Sterigenics to close plant
Monday, Sep 30, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This will be cause for rejoicing in some circles…
* Press release…
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) released the following statement on the news of Sterigenics not re-opening their Willowbrook facility:
“Sterigenics got the message that we were never going to let them reopen their doors and poison our communities again.”
Earlier this year, Leader Durkin introduced the Matt Haller Act which created the strongest restrictions on ethylene oxide in the nation.
When the courts approved the consent decree on September 20 to allow Sterigenics to re-open, Leader Durkin introduced House Bill 3885 that would authorize any municipality in the state of Illinois to implement a local ban of the use of ethylene oxide within its boundaries. If a local municipality chooses to adopt this authority, any sterilizing companies would be prohibited from using ethylene oxide. This bill has the support of the village of Willowbrook.
More…
* Press release…
Sen. Curran statement on Sterigenics leaving Willowbrook
“This is tremendous news for the people of Willowbrook and the surrounding communities. The risks involved with this facility re-opening were simply too great to the public health. This announcement from Sterigenics is the direct result of the tireless advocacy of Stop Sterigenics and other community organizations who have proven once again that when we all work together, we will not be stopped. Now it is our job to remain vigilant in continuing to protect the health of those we serve,” said State Senator John Curran (R-Downers Grove).
* Congressman Dan Lipinski…
Today’s news marks a victory for everyone who lives in the vicinity of Sterigenics!
This decision by Sterigenics to shut down their Willowbrook plant shows what can happen when public officials on all levels work together along with concerned citizens to protect the health and safety of our communities. This fight has been going on for more than a year and has taken a tremendous amount of work by scores of people, but it was worth it to protect families from further exposure to this dangerous cancer-causing agent. Although this particular fight is over, I will continue to press for a strong federal ethylene oxide standard to protect the health and safety of those who live near EtO-emitting facilities around the country.
* Congressman Bill Foster…
Sterigenics’ decision to permanently close its Willowbrook facility is best for all concerned. From the beginning, the company’s handling of this situation has been insufficiently respectful of the sincere concerns raised by people who live and work in Willowbrook and the surrounding communities. I will continue to work in Congress to make sure the EPA has the resources it needs to protect the health and well-being of all our communities.
* Important point in the Daily Herald story…
The company also was unable to reach an agreement to renew the lease on the building it uses on Quincy Street in Willowbrook.
* U.S. Representative Sean Casten…
Illinoisans should have confidence that the air they are breathing is safe. Unfortunately, the actions of Sterigenics made it impossible for those who live and work in Willowbrook and the surrounding communities to have that peace of mind. For that reason, I support Sterigenics’ decision to close their Willowbrook facility. It is a credit to the hard work of the community for coming together to voice their opinion. Moving forward, I will continue to urge the U.S. EPA to do their job and communicate about the potential risks posed by ethylene oxide emissions, as well as the FDA to ensure a robust medical supply chain that will not endanger patient safety.
* Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst)…
The Matt Haller Act recognized that ethylene oxide sterilization involves a chemical process requiring the utmost care and trust to control emissions. Sterigenics’ behavior these many months destroyed that trust. We also had to repeatedly fight the Illinois EPA’s rubber-stamp approach and efforts to denigrate community members who just wanted truthful answers from the agency who by its very name is supposed to protect them. When legislators and community activists repeatedly found flaws in the scientific evidence; permit standards and other building requirements, the Administration and Illinois EPA repeatedly ignored them to favor Sterigenics. While today’s announcement can be viewed as a solid victory for residents of Willowbrook and surrounding communities, we are prepared to go further to make sure the Illinois EPA ends these lax oversight practices. The state as a whole will benefit from an Illinois EPA that does its job correctly to ensure that the air we breathe is safe.
* Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Grayslake)…
The closing of the Willowbrook Sterigenics facility is long overdue. Sterigenics finally saw the writing on the wall that we in Illinois place the health of our citizens over the profits of greedy corporations. I will always fight companies that look to harm our communities for their own financial gain, and today was a significant step in moving towards that goal.
With Sterigenics finally closed, we must now turn our attention to the two factories in Lake County that continue to poison our residents for their own profit. There is still more work to be done when it comes to keeping our air clean from toxic chemicals such as ethylene oxide, and going forward, companies need to prioritize the health of our communities over profits.
* Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council…
Companies that give people cancer should be put on notice that Illinois is not a welcoming business environment. While it does not cure those who have been made sick due to exposure to ethylene oxide, those living and raising families in the Willowbrook area will finally have peace of mind going forward now that Sterigenics is ceasing operations. This announcement marks a victory for this particular community and the surrounding areas, but more must be done to protect other communities still threatened by ethylene oxide emissions.
The Illinois General Assembly must take action to protect all communities across the state from this cancer-causing chemical. We are hopeful that with the continued leadership of Gov. JB Pritzker and those in the legislature, House Bill 3888 will pass during the upcoming veto session and be signed into law in short order.
28 Comments  
|
Gone in 30 seconds
Monday, Sep 30, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Pretty sure we’ve discussed this before, but it’s worth repeating every now and then. From Finke’s column…
The National Conference of State Legislatures recently took a look at rainy day funds, money state’s put aside to help cushion the blow in the event of an economic downturn.
The organization said only two states don’t have an official rainy day fund, although one of them, Colorado, has a “required reserve” fund. That leaves only Illinois without one, NCSL said.
That’s a bit misleading. Illinois has a “Budget Stabilization Fund,” which is essentially a rainy day fund under a different name. Right now, it has $60,000 in it, which the comptroller’s office said will pay less than 30 seconds worth of state bills.
Rest easy.
*Hard sigh*
…Adding… As noted in comments, it makes little sense to establish a large rainy day fund while the state has so much debt. However, building in a bit of fiscal flexibility would still be a decent idea.
44 Comments
|
[Bumped up from late Friday afternoon for visibility and comments opened for discussion.]
* I heard several credible reports about this last night, but then the Chicago FBI refused to confirm this morning, so I figured people closer to the scene would eventually figure it out. Here’s WBEZ…
Federal investigators have raided the northwest suburban offices of a politically connected company headed by a longtime, major campaign contributor to state Sen. Martin Sandoval, WBEZ has learned.
Multiple sources said the raid took place Tuesday at the Bartlett offices of Bluff City Materials Inc., one of several companies owned by Michael Vondra, a construction and asphalt magnate with deep political ties in state government.
For decades, Vondra has been one of the biggest players in Illinois’ asphalt and construction industries.
The law enforcement activity in Bartlett came on the same day FBI agents raided the Cicero and Springfield offices of Sandoval, a high-ranking Democrat who has been a state senator since 2003 and is chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. […]
But the sources who spoke to WBEZ on the condition of anonymity said that Bluff City Materials was among multiple non-governmental locations also raided during one of the most dramatic weeks in the recent, corruption-riddled history of Illinois.
Vondra has quarries in McCook and Lyons, towns which were both raided yesterday. He also plays a major role in Sen. Sandoval’s annual golf outing. The two men are very close allies.
(Headline explained here.)
13 Comments
|
[Bumped up from late Friday afternoon for visibility and comments opened for discussion.]
* The directors of DCFS and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services sent a letter late this afternoon to the Child Welfare Medicaid Managed Care Implementation Advisory Workgroup. Excerpt…
The Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Children and Family Services are committed to ensuring that our state’s most vulnerable children and young adults have access to high quality healthcare. They and the families who care for them deserve coordinated, whole-person healthcare and wrap-around services to help them navigate a complex system and lead them to healthy adulthood.
There is nothing more important to us than getting this transition right, and after listening to stakeholders across the state, HFS and DCFS have decided to extend the start date for these programs from November 1, 2019 to February 1, 2020. This delay will help ensure a smooth transition and allow HFS and DCFS to engage further with families, providers and other stakeholders and to monitor the managed care organizations more closely.
This decision comes in the wake of Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert’s harsh criticism of the transition, which will impact 36,000 kids. Legislators and stakeholders have also sharply criticized the move.
*** UPDATE *** Heidi Dalenberg, Director of the Institutional Reform Project, ACLU of Illinois…
We welcome the decision by DCFS to delay the process of forcing the children under their care - our clients - into managed health care. But make no mistake, the announcement of February as a new target date for beginning this process remains arbitrary and aspirational.
Rather than focusing on a date certain, we encourage – and will be making this case directly to State officials – that the emphasis be on assuring that children in the care of DCFS do not suffer disruptions and terminations of critical health care services as the providers and insurance companies figure out this process.
