The top Democrat in the Illinois House of Representatives said that he and his colleagues are cutting ties with the public relations firm SKDK after learning that the firm failed to disclose an apparent conflict of interest in a 2018 sexual harassment and retaliation scandal.
Emanuel “Chris” Welch, the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, made the announcement following NPR’s reporting that SKDK helped advise a powerful Illinois politician on how to respond to a sexual harassment retaliation lawsuit. SKDK was simultaneously working with a #MeToo advocacy group supporting the accuser in the lawsuit.
“The glaring conflict of interest and conduct in this case sends a chilling message to victims and survivors that they can’t even trust the people who claim to be their greatest supporters,” Welch said in a statement to NPR. “We find this to be deeply disheartening and disqualifying for us.”
Welch’s decision was first reported by Capitol Fax, a newsletter that covers Illinois politics. In his comments to Capitol Fax, Welch specifically called out Anita Dunn, who is currently a top adviser in President Joe Biden’s White House. […]
“While this error in judgment happened more than five years ago, we understand the decision made by Illinois House Democrats,” SKDK spokesperson Mike Czin said in an emailed statement. “We are proud of the work we have done to support survivors, and we will redouble our efforts to regain trust.”
What we should have made clear is that we find these practices disqualifying. What SKDK and Anita Dunn did in the Alaina Hampton case has impacts well beyond Ms. Hampton, and sends a chilling message to victims and survivors that they can’t even trust the people who claim to be their greatest supporters.
We will not engage SKDK or Ms. Dunn in the future.
House Republican Leader Tony McCombie released the following statement as the elimination of cash bail is now effective in Illinois:
“The end of cash bail means the legal deck is stacked against the victim and community in favor of the criminal. This law makes it more difficult for police officers and prosecutors to keep our communities safe by ensuring offenders in most cases can walk free shortly after committing a heinous offense. Ending cash bail has produced harmful results in other cities and states, and we have no reason to believe Illinois will be any different. We can only hope that innocent victims’ lives are not the ultimate price we have to pay.”
* Press release…
Cash bail ends September 18th and will be the last day the State of Illinois requires criminals to post bail for a crime they committed. State Representative Mike Coffey (R-Springfield) is very concerned about the repercussions that will occur and is supporting law enforcement through this transition. Rep. Coffey had this to say:
“Legislators on the other side of the isle refused to engage with local law enforcement about their concerns over eliminating cash bail,” said Rep. Coffey. “Apparently, public safety is not as important as a political agenda that favors criminals. Policies like this curate detrimental effects that will impact the safety of families across the state.”
The SAFE-T Act, which includes the elimination of cash bail has been nationwide news. The controversial law is aimed at reducing crime in Illinois; however, multiple legislators, law enforcement sheriffs, and the public share growing concerns over public safety. According to local sheriffs, they expect to see a rise in crime rates, officers losing morale, and more corporations not pressing charges, to name a few red flags.
Families across Illinois will be on edge even more after September 18th. The cuffs have been taken off the criminals and placed on those who are supposed to protect us.
* Press release…
In celebration of the elimination of cash bail in Illinois, State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-Chicago) released the following statement:
“Today we finally take the long-overdue step toward dismantling systemic racism and eliminating the practices which have created barriers to opportunities and obstacles to prosperity for far too long. Illinois continues to show the rest of the nation that monumental change is possible to make the criminal legal system fair, equitable and just for all.
“Finally, being poor is not a crime and will never be the sole reason a person remains incarcerated as they await their trial.
“We can take pride in the fact that Illinois has reformed its criminal legal system while focusing on community safety, combatting disparities, and removing wealth from decisions that should be about public safety. As much as we have achieved, more work is still ahead. Our work continues.”
— Chicago Ald. James Gardiner (45th) says he won’t seek re-election as ward committeeperson. “I am not seeking re-election as Democratic committeeman. To give my undivided attention toward surveying as alderman of the 45th Ward,” he told Playbook. Running for the seat so far are Joe Cook and Michael Rabbitt.
— State Rep. Jenn Ladisch-Douglass (45th) has announced she won’t seek re-election in 2024. “I absolutely love this work, and though I have made the very difficult decision to not seek re-election so I can focus on my family, I will continue to serve the great people of my district and the state until the end of my term,” the freshman rep said. Full statement here.
— Jackie Williamson has announced she’s running for state representative in the 47th District. Williamson, a Democrat, ran against Republican Rep. Amy Grant in 2022, receiving nearly 47 percent of the vote to Grant’s 53 percent.
— Tosi Ufodike has made it official: She’s running in the GOP primary for state representative in the 51st District. The seat is held by Democratic state Rep. Nabeela Syed.
Rabbitt ran for the House last year and lost to appointed Rep. Mike Kelly (D-Chicago). Ladisch-Douglass barely won in 2022 against then-Rep. Deanne Mazzochi. Rep. Grant’s district leans Democratic as does Rep. Syed’s.
* Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition…
With the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) two years ago, Illinois is on a path to 100% carbon-free energy by 2050 and has enabled the rapid expansion of clean energy installations.
The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition and Chi Hack Night are excited to announce the Illinois Solar Map (https://ilsolarmap.com), the most detailed tool ever released to track the state’s rapid expansion of solar projects. Our interactive map allows you to explore solar projects by Census Tract, City/town, County, and State Congressional Districts, as well as by project category.
As of May 2023, at least 1,622,000 kilowatts of operating solar capacity have been installed in the State of Illinois. For comparison, Prairie State, the State’s largest coal power plant, is 1,630,000 kilowatts, illustrating just how far we’ve come in a few years, but still how far we have to go to reach 100% renewable energy in Illinois.
There are nearly 35,000 solar projects throughout the state, ranging in size from a single 0.6 kW solar panel to the 200,000 kW (200 megawatts) Prairie Wolf Solar project in Coles County.
A system designed to alert Chicago Police brass about which officers have been the subject of repeated police misconduct allegations could have been rolled out citywide in May 2021 — but it has yet to be fully implemented nearly two and a half years later, according to records obtained by WTTW News.
The University of Chicago Crime Lab began work on the so-called Officer Support System, also known as OSS, in 2016, and began testing it in a South Side police district in September 2020, only to face repeated and lengthy delays, caused in part by decisions by CPD leadership to transfer the staff members assigned to run the system to patrol, according to a letter obtained by WTTW News through the Freedom of Information Act.
A Daily Herald analysis of 67 suburbs shows half those towns are operating with fewer employees now than before the pandemic.
The analysis shows 38 towns reported fewer employees working in administrative positions, 31 have fewer public works employees and 28 have fewer public safety workers.
In towns such as Lombard, Palatine, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Gurnee, Batavia and seven others, staffing levels are down in all three sectors, data from suburban audits show.
“That’s definitely the trend nationally, too,” said Chris Goodman, an associate professor of public administration at Northern Illinois University. “The private sector employment has recovered from the pandemic, but the public sector has not at all recovered.”
In 1990, a suburban Chicago race for the Republican Party nomination for state representative between Penny Pullen and Rosemary Mulligan unexpectedly became a national proxy battle over abortion in the United States. But the hard-fought primary also illustrated the overlooked importance of down-ballot contests in America’s culture wars. Patrick Wohl offers the dramatic account of a rollercoaster campaign that, after attracting political celebrities and a media circus, came down to thirty-one votes, a coin toss to determine the winner, and a recount fight that set a precedent for how to count dimpled chads. As the story unfolds, Wohl provides a rare nuts-and-bolts look at an election for state office from its first days through the Illinois Supreme Court decision that decided the winner–and set the stage for a decisive 1992 rematch.
A compelling political page-turner, Down Ballot takes readers behind the scenes of a legendary Illinois election.
* I haven’t watched it all yet, but what I’ve seen so far is pretty impressive. First Lady MK Pritzker takes viewers on an extensive tour of the remodeled governor’s mansion…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* AP | Centuries after Native American remains were dug up, a new law returns them for reburial in Illinois: Key to the measure is first-time authority for tribes to rebury recovered remains in Illinois, which they much prefer to relocating them to states to which the U.S. government forced their relocation nearly two centuries ago. The Illinois State Museum, which holds remains from about 7,000 individuals, is prepared to reunify 1,100 of them with their tribes, according to Brooke Morgan, the museum’s curator of anthropology. Overall, institutions in Illinois can identify nearly 13,000 individuals that must be repatriated.
* Center Square | Rules for Illinois’ firearms registry filed as some expect low compliance rate: The emergency rules, which have yet to be published in the Illinois Register maintained by the Illinois Secretary of State, must now go before the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. Their next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 17, more than two weeks after the registry is set to open.
* AP | Low Mississippi River limits barges just as farmers want to move their crops downriver: This is the second-straight year drought has caused the Mississippi to drop to near-record lows. With no significant rain in the forecast, it’s likely to keep falling. The shallow river is especially striking given the height of the river just months ago. A huge snowpack in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin quickly melted, forcing riverfront communities such as Davenport, Iowa, and Savanna, Illinois, to hurriedly erect barriers to stay dry in late April and early May.
* WBEZ | Girls are in a mental health crisis. This Chicago program could help.: A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in 2021, almost 60% of high school girls in the U.S. felt persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, nearly 20% had experienced sexual violence, and 25% had made a suicide plan. Clinicians, educators and policymakers around the country are looking for solutions. A recent study suggests that a Chicago-based program could be a model to help girls throughout the U.S. — especially girls of color — cope with the trauma and distress many face.
* Sun-Times | Environmental justice plan pushed by Mayor Brandon Johnson: The proposals include new policies for city departments that include better response times to environmental complaints, measures to reduce air pollution from large diesel-fueled trucks, public engagement around planning and development and investments in so-called environmental justice communities, areas that receive a disproportionate share of pollution.
* WCIA | Eastern Illinois Foodbank holds largest annual event for Hunger Action Month: People who want to continue to help can also donate money to Eastern Illinois Foodbank during Hunger Action month. The food bank said they can feed two people a day for every dollar donated. They are trying to raise $40,000 this month, for the 40 years they’ve been fighting hunger.
* Block Club | City’s Last-Minute Street Closures Didn’t Stop Mexican Independence Day Celebrations Downtown: On Wednesday, the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications said no street closures were planned for the weekend, but “traffic may be diverted to control traffic flow if needed.” But by Friday evening, street closures went into effect with little warning. Downtown streets were closed as car caravan traffic snarled the Loop to a halt.
* WCIA | State Fire Marshal announces $4 million in small equipment grants: The money is coming from the Small Equipment Grant Program, which was established to provide grants of up to $26,000 to eligible departments. 64 departments and EMS providers received a total of $1.5 million in March thanks to this program.
