* We’ve been expecting a message from on high for a while now and it looks like we got two today…
In his visit with the Public Affairs Reporting program class at the University of Illinois Springfield, Madigan (D-Chicago) said legislative committees in control of budget appropriations have taken Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed levels of spending in next year’s budget and “ratcheted them down” in case measures supporting that spending do not pass.
Those measures include legalizing recreational marijuana and sports betting, which Madigan said are “not guaranteed today.”
And while he supports Pritzker’s attempts to change the state’s income tax structure from a flat to a graduated rate, Madigan said the Senate moved too quickly on the issue, and should have “given it more time.” The Senate on Wednesday, May 1, approved a bill and resolution that would put an amendment question on the 2020 ballot about instituting tax rates based on income.
Madigan’s comments indicate a slower-than-expected pace of passing new legislation with Democrats in control of the Legislature and governor’s office.
“Have you ever worked with Democrats?” he joked.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown claims the House Speaker was responding to a question about the length of the Senate’s surprisingly short seven-minute debate, not that the Senate had moved too quickly on the issue itself.
*** UPDATE 2 *** What he actually said…
And while he fully supports Pritzker’s attempts to change the state’s income tax structure from a flat to a graduated rate, Madigan said the Senate moved too quickly when it debated for only 7 minutes Wednesday, May 1, before passing a bill and resolution that would put an amendment question on the 2020 ballot.
“It should not have gone that quick in the Senate,” he said, adding that the chamber should have given the debate “more time.”
“It’s not just a statute — it’s an amendment to the constitution,” Madigan said. “It goes right to the heart of how you finance state government…clearly something like that deserved more attention than it got.”
Nevertheless, he said he was “optimistic” the graduated tax measures will pass in the House.
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* You’ll recall last week when Speaker Madigan signed on to a letter requesting $150 million out of the capital bill for the proposed third airport near Peotone. Mayor Emanuel responded over the weekend via press release…
The significant modernization programs underway at O’Hare and Midway will keep passengers connected and fuel new economic opportunities for the region for years to come. In fact, when the O’Hare expansion is complete, it will be the equivalent of adding a third airport to the area. O’Hare is already number one and our modernization will secure it and the Chicago area’s aviation future. If the state has an extra $150 million to spend, schools, mass transit, libraries and parks could wisely use those resources
Gov. Pritzker was asked about the back and forth while attending a media event with the mayor today. He mostly dodged the question, saying that economic development is “critically important” to the south suburbs, where communities are often “left out or left behind.” He said the airport was one of several economic opportunities and claimed the capital bill will “certainly take into account where we can be of help in the south suburbs.”
“The governor has to look out for the state of Illinois, I’ve got to look out for Chicago,” Emanuel then said when asked by reporters.
The mayor went on to praise Pritzker…
The one thing that you should not lose sight before we get to Peotone or a third airport, the fact that people are now talking confidently after 25 years about a capital bill in the state of Illinois. And I want to compliment the governor for actually driving this issue where others have talked about it for over 25 years, that was the last time we actually had a true capital bill. … In the past it was ‘Can we get this done?’ now it’s ‘How do you spend the resources?’ That’s a marked difference.
They’re not quite to that spending conversation yet because they haven’t yet settled on how to pay for it.
…Adding… The Sun-Times had Mayor-elect Lightfoot’s response…
“Midway is an incredible economic force for the Chicago’s Southwest Side. Its growth has been a major driver for development of the area and the city’s tourism industry. I am committed to supporting economic development that transforms neighborhoods, but we must also protect the existing institutions which have been spearheading so much current investment and growth,” Lightfoot said in a statement to the Sun-Times.
“If and when the time comes, I will be actively engaged in the conversation about an additional airport while ensuring that our investments in Midway continue to provide economic development.”
* Related…
* Greg Tejeda: Third Airport talk resurrected, but are we any closer to it actually being built: Of course, part of the problem is that supporters look at an airport project solely in terms of what can they gain from it. Not from any aviation perspective or whether it makes any sense to do an airport there.
