* AP…
Two Illinois sheriffs said Tuesday that some violent felons who had faced deportation are instead being released into local communities after their prison terms end as a result of a policy change by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration.
Sheriffs Mike Downey of Kankakee County and Tony Childress of Livingston County told reporters at the state Capitol that they were not given a reason for the policy switch, which they called reckless.
They said Corrections officials announced they were canceling a process under which criminals living in the country illegally were transferred to Pontiac Correctional Center. That’s where Kankakee County sheriff’s deputies picked them up and detained them under contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The sheriffs said they don’t have a number of how many inmates who would have faced deportation were released. Of 223 immigrants transferred from Pontiac to ICE detention in 2019, Downey said 11 were convicted of murder or attempted murder, 37 of predatory criminal sexual assault or abuse, including crimes involving children, and 33 were convicted of a crime involving a weapon.
So, they’re being released like everyone else, except they’re now avoiding deportation.
* As you might expect, the reaction has been thunderous…
State Representative Allen Skillicorn (R-Crystal Lake) says Illinois communities are unnecessarily at risk thanks to radical policies at the Illinois Department of Corrections that allows convicted felons to be released.
In 2019, there were 223 immigrants who were transferred to the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee. These individuals had all served time at an IDOC facility and all were felons. They were transferred to the Jerome Combs Detention Center at the request of ICE. Then, beginning in 2020, the notifications for these transfers stopped.
“What is essentially happening here is the Illinois Department of Corrections is releasing people directly into the community and ignoring ICE transfer requests,” Skillicorn said. “These are all felons and many of them are very dangerous people. Our communities are at risk because our own state government refuses to follow federal law. People’s lives are at stake so that Governor JB Pritzker can smile at the TV cameras and talk about how ‘compassionate’ he is. Gov. Pritzker is putting Illinois families at risk and it is wrong.”
Skillicorn said there is no warning about when the prison releases are taking place.
“There is no warning or a heads up to local enforcement about these releases; they are simply just released into the communities where they have been serving time,” Skillicorn said. “People in Illinois communities are at risk and they do not even know it.”
The Kankakee County Sheriff Office reviewed the transfers completed in 2019 and found that the individuals requested by ICE and transferred to the Kankakee correctional facility had been convicted of committing the following crimes in Illinois:
· 36 individuals were found guilty of sexual offenses against minors, including crimes against individuals as young as 5 years old;
· 11 individuals were found guilty of murder, attempted murder or intent to kill or injure;
· 19 individuals were found guilty of predatory criminal sexual assault;
· 33 individuals were found guilty of a criminal offense involving a weapon;
· 50 individuals were found guilty of drug offenses involving a substance other than cannabis;
· 55 individuals were found guilty of felony-level traffic offenses including aggravated DUI, having a fourth DUI or a DUI resulting in death.
“I am calling on the Governor and the Illinois Department of Corrections to end this dangerous policy and to work with local enforcement officials,” Skillicorn said. “Dangerous criminals whether they are citizens or illegal immigrants need to be behind bars – not roaming the streets. It is time to put the safety of our citizens and our communities first.”
* More…
State Representative Lindsay Parkhurst (R – Kankakee) issued the following statement in response to a change in Illinois Department of Corrections policy regarding undocumented convicted felons.
“Overnight – and without fanfare – there was a radical policy shift allowing undocumented convicted felons with active detainer warrants to be released from prison directly into the community without notification. Sheriff Mike Downey brought this to my attention and I am appalled there are no answers why. I want to be clear; this is not a policy for simple status offenses. This is not a policy for those deserving amnesty. These are serious dangerous criminal offenders – rapists, murderers, child molesters, and sexual predators. Last year, 223 undocumented convicted felons with active detainer warrants were safely transferred upon release from Illinois prisons. Under this radical new policy, these convicted felons with active detainer warrants are now simply released onto the streets and into our neighborhoods without notice.
I urge a statewide review of this policy and ask the governor to reverse this policy. The policy is dangerous to our children, our elderly, and all residents of Illinois.”
*** UPDATE *** Jordan Abudayyeh at the governor’s office…
“As Donald Trump continues to advance policies that tear apart families and terrorize children, the Pritzker administration is committed to using every tool at our disposal to protect immigrant families in Illinois. The governor’s office is working closely with the Department of Corrections to review current policies, build on the progress made under the bipartisan Illinois Trust Act that was signed into law in 2017, and ensure the protection of immigrant families and all Illinois communities. As this work moves forward, the Department of Corrections will pause the majority of its interactions with ICE. The governor has made it abundantly clear that Illinois will be a firewall against the president’s attacks on immigrant communities.”
