*** UPDATED x1 *** New maps released
Friday, May 21, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Click here for the new Illinois House maps.
…Adding… Click here to see the slightly more detailed Senate maps.
If you want to compare them to the existing maps, click here.
Hopefully, we’ll get some more detailed maps soon because these ain’t great.
*** UPDATE *** Clickit…
…Adding… House GOP…
Below are statements from Republican members of Illinois House Redistricting Committee on the Democrats’ continued effort to gerrymander legislative redistricting maps:
“Tonight’s drop of partisan maps is yet another attempt to mislead voters in an effort to block fair elections,” said State Representative Tim Butler (R-Springfield), “after so many promises made by Democrats to have an open and transparent process involving the public. We continue our call upon Governor Pritzker to live up to his pledge to the people of Illinois and veto a map that was drawn by politicians like what we see here today.”
“Releasing new partisan maps late on a Friday night proves that the Mike Madigan playbook continues in the Illinois House,” said State Representative Ryan Spain (R-Peoria). “In a further attempt to skirt any transparency, Democrats dropped partisan maps drawn in a locked room by politicians who hand selected their voters.”
“The Democrats did not listen to the dozens of advocacy groups who have demanded transparency, accurate data, and an open process that takes politicians out of the map making,” said State Representative Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville). “This should not be a partisan process. We have long advocated for an independent commission, but the Democrats have turned their back on that idea.”
“I am, to say the least, dubious of the process and product of the legislative maps presented after 7 p.m. on a Friday night by the supermajority Democratic party,” said State Representative Dave Severin (R-Benton). “When Speaker Welch assumed his perch after 50 years of Madigan’s reign, he promised a “New Day” in Illinois. Unfortunately, we’re stuck in Groundhog’s Day with a partisan map, drawn by partisan politicians to protect their partisan advantage. Governor Pritzker has to keep his pledge to VETO this partisan map. This is step one in dealing with inherent, generational corruption that plagues our state, and will continue to unless JB Pritzker keeps his promise to VETO a map drawn by politicians FOR politicians.”
…Adding… House and Senate Democrats…
The Senate and House Redistricting Committees have released a proposed map of new legislative boundaries designed to comply with federal and state law and ensure the broad racial and geographic diversity of Illinois is reflected in the General Assembly.
The proposed map incorporates suggestions gathered during more than 45 public hearings held across the state as legislators sought input on how to best ensure communities across Illinois receive fair and equal representation. The proposal can be viewed at www.ilsenateredistricting.com and www.ilhousedems.com/redistricting. The public is encouraged to provide feedback during additional hearings that will take place next week before a map is voted on by the General Assembly.
“Redistricting is about making sure all voices are heard, and that’s exactly what this map accomplishes. This is a fair map that reflects the great diversity of our state and ensures every person receives equal representation in the General Assembly,” said Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee. “I’m grateful to all of the community groups and organizations who engaged in this process in a meaningful way and look forward to continuing those conversations in the coming days.”
“This proposed map amplifies the diverse voices of the people of Illinois, allows communities to be represented by people of their choice and ensures that every person in our state has a say in their government,” said Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, D-Cicero, Chairperson of the House Redistricting Committee. “This fair map reflects input from grassroots individuals and community organizations across our state and I’m thankful for every person who took the time to make their voices heard. I look forward to continued engagement as Illinoisans provide feedback to this proposal in additional public hearings.”
Next week, there will be four hearings on the proposed map:
· Tuesday, May 25 at 4:00 PM – Joint House and Senate Hearing
· Tuesday, May 25 at 6:00 PM – House Hearing
· Wednesday, May 26 at 4:00 PM – Joint House and Senate Hearing
· Wednesday, May 26 at 6:00 PM – Senate Hearing
These will be hybrid hearings with the opportunity for in-person and virtual testimony. Details can be found online at www.ilga.gov.
Redistricting occurs every ten years as each state is required to draw new boundaries for legislative districts in response to shifts in population. While the Illinois Constitution does not require the use of U.S. Census data to draft a map, the Constitution does contain a June 30 deadline for the General Assembly to craft a map.
To fulfill this constitutional obligation and prevent the redistricting process from being turned over to a committee of partisan, political appointees, the proposed map was drafted using population information from the American Community Survey’s (ACS) 5-year estimate for 2019, in addition to robust public input. The ACS estimate varies by just 0.3 percent from the state’s official population count released by the U.S. Census Bureau in April.
