* Steve Daniels…
Households and small businesses that get their power from Commonwealth Edison will be unprotected from commodity price spikes in the high-demand summer months unless state regulators take fast action.
For the first time in the 14 years since the state took over the job from utilities of negotiating with power generators, the Illinois Power Agency was unable to reach an agreement on an electricity price in northern Illinois for the entire months of July and August, as well as part of June. […]
But ComEd customers won’t feel the increase in their wallets, thanks to the way the Pritzker administration structured a separate ratepayer bailout for Illinois nuclear plants now owned by Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group.
In June, customers would have started paying about $2 extra on their bills to support the plants under the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA, enacted last year. But, with energy prices soaring, the subsidy will instead become a credit beginning next month.
* ICJC…
Today, utility Commonwealth Edison filed new rates with the Illinois Commerce Commission that will provide direct credits of more than $1 billion to customers as a result of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) that was signed into law last fall.
The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC), whose advocacy over several years was instrumental in passing the nation-leading legislation, released the following statement:
“At a time when electricity costs are skyrocketing across the country, Governor Pritzker negotiated protections against price spikes that mean electricity prices for ComEd customers will actually be going DOWN. For families struggling with the high cost of inflation, this is welcome relief. What could have been a nuclear subsidy was smartly negotiated into a billion-dollar bonanza for Illinois consumers.
“The deal shows the wisdom of Illinois’ approach to combat the climate crisis and create good-paying, equitable clean energy jobs, while saving money for consumers. […]
The “Carbon Mitigation Credit” program, created under CEJA, provides revenue certainty to three Illinois nuclear power plants, and was originally expected to potentially cost ComEd customers $700 million over the 5-year life of the program. The deal was structured, however, so that if wholesale electricity prices increased above a certain level, the nuclear plants would owe money instead. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, electricity prices have risen dramatically across the country.
As part of the deal, residential customers will see an average credit of $18/month starting in June through next May, as a separate line item on their bill. ComEd customers have not paid any money to the nuclear plants to date, and current electricity price forecasts show the customer credit will continue for at least the next several years.
* Ameren opted out of the Carbon Mitigation Credit program and its consumers will pay a steep price. Back to Steve’s article…
So central and southern Illinoisans will experience directly the brunt of an even more dramatic power-price spike down there. Their costs for energy will roughly double beginning June 1
* Back to the ICJC’s release…
We wish that Central and Southern Illinois consumers were also receiving this windfall, but Ameren chose not to participate in the Carbon Mitigation Credit program. […]
In a mistake that will cost their customers dearly, Ameren, the utility that serves most of Central and Southern Illinois, refused to join the Carbon Mitigation Credit program. As a result, their customers will see painful hikes in their electricity bills like consumers all over the Midwest.
*** UPDATE *** Ameren…
Ameren Illinois Statement on False Claims About Carbon Mitigation Credit Program
April 27, 2022
The statement issued today by the Clean Jobs Coalition is blatantly false. Ameren Illinois was never involved in the negotiations of the Carbon Mitigation Credit and was never given an option to opt in or out. In fact, throughout the process of negotiating the legislation, it was publicly stated by numerous CEJA members and supporters that the utilities would not be involved in crafting the new law.
This Carbon Mitigation Credit provision was written specifically to subsidize the Exelon nuclear facilities in Chicago, which are in a separate energy market from downstate. Again, the legislation specifically applies to “electric utilities serving at least 3,000,000 retail customers” in the state. Ameren Illinois has 1.2 million customers.
This policy was written specifically to benefit to Exelon nuclear plants in Chicago.
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Today’s quotable
Wednesday, Apr 27, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WGEM…
The elimination of cash bail is fast approaching for Illinois following the passage of the SAFE-T act in January 2021. Some judges have even begun the transition to no cash bail, but prosecutors are saying no cash bail will make their job a lot harder.
One state’s attorney spoke out against the elimination of cash bail today. He argued in some situations, having an offender out on the street because there was no bail will harm victims and make them afraid.
“It’s not like we lock people up who are innocent, awaiting trial,” Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said. “I do everything I can to make certain that if I can’t prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt, I dismiss it.”