Background:
Under the bipartisan Trust Act, the Illinois Department of Corrections is prohibited from detaining an individual solely on the basis of an immigration detainer or non-judicial immigration warrant.
The Trust Act does not impact the length of an individual’s lawful sentence. Those who are incarcerated serve their sentence and then are released.
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Coronavirus roundup
Tuesday, Feb 25, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Friday…
California, Nebraska and Illinois are the only U.S. states that can currently test for coronavirus, the Association of Public Health Laboratories told Reuters. The CDC last week said some of the testing kits sent to U.S. states and at least 30 countries produced “inconclusive” results due to a flawed component, and the CDC planned to send replacement materials to make the kits work. The CDC has increased testing capacity until new testing kits become available, said Scott Becker, the executive director of APHL, which represents public health laboratories in the United States.
* WaPo today…
Experts are increasingly concerned that the small number of U.S. cases thus far may be a reflection of limited testing, not of the virus’ spread. While South Korea has run more than 35,000 coronavirus tests, the U.S. has tested only 426 people for the virus, not including people who returned on evacuation flights.
* Yesterday…
“For the moment, we are not witnessing the uncontained global spread of this virus and we are not witnessing large-scale severe disease or deaths,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general. “Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely it has.”
* Today…
[U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar] said the U.S. currently has a stockpile of 30 million surgical masks, but HHS estimates suggest the country needs 300 million masks.
Oy. Also…
Up to 95 percent of surgical masks are made outside the continental United States, in places like China and Mexico, according to a 2014 briefing released by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As the outbreak has grown, Chinese authorities have increased manufacturing lines domestically, slashed their exports and put their own orders first. As China consumes more of the protective gear it is producing, the rest of the world is fighting over what is left.
U.S. health officials and industry executives are planning how to supply enough masks to critical personnel. That plan relies on a complicated supply chain already strained by U.S.-China trade tensions and in which even the most basic information is closely held. Proprietary information makes it difficult for the health-care industry — and the U.S. government — to know how much inventory manufacturers have at any given time.
* More from today…
The CDC outlined what schools and businesses will likely need to do if the COVID-19 virus becomes an epidemic outbreak in the U.S. Schools should consider dividing students into smaller groups or close and use “internet-based tele-schooling,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on a conference call. “For adults, businesses can replace in-person meetings with video or telephone conferences and increase teleworking options,” Messonnier said. She said local communities and cities may need to “modify, postpone or cancel mass gatherings.” Hospitals may need to triage patients differently, add more tele-health services and delay elective surgery, she said. “We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare for the expectation that this is going to be bad,” she said.
Needless to say, you can’t just snap your fingers and immediately set up “internet-based tele-schooling.”
* People at the top need to start talking to each other…
The Trump administration is requesting $1.25 billion in new funding and wants to transfer $535 million more from an Ebola preparedness account that’s been a top priority of Democrats. It anticipates shifting money from other HHS accounts and other agencies to complete the $2.5 billion response plan.
Democrats said Trump’s attempt to tap existing Ebola prevention funding was dead on arrival.
* The Atlantic…
The Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch is exacting in his diction, even for an epidemiologist. Twice in our conversation he started to say something, then paused and said, “Actually, let me start again.” So it’s striking when one of the points he wanted to get exactly right was this: “I think the likely outcome is that it will ultimately not be containable.” […]
Lipsitch predicts that, within the coming year, some 40 to 70 percent of people around the world will be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. But, he clarifies emphatically, this does not mean that all will have severe illnesses. “It’s likely that many will have mild disease, or may be asymptomatic,” he said. As with influenza, which is often life-threatening to people with chronic health conditions and of older age, most cases pass without medical care. (Overall, around 14 percent of people with influenza have no symptoms.)
Lipsitch is far from alone in his belief that this virus will continue to spread widely. The emerging consensus among epidemiologists is that the most likely outcome of this outbreak is a new seasonal disease—a fifth “endemic” coronavirus. With the other four, people are not known to develop long-lasting immunity. If this one follows suit, and if the disease continues to be as severe as it is now, “cold and flu season” could become “cold and flu and COVID-19 season.”