Top of mind for the Redistricting Committee is conforming to several constitutional and statutory standards, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act prohibits the drawing of redistricting plans that results in the denial or abridgment of the right to vote based on race, color, or membership in a language minority. Building on that federal law, Illinois Democrats spearheaded the passage and implementation of the Illinois Voting Rights Act in 2011, which also ensures redistricting plans are crafted in a way that preserves clusters of minority voters if they are of size or cohesion to exert collective electoral power.
In Illinois, legislative redistricting maps must also meet three requirements: districts must be substantially equal in population, compact and contiguous.
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* Headline…
Powerful State Senator Got Caribbean Trips, Campaign Donations And Cash Through Loretto Hospital
* Trips…
Loretto’s tax reports do not state who paid for Lightford’s trips.
Carroll said wholly owned insurance companies are not uncommon in the health care industry, and Loretto was forced to create its own firm several years ago “because there was not a single provider in the United States that would provide the insurance required for it to operate.”
“Members of boards who create captives also often serve on those boards, and this is no different in the case of Loretto,” Carroll said. “Board members of captives are required by Cayman Islands’ law to travel at least once a year to the island to attend one of their two annual board meetings. […]
In 2008 and 2012, Lightford used her campaign fund to reimburse Westside for bills totaling $1,833 related to Westside board meetings or other functions in the Cayman Islands, where Westside is registered.
So, at least in those two years, the hospital didn’t pay for her trips.
* Campaign contributions…
Loretto’s former hospital management firm and top contractor, Renaissance Hospital Management Inc., gave $38,350 to Lightford’s political fund between 2002 and 2014, records show.
Lightford reported raising $1.1 million during that timeframe, so that was about 3.5 percent of her total haul.
* “Cash”…
But she has been paid through the hospital’s wholly owned insurance company, Westside Insurance Co. Lightford’s state ethics disclosures list her connection to Westside but do not divulge what she was paid or even her title with the firm.
Illinois lawmakers are required to disclose the name of organizations they received more than $1,200 from in a year but do not have to detail how much money they made or what work they did.
We need a better disclosure law.
*** UPDATE *** Leader Lightford…
Rich, the insinuation that I am somehow “financially benefiting” from the hospital’s captive insurance company is beyond ridiculous. I receive less than the $5,000 a year that’s required to be reported. I report it anyway in an effort to be transparent only to turnaround and now have it used against me. I have followed what are standard business practices, and I am proud of the work I have done for this vital health care resource in a tragically underserved community.
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It’s just a bill
Friday, May 21, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SJ-R…
An Illinois House committee Thursday unanimously approved a bill designed to create more racial, ethnic and gender diversity in the ownership of marijuana dispensaries.
“There is an entire ecosystem that needs to start to grow,” Toi Hutchinson, senior adviser to Gov. JB Pritzker on cannabis policy, said before the House Executive Committee voted 15-0 to send House Bill 1443 to the full House for a vote as soon as Friday.
Sponsored by state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, the bill would make the first major changes to the state’s recreational marijuana industry since Illinois lawmakers first allowed the cultivation, sale and use of cannabis to people 21 and older in Illinois in January 2020.
* Sun-Times…
Two of the state Senate’s newest members — the chamber’s first LGTBQ senator and a Republican farmer from southern Illinois — clashed Thursday over legislation meant to standardize sex education curriculums in the state.
State Sen. Darren Bailey, a downstate Republican running for governor, accused the bill’s Democratic sponsors of “pushing perversion in our schools.”
North Side state Sen. Mike Simmons, who is gay, called Bailey’s remark “deeply offensive” and asked that it be stricken from the record. […]
The Senate bill on sex education seeks to standardize the curriculum in Illinois schools, ensuring each grade “has the opportunity to be safe and … have access to age- and developmentally appropriate and medically accurate information,” according to the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago.
* People get all upset at the littlest things…
A bill that would require schools to provide free menstrual hygiene products in all bathrooms for grades 4 through 12 passed the Illinois House and will now be up for consideration in the Senate. […]
Rep. Andrew Chesney, R-Freeport, said he was mostly concerned about the language requiring the products to be available in all bathrooms, which would include male bathrooms.
“There have been male and female bathrooms a hundred years plus in this country and nobody has had a problem taking care of the sensitive nature of being a certain gender,” Chesney said.
“But to perhaps put female products in male bathrooms is not only confusing to a sixth grader, but completely inapplicable. I would really appreciate it if the sponsor would stay the hell out of my bathrooms,” he added.
Hernandez said this is necessary so that male friends can help out their classmates in emergency situations. Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Addison, added that this is also a more inclusive approach to protect transgender youth.
