significantly better returns for first responders. The administration is pleased that support continues to grow and appreciates the backing from police organizations, who have joined with firefighters and municipal representatives in supporting this commonsense reform.
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* Better Government Association president David Greising in Crain’s…
When Lightfoot called for pension reforms during the interview, I noted that she herself has stopped short of putting a constitutional amendment on the table. Instead of restating her opposition to the idea, she turned attention to Pritzker.
“The governor has been very clear that he does not favor a constitutional amendment,” Lightfoot said. […]
“So, we have to re-engage [on pension reform]. And whatever it takes to reignite that conversation, I’m all for.”
This sounded like Lightfoot would even consider a change to the constitution, I noted.
“I’m very clear that the governor is opposed to a constitutional amendment. I think that makes it very difficult if not impossible,” she said.
Yeah, it’s all the governor’s fault. Right, mayor. We had a governor for four years who supported a constitutional amendment on pensions, but he couldn’t get it done because he blamed Speaker Madigan.
Also, by the way, there’s this thing called a veto session coming up in a few days and the mayor will need the governor and pro-labor House and Senate Democrats to fully engage to help her city’s agenda. Is this really the way to do that?
…Adding… Governor’s office…
The governor has been very clear that we must protect the pensions promised to retirees while working to overcome the decades of failure that have put our pension systems at the forefront of Illinois’ fiscal challenges. In his first ten months in office, the governor has already introduced and implemented realistic and effective measures to reduce state and municipal pension liabilities, including expanding the voluntary pension buyout program, proposing legislation to consolidate the 650 police and firefighter pension funds and solve the Tier 2 pension underfunding, dedicating fair tax proceeds to bend the pension curve, and examining the viability of asset transfers to reduce unfunded liabilities.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the governor’s comms director…
The mayor has conveyed to the governor that she opposes a pension amendment.
Mayor Lightfoot does this a lot. She’ll hint that she wants a constitutional amendment when she’s talking to somebody like Greising, but she’ll tell others that she’s opposed.
Pick a lane, mayor.
*** UPDATE 12 *** Mayor Lightfoot’s office…
As the Mayor has said many times before, she firmly believes pensions are a promise and remains opposed to any constitutional amendment. The Mayor fully supports the Governor’s position on this issue and appreciates his work to lead efforts toward statewide pension reform, which she has made clear must include Chicago. The Mayor’s description of the political landscape on this issue should not be misconstrued as anything to the contrary.
Except her view of the political landscape is also wrong. Even if the governor favored a constitutional amendment with every bone in his body, it wouldn’t pass the General Assembly. The previous governor proved that. What she did here is use a gullible pundit to shift blame.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Question of the day
Friday, Nov 8, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Comment on an earlier post…
(The) House should just make clear that anyone appointed with Arroyo’s votes will be subject of an immediate disciplinary proceeding with the intent to expel them as quickly as possible. No individual with the community’s best interest at heart would accept such a tainted appointment. No currently serving GA members should want the individual they forced to resign to have a say in choosing his successor.
* The Question: Should the House expel whoever is appointed to former Rep. Luis Arroyo’s seat as long as Arroyo is part of the process? Please make sure to explain your vote. Thanks.
*** UPDATE *** From House Republican Leader Jim Durkin…
Only in Illinois is there such political corruption that an indicted politician can pick his own replacement. I call on the Democrat Party to fix this insult to our state, and work with us to bring ethics reforms to Illinois. Any appointment made with Arroyo’s participation is improper and should not be recognized by the House of Representatives.
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* From an email sent to Democratic committeepersons this afternoon…
November 8, 2019
Honorable Democratic Committeeman representing the voters of the Illinois House of Representatives - 3rd District (“3rd District”), Article IV, Section 2(d) of the 1970 Illinois Constitution and Section 25-6(a) of the Illinois Election Code state that a vacancy in the office of state representative shall be filled by appointment within 30 days after the occurrence of the vacancy. Also, Article III, Section 4(j) of the By- Laws of the Cook County Democratic Party provides that the Chair of such committee is the committeeman with the greatest number of weighted votes in the 3rd District.
As the democratic committeeman with the greatest number of weighted votes in the 3rd District and the recognized Chair of the 3rd Representative District Committee, I am calling a meeting of the democratic committeeman for the purpose of filing the vacancy created by my retirement from the Illinois House of Representatives.