* AP | Rural hospitals are closing maternity wards. People are seeking options to give birth closer to home: Ultimately, doctors and researchers say, having fewer hospital maternity units makes having babies less safe. One study showed rural residents have a 9% greater probability of facing life-threatening complications or even death from pregnancy and birth compared to those in urban areas — and having less access to care plays a part.
* Block Club | Don’t Be Alarmed By Swarms Of Flying Ants—They’re Just Having Sex In The Sky: It’s common for ants to fly in the fall and spring, though it can happen at any time throughout the year. Scientists don’t know exactly what triggers the ants’ flights, but decreasing amounts of daylight and increasing amounts of rainfall might provide “cues” that tell ants it’s time to take off, Suarez said.
* Tribune | Chicago skyline poses a risk as hundreds of millions of birds migrate south for the winter: As temperatures slowly drop in Chicago, 300 millions to 400 million birds are crossing the continent heading south to their nesting grounds for the winter, according to Annette Prince, director and president of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, a nonprofit dedicated to the respite and protection of migratory birds through daily rescue efforts. It’s been a busy few weeks for the organization, Prince said. Volunteers at the nonprofit pick up more than 100 birds a day. Most early mornings, she said, a team of a dozen volunteers covers an area of about a mile and a half, responding to calls from people who live and work downtown and have found birds littering the sidewalks and gutters.
* Tribune | From ice cream to illusions, immersive attractions are here to stay, and they’re one of the brightest spots in retail: The Museum of Illusions Chicago, an interactive exhibit that presents dozens of optical illusions, just signed a deal expanding into a vacant storefront next to its location at 25 E. Washington St. in the Loop. The expansion takes over space once occupied by a clothing retailer, and will change how the building looks to pedestrians, said Dan Shannon, the property’s asset manager. “This is the first time in years that we’ve had 100% of our retail space leased,” he said.
* Press release | Illinois Discontinues Statewide Testing of Freshwater Fish for Organochlorine Pesticides: Organochlorine pesticides, including DDT and other similar chemicals, have been banned for decades, but the state had tested for them since 1974 because they are “environmentally persistent” and can build up in the tissue of fish and other animals. But the levels of these pesticides found through that testing has diminished to near zero over the past nearly 50 years, allowing the state to discontinue testing for those chemicals.
During the campaign, Johnson proposed a 1%-2% “Big Banks Securities and Speculation Tax” that would raise $100 million. So, naturally, there’s worry he will try to use his considerable contacts in the General Assembly and CTU’s clout to persuade Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reverse his position on allowing Chicago to impose a transaction tax and ease the city’s structural deficit.
When he was asked last month about the transaction tax, Pritzker said, “Obviously, what we all want is a thriving financial services economy in the state and the city. I have not stood for a transaction tax, because I think it would be easy for those companies’ servers to move out of the state.” […]
I reached out to the two legislative leaders to see where they stood on allowing home rule units like Chicago impose a tax on electronic transactions.
Spokespersons for both Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Chris Welch said their bosses opposed the idea.
“Harmon is opposed,” said Senate President Don Harmon’s spokesperson John Patterson after checking with his boss, who employed Johnson early in his adult life.
“He is on the same page as the governor and Harmon,” said House Speaker Chris Welch’s spokesperson Jaclyn Driscoll about her employer, a Johnson friend.
So, all three state leaders are opposed and the mayor hasn’t revived the idea. But that didn’t stop a major news media outlet from claiming it is still somehow alive.
The letters are stamped all over the hallways of Chicago’s giant skyscrapers and grand office buildings. DRW, IMC, CME, Cboe.
These are some of the derivatives firms that collectively handle trillions of dollars a year in trades, greasing the wheels of global markets with everything from stock options to corn futures. Most of them have called Chicago home for decades — providing thousands of jobs within the city’s $75 billion finance industry.
Now, the firms’ commitment to the Windy City is being tested by some $800 million in taxes proposed by a new mayor staring down a budget gap that’s swelled to half a billion dollars. One idea is a levy on financial transactions, which has alarmed companies already worried about a jump in crime that shows few signs of abating.
Behind the scenes, market makers and exchanges are working together to press their case with policymakers, with firms that typically compete with each other sharing data to help explain their economic benefits to Chicago. While executives haven’t explicitly threatened to leave, in private conversations it’s clear they will consider quitting the city if crime remains an issue and the financial transaction tax passes.
The financial transaction tax is dead. Period. It’s not even being proposed. If they want to blame crime, that’s their right, but they shouldn’t hide behind the non-existent threat of a financial transaction tax.
…Adding… From comments…
It’s not pining. It’s passed on. This proposal is no more. It has ceased to be. It’s expired and gone to meet its maker. It’s a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn’t printed it again in Bloomberg, it’d be pushing up the daisies. Its metabolic processes are now history. It’s off the twig. It’s kicked the bucket, it’s shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible. This is an ex proposal.
Court officials across the Chicago area say they’ll be ready when Illinois becomes the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail on Monday, but that doesn’t mean some are any less concerned about a law they once decried as a threat to public safety. […]
The Pretrial Fairness Act lists crimes eligible for detention, from violent felonies and gun cases to sexual assaults and domestic attacks. It also allows someone to be detained if they are a flight risk.
But it will largely be up to prosecutors to decide when to actually seek detention, and then they will have to prove their case before a judge within 24 to 48 hours.
Researchers at Loyola University estimate roughly 37% of all arrests in Illinois – about 70,000 people — are at least potentially eligible for detention. They estimate as few as 15,500 could actually be detained.
Under the new law, people who are charged with the state’s lowest level offenses will likely never set foot in a jail cell, including at a police station after their arrest.
People charged with an offense lower than a Class A misdemeanor — littering, some speeding charges and possession of marijuana over the legal limit — will likely be released with a citation and a court date without having to be processed at a police station.
In these cases, people usually face no more than six months in prison if convicted and often are released on probation without any incarceration.
However, law enforcement agencies will still be given discretion in certain cases. For example, if a person continues to commit the offense after being cited, they can be taken into custody and held until they appear before a judge, which must occur within 24 hours.
In addition to eliminating money as a factor for release, the Pretrial Fairness Act is also intended to level the playing field and offer defendants more time to make a case against pretrial detention or excessive supervision orders.
Under the new system, there will be an “initial appearance” court call, where defendants will mostly be released with conditions, such as regular check-ins with authorities, as well as a court call for detention hearings made up of the more serious cases in which prosecutors seek to keep defendants incarcerated while they await trial.
Those hearings will be longer, with defense attorneys able to call witnesses to speak on behalf of the arrestee.
“We’re expecting them to be a little more in depth than the current 60-second bond hearing,” said Takenya Nixon, an attorney supervisor for the Cook County public defender’s office. “It’s … no longer one-sided.”
* More…
* Capitol News Illinois | Disparately resourced public defenders prepare for the end of cash bail in Illinois: Some bigger counties are better prepared than others for the changes required by the PFA. Cook County, for example, is one of a few counties that has for years been moving toward limiting the use of cash bail. Additionally, the county’s criminal courthouse on Chicago’s near-south side has for years been holding bond court every day of the week – a practice shared by other larger county court systems in Illinois.
* NBC Chicago | Illinois leaders update as state becomes 1st in nation to end cash bail: Judges will also be asked to determine whether the defendant poses a flight risk if released, according to the text of the bill. So-called “forcible felonies” include first and second-degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault, robbery, burglary, residential burglary, aggravated arson, kidnapping, aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm, or any other felony that involves the use or threat of physical violence. Hate crimes, attempts of crimes that are detainable, animal torture and DUI causing great bodily harm were added to the list in a subsequent amendment to the legislation.
* WAND | No cash bail law goes into effect in Illinois: If the judge makes any of those determinations, then the defendant may be held in jail before going to trial. Detention hearings would not be mandatory for crimes that include probation as a possible punishment, but judges can still make the determination to keep those defendants incarcerated pending trial if they determine they are a risk to the public.
* ABC Chicago | Illinois becomes 1st state to abolish cash bail as Pre-Trial Fairness Act takes effect: The Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Assault supported the end to cash bail, saying judges will now take more careful consideration of the risk posed by defendants. “Our now former system, which I’m very excited to say, didn’t make survivors safe,” Madeleine Behr with the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Assault said. “People could get out of jail simply because they had the money to pay.”
* WGEM | Adams County prosecutors, deputies talk about the official end of cash bail: “I think the law could have been written in a way that was much clearer and much easier to implement, but we’re beyond that point now,” said Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones. Jones made it clear, that come Monday, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office isn’t releasing any one from the jail because of the new law. Instead, it will change the procedure by which someone is arrested or not and if they will remain in jail.
* Shaw Local | Will County prepares for cashless bail that goes into effect Monday: The most important issue for defense attorneys Monday will be filing petitions to get their clients a detention hearing as soon as possible, said Jeff Tomczak, a prominent defense attorney who was the Will County state’s attorney in the early 2000s. […] “It’s going to be a big rush, real early on,” Tomczak said. “I don’t envy the chief judge or the presiding judge of the felony division.”
* Amanda Pyron | Court actors must implement SAFE-T Act for crime survivors: When our elected officials and law enforcement perpetuate misinformation about the law, they put survivors at risk by misstating their rights under this new system. Survivors deserve to know how exactly their county state’s attorney and local law enforcement will enforce the new law, and ensure it upholds public safety for all people. It is imperative we set aside political differences and implement the law correctly so all survivors across Illinois can get the rights and opportunities afforded to them under the SAFE-T Act.
* Daily Herald | Moving beyond bail: How suburban court officials have prepared for dramatic change: Third District Presiding Judge Jill Cerone Marisie anticipates it will be business as usual on Monday at the Rolling Meadows courthouse. Preparation for cashless bail began 18 months ago. For the last six months, courthouse personnel have participated in weekly and biweekly meetings as well as in-house training. That training culminated in a procedural run-through last week with about 100 judges, prosecutors, assistant public defenders, pretrial services division representatives and officers from 20 police departments.
* CBS Chicago | Illinois becomes first state to end cash bail: Opponents of the law have said judges need more discretion than currently allowed to decide whether a defendant should remain in jail. Special Assistant State’s Attorney Alan Spellberg, representing Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, argued that the pretrial release provisions of the SAFE-T Act “unduly interfere with the judiciary’s authority to set bail.”However, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that “the legislature has long regulated the bail system.”
