Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

*** UPDATED x1 *** Martin Luther King, Jr. statue knocked over

Monday, Sep 12, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Martin Luther King, Jr. statue near the Statehouse was “toppled over” last night, according to Beth Kaufman at the Secretary of State’s office.

A person is in custody, but has not yet been formally charged. The statue is currently at a state warehouse being “assessed for damage,” Kaufman said. According to Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) there’s video of the alleged crime. Rep. Butler took this photo today of the empty pedestal…

I really hate people sometimes.

*** UPDATE *** According to Ms. Kaufman, Fernando Garcia Martinez, 24, has been formally charged with criminal damage to state supported property, which is a felony. He’s currently at the Sangamon County Jail.

…Adding… I’m told Martinez “has no address,” so it’s unknown at this time where he’s from. Bail will be determined tomorrow during a court hearing.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Anne Burke to retire from Supreme Court, to be replaced by Appellate Justice Joy Cunningham, who will be the top court’s second Black woman member

Monday, Sep 12, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Chief Justice Anne M. Burke has announced her retirement from the Illinois Supreme Court. Her last day on the bench will be November 30, 2022. Chief Justice Burke has served on the Supreme Court since 2006 and has served as Chief Justice since October 2019. Her term as Chief Justice concludes on October 25, 2022. Justice Burke’s full statement on her retirement is available here.

“I have been blessed to serve as a Supreme Court Justice for the past 16 years and have loved working with my staff, colleagues and Judicial Branch staff to serve the people of Illinois,” Chief Justice Burke said. “The past three years as Chief Justice have been a challenging time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but I am thrilled with the progress made by the Illinois Courts.”

The Supreme Court has constitutional authority to fill interim judicial vacancies and has appointed First District Appellate Justice Joy V. Cunningham to fill the seat vacated by Chief Justice Burke. Justice Cunningham, whose term is effective December 1, 2022, through December 2, 2024, will be the second Black woman to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court. The first, Justice Lisa Holder White, was appointed earlier this year.

“I am grateful to the Supreme Court for the trust it has placed in me by allowing me to continue to serve the people of the State of Illinois as a Justice of our Supreme Court. I will do my best to serve with humility, integrity and compassion and always remember why I am there – to serve the people,” Justice Cunningham said. “We have a distinguished Supreme Court in Illinois, and I am proud to have the opportunity to serve alongside these exceptional public servants. I am pleased to live in a state and a country in which my contributions are valued and my opportunities are limitless.” […]

Justice Joy V. Cunningham has served as a First District Appellate Court Justice since 2006 and currently serves as Chair of the Executive Committee. She has served on and chaired the Settlement Committee and serves on the Orientation Committee for new justices. She spent a decade on the Education Committee and chaired the court’s Judicial Performance Committee. She currently co-chairs the First District’s Diversity Committee.

Justice Cunningham received her Bachelor of Science from the City University of New York and earned her Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall Law School. She began her career in 1982 as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. She went on to be a law clerk to First District Appellate Court Justice Glenn T. Johnson. For 10 years she was the Associate General Counsel and Chief Counsel for HealthCare at Loyola University where she established, directed, and managed Loyola University’s in-house healthcare legal division.

In 1996, Justice Cunningham was sworn in as an Associate Judge in Cook County Circuit Court where she was assigned to the civil trial division. She left the bench in 2000 to serve as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Northwestern Memorial Healthcare where she reported and provided counsel to the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. She returned to the bench in December 2006 as an elected First District Appellate Court Justice and was retained by voters in 2016.

Her professional associations include the Chicago Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Cook County Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, the Black Women Lawyers Association, the Illinois Judicial Council, the Illinois Judges Association, the Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Network, the CBA Past Presidents’ Council, the American Law Institute, and the American Bar Foundation.

Justice Cunningham was the first African American woman elected President of the Chicago Bar Association, the nation’s largest municipal bar association. Her awards include the John Paul Stevens Award, the Earl Burrus Dickerson Award, the Mary Heftel Hooten Award, and the Torchbearer Award.