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* Lynn Sweet…
Democrat Marie Newman, in a second primary bid to oust Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., is being endorsed by six leading progressive organizations, with the groups jumping in the race months earlier than they did for her in 2018.
The Monday joint endorsement of Newman from EMILY’s List, MoveOn, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America sends a strong signal to progressives in the 3rd Congressional District.
Democracy for America earlier announced its support for Newman.
“Just getting started earlier is the big thing because that just expands the universe of voters that we can have ongoing conversations with,” Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
In the March 2018 primary, Lipinski, from Western Springs, defeated Newman, who lives in LaGrange, by only 2,145 votes, or 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. The district includes parts of Southwest Side Chicago and takes in south and western suburban turf.
* Press release excerpt…
“I’m honored to receive support from EMILY’s List, MoveOn, NARAL, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the PCCC,” said Marie Newman, candidate for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. “Illinois working families need a real Democrat with real plans to make everybody’s everyday lives better. I’ll never stop fighting to create an economy and society that works for everyone.”
Rep. Lipinski, the current representative for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District, has made a name for himself siding with anti-choice activists and supporting a bigoted agenda instead of standing up for the real values of his constituents in a solidly progressive district. He has consistently attacked reproductive freedom and a woman’s right to make her own decisions about if, when, and how to start a family. He has refused to sign onto the Equality Act to guarantee equal protection to LGBTQ Americans. And he has repeatedly sided with Donald Trump and his racist and extreme agenda. He is out of touch with his voters and his party, and is not the representative the people of Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District deserve.
* The Hill…
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced earlier this year that it would not deal with vendors who work for candidates challenging Democratic incumbents in primaries. Newman told Politico last month that four consultants had left her campaign as a result of that policy.
*** UPDATE *** Dan Lipinski…
These endorsements make clear that Marie Newman is again running a “tea party of the left” campaign at the behest of national interest groups rather than focusing on taking care of the everyday concerns of people in the district as I have a track record of doing. This type of campaign, along with Ms. Newman’s hateful, Trump-like rhetoric, her penchant for spreading falsehoods - which she was called out for recently by an independent fact-checker, and the #metoo issues in her 2018 campaign she has still yet to address, will once again be rejected by voters. I continue to be focused on working with my Democratic colleagues in the House to deliver relief for middle class families with better job opportunities, improved infrastructure, more affordable health care and college education, safer gun laws, and lower taxes.
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Oh, please
Monday, May 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Illinois News Network’s publisher and general manager has penned a column entitled “Objectivity lost when the media omits the news.” I kid you not. He goes through a long meandering introduction about his world travels and then finally gets to the point…
I have watched with curiosity how media in Illinois has covered the recent stories of two state representatives who have been charged with driving under the influence, each within a short distance from the statehouse, on what was essentially a work night. Kam Buckner, a Democrat from Chicago, was arrested on March 29 a few blocks from the capitol. Steven Reick, a Republican from Woodstock, was arrested Thursday (May 2).
Each man was arrested early in the morning during session in Springfield. […]
INN published stories about Buckner on April 3 and April 5. INN published the video, which we received via a Freedom of Information Act request, on April 29. The video was aired by WGN-TV, CBS 2 Chicago, and NBC 5 Chicago within 24 hours of moving through our news wire.
All information is neutral. If you provide facts and adhere to the journalistic standards of objectivity, as a reporter you are providing the truth.
Buckner’s DUI wasn’t covered in any way by the Springfield Journal-Register, until it was packaged at the bottom of columnist/reporter Bernard Schoenberg’s news story on Reick’s arrest, which was published on Thursday (May 2) – an hour or more after Illinois News Network broke the story. The arrest occurred less than a mile from Springfield Journal-Register’s office. […]
Politico’s Illinois Playbook, a daily email newsletter roundup of Chicago, state and federal news with implications for Illinoisans, is written and aggregated by Shia Kapos. She included a link to a story about Reick’s DUI on Friday (May 3), but still hasn’t reported on Buckner’s DUI.
That is so rich. “They’re not reporting on my publication’s stories so they are biased! Biased, I say! Biased!”
This from the same news organization which used to be owned by the Illinois Policy Institute and is now the group’s office mate in Chicago. It regularly publishes columns written by Institute employees and its stories often overlap with the Institute’s own coverage.
No biases whatsoever based on story choice.
* From a recent INN story…
Amid a nationwide measles outbreak, the Illinois Department of Public Health is taking steps to increase vaccination rates to prevent measles cases here.
“The Illinois Department of Public Health is proactively working to increase vaccination rates and educate the public on the importance of vaccines to prevent the spread of measles,” said Jenny Winkler, director of quality, safety and health policy at the Illinois Health and Hospital Association.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 704 cases of measles in 22 states. Seven measles cases have been identified in Illinois, Winkler said.
Wait. Nothing about Rep. Darren Bailey’s (R-Xenia) bill to require doctors to provide misleading at best information about immunizations to parents?
Nothing about Bailey’s outrageously false Facebook posts regarding the content of measles vaccinations and the alleged harm those vaccinations can cause?
So, why aren’t they reporting on Bailey?! Biased, I say! Biased! /s
…Adding… A good point in comments…
Last week when news hit about the threatening letter concerning public pensions sent to legislators, IRN ran a story, multiple times, regarding a public school janitor suing over union dues.
Not one line regarding the threat.
Yep. Bias much?
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Pritzker unveils cannabis legalization bill
Saturday, May 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
[Comments are now open on this post.]
* CBS 2…
Governor JB Pritzker and key lawmakers announced a bill Saturday that would allow adults over the age of 21 to legally purchase cannabis from licensed dispensaries in Illinois on January 1, 2020.
According to the Governor’s Office, the measure will be introduced Monday as an amendment to Senate Bill 7.
“Years of work by stakeholders across Illinois means that today we are putting forward a framework for the General Assembly to move forward this session to legalize adult use cannabis, and we welcome additional feedback and insight during this debate,” Pritzker said.
The full press release is here. A detailed summary is here. The actual legislative language is here.
* A few press release quotes…
“This legislation puts social justice first by acknowledging the damages to overpoliced communities during prohibition,” said Senator Toi Hutchinson. “The expungement program is the most ambitious and comprehensive in the nation, creating a mechanism for erasing hundreds of thousands of offenses. It creates investment in the overpoliced communities through the ROC [Restoring Our Communities] program, and it creates a low-interest loan program as well as a social equity applicant status, so that communities of color can reap the benefits of legalization.” […]
“For decades, our cannabis laws have been unfairly applied against minorities, distorting the populations in our jails and prisons,” said Representative Celina Villanueva. “And as a practical matter, cannabis prohibition has been just as ineffective, inefficient and problematic as alcohol prohibition was. It is time to bring a measure of fairness to our laws, revenue to our state to fund important programs, and justice to our communities. This bill will help us get there.” […]
“The Illinois State Police will be a responsible partner in enforcing the law and ensuring any and all provisions of adult use legislation are strictly and efficiently complied with,” said the ISP Acting Director Brendan Kelly. “We are committed to ensuring the safety of the residents of Illinois.”
* Press release meat…
Promoting Equity
Gov. Pritzker is committed to adopting the most equitable system in the country, and this measure proposes several first-in-the-nation ideas to achieve a more equitable outcome for diverse communities.
$20 Million Low Interest Loan Program
The bill establishes a $20 million low interest loan program through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for qualified applicants to help defray the start-up costs associated with entering the licensed cannabis industry. The loan program will be paid for with existing funds from the current medical cannabis program, along with fees from licenses for existing dispensaries and cultivators that are approved in the first round of applications.
Social Equity Applicants
The framework establishes licenses for “social equity applicants,” who will receive points during the application scoring process. Eligibility criteria for social equity applicants includes a number of factors, such as majority ownership by residents of disproportionately impacted communities, majority ownership by those who have arrests or convictions eligible for expungement and those who have a majority of employees who have been disproportionately impacted.
During the licensing process, “social equity applicants” will receive 25 points out of the 200 points. Bonus points will be awarded for several categories, including for Illinois-based applicants and applicants with a labor peace agreement.
Limitations on Ownership
In order to foster more diverse ownership, the framework proposes ownership restrictions to prevent the consolidation of ownership in a small group and allow a more business owners to participate in this new market. Among the requirements: no person or entity can hold an interest in more than three cultivation centers or in more than 10 dispensing organizations.
Licenses will also be approved in waves, beginning with current medical cannabis license holders, followed by additional licenses being granted in 2020 and 2021. This timeline also ensures that new entrants into the market can develop successful applications.
Restoring Our Communities Grants
The proposal creates a new grant, Restoring Our Communities, which will receive 25 percent of the revenue that comes from the sale of adult use cannabis. A 22-member board would oversee grant distribution to communities across the state that have suffered the most from discriminatory drug policies.
Expungement
The governor is committed to expunging criminal histories of minor violations of the Cannabis Control Act. The legislation establishes a process for automatic expungement that includes review from relevant law enforcement agencies, including State Police and States Attorney offices.
The automatic expungement process does not apply to individuals whose charges were accompanied by other charges. The attached summary includes a full description of the charges eligible for automatic expungement, along with the detailed process.
Once all vetting has occurred, the law requires that the conviction must be expunged.
Personal Use Parameters
Adults under 21 are prohibited from consuming cannabis, and cannabis cannot be consumed in any place where smoking is prohibited under the Smoke Free Illinois Act. Employers can discipline an employee or terminate employment if the employer’s employment policies or workplace drug policy is violated. Employers can adopt reasonable policies concerning drug testing, smoking, consumption, storage or use of cannabis in the workplace.
Possession limit for Illinois residents:
* 30 grams of cannabis flower
* 5 grams of cannabis concentrate
* 500 milligrams of THS contained in a cannabis-infused product, or
* >30 grams of raw cannabis grown by an eligible resident
Possession limit for non-Illinois residents:
* 15 grams of cannabis flower
* 2.5 grams of cannabis concentrate
* 250 milligrams of THS contained in a cannabis-infused product
Home Grow
The measure allows Illinois households to grow up to five cannabis plants if the grower is an adult 21 or older, is in a household that owns the residence, receives permission from the landlord, keeps the cannabis in a separately locked room to keep the cannabis away from members of the household who are under 21 and is not grown in public view.
Taxation and Costs
At the point of sale, products will be taxed at various rates, depending on the amount of THC. The cannabis purchaser excise tax is proposed at the following levels:
* 10% of the purchase price – cannabis with THC level at or below 35%
* 20% of the purchase price – all cannabis-infused products
* 25% of the purchase price – cannabis with THC level above 35%
Those who cultivate cannabis will be required to pay a 7% tax on their gross receipts from the sale of cannabis. This includes cultivators, craft growers and processors to a dispensing organization.
Preliminary estimates of the costs to administer the new law are roughly $20 million annually. Cost estimates will be finalized over the coming days.
Health and Safety
In order to raise awareness about the potential risks of using cannabis, the Department of Public Health will develop and disseminate educational materials for consumers and oversee the newly created Adult Use Cannabis Public Health Advisory Committee. The proposal also contains restrictions on advertising, packaging and label requirements, and warning requirements that must be posted in each dispensary.
In order to support substance abuse and mental health, 20% of the revenue generated by the sale of adult use cannabis will support efforts in those two areas.
Again, click here if you want to see a more detailed summary. The Illinois Department of Revenue will have a revenue estimate in the coming days.
* From that summary…
LOCAL ORDINANCES
• Municipalities may pass ordinances prohibiting the establishments of dispensaries in their jurisdiction.
o Local units of government must adopt ‘opt out’ ordinances within one year of the effective date of the statute or they are limited to adopting ‘opt out’ provisions via local referendum.
* From the legislation…
A unit of local government, including a home rule unit or any non-home rule county within the unincorporated territory of the county, may not regulate the activities described in paragraph (1) [home-grow], (2) [time, place, manner, and number of cannabis establishment operations], or (3) [consumption] in a manner more restrictive than the regulation of those activities by the State under this Act.
…Adding… Raw audio from the press conference is here.
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