* One of the worst-kept Statehouse secrets this week is that Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D-Olympia Fields) is resigning to oversee implementation of the new cannabis legalization law. She informed Senate President Cullerton yesterday and her law firm today.
Hutchinson will oversee the activities of five state agencies: Agriculture, Public Health, Revenue, DCEO and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. She’ll also have sway over the Illinois State Police’s policies.
Gov. Pritzker had tried to recruit her into his administration earlier this year, but she declined. Sen. Hutchinson told me earlier this week that she had two big goals when she became a Senator: 1) Reform the state income tax code; and 2) Legalize weed. She helped do both this year and she said it was time to go.
Hutchinson has served in the Senate since January of 2009. She chairs the influential Revenue Committee. She’s also the Immediate Past President of the National Conference of State Legislatures. She became the NCSL’s President-Elect two years ago.
Sen. Hutchinson says she is unsure if she will back a replacement. She would’ve been up for reelection next year, so the petition circulation scrambling will begin soon, if it hasn’t already started. Half of her district is represented by a Republican (Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst), but the other half is heavily Democratic, giving this district a definite D bent. Gov. Pritzker won it by 11 points and President Trump lost it by 11. However, Gov. Rauner won it by just under 4 in 2014 and the late Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka won it by about a point. As it stands now, 2020 looks a whole lot more like 2018 than 2014, however.
I’ve known Toi since she ran then-Sen. Debbie Halvorson’s district office operation. Halvorson introduced us at an ABATE function and I thought right away that this young person was going places. And she surely has. Good luck in your new gig, Toi.
…Adding… Senate President John Cullerton…
Senator Hutchinson has tackled some of the toughest issues facing our state, always performing with grace, eloquence and determination.
While her departure will be a profound loss for the Illinois Senate, I congratulate her on her new role and wish her nothing but the best as she continues to serve the residents of Illinois.
19 Comments  
|
* This may or may not be related, but McCook is in Sen. Marty Sandoval’s district…
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Sun-Times is reporting that the Village of Lyons’ town hall was also raided today. Lyons is also in Sandoval’s district. The paper is reporting that “other locations” were raided as well.
*** UPDATE 2 *** This is the mayor of Lyons…
More on him here.
*** UPDATE 3 *** “Investigative activity” in a town also represented by Sen. Sandoval…
*** UPDATE 4 *** Sun-Times…
The investigation also includes agents from IRS Criminal Investigation.
*** UPDATE 5 *** Sun-Times…
[McCook village attorney Gary Perlman] said investigators were seeking information related to “various contractors that have done work with the village.”
…Adding… WGN TV…
An FBI spokesperson confirmed Chicago personnel were at the village hall conducting an authorized law enforcement action, and had no further comment on the matter.
Jeff Tobolski is the longtime mayor of McCook. The Democrat also serves as a Cook County Commissioner. Tobolski did not immediately respond to a phone message left at village hall and his district office. It’s not known whether Tobolski is a focus of the federal investigation.
* NBC 5…
Two sources with knowledge of the situation said that FBI agents executed search warrants at the village hall, located at 5000 Glencoe Avenue, at around 7:30 a.m. CST.
One source said the agents carted out several boxes and computer equipment.
…Adding… Sun-Times…
Carlos Aparicio, a lawyer on Tobolski’s Cook County staff, said federal agents hadn’t visited the McCook mayor’s county offices, but that’s all he really knew.
Watch that CS-T story for updates.
37 Comments
|
* Bruce Rushton last week…
Before the ALPLM became a standalone institution in 2017, one year before Lowe came to Springfield, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, now defunct, oversaw the institution, with the IHPA board charged with approving artifact loans. Current law says that the ALPLM is supposed to have a board of directors, but no board has been appointed.
* Gov. Pritzker’s office today…
Ray LaHood will serve as Chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Directors.* With a 36-year career in public service, former U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary LaHood has extensive experience in policy areas such as transportation and infrastructure. LaHood oversaw 55,000 employees and a $7o billion budget in charge of air, maritime and surface transportation. Before serving as head of DOT, he represented the 18th District of Illinois in the United States House of Representatives for 19 years, where he served on the House Appropriations and House Intelligence Committees. In addition, LaHood served as Chief of Staff to the U.S. House Minority Leader Robert Michel for 12 years. In his community, LaHood served as the Director of Rock Island County Youth Services Bureau, Chief Planner of the Bi-States Metropolitan Planning Commission and District Administrative Assistant for US Congressman Tom Railsback. He earned his Bachelor of Science from Bradley University.
