What: First Family hosts Trick-or-Treaters at the Governor’s Mansion
Where: Governor’s Mansion, 410 E. Jackson St., Springfield
Date: Saturday, October 27, 2018
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Note: No additional media availability
As Tina rightly points out, President Trump’s southern Illinois event begins at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon…
But the governor's public schedule shows he'll be hosting "Trick-or-Treaters at the Governor’s Mansion" at 4 p.m. in Springfield. The rally is at 4:30 p.m. in Murphysboro. https://t.co/jUsiwuVeGj
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has sought to avoid any involvement with President Trump for most of his first term, said Friday he expects to be in Murphysboro IL when the president makes a campaign visit Saturday. Rauner has sought to unify a core GOP base that backs Trump.
* Meanwhile, a dark money groupassociated with Local 150 of the Operating Engineers is running this ad opposing Republican AG candidate Erika Harold on “Chicagoland broadcast and cable markets [in] the last eight days of the election cycle.”
This photo was posted on a private Instagram account and after finding out about it this morning, both individuals were immediately suspended without pay. After further investigation, both staffers have been fired.
* Meanwhile, I asked a handful of folks earlier this afternoon to respond to the Pritzker campaign “blackface” incident. Here’s Secretary of State Jesse White…
The workers used very poor judgement. JB’s campaign has explained the situation and dealt with it appropriately.
* Sen. Kwame Raoul…
This type of behavior is offensive and unconscionable. It shouldn’t be tolerated, and I’m glad to hear that immediate action was taken with those involved
* Legislative Black Caucus Chair Sen. Kimberly Lightford…
This isn’t a joke. There’s nothing funny about it.
If he’s interested in a facial, he should reach out for a spa appointment AFTER the election.
Right now, there’s work to be done, lots of serious work. And I would suggest Democrats everywhere spend every moment doing so.
* Rep. Christian Mitchell, the executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois, chose to post his response on Twitter…
Respectfully, @StatehouseChick, these two things aren't the same. In the case of IPI: the cartoonist in question had a long history of racial caricature involving African-Americans, and the organization was actively involved in voter suppression efforts with a racial tinge. (1/3) https://t.co/Ugg79DJUH2
B/c folks make mistakes, and those mistakes ought to be considered in context of their careers. Pertinent example: I was also silent when a reporter I respect wished for black folks in Chicago to drown in a hurricane in order to impose her desired order on their schools. (3/3)
* Remember when we talked about the non-binding pro-2nd Amendment “sanctuary county” referendums all over Downstate this year? They’re essentially designed to help Republicans get folks to the polls. Madison County is one of the counties having a vote and a rally was held this week…
While local voters have to decide on a referendum to make Madison County a “sanctuary county” for gun owners, speakers at a pro-gun rally at the Madison County Courthouse said candidates’ stance on the Second Amendment makes it a statewide issue.
About 125 people showed up for a pro-gun rally in the courtyard between the Madison County Courthouse and the Administration Building. The rally was sponsored by The Madison County Friends of the Second Amendment, and was followed by another pro-gun event at the Edwardsville American Legion Post 199. […]
The referendum reads: “Shall Madison County become a sanctuary county for law abiding gun owners to protect them from unconstitutional gun laws passed by the Illinois General Assembly?” […]
“Pritzker is an F,” [Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association] said. “You know why he’s an F, because we can’t give him an F-. He’s not the guy you want if you’re a gun owner, or if you live anywhere outside the city of Chicago. This is a battle between the city of Chicago and the rest of the state. Anybody that votes for folks from the north end (of the state) are voting for the city of Chicago, it’s as simple as that.”
* JB Pritzker’s Deputy Get Out The Vote Director recently posted this photo on Instagram of a fellow Pritzker campaign worker…
What a stupid thing to do. Your campaign is being sued for racial discrimination and you pose for this photo and a top official posts it online? I don’t care if it was a charcoal face mask. Nobody thinks over there? What’s the opposite of “woke”?
A campaign worker for Democrat J.B. Pritzker was captured earlier this week wearing a charcoal face mask that resembles blackface in an Instagram post by another campaign employee. But the campaign insists the incident was not racial in nature and that the employees in question will be suspended without pay for exercising poor judgment. […]
The post was part of an Instagram story put up October 21. Instagram stories feature photos or videos and last just 24 hours but can be preserved or copied. The Sun-Times obtained the image Thursday night. […]
Asked about the picture, Mehta told the Sun-Times in a Facebook message: “It was a charcoal face mask.” […]
“The individual in the photo had applied and was wearing a charcoal face mask after work hours on the weekend. A fellow employee took a video and posted it on Instagram,” Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Galia Slayen said in a statement. “While it showed poor judgment, neither employee intended to take part in offensive behavior. However, given the poor judgment exercised here, both the individual in the photo and the individual who posted the photo will be suspended without pay.”
