Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Wednesday, Aug 31, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I told you the other day, Republican attorney general nominee Tom DeVore busted the contribution caps in the AG’s race with a $250,001 loan from himself. He filed the official Notification of Self-Funding paperwork today. DeVore hasn’t raised much money outside of the loan to himself.

* Darren Bailey’s running mate Stephanie Trussell held a press conference in Chicago yesterday. From WGN TV…

Trussell: JB Pritzker doesn’t care about Garfield Park. JB Pritzker doesn’t care about anyone suffering outside of his billionaire bubble.

Pritzker: That’s ludicrous. Since I came into office, in fact, I’ve been focused on lifting up those who’ve been left out and left behind. Let me be clear, it was Darren Bailey that voted against providing rent assistance or homeowners assistance during the worst parts of the pandemic. Darren Bailey, who voted against all of the assistance for small businesses during the pandemic.

When asked about abortion rights, Trussell said this…

People that are working hard every day to pay the increased gas prices, to pay the increased taxes. 114,000 people fled the great state of Illinois last year. That’s not an issue that most people are concerned about.

* Follow-up on Rep. Ford from Center Square…

A political ad airing on TV and online that is critical of Democrats’ policies is finding different interpretations among Democrats.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot last week criticized a political ad from People Who Play By The Rules PAC airing concerns about the Democrats’ policies on crime and punishment.

Lightfoot said the ad purposely darkened her skin color. […]

State Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago, told WIND radio host Dan Proft, who is the president of People Who Play By The Rules PAC, that Lightfoot’s position was offensive to darker skinned people like himself.

“You don’t come out against the color of your skin when it could really make that color be offended,” Ford said. “The color that you had her in is just a little shade darker than me.” […]

Lightfoot doubled down on her comments Monday and said she didn’t understand where Ford was coming from.

“I don’t even know what to say in response to that,” Lightfoot said. “If you’re not offended by that, I don’t know what to say to you.”

Ford is a possible mayoral candidate.

* Also from Center Square…

So far in August, Vote Yes for Workers Rights, which supports the labor amendment in front of voters this November, received $3.2 million from various labor unions.

* WCPT…

Joe Severino, the GOP nominee for Illinois’ 10th district House seat, has used social media in the past to falsely blame the Highland Park shooting on the town’s mayor.

After the massacre, Severino wrote a Facebook comment in a private group blaming Mayor Nancy Rotering (D) for the shooting at the town’s Fourth of July parade that killed seven people and injured dozens.

“Further, people are celebrating Mayor Rotering as a leader when she is indirectly responsible for the shooting,” Severino falsely claimed. “She was running against the shooters father and well aware of this family’s turmoil.”

There is no evidence that Rotering had any prior knowledge or tip that would have given her, or anyone else, prior knowledge of the shooter’s plan.

Severino is set to take on incumbent Rep. Brad Schneider (D) in the general election in November. Schneider’s campaign condemned the comments made in Severino’s Facebook post.

“Joe Severino’s misinformation around the Highland Park shooting is disgusting and has no place in our politics,” said Schneider’s campaign manager Matt Fried. “If he had a shred of decency, he would apologize to Mayor Rotering and the families of the victims whose memories he has sullied by lying about the tragedy and making common cause with conspiracy theorists.”

* More…

* Race for Illinois’ 13th congressional district

* GOP challenger for state treasurer visits Effingham

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Bailey says parents upset about not getting kids into U of I, points to “foreign” students, says U of I is wasting money, calls on school to come up with pension solution

Wednesday, Aug 31, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Sen. Darren Bailey speaking live on Facebook this morning…

Our schools have been hijacked with woke policies and it has to end. Just this week, a few days ago, I announced that we’ve got, we’ve got some major changes with our college systems and especially the U of I. Everywhere I go, I talk to students and parents who are frustrated because they can’t get their children enrolled at the U of I.

And, and just last night by press that, I was asked, well, what’s the answer? Because if we don’t allow all these foreign students to come, you know the U of I might start hurting financially.

We have got to start thinking of government just exactly like we think of it with our businesses. If we can’t afford it, we don’t do it. If it’s not working, we cut it or we change it. And unfortunately, the answer with the University of Illinois as I was asked by press last night, it’s not adding more taxes. It’s making the school more efficient. Money is being wasted, priorities are being wasted.

Our own students because of our own tax money that supports this school aren’t able to go to this school. It’s time for a change. There’s absolutely no reason that the president of the college should be making a million dollars. That is a public service, there is no reason, there is no excuse for that.

The U of I has got to be challenged to become the great school that it’s intended to be. And unfortunately, we’re struggling with, that they should be front and center with many of these advances and with our economy.