Let’s make sure that we have the process in place and then roll out the launch. There is a long way to go and we are not convinced, based on careful analysis, that it is possible to be fully prepared by February.
5 Comments
|
* Heartland Alliance…
The poverty rate for the United States was 11.8% in 2018, a decline of 0.5 percentage points from 2017. There were 38.1 million people in poverty nationwide.
In 2018, 1.5 million Illinoisans were in poverty—a rate of 12.1%. Additionally, 2.0 million Illinoisans are near poor and economically insecure with incomes between 100% and 199% of the federal poverty threshold.
This year marks the first time that the U.S.poverty rate is below pre-recession levels; Illinois lags behind this trend, with its poverty rate just returning to pre-recession levels.
More here.
…Adding… One Illinois…
But the Census Bureau also reported that a key measure of income inequality rose to the highest level ever recorded in the United States. The Gini index measures income inequality on a scale from 0 to 1, with 0 being a totally equitable society where everyone has the same and 1 being a society where all wealth is concentrated in one household. The U.S. Gini index rose “significantly higher” from 0.482 in 2017 to 0.485 last year, according to a U.S. Census Bureau news release. When the bureau began compiling the Gini index in 1967 it stood at 0.397. Last year, no European nation had an index higher than 0.38.
The bureau didn’t give a state-by-state breakdown on the Gini index, but reported that most states, including Illinois, saw little or no increase last year. It worsened in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Texas, and Virginia. Overall, income inequality tended to be worst on the coasts, including California, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, New York, the District of Columbia, and in Puerto Rico.
* Related…
* Former Alexander County Housing Authority Director James Wilson still hasn’t made any payments on $500K he owes the feds
* ADDED: Jobs report shows unemployment rate down in all 14 metro areas
8 Comments
|
State strike law is 0 for 2
Friday, Sep 27, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Remember when the state passed a law requiring 75 percent of Chicago teachers to vote in favor of authorizing a walkout before a strike could happen? It didn’t stop the CTU in 2012, when 90 percent of teachers and 98 percent of those who cast ballots voted to authorize a strike, and it didn’t stop the CTU this time, either…
The Chicago Teachers Union voted in overwhelming numbers to authorize a strike, union officials announced late Thursday. The union is planning to set a strike date next Wednesday. Teachers likely will walk out in mid-October if no deal is reached by then.
CTU leaders said 94% of members had voted in favor of a strike, surpassing the 75% threshold required by law. Some 90% of the ballots had been counted Thursday night.
* Sun-Times…
The earliest the union’s 25,000 teachers could strike is Oct. 7, though indications from the CTU are that a walkout would come closer to mid-October. […]
With the vote, the CTU joins more than 7,000 members of SEIU Local 73 who already voted in favor of a strike. SEIU represents school support staff workers at CPS who include special education classroom assistants, bus aides, security guards and custodians. Park District workers have also authorized a strike, possibly putting a dent in the city’s usual plan during a teachers’ strike of sending the about 300,000 students at district-run schools to Park District buildings. […]
“We’ve had a very successful launch of the start of school,” the mayor told reporters at a South Side event. “Our kids are involved and engaged in their extra-curricular activities. They’re bonding with their teachers. Having a strike would be catastrophic for the learning environment for our kids. We can’t lose sight of that.
* Tribune…
“In our schools, there’s lots of different pieces that go into making that ecosystem the kind of learning environment where our kids can be successful and thrive. Of course teachers are a big part of that but, fundamentally, we’ve got to focus on our kids and keeping them in school,” Lightfoot said. “We know that kids who stay in school are much less likely to be victims of crime and much less likely to be perpetrators of crime, so putting 360,000 kids on the street when a deal is right here at our fingertips, how does that make sense? It doesn’t.”
Davis Gates challenged the mayor, saying the city doesn’t adequately fund after-school programs.
“To immediately go to crime and to try to shift blame to teachers for crime and to label our students as perpetrators is absolutely irresponsible,” Davis Gates said. “… She is out of line and she needs to apologize to our members for making such a gross offensive statement, and she needs to apologize to our students and our families for labeling them as criminals.”
…Adding… Five presidential candidates support the CTU…
38 Comments
|
|
Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...
 
...............
...............
...............
...............
|
   
|
Hosted by MCS |
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax |
Advertise Here |
Mobile Version |
Contact Rich Miller
|