…Adding… From comments…
Is this the same James Glasgow who sent a police officer to jail for six days on murder charges only to dismiss charges AFTER an investigation proved his alibi, which resulted in Will County having to settle a lawsuit with the wrongfully jailed, innocent cop?
Because if it is the same James Glasgow, he’s literally locked up an innocent person (a cop no less) awaiting a trial that never happened.
References…
* Will County panel OKs settlement over wrongful arrest in ‘honeybee’ case: Will County officials are nearing a settlement with a Lynwood police officer who spent six days in jail on murder charges that were later dropped.
* Another fumble for Will County: “You can’t make the problem, clean it up and then act like a hero,” Carlson said. “He’s the one who charged him. He knew the evidence and now he’s acting like he’s trying to save the world. There’s only one person who charged Brian Dorian, that’s Jim Glasgow. There’s only one person who’s now claiming that he fixed it and that’s Jim Glasgow. He can’t have it both ways.”
…Adding… Want more? Here you go…
* Charges Dropped After Giant Meth Seizure By Will County Sheriffs: A 47-year-old California man who had nearly 23 lbs of methamphetamine seized from his car by the Will County Sheriff’s Office last September was the subject of an illegal and improper search, Will County Judge Vincent Cornelius ruled. On Wednesday morning, Assistant Will County State’s Attorney Tom Bahar appeared in Courtroom 404 informing Cornelius that Henry Duenas is being released from custody at the Will County Jail and his two Class X felonies are being dismissed. Duenas was in the Will County Jail for more than six months, facing a $1 million bail. Last week, Cornelius announced the search was illegal, and the evidence was inadmissible. On Sept. 27, the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office of Jim Glasgow charged Duenas with two Class X felonies, unlawful possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and unlawful possession of methamphetamine.
* Charges dropped against father in Riley Fox case: Prosecutors had promised to seek the death penalty against Kevin Fox. Now, they are back to where they were almost a year ago, with no named suspects and a development that has stunned even prosecutors. It turns out DNA from the crime scene doesn’t match the man they had in jail. Kevin Fox is free after prosecutors concede there is now considerable doubt about his guilt. “It was a nightmare, and I don’t want to relive it right now. I’m happy. I’m excited,” said Fox. Will County Prosecutor James Glasgow and Sheriff Paul Kaupas dropped the charge, but offered no apology and few answers about why law enforcement was so convinced Fox was their man.
* 1st Degree Murder Charges Dropped For Joliet 19-Year-Old: On Friday morning, an angry Joliet criminal defense attorney Jeff Tomczak raised his voice before Will County Chief Judge Dan Kennedy, insisting that 19-year-old client Rasean Stokes has no criminal culpability in the Feb. 8, 2020 gunshot homicide along Joliet’s Republic Avenue that ended the life of 17-year-old Jeremiah Frazier. Tomczak implored Judge Kennedy reduce his incarcerated client’s bail from $750,000 to $5,000, but the judge was not willing to make a decision on the bail at Friday’s hearing. Instead, Kennedy took the matter under advisement and put the case back on the court docket for Tuesday, Feb. 2. However, the judge did agree to dismiss both first-degree murder counts against Tomczak’s client during Friday’s hearing. As relatives of his client were seated in Will County Courtroom 403, Tomczak was livid, pointing out that Stokes has already spent an entire year in the Will County Jail “on a bad murder charge.”
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* Sun-Times…
Crime and violence cost Chicago billions each year: Lost lives and hospital costs for victims; lost tax revenue from falling property values and residents leaving the city; economic growth when businesses choose to locate someplace safer.
And the city spends a lot on crime fighting. The Chicago Police Department annual budget is just under $2 billion. Cook County budgets $1.4 billion for the Sheriff’s department, jail, and criminal court system. The state prison system, which gets nearly half its inmates from Cook County, costs another $1.5 billion.
The cost to address this ain’t a huge amount when looked at in the broader context…
A report by the privately funded anti-violence program Chicago CRED estimates the city would have to spend $405 million per year for five years — in addition to what it currently spends — to reduce crime to the levels of big city peers New York or Los Angeles.