* I’ve been telling subscribers about this development for several days…
Measures in the Illinois House and Senate cued up for possible passage before the end of the month could ask voters to enshrine union protections in the state constitution.
State Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, has Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 11 making its way through the Senate.
“It proposes to amend the Illinois Constitution to provide that no law passes on or after the amendment’s enactment may prohibit the ability of workers to collectively bargain over wages, hours, terms and conditions,” Villivalam said during committee Wednesday.
The measure advanced out of committee without any debate.
If passed by the Senate, it would need to pass the House. A similar bill has been filed in the house. Voters would have the ultimate say in the 2022 statewide election.
…Adding… Overwhelming majority…
…Adding… “No” votes were Bailey, Barickman, Leader McConchie, Plummer, Stewart, Tracy and Sally Turner.
* Effingham Daily News editorial…
We’re all for a a bill that passed out of an Illinois Senate committee this week that would require high schools to offer instruction about understanding and evaluating news and social media as part of their computer literacy courses.
Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, questioned how objective schools could be in teaching students how to evaluate news stories by separating factual news from “fake news.”
She was told that teachers would be trained in how to instruct students in media usage and that the difference between fake news and real news is the same as the difference between fiction and nonfiction.
“So the teachers themselves would be deciding what’s fake news, by their own opinion,” Bryant said, according to Capitol News Illinois.
It sounds to us like Bryant could use that course herself.
Teaching critical thinking should always be central to the mission of our schools. That doesn’t mean the teacher decides whether a particular news story or social media post is factual. The teacher would help students learn for themselves how to separate facts from fiction and separate opinions from facts.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Remap roundup
Friday, May 21, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As I told subscribers earlier this week, releasing the new maps on a Friday and holding redistricting hearings over the subsequent weekend while most members of both chambers are back in their districts makes sense and is a tried and true tactic. So, we’ll see…
* More Maxwell…
While Republicans have called for an independent process, spending records and vouchers filed with the Illinois Comptroller’s office show they are also actively working on a backup plan.
The House and Senate combined to spend more than $1.4 million so far to re-draw the maps. In the Senate, Democrats reported spending $557,594.80 so far, dwarfing the $173.731.44 in Senate Republican map-making expenses. Meanwhile, House Republicans reported spending $427,165.77 compared to $260,627.05 for House Democrats. […]
Expense reports show House Republicans are hiring attorneys, redistricting experts, data consultants, and purchasing software and IT equipment — all the tools they would need to draw the maps themselves.
Eleni Demertzis, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), said, “the majority of the fees are for attorneys/counsel which are necessary to explore all different avenues during the redistricting process.”
There’s no guarantee, though, that the Democrats have actually submitted all their vouchers for payment. So, the numbers may not mean that much.
*** UPDATE *** Daily Southtown…
Tinley Park officials gathered in the center of town Thursday afternoon to give updates and express concern regarding the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center property, where it was recently discovered that 2.1 million gallons of water spilled out of the property’s buildings and into Tinley Park’s storm sewers due to a water main break. […]
“The Village has been pleading with the state to do something about this for years,” [Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz] said. “I cannot for the life of me understand why those with the power in State Government to effectuate a transfer of this property to the Village continue to stonewall Tinley Park.” […]
Glotz said he has sent over 13 emails to Sen. Michael Hastings, who represents the 19th District. Hastings never directly responded to Glotz, but the mayor alleged that in an indirect response, Hastings “threatened” to “cut Tinley Park into five different districts, so Tinley Park never gets anything done.” The mayor added that Hastings said “a couple of other despicable comments” that he didn’t want to repeat.
Hastings told the Southtown that the allegations were “baseless.”
* Related…
* Illinois’ Supreme Court elections could lead to a decade of GOP minority rule unless Democrats act
* Civil Justice League raises concerns about Illinois Supreme Court redistricting
* How the Remap Could Impact Chicago’s Three Black Congressional Districts
* Metro East Could Lose Congressional Seat After Census Redistricting
* User’s guide to the 2020 census: What’s done, what’s next and what it means to you
* Debate Over Champaign County Board Redistricting Falls Along Party Lines
* Metro East county board rejects plan to decrease the number of seats on the board
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TFW you can’t just give it up already
Thursday, May 20, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Last December, Census estimates claimed Illinois had lost about a quarter of a million people. When the official count came out, however, those estimates were off by about a quarter of a million people. But here comes the Illinois Policy Institute, flogging the estimates again…
Illinois’ population decline is hitting all metropolitan areas of the state.