* Block Club Chicago | Illinois Is Officially Done With Cash Bail As Pretrial Fairness Act Begins: “Cash bail does not make communities safer, and it never has; it has simply exacerbated existing inequities and disparities in the criminal legal system,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement over the summer. “Pretrial detention, as a result of the inability to pay bail, further decimates communities that have long been most impacted by mass incarceration, and the destabilization of households and families.
The Illinois State Police (ISP) has filed an emergency rule with the Illinois Secretary of State to implement the Protect Illinois Communities Act (Act). On January 10, 2023, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law Public Act 102-1116 regulating the sale and distribution of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches in Illinois. The Act went into effect immediately upon signing. Individuals who possessed an assault weapon, assault weapon attachment, .50 caliber rifle, or .50 caliber cartridge before the Act took effect are required to submit an endorsement affidavit through their Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) Card account prior to January 1, 2024. A copy of the emergency rule will be posted on the ISP website at www.isp.illinois.gov/Home/AssaultWeapons, but in the interim, can be found in this news release posted on the ISP website.
Individuals can begin submitting their endorsement affidavits online beginning October 1, 2023. Affidavits must be submitted online through a FOID Card account. Individuals can access their FOID Card account from the ISP Firearms Services Bureau website, or going directly to www.ispfsb.com/Public/Login.aspx. If you have forgotten your username or password, links on the login page will help you recover or reset your information. The same Firearm Service Bureau links can be used to create an account for those who do not have one. You will need an email address, driver’s license or State ID, and FOID card to create an account. A tutorial video on how to create an account can be found on the ISP FOID webpage under Application Help.
Individuals who need help submitting an endorsement affidavit can refer to the Frequently Asked Questions page or visit one of the ISP FOID Kiosks, both of which can be found on the ISP website at www.isp.illinois.gov/Home/AssaultWeapons.com. Do not bring your weapon, ammunition, or accessories if you visit a Kiosk. A tutorial video on how to submit an endorsement affidavit through your FOID account will be available on the ISP website by October 1, 2023.
That’s why this plan is a roll of the dice with potentially serious consequences. Hundreds of accused felons who would otherwise be in jail or tethered to a cash bond will be on their own.
Gov. Pritzker may be unconcerned about it. But he lives in the kind of crime-free neighborhood and is protected by the kind of personal security to which most people can only aspire.
It’s not an unfair hit on a billionaire governor who has 24/7 Illinois State Police protection. However, the legislators who sponsored the legislation and those who voted for the bill along with the advocates who fought for passage have no special law enforcement protections. And some of those folks spoke up today.
* Here’s one of the bill’s chief sponsors, Rep. Justin Slaughter, who lives on the city’s South Side…
What we’re doing here is reworking our system, streamlining our system to address those higher level more violent, dangerous alleged offenses. But at the same time addressing the vicious cycle of poverty that’s had such a negative impact on communities of color. […]
I want to preempt some of the questions and first say please be patient as the state rolls this out. There is a transition period. … Let’s start to pay attention to what offenses are not in detention and which ones are. Keeping it kind of basic here, your lower level of nonviolent offenses are not going to be eligible for detention, but those higher level offenses will be, indeed, eligible for detention. We’re putting a lot in place for speedy trials and remote hearings. Start paying attention to that. Also one hallmark of this is building out a statewide, warm and robust statewide public defenders program. We’re going to be seeing more accurate, more robust hearings comes along with is having more public defenders and ultimately that will manifest into judges having more discretion to make these critical decisions.
This law is rooted in true community safety. And if folks do their job, They’ll set us up on to a path of fairness, safety and equity. We’ve done the Obamacare-like shenanigans in the court, have seen multiple elections both local and state, and right wingers have engaged in literal misinformation, fake newspapers, literal fake newspapers. I ask that they set aside their politics and their old ways, and join us in giving their constituents a better life. To quote FDR, there’s nothing to fear but fear itself. And those who peddle fear are only going to make matters worse. I repeat, the agents of fear who don’t do their jobs are going to make their communities less safe.
* During a separate press conference today by proponents, Greg Bishop asked about concerns expressed by the Sangamon County sheriff that jail populations will actually increase (the opposite of The Purge) because people will skip out due to no cash bail. Benjamin Ruddell of the ACLU responded…
There’s no reputable research that shows that requiring people to pay money bond is actually an effective way of getting people to come back to court. People come back to court because of the incentives that exist, that you know they can have a warrant for their arrest, they can be brought to jail if they don’t come to court. And what other jurisdictions that have have lessened the use of money bond have demonstrated is that sending somebody a court reminder via text or a phone call is a much more effective way of getting people to come back to court than charging money bond, which has not been shown to increase court appearance. So all the research as well as the experience of states that have begun to phase out money bond suggests that rates of court appearance won’t go down as a result of this law. So we don’t think that the fear is well-founded, that jail populations will increase because of an increase of people failing to appear in court.
* There’s so much info out there today that I thought I’d divide the SAFE-T Act implementation day into some chunks. Let’s start with electronic monitoring. Here’s Hannah Meisel…
While Illinois isn’t any closer to creating a statewide public defender system, the Illinois Office of Statewide Pretrial Services represents a major step forward in providing resources to judicial systems across the state. Starting Oct. 1, OSPS will partner with 71 counties. For months, it’s been offering services such as compiling information about new arrestees. […]
In August, OSPS began oversight of electronic monitoring in participating counties, and began picking up the tab for those ordered to wear the GPS tracking devices – fees that would sometimes drive the poorest defendants into debt.
[St. Clair County Public Defender Cathy MacElroy] said she was glad her clients would no longer be saddled with the cost. But she also noted that in St. Clair County, electronic monitoring isn’t used “a ton.”
She predicted that, under the PFA, judges might even order ankle monitors less often, as prosecutors would have to present specific findings for why the GPS tracking would be necessary. The PFA requires judges to find the “least restrictive” pretrial conditions necessary for a defendant, and the law provides that individuals on electronic monitoring can have two days per week to move freely so they can accomplish daily tasks.
Last month, the state rolled out a new program that will provide electronic monitoring in 70 counties, the first time it has been overseen by one agency across such a wide swath of Illinois, according to the Office of Statewide Pretrial Services.
But the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice, an organization that worked to pass the abolition of cash bail, put out a statement criticizing the statewide electronic monitoring program, arguing that expanding such programs violate the “spirit” of the Pretrial Fairness Act.
“It feels like a half-baked plan that somebody put together to convince someone the (state is) doing something so that the streets aren’t running wild with criminals,” said James Kilgore, who works for a reentry program in downstate Champaign and is a researcher for an organization challenging electronic monitoring programs.
Kilgore said awaiting trial on house arrest can make it difficult for people to keep jobs and meet daily needs.
The advocates are also voicing concerns about the Office of Statewide Pretrial Services, a new agency created by the Illinois Supreme Court. Cara Smith, the office’s director, announced in August that OSPS was assuming responsibility for electronic monitoring in 70 of the state’s 102 counties. Her announcement talked up EM as “a tool to reduce jail populations, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to monitor domestic violence and other high-risk offenders.”
As of [last] week, those 70 counties have roughly 100 individuals on EM, Smith told WBEZ.
Smith’s announcement tied the electronic monitoring effort to this coming Monday, when cash bail ends: “By September 18th, active GPS electronic monitoring will be available to all OSPS counties at no cost to the county and at no cost to the defendant.”
But Smith said the timing does not mean her office is urging judges to order EM as a substitute for cash bail.
“It couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Smith said. “We are working to try to serve the counties whom we serve as their pretrial agency and have been working virtually around the clock to transition those existing cases over.”
[McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally] said his office will find ways to ensure dangerous offenders remain behind bars pre-trial. When that is not possible, he said measures, such as electronic monitoring, will be put in place to minimize risk.
Among other things, sitting Illinois judges are prohibited by Illinois Supreme Court Rule 4.1 from making “speeches on behalf of a political organization” or soliciting funds for a political organization or candidate, except when they’re up for election or retention.
So, you might ask, what the heck was Illinois Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Rochford thinking when she decided to accept an invitation to be the keynote speaker at the Lake County Democratic Women’s annual fundraising gala on Sept. 9?
The registered political action committee is one of the most influential independent countywide campaign groups of its kind in all of Illinois, having helped recruit, train and then elect dozens of local candidates over the years (including Rochford herself).
“Illinois voters deserve a fair and impartial state Supreme Court that’s free of and from politics, which does not appear to be the case here,” said Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Shaun McCabe in a press release last week about Rochford’s speech.
“The Illinois Supreme Court’s Code of Judicial Conduct (Canon 4, Page 48-50) is clear: sitting judges who aren’t up for election shall not speak at political functions supporting the election of candidates,” the Illinois Republican Party’s press release claimed. A Republican Party official said later we can expect a formal complaint will be filed soon.
The controversy boils down to two questions about the Supreme Court’s rule: 1) Did Rochford make a speech on behalf of a political organization? And 2) Did her role as keynote speaker mean she was soliciting funds for the Lake County Democratic Women PAC?
Rochford’s defenders say “no” to both questions. She gave a non-political speech “to” a political group, not “on behalf” of it. And she didn’t do anything to solicit any money for the political action committee.
Rochford herself issued a rare statement to me last week: “I receive speaking requests from many groups and organizations. I believe it is important for judges to appear in public and help educate people about the Judicial Branch. My speech at this event was about the work of the Illinois Supreme Court, its non-partisan nature and the collegiality that is fostered by our unique lodging arrangement during court terms. The content of my speech was not political in any way and so should not be construed to have been provided on behalf of any political candidate or organization.”
Others who were at the event confirmed Rochford’s claim she said nothing that could be construed as partisan or campaign related in nature.
I totally get the narrow and lawyerly interpretation. Any formal Republican complaints are likely doomed because of it. These are lawyers, after all. Words are carefully chosen for good reason.
And, more importantly, we elect our judges in Illinois, so that means we do have to accept they are inherently political beings. If they were all appointed and confirmed by the state Senate, or whatever, it would be a different story.
But, I mean, come on.
Keynote speakers are usually invited because they help legitimize the organization and, as a result, drive increased attendance. And robust attendance is obviously very crucial to the success of any annual fundraiser.
So, while Rochford didn’t technically speak “on behalf” of the group, she did help the Lake County Democratic Women further prove its bona fides by agreeing to speak.
And while she did not directly raise money for the group that helped nominate her in a competitive Democratic primary and then elect her over a Lake County Republican general election opponent, it should have been abundantly clear her very presence undoubtedly helped the group raise at least some campaign money that it might possibly not have brought in without her.
Rochford has been around politics for a very long time. She most certainly knows this speech was far different from presenting to a law school symposium or bar organization.
