Attorney Thomas DeVore, who has gained fame during the COVID-19 shutdowns for directly questioning and winning suits against Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s Executive Orders and shutdowns of restaurants, bars, and small businesses gave a presentation at Bella Vista Winery in Maryville on Wednesday afternoon about what the new mitigation measures mean to restaurants and bars and what they can do about it.
He’s winning suits? And since when is the state shutting down local bars and restaurants?
The basis for [DeVore’s] advice to the restaurant and bar owners came from the Department of Public Health Act (20 ILCS 2305/2(c)) which states “no place may be ordered to be closed and made off limits to the public except with the consent of the person or owner of the place or upon the prior order of a court of competent jurisdiction…In the event of an immediate order issued without prior consent or court order, the Department shall, as soon as practical, within 48 hours after issuing the order, obtain the consent of the person or owner or file a petition requesting a court order authorizing the isolation or quarantine or closure.”
That’s… not great advice. Those businesses could be hit with a misdemeanor charge and a possibly hefty fine for their defiance. It’s not about closing businesses, or pulling their licenses - something the governor has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to do.
DeVore informed business owners “I’m not advocating for social disobedience, I’m asking for business owners to stand up.” The crowd erupted in applause when DeVore said “If enough of you stay open, this is over.
The majority of restaurant and bar owners in attendance, as well as dozens that had contacted DeVore before today’s educational presentation from across the area, said they plan on keeping their indoor dining open this time. DeVore said the owners are not looking to be defiant of anything, and have not come by their decisions to stay open lightly. Many of the owners stated that if they shut down inside dining, they will never reopen. One owner of an establishment outside of Madison County said that last week he did a poll on Facebook asking his customers if he should stay open. Of the 300 responses he received, 297 said to stay open and he is going to do so.
DeVore encouraged each owner to speak with their own legal counsel about their decision since each business has its own unique needs.
…Adding… We went to the Sangamo Club for dinner last night (outside, of course) and I think the sign on its front door puts the whole mask issue into proper context…
Also, if establishments are listening to lawyers like DeVore instead of public health officials when it comes to things like masks, you gotta wonder what they’re doing in the kitchen. If I live to be 100, I will never again go to restaurants that flout these simple, basic public health rules. And I may compile a list before veto session.
IT IS ORDERED that the motion for clarification is allowed. This court’s order of August 5, 2020, transferring cases from Edgar, Bond, Clinton, and Richland Counties to Sangamon County to be consolidated with Sangamon County No. 20 MR 589, is hereby corrected, nunc pro tunc, to specify that these cases and the cases that were transferred to and consolidated in Sangamon County in case Nos. 126232 and 126261, shall be heard by the same judge, Judge Grischow, who was assigned to preside over Riley Craig et al. v. Governor Jay Robert Pritzker, etc., Sangamon County No. 20 MR 589, and Governor J.B. Pritzker, etc., et al. v. Board of Education of Hutsonville CUSD #1 et al., etc., Sangamon County No. 20 MR 557.
* Here’s an explainer from the attorney general’s office…
It is a procedural order. The Supreme Court’s earlier orders transferred the cases in other counties to Sangamon, but didn’t specify that they should all be heard by the same judge (Judge Grischow, who had previously been assigned to hear the Craig and Hutsonville cases). Because the earlier orders didn’t specifically say that the cases should go to Judge Grischow, DeVore thought he had the right to move for a substitution of judge. We filed our motions because we thought the court intended that all cases go to Judge Grischow, and the court agreed.
DeVore had moved for a substitution of the judge in the Bailey case, but waited to do so until after Judge Grischow ruled against him in the Hutsonville case. It wasn’t that long ago, you may recall, that DeVore was accusing the governor of judge-shopping.
Today, Rodney Davis’ campaign for Congress released a new ad titled “Madigan Machine,” which highlights Betsy Londrigan’s close ties to Speaker Mike Madigan’s corrupt political machine. The ad will be running on TV stations across IL-13 as well as online and digital platforms.
llinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is facing intense scrutiny after being subpoenaed in connection with a bribery investigation.