In a speech to the City Club of Chicago last month, University of Chicago Crime Lab Director Jens Ludwig suggested an even higher number: $1 billion per year for violence prevention spending and increased policing, to reduce crime in Chicago by 50%. […]
CRED estimates that combined [2022] funding from foundations, the city, state and federal government for violence prevention programs will total $184 million — double the spending in 2021, and roughly what CRED estimates needs to go to anti-violence spending annually.
But not all of that money will be well-spent, just like much of the money that’s currently spent on the “traditional” system.
* Sun-Times editorial…
Three years ago, we were hopeful about the early success of READI Chicago, a relatively new anti-violence outreach program that targets high-risk men on the South and West sides. […]
The study of READI, which stands for Rapid Employment and Development Initiative, used what’s considered the “gold standard” for scientific research: a randomized controlled trial that compared men who enrolled in the program with a control group of men who were turned away.
The U of C study is the first of its kind to evaluate a large group with the same statistical rigor and method used to evaluate medical treatments.
Altogether, 2,500 men were tracked. The findings were striking.
The men enrolled in the 18-month READI course were two-thirds less likely to be arrested for a violent crime and nearly 20% less likely to be shot compared with the men who weren’t taking part in the program.
The men who were recruited by outreach workers — rather than community members or through other means — showed even more promise: Their arrests dropped by almost 80% and they were nearly 50% less likely to be shot.
Those statistics are especially noteworthy, given that a third of the men in READI had been shot at before they joined the program and racked up an average of 17 arrests.
* How it works…
The level of [Chicago] violence stunned Sylvester, a 36-year-old Chicago native, when he returned to to the city in 2020 after serving a 13-year prison sentence. He figured he’d soon be in the middle of combat in his West Side neighborhood. With few job prospects and a rap sheet that stretched back to his early teens, Sylvester — who asked to be identified only by his first name — expected he’d hit up old gang contacts to get back into selling drugs to make ends meet. Instead, a friend recruited him for READI.
For 18 months, Sylvester could get paid $15 an hour to participate in daily job training and counseling sessions, including cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. The five one-hour CBT sessions each week helped rewire his thought processes and examine “risky thoughts,” he said, unwinding the reflexes his years on the street had built up.
Sylvester was drawn in by the wages, but the CBT is what kept him coming back. […]
The key components of READI’s program — cognitive behavioral therapy, a type of counseling focused on re-ordering participants’ thought patterns, had proved effective with school-age children and teens — and, in Blattman’s case, former child soldiers in Liberia. Studies had also long correlated employment, a benefit of READI’s job and educational training, to declines in criminal behavior.
But there were few programs that featured both those interventions at the same time, and most target younger men and teens who were not as deeply embroiled in urban violence, Blattman said. READI was designed to target an older demographic — the average age of homicide victims in Chicago is 27 — and enroll them in a program that would pay them to attend the daily therapy and job training, supported by “relentless engagement” from staff.
“CBT and employment are different medicine for the same people … interrupting a feud is like first aid or the emergency room, where you’re patching things up in an emergency,” Blattman said. “READI is like the vaccine. Before you go shoot someone, we’re going to equip you with the skills to keep you from ever getting in that situation.”
Violence interruption is a stopgap, crisis-based measure. Much-needed, but not the answer in and of itself. This READI program looks like outpatient rehab, and it appears to be working. Maybe the concept could be expanded to the incarcerated as well.
…Adding… WBEZ…
Pritzker’s administration set aside more than $50 million from the COVID stimulus funds for violence prevention in the budget that passed last year. The funding, to be administered through the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, offered a unique opportunity to flood resources into neighborhoods impacted by violence. But with the fiscal year almost over, the state has spent only $56,764, one-tenth of 1% of the money, as Illinois experiences its worst gun violence in decades. […]
Leo Smith, policy director for the anti-violence organization Chicago CRED, said the Illinois residents should actually be excited about the amount of planning and coordination between government agencies happening around the ARPA money.
“We’re seeing a major shift from funding individual programs to investing in a comprehensive public health system for violence intervention,” Smith said. “Almost anyone who is helping out with that shift is frustrated with the speed of it, but I think people are also encouraged by how deliberate it is.”
