* On December 21, 2021, when Paul Vallas was substitute hosting for Dan Proft on WIND, 4,178 people were hospitalized with COVID-19. More than 300 people died from the virus that week, bringing the total number up to more than 27,000. Hospitalizations surged to 7,380 just a few weeks later, on January 12th. Hospitalizations didn’t fall back to the December 21st level for a month, and didn’t fall below a thousand until late February…
Amy Jacobson: It’s a two-week peak. So, we’re going to have a two-week peak here. So as soon as the cases rise, that’s quickly as they are going to fall. And they are going to say it worked because of the vaccine mandates. You know that. Because two weeks from now on January 10th, this is going to be a nothing-burger.
Paul Vallas: We’ll be having strains every year and this is going to be the new normal.
OK, let’s stop right there. We’ve never again had a peak like the horrific winter of 21/22. The mini hospitalization spike we had this past December was around 1,800. That earlier winter’s spiral hasn’t become the “new normal,” as Vallas predicted, because vaccines work.
* And, as you’ll see, they mocked leaders for trying to keep even more people from dying…
Paul Vallas: But I think for people like Lightfoot and others this is an opportunity. Well first of all, this gives them the ability to make decisions unilaterally with no input. How many executive orders has Pritzker [issued]?
Amy Jacobson: 24.
Paul Vallas: 24. Illinois Policy does great work, great work in terms of reporting on these things. I mean, really them and CWB, and of course, Wire Points and I mean, they just do great work on providing really independent research and reporting. On these executive mandates, no legislative input whatsoever. So it gives them the ability to act like dictators. The second thing it does is it creates the perception that somehow they’re being decisive leaders.
That “dictator” stuff is the exact same rhetoric used by Darren Bailey and his ilk. The courts ruled again and again that the executive powers already existed in state law.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I do not envy Chicago voters.
…Adding… Speaking of Darren Bailey, this was posted by Bailey in May of 2022, during the Republican primary…
Caption?
Also…
“Shameless!”
*** UPDATE *** From Natalie Edelstein at the Pritzker campaign…
Throughout the pandemic Governor Pritzker spent every day fighting to save people’s lives and livelihoods. He did it by following the advice of the nation’s best virologists and epidemiologists, many of whom are at Illinois’ world class research institutions and hospitals. Leadership requires making tough choices and not pandering to the loudest voices driven by politics. The next mayor of Chicago may be called upon to lead in a similar type of emergency and residents deserve to know if their next Mayor will listen to experts or instead to right wing talk show hosts when making decisions about people’s lives.
Vallas campaign…
“Paul Vallas looks forward to working with state leaders in tackling all the issues facing Chicago, from making the city safer to improving education to confronting crisis situations whenever they emerge. As a lifelong Democrat, Paul respects Gov. Pritzker’s leadership and voted for him in the past election.”
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It’s just a bill
Tuesday, Mar 21, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Illinois Manufacturers’ Association…
WHO:
Sarah Hartwick, Executive Director, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association Education Foundation
Rev. Courtney Carson, Assistant Vice President of External Affairs, Richland Community College
Sen. Don DeWitte
Rep. Amy Elik
Rep. Suzanne Ness
Rep. Katie Stuart
Rep. Travis Weaver
WHAT:
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) Education Foundation will call for passage of several bills designed to build a workforce of the future by increasing education opportunities and removing barriers that prevent students from exploring jobs in the manufacturing industry.
Nationally, there are nearly 800,000 open jobs in the manufacturing industry, including tens of thousands of available jobs in Illinois. The IMA Education Foundation is dedicated to working with employers, educators, and lawmakers to enact policies that help attract, retain, and grow a skilled workforce. These efforts are vital to ensuring Illinois can continue to experience strong economic growth in the coming decade as more and more baby boomers are expected to exit the job market and companies will seek to fill the resulting knowledge and experience gaps.
WHEN:
Wednesday, March 22
10:30 a.m.
* HB361 is currently on Second Reading. Block Club Chicago…
The Illinois Work Without Fear Act — House Bill 361 — would fill gaps in Illinois employment law to ensure companies can be punished if they retaliate against workers by calling immigration officials or making other immigration-related threats when the workers report violations, state leaders and policy experts said.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and state Rep. Lilian Jiménez were joined by members of workers rights’ groups Arise Chicago, Raise the Floor Alliance and United Workers Center to announce the bill Monday morning. […]
Raoul’s office has investigated unsafe working conditions during the pandemic, but many employees were fearful of speaking to authorities due to potential retaliation, he said.