Mike Madigan is the most corrupt politician in Illinois and Betsy Londrigan is part of Madigan’s Machine.
Londrigan raises money for Madigan and his corrupt machine while her campaign is bankrolled by Madigan and his henchmen.
Now Londrigan is refusing to call for Madigan’s resignation.
Betsy Londrigan would make Washington more corrupt.
…Adding… Press release…
In response to Congressman Rodney Davis’ first TV ad that airs a misleading attack on his opponent rather than focusing on any accomplishments of his own, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s campaign released the following statement:
“After nearly a decade in Washington, Rodney Davis still can’t come up with a single positive reason for people to vote for him so he’s resorted to launching desperate and misleading attacks instead,” said campaign spokeswoman Eliza Glezer. “Davis doesn’t want Central Illinois families to know his real record of voting 11 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement, voting to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and voting against lowering the cost of prescription drugs. If Davis doesn’t have a record he can win on, he shouldn’t be running.”
“Mike Madigan’s time is over,” said Keerti Gopal of @SunriseMvmtChi. “We will not be silenced, we will not put up with your corruption, we will not stand for your inaction… we are wide awake and we will not be silenced.” #ChicagoProtestspic.twitter.com/hqdBOnezHH
The group has made some recent campaign endorsements. It’s mainly focused on the Green New Deal.
…Adding… Duncan Black recently made some very important points about activist dynamics…
Here’s the way it’s supposed to work.
1) Activists make “extreme” maximalist demands.
2) Centrist politicians say whoa whoa this is a real issue, but those activists are a bit nuts, still here is a Common Sense Proposal That All Americans Can Agree On which addresses the problem in a good bipartisan fashion (blah blah blah cue West Wing theme).
3) Activists keep making extreme demands.
4) Centrist politicians say, “See how reasonable we are? We aren’t like those nutters, our proposals are Good! And Reasonable! And Common Sense! And that those crazy activists are still mad about it is proof that we aren’t just crazy weirdo lefties! See how mad they are!”
The point is that something can be achieved even as the politicians get cred for punching hippies. It’s a bit of kayfabe, but hopefully also a bit of win-win. Still it requires that the hippies remain mad! If the hippies are happy the show breaks down.
Now what happens is the “reasonable” proposals are made, the activists remain mad (as they are supposed to), and then people get mad at the activists for not being more grateful. That’s not how it works!
When activists, say, fight for $15, and then the politicians come back with, “well, that’s nuts, how about $12 in 3 years,” those politicians don’t get to run to their business donors and say, “see? we fought off the hippies for you,” if the hippies say, “wow, great, $12 in 3 years is good enough, thank you Mr. Politician.’
You see this a lot with the environmental groups as well.
State officials announced Thursday the next round of long-delayed and highly sought after cannabis dispensary licenses will be awarded in a lottery later this month.
The 21 qualifying applicants for the 75 new licenses were informed after a global accounting firm finished grading 1,667 applications, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
All those applicants received perfect scores and qualify as social equity candidates, meaning they were afforded a leg up in the application process as part of the state’s efforts to build diversity in an industry dominated by white men. […]
Applicants with tied scores in each of the 17 regions will receive a single entry into a region’s lottery for each application they submitted, the IDFPR said. Some firms gambled and paid to submit multiple applications at a cost of $2,500 each.
* From the administration…
Social Equity Applicants
Of the 21 applicants eligible to enter the lottery process, all identified as Social Equity Applicants under the Act. See 410 ILCS 705/1-10.
14 of the 21 applicants qualify as Social Equity Applicants because they have least 51% ownership and control by one or more individuals who have resided for at least 5 of the preceding 10 years in a Disproportionately Impacted Area.
4 of the 21 applicants qualify as Social Equity Applicants because they have at least 51% ownership and control by one or more individuals who have been arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense that is eligible for expungement under this Act.
2 of the 21 applicants qualify as Social Equity Applicants because they have at least 51% ownership and control by one or more individuals who have a parent, legal guardian, child, spouse, or dependent, or who was a dependent of an individual who, prior to the effective date of this Act, was arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense that is eligible for expungement under this Act.
