* WGEM TV…
Judge Roger Thomson sided with the Quincy Public School Board of Education Thursday morning by granting their attorney’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging QPS’s ability to require students to wear face masks and submit to temperature checks to attend in-person learning.
The judge said the board has the power to adopt rules to govern attendance when it is necessary to maintain school function or protect health and safety.
Attorney Thomas DeVore filed the lawsuit on behalf of parent Roni Quinn. DeVore cited several previous cases when the courts ruled against schools’ abilities to pass rules governing attendance in relation to smallpox vaccinations.
Judge Thomson said those cases were between 1897 and 1924. Thomson said in the last 96 to 120 years the General Assembly has acted to significantly change the school code to expand powers and duties granted to school boards.
Thomson granted the motion to dismiss without prejudice, which allows DeVore to file an amended suit within the next 21 days.
Maybe DeVore should try to move the suit to Clay County. /s
*** UPDATE *** WMAY…
Appearing live on WMAY, Thomas DeVore said he is filing suit against Mayor Jim Langfelder’s executive order mandating businesses to enforce face mask and social distancing rules or risk fines and possible loss of food service or liquor licenses. DeVore is representing Fox Run restaurant in the case.
He says Langfelder lacks the legal authority to issue such orders… and calls the lawsuit the easiest case he’s seen yet among the multiple suits he’s filed related to pandemic restrictions.
Maybe it’s easy in Clay County. Sangamon could turn out to be a different animal altogether.
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* The vote was unanimous, according to Greg Hinz…
The huge Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System announced Executive Director Richard Ingram resigned Aug. 3, three days after the TRS board placed him on administrative leave “due to performance issues covered by his employment contract.”. […]
According to the agency’s last annual financial report, it concluded fiscal 2019 on June 30, 2019, with $53.3 billion in assets but $134.4 billion liabilities, leaving it with a funded ratio of just 40.6 percent.
In a preface to the report, Ingram openly discussed the possibility that TRS could go “insolvent,” a development he blamed on consistent underfunding by state government. The same report, however, disclosed TRS’ return on assets in fiscal 2019 plummeted from $4 billion to $2.6 billion.
Pritzker aides did not immediately return calls for comment, but sources familiar with TRS tell me there were disputes over investment philosophy and how low to set the fund’s assumed rate of return. Setting that figure lower would force the state to contribute more each year now, something that would pull money from other, arguably more politically popular funding programs.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Greg’s story has been updated…
An investigation by led by former U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon has led to the ouster of the head of the state’s largest government pension plan.
The huge Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System confirmed this afternoon that Executive Director Richard Ingram resigned after the board received results of a review into “performance-based issues” from Chicago law firm King & Spalding, where Fardon is now a partner in the firm’s government investigations practice.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Bruce Rushton…
Ingram’s resignation comes after the recent termination of Jana Bergschneider, the board’s chief financial officer. Bergschneider was paid $191,300 last year, according to Illinois comptroller records. Ingram was paid $303,000 per year, according to the comptroller.
David Urbanek, TRS spokesman, said that he could not give details surrounding the departures of Bergschneider and Ingram, saying that they are personnel matters. Devon Bruce, board chairman did not respond to an emailed request for an interview. After Illinois Times asked to speak with Bruce, Urbanek told the paper that the board chairman is not giving interviews.
“However, I have been authorized to provide the media with one addition piece of information: The Board’s unanimous vote came after an investigation of issues relating to Mr. Ingram’s contract conducted by the Chicago law firm of King and Spalding,” Urbanek wrote. “Leading the investigation for King and Spalding was its managing partner, Zachary Fardon, the former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.”
Asked whether the investigation found any evidence of criminal conduct or whether any law enforcement agency has been contacted, Urbanek wrote in an email that he had no comment.
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* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,953 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 21 additional confirmed deaths.