I’m not saying judges and justices should cloister themselves away like monks. But they should at least try to keep up appearances when they’re not actively campaigning, especially during an era when every decision by just about every Supreme Court in the land, including the U.S. Supreme Court, is being analyzed for political bents.
After 1½ weeks of trying, Rolling Meadows resident Frank Leo got a lucky break — an appointment to renew his driver’s license.
It was 49 miles away in Joliet, but with his license due to expire Monday, the 83-year-old wasn’t taking any chances.
“It has been impossible to get an appointment” within a reasonable distance, Leo said. “It is a fight every morning to find what facility has openings. And they disappear in seconds. It’s absolutely ludicrous.”
A number of other drivers, mainly seniors, described similar problems using the Illinois secretary of state’s new Skip the Line system that debuted Sept. 1.
The SoS will have two mobile units for seniors soon, and time slots will be blocked out for seniors.
I’ve heard of other problems with the new appointment system, but I was wondering if any of y’all have had any difficulties with the new system so far.
* Capitol News Illinois | Disparately resourced public defenders prepare for the end of cash bail in Illinois: “As a defender, one of the hardest things I have to do is have conversations with mothers, sisters…how are they gonna pull together the money to get their person out of jail?” Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell, who was heavily involved in crafting the law in his previous job at the Illinois Justice Project, said at a recent media briefing about the end of cash bail.
* WBEZ | As state leaders fight to protect access to books, Chicago-area libraries keep getting threats: Michaela Haberkern figured a bomb threat at Aurora Public Library would happen sooner or later. It did on Tuesday. “I knew that [bomb threats were] happening across northern Illinois over the past six weeks or so,” said Haberkern, the library’s executive director. “We made sure that our emergency procedures were up to snuff, we made sure all the staff had recent and up-to-date training and so that they would know what to do. So when it happened, I don’t really know that I had any feelings. I was just like, ‘OK, we’re doing this.’”
* WSPY | Democrat announces election bid for 70th District: Randi Olson, of Cortland, is announcing that she’ll seek the Democratic nomination to run for State Representative of the 70th District which covers parts of DeKalb, Kane, and McHenry counties.
* Windy City Times | Pritzker and Brady-Davis honored at Planned Parenthood gala: In a press release, PPIA President and CEO Jennifer Welch said, “This is one of the most important evenings for our supporters. Together we are celebrating recent legislative victories that strengthen protections for providers and patients in Illinois and those forced to flee from another state, expand access to abortion and gender-affirming care, and ensure Illinois continues to be a haven in the Midwest.”
* Tribune | Markham’s ex-public library director charged with embezzling more than $770,000 from cash-strapped town: According to the charges, Menzies was executive director of the Markham Public Library and managed the library’s finances, employees and services. He also oversaw funds provided by the neighboring village of Posen, which paid Markham thousands of dollars every month for its residents to be able to access Markham’s library facilities, the indictment stated.
* The Intelligencer | Troy man released from custody after posting bail in first-degree murder case: Perham’s bond was set at $1 million, so he would have had to post 10% or $100,000 to be released. Madison County State’s Attorney Thomas A. Haine announced Wednesday afternoon that Perham was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the wake of the early Tuesday death of Maha Tiimob, with whom he had a relationship, according to authorities.
* Reuters | Rahm Emanuel takes the spotlight with snarky China tweets: Emanuel, a legendary Washington political fighter who has served three Democratic presidents, had written on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that the recent disappearances of top Chinese officials resembled Agatha Christie’s best-selling crime novel “And Then There Were None,” which follows the mysterious deaths of guests at a mansion in Britain.
* WBBM | Lt. Governor positive about business, trade after leading delegation in Japan: “When I think about how important it is, this is an example of why these types of trips and relationship-building opportunities are so critical. There is a real opportunity to attract those businesses or grow those businesses right here in Illinois.”
* The Guardian | Post-Roe, anti-abortion groups target law protecting clinics from violence: It was 22 October 2020, and one anti-abortion advocate was livestreaming a group of activists who were at the Washington DC-area clinic to, in their view, “rescue” people from having abortions. […] The woman in the video is Lauren Handy, a prominent anti-abortion activist who, along with four other defendants, was convicted late last month over her actions that October day. (Three more defendants in the case were convicted on Friday.) Specifically, the defendants were found guilty of illegally blockading the clinic in violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or Face Act, a federal law that penalizes people for going beyond peaceful protest to threaten, obstruct or injure someone who is trying to access a reproductive health clinic, or to vandalize a clinic. They may now spend up to 11 years in federal prison.
* Crain’s | Jim McMahon to launch cannabis line in Illinois: Jim McMahon finally found his target. The former Bears quarterback has lined up a partner to manufacture and distribute his Mac 9 brand of weed in Illinois. Revenant Holdings, the company co-founded by McMahon and fellow NFL players Kyle Turley and Eben Britton, has been looking for a way into the Illinois market for about a year.
* Sun-Times | Library bomb threats prompt closings citywide, special police attention: Chicago Police Chief of Patrol Brian McDermott emailed the police command staff on Thursday warning of “nationwide bomb threats to libraries.” McDermott called for beat cars or Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy officers to respond to every library in each police district to let staff know they were being given “special attention” until further notice.
* WGLT | McLean County Board chair remains in Republican hands: Catherine Metsker, a Republican from a rural district, was ultimately elected chair, ousting Democrat and board vice chair Elizabeth Johnston from the position she’d been holding since McIntyre’s resignation on Sept. 5.
* The Telegraph | DCFS looks to hire more bilingual staff: According to the DCFS Personnel Overview, the agency’s Hispanic American employees made up 9.2% of their workforce for the fiscal year of 2023. This represents a 0.3% increase from the last fiscal year.
* Crain’s | Measure to eliminate Chicago’s tipped wage takes a step forward: The proposal would bring up the minimum wage for tipped workers to the city’s standard minimum wage, $15.80 an hour for employers with 21 or more workers and $15 for those with fewer than that. The current minimum wage for tipped workers is $9 for small employers and $9.48 for tipped workers at companies with 21 or more employees.
* Crain’s | Chicago’s ’summer of strikes’ promises to stretch on into fall: To drive home that point, the United Auto Workers union began a historic strike against all three Detroit automakers at midnight Friday after contract negotiations stalled. Never in the UAW’s 88-year history has it attempted a simultaneous strike against Ford, GM and Chrysler, now part of Stellantis.
* Capitol News Illinois | Former Illinois trooper again seeks drivers license after 2007 fatal Metro East crash: For years, former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White blocked attempts by an ex-state trooper to regain his driving privileges after a high-speed crash that caused the deaths of teenage sisters on a busy St. Clair County interstate in 2007. […] Mitchell has not applied for reinstatement of his driver’s license since 2014, when White rejected his hearing officer’s recommendation that Mitchell’s license be reinstated. White didn’t believe Mitchell made a convincing case, a spokesperson said, adding that as an elected official, it was White’s responsibility to make the decision.
* Crain’s | Billionaire Ken Griffin lays out vision for philanthropy via Catalyst brand: Griffin said one of the goals of the site is to inform and motivate others who are just getting into philanthropy. “There is no class in high school on giving away your money. The best example you’re likely to have of how to help others is that set by your parents and grandparents,” he said in an interview. “Most of us want to help battle poverty and improve education, and know that the organizations we’re giving resources to are working to make this happen.”
* WGN | Will County Animal Control: Beware of missing wallaby: Will County Animal Control officials on Thursday asked Monee residents to be on the lookout for a missing wallaby. On the organization’s Facebook page, officials warned of a missing wallaby named Rupert, who stands 2 feet tall and weighs 45 pounds.
* Crain’s | Journeyman Distillery opening $40M facility in Valparaiso: The new digs will include a distillery, craft brewery, multiple restaurants and event spaces. It is set to start a phased opening in October. The move will get Journeyman closer to one of its core markets — Chicago — and help grow its standing among Midwestern distillers.
* Matthew Hendrickson at the Sun-Times has a good preview of Monday’s official elimination of cash bail. You should definitely read the whole thing…
Among the biggest unknowns is how often prosecutors will request detention and how judges will rule.
[McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally], for example, said he was planning on filing a petition for detention on every eligible case under the law.
“We think the nature of the offense itself in the vast majority of cases will indicate the dangerousness of the defendant,” he said in an interview with the Sun-Times last week. “There will of course be exceptions.”
Some prosecutors worry how the public will react if they learn they did not seek detention for someone who then commits another crime. Typically, judges have been blamed for not setting high enough bail in such cases. Now prosecutors will face more responsibility.
Good point.
* We move from an informative story to typical teevee scare tactics. Andy Banker at Fox 2 News in St. Louis…
There are big concerns in a small town in Randolph County, Illinois, about a man accused of setting someone on fire and killing them.
People in Red Bud, Illinois, about 35 miles southeast of St. Louis, fear Shawn Porter may be freed from jail on Monday while awaiting trial.
Monday is the day Illinois becomes the first state in America to ban cash bail.
Porter, 48, is charged with a single count of first-degree murder.
Court documents say he set his neighbor, Donald Steibel, 76, on fire at Steibel’s home in June. A standoff ensued at Porter’s home, a half block away, according to authorities. Porter allegedly threatened police and threatened to set his home on fire before surrendering.
Multiple Red Bud residents told FOX 2 they fear Porter’s potential release. They also asked not to be identified because of that fear.
“We don’t want him out either, and we’re going to do everything we can to keep him from getting out,” Randolph County State’s Attorney James Kelley said.
Kelley, who is prosecuting the case, wouldn’t go into specific details about pending cases, but said all 15 cash bail suspects now in the Randolph County Jail would be eligible for detention hearings on Monday. […]
First degree murder is a non-probational offense, so all the judge has to do is determine whether there’s clear evidence Porter committed the crime, and that Porter either poses a real and present threat or is a flight risk and nothing can be done to mitigate that risk. According to the Randolph County inmate list, Porter had an IDOC warrant and was being held on no bail for that. He’s also been charged with Aggravated Battery/Great Bodily Harm, Obstructing Justice and Resisting a Peace Officer.
It would take a massive screwup on the state’s attorney’s part or a completely bonkers judge for that guy to get out of jail.
If a judge allows a suspect to be released under pre-trial conditions, a prosecutor can request the suspect remain in jail and then the judge can grant or deny the request. Victims must be notified if a suspect is released.
“It’s a great start on the road to racial and economic dignity,” said Larita Rice-Barnes, executive director of the Metro East Organizing Coalition. A grassroots organization aimed at ending mass incarceration. “The truth is this is not about safety–this is about people’s ability to have money.”