1 of the 21 applicants qualifies as a Social Equity Applicant because it had a minimum of 10 full-time employees, at least 51% of whom either currently reside in a Disproportionately Impacted Area or have been arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense that is eligible for expungement under this Act or member of an impacted family.
Race
Of the 21 applicants, 13 are majority owned and controlled by people of color and 17 have at least one owner who is a person of color.
Gender
Of the 21 applicants, 16 have at least one owner who is a woman.
Age
The age range of the majority owners of the 21 applicants is 26 to 77 years old.
* But the small number of qualifying applicants for the large number of licenses has infuriated several folks. Here’s Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside)…
That list is a total disappointment and a punch in the gut to the small business owners who were looking for an opportunity. 75 licenses are going to 21 applicants. Mostly shill companies. The lottery should not take place until wholesale changes happen. At this moment when our country demands racial equity, the administration has screwed us!
“I’m disappointed. This is disheartening,” state Sen. Cristina Castro, whose district stretches from Elgin to Hoffman Estates, said after hearing from several constituents who didn’t make the cut. “We had quite a few minority-led groups. Many of them paid thousands and thousands of dollars to apply and were incredibly disappointed. The same names won in every region. Given everything going on today in the discussion about social equity, we had a huge opportunity to make a mark. But we failed. I want to see where and how this came about.”
Applicants were allowed to seek multiple licenses in each of 17 regions. Several applicants are seeking licenses in every district. Each license cost $2,500 to submit. “You saw the same names in every region,” Welch said. “There’s no way for a real social equity applicant to afford to apply for licenses in every region. That shows it was big-money people who made the list. […]
Ron Holmes, co-founder of consulting firm Majority Minority Group in Chicago, worked with more than 30 applicants, none of which was successful. “The people most impacted by the war on drugs were not successful today. Folks spent a substantial amount of money on this process. They’re going to have to find a way to put their lives back together at a time when the economy isn’t flush with jobs or opportunity.”
The move by Griffin sets up a battle among billionaires over the fate of the proposed tax amendment with Pritzker, who is an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune.
Pritzker already has pumped $56.5 million into the Vote Yes for Fairness political fund, which is promoting passage of the amendment, which is before voters on the Nov. 3 ballot. […]
Prior to Griffin’s contribution, which was reported Thursday, the anti-amendment coalition had received $950,000 in donations. They included $100,000 apiece from a trust run by real estate mogul Sam Zell, MacNeil Automotive Products of Bolingbrook which produces WeatherTech products, Craig Duchossois, who runs the diversified Duchossois Group, and Jay Bergman, president of Hinsdale-based Petco Petroleum Corp.
*** UPDATE *** Ken Griffin, Citadel Founder & CEO…
People aren’t waiting until November to vote against the economic hardship created by the Springfield’s spending addiction – they’ve been voting with their feet for the past decade as Illinois has lost more residents than any other state in the nation. In that time, two tax increases have already failed to improve our situation, and what’s now being marketed to voters under the guise of a “fair tax” is nothing more than a graduated tax scheme engineered to extract the greatest amount of money possible from all Illinois taxpayers. As we’ve seen in other states with a graduated tax scheme, everyone inevitably pays a higher rate. It’s time the Governor and Illinois legislature stop taking advantage of constituents and wasting hard-earned taxpayer dollars. It’s time for the Governor and the legislature to focus on spending our money wisely to provide for better schools, better public safely, better infrastructure and greater opportunities for all our citizens.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Vote Yes For Fairness Chairman Quentin Fulks…
Ken Griffin and his billionaire friends have collectively made more than $42 billion a week since the Coronavirus pandemic began, and yet he pays the same tax rate as our essential workers. Mr. Griffin reportedly made $1.5 billion last year, and under the Fair Tax, he would have had to pay $45 million more in taxes while 97% of Illinoisans would have seen their taxes go down or stay the same. It’s no surprise he’s now doing everything he can to protect the special deal he gets under Illinois’ current tax system. If Mr. Griffin would like to explain why he thinks it’s fair that he pays the same tax rate as our nurses and grocery store clerks, that’s a conversation we welcome having
* Vote Yes for Fair Tax chairman John Bouman…
Yesterday—the day that unions representing more than 1 million Illinois workers stood up to support Fair Tax reform—the state’s richest billionaire Ken Griffin spent $20 million to protect the broken status quo.
