Fun with numbers (Updated)
Thursday, Jun 20, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois Policy Institute…
AFSCME Council 31 filed its 2023 federal report with the U.S. Department of Labor this spring, and its own numbers – from membership to spending practices – don’t look good.
The union claims to represent more than 90,000 state and local government employees in Illinois. Yet just 55,771 of those workers are members of the union, according to the union’s annual report, called an LM-2.
That means nearly 40% have rejected membership in the union supposedly representing their interests.
Um, no.
* First, if you click the link in the IPI’s own story, AFSCME Council 31 includes retirees in that number…
Statewide, AFSCME represents more than 90,000 active and retired employees of state, county and city governments, state universities, local school districts and nonprofit agencies.
* Second, the IPI didn’t link to the LM-2’s, so I looked them up myself.
In 2017, the year before the Supreme Court’s Janus decision, which allowed people to pay no dues but still receive full representation, AFSCME Council 31 reported having 57,995 full and part-time members, plus another 7,047 “Agency Fee Payers” - employees who paid for union services without being actual union members.
In 2018, Council 31 reported having 57,000 full and part-time members and no fee payers.
And in 2023, Council 31 reported 55,771 full and part-time members.
So, yeah, there’s been a decline. They lost 2,224 members since before Janus, which is a 3.8 percent drop, not “nearly 40%.”
…Adding… It turns out that Council 31’s 2023 membership actually increased by 2,757 over 2022’s membership. From spokesperson Anders Lindall…
Our active membership of 55,771 as reported on our most recent federal filing reflects growth over each of the last two fiscal years – the result of public and private employers beginning to recover from the pandemic and fill needed positions, and of the great enthusiasm of newly organized workers to join our union in recent years, especially among cultural workers such as library and museum employees.
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* More background is here if you need it. Tuesday night Tribune article…
The decision by top Illinois Republican officials to dethrone the party’s vice chair could portend even bigger changes for the moribund organization, including renewed efforts to replace its Illinois GOP Chairman Don Tracy.
Mark Shaw, the former chairman of the GOP in Lake County, lost the title of state party vice chair and also was removed from the party’s fundraising committee during a special meeting Monday of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee following controversies last month at the state GOP convention in Collinsville.
State GOP sources familiar with the inner workings of the state party said the events leading up to Shaw’s sanctioning also underscored long-standing concerns about the leadership of Tracy, a Springfield attorney who has headed up the party since February 2021. Tracy took no public position on whether Shaw should continue as state GOP vice chair and said he was powerless to force him to step down — a stance critics cited as weak. They also noted Tracy questioned whether Shaw was being fairly treated.
The party instability comes less than a month before the state’s 64-member delegation heads to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention’s nomination of former President Donald Trump. The entire delegation is pledged to Trump, including Shaw and Tracy. But conventions are typically designed to display party unity — an element lacking within the Illinois GOP leadership.
“His days are numbered. It’s just a matter of how it happens,” one Republican familiar with the intraparty discussions said of Tracy. The source asked that their name not be used to avoid intensifying the feuding.
* Wednesday resignation press release from Don Tracy…
For almost 3 1/2 years, I have had the honor of Chairing the Illinois Republican Party, and enjoyment of working closely with the great majority of you to rebuild the Illinois Republican Party. In that time, we have doubled State Party operational capabilities by better fundraising and building a bigger team through among other things activation of several new and old SCC Committees such as the Finance Committee and Election Integrity Committee.
When I took on this full-time volunteer job in February, 2021, I thought I would be spending most of my time fighting Democrats, helping elect Republicans, raising money to pay for more Party infrastructure, and advocating for Party unity. Unfortunately, however, I have had to spend far too much time dealing with intra party power struggles, and local intra party animosities that continued after primaries and County Chair elections.
In better days, Illinois Republicans came together after tough intra party elections. Now however, we have Republicans who would rather fight other Republicans than engage in the harder work of defeating incumbent Democrats by convincing swing voters to vote Republican.
Like Vince Kolber, my friend and former Finance Committee Chair, I am also concerned about the current infatuation of some members of the SCC, few as they are, with certain individuals they call “grass roots” leaders. Recent events including the RNC Committeeman election, immediately followed by the retribution sacking of the losing candidate Vice-Chair Mark Shaw, a long time State Party leader and worker, without due process and without taking any step to disciplining others for alleged or admitted Convention misconduct, portends a direction of the State Party I am not comfortable with.
Accordingly, I hereby resign as Chair of the Illinois Republican Party effective upon the election of my successor preferably no later than July 19, 2024 at 5pm. Like Vince, I will continue to personally support many of our great Republican state, local and federal candidates, and our many great Republican County Chairs and other positive and productive Republican leaders.