All metropolitan areas in Illinois shrank from July 2019-July 2020, new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show. The statewide population decline is driven entirely by people leaving Illinois, but it is also the primary reason individual metro areas are shrinking.
* And check this out…
While the estimates released May 4 by the Census Bureau offer insights into where population decline is occurring the most, there are discrepancies between the Census Bureau’s estimates of the population and their official decennial Census count, which showed a much smaller statewide population loss that hasn’t yet been addressed by the Census Bureau.
Questions over the accuracy of the official count have been raised on numerous occasions in recent years. One of the primary ways the Census Bureau checks the official count is to compare it with their previous estimates.
It is also unclear what effect Illinois’ increased census outreach spending, which was second highest in the nation, had on the official results. It is possible increased spending resulted in a more accurate count in 2020 than in 2010, which could explain the difference between the official count and estimates. The 2020 estimates are based on the 2010 official count.
That implies the official count may be wrong and the estimates may be right.
Hilarious.
…Adding… “This is the Illinois version of the ‘Big Lie,’” said a pal just now.
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* House Majority Leader Greg Harris during a news media briefing today…
We were hoping that some of the federal [ARP] funds could be used to pay back the borrowing in the Municipal Liquidity Fund and clearly the current interim guidance says that’s not a permissible use. So we’ve been working very hard with the governor and the Senate to devise a plan to make our full repayments using state resources.
More in a bit, I think. The unpaid amount is about $2 billion.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker, Senate President Don Harmon, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza announced today that they have agreed on a plan to pay off $2 billion in emergency borrowing thanks, in part, to the state’s strong economic rebound.
The State borrowed $3.2 billion dollars from the federal Municipal Liquidity Facility, of which $2 billion remains outstanding, for cash management and to pay for essential state operations at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to a number of factors, including the state’s investments in key economic sectors like small businesses and childcare providers, Illinois’ revenues have come in stronger than expected. This overperformance, in tandem with effective cash management by the Illinois Office of Comptroller, will be instrumental in paying down the outstanding federal debt.
“Repaying the federal government is an important step in our efforts to ensure the state remains on sound fiscal footing,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The General Assembly has been a critical partner in utilizing the federal dollars to help the most vulnerable get through the pandemic. I also credit the Comptroller in strategically managing cash flow in these trying times.”
“The federal loan was a lifeline to keep our state and our economy afloat. That our economy has rebounded so strongly that we can now pay it off early is a testament to the resilience of the people and businesses of the great state of Illinois,” said Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park).
“The financial health of our state is incredibly important and I am grateful for Leader Greg Harris and our budget negotiators for all of their hard work in ensuring our debt is paid off early,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Westchester). “The General Assembly will continue to work closely with the governor to establish a targeted spending plan for the ARPA funds that will address underlying disparities revealed by the pandemic. We will continue to prioritize helping those communities recover by establishing high-quality affordable housing, community-based mental health and substance abuse services, and upgrades to area hospitals serving disproportionately impacted areas throughout the state.”
“Since taking office in the middle of a financial crisis, followed by the COVID-19 crisis, I’ve championed the need to be fiscally responsible and pay down our debts while prioritizing vulnerable populations,” said Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza. “I am pleased that the state’s leadership is also committed to aggressively paying down debt and engaging in responsible fiscal practices.”
The loan was scheduled to be repaid in three installments by December 2023. Instead, the Comptroller will utilize the state’s revenue overperformance and effective cash management to pay off the debt in its entirety within the next budget year. Early repayment of the borrowing will save taxpayers up to $100 million in interest costs.
Last week, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget revised upward its General Funds revenue estimates by $1.469 billion for fiscal year 2021, compared to estimates published with the Governor’s introduced budget in February 2021. The state’s improved revenue outlook will help ensure that the state will have a balanced budget for fiscal year 2021.
Final income tax payments received earlier this week, along with stronger year-to-date receipts in the state’s main revenue sources (individual and corporate income tax and sales tax) will allow the remainder of the repayment to occur beginning in the next several months.
Illinois and its local governments are expected to receive more than $26 billion in allocations through ARPA, including $8.1 billion to the state for fiscal recovery funds that can be used through calendar year 2024 to help the state respond to and recover from the pandemic and invest in critical water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.