Griffin took home $1.5 billion in 2019 alone, yet paid the same state income tax rate as teachers, nurses, grocery store clerks and other essential workers. That’s wrong and it’s exactly why Illinois needs the Fair Tax amendment.
To end the sweet deals for the super-rich, cut taxes for everyone under $250,000 a year, make the wealthy pay their fair share and invest in shared priorities like education and health care, it’s time to Vote Yes for Fair Tax
* Coalition To Stop The Proposed Tax Hike Amendment…
We are encouraged that people from throughout Illinois, especially bipartisan small business owners, are responding positively to our message that this is the worst possible time to raise taxes. The Coalition welcomes support from anyone who believes we must stop Springfield Politicians from having new power to increase income taxes on every group of taxpayers, whenever they want.
The Constitutional Amendment sets no limit on the number of tax brackets that can be created and no limit on how high tax rates can be increased on groups of individual taxpayers – including middle-income families.
If passed, it would immediately result in billions in new taxes that would be especially devastating to over 100,000 small businesses, family farmers and large employers –causing tens of thousands of lost jobs that hurt women and minorities the most.
* Moving right along…
NEW: The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has again sided with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in a challenge to his COVID-19 restrictions, siding against the Illinois Republican Party. pic.twitter.com/8OGjaRy9Yy
ILGOP announces that former Republican state Rep. fired from IDOC for "inappropriately touching state employees at a Christmas party" is on the executive board of the new Illinois Black Republican Coalition https://t.co/v2cwOnD6yFpic.twitter.com/nkddeZpgT0
* Jeanne Ives has complained for a while now about how Democratic US Rep. Sean Casten won’t debate her. But…
The Jeanne for Congress campaign has made the decision not to participate in the Editorial Board endorsement processes with the Daily Herald, SunTimes or Northwest Herald. […]
We value a free and fair press. And we are happy to continue to work with those in the media who report with fairness and accuracy. But we won’t continue the charade. We are not going to pretend that our message and ideas have been fairly or accurately represented by these three outlets, or that they have held our opponents to the same level of scrutiny. We can simply no longer trust in the objectivity of the Daily Herald, SunTimes and Northwest Herald.
* On to our last topic. IDPH press release…
Earlier this week, a slowdown in data processing within Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) systems affected the reporting of tests due to the large volume of testing occurring in Illinois. All available resources were deployed to improve the data systems, which are now fixed, and the backlog created by the slowdown has been cleared. Two system upgrades were put in place and the systems now have significantly faster processing capacity. Although the slowdown did delay the reporting of some additional aggregate numbers, it did not affect the reporting of positive or negative results to individuals in any way.
IDPH today announced 5,368 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 29 additional confirmed deaths.
Bond County: 1 male 70s
Cook County: 1 male 40s, 2 males 50s, 2 females 70s, 1 male 80s
Cumberland County: 1 female 90s
Edgar County: 1 female 90s
Henry County: 1 male 90s
Kankakee County: 1 male 90s
Lake County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s
LaSalle County: 1 female 80s
Macoupin County: 1 male 70s
Madison County: 2 male 70s
McHenry County: 1 male 80s
McLean County: 1 male 90s
Moultrie County: 1 female 90s
Perry County: 1 male 60s
Richland County: 1 female 90s
Rock Island County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 90s
Stark County: 1 male 80s
Tazewell County: 1 female 80s
Will County: 1 female 70s
Williamson County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 245,371 cases, including 8,143 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from August 28 – September 3 is 4.1%. Using a 7-day rolling average for this metric helps account for any variation in day to day data collection, such as a data processing slowdown, and provides the public and decisions makers with a consistent picture of trends over time. As of last night, 1,621 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 360 patients were in the ICU and 155 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 149,273 specimens for a total of 4,309,941.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
* Also from IDPH…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 29 counties in Illinois are considered to be at a warning level for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A county enters a warning level when two or more COVID-19 risk indicators that measure the amount of COVID-19 increase.