I hereby appoint Jan Weber as Chair of a Search Committee and empower her to add two other members to that Committee as she sees fit.”
PS My resignation has nothing to do with today’s anonymously sourced Chicago Tribue article. I made my decision to resign early yesterday morning, communicated it to Matt Janes before our 10am staff call yesterday, and began drafting this notice yesterday shortly before or after the staff call. Also, no one from the Tribune called me about this article, which I did not learn of until this morning. And, I do not believe any SCC member talked to the Tribune about the article.
Don Tracy
Chairman
Illinois Republican Party
As I told subscribers, Tracy sent out word of his resignation before the Tribune story was published. The Republican National Convention ends July 18.
* Democratic Party of Illinois react…
Following the latest reports of Illinois GOP dysfunction and Chair Don Tracy’s sudden resignation, the Democratic Party of Illinois released the following statement:
“While the IL GOP finds itself in chaos, the Democratic Party of Illinois enters the 2024 general election as a united party standing for freedom and opportunity for all of Illinois’ working families. As a reminder, last cycle, Illinois Democrats defeated the IL GOP’s MAGA candidate for Governor, re-elected Senator Tammy Duckworth, protected supermajorities in the IL General Assembly, and expanded our representation in Congress. In contrast, the IL GOP has been defined by a litany of electoral disasters, constant infighting, meager fundraising, and a strict adherence to a losing set of anti-choice, anti-worker, pro-Trump policies.
While we don’t expect new leadership to change any of that, we do wish the best of luck to the inevitable MAGA extremist who will succeed Don Tracy as Chair.”
* Tribune follow-up story…
Tracy held the party chairmanship since February 2021. An attorney from Springfield and a co-owner of his family’s wealthy food distribution business, he was narrowly elected by a moderate coalition of the Republican State Central Committee over Shaw to replace then-GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner’s handpicked chairman, Tim Schneider, who Shaw helped push out.
Tracy was chosen as the first state Republican chairman from outside the Chicago area since 1988. Though previously an unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor in 2014, he was viewed as coming from the donor class of the party rather than having a strong background in rank-and-file political organizing.
That image proved to be his downfall as the GOP suffered continued political losses that led Democrats to control all three branches of state government and saw its suburban base sharply eroded in the populous collar counties. Republicans have lost a sizable share of suburban residents as the party that once embraced fiscal conservatism and social moderation has shifted sharply to more social conservatism and moved the GOP’s geographic base to less-populated rural downstate Illinois.
Tracy failed to find ways to harness the rural populism that was an outgrowth of Trump’s dominance of the party. He also didn’t help party candidates distance themselves from Trump’s unpopularity in the suburbs, the region which has traditionally been the key for Republican success statewide.
* Illinois Review posts its grievance list…
During the 2022 Primary, conservative grassroots candidates were viciously attacked by IL GOP-endorsed candidates in mailers paid for by the Illinois Republican Party – falsely claiming that their conservative opponents were “fake” Republicans and “not one of us.”
And in the gubernatorial primary in 2022, the IL GOP-backed candidate Richard Irivn was receiving support from party leadership – and his campaign was even allowed to use the IL GOP postage discount. A perk not afforded to other conservative grassroots candidates for governor.
During the school board races in April of 2023, Tracy and the IL GOP were nowhere to be found – abandoning the grassroots base of the party while Gov. JB Pritzker and the Democratic Party of Illinois spent $800,000 to support their far-left school board candidates and attack their conservative opponents.
Just months before his election as chairman of the IL GOP, Tracy donated to a Democratic candidate endorsed by liberal US Sen. Dick Durbin and Democrat US Rep. Cherie Bustos, a friend and ally of former Democratic US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But this should come as no surprise because after all, during the 2002 Illinois Primary, Tracy ran as a Democrat. And in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Tracy’s family-owned business, Dot Foods, where he is an owner, donated to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
…Adding… The Tribune reported the other day that Aaron Del Mar was a frontrunner to replace Tracy. And now there’s a “Draft Del Mar” website…
The site ownership has been “Redacted for privacy.”
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* Tom Collins at Shaw Local…
A Marseilles man charged with murder was out of custody awaiting trial for multiple felonies when he allegedly killed his father – but Logan Petre wasn’t out because of the SAFE-T Act.
Petre, 21, is charged in La Salle County Circuit Court with first-degree murder. He would face 20 to 60 years in prison with no possibility of probation, if convicted of strangling Leo Petre in the family home. (Logan Petre could face additional time if also convicted of a pending home invasion charge.)