“I think there’s potential for thefts and burglaries to increase,” Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing said. “A lot the investigative part and reports need to get done a lot quicker.”
Sheriff Rohlfing told First Alert 4 more resources are needed to keep up with new demands of ending cash bail, which means taxpayers might have to foot the bill.
Over and over, a woman who lost a daughter to domestic violence talked of how the criminal justice system “just didn’t care,” repeatedly releasing a man from jail until police say he finally made good on his threats.
“I think that if they take it seriously the first time then, the people, the perpetrators won’t so easily keep doing what they do,” said the woman, who asked not to be named. “If they would have taken it seriously the first time and especially the second time… They just didn’t care enough.”
Advocates say the bail reform that takes effect Monday should make victims of domestic and sexual violence safer — if prosecutors and judges take full advantage of the law.
Under the Pretrial Fairness Act, judges no longer will be able to require people to post money in order to be released ahead of trial. But the law allows people to be jailed, possibly until their trial, if they are charged with violent crimes like sexual assault and domestic attacks.
“This prioritizes risk over money,” said Christine Raffaele of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Money never made anybody safe.”
[Kyle Napp, chief criminal judge in Illinois’ 3rd Circuit] and [Chief Judge Andrew Gleeson of Illinois’ 20th Circuit] said both courthouses and jails have not been detaining defendants accused of lower level misdemeanors. With the SAFE-T Act’s implementation, that shouldn’t change.
“I would hazard a guess that there is not one person sitting in our jail right now who wouldn’t be sitting in our jail under the SAFE-T Act,” Napp said.
Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos said her office is ready. Sheriff Chris Watkins said his office is prepared, though they will have to wait and see the effects. […]
“We will still be able to detain all those violent offenders that we detain today,” Hoos said. “Shootings, murderers, home invasions, assaults, all those cases.” […]
“People get released and then they commit new crimes,” [Knox County State’s Attorney Jeremy Karlin] said of the current system. “The SAFE-T Act isn’t really going to change that.”
Karlin said his office has also purposefully asked for a high bond to keep someone detained, and then were surprised when they raised the funds to pay. In their small community, they know defendants and their histories well.
* Former Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke has taken some flak for her ties to Republicans, but the Cook County state’s attorney candidate just released this statement on the SAFE-T Act…
Days before Illinois’ SAFE-T Act goes into effect, Democratic Candidate for Cook County State’s Attorney Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke released a video with her thoughts on the new law and the critical nature of the upcoming election to ensure its implementation furthers both safety and justice.
“The SAFE-T Act is a seminal piece of legislation. It’s also known as the Pretrial Fairness Act. What it does is it changes the way we detain people pretrial.
“Under the current system that is based on their monetary capability, and I think we can all agree that is not a just system. The SAFE-T Act rectifies that.
“What the SAFE-T Act does is it says the only criterion to be held prior to trial is, are you a danger to the community, or are you not?
“The State’s Attorney’s office role in pretrial detention has been expanded exponentially from this legislation. So what that means is, the State’s Attorney has to petition to detain someone pretrial before a court can even consider it. So if that document, that petition, is not filed, the trial court has no authority to detain someone pre-trial.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a murder, an armed robbery, a sexual assault, if the state does not file that petition to detain, the judge cannot hold someone.
“We are the first, and if we do this correctly, if we implement it correctly, then New York follows, California follows, and we have pushed the justice system into a more just and equitable future.
“We cannot fail in its implementation, and that’s why the role of the state’s attorney and this election is so vitally important.”
Illinois has a long history of pretrial reform efforts starting with the abolishment of bail bondsmen in 1963. Those efforts continue as Illinois becomes the first state to abolish cash bail on Sept. 18. The Illinois Supreme Court has taken significant steps to prepare the Judicial Branch for pretrial reform. These efforts began with the formation of the Commission on Pretrial Practices in 2017, which consisted of all three branches of government and criminal justice stakeholders. The Commission issued its final report in 2020 and that led to the creation of the Pretrial Implementation Task Force (Task Force).
The Task Force worked throughout 2022 to prepare and educate the public and stakeholders on the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA). That work went right up to December when a court ruling and action by the Illinois Supreme Court paused implementation. Additional steps taken by the Supreme Court and its related bodies are detailed below ahead of Sept. 18.
[T]estimony came in the trial of former Department of Children and Family Services investigator Carlos Acosta and his supervisor, Andrew Polovin. Each is charged with child endangerment and reckless conduct in connection with AJ’s death, which came after he was repeatedly abused by his mother in Crystal Lake in 2019.
Almost four months before his death, on Dec. 18, 2018, police took AJ and his 3-year-old brother into protective custody, after finding what one officer called a “horrific” bruise on AJ’s hip and marks on his face, and their home in disarray, strewed with urine and feces, and with broken windows, ceiling and flooring.
When he was asked by a doctor about the bruise, AJ said, “Maybe someone hit me with a belt,” and “Maybe Mommy didn’t mean to hurt me.”
The physician was alarmed and didn’t want to release the boy to his mother, JoAnn Cunningham. But the emergency doctor wasn’t specially trained in diagnosing abuse, and Acosta released AJ from protective custody that day. “He was abandoned into the hands of his killer,” prosecutors said earlier in opening arguments.
[The state’s expert witness – retired DCFS area administrator Carol Ruzicka] said during her testimony on Tuesday that Acosta failed to perform inquiries regarding parts of his report after he was called to investigate a large bruise found on AJ Freund in December 2018. […]
Ruzicka testified that Acosta failed to ask numerous questions and investigate further.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally presented a text message exchange between Acosta and Polovin.
The exchange showed Acosta sent a photo of the bruise to his supervisor and said, “Kid said big dog put his paw on me. I take that to mean a scratch.”
Polovin responded and said, “That looks nasty, but if that’s what the kid says.” The pair did not seek extended protective custody and instead let AJ go home from the hospital with his father.
Pamela Wells, an assistant state’s attorney from Winnebago County who works in the juvenile division, detailed the steps that should have been pursued when AJ was taken into protective custody that day.
Wells said anyone could have called the McHenry County state’s attorney’s office on Dec. 18, 2018, to report AJ’s bruises and the condition of his “filthy” home at 94 Dole Ave., and an investigation would have begun immediately. […]
“In your opinion had protective custody not lapsed on Dec. 18. 2018, would it have been possible (for) AJ to be murdered by his mother?” prosecutor Randi Freese asked Wells.
“No,” Wells answered. “The court involvement and the people involved with providing services would have been a disruption into their privacy and into what was going on behind closed doors.”
On Thursday, those present in the McHenry County courtroom had heard disturbing recordings of AJ Freund’s mother made on her cell phone berating the boy in the months before she killed him.
The audio of JoAnn Cunningham abusing AJ – who died on April 15, 2019, after she beat him and made him stand in a cold shower – was heard during the trial of two former Department of Children and Family Services employees. […]
Audio from three more videos with similar content were played in which she is heard berating him for wetting himself and accusing him of being a manipulator. In one video, AJ told her he wanted to live alone, without his family, and that he was going to get her in trouble, only angering her more. […]
Julia Almeda, a former McHenry County assistant state’s attorney who worked in the juvenile courts and on AJ’s case in 2013, testified that she too never got a call about the December 2018 incident.
Had she, Almeda said, she “absolutely” would have immediately assigned an investigator, filed a petition to take AJ into protective custody, searched court systems, obtained police reports, cross referenced civil and criminal cases, assigned a forensic interviewer “and anything else that helps fill in that picture.”
During trial this week, case worker Carlos Acosta was criticized by [Ruzicka] for not thoroughly reviewing past DCFS contacts, police reports, or medical records for Cunningham.
Defense attorneys say Acosta juggled 20-plus cases at a time, over the 12-15 mandated in a DCFS consent decree.
The defense argued the goal and/or motivation of DCFS was to keep children with their parents, adding that Acosta and Polovin, his supervisor, shouldn’t be held criminally liable for Freund’s murder.
Two child abuse experts with the Children’s Advocacy Center in McHenry County also testified on Wednesday but were not allowed to be filmed. Experts said that the bruise seen on Freund’s hip was unlikely to have been caused by a dog, also noting four bruises on his torso.
Former Illinois Department of Children and Family Services employees Carlos Acosta and Andrew Polovin both chose not to testify in their own defense, leading to defense attorneys resting their case on Friday without calling any witnesses.
The judge handling the bench trial said he would like to have closing arguments sometime during the first two weeks of October. Since it is a bench trial, it will be a judge instead of a jury determining the verdict. […]
But defense attorneys maintain that the former DCFS workers followed procedures, and both had limited information at the time protective custody of the child lapsed, resulting in him returning to his mother’s custody.
Both sides are due back in court on Tuesday to discuss scheduling of closing arguments. It’s unclear how soon the judge could rule after hearing closing arguments.
Both the CTBA and the Civic Committee have stressed the efficacy of front-loading pension payments, but with the administration opposed to a tax increase levied on low- and middle-income people, the Civic Committee may need to find a different idea.
Might there be a way, say, to add a new pension tax, levied only on individuals and companies earning above a certain amount? Even in a flat-tax state, such a plan might pass constitutional review.
(a) A tax on or measured by income shall be at a non-graduated rate. At any one time there may be no more than one such tax imposed by the State for State purposes on individuals and one such tax so imposed on corporations.
It seems pretty clear you can’t add a new, second tax on top of an existing tax for only a relative handful of people and companies because that would likely violate the “no more than one such tax” sentence of that paragraph. That’s basically why the second sentence was included.
Even [Andy Manar, deputy governor for budget and economy] didn’t completely slam the door on the Civic Committee plan. “The governor is open to ideas,” he said. It would help if the group can build political support for its plan, he added.
Manar didn’t get specific, but the administration has made clear to supporters of pension reform that this plan, with its call for a tax hike, will not move forward without at least some Republican support. Pritzker and fellow Democrats in the General Assembly will not raise taxes in an election year unless Republicans join the effort.
And if that happens, a source close to Pritzker told me, the governor could well sign on to the Civic Committee’s plan.
Please name the Republicans who will vote for a likely unconstitutional special income tax surcharge (or a service tax) focused solely on upper-income people and big corporations to fund government pensions.
Not to mention that years of anti-pension hype from the Better Government Association and their ilk helped bake that cake.
“It’s in the Constitution. We have a right to organize,” [Brady Burden, a staffer in the speaker’s office who is part of the organizing committee of the Illinois Legislative Staff Association] said. “The only issue that we need, is that the speaker recognize the union.”
[Michael LeRoy, a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law and the School of Labor and Employment Relations], however, said the Worker’s Rights Amendment is actually vague on that issue because it’s written in prospective terms, referring to future enactments by the state or local governments.