The meeting of the 3rd Representative District Committee will be held on Friday, November 15 at 5 PM at the Alliance of Polish Clubs, located at 5835 W. Diversey in Chicago, Illinois.
Please know that I placed a legal notice in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, The Chicago Tribune Company’s Spanish language newspaper, HOY, and in digital format via Block Club Chicago’s website informing the community at large of this meeting and inviting any and all potential candidates to submit their credentials for consideration by the committeeman authorized to choose my replacement. At the end of the candidate presentation process we will retire to executive session for discussion and then take a vote to decide who shall be my replacement.
The results of the voting process will then be reduced to writing and it is intended that the appropriate documents will then be filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Illinois Secretary of State on the next business day which will be Monday, November 18, 2019.
Luis A. Arroyo,
Chair of the 3rd Representative District Committee Cook County Committeeman, 36th Ward
…Adding… More…
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* From the Daily Egyptian…
SIU refers black students to Student Rights and Responsibilities twice as often as white students for drug-related offenses, mostly for the reported odor of cannabis.
The Daily Egyptian filed a Freedom of Information Act request for data on how many students were referred to SRR for drug-related offenses from 2017-2019. The information showed more than twice as many black students were referred than white students.
In 2017, 86 black students were referred to SRR compared to 43 white students. In 2018, the numbers were 77 black students to 29 white students. As of Oct. 20, 2019, the numbers were 40 black students to 22 white students. […]
When students are referred to SRR, they have to appear in a hearing and are then found responsible or not responsible, and given a status or educational sanction based on the results.
These sanctions range from a written assignment to expulsion from the university.
Daniel Vega, vice president of student affairs of the Undergraduate Student Government, said it is highly unfair and discriminatory that black students are being reprimanded for this behavior compared to the small percentage of white students who are being reprimanded.
Keep in mind that just 13.4 percent of SIUC students are black. And every study I’ve ever seen shows that white people and black people consume cannabis at about the same rate. And if you read the whole story, it sure looks like white folks are tattling on black students.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Yep…
*** UPDATE 2 *** Good on the students. The administration, however, should take this more seriously…
Students at the University of Illinois Springfield held an anti-racism rally Thursday evening after an image of university employees surfaced online that students said is racist.
The image was of two university employees in Halloween costumes. One employee was dressed in a Border Patrol costume, while the other was dressed as a caricature of a Mexican man. […]
“Any behavior on the part of a member of our university community that makes others feel unsafe or unwelcome at UIS is concerning to me,” said UIS Chancellor Susan Koch in a statement.
She also said the matter is being reviewed, and the school diversity’s training will be expanded.
Diversity training is a good thing, but I seriously doubt it would’ve stopped this behavior…
I mean, Luis Arroyo had to take ethics training when he was in the House.
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* Back in May…
McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally complained to the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services about the agency’s practices about a year before the death of 5-year-old AJ Freund of Crystal Lake.
In a May 24, 2018, letter to Carole Ruzicks, the senior director of operations for DCFS’ northern region, Kenneally cited three cases in which DCFS workers were uncooperative or remiss in their handling of investigations. From cases where workers refused to show up to hearings because they “would be washing their hair” to a separate instance involving an infant’s heroin overdose, Kenneally’s frustrations with the agency seemed to have come to a head.
* In the Daily Line today…
Problems at the McHenry County office of the Department of Children and Family Services “have gotten worse over the last several months, not better” even after the death of 4-year-old AJ Freund, according to the McHenry County state’s attorney.
In a letter obtained by The Daily Line Thursday afternoon, McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally wrote that the DCFS office in Woodstock, the town where Freund’s body was found buried in April after his parents allegedly beat him to death, has not improved in the wake of Freund’s death.
Kenneally is leading the proscecution of JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr., who have been charged with murder.
“The root of the problems…remain the same — a lack of accountability for inadequate performance,” Kenneally wrote in an Oct. 22 letter addressed to lawmakers. “To illustrate this point consider the fact that six months later, DCFS has yet to determine, one way or the other, whether any corrective or disciplinary action is warranted for its response to the December, 2018 complaint involving AJ Freund.” […]
“We have an agency that’s more hung up on process than its mission,” [Rep. Steve Reick. R-Woodstock] told The Daily Line on Thursday. “We have an agency that is more interested or more concerned about making sure that check marks are put into boxes on forms, which may lead to one conclusion or another, but as long as it leads to the conclusion that they did what they were supposed to according to own procedures and protocols, what happens to the kid really doesn’t matter.”