Joan Brodsky will serve as the Historic Preservation Expert on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Directors.* Brodsky is a current member of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, Newberry Library in Chicago, the Board of Visitors of the Syracuse University Library and the Board of Overseers of the Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. A lifelong librarian and conservator, she is the founder and sponsor of an annual endowed lecture series and workshop on book and paper conservation and a sponsor of the Brodsky Lecture Series in support of the JD – MBA Program at Northwestern University. She earned her Master of Science in Library Science and her Bachelor of Arts in Latin and Education from Syracuse University.
Kathryn Harris will serve as a Library and Museum Expert on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Directors.* Harris brings 25 years of ALPLM experience as the former Library Services Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Illinois State Historical Library. In her 43 years of service, Harris has also been the Head of Reference for the Illinois State Library and Public Services Librarian for the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. In addition, she has been a Librarian at Florida International University Library, Miami Florida and the Lincoln Library, Springfield’s public library. Harris has earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois State Historical Society, was named a Rail-Splitter Honoree by the American Society of Public Service Administrators and won Woman of Excellence Award from the Springfield YWCA. Harris serves on the Springfield and Central Illinois African American Arts History Museum Board, Sangamon County Historical Society Board as President, and the Abraham Lincoln Association. She earned her Master of Science from the University of Illinois and her Bachelor of Science from Southern Illinois University.
Gary Johnson will serve on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Directors.* Johnson became the President of the Chicago History Museum after 28 years as a lawyer and partner in international law at Mayer Brown and Jones Day. Under his leadership, the Chicago History Museum has received the National Medal from the Institute for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest award for museums and libraries. Johnson also served for 10 years as President of Museums in the Park. Additionally, he worked as Vice Chair on the Special Commission on the Administration of Justice in Cook County. Johnson is a member of the American Law Institute and a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Illinois State Bar Association Foundation, and he served as president of the Chicago Council of Lawyers. Johnson earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, his Master of Arts from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and his Bachelor of Arts from Yale College. He also holds an honorary doctorate from Lake Forest College.
Eunice Santos will serve on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Directors.* Santos is a Professor and Dean of the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, specializing in the areas of distributed processing, cybersecurity, complex adaptive systems and human modeling. She previously served as a professor at Illinois Institute of Technology, Leigh University in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Virginia Tech in the Department of Computer Science and the Genetics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program. Santos was also the founding director of the Institute of Defense & Security and department chair of Computer Science at the University of Texas, El Paso. Santos has received numerous awards, including a National Science Foundation Career Award, the Spira Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Robinson Faculty Award. She earned her PhD in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.
* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.
…Adding… Semi-related…
* Illinois State Museum is first in world to return artifacts as part of Australian project to reclaim aboriginal art: Representatives from the Bardi Jawi and Aranda communities will travel to Springfield next month to pick up 42 artifacts, including boomerangs, shields, spears, and body ornaments, as part of an initiative funded by the Australian government to repatriate overseas artifacts called the Return of Cultural Heritage Project, according to a news release from the museum.
12 Comments
|
* Tina Sfondeles and Jon Seidel…
Asked if [Sen. Martin Sandoval. D-Chicago] will lose his chairmanship of the Senate’s Transportation Committee, [Senate President John Cullerton] said he’ll “wait and see what happens” — since Sandoval has not been charged.
“I’d like to be informed about what’s going on before I make any decisions,” Cullerton said, adding he has not heard from Sandoval and has not attempted to call him. Cullerton, too, said he has not been approached by federal authorities about the investigation.
I’m not convinced that this is a prudent course for Senate President Cullerton.
* From Hannah Meisel’s Daily Line story yesterday…
Sandoval has served as the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee for the last decade, according to General Assembly records. He was also named one of five co-chairs to Pritzker’s Restoring Illinois’ Infrastructure Committee during the gubernatorial transition last year. […]
Transportation Committee meetings chaired by Sandoval are generally known as a quick affair, often with the senator gaveling in and out within a matter of minutes in the ornate Room 212 of the Capitol building.
The main reason the hearings are so quick is because the bulk of the committee’s real business is generally done behind closed doors. Actually, just one closed door: The door to Sandoval’s office. Federal agents basically cleared out that office this week, so who knows what they were looking for or what they found.
* Meanwhile…
Playbook hears that a letter is being sent to the FBI, calling for the agency to release the names of the companies that Sandoval was allegedly getting kickbacks from. Sandoval’s influence on the transportation committee makes him a critical player in the massive infrastructure bill that just passed the state Legislature “and taxpayers need to know if moneys are being spent wisely,” a source familiar with the letter said.