I ran into the Chief Justice at an event the other day and she talked a little about finishing out her term as the state’s top judge, but gave no indication that she was planning to step down from the Court.

Maybe her husband will finally take the hint and retire as well.

*** UPDATE *** Press release…

The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that Justice Mary Jane Theis will be its next Chief Justice. Justice Theis was selected by the Court to serve a three-year term commencing October 26, 2022. She succeeds Justice Anne M. Burke whose tenure as Chief Justice began in October of 2019.

An installation ceremony marking Justice Theis’ selection as Chief Justice will be held at the Supreme Court Building in Springfield during the Court’s November Term.

“I would like to thank my colleagues for giving me this opportunity to serve the people of Illinois as Chief Justice,” Justice Theis said. “I would also like to congratulate Justice Burke for her successful term as Chief and her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. I look forward to working with the bench, bar and community at large to further the Court’s mission of providing access to equal justice, ensuring judicial integrity and upholding the rule of law. Our goal continues to be increasing public trust and confidence in the courts.”

Justice Theis will be the fourth woman to serve as Chief Justice following the late Justice Mary Ann McMorrow, Justice Rita B. Garman, and Justice Burke. She will be the 122nd Chief Justice in Illinois history.

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School district uses state law to reject resignations of four tenured special education teachers

Monday, Sep 12, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* McLean County’s largest school district recently denied four resignations submitted by tenured special education teachers weeks before the first day of school. WGLT…

Unit 5 has invoked a rarely used state statute that allows school districts to reject teacher resignations in certain circumstances.

McLean County’s largest district denied four resignations, submitted by special education teachers weeks before the first day of school. Two of the teachers agreed to stay for the 2022-2023 school year.

But for two others who ignored the warning, Andrea Jefferson and Emily Andris, who left to teach elsewhere, their teaching licenses now are in jeopardy. […]

What’s at issue here is Illinois statutes in place that apply to tenured teachers during the school term: A district has the right to reject a tenured teacher’s resignation if that means the teacher would leave during the school term to take a teaching job at a different school district. […]

That critical need for special education services was key in Unit 5’s decision, said Baldwin. The district already had four vacancies in special education. The newly-submitted four resignations would have doubled the shortage.

* There is a state-wide shortage of special education teachers, says the Center for Illinois Politics…

‍While districts across the state report slight and sporadic shortages, there is little dispute that there continues to be a shortage of special & bilingual education, along with world languages, agriculture, and some secondary sciences teachers. And, according to Liam Chan Hodges, Media Coordinator for Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), “These current shortages have a disproportionate impact on chronically struggling schools, underfunded schools, and schools serving low-income communities.” The shortages hit hardest where the need is often the greatest – and simply doing more of what we’ve done in the past will not solve the issue.

* Some suburban school districts’ solutions to the special education and language teacher shortage is substitutes, ABC7 reports…

Superintendents around the area say the main problem they are encountering is that they simply don’t have enough qualified people applying for the positions they have open, most of which appear to be special ed, bilingual and dual-language teachers. […]

Around 35,000 students returned to the classroom in School District U-46, the second largest in the state, including Elgin as well as 10 other surrounding communities. But even as students begin to shake off the summer cobwebs, many will be taught by substitutes, for now.

“We still have around 100 teacher vacancies,” District U-46 Supt. Tony Sanders said. “We’re able to fill those. We have retirees. We have long-term subs. We have lots of people to step in to fill those roles.”

Most of U-46’s vacancies are for dual language and special ed teachers.[…]

It’s a similar story in Joliet’s Public School District 86, where students will be welcomed back on Wednesday. They are still short about 20 full-time teachers, and the Illinois State Board of Education will only allow districts to use subs for 30 days at a time in a single classroom.