Bond County: 1 female 60s
Cook County: 1 female 30s, 2 males 70s, 2 males 80s
DeKalb County: 1 female 60s
DuPage County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
Gallatin County: 1 male 70s
Kane County: 1 male 90s
Knox County: 1 male 90s
Lake County: 1 male 90s
Madison County: 1 female 90s
Rock Island County: 1 male 80s
Saline County: 1 female 60s
Union County: 1 male 50s
Will County: 1 male 80s
Williamson County: 1 unknown 60s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 188,424 cases, including 7,594 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 41,686 specimens for a total of 2,937,749. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from July 30 – August 5 is 4.0%. As of last night, 1,517 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 346 patients were in the ICU and 132 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
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.
…Adding… Sun-Times…
“In the next two to four weeks, we’re really going to start seeing the effects,” University of Chicago epidemiologist Dr. Emily Landon said. “We just started seeing an increase in patients in the hospital in the last week and a half. Deaths come into the picture a couple of weeks after that.”
That means the worst could be yet to come, as the Illinois Department of Public Health on Tuesday reported the latest 1,471 cases of the disease, marking two straight weeks with four-digit daily caseloads.
Illinois has averaged about 1,500 new cases per day over those two weeks — almost double the daily case average in June — but the 19 latest COVID-19 deaths reported Tuesday are just slightly above the average of 17 deaths per day during that time frame.
It takes some time for deaths to catch up to case trends in either direction. When Illinois’ coronavirus curve hit a valley with just 473 new cases reported June 15, the state still averaged about 42 deaths per day for the following two weeks, including 84 on June 17.
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* News-Gazette…
Illinois’ county sheriffs got a big win Monday in their ongoing battle with Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and they wasted little time in taking advantage of it.
A Logan County judge found that the governor has no authority to bar transfers of sentenced inmates or those on holds for parole violations from local jails to state prisons. The judge’s decision prompted Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman, among others throughout the state, to take immediate advantage of the order.
“We took 20” to the Department of Corrections’ intake facility at Stateville on Tuesday, Chief Deputy Shannon Barrett said. Another 35 inmates are awaiting transfer, and Barrett said “we’ll get them there as soon as possible.”
“There’s a whole line of (county jail vans containing inmates) there today,” Barrett said.
* Pantagraph…
“Space issues” are continuing at the McLean County jail after the Illinois Department of Corrections turned away at the prison gates 33 inmates scheduled for transfer, Sheriff Jon Sandage said Tuesday. […]
Vans filled with 36 inmates left Bloomington at 5 a.m. Tuesday for Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, but IDOC officials said they could take no more than three.
“We were hoping to get rid of 36, but we only got rid of three,” Sandage told the McLean County Justice Committee Tuesday evening. “They said they ran out of space.”
Judge Jonathan Wright ruled in Logan County Monday that the IDOC must accept inmates within 14 days of a transfer. The sheriff’s association estimated about 2,000 inmates are awaiting transfer to state facilities, including about 44 in McLean County.
* WGLT…
“Our first van left Bloomington at 5 a.m.,” said Sandage. But counties from across the state also were bringing their prisoners. So, by 2 p.m. when McLean County’s five vans reached the gate, the prison staff said it already was full.
Yeah, maybe they need a better system in place. Or the sheriffs could call ahead before just hitting the road.
…Adding… The county where the judge lives…
The Logan County Sheriff’s Office attempted to transfer seven inmates to the state-run Graham Correctional Center in Hillsboro on Wednesday night, but when the transport vehicle arrived at the state prison, two of the seven inmates tested positive for Covid-19.
The Department of Corrections would not accept the inmates who tested positive, which sparked a short standoff between the state and local agencies. The Logan County transport vehicle insisted the inmates be transferred, and refused to leave the parking lot for a period of about two hours after their tests came back positive, two sources said.
A sergeant at the Logan County jail initially declined to comment on the incident when reached by phone on Wednesday night. Moments later, the vehicle left the state prison parking lot and returned to the county jail in Lincoln with all seven inmates still in their custody.
* ACLU…
News reports in Illinois indicate that a number of county sheriffs have begun the process of transferring prisoners held in county jails to the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). These transfers had been blocked by an order from Governor Pritzker as part of the State’s strategy to curb the spread of COVID-19 in state correctional facilities. After a group of county sheriffs challenged the order, a Logan County Judge ruled against the Governor’s order, and sheriffs quickly began the transfer process before the ruling could be appealed.