“To encourage people to stand up, we need to ensure they will not be punished for doing so,” Raoul said.
* Capitol News Illinois…
Lawmakers are considering a bill that would treat ride-share companies such as Uber and Lyft as “common carriers,” opening them up to the same level of liability as other forms of public
transportation.
House Bill 2231 passed on the House floor this week with a 73-36 vote. The bill now awaits consideration in the Senate.
The common carrier status is defined as a “standard of care” under which passengers surrender their safety to certain modes of transportation. Currently in Illinois, this includes taxicabs, railways and elevators, among others. […]
“One of the reasons these entities have been so successful has been costs aren’t as great as they are with other entities,” Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, said during the House debate. “So by increasing regulations or burdens on business then we may drive them out or make them less successful.”
* Pastor Walter P. Turner, III of New Spiritual Light MB Church…
Dear Illinois General Assembly Member:
RE: House Bill 2231
As leaders representing communities throughout Illinois, we are writing to express our concerns about the impact House Bill 2231 could have on our neighborhoods. As written, the current bill will hurt Black & Hispanic residents who rely on Uber and Lyft for both income and reliable transportation.
By making Illinois the only State in the nation to treat Transportation Network Companies / Transportation Network Providers (“TNCs”) as common carriers, the legislature would drastically increase insurance costs, likely making it difficult for many in our communities to afford rides. Worse yet - the increased costs wouldn’t go to drivers, who would see decreased demand, forcing many of the tens and thousands of residents who use these platforms to earn money to find other work. With far fewer drivers, and unaffordable rides, TNC’s will end up serving only areas of our state that can regularly afford rides.
Importantly, if passed, the bill would likely require rideshare drivers to get fingerprinted in order to work with Uber or Lyft - the only state in the country that would have such a requirement. Unfortunately, the FBI’s national fingerprint database lacks complete information, and is biased against Black & Hispanic Americans. When someone is arrested police take their fingerprints and submit them to the FBI. However, more than half of the submitted records do not reflect whether someone was even charged much less convicted for the alleged offense. Since Black & Hispanic Americans are wrongly arrested at disproportionate levels they’re overly represented in the database, and hence are unfairly impacted.
A report from the National Employment Law Project found that, “[N]early half of FBI background checks fail to include information on the outcome of a case after an arrest— fundamental information such as whether a charge was dismissed. These inaccurate and incomplete records seriously prejudice the employment prospects of an estimated 600,000 workers every year.”1 Thousands of residents could lose access to work overnight for crimes they didn’t commit. It’s why civil rights and law enforcement experts alike agree that fingerprint background checks should not be used for employment.
The proposed law aims to make Uber and Lyft more like taxis. Unfortunately, taxis have a long history of ignoring our communities and discriminating against people of color and any move to recreate the taxi system is likely to recreate the same issues. Uber and Lyft are not perfect, but they’ve provided safe reliable transportation to communities left behind by taxis and mass transit. HB2231 looks to turn back the clock and leave our communities behind. I’d urge you to vote no.
* Illinois Freedom Caucus…
The Illinois Freedom Caucus is issuing the following statement on the proposals to bring Rank Choice voting to Illinois.
“One of the major issues facing our state is rank choice voting, which is a system of voting allowing voters to rank their list of candidates.
It is an expensive and impractical form of voting especially for a state the size of Illinois. Voting has always been based on the premise of ‘One Person – One Vote.’ We already have frequent voting irregularities undermining voter confidence in the safety and security of our elections. Turning our electoral process into something akin to the convoluted Hall of Fame balloting process is not the way to restore confidence in our elections.
Instead of focusing on rank choice voting, we need to prioritize restoring integrity to our elections. Elections should be free and fair. We support reforms such as measures to require the State Board of Elections to set up and maintain a system to track all mail in ballots (HB 1139), to ensure deceased individuals are removed from voter rolls (HB 1140) or to require photo IDs for voting (HB 1141). We need to be debating these reforms instead of completely upending our electoral process with rank choice voting.”
* SB1444 has been re-referred to Assignments. Press release…
To promote child care access and affordability, State Senator Mike Simmons took part in the White House State Legislative Convening on Tuesday, speaking on Illinois’ paid leave legislation and his proposed child tax credit.