* Illinois State Board of Education’s statement to ABC 7…

Like many states across the country, Illinois is currently experiencing a teacher shortage. In the hopes of better understanding this shortage, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) conducted an analysis to understand the specific students and communities most impacted by teacher vacancies. This analysis found that the current shortage has a disproportionate impact on chronically struggling schools, underfunded schools, and schools serving low-income communities, as well as specific subject areas including special education and bilingual education. The data reinforce the importance of equity as the driving strategy for continuing to strengthen the teacher pipeline in Illinois.

To help address the shortage of substitute teachers, ISBE has instituted changes to expand the pipeline for substitute teachers. For example, in addition to any individual with a bachelor’s degree, we also now allow those enrolled in an Illinois approved educator preparation program who have completed 90 semester hours of coursework to substitute teach beginning January 1, 2023. We have also waived the $25 application fee during public health emergencies, such as the current covid-19 pandemic, so individuals can get licensed to sub completely for free. Short-term substitutes can also teach up to 15 consecutive days, instead of the usual five, for up to 120 days for school year 2022-23.

The state has also employed several other strategic initiatives, which have proven to be effective in growing the teacher workforce, raising enrollment in educator preparation programs, and increasing teacher retention rates. […]

As a result of these initiatives, and others, the teacher workforce in Illinois has grown year-over-year since 2018, adding more than 5,000 new teachers to the profession. The state also saw an 11 percent increase in enrollment in educator preparation programs between 2019 and 2020, and last year teacher retention rates rose to over 87 percent, the highest since 2014.

…Adding… NPR…

This school year, 48 states, including Hawaii, reported shortages of special education teachers to the federal government.

The shortage is so severe that Hawaii is one of several states that rely on teachers without licenses in special education to teach some of the highest needs students — like those who do not speak and those with challenging behaviors.

But Hawaii’s pay increase [$10,000 per year for special ed teachers], which began in 2020, was a game changer. Before the incentive, in October 2019, almost 30% of the state’s special education positions were vacant or staffed by teachers without appropriate licenses, district data shows. By October 2021, that number dropped by half, to about 15%.

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Sen. Hastings’ spokesperson calls female lobbyist a dishonest bully for speaking out

Monday, Sep 12, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Illinois Leaks…

We finally obtained a copy of the settlement agreement in the lawsuit where Senator Michael Hastings was sued, along with the Illinois Senate, for discrimination and harassment against Cassandra Matz, a former employee of Sen. Hastings.

In the settlement agreement, Hastings and the Senate deny any wrongdoing but agree to pay a total of $100,000 to Matz and her attorneys.

The settlement also:

• prohibits Matz from disclosing the settlement (a gag agreement) to anyone,
• prohibits the filing or use of the settlement in any court
• agrees to file a Stipulation to Dismiss in the court stating that each party shall bear their own attorney fees, costs, or expenses (kind of flies in the face of the $100,000 payment)

This leads us to think there are wider harassment issues in the Illinois government than simply this lawsuit, which by all appearances attempts to make the public think it was dismissed and no payments were made.

There’s more.

* I told subscribers about the $100,000 payout last week, but here’s WBEZ today…

And those were not the only costs to taxpayers from that legal battle. The state also hired a private attorney who represented Hastings — with the payments to the outside counsel’s firm adding up to nearly $47,000, according to records obtained by WBEZ.

Scroll down…

Still, a veteran environmental lobbyist in Springfield told WBEZ that Kathleen Hastings’s complaint to police — and what she says are her own personal experiences of being bullied repeatedly by Michael Hastings in professional interactions — have led her to decide she would no longer lobby him and to call for his resignation from the Senate.

Jen Walling, the longtime executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, said in an interview last week that Hastings had yelled at her, pounded his hands on a table in a Capitol meeting room and approached her in a menacing manner during disagreements over legislation in Springfield in the past five years.