In their response, the Pritzker campaign provided a video of the man putting on the face mask, with others nearby laughing. The video was provided on the condition that it not be published.
The reckless ignorance of some white people just boggles my mind.
…Adding… Somebody made a good point in comments about how it wasn’t just these two staffers. Other campaign staffers watched and laughed as this whole thing unfolded. Not one of them said anything? Nobody in that group thought to say, hey, maybe people could think this is racist and we should stop right now?
At Tuesday’s debate at the Kendall County Courthouse in Yorkville, Underwood had a chance to call out Hultgren to his face, in public, because she believes that vote removed protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
“It was really clear in all the press coverage around these repeal-and-replace bills that the American Health Care Act did not create an opportunity for individuals like me with pre-existing conditions to have affordable coverage,” she said. “We must ensure that individuals with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied, and they cannot be charged (more).”
Hultgren said there is language right in the American Health Care Act that states pre-existing conditions cannot be used to reduce insurance or increase costs.
“Either Lauren Underwood hasn’t read it, or she doesn’t understand it,” Hultgren said.
A Washington Post fact-checker last year said that while “people with pre-existing conditions would not be denied coverage” under the Republican health care plan, people who “have a gap in coverage, they still could face higher, unaffordable premiums for a year.”
* And AARP is hopping mad about that bill Hultgren voted for and has been reminding its members of what Hultgren and others tried to do…
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
* Related…
* 14th Congressional District candidate Underwood attends forum alone: Underwood, who defeated six white men in the primary, said race has never been an issue in her run for the 14th District – a swath of Illinois that is about 87 percent white. “The people of the 14th will recognize the choice we have on the ballot, based on the level of representation we’ve had over the last eight years,” Underwood said.
* Lauren Underwood visits McHenry County, rallies supporters: “Randy Hultgren has voted to turn Medicare into a voucher program,” Underwood said. “Those kinds of actions are unacceptable. We need to make sure that the American people have programs like Medicare and Social Security to provide retirement security, to allow folks to have high-quality health care through old age and through the rest of their lives.”
* Watch: NBC 5 Interview With 14th Congressional District Candidates Randy Hultgren, Lauren Underwood
Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks are two of the most popular parks not only in the state of Illinois, but also in the entire United States. 3.2 million visitors passed through the parks in 2017, meaning that if they were national parks they would be in the ten most visited parks in the country, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
The parks combine to take up about 4600 acres according the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Today, they grew by about 50 percent.
Governor Bruce Rauner was at Starved Rock to announce the purchase of 2629 acres. The project cost Illinois $11 Million that comes from the Open Land Trust, which can only be used for purchases of land like this one.
The land in LaSalle County was purchased in order to “Preserve natural resources and expand recreation opportunities, tourism and economic development,” said Rauner. The Vermillion River runs through the newly acquired parcel of land, including the only naturally occurring white water rapids in Illinois, according to the IDNR.
Lone Star Industries — along with its predecessor companies — has owned much of the property since the early 1900s. The land originally was mined for coal. It also has been mined for limestone and used as a site for cement manufacturing.
Both Rauner and Rosenthal said, thanks to Lone Star’s mined land reclamation, the existing forested areas, lakes and a stretch of the scenic Vermilion River is ideally suited for development of outdoor recreational uses.
* There are some concerns, however. DNR has been hollowed out over the years, starting with Rod Blagojevich…
A few park supporters, who were locked out of the press conference but then entered when the presentation was concluded, expressed skepticism as to when, if ever, the land would be made available to the public.
Peggy Garner of rural Peru complained that the financially-distressed state cannot properly maintain the parks’ current holdings (a combined 4,800 acres), much less an acquisition nearly the size of Starved Rock itself.
“I can’t see doing it (the expansion) when you can’t take care of it now,” Garner said.
Doug Gift, a retired attorney and Utica planning commissioner, said he wants the state to make an up-front financial commitment to ensure the expanded parks are properly cared for.
“I hope this indicates an increase in budget and personnel as it expands,” Gift said.
Democratic state Comptroller Susana Mendoza, a potential candidate for Chicago mayor, committed to staying in the statewide office — if Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner wins re-election.
Appearing on a candidate forum on WTTW Ch.-11 Thursday night with Republican challenger Darlene Senger, Mendoza restated that she is “focused on being comptroller.”
But she said she’s told those passing around mayoral candidacy petitions with her name that “if Bruce Rauner gets re-elected, I will be comptroller as long as he is governor because I believe that I have been the last line of defense for taxpayers in this state and I will continue to fight for them every step of the way.” […]
Senger, a former state representative from Naperville, said Mendoza was making the commitment because if Rauner defeats principal rival Democrat J.B. Pritzker, the Republican governor would appoint a new comptroller if Mendoza were to win re-election and win as mayor.