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* The Liberty Justice Center outlined the civil case against the campaign committee of former state Rep. and current Auditor General Frank Mautino…
1) Mautino’s campaign committee made more than $225,000 in payments to Happy’s Super Service Station in Spring Valley, Ill. between 1999 and 2015. These payments were for gas and repairs of vehicles privately owned by Mautino’s family and friends. Direct payments for gas and repairs of privately owned vehicles by campaign committees are illegal under Illinois law. Individuals who use privately owned vehicles for campaign purposes may only be reimbursed based on actual mileage.
2) Mautino’s campaign committee reported that it also made nearly $200,000 in “expenditures” to Spring Valley City Bank, but the committee’s former treasurer has admitted these actually were cash withdrawals from the committee’s checking account that were spent elsewhere. The campaign committee never reported which vendors or individuals actually received the money.
The Center has been involved in the case (Cooke v. Illinois State Board of Elections) since 2016. Mautino’s campaign committee appealed an adverse appellate court ruling and the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on it today.
* The Court limited its ruling to decreeing that campaign committees must only reimburse for mileage…
By its plain language, section 9-8.10(a)(9) does not permit committees to make expenditures for gas and repairs to vehicles that are not owned or leased by the committee. For such vehicles, a committee may only make expenditures for actual mileage reimbursement. Because the Committee made expenditures for gas and repairs for vehicles it neither owned nor leased, the Committee violated section 9- 8.10(a)(9), and the Board’s finding to the contrary was clearly erroneous and is reversed. … In light of our conclusion that the Committee violated section 9-8.10(a)(9), we remand the cause to the Board for a determination of whether the Committee’s violation thereof was knowing pursuant to section 9-8.10(b).
However, the campaign says it has a letter from the Illinois State Board of Elections informing it that the gas and repair payments were permissible. It would be tough for the Board to now say the committee knowingly violated the law.
* Section 9-8.10(a)(2) of the state elections law prohibits a political committee from making any expenditures “Clearly in excess of the fair market value of the services, materials, facilities, or other things of value received in exchange.” But the Supremes ruled today that Mautino’s accusers could not provide any facts or documentation to prove their allegations about the gas station and the bank…
Section 9-8.10(a)(2) regulates only the amount or price of an expenditure. Based on insufficient evidence, Cooke did not demonstrate that the Committee violated section 9-8.10(a)(2). Therefore, we affirm the Board’s decision declining to find a violation of section 9-8.10(a)(2).
They also dismissed the specific fair market value argument, so click here to read the rest.
Anyway, this looks like a win for Mautino.
…Adding… From Mautino…
“We are pleased with the decision today by the Illinois Supreme Court and look forward to finalizing the matter.”
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* Folks…
The House passed a measure Wednesday to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol with the support of 35 Republicans, including Adam Kinzinger and Rodney Davis of Illinois.
While the measure to create a 10-member bipartisan commission passed because of the Democratic votes, it does show some movement among Republicans.
Only 10 Republicans, including Kinzinger, voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in instigating the insurrection. While Trump and House GOP leaders were against the commission, it still gained 35 Republican votes.
…Adding… From Aaron DeGroot…
Hey, Rich.
Hope you’re well and ready for a semi-normal summer. Saw your post about Rodney’s vote from yesterday. Wanted to point out that Rodney was the first member of Congress to propose 1/6 commission legislation, which he did six days after the attack on the Capitol (on 1/12). Rodney’s bill, H.R. 275, is substantively similar to what passed the House yesterday. Rodney’s proposal was styled after the 9/11 commission. Figured I’d flag because this issue since it’s relevant to his work at the Committee on House Administration, where he serves as the lead Republican.
Thanks!
Aaron
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* Background is here, here, here and here if you need it. From the Illinois Supreme Court…
Petitioner John Tillman filed a petition for leave to file a taxpayer action under section 11-303 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/11-303 (West 2018)) in the circuit court of Sangamon County. In his attached complaint, petitioner alleged that certain general obligation bonds issued by the State of Illinois in 2003 and 2017 were unconstitutional. The circuit court denied the petition to file the proposed complaint, finding that there was no reasonable ground for the filing of such action. The appellate court reversed the circuit court’s judgment and remanded for further proceedings. 2020 IL App (4th) 190611. For the following reasons, we reverse the judgment of the appellate court and affirm the judgment of the circuit court.