…Adding… Press release…
U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Trump Administration to do more to address the coronavirus epidemic following the President’s minimal and long overdue coronavirus funding request. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin called out President Trump’s continued years-long efforts to cut funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—two federal health agencies that our nation relies upon to respond and prepare for public health challenges. In his fiscal Year 2021 proposed budget, President Trump advocated for cutting the CDC’s budget by nine percent and the NIH’s budget by seven percent.
“When you look at the efforts that are being made here in the United States and around the world, we can and should do more. I support [Senator Schumer’s] request for a dramatic increase in funding for this purpose now before it spreads across the United States,” Durbin said.
* Related…
* Man walked through Joliet Walmart with sign on back that said, ‘Caution I have the Coronavirus,’ then sprayed merchandise with Lysol, police say
* Chicago Chinatown Restaurant Crawl Takes Place in Response to Coronavirus Fears
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Underwood is basically on her own
Tuesday, Feb 25, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Freshman Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood said Monday that she thinks the influence of the party’s presidential contenders on her chances for reelection in the traditionally Republican 14th Congressional District would be “neutral at best or really difficult at worst.”
Appearing before about 150 people at the City Club of Chicago, Underwood was asked if she shared concerns among some Democratic moderates that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders could hurt down-ballot Democrats who won in 2018 or are in swing districts, should he win the nomination.
“Some people are neutral and some people are not and no one in my opinion that’s running on the Democratic ticket is helpful to me in my race,” Underwood replied, drawing murmurs from the crowd.
Underwood defeated three-term GOP Rep. Randy Hultgren in 2018 in an exurban district that has long backed conservative Republicans. She noted that she defeated Hultgren by 5 percentage points while J.B. Pritzker lost to Bruce Rauner in the district by 8 percentage points — though Pritzker defeated Rauner statewide by 16 percentage points.
* Politico…
Political consultant Jim Terman, who posed the question, told Playbook that Underwood’s answer “caught folks by surprise…but when you think about it, it made sense.” […]
Underwood’s response explains the reality of being a Democrat in a swing district, says senior adviser Ronnie Cho. “Her re-election has more to do with her than anybody else. She knows her re-election is contingent on her campaign, policies and record,” Cho told Playbook.
And if there’s any question about Underwood’s dedication to Democratic infrastructure, Cho points to the political action committee Underwood just started to help down-ballot candidates. Farm Team PAC is focused on electing Democratic candidates within IL-14.
Only two statewide Democratic candidates won Underwood’s district in 2018: Secretary of State Jesse White (who won 14 of 16 districts) and Comptroller Susana Mendoza (who won all but four districts). No statewide Dems won the district in the 2016 and 2012 presidential cycles, and only White won it in 2014.
By the way, as I told subscribers yesterday, Underwood’s Farm Team PAC had just $992.69 in the bank at the end of 2019 and hasn’t reported any contributions since then. It was created about 13 months ago.
…Adding… With thanks to a commenter, here’s a story about an Indivisible Evanston gathering for Underwood last week...
Underwood also emphasized her role as a bipartisan congresswoman who can appeal to a variety of voters. She said many Trump supporters voted for her in 2018, and hopes to continue that trend. […]
Underwood stressed to Evanston residents that they might have to speak cautiously when helping her campaign in the district. She said they should speak on shared values as opposed to a “lack of empathy for our neighbors.”
Additionally, Underwood instructed those helping the campaign to maintain “awareness and discipline” when knocking on the doors of District 14 voters, who are generally not as liberal as many Evanston residents.
“Speaker Pelosi has a lot of sayings, but one of the things that she always tells us is that the things you can say in San Francisco you can’t say Michigan, but what you can say in Michigan, you can say San Francisco; you’re San Francisco, I’m Michigan,” Underwood said.
She also said potential GOP opponent Jim Oberweis has “very well-established bigoted and racist views.”
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It’s just a bill
Monday, Feb 24, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Center Square…
A bipartisan group of Illinois lawmakers has gotten behind a proposal to repeal the state’s new car trade-in tax and replace it with a different fee structure.
As of Jan. 1, Illinois’ sales tax applies to any trade-in vehicle worth more than $10,000. That means trading in a $30,000 car for one worth $60,000 will cost the customer an extra $1,200 in additional sales taxes. It’s estimated to bring the state $60 million annually, affecting what state officials insisted was a small portion of Illinois residents.
Legislation filed earlier last month would repeal the application of sales tax to trade-in value over $10,000. In turn, it would charge a tax based on the selling price of the car if it’s worth more than $15,000 or how many years old it is if valued at less than $15,000. It would take effect 120 days after it’s enacted.