Smith said this is a critical time for community-based violence prevention in Illinois. Support has been building in the state for spending taxpayer money on non-policing solutions to gun violence. He worries if they rushed out these ARPA dollars, without the right amount of planning and without making sure the small groups could meet the stringent reporting requirements, it could make it harder to get public funding once the ARPA money runs out.
That last comment by Smith is very true. You can throw tons more money at enforcement and no mainstream media outlet will bat an eye. But give a few dollars to a small anti-violence group which can’t justify its expenses and all heck breaks loose.
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* Crain’s headline on a Bloomberg story…
Three key reasons Ken Griffin picked Irvin for governor: Location, location, location
* From the story…
You’d never guess that wealth and power in America converge here, at the intersection of Diehl and Eola roads, off Interstate 88, west of Chicago.
But not everything is as it seems in Aurora, Illinois. […]
The Citadel chief’s pick for Illinois: none other than Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin. So far, Griffin has pledged $20 million to Irvin’s campaign, the rough equivalent of half the money he’s sunk into the midterm elections.
Griffin, 53, is a major donor to Republicans nationwide and has begun to hint at political ambitions of his own. But Aurora has a special meaning to Citadel and other financial firms because the city is home to a massive exchange.
While the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is headquartered more than 30 miles away, virtually all the trading happens between computers here in a data center on Diehl Road. Dish antennas attached to towers are crucial to making this work and enabling firms to keep pace with rivals. That’s because the antennas beam buy and sell orders to other financial markets in Chicago, the U.S. East Coast and elsewhere around the globe.
There’s a whole lot more to this, including a Griffin spokesperson claiming this is all a “conspiracy theory,” so go read the rest.
* Democratic Party of Illinois…
A new report today from Bloomberg builds on reporting from WTTW about the deep pay-to-play connections between Richard Irvin, Ken Griffin, Aurora telecommunications firm Scientel Solutions, and Griffin’s hedge fund, Citadel.
According to Bloomberg, Irvin helped clear the way for Scientel to build a communications tower close to a Chicago Mercantile Exchange data center in Aurora over the objections of the city council. The tower was widely believed to be constructed to support Citadel’s wireless network, and its location would give Citadel an advantage over its competitors in its trading activity.
Irvin has raked in at least $135,000 in Scientel-related campaign cash and even traveled on a private plane to Mexico with Scientel’s leadership. Scientel has in turn received millions of dollars’ worth of contracts from the city of Aurora under Irvin’s watch. Meanwhile, Citadel’s hedge fund and market making operations have exploded in value, adding billions to Griffin’s net worth.
Now, Irvin is trying to take this pay-to-play gameplan from the mayor’s office the governor’s office, as he has collected $20 million from Griffin in the first few months of his gubernatorial campaign.
Griffin claims he only became aware of Irvin “months ago,” but reporting demonstrates Citadel had a longstanding interest in Irvin and his actions in Aurora. And while questions swirl, Irvin continues to hide from reporters and both Irvin’s campaign and Citadel refuse to answer basic questions about the history between Griffin and Irvin as well as the Scientel Solutions tower.
But as Griffin-funded Irvin ads blanket the airwaves and innundate mailboxes, the voters of Illinois deserve immediate answers from both Richard Irvin and Ken Griffin.
* DGA…
New reporting from Bloomberg exposes Richard Irvin for yet another pay-to-play scandal — and this time, Irvin’s biggest fan and megadonor Ken Griffin is at the center of the corruption.
In a February interview, Griffin said Irvin “understands the joint prosperity that comes with a successful business community,” but new reporting shows that “joint prosperity” isn’t for all the people of Illinois — just Irvin and Griffin themselves.
The city of Aurora is a key financial trading point, making Mayor Irvin a “gatekeeper for high-speed traders” like Griffin’s company Citadel.
Irvin and Griffin both have close ties to one stakeholder company called Scientel Solutions, which donated over a hundred thousand dollars to Irvin’s campaign and committees connected to him and, in return, received millions in city contracts and permission to build a high frequency trading tower that officials warned would interfere with fair access.