“It was an honor to meet with White House officials and fellow Federal and State legislators today,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “Working parents are struggling more than ever before, and it is time we find solutions at State and Federal levels to help provide families with affordable and accessible child care and services. I want the next generation of moms, dads, caretakers, aunts, uncles, grandparents and children to live dignified and abundant lives where they are not always struggling to meet the most basic expenses.”
During the meeting, Simmons highlighted Senate Bill 1444, which would create an Illinois Child Tax Credit for eligible low- and middle-income Illinois families. Families would receive a $700 tax credit for each child under the age of 17, benefitting joint filers earning less than $75,000 and single filers earning less than $50,000.
“Children need to feel secure that their needs are being met,” said Simmons. “And every parent deserves to raise their children without chronic economic stress. I am proud of the recent steps forward Illinois has taken to support childcare access, and the proposals that are being considered this session, such as the state-level child tax credit I’ve introduced. The Biden Administration has made many important strides in passing policy that has provided families with relief, and I am honored to join the White House today for this timely discussion.”
Simmons also spoke about the recent signing of the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, chief-sponsored by Illinois Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood). The Act made Illinois the third state in the U.S. to guarantee paid leave. Under the new law, employees in Illinois will be provided a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave per year that can be used for any reason. Starting on March 31, 2024, or 90 days following commencement of employment, workers can begin using their earned time off for any reason without the requirement of providing documentation to their employer.
* HB1374 was re-referred to Rules Committee on the 10th. Center Square…
Police and firefighter shortages are an issue for many communities across Illinois. State Rep. Dave Vella, D-Rockford, told The Center Square that the workforce is aging and vacancies need to be filled.
Vella introduced House Bill 1374 to give local high school students a community college track that will lead directly to law enforcement and firefighting careers. […]
Vella’s vision is to develop a two-year community college degree that includes an internship in police work or firefighting. When the students complete the two-year associate degree, they will be prepared to take the police or the firefighter academy tests. […]
Offering a community college associate degree along with internships designed by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board is the pipeline that Vella envisions.
…Adding… Press release…
Leaders from the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association (IHHA) will testify before the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 3 PM in room 212 of the State Capitol. The subject of the Committee will be SB1732 and a portion of the law that gives Hawthorne Racetrack veto power over any entity that seeks to build a racetrack within 35 miles of the Hawthorne Racetrack in Stickney. The IHHA will testify in favor of sunsetting the 35-mile rule.
While IHHA members would be happy to race at any track owned by Hawthorne, the organization must act in the best interests of its members. Hawthorne has been slow to secure financing to develop a racino at their current racetrack during the last two years. Therefore, there is considerable concern that Hawthorne will be able to secure funding for a second racetrack and casino at the same time that they work to finance the build-out of what they call a shovel ready racino.
Horse racing is an agricultural and economic engine in Illinois that has ramifications well outside of Chicago. With the closure of Arlington Racetrack, Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses must share a racing calendar at Hawthorne Racecourse, the only track left in the Chicago region. The horse racing industry in Illinois desperately needs a second racetrack so that each breed can race in a dedicated space.
Because the second racetrack must be located in southern Cook County, and Hawthorne Racecourse has voiced their intention to build that racecourse, no other entity is even able to float a plan for construction without at the very least, bringing Hawthorne in as a partner. Unless a change is made, more breeding farms, training centers and jobs will be lost to other states.
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ComEd 4 trial highlights
Tuesday, Mar 21, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Crain’s on some overlooked testimony yesterday by ComEd exec Scott Vogt…
The 2016 Future Energy Jobs Act is best remembered for the bailout of two nuclear power plants, which funneled more than $230 million of revenue annually to Exelon thanks to surcharges on monthly electric bills statewide.
That was just one portion of a heaping plate of revenue. While most of the focus — and controversy at the time — was on the nuke subsidies, the value of that law to Exelon’s utility subsidiary, Commonwealth Edison, was an estimated $1.8 billion. […]
But what likely accounts for the surprisingly lucrative aspect of FEJA for ComEd is that it was allowed for the first time to profit on its investments in energy efficiency — programs designed to help households and businesses use less power. Those programs existed before FEJA, but the charges to ratepayers were mere pass-throughs and included no profit kickers. […]
Asked to react, ComEd spokesman Paul Elsberg declined to discuss the $1.8 billion estimate. But, he said, “Without commenting on specific witness testimony, the bottom line is that FEJA provided substantial benefits to customers served by all electric utilities across Illinois, including by significantly expanding energy efficiency programs that have saved ComEd customers more than $7 billion on their electric bills, preserving nuclear plants that provide 24/7 carbon-free energy and the thousands of jobs associated with them, spurring new investment in renewable energy projects, and funding programs that train workers for clean energy jobs.”