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration knew in December that toxic air pollution from the Sterigenics plant in west suburban Willowbrook likely was responsible for some of the highest cancer risks in the nation, according to a letter obtained by the Tribune. […]
In the Dec. 22 letter, sent to a Sterigenics executive, a top official in the U.S. EPA’s Chicago office outlines the results of a preliminary federal analysis linking unusually high cancer risks in the Willowbrook area to the company’s emissions of ethylene oxide, a potent gas used to sterilize medical instruments, pharmaceutical drugs and food.
Copied on the letter is Julie Armitage, chief of the Illinois EPA air bureau.
“EPA has calculated a cancer risk of approximately 1,000 in a million at the nearest residence, exceeding our typical upper limit of cancer risk acceptability,” wrote Ed Nam, director of the regional U.S. EPA air and radiation division. “EPA would like to provide Sterigenics with the opportunity to review our modeling and to suggest improvements for accuracy.” […]
The Illinois EPA responded to the report by quietly giving Sterigenics a permit to voluntarily install new pollution-control equipment, making it more difficult for authorities to pursue legal action against the company unless it can be shown the fix has failed to eliminate health risks from ethylene oxide pollution.
Sterigenics remains committed to the safe use of EO for the sterilization of life-saving medical products at our Willowbrook facility. We work every day to improve patients’ lives. We understand that the materials we use in our processes require diligent stewardship and we take our responsibility very seriously. Our mission, Safeguarding Global HealthTM, begins and ends with the safety of people in mind. We have always worked with the USEPA, ILEPA, OSHA, and the FDA with a commitment to the safety of our employees, the communities and environment in which we operate, and the patients we help to protect. Our employees and their families live in Willowbrook and the surrounding communities and the health and wellbeing of the residents in those communities is very important to us. We outperform the standards set for the safe operation of our facilities and commit to continue to take a leadership role in evolving regulations to reassure residents that they are safe.
*** UPDATE *** State Sen. John Curran…
“It is unacceptable, and beyond comprehension, that the United State Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency failed to inform residents in a timely manner about the elevated cancer risks associated with the emission of ethylene oxide from the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook. From the moment this issue first came to light in late August, I demanded that Sterigenics cease operations immediately, and I reiterate that call today. As elected officials, our number one priority is to the health and well-being of our residents. In light of today’s discovery, I am calling on these two agencies to provide me with a detailed, written explanation on why they waited so long to inform my constituents about this health risk. Time is of the essence, and their joint delay has done a great disservice to my constituents.”
* US Sen. Dick Durbin…
This is a downright disgrace. Once again, the Rauner and Trump Administrations prioritized public relations over a serious public health hazard. Now, the U.S. EPA and Illinois EPA must finally step up its monitoring of this facility and be fully transparent with the public about the information they have about Sterigenics. Additionally, we need more emissions testing at this plant - something I’ve asked the EPA for repeatedly - a timeline for the EPA to set new health-based standards, and a public meeting for Willowbrook residents. Illinoisans deserve better than this.
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching a new digital video titled “Bruce and Diana on Education.”
Governor Rauner signed into law historic education funding reform, providing a more equitable funding formula for all Illinois schools and creating the first ever scholarship tax credit program in the state.
Governor Rauner and First Lady Diana Rauner have been committed to improving education in Illinois for years. They have been strong advocates for providing more access to quality schools for all students in the state.
Governor Rauner: Education is the most important thing we do together as a community and education is a shared passion Diana and I have had for our whole lives.
Diana Rauner: We’re both very lucky because we have had great opportunities in education. We’ve lived the American Dream. But I think our commitment to education, it’s really rooted in a real strong sense of what it’s meant for us to have those opportunities, and how important it is that everyone has the opportunity to reach their potential.
Governor Rauner: Frankly that’s one of the reasons I ran for governor. One of the greatest achievements of our administration has been coming up with a new school funding formula.
Diana Rauner: The education funding formula is something that was broken. Bruce came in and created a bipartisan commission to tackle that problem. He really took it on and that takes a certain level of courage and intentionality I’m just very proud of.
* The Republicans have spent basically nothing on Seth McMillan’s campaign against Sen. Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill). Manar even pulled his ads off of St. Louis broadcast television. And cable isn’t the best way to quickly hammer in a message unless it’s a really big buy, so I have my doubts, but maybe they’re seeing something in the president’s numbers in that area, or maybe they’re just trolling Manar…
The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) today launched a cable television ad campaign against liberal Democrat Andy Manar in Illinois Senate District 48, spotlighting his support of a 32% tax increase and support of sanctuary status for illegal immigrants.
“Working families have it hard enough without being concerned about a massive tax increase to fund the protection of illegal immigrants and special interests allied with Speaker Mike Madigan,” said Matt Walter, President of the Republican State Leadership Committee.
Manar votes with Mike Madigan and stands for the Chicago special interests.
It’s no wonder the Chicago Tribune says Manar voted for a thirty-two percent income tax hike, hurting middle class families, and even voted for a bill that protects those who are here illegally.