The following statement can be attributed to Camille Bennett, Director of the Corrections Reform Project, ACLU of Illinois:
“It is regrettable that some sheriffs appear anxious to resume transfers to IDOC even before the legal process has played out. Elected officials should be mindful of health risks to those being transferred as well as those inside IDOC facilities, including staff and their families.
We know that prisons and jails have been vectors for spread of the coronavirus and moving people in and out – including sheriffs’ personnel managing the transfers – only increases spread of the virus.
The State deserves an opportunity to appeal this ruling before the risk of spread is magnified. Unnecessarily subjecting detainees, staff, and communities to a potentially lethal virus without appropriate public health precautions is needlessly cruel.”
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* Press release…
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill) released the following statement on his positive COVID-19 test:
“This morning, I tested positive for COVID-19. Since the beginning of this pandemic, I have taken my temperature twice daily because serving in Congress means I interact with many people, and it’s my duty to protect the health of those I serve. This morning, my temperature clocked in at 99 degrees Fahrenheit, which is higher than normal for me.
“Because of the high temperature, my wife and I received a test this morning. While my test came back positive, my wife’s test came back negative. My staff who I’ve worked with in-person this week have received negative tests as well. Other than a higher-than-normal temperature, I am showing no symptoms at this time and feel fine.
“Having consulted with the Office of the Attending Physician (OAP) of Congress and local county health officials, our office is contacting constituents I have met with in-person within the previous 48 hours, per CDC guidelines.
“My staff and I take COVID-19 very seriously. My wife is a nurse and a cancer survivor, which puts her in an at-risk category like so many Americans. My office and I have always followed and will continue to follow CDC guidelines, use social distancing, and wear masks or face coverings when social distancing cannot be maintained.
“I will postpone public events our office has planned for the coming days until I receive a negative test. I will continue to serve my constituents virtually from home while I quarantine. Our district offices throughout central and southwestern Illinois remain open for constituents as well.
“During these challenging times, protecting the public health is my highest priority. If you’re out in public, use social distancing, and when you can’t social distance, please wear a mask. All of us must do our part. That’s what it will take to get through this pandemic.”
Get well soon, Rodney.
…Adding… A bit of context…
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* The governor was asked today whether a COVID-19 vaccine (if/when it is developed) would be mandatory for students who want to return to school…
No, I can’t imagine that. What I do think is that once a vaccine is available, I think many, many people will want to get vaccinated. We obviously want to get to herd immunity. We have for example with the measles vaccine just to give you an idea about, I think 95% coverage in the state of Illinois, people actually getting the measles vaccine measles vaccine or at least above 90, actually I think we’re at 98.
Um, vaccines are already mandatory for public school attendance. Why wouldn’t this one be?
…Adding… It has been pointed out that there’s no vaccine testing being done on children and the approval process for kids could take longer. Still.
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ComEd pleads not guilty
Wednesday, Aug 5, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Megan Crepeau and Jason Meisner at the Tribune…
ComEd pleaded not guilty to an expansive federal bribery charge Wednesday during what will likely be its final court hearing until 2023.
The plea was a formality, since the company has entered an agreement to defer prosecution. ComEd will pay a record $200 million fine and cooperate in the ongoing probe of its lobbying practices in Springfield in exchange for the charges being dropped at the end of the agreement period.
* More…
…Adding… Steve Daniels at Crain’s…
Exelon CEO Chris Crane said [yesterday] the company will decide early next year whether to close nuclear plants in Illinois, even as he acknowledged the company’s standing in Springfield had been damaged by the revelations of corruption at its Commonwealth Edison unit.
Crane in his comments during the quarterly earnings call with analysts attempted to walk a line between contrition for ComEd’s recent acknowledgements of paying off close associates and lieutenants of House Speaker Michael Madigan and the pressure tactics he’s used before to win state support for subsidies.