He said that although the first sentence of the amendment says employees have a fundamental right to organize, the next sentence says, “No law shall be passed that interferes with, negates, or diminishes” collective bargaining rights.
“They use the term ‘shall be.’ That’s future tense,” he said. “It doesn’t reach back. It doesn’t say any law that has been enacted that interferes with collective bargaining is hereby nullified. It doesn’t say that.”
LeRoy said the purpose of the amendment was to prevent the enactment of so-called “right-to-work” laws at either the state or local level. Those are laws that say employers cannot require someone to be a member of a union as a condition of employment.
Employees shall have the fundamental right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours, and working conditions, and to protect their economic welfare and safety at work.
Following their Labor Day weekend statement urging Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch to acknowledge and engage with them, the Illinois Legislative Staff Association (ILSA) issued the following statement:
“We are the Organizing Committee of the Illinois Legislative Staff Association. Two weeks ago, as workers across Illinois began their Labor Day weekend, we issued a statement calling on House Speaker Welch to ‘practice what he preaches’ by coming to the table. We want him to meet with us about our concerns, a timeline for recognition of our union, and the negotiation of a contract. We waited a full calendar week following the Speaker’s return from his trip overseas to ensure that he and his aides had sufficient time to review our concerns and issue a full response. Despite this, we are still waiting for any communication or even an indication that they are willing to come out of hiding and confront reality.
Today is the 290th day since we first collected signed cards from more than 50% of our bargaining unit and asked the Speaker to voluntarily recognize our union. It is also the 136th day since we announced ourselves in the press. That announcement came after five months of attempting to handle this issue internally. Despite that, Speaker Welch continues to pretend we do not exist.
Gov. Pritzker has gone on the record to say that he supports our right to organize. And yet, Speaker Welch has refused to make any public remarks regarding our union.
Not only that, the Speaker and his senior aides have insisted that we ‘follow the established process’ when they know full well that there is no established process for legislative employees. This is not just our opinion; this is the opinion of the Illinois Labor Relations Board (ILRB). In the ILRB ruling from over five and a half months ago, they stated their Board has no jurisdiction over legislative employees barring a ruling over the application of the Workers Rights Amendment from the Courts or through legislative action, powers which the ILRB does not possess.
Following this, we asked the Speaker and his aides repeatedly to lay out a path to recognition. In response, we received disingenuous evasions or were ignored outright. This is despite the Speaker having the right to voluntarily recognize our union at any time without needing a framework.
The Speaker and his aides have erroneously implied that we are demanding voluntary recognition because we are unwilling to hold an election. In reality, we have said repeatedly that we would welcome one, including explicitly in our Labor Day weekend statement. Over the last nine and a half months, we have suggested to the Speaker’s aides that an election be arranged, only to be brushed off. They have yet to explain this behavior on the record.
Once again, whenever the Speaker is prepared to come to the table, we are ready to meet with him. If he wants an election, let’s arrange it. If he wants to use another process, let’s sit down and establish that process. ILSA is ready and has been ready since we first brought our organizing efforts to his attention on November 29th. Our goal has been and will continue to be to collaborate in good faith in
order to move forward.
It is Speaker Welch and his aides who are refusing to allow that to happen.
It appears fruitless to continue waiting for the Speaker and his aides to do the right thing on their own. That’s why ILSA now intends to adopt a more proactive posture. From now, until we hear from the Speaker, we will seek to make our case more clearly and emphatically. Speaker Welch can continue to delay and hope that attrition will solve his problems before he is forced to address them. However, as we have said before, we are not going away.
We demand that the Speaker and his aides meet with us and meaningfully address our many concerns. They must cooperate with us to establish a process and timeline for the recognition of our union and the negotiation of a contract. Until this happens, we will continue to promote transparency regarding our working conditions. We will highlight the insulting manner in which Speaker Welch and his aides continue to treat his staff, as well as our constitutional right to organize.
The people of Illinois deserve a Speaker of the House who lives up to his principles every bit as much as his staff deserves pay and working conditions that are sustainable, fair, and non-exploitative.
ILSA will not stop until the Speaker’s office chooses to meet these standards.”
Ron DeSantis has taken his feud with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to the billboards of Chicago.
The Republican Governor is funding an advertising campaign in the Greater Chicago area to recruit Illinois law enforcement to his home state of Florida, offering a $5,000 signing bonus to relocate, according to a statement. The effort is part of a broader 2022 recruitment law signed by DeSantis that so far has lured 2,700 officers to Florida — though only about 37 from Illinois.
* Maybe the coppers aren’t rushing to flee Illinois because they don’t want to take a pay and pension cut. From Indeed.com…
* There are definite benefits to living in Florida. I personally love Southwest Florida in the late fall through early spring. I may even join dozens of my friends and end up down there half the year or so if I ever retire (if, that is, the area hasn’t already been consumed by the Gulf). Florida has no income tax, but the state and locals hit you pretty much everywhere else, and homeowners insurance is becoming much more difficult to find, if you can afford it.
But, hey, it’s a cheap and fun little stunt. Go for it.
* And as noted above, just 37 officers from Illinois have fled to Florida so far. Keep that in mind when reading this story from June…
The dream of owning a home seems out of reach for millions of Americans, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community. But in Peoria, Illinois, Alex Martin owns a home at age 30 — something she never thought would be possible.
“I’m black. I’m trans, and I’m visibly so, and so having a space that, like, I made that I can just come in and recharge, I’m ready to face the world again,” she said. […]
Angie Ostaszewski says she has almost single-handedly grown Peoria’s population by about 360 in three years thanks to TikTok.
“When I first started making TikToks about Peoria, it was about ‘improve your quality of life,’” she said. “But in the last six months especially, people are relocating here more for survival, and that’s such a different conversation.”
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
…Adding… Some commenters are making a decent point that the billboards, most of which are near the Loop and not where many cops live, are perhaps more about promoting the governor’s name in a presidential contest than actually luring police to Florida. Something to consider, anyway.
* Sun-Times | Illinois child care centers face crisis with loss of federal dollars: ‘They’re setting us up for failure’: That nightmare could become a reality for many Chicago parents as pandemic-era federal funding that helped stabilize the child care industry expires Sept. 30, triggering a crisis for providers and the families who depend on them. For Illinois, that could mean nearly 130,000 kids without child care, about 2,800 shuttered centers and over 11,300 child care providers without jobs, according to a study from the Century Foundation, a think tank headquartered in New York.
* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois House Speaker’s staff could test limits of Workers’ Rights Amendment: Brady Burden, a staffer in the speaker’s office who is part of the organizing committee of the Illinois Legislative Staff Association, said efforts to unionize have thus far been stymied by a provision in state law that specifically exempts the General Assembly from the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. […] But at least one expert in Illinois labor law says relying on that amendment may be more difficult legally for the workers than it might first appear.
* WGN | City Club of Chicago: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul: Attorney General Raoul launched his legal career as a Cook County prosecutor and went on to be a partner at two national corporate law firms. He also served as an Illinois State Senator for 14 years, leading to this “dream job.”
* Jim Dey | Is state preparing to make another go at pension fix? But serious people are trying. Three legislators — state representatives Stephanie Kifowit, Steve Reick and Mark Walker — have been holding hearings and proposed legislation calling for contributing an additional $500 million a year on top of the state’s regular contributions to pensions for teachers, state employees, university employees, judges and legislators.
* WBEZ | How Thursday’s Chicago City Council was a big moment for progressives: Proposals that hit City Hall Thursday run the gamut from efforts to fund homeless prevention to increasing the minimum wage for tipped workers to a working group to explore the so-called Treatment Not Trauma mental health initiative.
* Sun-Times | City Council OKs spending another $34.5 million on burgeoning migrant crisis: In companion votes that rubbed the same old wounds, alderpersons authorized a $33 million federal Homeland Security grant for the care and feeding of asylum-seekers and agreed to spend $1.5 million in tax increment financing funds to buy a 10.7-acre property at 3034 W. Foster Ave. formerly used by the U.S. Marine Corps and convert it into a shelter for up to 550 migrants.
* NBC Chicago | You and AI: The use of AI in political campaigns: With the 2024 U.S. presidential election just over a year away, NBC Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern dives into why voters should think twice about what they may hear or see online due to advances in artificial intelligence.
* Tribune | Only 9.6% of Chicago’s waste was recycled last year. A new facility could improve rates, but stumbling blocks remain.: The majority of other large U.S. cities have not released their most recent rates, but Minneapolis reported it recycled 19% of its waste last year. In past years, several West Coast cities have reported recycling rates above 70%, with San Francisco leading the way with more than 80% recycled since 2008, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Even New York City recycled about 20% in 2020, The New York Times reported.
* Crain’s | What dollar stores cost Chicago’s South and West side communities: From an economic standpoint, South Shore is not oversaturated with these types of businesses. The stores would go under if it were, community development experts say. South Shore’s 54,000 residents spend their money there. But from a community health standpoint, some say these businesses number far too many. They are also more likely to be owned by non-residents.
* AP | Wisconsin Senate votes to fire official targeted by 2020 election skeptics: The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate voted Thursday to fire the battleground state’s nonpartisan top elections official, prompting a legal challenge from Democrats who say the vote was illegitimate. Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a lawsuit that Senate Republicans don’t have the authority to oust Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe and accused them of attacking the state’s elections.
* SJ-R | Closing time: Sportsman’s Lounge calls it a day Friday: Sportsman’s Lounge, 229 W. Mason St., will close to make way for a 24-unit apartment complex. Although a bar has operated at the address since 1935, the building dates to before the Civil War. The Sportsman’s Lounge name has been on the building since 1957.
* AP | Egon Schiele work seized from Art Institute of Chicago, believed stolen from Jewish art collector during Holocaust: The art was seized Wednesday from the Art Institute of Chicago, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College in Ohio. […] The three works and several others from the collection, which Grünbaum began assembling in the 1920s, are already the subject of civil litigation on behalf of his heirs. They believe the entertainer was forced to cede ownership of his artworks under duress.
* WAND | Stratton says Japanese businesses find Illinois workforce, infrastructure attractive: “Over 1,000 Japanese companies are in the state of Illinois,” Stratton told reporters Thursday. “We have over 42,000 Japanese employees here in the state of Illinois.”Stratton’s delegation spoke with other U.S. leaders, Japanese governors, and business executives about the state’s recent investments in manufacturing, technology, and other emerging industries. Japanese companies were also very interested in learning more about investments from the state’s monumental Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate increased +0.1 percentage point to 4.1 percent, while nonfarm payrolls were almost unchanged, down -100, in August, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. August total nonfarm payrolls remained above the pre-pandemic number of total nonfarm payroll jobs. The July revised unemployment rate was 4.0 percent, unchanged from the preliminary July unemployment rate. The July monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +11,200 to +3,400 jobs. The August unemployment rate and payroll jobs estimate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.