*** UPDATE *** Oh, man…
Illinois’ child welfare agency is investigating why two teenagers in its custody were handcuffed and shackled at their feet while being driven from one youth shelter to another living arrangement, authorities confirmed Thursday.
The youths, 15 and 17, were driven in separate trips on Oct. 1 by a private contractor, according to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Both were restrained for about 30 miles as they were moved from a shelter in Chicago to a new placement in Palatine.
“The use of restraints in this case was totally unacceptable and against department policy,” spokesman Jassen Strokosch said in a statement. “DCFS is investigating the incident and putting additional policies and procedures in place immediately to ensure youth are never restrained during transport unless it is clinically necessary.” […]
“This is not a penal system,” [Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert] said. “The foster care system is different from a penal system. It’s not intended to punish children. Handcuffs and shackles are for adult criminals from whom the public needs to be protected.” […]
State law prohibits minors from being “subjected to mechanical restraints” in any facility licensed by DCFS.
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Corruption roundup
Friday, Nov 8, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This is a good idea, and not just because of Heidner. These are regulated entities and they ought to seek approval from the Gaming Board before they sell out…
The Illinois Gaming Board on Thursday moved to block video gambling operators from selling their companies without state approval in what regulators billed as an “emergency” step they hope will stop any business under investigation from turning a profit before facing disciplinary action.
The unanimous vote followed a Tribune story last month that revealed one of the state’s largest video gambling operators, Rick Heidner, is in business with a convicted illegal sports bookmaker as well as a banker accused by the FBI of involving organized crime figures in a failed Rosemont casino deal. […]
Currently, video gambling operators are permitted to sell their businesses and report the transaction to the Gaming Board as much as three weeks later, legal counsel Dan Gerber told board members. Under the new rule, such sales have to be approved by the Gaming Board before going forward.
Gerber told board members that the “after-the-fact disclosures” undermine the integrity of state oversight.
* Speaking of Heidner, here’s Hannah Meisel…
The video gaming terminal magnate linked to the investigation of State Sen. Marty Sandoval’s (D-Chicago) has long operated as a landlord for suburban House members. […]
Heidner owns the property at 15 W. Weathersfield Way in Schaumburg, where State Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg) has set up her district office since being sworn into the House in 2010.
Mussman’s predecessor, State Rep. Paul Froehlich (D-Schaumburg), also used that space as his district office after he was appointed to the House as a Republican in 2003, and continued using the space after defecting to the Democratic party in 2007. […]
Mussman told The Daily Line last week that she did know know Heidner, and said he “was not influential in my choice” of district office. Asked whether the recent revelations surrounding Heidner made her rethink renting her district office from Heidner Property Management, Mussman said she would “need to think about that at renewal time.”
* One of Hannah’s stories today is about the House Republican ethics package…
While some of those tweaks already have some Democratic support, others will be complete non-starters for the majority party.
State Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago), for example, said on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight Wednesday that statements of economic interest lawmakers currently file do not show much, and predicted lawmakers would work across the aisle to address a ban on lawmaker-lobbyists.
“We have a statement of economic interests out there that barely makes sense, it’s hard to follow, doesn’t cover what it’s supposed to cover,” Williams said. “Why are legislators also acting as lobbyists? I think that’s something we’ll see bipartisan support on.”
…Adding… The Daily Line reports that Ald. Villegas no longer wants to be appointed committeeman…
Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) said last week that he hoped to convene 36th Ward Democrats to appoint him as committeeperson so that he could take the lead in filling the legislative vacancy. The alderman said at the time that he believed Arroyo would step down from the political post. The two officials have been close allies since 2015.
But the committeeperson appointment would need to be verified by the executive committee, whose members have since said that they do not plan to meet until next April. Under state law, the legislative vacancy must be filled by Dec. 1.
Villegas reversed course on Thursday, saying he wants no part in the process to select Arroyo’s successor in the state house. Villegas, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s floor leader, added that he will work with whomever is chosen, and he will continue gathering signatures to run for committeeperson in March.
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