Though Logan Petre was out of custody at the time of Leo’s death, he wasn’t released under no-cash bail established by the SAFE-T Act. Instead, Petre had posted cash bond on his two pending felony cases from June 2023 (home invasion) and July 2023 (aggravated battery). Cash bonds ended in September as a result of the SAFE-T Act. […]
La Salle County State’s Attorney Joe Navarro said he made it a point, during the early hours of the investigation, to see whether Logan Petre had been released under the SAFE-T Act. That proved not to be the case. It was, in fact, victim Leo Petre who posted the $5,000 cash needed to bond his son out for home invasion, Navarro said. […]
“It does not change by opinion of the SAFE-T Act,” Navarro said, “but my understanding was Logan Petre was out on an ankle monitor and was supposed to be attending counseling. That was not followed up on.”
Home invasion is now a detainable offense.
…Adding… Very good point in comments…
Had it not been for those lawsuits by similar minded SAs, the SAFE-T act would have gone into effect on Jan 1, 2023 where this guy would likely not have been able to buy his way out.
Guess what? La Salle County State’s Attorney Joe Navarro was part of that lawsuit.
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)
Tuesday, Jun 18, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
*** Adding *** Personal PAC…
Please find statement below. I have been told that the vote is expected to happen Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.
Lake County’s Circuit Court is about to make a very dangerous decision for reproductive health and rights.
Extreme right-wing politician, Rod Drobinski, seeks appointment by sitting Lake County judges to be an Associate Lake County Judge.
Lake County residents rejected Drobinski’s bids for state representative and judge of the Circuit Court. His anti-abortion views are too extreme for the district.
Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick said, “We will not endorse any judge for election, appointment, or retention who supports anti-abortion judicial candidates. Full stop.”
As a member of Lake County Right to Life, Drobinski has a clear history of opposing abortion rights. “Local courts are a front-line of defense to protect people seeking abortion services in Illinois,” Garza Resnick added. “We will keep fighting to ensure the Illinois Courts protect all reproductive rights.”
* The Telegraph…
Hearings on objections to more than a dozen Republican state legislative candidates, including Jay Keeven of Edwardsville, will be held after hearing officers are assigned to the cases by the Illinois State Board of Elections.
That is expected to happen during the ISBE’s July meeting, with the hearings to be completed in time for the agency board to make a final decision in August to meet the Aug. 23 deadline to finalize the state ballot.
Matt Dietrich, a spokesman for the ISBE, said regardless of how the ISBE rules, the agency’s rulings are expected to be challenged in court. […]
Dietrich said until the hearing officer is named, the specifics of the objections are not made public.
* Tribune…
Defense attorneys in the federal racketeering case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime confidant said in new filings Monday that prosecutors’ apparent plan to immunize former state Rep. Eddie Acevedo and compel him to testify is dubious due to “competency issues.”
The filings also previewed what likely will be a key element of Madigan’s defense: that while others may have schemed behind the scenes to try and influence the powerful House speaker, there is no evidence Madigan was in on it or that he took any official action to assist them.
Acevedo, a Madigan acolyte who left the General Assembly in 2017 to become a lobbyist, was allegedly paid by AT&T Illinois through a do-nothing consulting contract as part of an alleged scheme by the telephone giant to illegally influence Madigan as they worked to pass legislation in Springfield.
Prosecutors said in a filing earlier this year that they plan to call Acevedo to testify about the payments, which were allegedly arranged by Madigan’s friend and co-defendant, Michael McClain. Acevedo, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to tax-related offenses related to the same overarching investigation and served six months in prison.
* Naperville Sun…
Naperville-based Awake Illinois was called out as one of 1,430 hate and anti-government extremist groups operating in the U.S. in 2023 by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Awake group, which espouses anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and advocates against sex education in schools, was flagged by the center in its Year in Hate & Extremism report.
The annually published report, the center says, is a “comprehensive analysis of the groups and organizational infrastructure upholding white supremacy in the United States.” It includes a “hate map,” tracking groups that land on the center’s hate and extremism radar by state as well as several observed trends in recent hard-right activity.
In its latest analysis, the center found that 39 different hate and anti-government extremist groups were active in Illinois last year. Those, according to the center, included Awake Illinois.
* Austin Berg at the Illinois Policy Institute…
*** Statewide ***
* WCIA | Illinois awarding $5 million to local chambers of commerce: The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has announced $5 million in grants to more than 150 organizations. It’s through the Back to Business local chambers program. The goal is to help chambers of commerce bounce back from the impacts of the pandemic.
* WAND | Illinois celebrates record-breaking export sales in 2023: Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity announced another record-breaking year with export sales over $78.7 billion in 2023. According to rankings by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Illinois leads Midwest as the top exporting state and fifth in the nation.
* Spectrum | West Nile virus found in mosquitos and birds across 13 Illinois counties; IDPH warns public to ‘Fight the Bite’: While no human cases of the virus have been reported, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reminding people of the importance to “Fight the Bite” during National Mosquito Control Awareness Week, June 16-22. […] There were 119 human cases reported last year, which is an increase from 34 human cases in 2022, according to IDPH. Six human deaths attributed to the West Nile virus were reported in 2023, compared to seven in 2022.