In August, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month job gains included: Educational and Health Services (+4,400), Leisure and Hospitality (+800), and Manufacturing (+400). The industry sectors with the largest monthly payroll job declines included: Professional and Business Services (-3,300), Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-1,100), and Other Services (-700). […]
The state’s unemployment rate was +0.3 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate reported for August. The national unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in August, up +0.3 percentage point from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was down -0.4 percentage point from a year ago when it was at 4.5 percent.
Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll jobs increased by +75,600 jobs, with gains across most major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs increases included: Educational and Health Services (+39,900), Government (+28,400), and Leisure and Hospitality (+25,200). Professional and Business Services (-15,300), Manufacturing (-9,400), and Information (-5,200) reported the largest declines in payroll jobs. In August, total nonfarm payrolls were up +1.2 percent over-the-year in Illinois and up +2.0 percent in the nation.
The number of unemployed workers was 266,200, up +4.4 percent from the prior month, and down -8.0 percent over the same month one year ago. The labor force was almost unchanged (0.0 percent) over-the-month and down -0.2 percent over-the-year.
Chicago will be home to a new math and biology research institute funded by a $50 million grant from the National Science Foundation and the Simons Foundation.
Northwestern University will lead the research institute in partnership with the University of Chicago that will involve 80 faculty and 120 graduate and post-doctoral students from the two schools. The National Institute for Theory & Mathematics in Biology will be focused on basic research and will be housed in Streeterville near Northwestern’s medical campus.
It’s the second major new biomedical research facility announced in Chicago in less than a year, joining the Chan Zuckerberg Institute that will be located in Fulton Market. The NSF grant is a prestigious win for Northwestern and U of C.
* The Tribune on some legislative react to the Chicago Bears’ announcement that it won’t try to move a bill during veto session…
[ Rep. Marty Moylan] on Wednesday said that “obviously, our bill wasn’t ready yet and they want to explore other options.
“And good for them. And I say, ‘Let’s go Bears.’”
State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, an Arlington Heights Democrat who worked with Moylan on the legislation, emphasized that “megadevelopment” projects should benefit local governments and not just the team and its stadium. She said Wednesday’s announcement was “not a terrible position for the Bears to take.”
“I didn’t see much interest in Bears-specific legislation in Springfield in the spring and it seems unlikely that support for Bears-specific legislation would grow over time,” Canty said. “So, I think that’s right for them to stay focused on what they’re trying to do, what they’re trying to accomplish and what they can control.”
* Gaming Board…
The Illinois Gaming Board (the “IGB” or “Board”) marked an historic summer overseeing the opening of three newly authorized casinos and a new sportsbook, among other significant actions as reported during today’s September meeting.
The summer began with the IGB conducting pre-opening operations assessment/audit and practice gaming sessions under IGB Rules 3000.230(e) and (f) at the new Golden Nugget Casino in Danville from May 22 through May 25. Based on the results, IGB Administrator Marcus Fruchter issued a temporary operating permit (“TOP”) and on May 27, Golden Nugget Danville opened to the public as Illinois’ 13th casino. Golden Nugget Danville paid $25.3 million in upfront fees that were deposited into the Rebuild Illinois Projects Fund for use on capital and infrastructure projects throughout the state.
Following the June and July public Board meetings, the IGB conducted the pre-opening operations assessment/audit and practice gaming sessions at Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort in Carterville from August 21 through August 24. After the successful testing at Walker’s Bluff, Administrator Fruchter issued a TOP and on August 25, the casino commenced operations as Illinois’ 14th casino. Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort will pay approximately $28.3 million in upfront fees into the Rebuild Illinois Fund.
After the Labor Day holiday, the IGB conducted the pre-opening operations assessment/audit and practice gaming sessions at Bally’s Chicago temporary casino at Medinah Temple from September 5 through September 8. Administrator Fruchter issued Bally’s Chicago a TOP and on September 9, Bally’s Chicago opened as Illinois’ 15th casino. Bally’s Chicago will pay $135.5 million in upfront fees into the Rebuild Illinois Fund.
Following enactment of the 2019 gaming expansion law, five newly authorized casinos have opened in Rockford, Waukegan, Danville, Carterville, and Chicago since November 2021.
* Press release…
Today, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI) announced it will resume offering abortion care on Monday, September 18. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) saw a 600% increase in patients from Wisconsin. Starting in July of 2022, PPWI and PPIL shared a unique partnership where PPWI clinicians traveled to the PPIL Waukegan health center to provide care.
“Today we celebrate with Wisconsinites as they regain access to essential abortion care.” Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois. “More access to care benefits everyone. We are thrilled Wisconsin patients have a choice and are not forced to flee their state for health care and clinicians can provide care in their home state. We are proud to serve patients from Wisconsin and look forward to continuing our partnership in a meaningful way. Our doors are open as we continue to fight for everyone to have access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care.”
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup…
* WBEZ | Downstate leaders say they will need help handling the historic end to cash bail: “Our state might as well be in two different countries,” Cass County Sheriff Devron Ohrn said. “I think this would have been a great [law], if this is what Cook County wants. But don’t do it down here. The views and the needs of the people here are so much more different.” But backers of the law said concerns are overblown, and any implementation challenges are a worthwhile trade-off for a more just system. Ben Ruddell, an attorney at the ACLU of Illinois, said much of the opposition is because county officials are worried about losing out on revenue. “I think what they’re really concerned about are their own budgets, in terms of sheriffs, and people like that, who have concerns that perhaps their jails aren’t going to be as full as they’d like them to be,” Ruddell said.
* Bloomberg | DeSantis offers $5,000 bonus for Chicago cops to relocate to Florida: The Republican Governor is funding an advertising campaign in the Greater Chicago area to recruit Illinois law enforcement to his home state of Florida, offering a $5,000 signing bonus to relocate, according to a statement. The effort is part of a broader 2022 recruitment law signed by DeSantis that so far has lured 2,700 officers to Florida — though only about 37 from Illinois.
* Chicago Law Bulletin | Lea Gutierrez named new ARDC administrator: The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Lea S. Gutierrez as the new administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), making her the first person of color to lead the agency. The appointment marks a return to the ARDC for Gutierrez, who previously served as the founding director of diversity and inclusion. She will take the administrator role effective Oct. 23, the ARDC said Thursday. Jerome Larkin, who joined the agency in 1978 and was named administrator in 2007, is retiring.
* SJ-R | Springfield postal workers among 19 indicted on fraud charges related to COVID-19 loans: A federal grand jury has indicted 19 U.S. Postal Service workers, including 10 from Springfield, on wire fraud charges. All are accused of defrauding people through various COVID-19 relief programs in 2020 and 2021. Shawntelle Lynn, 31, was indicted in October in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois on two counts of wire fraud. Patrice Green, 47, and Diamond Vinson, 29, were charged in August on four counts of wire fraud.
* Crain’s | No-show workers add wrinkle to Stellantis-UAW union contract talks: Stellantis has made fixing absenteeism a priority in contract talks with the UAW for its 43,000 unionized workers. The absentee rate at its US plants was 23% last year, according to a copy of the company’s initial contract proposal reviewed by Bloomberg. Absent workers led to $217 million in lost sales in 2021 and 2022, the company estimated.
* Sun-Times | Far South Side residents divided on migrant camp landing on their turf: Many residents at the often tense meeting said they were sympathetic to the migrants’ plight, but were opposed to the idea of a tent city in the area. They raised concerns about whether the migrants had been vaccinated, if they had background checks, where they would learn English, how the tent city would be kept clean and if it would affect property values.
* Sun-Times | Nearly 65% of homeless population in Chicago lives in doubled-up, temporary housing: “These doubled-up families are not in typical home-sharing situations,” said Paler-Ponce. “It’s situations of poor Chicagoans that can’t afford to live on their own or formerly contributed to household costs. These are precarious, often overcrowded, always temporary situations that are often missing in data.”
* Tribune | South Shore affordable housing protections to be proposed at City Council amid fears of Obama center gentrification: A group of community advocates and residents, along with Aldermen Desmon Yancy, 5th, and Jeanette Taylor, 20th, plan to introduce an ordinance Thursday at the City Council in an effort to preserve and create more affordable housing in the South Shore and Woodlawn neighborhoods, two communities where fears of gentrification and displacement from people like Robinson run high as the Obama Presidential Center takes shapes in nearby Jackson Park.
* NBC Chicago | Can’t remember when your last COVID shot was? Use your Illinois digital vaccine card: If you don’t remember when your last COVID shot was — or you’ve misplaced your original COVID vaccine card, you can check your Illinois vaccine record using the Illinois Department of Health’s “Vax Verify” system. Following a registration and verification process, Illinois residents through the “Verify Vax” portal can check their immunization record, including their most recent COVID shots.
* Daily-Journal | Former NFL player to take over strength training for Kankakee High School: On Monday, the Kankakee School Board approved a contract with Johnson Training LLC, owned by retired NFL player Charles Johnson. Johnson spent seven years as a wide receiver for teams including the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers.
* Block Club Chicago | Gilligan The Pig Is Living His Best Life At Belmont Harbor: The portly swine is named after the lead character in the 1960s sitcom “Gilligan’s Island.” He spends plenty of time on The Penalty Box while Tom Serbin gets people out on the water with his charter boat company, S.S. Charters Chicago, 2 W. Belmont Harbor Dr. Michele Serbin is a graphic designer who has made merch featuring their pet.
* Sun-Times | Ken Griffin, a character in ‘Dumb Money,’ slams movie’s ‘false implications and inaccuracies’: “The original script contained numerous fabrications, and Citadel felt an obligation to flag those to Sony. Thanks to our letter, Sony corrected them and the final film did not include a number of falsehoods that would have been blatantly misleading to the audience,” said a statement from Tom A. Clare, an attorney representing Citadel.
Clearview Farm, Mahomet-Seymour High School’s Future Farmers of America and others took on a big planting project on Wednesday. But most may need a bird’s-eye view to take in the full picture.
They all joined together to create an Illinois-shaped pollinator garden, located at Clearview Farm in Champaign. The farm got the idea from a garden in Kane County, then started making their own plans last fall. They started planting with help from students and the community. […]
The garden is called a native pollinator garden, and it contain plants native to the region. It’s meant to be a better food source and habitat to reproduce. […]
The native pollinator garden is 500,000 square feet with over 900 plants.