“We will not run plants and lose free cash flow or earnings on assets that are not supporting themselves,” Crane said.
“It’s reality,” he added. “We’ve shut two units down in recent years if we could not see a path to sustainability of those assets in the portfolio. Not the greatest decisions we’ve ever had to make, and we understand the impact of that on communities we serve and the environmental goals and economic impact of the states. But maintaining an investment grade (rating) that can support the remaining facilities is our main focus.”
Good luck with that, dude.
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* June…
A group of landlords have accused Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker of overstepping his authority by extending his hold on evictions statewide amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The landlords say Pritzker has illegally interfered with their private contracts, unconstitutionally seized their property, and forced them to subsidize housing for tenants – including some who simply have refused to pay. […]
In short, the landlords said, the public health emergency that was used to justify the eviction moratorium no longer exists, or at least has abated to the point that the moratorium should now be considered illegal.
In addition, the plaintiffs claimed the evictions moratorium exceeded the governor’s authority.
* Circuit Judge John Anderson has ruled against the plaintiffs. The copy I have doesn’t allow for copy and paste, so I’ll summarize.
Judge Anderson noted that five federal judges and “virtually every” Illinois state court judge have upheld the governor’s authority to issue the executive orders. Just one judge, in Clay County, has ruled against the governor.
Anderson then went on to write that the Clay County judge’s rulings are “bereft of any meaningful legal analysis, and are wholly unpersuasive for that reason.” He also pointed out that the Clay County judge’s rulings, “like other trial court rulings,” aren’t binding on his court.
Heh.
The judge then went on to explain why he felt the other rulings by judges outside Clay County were persuasive and rejected the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary injunction on all but one count, which he said didn’t look like a strong argument. It’s worth a read.
* Now, on to Clay County…
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is now facing an Indirect Civil Contempt Motion in the Darren Bailey lawsuit to include a request he be placed in custody in the county jail.
The motion is based on the fact the Governor has ignored the Court’s prior orders and continues to issue Executive Orders as it relates to COVID-19.
The motion requests that Pritzker “be placed in temporary custody within the Clay County Jail until he purges himself by rescinding the above-mentioned executive orders.”
*** UPDATE *** The governor was asked about the Clay County filing today…
All I can say is the rulings out of Clay County have been ridiculous. There’s no other court that has ruled as they have on the matter that they ruled on. And in fact there’s a judge on Friday who specifically pointed to Clay County and said that the decision by that judge was bereft of any legal analysis. And I think that’s accurate.
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* Zorn…
Democratic state Rep. Lindsey LaPointe this week has thrown in with the brave band of rebels in her party calling for Michael Madigan to step down from his role as Illinois House speaker and state Democratic Party chair.
“I’m not really interested in issuing a press release or making a big announcement, but yes, I think he should resign,” LaPointe told me in a phone interview. “That’s what I’m prepared to say on the record.”
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
The following is a joint statement from Ald. Matt Martin (47th), Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), Ald. Maria Hadden (49th), Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd) and Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st):
“As progressive leaders on the Chicago City Council, we feel strongly that our current circumstances require a change in leadership. Speaker Madigan’s entanglements in multiple scandals cast a pall of corruption at a time when we must be focused on protecting working families, seniors and students. He should do what is best for the state and step down from his roles as Speaker of the House and Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois.”
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* The CTU has been claiming that Mayor Lightfoot wants the union to force the schools to close so she doesn’t have to. Welp…
* In other news…
Today, the Illinois Education Association (IEA) and the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP) announced a medical review panel that will determine if school district re-opening plans are safe for students, staff and communities.
The panel, which will consist of more than a dozen doctors, will review district plans that educators fear may not be safe under public health guidelines. The panel will then determine whether the plans meet a list of commonly agreed upon protocols.
“We will be watching to make sure our students’ and educators’ health and safety is being protected. And if the panel finds a district is operating in a way that puts lives at risk, we will do everything in our power to keep people safe,” IEA President Kathi Griffin said.
The partnership came about after the IEA discovered that the State of Illinois had encouraged districts to resume in-person learning and set forth public health guidelines, but did not design a system where districts’ “Return to Learn” plans could be either assessed or enforced.