“From what I understood, [Irvin] and his team were reaching out directly to the aldermen to sway their opinion,” said one alderman. “I didn’t like anything about it.”
After they won the vote, the CEO of Scientel sent out pictures celebrating with Irvin at a Mexican restaurant near City Hall. Scientel only connected their antenna to one firm inside the data center: Griffin’s.
“Richard Irvin and Ken Griffin may claim they’re for honest government, but in reality, both only do what fills their own pockets and campaign coffers,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “Now, Griffin is leaning in even more by backing Irvin in hopes that Irvin will sway things to his company’s benefit. Irvin and Griffin’s corruption is getting harder to hide.”
*** UPDATE *** From Citadel…
Citadel Securities has not had any engagement with Richard Irvin on any aspect of its business.
It is a matter of public record that Citadel Securities does not use the Scientel tower in Aurora.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Campaign notebook
Monday, Apr 25, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
*** UPDATE *** This is big…
Earlier today, SEIU Local 1 endorsed Gil Villegas for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. SEIU Local 1 — representing more than 3,500 Illinoisian working families in the 3rd Congressional District — supports candidates who have demonstrated a strong commitment to fighting for economic, racial, immigrant and environmental justice for our state’s working families.
“Gil Villegas has been a champion for the working families of SEIU Local 1. He not only has stood with SEIU Local 1 but he has been a strategic partner with our Local to win for workers. He has played a key role in ensuring developments in our communities create good-paying union jobs with benefits,” said SEIU Local 1 President Genie Kastrup. “It is rare that elected officials use their voice and power to help working families time and time again. Gil Villegas is one of those elected officials. He’s used his influence and actively engaged to help successfully win a good contract for the Window Washers when they went on strike.”
“My family lost everything when I was eight years old after my father died. But my brother and I survived because my mother was an incredibly strong woman, our community stepped up, and we had help. We lived in public housing, relied on food stamps, and we were fortunate that government death benefits stabilized our family,” said Alderman Gil Villegas. “I will never forget what it’s like to struggle and that’s why I will fight every day in Congress for workers to be given a fair shot at good-paying jobs. The scales have been tipped against working people for far too long in Washington. If the people of Illinois send me to represent them in Congress, I will deliver for them just like I’ve helped to deliver more affordable housing and better wages for working people in Chicago.”
* Sen. Darren Bailey’s proposed constitutional amendment last year would’ve killed off the state pension clause’s “enforceable contractual relationship” and “shall not be diminished or impaired” language…
SECTION 5. PENSION AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS RIGHTS
Nothing in this Constitution or in any law shall be construed to limit the power of the General Assembly to reduce or change pension benefits or other benefits of membership in any public pension or public retirement system, regardless of whether those benefits have accrued or have been earned and regardless of when those benefits were established. Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.
Today, gubernatorial candidate Bailey said he wanted to “clear up some confusion” on his pension stance…
So anyone out there that knows a teacher, knows a Department of Corrections officer, knows somebody’s working for IDOT, DCFS and Illinois State Police, any other government entity, and you hear them say, ‘Oh, Darren Bailey is going to take my pension, I know it.’ It’s another flat-out lie.
Yeah. Right.
And that proposal is coming back to haunt Bailey…
The Irvin for Illinois campaign today is proud to announce Illinois Troopers Lodge #41’s endorsement of Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and State Representative Avery Bourne in the Republican primary for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. […]
Troopers Lodge 41 is the largest statewide police union in Illinois that includes approximately 3,200 sworn and retired Illinois state troopers. Irvin’s strong record in supporting law enforcement and cracking down on crime in Aurora, along with Bourne’s voting record against anti-police legislation, distinguish them as the best candidates in the Republican primary to make public safety a priority and empower our law enforcement agencies across the state.
* On to a different topic from the Irvin campaign…
The Irvin for Illinois campaign won the Lake County GOP Straw Poll that took place on Saturday at the Round Lake Beach Cultural and Civic Center. Richard Irvin earned over 39 percent of the vote, almost 20 percent more support than the candidates in second place.
“Representative Bourne and I are grateful for the support that resulted in our first victory at the Lake County GOP straw poll this weekend,” Irvin said. “This is just one of many wins to come on our path to take Illinois back from J.B. Pritzker’s extreme policies that have created unsafe communities and forced high taxes onto Illinois families and businesses.”