* More…
The State issued and sold the 2003 bonds, applied the proceeds as specified in the law, and made payments on the bonds for years while petitioner did nothing. More than 16 years later, petitioner requested that the court declare the bonds invalid and enjoin the State from making future payments on them. The same is true for the 2017 bonds, which were authorized by the General Assembly and issued and sold by the State. The proceeds from the sale were then used to pay billions of dollars in unpaid state vouchers, all while petitioner did nothing to stop any of these actions. It is patently obvious that the State will suffer some prejudice if relief is granted at this extremely late stage. Respondents maintain that granting relief to petitioner would amount to a de facto default on outstanding bonds that are backed by the full faith and credit of the State. We agree. Enjoining the State from meeting its obligation to make payments on general obligation bonds will, at the very least, have a detrimental effect on the State’s credit rating.
Nevertheless, petitioner argues that the State has not suffered prejudice from his delay because his complaint does not seek to undo past payments made by the State on the bonds but, rather, seeks to enjoin only future payments. Thus, according to petitioner, an individual can wait years, or even decades, after bonds are authorized and issued by the State to challenge the issuance of the bonds in court. We reject this argument. The fact that a petitioner requests only prospective relief does not preclude the application of laches where he had constructive notice of his legal claims years before filing his action. See, e.g., Solomon, 48 Ill. 2d at 322 (holding that laches barred a taxpayer action to enjoin the future issuance of bonds and expenditure of bond proceeds); Schnell v. City of Rock Island, 232 Ill. 89, 93, 96 (1907) (holding that laches barred an action to enjoin future municipal bond payments).
We hold that the necessary elements for laches have been met in this case. There is no reasonable ground under section 11-303 of the Code for filing petitioner’s proposed complaint. We therefore affirm the circuit’s order denying the instant petition, although on different grounds than those relied upon by that court.
I’ll update with responses as they come in.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Comptroller Susana Mendoza…
“The Supreme Court of Illinois got it right: The taxpayers of Illinois should not have to suffer financial Armageddon just so rich people who bet against Illinois can profit. Never bet against Illinois.
“The original judge on this case was right to throw out this irresponsible lawsuit brought by former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s No. 1 advisor and Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman. His ridiculous lawsuit was aimed at tanking Illinois’ finances – for the profit of named or unnamed hedge funds.
“As today’s ruling noted, bond counsel and the state Attorney General signed off on all these bonds. They were constitutional. While the fiscally responsible 2017 bond offering that I championed saved taxpayers $4 to $6 billion in late payment interest penalties and served as a lifeline to businesses across Illinois, it hurt the profit margins of those who chose to bet against Illinois. They gambled and lost. Their irresponsible game is over.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Illinois Attorney General’s office…
We are pleased that the court upheld the legality of the general obligation bonds approved by the General Assembly in 2003 and 2017 and rejected the plaintiff’s belated attempt to create unnecessary havoc in Illinois’ fiscal standing. The fact is that the plaintiff filed a lawsuit opposing the state’s issuance of bonds not days, not months, but years after the bonds were issued – in fact, after the money had been spent. Our position has been that, given the delay in filing the lawsuit, the plaintiff lacked a legal basis for filing at all, and we are pleased the court agreed.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Emily Bittner at the governor’s office…
The administration is pleased that the Supreme Court sided with hardworking taxpayers over a frivolous lawsuit designed to grab headlines.
*** UPDATE 4 *** John Tillman…
“I am of course disappointed in the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling. We are evaluating our options as to how to proceed from here. In the interim, I continue to be profoundly concerned about Illinois’ reckless debt accumulation. All Illinoisans should care about this. If the state doesn’t tackle pension reform now, it will slide into a fiscal crisis beyond repair that will threaten not only taxpayers and the people who depend on government services, but also people who are counting on their public-sector pension in retirement.”
*** UPDATE 5 *** Bloomberg…
Illinois bonds rose in active trading after the ruling, driving the average yield on some sold in 2017 to 1.12% from 1.4% and the price jumped to more than $1.20 from about $1.19 a day earlier. The case has been closely watched by investors in the $3.9 trillion municipal bond-market, where it was seen as a potential harbinger of potential lawsuits elsewhere if it prevailed.
“Even though the probability was low that the challenge was going to be successful, it wasn’t zero,” said Dan Solender, director of tax-free fixed income for Lord, Abbett & Co., which holds $34 billion in muni assets. “The expectation was this was not going to be a problem but still the bonds are moving up because there is now some definite resolution to the situation.” […]
With the outcome of the case now behind the state, it “can move forward in addressing the more pertinent fiscal issues,” said Dennis Derby, a portfolio manager for Wells Fargo Asset Management, which owns Illinois debt that was challenged as well as other bonds issued by the state as part of a $40 billion municipal-bond portfolio.
* Related…
* National Review: John Tillman Shows How Conservative Activism Can Work
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