That’s Andy Manar, just another politician working for Madigan, not us.
Vote no on Mike Madigan puppet, Andy Manar.
…Adding… Such a class act, that one…
When I walked into their half empty, stale smelling building for my Ed. Board interview, I expected nothing less. The liberal leaning @SJRbreaking has had a love affair with @AndyManar since the beginning. https://t.co/GD68OMGIZg
Setting aside for the moment matters of ethics and legality, stealing yard signs and campaign literature is *tactically* wrong because it does not affect the outcome of elections.
A person whose yard sign is stolen will still vote for your candidate’s opponent. And you know what else they do?
They talk to everybody they know about how their yard sign for your candidate’s opponent was stolen by one of your candidate’s supporters.
D’oh.
A stolen yard sign gives your opponent’s supporter a perfect opening to talk to anybody they come in contact with about who they’re supporting and why.
Don’t give them that opening. Don’t steal yard signs.
Harold said Thursday she won’t meet up with the president.
“We have previously scheduled activities in the suburbs — campaign activities — and so that’s what I’ll be doing,” she said.
Reporters also asked Harold if she would share with the public the presidential candidates she voted for in the past three elections.
“I will not share all of those votes because, as a private citizen, I think I believe in secret ballot,” she said.
…Adding… She was also asked again why she isn’t going to the Trump event by Mary Ann Ahern…
My focus is on some of the suburban campaign activities that I had previously scheduled, and my choice to maintain those commitments doesn’t send a signal of anything other than wanting to keep those commitments.
* Meanwhile…
Today, in a 🌈 rally, many pro-equality, pro-reproductive healthcare, pro-environment advocates said “hate is not an Illinois value!” before #AttorneyGeneral candidate Erika Harold’s City Club speech! Harold has a record of opposing LGBTQ equality. pic.twitter.com/ddLPyf8JwA
“It’s no secret that I’m pro-life,” Harold said. “But I’ve made very clear that the job of the attorney general is to enforce Illinois law and uphold that.
“I would never discriminate against any same-sex couple as it relates to adoption, as it relates to anything,” she added. “The job of the attorney general is to protect all Illinoisans against discrimination, and that’s what I would do.”
Protesters, however, worried that she was just paying lip service to their issues on the campaign trail.
“I can’t trust that she would protect the laws that exist already in Illinois,” [Julie Lynn of Planned Parenthood Illinois] said.
“She says she won’t seek to change marriage, because it’s settled law. The Supreme Court has decided that,” [Michael Ziri of Equality Illinois] added. “But we know court decisions aren’t set in stone. Illinois marriage equality was settled in law when she advocated a constitutional amendment” against it.
* Peoria Journal Star Endorsement: Illinois attorney general: There is a strong chance Democrats could win all the major statewide races, starting with the governor’s office. In the case of the attorney general’s seat today, Illinois needs an attorney general who isn’t part of the clique. That is why Republican Erika Harold gets the Journal Star’s endorsement.
* For as long as I can remember, the Tribune has often put fun little tidbits at the tail end of their political stories. Here’s one…
Hultgren said he’d like to be with Trump for his southern Illinois visit on Saturday but might not make it because he’ll be marching in the Sycamore Pumpkin Fest parade on Sunday.
“The absurdity of two office holders, running for two jobs at the same time and basically raising and spending money for them, is like cheating the public and treating their sacred jobs as a joke,” Daley said. “It’s not like we don’t have problems in the state, the county or the city. C’mon. I’ve been around this business my whole life, OK? And the amount of time people spend on fundraising is ridiculous. And when you’re running for two offices, holding a public job, it’s kind of crazy.”
Part of that family political business Daley didn’t mention: that brother Richard M. Daley launched his successful 1989 bid for mayor just 27 days after safely winning re-election to a third term as Cook County state’s attorney. The chief strategist of that mayoral campaign: Bill Daley.
Attorneys with the Illinois attorney general’s office went before an Adams County grand jury Thursday regarding Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the Illinois Veterans Home.
After exiting the grand jury, the three attorneys confirmed they were with the attorney general’s office but said that was all they could say when approached by a Herald-Whig reporter.
Attorney general spokeswoman Maura Possley said the office had no comment on the investigation.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office said Oct. 3 that it was investigating to see if Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration broke any laws in the way it handled the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at the Veterans Home.
* From Patty Schuh in the governor’s office…
As the elected chief legal officer of the state, the Illinois Attorney General is charged with fairly and impartially representing the state and providing sound legal advice.
The Attorney General has represented the state and Department of Veterans Affairs in multiple lawsuits that were filed after the tragic deaths of our veterans during the 2015 outbreak of Legionnaires Disease at the Quincy Veterans Home.
After a review of the facts in each of the 11 cases stemming from this outbreak, the Attorney General denied the state has any liability in the deaths.