Why isn’t the U of I being utilized more by by state government to challenge the system, to come up with a pension solution? There you go, U of I, come up with a pension solution. Let’s hear it. Nobody wants to talk about it instead. Well, anyway, I’ll stop there. But friends, we’ve got work to do.

*** UPDATE *** WCIA…

U of I’s Associate Chancellor Robin Kaler said in a statement their goal is to attract a strong, high quality applicant pool with a diverse blend of students from in-state, across the country and the world. Kaler said the “biggest challenge” when it comes to enrolling in-state students is many say they can’t afford tuition. She said the school has addressed their financial concerns by offering programs like the Illinois Commitment, which offers free tuition for students whose families earn $67,100 a year or less.

The school admitted a record-breaking number of freshmen last fall – just over 8,300. 5,835 of those were from Illinois, and 2,468 were not.

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Pritzker pushes abortion rights despite lack of special session

Wednesday, Aug 31, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Background is here if you need it. Sun Times…

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday vowed that “anti-choice” politicians will lose in November, as he stood surrounded by Planned Parenthood leaders who are still awaiting legislative fixes — and funds — to help handle an influx of patients coming to Illinois to seek abortion care services. […]

But the event also highlighted that the pledge Pritzker made on June 24 to call the Illinois General Assembly back into session in Springfield to “further enshrine” reproductive rights remains unfulfilled. Similarly, Pritzker voiced support for an assault weapons ban after the Highland Park massacre. But is likely to find it difficult to drum up enough support in an election year. […]

Those discussions involve legislation to protect medical providers from legal, criminal and civil liability, expand the capacity of providers who can provide abortions and measures to protect and grow clinics, Pritzker said. […]

[Yamelsie Rodriguez, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis region and Southwest Missouri] said wait times went from three to four days to two and a half weeks. She said Illinois has seen a 76% increase in abortions after 14 weeks of gestation. […]

“Is this going to be sustainable over time, when we’re thinking $900 to $1,500 just to provide practical support for transportation and accommodation? No,” Rodriguez said. “And we made that very clear to Gov. Pritzker why this is an imperative, and we will continue to work with him to ensure that we have a sustainable platform here.”

* Pritzker acknowledged that in order for any measures to take immediate effect, he’ll need support from the legislature’s Democratic supermajorities. After Jan. 1, only a simple majority would be required…

Transcript…

Legislators are hard at work, now, I think you know, in working groups, in fact working with Planned Parenthood and many other pro-choice organizations to make sure that they can craft the legislation that we need. You heard about the need to protect from legal liability, criminal and civil liability that other states want to bring against people in Illinois, against their own people who come to Illinois. Those are parts of what needs to be addressed by the legislature. Then there’s the expansion of capacity, allowing nurse practitioners to perform procedures to make sure that we’re protecting and growing the existing capacity of the clinics that are here and then attracting other clinics to come to Illinois. Those are all things that are being considered by the working groups in the legislature. […]

Well, I think you know that there are two things that you have to consider one is there is a legislature, the legislature has to do its work and he is hard at work. Second, that as you know when Special Session when things need to be passed with a supermajority. That’s harder than doing it with a simple majority. So there’s some things that can be done could be done with a supermajority, some things that take a simple majority. So again, the legislature is working through all those things.

* The Center Square…

Pritzker said his executive authority only goes so far.

“There are things that you can’t do as an executive order. There are things that the legislature really does need to do, we need it enshrined into law,” Pritzker said. “So, again, those things are all being worked out. We’re talking with the legislature, working with the attorney general’s office.”

Illinois Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, said the hold up may be that Democrats are gauging public sentiment.

“I think it’s because the Democrats understand that what they want to do is go even farther on abortion, even more extreme than any other state in the country,” McConchie told The Center Square earlier this month. “I think they recognize we already have some of the most extreme abortion laws in the country. Going further might actually alienate voters this fall.”

* Tribune…

Welch has tapped nine House Democrats to work with advocates on legislative proposals, but those negotiations are taking place behind closed doors. State Rep. Kelly Cassidy of Chicago, an outspoken proponent of abortion rights who was assigned to lead the group, did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment on its progress.

Senate Democrats have not announced a formal negotiating team, but Harmon spokesman John Patterson said, “There are ongoing internal discussions.”

Pritzker spoke to reporters Tuesday after meeting privately with the heads of the Illinois and St. Louis regional chapters of Planned Parenthood, along with Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The Planned Parenthood leaders all praised Pritzker for his support of abortion access and argued for the importance of the Nov. 8 election in determining the future of reproductive health care in Illinois and across the country.

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