But there was some controversy and it kinda got ugly…
Tom DeVore was upset…
UPDATE ON RICHARD IRVIN STRAW POLL GAMES
This man in the Irvin/Bourne shirt is Derek Murphy, or now I’m being told possibly a Soros fellow. He is the former member of the Illinois Republican Party who left that position to join the Irvin/Bourne campaign. He’s making sure the Indian Senior citizens get back on the bus. Mr. Irvin’s team has serious connections to the establishment Republicans who have done nothing for the people of this state for years.
Also, word on the street is Nimish Jani, who is the committee person from the 8th district of the Illinois Republican Party, and who is also Indian, may have orchestrated getting the Indian Senior citizens lined up, in exchange for Mr. Jani being set to receive an appointment into Mr. Irvin’s cabinet if he wins. I have no direct knowledge if this is true but Mr. Jani is an Indian man from Cook County who is an establishment Republican, the Senior citizens are Indian and also from Cook county, and these good people really had no idea why they were there and what was going on. It certainly seems plausible does it not?
While you won’t be able to see it until early June, you should each remind yourselves to go look at Mr. Irvin’s campaign account and see if and how much of a donation he made to the Indian Senior citizens group for their efforts?
It’s all one big club my friends and you ain’t in it!! You can however dismantle the club and start over!! It’s your call!!
Man, that post is absolutely soaked in foulness.
* Reform for Illinois…
As of March 28, House Minority Leader Durkin is no longer subject to contribution limits thanks to the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) PAC, which spent just over $100K in independent expenditures supporting his campaign and triggered Illinois’ “millionaire’s exemption” or “self-funding loophole.” The RSLC behind the PAC bills itself as “America’s Only Line of Defense Against Socialism in the States” and boasts board members including Karl Rove, Reince Priebus, and Barbara Comstock.
The Republican State Leadership Committee PAC also blew Durkin’s contribution caps in 2020, 2018, and 2016. In 2018, Leader Durkin took advantage of his lack of caps by accepting $6 million from Ken Griffin, accounting for almost two-thirds of his fundraising that cycle. He also received $5 million from Griffin in 2016, and broke nationwide state legislative fundraising records. Though those donations came considerably earlier in the election cycle than where we are now, we’ll be keeping a close eye on Durkin’s campaign now that his caps are off.
All the other legislative leaders loaned themselves the triggering amount for the self-funding provision. But while Harmon and Welch have taken ample advantage of the loophole to rake in huge contributions, Durkin and McConchie have not as of yet. […]
This quarter also saw some movement at last from Mike Madigan’s campaign committee: he spent $4 million on legal fees between January and March. It remains to be seen whether his use of campaign funds for legal expenses will be affected by the Illinois Supreme Court’s recent ruling in a case involving disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis. Madigan still has $6.4 million left in his account.
* More…
* Crowe nominated for U.S. attorney in Southern District: U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, both Democrats representing Illinois today released the following statement after the White House announced the nominations of Rachelle L. Crowe to serve as United States attorney for the Southern District of Illinois
* In Illinois secretary of state race, AFL-CIO stays neutral months after affiliated workers backed Giannoulias: The lack of an endorsement by the Illinois AFL-CIO signals good news for Giannoulias’ two major opponents in the Democratic primary on June 28, especially his main rival, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, who has faced questions about whether her husband’s lobbying activities have interfered with her role in public office. … Drea said the organization also made no endorsement in three hotly contested Congressional races: the 3rd District, a newly drawn Latino-leaning district that covers the city’s Northwest Side and western suburbs and features Democrats Delia Ramirez, a state representative from Chicago, and Chicago Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th; the 6th District in the western suburbs, where two-term U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, a Democrat from Downers Grove, is facing off against first-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Newman of LaGrange; and a crowded race in the 1st District to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush of Chicago.