It’s a pretty solid bet that the feds will not release that list, but Sandoval should probably be moved off the Transportation Committee to be on the safe side.
…Adding… The letter turns out to be from Assistant Minority Leader Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville). Excerpt…
On June 1, 2019, the Illinois General Assembly passed, and it was later signed into law, a $45 billion capital works program. This plan is meant to address numerous capital projects in Illinois, including a substantial amount of work on our state’s transportation system. Spending for this program will begin imminently.
With the troubling allegations surfacing against Sen. Sandoval, I have grave concerns that the state’s precious resources could be allocated to companies that illegally participated in kickback schemes. Therefore, I request at your earliest convenience that you provide the General Assembly, the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Comptroller, the Illinois Tollway Authority, the Illinois Department of Transportation and any other relevant state agencies any evidence you have regarding these allegations to ensure that taxpayers are protected.
* The Illinois Policy Institute is trying to use the Sandoval probe to cast doubt on the entire capital plan and its funding mechanisms…
Was corruption at the heart of Illinois’ gas tax hike?
Capital bills are a feeding frenzy for special interests. And Sandoval held the keys to the kitchen. “Governor signs Sandoval’s $45 billion infrastructure improvement package,” boasts a June press release from the state senator’s website.
Might the feds want to have a word about some of those projects?
According to the Chicago Tribune, authorities are looking into allegations Sandoval used his public office to steer business in exchange for private kickbacks. That’s all we know about the raids so far, other than the fact that prosecutors would have needed to present some serious evidence to justify cracking the Statehouse dome, not to mention Sandoval’s Cicero office and his home. The state senator has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
The Illinois Policy Institute released a report ahead of the capital bill vote this year warning about the need for project selection reform to guard against waste and abuse of taxpayer resources.
* The News-Gazette is on that same page…
Nonetheless, he has influence in the Illinois Senate because he’s chairman of its Transportation Committee. In that role, he was a key player in the recent doubling of Illinois’ gas tax — from 19 cents a gallon to 38 cents. The massive increase is funding $45 billion in public works projects, some legitimate infrastructure improvements and some pure legislative pork.
That’s a lot of money to be floating around, and the competition to get a piece of it must be fierce.
It is in that political maelstrom where proper and improper political influence comes into play.
* The Tribune editorial board sticks to its usual schtick…
Keep in mind: Sandoval might be unfamiliar to most rank-and-file voters across Illinois, but he is a consummate insider. Half of Sandoval’s Senate district is represented by Madigan as a member of the House. They work together closely. Sandoval, a member of the Senate for nearly 20 years, also has been mentioned as a possible successor to the Senate president, should John Cullerton of Chicago ever step down. Sandoval’s campaign fund treasurer until 2009 was Danny Solis, the now-scorned and retired Chicago alderman who wore a wire while cooperating with federal authorities in their probe of … we aren’t sure whom.
He and Madigan work together closely? That would be news to pretty much anyone. They were at each others’ throats just last year when Madigan supported Chuy Garcia’s Cook County Board candidate against Sandoval’s daughter. And that decision didn’t come out of nowhere.
Also, he’s been mentioned as a possible successor to Cullerton? By whom? Marty himself?
I mean, have any of those editorial board members been to the Statehouse in this decade?
36 Comments
|
Rep. Art Turner won’t run for reelection
Thursday, Sep 26, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As noted in the story, I told subscribers about this yesterday…
State Rep. Art Turner won’t seek re-election in 2020, and political strategist Ty Cratic is the first big Democratic name to try to secure the seat. “I’m running,” he told Playbook. […]
Turner’s departure, first reported in Rich Miller’s blog, comes as he makes plans to marry and make a possible full-time move to Springfield. His brother, Aaron Turner, is also circulating petitions for the Senate seat that their father, former Rep. Art Turner Sr., held for nearly 20 years before he was succeeded by Art Jr.
Both Cratic and Aaron Turner were also mentioned in my earlier story.
Leader Turner has been enormously successful in the House. He’s well-liked and respected by his peers. He will be missed.
* Meanwhile, I tipped subscribers on this last week…
When he ran for a fourth term as mayor of Woodstock, Brian Sager announced it would be his last.
Now he has announced what’s next.
Sager told The Independenthe would campaign as a Democrat for the 63rd District seat in the Illinois Legislature, now held by two-term Republican Steve Reick.
Sager, who will be 67 next month, decried the extreme partisanship in politics generally and the Legislature specifically. Most voters, he said, don’t care about party affiliation as much as they do results from elected leaders.