In the documents filed with the Court by the Illinois Attorney General in each of the cases — the Attorney General denied any state negligence or wrongdoing. The Attorney General also denied the claimants are due damages. The Attorney General’s first court filing stemming from the 2015 outbreak came on June 27, 2016 and the most recent on October 25, 2017.
The Attorney General continues to represent the state and Department of Veterans Affairs in the pending Court of Claims cases.
Unlike a court of claims case where the plaintiff alleges that the negligence of the State or State agency caused injury, a criminal investigation does not look at the liability of the State or a State agency. It looks at whether individuals acted outside the scope of their authority and committed crimes. Every state employee involved in overseeing the care provided by the Quincy Veterans’ Home, including the Governor’s staff, should want to get to the bottom of whether crimes were committed in events that lead to the deaths of more than a dozen people.
“One of the founding reasons I got in this race is because we need to select a new speaker of the House,” Caffrey said. “The speaker has been there for 33 of the last 35 years. And we need to be asking if we’re seeing the results we should be seeing and the answer is no. We’re not, so we need to make that change.”
Mazzochi then accused Caffrey of “perpetuating the Madigan machine.”
“When (Caffrey) says ‘I think I’m going to vote for a Democrat, just not Mike Madigan,’ well the fact of the matter is if you cast that vote, you’re still going to get more Mike Madigan,” Mazzochi said. “Even if you say you won’t vote for Madigan for speaker, if you ultimately wind up voting for all the things Mike Madigan is interested in, such as the graduated income tax, you’re going to wind up in the same problematic position we’ve been in.”
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) President and Illinois State Senator Toi Hutchinson (D) and NCSL President-elect Wisconsin Speaker Robin Vos (R) said:
“The recent news regarding explosive devices being sent to various persons across the country is an outright act of domestic terrorism. Now more than ever, those of us who have dedicated our lives to public service must take a stand against violence intended to damage the very foundations of our great nation. Let us come together–not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans–to reflect on the core values of our nation that include the peaceful and respectful resolution of our differences through debate, discussion, and elections–never violence.”
I just got called by a Capitol staffer and told that the Illinois State Capitol is on lockdown. While on the phone with my source, I heard the message playing out to shelter in place. #twill
…Adding… I’m told a “substance” was found in a second-floor bathroom. A Hazmat team has been called.
Fire department and police are on the scene.
Fire command has arrived…
* Hmm…
Illinois Secretary of State's office says an "unknown substance in a clear bag" was found just after 1 p.m. on the floor of a second-floor men's state Capitol restroom. Springfield Fire Department hazmat unit is investigating. Lockdown continues.
Anna McKinley has already done phone banks and canvassed for candidates, walked in parades, and most recently, was named as a Precinct Committee Chairman in Okawville Township. That is not a bad record for someone who has yet to cast a vote.
A senior at Okawville High School, McKinley was appointed to the role of Precinct Committeeman for Okawville #2 by Washington County Democrat Central Committee Chairman Len Piasecki earlier this month.
“For me, this is a hobby and a passion,” McKinley said of her political engagement. “It’s not hard to do something when you love it.”
* The Question: What was your earliest political involvement?
Our campaign has thousands of yard signs throughout the 55th District. We enjoy giving them to supporters so they can show their support. Really, yard signs are more important to my supporters than they are to our campaign.
Today we received countless calls from our supporters saying their yard signs are being stolen. One such call from a voter included a video of the illegal act caught on camera.
Our campaign does not expend resources to engage in sign wars and instead will continue to talk to voters directly about key issues our opponent continues to remain silent on, like her opposition to a ban on AR-15’s and wish to defund Planned Parenthood.
If these acts are being committed with knowledge of the Smolenski campaign, it is sadly not the least bit surprising.
On top of Terra Costa Howard’s repeated lies, her team of 6+ paid “Madigoons” regularly steal yard signs. Now, this video from yesterday proves they’re stealing literature off your front door. Say NO to Terra Costa Howard and her Dirty Politics (paid for by Madigan’s Dirty Money)!
If you had any doubt that there’s been enough campaigning and it’s time to vote, the race for 6th District congressman in the western suburbs now is focusing on who swiped whose yard signs.
From a statement from incumbent Republican Peter Roskam: “Every day, local residents are calling the Roskam campaign office reporting yard signs stolen from their property or destroyed . . . To date, 350 Roskam for Congress yard signs have been reported stolen or lost. The sign theft dramatically increased since Roskam first called on (Democratic nominee Sean) Casten to stop his supporters’ shameful tricks. Casten’s response? Crickets.”
In 30 years of covering politics, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a sitting member of Congress send out a press release talking about yard signs. But back to that breathless release, which continues that an offending sign snatcher actually was caught on tape mumbling about moving the sign 20 miles away. It concludes, what else could be expected from a campaign like Casten’s that seeks not “bipartisanship and engaging constructively” but employs “hateful rhetoric.”