Industry experts predicted the Jan. 1 change would have a profound effect on consumer buying habits and the change appears to have set in quickly.
“Last year, we had about 26 trade-ins by now from the first of the year that were over $10,001,” said Daniel Fontana, sales consultant at Mike Haggerty Buick GMC in Oak Lawn. “We’re only floating at 19 right now.”
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Tony Munoz (D-Chicago).
* Bernie…
State Rep. TIM BUTLER, R-Springfield, has filed a bill that would allow breweries to start “mug clubs.”
A mug club is a loyalty program where bar patrons can purchase a special mug from the establishment and have it refilled at a discount over the course of a year.
Currently, such discounts are prohibited under the state’s happy hour law, which only allows the sale of drinks at a reduced price for up to four hours a day and 15 hours a week.
Under Butler’s legislation, a carve-out would be made “if a person purchases a mug, cup or other glassware” as part of a mug club program.
Butler said the idea was sparked by a conversation he had with the owners of BUZZ BOMB BREWING CO., 406 E. Adams St., who hope to bring the concept to Springfield.
The bill is here.
* Another try…
Is it time to raise the speed limit again? The suburban lawmaker who six years ago pushed to boost our highway limit from 65 mph to 70 mph seems to think so.
State Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-North Aurora) has filed legislation, Senate Bill 2565, to lift Illinois’ highway speed limit to 75 mph. But where Oberweis got overwhelming support for increasing the limit to 70 mph six years ago, skeptics already are emerging for taking it up another 5 mph.
* WCIA…
Senator Ram Villivilam said he wants to bring back a small business tax credit for $5,000 for every new position a business with fewer than 50 employees makes. The Illinois Chamber of Commerce likes the idea of the bill, but does not know if the incentives are strong enough. “We still think it has the same fundamental flaws, unless you really go ahead and get up to $10,000 or $15,000,” said Todd Maisch. “But even then, there is going to be a suspicion that what is there one year won’t be there the next, as soon as the legislature decides that they want that revenue back.”
For a business to receive the credit, the position created will have to pay at least $15 per hour.
…Adding… Marni Pyke…
Quashing the proposed extension of Route 53 north into Lake County may have been the easy part.
Residents who waged war against the pricey expansion rejoiced when the Illinois tollway dropped the project last July, effectively dooming it for lack of funds.
Now, however, there’s a 1,100-acre hot potato squatting in Lake County. The state spent $54.3 million over 48 years acquiring land for the defunct road.
What to do? Looks like it’s task force time.
Legislation is percolating through the General Assembly to create a task force authorized to recommend uses for the land by Dec. 31.
The bill is here.
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* Daily Herald…
Casey Urlacher, the mayor of North suburban Mettawa and brother of Chicago Bears icon Brian Urlacher, is charged along with nine others in connection with an illegal offshore sports gambling ring, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
In an indictment alleging one count of participating in the gambling conspiracy and one count of conducting an illegal gambling business, prosecutors say Casey Urlacher worked as an agent for the “illegal gambling business” and recruited gamblers and other sub-agents to the operation.
Prosecutors allege those involved placed bets through a Costa Rican-based gambling platform identified only as “Company A.” The operation began sometime in 2016, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Urlacher was in contact with the group’s ringleader, 54-year-old Vincent Delgiudice of Orland Park, also known as “Uncle Mick,” in December 2018 about setting up an account for a new gambler with a maximum bet of $500 and maximum weekly limit of $3,000.
The indictment is here.
* Sun-Times…
Casey Urlacher denied any knowledge of the gambling investigation when reached Thursday by the Chicago Sun-Times, and he said he didn’t know any bookie named DelGiudice. “I don’t know nothing about it,” Urlacher said. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
But the indictment alleges otherwise. It says Urlacher asked Vincent DelGiudice to create a log-in and password for a new gambler on the website on Dec. 16, 2018. DelGiudice allegedly did so, setting a $500 maximum bet, a $3,000 maximum wager for the week and a $1,000 settle-up figure.
On Dec. 21, 2018, Urlacher allegedly gave an envelope filled with gambling debts owed to DelGiudice to Prassas. That same day, Prassas allegedly passed an envelope filled with Urlacher’s gambling debts on to DelGiudice with the remark, “This is Casey’s.”
Urlacher also allegedly asked DelGiudice by phone on Dec. 26, 2018, to shut down a gambler’s account until the gambler paid a debt. That same day, after the gambler wired $3,000 to Urlacher, Urlacher allegedly texted DelGiudice and told him to turn the gambler’s account back on.