“They want to send people to the Legislature who are simply willing to work together,” the mayor said. “I have a record of that.”
…Adding… Oops, I forgot to post this one…
MARTIN McLAUGHLIN wants McSweeney’s seat. The Barrington Hills Village president, has announced his campaign for state Rep. in the 52nd District now represented by David McSweeney who won’t seek re-election in 2020. The district contains parts of Cook, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties. McLaughlin says during his term as village president, he’s lowered spending, lowered the tax levy for five out of the past six years and increased spending on infrastructure. “These are all things that government bodies can and should be doing, including the state of Illinois,” he said in a release sent to Playbook.
He confirmed to me that he’s in the race.
19 Comments
|
Never tweet
Wednesday, Sep 25, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Emphasis added to this retweet by the East Dundee Republican…
I asked Rep. Skillicorn if he does, indeed, support a second Civil War. I’ll let you know what he says.
…Adding… Text exchange…
…Adding… From comments…
The irony of trying to claim “I didn’t see that” when at the same time complaining about having to pass something to read it.
…Adding… More from Skillicorn…
People are angry in IL. If the specials interests and politicians don’t get that average people are honked off because of fiscal mismanagement, blatant corruption, and moral decay they must live in an ivory tower. Specifically to the tweet, war is dumb. Violence is dumb, but so is the IL leadership that treats an entire state like its Chicago. I denounce the original tweeter’s civil war line but can still identify with anger and lack of trust in IL politics. I’ll also add that a retweet is a nothing-burger.
Um, the tweet wasn’t even about Illinois.
40 Comments
|
* NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern got a tip a while ago that Kieran Sheridan, the $175,000 per year Chief Operating Officer and Chief Development Officer of the Chicago Department of Aviation, was living in Naperville instead of the city. That would be a big no-no. So, Ahern and her team sprang into action after Sheridan told her he and his family were living separately…
However, when NBC5 Investigates sent a letter to Sheridan at that Chicago address, it was returned two weeks later, marked “return to sender.”
NBC5’s political reporter Mary Ann Ahern then visited the Chicago apartment and confirmed with building managers that Sheridan did, indeed, pay rent on an apartment there. The managers accompanied Ahern as she slid a second letter from NBC 5 under Sheridan’s apartment door, where she observed other papers stuffed in the door which had not yet been retrieved.
NBC 5 Investigates searched public databases and uncovered several documents which all pointed to Sheridan’s residence in a Naperville subdivision called Windgate of Three Farms, including mortgage papers, a property deed, tax bills, incorporation records for an independent consulting company and a driving citation, all of which listed the Naperville residence as his home.
One document posed the question “will the [Naperville] property be the buyer’s principal residence?” and Sheridan answered “yes” on the document.
Oops.
And then they staked him out…
On two separate occasions over the last month, NBC 5 cameras recorded Sheridan leaving his Naperville home, each time wearing his Chicago Department of Aviation I.D. card around his neck. In both instances Sheridan then drove to his office at O’Hare.
Sheridan resigned yesterday. Watch Ahern’s report here.
Also, props to the mayor’s press team for burying that item on a very busy news day.
…Adding… I forgot to post this response from a Naperville legislator…
44 Comments
|
* I’ve been hearing multiple credible reports this morning of a raid on Sen. Martin Sandoval’s offices, so I sent a friend over to the Statehouse and she reports that his office suite is blocked off and that a state officer claimed the feds are present.
Sandoval is not responding and neither is his district office. None of the legislative assistants in that suite are picking up their phones.
Stay tuned.
…Adding… From a close pal…
I’m on the phone with a secretary from the Capitol. She says there are ‘lots of suits’ in Marty’s Capitol office.
I’m told all the legislative assistants in that wing are in the elevator area, which would explain why nobody was answering their phones.
* Mary Ann is on it…
…Adding… Several folks I know are claiming that the G is also at his house. We’ll see…
*** UPDATE 1 *** Welp…
* Tribune…
A man who answered the door at Sandoval’s Southwest Side home said the legislator was not home. Sandoval could not immediately be reached.
* This is interesting partly because a lot of members clear out their offices when spring session ends…
* Uh-oh. They nabbed his ‘puter…
*** UPDATE 2 *** The presence of an IRS agent at his house is definitely not a good sign…
…Adding… Sun-Times…
Agents from IRS Criminal Investigation were seen outside Sandoval’s political office in Cicero as well.
…Adding… They took a computer from his house? Oh, man…
78 Comments
|
|
Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
|
   
|
Hosted by MCS
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax
Advertise Here
Mobile Version
Contact Rich Miller
|