Twenty-nine counties are currently reported at a warning level – Boone, Bureau, Clinton, Coles, Cumberland, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Greene, Henry, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Lake, Lawrence, Madison, McLean, Monroe, Pulaski, Randolph, Rock Island, Shelby, Stark, St. Clair, Union, Wabash, Warren, Williamson, Will.
Although the reasons for counties reaching a warning level varies, some of the common factors for an increase in cases and outbreaks are associated with college parties, weddings, large gatherings, bars and clubs, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings, travel to neighboring states, and spread among members of the same household who are not isolating at home. Cases connected to schools are beginning to be reported. General transmission of the virus in the community is also increasing.
Public health officials are observing people not social distancing, gathering in large groups, and not using face coverings. In some counties, local law enforcement and states’ attorneys are not enforcing important mitigation measures like social distancing and the wearing of face coverings. Additionally, some people refuse to participate in contact tracing and are not providing information on close contacts or answering the phone. Individuals are also waiting to get tested believing their symptoms are allergies or some other cause.
Several counties are taking swift action and implementing mitigation measures to help slow spread of the virus, including increasing testing opportunities, working with schools, meeting with local leaders, and educating businesses and large venues about the importance of mitigation measures.
IDPH uses numerous indicators when determining if a county is experiencing stable COVID-19 activity, or if there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the county. A county is considered at the warning level when at least two of the following metrics triggers a warning.
New cases per 100,000 people. If there are more than 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the county, this triggers a warning.
Number of deaths. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly number of deaths increases more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
Weekly test positivity. This metric indicates a warning when the 7-day test positivity rate rises above 8%.
ICU availability. If there are fewer than 20% of intensive care units available in the region, this triggers a warning.
Weekly emergency department visits. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly percent of COVID-19-like-illness emergency department visits increase by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
Weekly hospital admissions. A warning is triggered when the weekly number of hospital admissions for COVID-19-like-illness increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
Tests perform. This metric is used to provide context and indicate if more testing is needed in the county.
Clusters. This metric looks at the percent of COVID-19 cases associated with clusters or outbreaks and is used to understand large increase in cases.
These metrics are intended to be used for local level awareness to help local leaders, businesses, local health departments, and the public make informed decisions about personal and family gatherings, as well as what activities they choose to do. The metrics are updated weekly, from the Sunday-Saturday of the prior week.
* Related…
* Metro East school district decides to return to in-person learning: The Superintendent of Collinsville Schools announced to families today the district will start hybrid learning on Tuesday, September 8. Students will attend two days a week and learn remotely the other three. … The Metro East area of Illinois had a seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate of 9.6%, according to numbers released by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health on Tuesday. Two weeks ago, the positivity rate was 9.2%.
* Covid-19 has killed more police officers this year than all other causes combined, data shows: At the state level, Texas stands out for having the highest number of law enforcement covid fatalities with at least 21, according to NLEOMF. At least 16 of those represent officers with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which manages the state’s correctional facilities. Louisiana has 12 covid-related officer deaths. Florida, New Jersey and Illinois round out the top five with eight each.
* Herd Immunity Is Not a Strategy: But “herd-immunity strategy” is a contradiction in terms, in that herd immunity is the absence of a strategy. Herd immunity is an important public-health concept, developed and used to guide vaccination policy. It involves a calculation of the percentage of people in a population who would need to achieve immunity in order to prevent an outbreak. The same concept offers little such guidance during an ongoing pandemic without a vaccine. If it were a military strategy, it would mean letting the enemy tear through you until they stop because there’s no one left to attack.
House Special Investigative Committee, prompted by HGOP demands that Speaker Madigan face disciplinary measures, to meet on September 10 in Springfield pic.twitter.com/FIT39PRRz9
State Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch released the following statement Friday regarding the scheduled first meeting of the House Special Investigating Committee:
“The Special Investigating Committee has scheduled its first meeting for Thursday, September 10 at 9 a.m. in Springfield. As we begin work of this committee, I ask members of the committee to come prepared to conduct themselves in a manner reflective of the serious business before us.”