Urlacher lost a Republican primary for the Illinois Senate to Dan McConchie in 2016. I’m guessing this upcoming fundraiser will be at least slightly altered…
McLaughlin is running unopposed for retiring GOP Rep. Dave McSweeney’s seat.
…Adding… Urlacher was appointed to the Illinois Civil Service Commission by Gov. Pat Quinn and is still an active member. Oops.
*** UPDATE *** The governor’s office says Urlacher resigned from the commission this morning.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* In other news…
When an FBI raid targeted his company’s county commissioner last year, southwest suburban factory owner Zach Mottl was “ecstatic.”
“I felt like the house fell on the wicked witch,” Mottl said. “That’s what I felt like. And we were free. The munchkins were free.”
Mottl said he felt a target of the raid — Democratic Cook County Commissioner and village of McCook Mayor Jeff Tobolski — had pressured him into making a campaign contribution at the same time his company was seeking Tobolski’s backing for a critical property tax break.
And Mottl provided the Better Government Association and WBEZ with an exchange of emails that detail his story.
* And…
A son-in-law of former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios is being sued by the Chicago Public Schools, which says he failed to pay “no less than” $366,000 under deals that allowed his company to park cars at 10 elementary schools, mostly for baseball fans going to Cubs games last year.
According to the lawsuit filed in Cook County circuit court, James T. Weiss and his parking business stopped paying CPS last April for the right to park cars at three schools closest to Wrigley Field — but kept charging customers to park there anyway. […]
On Nov. 19, Weiss told CPS his company would no longer be parking cars on school property. That was in a phone call shortly after the Chicago Tribune reported his offices were raided as part of the federal investigation of now-former state Rep Luis Arroyo. Arroyo has since been charged in a federal bribery case involving unregulated video gambling machines.
Weiss — who also owns Collage LLC, which operates unregulated video terminals known as sweepstakes machines — has been lobbying state and city officials to legalize the machines.
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* From the SoS…
Dear Mr. Miller:
The attached list has been compiled in response to your recent FOIA request for a list of people who are currently banned from entering the Illinois Statehouse and/or Statehouse complex. Please note that the individuals on this list were not banned from the capitol complex. However, they would only be allowed access to the complex if they were escorted by or under surveillance of law enforcement officers. Access to the capitol complex may be restricted for a number of reasons, including: threatening comments or behavior directed at state officials or employees; inappropriate communications with a state official; inappropriate or suspicious behavior on the capitol complex; as required by an order of protection; conduct related to discharge from State employment; found in a restricted area of the capitol complex; threats of damage to property located on the complex; release from a secure State psychiatric hospital to which the individual had be committed pursuant to a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity for a crime of violence on the capitol complex.
Nathan Maddox
Senior Legal Adviser
Office of the Secretary of State
Click here for the full list. Former Rep. Jack Franks is on the list as is a person named William J. Kelly.
…Adding… You may have noticed the name “Captain Cautious America (formerly Anderson, Mark A.)” on the list. Here’s some background…
Of course, he can’t become president until he turns 35. But he has other ideas to work on until then.
A nursing student, he says he has been studying several sexually transmitted diseases. He believes he has conjured a cure for several of them.
“It was just simple mathematics and an understanding of antibiotics,” he says.
He hasn’t shared his secret with any public-health officials — “just people in my own circle,” he says — but he would gladly relay his calculations and formulas to the U.S. government. Then government-backed researchers and scientists could mass produce the cure, which not only could help Americans but be sold overseas.
…Adding… As some commenters have noted, Derek Potts is also on the list…
A 39-year-old man found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2004 fatal shooting of a Capitol security guard soon will be released from a locked state psychiatric hospital and transferred for at least five years to an outpatient, residential treatment center in Chicago, a Sangamon County judge ruled Tuesday.
The decision from Associate Judge Jack Davis II came after a 3½-hour hearing and over the objection of State’s Attorney Dan Wright, who said he wasn’t convinced of Derek Potts’ remorse and remained concerned Potts could hurt others again.
Davis acknowledged what he called the tragic loss of William “Bill” Wozniak to the rural Petersburg man’s widow, several other relatives and Capitol-based police, all seated in the courtroom audience. Davis said Wozniak was a “five-star family man” and a “dedicated public servant.”
…Adding… William Kelly just sent me an e-mail…
That’s news to me
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