* FOP president at center of controversy defeated in bid to extend his term - John Catanzara wanted the union president’s term extended from three years to five. FOP members overwhelmingly voted against the change at a general membership meeting Wednesday night: Sources in attendance said a larger-than-normal contingent of African American officers helped seal Catanzara’s defeat on both measures. … No African American officer has been elected to the FOP during the last two administrations. … Roughly 30 Black officers standing in the back of the room, mostly women, yelled back, sources told the Sun-Times, telling Catanzara he had no right to attack Davis when Davis was not there to defend himself.
* Darren Bailey sizes up the GOP gubernatorial race on the Juice week-in-review livestream
* Harmon defends ending cash bail, says ‘we funded police’: Harmon said he didn’t know if lawmakers needed to make any further changes to the SAFE-T Act before the state phases out the use of cash bail in January of 2023. “I think people have turned this political argument on its head,” he said. “Republicans have obviously seized on what they think is a winning rhetorical argument, but it doesn’t fit with the facts. Today, in a world of cash bail, the most dangerous criminal who has enough money can leave the jail awaiting trial and go commit more crimes. We would like a model that evaluates each defendant based on their threat to a specific person or to the community, and judges should be able to hold people who are dangerous in jail awaiting trial.”
* J.B. Pritzker and Ken Griffin: The Twin Titans of Illinois Campaign Finance: “Irvin has Rauner’s old campaign team. You know that in terms of his message discipline. I don’t think Irvin’s nearly as smooth as Rauner but give him credit. So far, he’s been very disciplined. In that sense, it’s Rauner 2.0 … with Griffin’s money,” said Redfield.
* GOP candidates ‘hiding from the press,’ Pritzker says: “I think at this point in the election four years ago, we had done… I don’t know, 30 to 40, forums, all the candidates,” Pritzker said in an interview on Capitol Connection. “You don’t see that in the Republican primary this time.”
* Dixon mayor receives local endorsements in statehouse bid: Dixon Mayor Li Arellano Jr., a Republican candidate for the Illinois House District 74, received endorsements from state Rep. Tom Demmer, former state Sen. Tim Bivins and Lee County Treasurer Paula Meyer. … Arellano is opposed in the primary by 22-year-old Dixon native Bradley Fritts.
* Candidate intro: Mary K. O’Brien runs for Illinois Supreme Court
* Illinois secretary of state candidates Dan Brady, John Milhiser discuss why they’re running
* Press Release: IBEW LOCAL 134 ENDORSES CHICAGO UNITED MAP: IBEW Local 134 Joins Local 150, Laborers’ District Council & Chicago Fire Fighters Union in Endorsing Map Backed by Majority of City Council: “The Chicago United Map is the path forward for Chicago, and we’re proud to endorse it,” said IBEW Local 134 Business Manager Don Finn. “The Chicago United Map reflects our diverse city, growing communities and historic neighborhoods. It’s time to come together and move our city forward with the Chicago United Map.”
* Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch’s wife ShawnTe Raines-Welch returns out-of-state contribution to judicial campaign: In a written statement, David Ormsby, her campaign spokesman, said: “The contribution to the Raines-Welch for Judge campaign from Intensive Specialty Hospital in Shreveport came entirely unsolicited. No one from the campaign and no one remotely associated with the campaign — no volunteer, no friend, no relative — at no time solicited the contribution. Additionally, the campaign’s vetting system identified the contribution as ineligible and returned it and notified the State Board of Elections on April 4, 2022, before receiving the board’s official notice. Our vetting worked. End of story.”
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* Capitol News Illinois…
A Cook County judge found DCFS Director Marc Smith in contempt on Thursday.
It’s the ninth time this year that Smith has faced contempt citations for failing to place children in settings that comply with the agency’s recommendations and court orders.
The latest case involves a 15-year-old boy with special needs who remains in a locked psychiatric unit despite a medical release on Jan. 31. The court ordered on March 14 that DCFS move the child to an appropriate placement by March 25. DCFS had not moved the child as of Friday.
Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert represents the boy in court and stated DCFS failed for months to schedule a neuropsychological exam to assess the boy’s special needs. […]
“DCFS is working hard to find placements for these vulnerable children with special needs. Tragically, when Gov. Rauner decimated social services, we were warned that it would be much easier to lose the 500 beds he destroyed than to recreate them again. Advocates warned that these services weren’t like a light switch that could be turned on and off with ease,” [Gov. JB Pritzker’s spokesperson, Jordan Abudayyeh] said.