Responds the Casten camp, “We don’t steal signs. Period. And we don’t condone those who do, including those who have been stealing our signs—which have been disappearing as well. Peter Roskam is losing, and these kinds of wild accusations prove it.”
Chicagoans in minority neighborhoods on the West Side and South Side have the greatest exposure to toxic air pollution and other environmental health hazards in the city, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis that community groups are using to fight Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s industrial planning practices.
The findings were compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group that plans to use the document to try to persuade city officials to end the common practice of steering scrap yards, distribution warehouses and other polluting businesses to neighborhoods with large concentrations of Latino and African-American residents.
Among the most dramatically affected communities, the group found, are Little Village, Pilsen and the far Southeast Side.
Activists in those communities say Emanuel’s city planners are pushing dirty industries to majority Latino and black communities, while neighborhoods like Lincoln Park on the more well-to-do North Side are shedding their industrial past for new condo buildings and high-end amenities.
* Meanwhile, you may recall this TV ad last summer from the American Chemistry Council touting US Rep. Peter Roskam…
That $209,000 TV ad buy and $185,050 in chemical industry contributions are coming back to haunt Roskam.
But the ad takes on new meaning now that the Sterigenics sterilization facility just outside Roskam’s west suburban district is under fire for emitting ethylene oxide, a highly potent, cancer-causing gas made by Dow Chemical, Union Carbide, Shell and several other members of the trade group.
Two months after the chemical industry’s pro-Roskam ad began airing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a report revealing that communities surrounding the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook are among just a few dozen in the country facing alarmingly high cancer risks from toxic air pollution, most notably ethylene oxide emissions. […]
Roskam’s supporters in the chemical industry have a dramatically different view.
Soon after the EPA released its report, the industry trade group quietly urged President Donald Trump’s administration to scuttle a stringent safety limit for ethylene oxide adopted in 2016 after more than a decade of debate. The agency relied heavily on the safety limit when it calculated its worrisome estimates of cancer risks in communities surrounding Sterigenics and other facilities across the nation that either manufacture or use the chemical.
Chemical companies are pushing the Trump EPA to declare that ethylene oxide is far less dangerous than the agency’s career staff and three separate panels of independent scientists determined. Industry-supported scientists have repeatedly downplayed animal research showing the chemical mutates DNA and studies of medical sterilization workers who suffered high rates of breast cancer, leukemia and lymphomas.
Note to Illinois voters: If you think voting for the guy who has Conservative Party next to his name is a vote for conservative values, you’re badly mistaken. You’re being played. Let us tell you the truth about Sam McCann. […]
Why would Local 150 put so much muscle behind McCann? Rauner’s support for allowing right-to-work zones and curbing prevailing wage mandates — issues that would diminish the influence of trade and public employee unions — created a fierce adversary in union halls statewide. So the operating engineers are putting up a candidate who could strip votes from Rauner’s Republican base. Local 150 is in this for revenge.
But McCann is taking it a step further. He’s also helping Madigan by targeting conservative Republicans with misleading mailers in districts Madigan wants to win. Reps. Tom Morrison, R-Palatine, and Lindsay Parkhurst, R-Kankakee, both have been hit with McCann-sponsored campaign mailers that describe them as Republicans “in name only.”
Except that’s not true. Morrison and Parkhurst have solid records of voting against tax hikes, against big government, and with fellow conservatives on social issues.
What these dishonest mailer’s don’t mention is McCann’s own voting record in the Senate. He’s running under a conservative banner — yet he votes in lockstep with the state’s largest public employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. McCann has voted against every version of cost-saving pension reform except one, making his record one of the most liberal in the General Assembly. He voted against streamlining government. He voted against allowing voters to consolidate layers of government.
Is McCann a stalking horse to draw votes away from Rauner and Republican legislators? Of course he is. Nobody is gonna drop that much cash on a candidate who is polling at somewhere around 5 percent unless something else is up.
* But the mailers do not describe those legislators as “Republicans ‘in name only’” as the Tribune claims. The mailers describe the legislators as “Rauner Rinos.” Rauner is called a “fake conservative” because he signed HB40. McCann calls the legislators “fake conservatives” because, after screaming bloody murder about HB40, they have since endorsed Rauner and take contributions from him (laundered through other committees first, of course). McCann told Dan Proft he will send mailers into their districts supporting them if they rescind their Rauner endorsements.
Also, who says conservative Republican legislators have to vote against AFSCME? Plenty voted with public employee unions before Rauner came along, and they may resume doing so whenever Rauner leaves. Heck, lots of AFSCME members are conservative, pro-life Republicans and many reside in Republican-held districts, so why wouldn’t their legislators pay attention to them?
Whatever the case, this isn’t even about the public employee unions. I mean, Local 150 of the Operating Engineers Union was pushing hard for pension reform back when the public worker unions were working their tails off against it. This is, as the Tribune notes, about Rauner’s war on trade unions and the GOP legislators’ complicity with and even active support for that war. They’re just holding Rauner accountable, albeit in a very, let’s say, “unusual” way.