IEA President Kathi Griffin said the IEA has worked collaboratively with the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Department of Public Health, with all of the education stakeholders in Illinois, but when it became clear there was no method of assessment or enforcement of health and safety measures for the in-person education plans, the union decided to make its own.
“There is nothing more important to us than the health and safety of the students of this state and those who work to teach, feed, lead, drive, coach, mentor and provide essential services to them in our schools,” Griffin said. “We kept asking, ‘OK, so if we don’t think the district’s plan meets the state standards or the AAP’s standards, where do we go?’ No one could answer. So, we turned to our longtime partners at ICAAP.”
ICAAP has enlisted a dozen doctors to review plans and is working to secure more.
“ICAAP is happy to partner with the IEA to provide expert guidance on our shared goal of opening schools safely in Illinois,” said Daniel Johnson, MD, FAAP member of ICAAP Executive Committee and Interim Chief of Section of Pediatric Infectious Disease at University of Chicago.
“Schools are an important safety net for children and we look forward to working to protect the health of students, teachers and staff while working to ensure access to the essential services provided at school.”
If a district’s plan is deemed unsafe by the panel of medical experts from ICAAP, the local will inform the district of the changes that need to be made to ensure all are safe and the environment is healthy. If that isn’t done, the IEA will work with the local to enforce the health and safety guidelines that have been set forth by experts.
“As we promised last week when we announced in partnership with the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), no avenue or action is off the table – the courts, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board – nothing, including health and safety strikes. The entire weight of the IEA and the IFT will be used in whatever way is necessary to protect the students of this state and those who educate them,” Griffin said.
*** UPDATE *** The two-step completes…
Chicago Public Schools is expected to announce as soon as Wednesday an all-remote learning plan to start the school year amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a move that could avert a potential Chicago Teachers Union strike, sources said.
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Crackdowns have consequences
Tuesday, Aug 4, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* July 8…
Following an especially bloody holiday weekend in Chicago that saw dozens wounded and at least 17 killed by gunfire, police Superintendent David Brown has announced plans to create a permanent, specialized citywide unit to stop sudden flare-ups in violence and other crime, officials said.
Brown first told the Tribune in May he was contemplating forming such a unit, a controversial crime-fighting strategy that has occasionally been used here.
Details of the new unit were still being worked out this week, but once formed, it will be the first time CPD has used such a roving team on a permanent basis since 2011. That’s when two similar citywide units were disbanded amid concerns about their aggressive style and after a previous unit was rocked by a corruption scandal.
* Former House Deputy Majority Leader Art Turner, Sr. told me he thought he had prepared himself Saturday to drive to the suburbs to pick up a new F-150 truck by donning a pro-police shirt. But he never made it that far. Turner, who retired in 2010 after representing the city’s West Side for decades, managed to drive a block and a half from his home before he was pulled over by two CPD officers because he had no front license plate.
“I had my registration, I had the title, I had my insurance card and a driver’s license,” said Turner, who said he gave it all to the officer.
While the officers ran him through the computer, Turner called his wife and asked her to bring his plate to his car. But just after he hung up, he was ordered out of the car. He asked what was going on and was told they had a warrant for his arrest, he said.
Turner said he insisted to the officers that there must’ve been a mistake. He has no warrants out for him. But he was cuffed tightly, tossed in the back of the squad car and they were off to the station, with the other officer driving his car.
Except, Turner said, the officer driving the squad got lost. The two, he said, were part of that new roving citywide unit and apparently weren’t familiar with the area. So, he gave the police officer directions to the local station and the driver made a U-turn, while Turner complained that the cuffs were on too tight.
Turner said as soon as they walked into the station he shouted for a desk sergeant, but nobody came. He was placed into a cell and told to surrender his belt and his shoe laces.
Finally, a lieutenant who Turner knew from his years living in and representing the area came down to see what was going on.
Turns out, the Art Turner they were looking for was born in 1986, has tattoos up and down both arms and is over 6 feet tall. Art will be 70 soon, has no discernible tattoos and is not a tall man. A case of “mistaken identity” this is not.