*** Downstate ***
* WAND | Ribbon cutting held to reopen Peoria Planned Parenthood after firebombing: The rebuilding and renovations amounted to more than $1 million. On Tuesday, PPIL held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and press conference with Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Michael Cabonargi, Congressman Eric Sorensen, and Illinois State Senator Dave Kohler to unveil the new facility. “We are back and stronger than ever,” said President and CEO of PPIL, Jennifer Welch. “We know the vital role the Peoria Health Center plays in the central Illinois community. The arsonist may have destroyed our health center and robbed the community from accessing care, but we were also brought closer together. Thanks to the ongoing support from Peoria leaders, residents, and donors we have the pleasure to be part of this amazing community once again.”
* SJ-R | Grants available for Black-owned businesses along Route 66 in Illinois: The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership, a coalition of state Route 66 associations, is offering $50,000 to provide direct grants to help Black-owned or operated businesses and attractions, research and programs on the historic road. “We’re always hoping to get the word out, so more people have the opportunity to apply,” Bill Thomas, chairman of Route 66 Ahead said. “It’s not just preserving the history of Route 66, but this is also an opportunity to help sustain the businesses that already exist.”
* SJ-R | A Springfield high school has finalized a deal to build a new multimillion dollar school: Lutheran High School has finalized a deal to purchase 25 acres on the city’s far south side where it intends to build a new school. The property was purchased from Cherry Hills Church, 2125 Woodside Road. It is just north of the church structure and located off Chatham Road. The school had reached an intent to purchase agreement with the church on the property in December.
*** Chicago ***
* South Side Weekly | Mayor Johnson on His Organizing Roots and Vision for Chicago : When the interview turned to education, the mayor did not directly answer a yes-or-no question about the possibility of closing public schools during his tenure. Instead, Johnson noted that he participated in the 2015 hunger strike that forced then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel to reopen Dyett High School on the South Side, and offered a quote from W.E.B. DuBois. “The moratorium already exists,” he said. “I fought to make sure that it happened.”
* Crain’s | Digital billboards on the Riverwalk? It’s just one idea this City Hall panel is set to debate: Expanding advertising on the Riverwalk as well as on vacant downtown storefronts, Chicago Transit Authority stations and within Chicago parks, for a fee, and allowing video gambling in Chicago are two of the revenue ideas favored by freshman Ald. William Hall, 6th. Hall told Crain’s other ideas like a city income tax or an increase in property taxes — both of which Johnson has repeatedly said he opposes — will also be on the table when the City Council’s Subcommittee on Revenue, which Hall chairs, meets for the first time on June 26 for a “Revenue 101” crash course.
* Crain’s | WBEZ and Sun-Times unions vote no confidence in Chicago Public Media CEO: With the votes that took place today, the unions signaled they have no confidence in Moog’s leadership. The unions said 86% of members participated in the vote, with 96%, or 114 members, voting no confidence.
* NYT | More Than 1,000 Birds Died One Night in Chicago. Will It Happen Again?: Migration experts said that the unusual mass deaths were the product of a number of common occurrences happening all at once. One factor, they said, was easily preventable: the number of buildings that had their lights on, which disoriented birds that were migrating overnight on Oct. 4. Since October, there have been significant changes at the building where the highest concentration of birds died, McCormick Place Lakeside Center, but advocates for bird safety are seeking measures that protect birds across the city. These measures could include treating windows with film that is more visible to birds, using shutters or drapes to block windows and turning off decorative lighting at night during migration seasons.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Herald | Woman missed out on cicadas 17 years ago, so she brought 6,000 of them to her yard: Seventeen years ago, Bettina Sailer felt cheated when her yard did not buzz with the sound of 17-year cicadas. So, the North Aurora resident went to other parts of the state where cicadas were plentiful and brought the insects back to her yard. This year, Sailer did it again. She now has more than 6,000 cicadas in her front yard.
*** National ***
* Pew Research | Most Black Americans Believe U.S. Institutions Were Designed To Hold Black People Back: A new analysis suggests that many Black Americans believe the racial bias in U.S. institutions is not merely a matter of passive negligence; it is the result of intentional design. Specifically, large majorities describe the prison (74%), political (67%) and economic (65%) systems in the U.S., among others, as having been designed to hold Black people back, either a great deal or a fair amount. Black Americans’ mistrust of U.S. institutions is informed by history, from slavery to the implementation of Jim Crow laws in the South, to the rise of mass incarceration and more. Several studies show that racial disparities in income, wealth, education, imprisonment and health outcomes persist to this day.
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