* Hannah Meisel on the 2011 Smart Grid law…
But the utility’s fortunes really turned with the passage of the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act in 2011 – another of the laws central to the government’s theory of ComEd’s alleged bribery scheme. Included in that law, also known as “Smart Grid” legislation, was an overhaul of the way consumer electric rates were calculated. The new process, known as formula ratemaking, created a new tool for ComEd to recoup what it said was the true cost of running and improving electric service for its customers in northern Illinois. […]
However, the 2011 law included a provision that automatically “sunset” the formula rates a few years after they first took effect, necessitating ComEd to go back to the General Assembly to ask for the renewal of formula rates.
Toward the end of Vogt’s lengthy testimony on Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Schwartz asked Vogt “what control” the sunset provision gave Madigan “over ComEd’s financial future.”
“A fair amount,” Vogt said.
He loved sunsets more than any southwest Florida resident.
* We talked yesterday about the Senate Democrats’ 2018 TV ads that pushed legislative leader term limits and mentioned Madigan by name. The Sun-Times has the full exchange, but here’s a telling excerpt where Madigan is mulling what he’s going to say to then Senate President John Cullerton…
MADIGAN: And number three, John, do you understand the position you’ve put me in? In terms of do I do something or do I do nothing. So, do I just do nothing about this or do I do something about it?
You did not want to be on the receiving end of that sort of message. Whew.
* Speaking of which, here’s the Tribune…
Illinois state Rep. Bob Rita told jurors in the “ComEd Four” bribery trial Monday that former House Speaker Michael Madigan for years had “total control” of the state General Assembly and ruled his fellow Democrats “through fear and intimidation.” […]
Rita also said Madigan was “very good at raising money,” and that his control of the purse strings come election time made members dependent upon his support for their political survival.
Rita said Madigan valued “loyalty to himself, to the caucus, to the party” above all else. He said he counted himself as among Madigan’s loyal supporters in the 18 years they served in the House together.
Asked how Madigan typically exercised his power, Rita paused for a second before saying flatly, “Through fear and intimidation.”
* Hannah Meisel…
And when asked by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker if he’d personally experienced that aggressive tactic, Rita responded, “yes.”
If anyone gets angry at Rep. Rita for saying what he said, they must’ve either forgotten that Madigan wanted people to fear him, or they were part of his mechanism. It’s just how things were done. Nobody ever denied it. He deliberately cultivated the image.
* Jon Seidel…
Federal prosecutors planned to have Rita testify about McClain’s role in the gaming legislation. They alleged in a court filing that Rita met with the speaker in his office in 2013, where Madigan told Rita that Rita would sponsor a major gaming bill. When the meeting ended, Madigan walked Rita out of his office and McClain was standing near the doorway.
Madigan pointed to McClain and said “he will guide you,” according to the feds.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber barred prosecutors Monday from getting into the topic of gaming at the request of defense attorneys, though. Rita is also likely to testify about the influence that McClain — a ComEd lobbyist —Â had on the passage of another bill Rita sponsored: the Future Energy Jobs Act, or FEJA.
FEJA is one of the key pieces of legislation at issue in the trial.
Rita did testify about the “he will guide you” quote today, without mentioning the gaming connection.
* Today on FEJA…
* Speaking of “our friend,” this is from a federal transcript introduced yesterday where McClain is explaining why he refers to Madigan that way…
I generally never refer to the speaker. I just say our friend. […]
—its uh, it’s just more, it’s easier because um, um I’ll never forget there’s one time one of the ComEd people were at a coffee shop, and it was the Speaker this, and the Speaker that, and the Speaker this, the Speaker that and the, right next to her at the table was Tiffany Madigan. […]
And so suffice it to say, about two weeks later she was no longer working for ComEd. […]
(Laughs.) And so um, the um, so if you just say our friend, no one really knows what we’re talking about so. So, uh that’s the way I’m gonna talk, if that’s okay?
…Adding… Ken Dunkin was mentioned in the trial yesterday as an example of Madigan’s power. Dunkin was again a topic today during cross-examination…
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* Organized labor has been divided on Chicago’s mayoral race for months, but the split has been mostly amicable and professional until this week.