This is all bad enough, but in the age of COVID-19, Turner is worried he may have been exposed to the virus while in the cell. “For the last five months, I can tell you the six people I’ve been around,” Turner said.
Turner, who had hernia surgery two months ago, went to the hospital to get his wrists checked and they referred him to an orthopedic doctor. He’s also filed a complaint.
* All of y’all who want the cops to get tough and crack down, just know that this sort of thing is an inevitable consequence in certain neighborhoods. Good and innocent people, particularly Black and Brown people, are swept up for no good reason. And then anger builds.
I’ve known Art Turner a very long time and I’ve never heard him so furious as he was yesterday on that phone call.
We gotta do better.
…Adding… CPD…
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) strives to treat all individuals our officers encounter with respect and any misconduct by officers will not be tolerated. A complaint has been received regarding this incident and an investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) is currently ongoing. Due to the open investigation, we are unable to comment further on this incident but we will ensure that if any wrongdoing is discovered by COPA, officers will be held accountable.
As a reminder, anyone who feels they have been mistreated by a CPD officer is encouraged to call 311 and file a complaint with COPA, who will investigate allegations of misconduct.
Also, this was a summer mobile unit.
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* Background is here if you need it. From Logan Lanes bowling center in Lincoln…
VERY EXCITING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!
The Illinois State Bowling Proprietors have settle their lawsuit against the State of Illinois and are now allowed to have 50% of their occupation instead of 50 people. We do need to separate groups of 50 by one pair of lanes. This means that all of our fall leagues are a go. All leagues will start after Labor Day this year. The schedules will be up at loganlanes.com on Thursday 8/6. This is a major decision for all the bowling alleys in Illinois and I am very thankful. I have many friends who have still not been able to open their centers in other states at all yet. GO BOWLING ITS NOT ONLY A FAMILY SPORT IT’S A LIFETIME SPORT!!!! PERFECT TIMING FOR THIS SINCE NATIONAL BOWLING DAY IS SATURDAY 8/8. Please share this big news on your page it will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Shawn
Logan Lanes
I checked with the governor’s office and was told “The lawsuit is in the process of being settled,” but the spokesperson didn’t have the exact parameters yet.
The lawsuit was filed in Dixon.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
Under the sports guidance released last week, bowling was included and was classified as a lower risk sport. Bowling alleys will need to follow that guidance like other sports facilities, as well as the bars and restaurant guidance for those portions of their facilities. These terms were agreed to in the settlement with the understanding that the venues will be subject to further mitigation if a region’s data requires it.
* Background…
The new guidance will allow 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is less.
Following IDPH guidance regarding their restaurant and bar portions of the venue will be required.
Owners will need to outline how they will provide 30 feet of distancing between groups and they will have to leave two lanes unused between large groups.
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* There are some noteworthy people and groups on this list, but I thought I’d highlight this one…
Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame announces 2020 inductees, virtual ceremony
The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame was founded in 1991 to honor people and entities, nominated by the community, who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Chicago. The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame inductees for 2020 were selected from a slate of candidates submitted by Chicago’s LGBT community. This year’s individuals, organization, businesses and “Friends of the Community” ( allies ) inductees are as follows: […]
Judy Baar Topinka (posthumous): for her support of LGBT causes when it was politically risky for anyone, Democrat or Republican, to be associated with the movement. The fact that she did so as a Republican showed an incredible amount of political courage. She supported the Illinois’ Marriage Equality Bill and during the November 20, 2013 ceremony at the University of Illinois at Chicago, when the state’s marriage equality bill was signed into law, Judy Baar Topinka was the only Republican speaker at the event. Judy Baar Topinka was “a consistent and firm supporter of gay rights. Even when attacked by members of her own party for her gay rights support, she never wavered.” She was truly a friend of the LGBTQ community.
They just don’t make ‘em like her anymore.
…Adding… Classic JBT…
“I just want to end by noting that I am available to be a flower girl and I’ll even waive the fee.”
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