* Meanwhile, the second round of Conservative Party mailers has hit…
Another McCann assault on Morrison arrived in the mail Wednesday, this one accusing Morrison of “betraying” taxpayers in connection with the recent state income tax increase. Morrison actually voted against the tax hike. […]
Not only are the Republican legislative candidates being attacked from the left by their liberal Democratic opponents, they are being attacked from the right by a candidate who is urging conservative voters to vote either for liberals or not vote at all.
It’s a terrific mess, exactly the kind of thing Democratic leaders like House Speaker Michael Madigan would like to see on the GOP side.
Ives speculated that Madigan is trying to tie Republican legislators to the unpopular Rauner in the same way Rauner and Republicans have tried, with some success, to tie Madigan to Democratic legislative candidates.
“I can’t help but think that this is Madigan giving Rauner a taste of his own medicine,” Ives said.
Yep. And some folks are also chuckling that Rauner is just getting back what he dished out to Madigan’s alleged best buddy Ives during the primary.
Thursday, Oct 25, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
It’s simple. Credit unions are member-owned, so any earnings are simply returned in the form of lower loan rates, higher interest on deposits and lower fees. Credit unions create a fair financial alternative for the taxpayers of Illinois. Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives that don’t focus on increasing revenue or paying dividends to outside stockholders. Illinois credit unions are focused on the member-owners we serve. Visit www.asmarterchoice.org to learn more about the benefits of credit union membership.
The ad started airing earlier this week. On Wednesday, Rauner’s campaign team released a new version with the cussing character’s mouth blurred after complaints from TV stations
“The use, or implied use of foul language - was that the right choice to make?” we asked.
“Well, it certainly gets everyone’s attention. I don’t condone the use of foul language but it was deleted or beeped out or whatever the word is. I will use the word screwed. I’ll say, we as a state are screwed if Pritzker and Madigan get in,” Rauner said.
The ad that aired Wednesday evening is actually a toned down version. Originally, the ad clearly showed the mouth of the person using the F-word. A revised version was later sent to WPSD with the person’s mouth blurred. Rauner’s campaign says some stations asked for an edited version, however WPSD never asked for a revised version of the ad.
* That station also sent a reporter to Metropolis to do some person in the street interviews about the ad…
“That’s fine with me,” says Guy Wilcox. “That gives the viewer, they can put whatever they want to in that space.”
Paula Shelton says it’s a low point in a race that was already pretty low.
“Someone with some morals would be nice, but you’re not going to find it in Illinois,” says Shelton.
But what will viewers be talking about — the merits of Rauner as compared to Pritzker or the regrettable use of an incendiary expletive that is only thinly disguised in front of God and everybody.
This is what the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan was talking about when he cited the steady decline in social mores or, as he put it, “defining deviance down.”
Rauner’s advertisement represents another tasteless — and easily avoidable — step down the ladder on the social-deviance scale.
Rauner’s motivation is easily understandable — desperate candidates say and do desperate things. But that does not make it socially acceptable, even if it is deemed by some as necessary for a victory.
In her latest campaign ad, Susana Mendoza calls herself a fearless fighter for the little guy.
That’s partially true. Which means its also partially false. As Chicago City Clerk, Mendoza did fight Mayor Rahm Emanuel on hiking city sticker fees, was a cheerleader for the impeachment of former governor Rod Blagojevich and has been a vocal opponent of current Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner. […]
But Mendoza hasn’t done much standing up to powerful Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, who she has called her mentor. By all accounts, Madigan helped squeeze state senator Daniel Biss out of a 2016 comptroller’s primary, clearing the way for Mendoza.
And even now, out of the 1.7 million dollars Mendoza has in her campaign fund, more than a third, $650,000, is from the Illinois Democratic Party.
Madigan did, indeed, help push Biss out of that primary to benefit Mendoza. But the money stuff is really misleading. A simple search of the Board of Elections shows Mendoza received that Democratic Party of Illinois money in October of 2016 for her first statewide run.
She raised $1.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, spent $2.7 million and had $279K left in the bank. Since that time, she hasn’t reported receiving any DPI cash. So to claim that the 2016 money currently makes up a third of what she has in the bank is just false.
Rev. Thomas J. Chantry, charged with child molestation, will begin a 13-day trial at the Yavapai County Superior Court in Camp Verde Tuesday, July 24.
Chantry, 47, was indicted in Yavapai County Superior Court on eight counts – five counts of child molestation and three of aggravated assault – for offenses committed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when he worked at the Miller Valley Baptist Church.
After two days of deliberations, a jury has found a former pastor accused of multiple counts of child molestation and assault guilty on two of the aggravated assault charges. Jurors determined Thomas Chantry, 47, was not guilty of one child molestation charge and one aggravated assault charge. […]
Yavapai County Deputy Attorney Susan Eazer called Chantry a “sick, twisted pedophile” last week in her closing rebuttal.