“He clearly, to me, in observing him, has had serious issues with anger management that aren’t appropriate for the workplace where we are making laws for the state of Illinois,” Walling said. […]

But in a written statement sent to WBEZ, Hastings spokesman Ray Hanania said Walling was “not being honest,” and Hanania suggested her accusations and other complaints against Hastings recently — including those stemming from the senator’s marital problems — were designed to hurt his reelection bid. […]

Hastings’s spokesman, Hanania, said Walling “is the bully. And she is not being honest. Hastings has been the sponsor of the most sweeping environmental legislation we have seen.”

Yeah, that attack ain’t gonna fly, dude. Stay tuned.

* Related…

* Senator Hastings Continues With Lawsuit To Discover Who Distributed Police Report His Wife Filed Against Him

…Adding… I asked Senate President Don Harmon’s spokesperson if Harmon had a comment…

We are just seeing this article, and at this time we do not.

…Adding… Sen. Napoleon Harris has released a statement in support of Sen. Hastings…

“With the statements made by Jen Walling, I cannot sit by and allow her misleading and false political rhetoric to go without a response.

“First, how coincidental that Ms. Walling decides to make a statement two months before an election. I have known Mike Hastings to be one of the most upstanding, professional, and honest legislators in the Illinois Senate. As the Chairman of the Senate Energy & Public Utilities Committee, he helped champion one of the most sweeping clean energy pieces of legislation in the nation and has fought to implement diversity hiring requirements throughout the utility industry.

“Second, there is an unknown truth to Ms. Walling and the manner in which she conducts her business. She is one of the most abrasive and disrespectful lobbyists in Springfield. She is a bully. When trying to advance a piece of legislation that would help the South Suburbs and the 17th District, she literally threatened to organize local people in my community against me along with threatening to protest my office location. I know that she did the same to Senator Hastings in his district when she did not get her way.

“Jen Walling does not have the slightest clue about the best interests of Harvey or the South Suburbs, for that matter. However, when she does not get her way or someone does not agree with her demands, she either threatens you or bullies you to get what she wants. In this instance, she should be ashamed of herself and reflect on the way she conducts business.

Walling flatly denies the protest threat. She doesn’t deny asking constituents to contact their lawmakers, which is pretty common. The issue in question was SB1104, a bill pushed by the fossil fuel industry.

That Napo comment is just weird, man.

…Adding… ILGOP…

Illinois State Senator Michael Hastings continues to blame everyone but himself for his problems, like the inexcusable domestic violence allegations and the taxpayer-funded defense of alleged discrimination and retaliation against a former staffer. Meanwhile, Hastings’ Democratic colleagues have been either completely silent on his alleged misconduct or, in some cases, have even come to his defense.

Senator Napoleon Harris went so far as to defend Hastings, saying in a statement he was, “one of the most upstanding, professional, and honest legislators in the Illinois Senate.”

According to the police report as quoted in WBEZ, Hastings’ wife, “advised on 11-09-2020, Michael battered her, by placing her in a chokehold/neck restraint, and slammed her body into a door multiple times.” What has Hastings himself had to say?

Instead of taking responsibility for these deplorable allegations, Hastings has attempted to deflect time and again.

According to WBEZ, “Records show Hastings called two different police departments and unsuccessfully sought to have his wife arrested and charged two months ago in a dispute over visitation rights. In addition to denying his wife’s allegations of domestic-battery, he also sued south suburban Frankfort for allegedly leaking the report containing those allegations.”

According to the Chicago Tribune last month, Hastings accused the police report of being, “intentionally leaked to the news media in a sinister attempt to influence the elections, hurt me politically by tarnishing my reputation, and turning the divorce around to blame the divorce on me by using these false domestic violence accusations.”

While Hastings and his colleagues dodge and deflect, Illinois taxpayers are left to pick up the tab for his state-funded settlement and legal fees, to the tune of nearly $150,000.

“Senator Hastings’ colleagues should be ashamed of their silence. He has lashed out against everybody while using our tax dollars to do so. It’s time for Illinois Democrats to step up and condemn Hastings for these allegations unbefitting of anyone, let alone a public servant,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy.