Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Tuesday, Mar 8, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Wait. The Illinois First Alliance is having its ~~inaugural~~ second fundraiser in Naples, Florida?…

Come to think of it, lots of Illinois folks will be down in that region right about then. I know some prominent retirees who are not far from there at this very moment. I won’t be around, but only because of session, although I generally tend to avoid Naples.

* The rest of the email…

Good evening! First Virginia… then San Francisco’s school board…then Michael Madigan gets indicted. Folks, we can actually turn Illinois Red. So much more is possible in a wave - 2022 is our moment. Any winning team works together well.

They work as a team, think as a team, check their egos, and operate with a strategic plan to achieve a goal. For years, Chicago Democrats levered their base strategically to rule Illinois. The Madigan-Pritzker Enterprise playbook is to offer more and more spending and sweet deals to government workers while stirring racial and identity politics to hold their coalition together. The result is a state that no longer helps ordinary people: exploding crime, prosecutors that don’t prosecute, schools that don’t teach, perpetual corruption and ever higher taxes.

This is Democrat Illinois. Democrats are the cause of, and Republicans are the solution to, what ails Illinois. For years, Republicans have operated in clusters - creating silos of information and setting up multiple different political groups and events competing for donors’ time and voters’ attention. Too often, the results were losing campaigns, wasted resources, and mixed messaging.

No more.

We recognize if we are to flip seats at every level from blue to red, if we are to make better use of our resources, tools, and tactics, then we must operate as a team. For the first time in the history of our state, the Illinois Senate Republicans, Illinois House Republicans, and the Illinois Republican Party are truly uniting to win.

Under a joint agreement called Illinois First Alliance, we are coming together to raise resources, coordinate on information and strategies, and frankly, work together as a team to flip as many seats as possible from Democrat Blue to Republican Red. This way, we ensure we are better stewards of the resources donors invest and operate as a well-run team to achieve our goal of saving Illinois. For this reason, we invite you to a special event. Together with the Illinois Senate Republicans, Illinois House Republicans, the Illinois Republican Party, please join the leadership of Team Illinois at 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the home of Muneer Satter [redacted] in Naples, FL for a kickoff event for this effort with special guests, Senate Leader Dan McConchie, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy, and others. Ticket price is $300 per person with sponsorships available at $3000. We are asking host committee members to contribute $3,000. Campaign sponsors are $10,000 and $30,000.

Sincerely,

Richard Porter

Combining House and Senate GOP forces with the ILGOP is an interesting concept, I suppose, but they can already do that through the state party. We’ll see if it gets any buy-in.

Richard Porter is the state’s National Republican Committeeman. He’s also a Richard Irvin backer. Just a wild guess here, but maybe they will get some dough from a certain someone.

If nothing else, the legislative leaders and some other swells have an excuse to go to Naples in March. The fundraiser is just a couple of miles from the Ritz-Carlton and a mile from the swanky Club Pelican Bay golf course.

By the way, a search of the Board of Elections turned up no results yet for Illinois First Alliance.

* Politico…

According to a polling memo shared with Playbook, the race to fill the Illinois Supreme court seat in the new 2nd District remains a toss-up. The poll, conducted by Brian Stryker’s Impact Research for candidate Elizabeth Rochford, shows a virtual tie. If the election were held today, Rochford would get 12 percent of the vote, to Rene Cruz’s 11 percent, Nancy Rotering’s 10 percent, and 67 percent undecided. All of the candidates are within the margin of error.

The polling memo says Rochford passes her competitors when respondents learn that she’s a Lake County Circuit Court judge and Rotering is mayor of Highland Park: Rochford gets 40 percent to Rotering’s 19 percent. Cruz, a Kane County Circuit Court judge, likely isn’t included in the polling memo because he’s trailing in fundraising. The point being, candidates need money and messaging to get their names before voters for the June 28 primary.

You’d think that Mayor Rotering, who has run for various offices, would be starting off with a much higher base name ID. The poll is here.

* Republican gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan recently completed a 15-day, 52-county “statewide truck tour” and posted a video. Trouble is, there is no Tuscola County in Illinois…

Oops.

There’s a Tuscola County in Michigan on Saginaw Bay. Maybe somebody in the campaign has a summer home there.

* Press release…

[Yesterday], Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) filed approximately 14 times the required amount of petition signatures required by the Illinois State Board of Elections to officially confirm her candidacy for U.S. Representative of Illinois’ 14th Congressional District. This is the largest number of signatures ever submitted by the Lauren Underwood for Congress campaign totalling 5,645 petition signatures collected from every county in the newly-drawn IL-14. Congresswoman Lauren Underwood issued the following statement in response:

Same district, other party…

Jim Marter has the most signatures, the best name recognition, the most endorsements and the strongest grassroots team behind him in this Primary. … Marter submitted his signature package in Springfield early in the morning on Monday and said he was humbled by the 40+ volunteers who circulated them for him, securing over 1,200 signatures from all seven counties within the district.

Another GOP primary candidate in that district named Mike Koolidge…

[Yesterday] morning I was down in Springfield and submitted nearly 1,200 petition signatures, from residents in all 7 counties in the 14th District, to be on the ballot to serve as your next member of Congress!

* Press release…

Today, the National Association of Letter Carriers, announced their endorsement of Nikki Budzinski in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. The NALC represents thousands of city letter carriers across Illinois.

The NALC’s endorsement is the latest in a broad coalition of support that Budzinski is building, including U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, the Illinois AFL-CIO, EMILY’s List, State Treasurer Mike Frerichs, Rep. “Chuy” García, Rep. Sean Casten, Rep. Cheri Bustos, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Rep. Mike Quigley, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Rep. Bill Foster, Madison County, St. Clair County, and Sangamon County Democrats, State Senator Christopher Belt, Assistant Majority Leader Jay Hoffman, House Democratic Caucus Chair LaToya Greenwood, State Representative Katie Stuart, UFCW Local 881, Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), The United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC), SEIU State Council, United Steelworkers (USW), IBEW Locals 51, 146, 193, 309, 601 and 649, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Sheet Metal Air Rail and Transportation Workers’ Union, Heat and Frost Insulators, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois (AFFI), Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) Local 8, Leage of Conservation Voters, J Street, Elect Democratic Women, Pastor T. Ray McJunkins, County Chairs Bill Houlihan (Sangamon), and Pam Monetti (Macoupin).

Nikki Budzinski made the following statement: “The U.S. Postal Service is an institution and the men and women who make it run are public servants that frequently are unsung heroes. I am committed to working with the NALC to make sure the U.S. Postal Service has a bright future. I look forward to advocating for the NALC’s members in Congress.”

Tony Bultinck, President of the Illinois Association of Letter Carriers, made the following statement: “Our members need an advocate on the federal level that will fight for us and make sure the United States Postal Service has a bright future in America. Nikki’s years of experience in the labor movement mean that we can work with her, support her, and trust that she will always have our members’ backs. We are eager to work with her.”

Always be kind to your letter carriers, especially if you have a lot of direct mailers to send.

51 Comments

*** UPDATED x1 *** Question of the day

Tuesday, Mar 8, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Letter…

March 7, 2022

Dear Governor Pritzker:

We are writing to ask your administration to freeze any unreleased funds associated with four projects contained within the 2019 Rebuild Illinois initiative which are tied directly to indicted former Speaker Mike Madigan.

The massive 22-count indictment of Madigan calls into question the legitimacy of these projects and whether they inured to the benefit of the community and the taxpayers or whether they were advanced at the behest of Madigan on behalf of or to benefit his private law clients or other politically-connected individuals or entities.

According to a January 2022 report published in the Sun-Times, the 2019 Rebuild Illinois capital package contained $144M of projects directly tied to former Speaker Madigan. Records show that among other projects, Madigan secured $98M to address train brake noise outside three hotels near Midway Airport owned by two brothers, who were clients of Madigan’s property tax business. According to the Better Government Association, the brothers said they never requested the funding. The report also identified three additional projects tied to Madigan, totaling $6M for a control tower at Lewis University Airport in Romeoville, $31M for The Academy for Global Citizenship, a charter school near Madigan’s former House district, and $9M for John Hancock College Prep, a Chicago public high school in Madigan’s former district. According to the BGA, the Academy received tens of millions more than it requested and no funding was requested for John Hancock by CPS.

Although some of the funding for these projects may have already been allocated, and projects completed or underway, we request another layer of review to determine whether they were an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. If not, and any unallocated funding remains, the General Assembly should reallocate the funds for much-needed capital or infrastructure needs.

We applaud your strong support of much-needed school projects, critical infrastructure needs, roads and bridges, mental health clinics, food pantries and other legislative priorities via the Rebuild Illinois program.

Likewise, we appreciate your strong rebuke of Madigan’s actions as alleged in the indictment and share your view that they constituted a stark violation of the public trust. We join you in your commitment to ensure accountability and integrity in state government and am hopeful we can work together to restore not only the misappropriated public dollars but the trust that Illinoisans have in their elected officials.

Thank you,

Rep. Ann M. Williams
Rep. Terra Costa Howard
Rep. Deb Conroy
Rep. Lindsey LaPointe
Rep. Kelly Cassidy
Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz
Rep. Jonathan Carroll
Rep. Kathy Willis
Rep. Anne Stava-Murray

* From that news report…

For the better part of the past decade, hotel owners Jon Weglarz and Mark Weglarz fought to put a damper on the noise caused by screeching train brakes outside their Midway Airport-area properties.

Now, it appears they’ve finally succeeded — with the intervention of the Weglarz brothers’ longtime property tax lawyer, then-House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who delivered $98 million in taxpayer money for what undoubtedly would be one of the most expensive brake jobs in history. […]

Records show at least $144 million went to four projects backed by Madigan that avoided the usual review process and benefited people the former speaker has ties to.

Beside the money for reducing the noise from trains near Midway Airport, those projects also included $31 million for a charter school records show asked for only $1.5 million, $9 million for a new Chicago high school building that the Chicago Public Schools hadn’t sought that funding for and $6 million for a Romeoville airport control tower that a Madigan political ally had wanted for years.

* The Question: Should the governor freeze any unreleased funds associated with those four Madigan projects? Please explain your answer in comments.

*** UPDATE *** This question is now moot. From Jordan Abudayyeh…

At the request of members of the General Assembly who voted for the capital plan, the administration will freeze the funding for the projects outlined in their letter.

42 Comments

*** UPDATED x1 *** Senate going mask-optional, House likely to follow suit today

Tuesday, Mar 8, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Reporters were sent this yesterday…

Good afternoon,

With the recent changes in COVID mitigations at the state level, the Senate has made several updates to our COVID safety protocols.

You will still be required to show a negative PCR test to gain entry to Senate offices, committee rooms, press boxes and galleries. More information on testing is below. Rapid and at-home tests will not be accepted.

Face masks, which cover the nose and mouth, are strongly encouraged but not required for all persons in Senate areas of the Capitol. Please take care and respect in approaching or meeting with another person within 6ft as to their preference on mask-wearing.

Senate galleries will be open to 50% capacity and all entrants must have a wristband.

Testing protocols remain the same, but please review details below if you need a refresher or need to test for the first time.

* Subscribers know more, but here’s Politico…

Members of the Illinois House are expected to vote today to make masks optional in the chamber. The approval would put an end to standoffs with Republicans who have opposed the face-coverings.

“It’s time,” House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said in an interview in his office after taking up the issue with his Democratic Caucus.

“We wanted to check with them first. I don’t want to be guessing,” he said. “I’m hopeful that that’s something we can take up [Tuesday] when we convene.” It would go into effect immediately, so we imagine a dramatic moment of masks flying like caps in a graduation scene in the movies.

Welch also met with House Minority Leader Jim Durkin about taking a vote to make masks optional. The response? “It was the shortest meeting I’ve had with him all year,” Welch said.

The expected new guidance follows contentious debates on the House floor with some Republicans being kicked out of the chamber for not wearing masks. The decision also follows Gov. JB Pritzker easing up the indoor mask mandate in Illinois and Congress removing its mask mandate as well.

…Adding… The House resolution is here.

*** UPDATE *** The House resolution passed with one dissenting vote, Rep. Lakesia Collins (D-Chicago), who sponsored the motions to kick the House Republican violators off the floor.

…Adding… DeVore offers up some spin…

Thomas DeVore, the attorney representing Wilhour, said the modified rule means the lawsuit isn’t necessary. But, he said they’ll bring the lawsuit again if masks are ever mandated on members without due process.

“I’m pleased to hear the Democratic majority passed a resolution withdrawing their unlawful mask policy,” DeVore told The Center Square. “While the chamber can adopt rules of decorum, this does not include the discretion to adopt public health policy.”

DeVore said they were ready to challenge the rule in Sangamon County court Wednesday. But, the House dropping the rule “at the last minute renders the hearing no longer necessary.”

“The House majority should not believe this issue is over for if they ever try again to adopt an unconstitutional quarantine policy cloaked as a decorum rule, Representative Wilhour and I will return to defend the people’s House,” DeVore said.

Again, the TRO containing the bizarre quarantine reasoning was vacated. There’s nothing on the books upholding this theory.