Eazer requested the court to change Chantry’s release conditions, citing the hung jury and new evidence she tried to introduce late into the trial.
The evidence concerned a 2004 Illinois police report detailing an incident where Chantry allegedly spanked a child at a school he was teaching at so hard he left bruises. The parents did not end up pursuing charges.
A former Prescott pastor who stood trial less than a month ago on multiple charges of child molestation and abuse faces nine new charges as of Tuesday.
Thomas Chantry, 47, surrendered himself to the Yavapai County Superior Court this week and is being held in the County Jail on a $1 million bond. […]
Charges include four counts of aggravated assault, four counts of child molestation and one count of child abuse. All of these charges occurred between 1998 and 2000, according to the indictment issued by a Yavapai County grand jury Sept. 11.
A Christian teacher and pastor convicted of aggravated assault for severely spanking children in Arizona was accused of doing the same at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights in 2004, though charges were never filed, authorities said.
Republican state Rep. Tom Morrison vouched recently for a teacher/pastor convicted of assault and accused of “unspeakable” abuse of children in Arizona. Morrison was a teacher at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights in the early 2000s at the time Thomas Chantry also taught there.
“I found Mr. Chantry to be a man who was professional, courteous, and caring to students, parents, and fellow staff,” Morrison wrote in a letter to court authorities asking for leniency in Chantry’s sentencing. “In the time we worked together, in a variety of settings, he had his students (sic) best interests at heart.” Morrison signed the letter by name and identified himself as the state legislator representing Illinois’ 54th District.
Christian Liberty Academy plays an important role in Morrison’s life. Along with being a 5th grade teacher there for six years, his parents had helped found the school in 1969. Chantry taught there from 2002 to 2006.
Reached by phone, Morrison said, “I stand by what I wrote. I’m not going to talk about anything beyond the brief time we taught together.” He dismissed the media attention to his letter, saying voters have bigger concerns. “They want to talk about property taxes and the fact that they’re making plans to leave the state. Those are the real issues.”
Voters may be talking about something else now, though.
*** UPDATE *** Rep. Morrison…
To clarify, my statement was reflective of a person I worked with, for a brief period of time over 15 years ago. We have not seen nor spoken to each other since then. At no time did I ask for leniency.
What I learned this morning is not reflective of the person that I once knew. These are the most serious allegations and at the time I was unaware of them - and I wholeheartedly condemn them.
Therefore, I am seeking to withdraw my testimony in the letter, so there is no confusion regarding my position in this issue, after learning of these new allegations.
-
He sent a letter on behalf of someone who was facing sentencing for assaulting a child and… he didn’t know?
…Adding… So, let’s think about this for a moment. Rep. Morrison worked at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights until 2005. The paddling incident at that school, which resulted in a battery report filed with local police, happened in 2004, two years before Morrison left. And the superintendent of the school said the 2004 incident “prompted him to end the school’s long-standing practice of corporal punishment,” according to the Daily Herald.
Seems like he should’ve known something was up long before he wrote that letter to the judge.
A former political rival accusing Mike Madigan of placing “sham” candidates on the ballot wants to “inspect, measure” and photograph the powerful speaker and state Democratic Party chairman’s political offices — a demand Madigan’s lawyers are fighting as a violation of the First Amendment and “a political fishing expedition.”
Lawyers for Jason Gonzales, an unsuccessful primary challenger who is suing Madigan in federal court, are asking to “inspect, measure, survey, and/or photograph the premises” at two of the speaker’s Southwest Side offices — the political offices of Friends of Michael J. Madigan and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization offices.
Madigan’s attorneys are arguing the request violates the U.S. Constitution.
“Defendants have clear First Amendment rights to associate in their offices that would be infringed by Plaintiff being granted court-ordered access to photograph, measure and inspect,” the filing says. “This Court should not permit Plaintiff to engage in a political fishing expedition in the political committees’ offices.”
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching the latest “Back Bruce” testimonial video featuring Kwasi Amoah.
In the video, Kwasi reflects on why he thinks Governor Rauner is the best choice for governor. He knows that Governor Rauner is standing up for taxpayers, fighting to reduce taxes, and working to grow the Illinois economy to create a better future for the state.
Kwasi Amoah, you may recall, appears in another Rauner digital ad saying he was “offended” by what JB Pritzker said on those FBI surveillance tapes.
My name is Kwasi Amoah. I’m from Romeoville, Illinois. I am a safety professional, and I support Governor Rauner. Governor Rauner knows what Illinois needs. People who work in this state work so hard, and to be punished for working so hard, for taking money out of their pockets doesn’t make any sense. People are leaving this state in droves. I think a better future for Illinois is we’ve got to fix the deficit. We’ve got to get a better budget. We’ve got to stop spending. We can’t have social services if we don’t have revenue, if we are a broke state. Governor Rauner is the right choice for the next for years.