During the first round, the unions were scattered around, with progressive labor organizations like the Chicago Teachers Union backing Brandon Johnson, numerous trade unions staying with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Local 150 of the Operating Engineers and various Teamsters locals endorsing Chuy Garcia, and the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police going with their former labor negotiator Paul Vallas.
Since the runoff began, however, the unions quickly polarized, with trade unions lining up behind Vallas (Local 150 quickly switched gears, for instance, and pledged $1 million for Vallas) and more progressive public employee unions uniting with Johnson (including SEIU Local 1 and AFSCME, which sat out the first round).
* Tensions have been building in the runoff, including over race, and they escalated quickly yesterday when CTU President Stacy Davis Gates spoke to a national publication about the contest…
Organizers in Johnson’s camp say the CTU is the glue holding together a coalition, not the sole force of his campaign. Davis Gates noted that she and the heads of the local SEIU and SEIU Healthcare, also behind Johnson, are all Black, and her members are mostly women.
That shows union membership isn’t just “white guys in hard hats,” she said.
“The organized labor that’s behind Brandon are unions that have routinely fought for issues that lift up working people,” said Bill Neidhardt, a campaign adviser for Johnson.
“White guys in hard hats.” OK.
…Adding… The CTU membership is not exactly representative of the city nor the public school student population. From the Tribune in 2021…
Of the 22,000 CPS teachers, 48.8% are white; 22.3% are Hispanic; 20.7% are Black; and 4.2% are Asian.
About 330,000 students are enrolled in CPS, with 46.6% Hispanic; 36% Black; 10.8% white and 4.4% Asian.
* Trade unions have been criticized for a lack of diversity, mainly by Black and Brown politicians, but rarely has that criticism come from within labor itself. And the CTU president’s comments badly stung some trade union leaders yesterday. From the Building Trades Council…
“There is no room in the labor movement or politics for divisive statements like Stacy’s,” said Mike Macellaio, President of the Chicago and Cook County Building Trades Council, which represents 15 unions and more than 80,000 members. “The building trades are a diverse group of highly skilled men and women of every race, color and creed; and we committed to protecting the rights of every worker and opening doors for the next generation. Building trades unions funded the vast majority of the Workers’ Rights Amendment campaign, which protects every worker in Illinois, and we have invested millions in programs to increase access to apprenticeship programs and provide skill training to a diverse new generation of workers. We call on Brandon Johnson to make clear where he stands on Stacy’s comments as well.”
Tensions between the two union sides have existed for years, even before the issue of pension reform bitterly divided the house of labor in the past decade. Teachers unions and AFSCME refused to contribute to then-House Speaker Michael Madigan’s personal campaign fund after he pushed through a pension reform package. Some of the trades, which backed Madigan, then began publicly calling for pension reform to free up state money for things like infrastructure.
But then Bruce Rauner came along and his strident anti-union rhetoric and his publicly admitted decision to hold the state budget hostage until Democrats went along with his “right to work” agenda fused organized labor together like it had never been before.
The bond has mostly held since then because both sides have done pretty darned well under the current governor and there’s no reason to fight over crumbs, but the split has been particularly obvious in the mayoral runoff as the trades congregate behind the conservative White guy and the public employee unions align with the lefty Black man.
* So where do they go from here? Politico…
Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor is also concerned. “The labor movement fights every day to provide pay and opportunity to members. But we have to make sure that we can disagree with each other without getting to a point where it divides us — because the labor movement has to endure.”
Staying neutral: Neither the CFL nor the trades council have endorsed anyone in the mayor’s race.
Gates responds: “I truly don’t understand the response to my comment. And, I think we are saying the same thing: Labor is diverse, and its leadership is diverse, too. It is important especially for women during Women’s History Month to know they are represented at the highest levels of union leadership,” Gates said in a statement.
But it’s obviously more than just her comments about women which have sparked the ire of the trades.
* In response to the Johnson campaign’s statement that “supporters of Brandon tend to be the people who lift workers up,” a high-level member of the building trades pointed out that their unions - the so-called “white guys in hard hats” - put their money where their mouths were last year to back the Workers Rights Amendment…
The official noted that the money spent by teachers’ unions on the amendment ($162K) pales in comparison to the seven-figure sums those unions are now putting behind Johnson. That difference, the official said, “tells the story about lifting up workers vs. getting a contract this summer.”
Ouch.
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