* CBS 2…
The latest contempt of court finding comes nearly one month after Smith was hit with an eighth contempt of court order over an improperly placed teen, in a case involving a 14-year-old girl who was taken into temporary DCFS custody last September. Since then, she had been moved 21 times. She was stuck in a psychiatric hospital and was then moved around to different shelters, hospital emergency rooms, DCFS offices, and emergency foster placements. […]
CBS 2’s Irika Sargent spoke to CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller to get some answers.
Sargent: “This is the ninth time that this has come up and he’s been held in contempt, yet, is anything really happening? Are there really any results?”
Miller: “Not so far. This is not criminal contempt. It’s not doing something that is an embarrassment to the court, or, you know, says a swear word to the judge. That’s criminal contempt, where you can be locked up for six months. This is a civil contempt proceeding, where all they’re doing is trying to get him to do something. In this case, the judge is saying to the director of DCFS: ‘Listen, you are obligated to provide appropriate placements for these kids, and you’re not. We’re up to number nine right now. It’s outrageous. Do your job, sir, and if you don’t, there’s going to be some consequences.’”
* Meanwhile, Molly Parker takes a look at DCFS’ probles with recurring cases…
From January 2018 through June 2020, 33% of all confirmed reports of child maltreatment — about 17,500 cases — involved households with at least two previous investigations, according to DCFS investigative case data obtained and analyzed by The Southern Illinoisan and ProPublica. In far southern and southeastern Illinois, the rural area marked by poverty and industry decline that the Schotts have long called home, the rate of repeat investigations was 42%, the highest in the state. The region is served by DCFS’s Marion office and its satellite offices.
Seen one way, those numbers aren’t surprising: They show that many families that come to the attention of DCFS continue to struggle. But among child welfare officials and academics, the volume of repeat cases is a sign that the system is failing to live up to its mission not only to protect children, but to “increase their families’ capacity to safely care for them.” The pattern of repeated investigations involving a single family or child victim is called “recurrence.”
For decades, child welfare officials across the country have used recurrence rates as an indicator of an agency’s performance.
Illinois has long had one of the highest recurrence rates in the nation, according to comparative data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (The most recent data available is for fiscal 2019.) The data measures confirmed maltreatment that recurs within six months, though both DCFS and the federal government note that there are caveats to the state-by-state comparisons because of differences in how maltreatment is defined and what circumstances prompt an investigation.
Recurrence is complex, driven by a variety of factors. But child welfare experts and families tied up in multiple investigations said DCFS’s resources aren’t adequate. Parents say that classes often aren’t helpful, drug counseling and mental health services can be hard to find, and direct financial aid is insufficient. And those problems have persisted for years. […]
DCFS director Marc Smith said Illinois’ mandates for professionals such as teachers and social workers to report maltreatment accusations are “very aggressive,” leading to increases in confirmed cases of abuse. Nonetheless, he acknowledged the problem, saying the agency will do everything it can to “reduce the recurrence abuse and neglect rate.” […]
Child welfare advocates say that federal and state lawmakers have failed to make more funding available to help families with chronic troubles, and in recent years the department has turned to the default tool for child welfare agencies: removing children from struggling families. That has fueled a 120% surge in the number of children in foster care across the Marion service area over the past decade, even as the total child population in the area has declined. Overall, when children enter foster care in Illinois, they linger there longer than anywhere else in the nation.
*** UPDATE *** Durkin…
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin called on DCFS Director Marc Smith to resign today after it was recently revealed that he had been held in contempt for a ninth time for failing to protect Illinois’ children in care.
“Unfortunately, contempt of court orders against DCFS have become business as usual for the Pritzker administration. Governor Pritzker clearly isn’t bothered by a ninth contempt of court charge against DCFS Director Marc Smith and has done nothing about it – that is simply unacceptable. The Governor has had three and a half years to get this agency under control – he owns this ongoing tragedy. Since the Governor has failed to take action, I call on Director Smith to resign for the good of the children in this state who depend on DCFS.”
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