Theauntae Jones says he hopes to head to college next year in Ohio but the road there hasn’t been easy.
“My mom was struggling really hard and this helped her a lot,” the Leo Catholic high schooler said of the ‘Invest in Kids’ program. “Mom came into my room and she was really happy (and) said, ‘We got the scholarship.’ It gave her $8,000.”
The Illinois Invest in Kids Scholarship Program allows taxpayers a 75% credit for every dollar donated towards the funding of scholarships that help send students from low-income families to private schools. The program is due to sunset by the end of the year, however, and will go away entirely by January 2025 unless lawmakers step in to save it.
More than 9,000 kids are on scholarship, with about 26,000 more on the waiting list. It’s why hundreds, including Rev. Michael Pfleger, gathered at St. Sabina on Wednesday, demanding action from officials in Springfield.
“We can’t keep talking about children reaching their purpose and then block them from the education they deserve,” Pfleger said. “I fight for this school cause I want the best thing for the kids in this neighborhood and the opportunity for them to achieve their goals and dreams.”
Stacy Davis gates is certainly not the only member of the CTU who sends her child to a private school. In fact, NBC 5 has learned a key member of the Illinois Education Association also sends his children to Catholic schools. So how might these decisions change the union’s fight right now to end those tax credit programs?
The pressure is on from these students and parents and educators for why they believe the Illinois General Assembly should continue to fund the Illinois Invest in Kids program. […]
NBC 5 has also learned IEA Government Relations Director Sean Denny, seen here in an IEA Facebook posting, sends his children to a Catholic school in Springfield. Both unions strongly oppose the tax credits basis. This IEA video calls the scholarships ‘a scheme.’ […]
This afternoon the IEA responded to our questions saying it will continue to fight against what it calls a voucher program until it ends because public dollars belong in public schools, according to the IEA.
Three of Jasmine Bland’s five children have been able to attend St. Patrick’s Catholic School, and she hopes state lawmakers continue to help low-income families like hers afford high-quality educational options.
“The culture there is more like family, which I prefer,” said Bland, a single parent who lives with her children on Springfield’s east side, works a minimum-wage job and recently began a second job waiting tables.
Bland, 41, said she wants to make sure her children have access to Catholic schools even though she and her kids aren’t Catholic because she has seen her children face more distractions in public schools.
Officials from St. Patrick’s – a prekindergarten through fifth-grade school and a stable presence in its east side Springfield neighborhood since 1910 – hope the Illinois General Assembly listens to Bland and other parents like her.
Northfield Township Republicans will host a discussion on education from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13 on Invest In Kids, an Illinois State Board of Education school voucher program.
The scheduled program speakers are Dan Vosnos, executive director of One Chance Illinois, and Nathan Hoffman, director of state policy and legislation for ExcelinEd.
A press release on the event, to be held at the Glenview Public Library, said the two speakers would also be, “shedding light on the educational reform movement that has been gaining momentum around the country.”
Anthony Holter of scholarship granting organization Empower Illinois said the program being shut down would create problems for parents and students alike.
“So many of these families do not have the financial resources to continue without these scholarships and would be forced to face this really impossible choice,” Holter said. “They would have to try and find a way to keep their child there, knowing very well that they can not afford it and that it is best for them.”
Lawmakers return to session on Oct. 24 and could discuss a possible extension of the act.
Theantae Jones, a senior at Leo Catholic High School, said the scholarship gave him the opportunity to attend a better school than the public school near him. Jones said he commutes from the West Side to the South Side during the week.
“Every morning I start my day at 5 a.m., and I leave the house at 6 a.m. for an hour and half commute,” Jones said. “I do my homework on the bus, miss out on sleep. I make the sacrifices to attend Leo [High School] because it’s the best place for me.” […]
“I’m willing to work with the program if it gets extended or to figure out how we would wind down the program if it doesn’t get extended,” Pritzker told reporters in July.
Pritzker’s noncommittal statement means he won’t be actively working to kill or support the program. In the past, it had been used as leverage during bill negotiations.
But teachers unions this year requested that Illinois Senate President Don Harmon and Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch carry the program in a standalone bill and not include it in a budget bill, making its passage even more difficult. That would have been a risky move, with primary elections approaching and lawmakers’ votes being picked apart, according to a Democratic lawmaker with direct knowledge of the bill.
There have been discussions about enacting a wind-down period so as not to negatively affect the children already enrolled in the program, the lawmaker said.
It’s definitely an uphill legislative climb, and attacking Democrats’ friends and allies in the teachers’ unions likely won’t help much.
(T)he suit alleges that the Sox do not currently offer season tickets for accessible seats online. It also alleges that not all accessible seats in the stadium are offered at every game.
Forty-four of the 63 sections on the lower deck of Guaranteed Rate Field have wheelchair-accessible seats. Of 36 upper-deck sections, six include accessible seating.
This is also allegedly an abrupt change from Sox policy of past years.
Access Living, a leading disability service and advocacy center, and Much Shelist, P.C., a Chicago law firm with a history of advancing disability rights, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Sept. 13, 2023, alleging the Chicago White Sox, LTD have discriminatory ticket sales practices and that the organization refuses to offer equal benefits to people with disabilities as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The suit alleges that the White Sox refuse to sell ADA accessible season tickets on their website. This forces people with disabilities who want season tickets to call to make a purchase, limiting the seats they can purchase to the few offered over the phone instead of allowing them to choose from all unsold accessible seats like standard season ticket purchasers can do on the website.
The suit also alleges the White Sox have discriminatory restrictions on the website sale of accessible single game tickets, only offering a small percentage of accessible seats for sale, and frequently limiting them to only certain areas of the stadium or certain games during the year. For the majority of this season, the suit alleges that the White Sox website primarily offered accessible seating in the outfield or upper deck. Only after the White Sox were assured of not making the playoffs did the Sox release some accessible seats for sale closer to the infield on the main level.
Access Living brings the suit on behalf of two plaintiffs with disabilities: Ralph Yaniz, a former regional vice president for the AARP and counselor, and Douglas McCormick, a longtime season ticket holder who worked for the scaffolding company that was part of the construction of Guaranteed Rate Field where the White Sox play.
McCormick, who now needs mobility assistance, tried to change his season ticket seats to accessible seats and was told no.
“Imagine helping in the construction of the home stadium for your team and being told you can’t buy season tickets to go to games there,” said McCormick. “Well, that’s exactly what the White Sox told me after decades of supporting them.”
Yaniz, who also has mobility needs, was turned away when he tried to buy season tickets online, and he’s struggled to find appropriate accessible seating for individual games for sale online as well, describing the options as limited. […]
The suit asks the court to:
• Declare that the White Sox current practice of not offering for sale all unsold wheelchair accessible seats in White Sox Park for season tickets and individuals game tickets violates the Americans with Disabilities Act;
• Declare that the White Sox current practice of limiting single game tickets for wheelchair accessible seats to only certain areas of the White Sox Park despite the wide availability of wheelchair accessible seating in the Park itself violates the Americans with Disabilities Act; with initiating a preliminary and permanent injunction against the Defendant ordering them to:
o offer season tickets for wheelchair accessible seats on its website and through all other methods of ticket purchase.
o offer all unsold wheelchair accessible seats for sale on its website and through all other methods of ticket purchase during the same stages of ticket sales as are available to purchasers who do not require accessible seats.
o offer all unsold wheelchair accessible seats for sale on its website and other methods of ticket purchase for all areas of White Sox Park that have accessible seating.
“Go back to the old system. Where you could go online,” McCormick said. “I would be able to go online a couple hours before the game, you hit the filter button, you could see what’s accessible, you could buy your ticket and you go to the game. It was an easy system. Don’t know what changed or why they changed it. But it has changed.”
The two said even single game tickets were impacted, with only a small percentage of accessible seats listed for sale.
“Last year I went to 40 games,” McCormick said. “This year, I think I went to ten games.”
“They do have in the stadium, a lot of accessible seating,” said Charles Petrof, senior attorney for Access Living. “But that’s not what this is about. This is about them actually selling the seating.”
“Starting back in November of last year, I really attempted to buy season tickets for my second year and what happened is they had blacked out all season tickets for wheelchairs online,” said Ralph Yaniz, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “So I had an email conversation with them at that time, and basically they said no they weren’t going to put them online.”
“We are disappointed by this lawsuit as the White Sox always hope to accommodate the needs of all our fans at the ballpark,” the Sox said. “The White Sox comply with all legal requirements and provide significant accessible seating at our games for our guests. We strongly believe that White Sox baseball is for everyone. While litigation is pending, we will not have any additional comment.”
Retail attracts retail, and like attracts like, in either a positive or negative direction. The conundrum is that quality retail typically goes where quality retail is already. With a more careful and granular data analysis, we see that there are way more hundred-dollar bills than imagined. Not everyone is poor where retail choices are lacking.
In 2006, our firm released “Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago.” Efforts in Chicago and across Illinois enjoyed some short-term success in opening needed stores. But over time, many communities suffered severe and disappointing setbacks, with newly built, subsidized stores closing while other areas were unable to recruit any quality food stores at all.
We and many others have always stressed that plopping down a grocery store and cutting the ribbon in front of the cameras does not mean the problem is solved. In fact, over the long run, opening stores without a sustainable plan does more harm than good. We could pin these failures on the “local economy,” but that would be disingenuous. Markets are complicated. So are people and their food choices. People just want at least the basics of living and shopping like everyone else. […]
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration should consider a few municipally owned or nonprofit grocery options and a community engagement effort that uses existing carrots and sticks to set a new commercial tone that, over time, other retailers match. Some local independent food stores aspire to step up, but they don’t have the purchasing power of dollar and convenience store chains. Why not help them with a collective purchasing initiative? Good grocers go where good grocers are already, and they, in turn, will attract other types of quality stores that people want and need. Leading by example will begin the long, hard work of market repair.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is exploring a city-owned grocery store, hoping to promote food equity. […]
The exploration is being done in partnership with the Economic Security Project, a nonprofit dedicated to building economic power for Americans. Senior adviser Ameya Pawar said in a news release that a municipally owned grocery store would operate similarly to a library or post office, offering “economic choice and power to communities.”
But I hope they’re not just thinking about plopping down another grocery store without considering some other factors. Crain’s has been focusing on this topic lately.
Retail isn’t merely a place to buy goods and services; it’s a social epicenter. Local shops, markets, and restaurants serve as gathering spots where friends and neighbors convene to exchange stories, celebrate milestones and, increasingly, provide flexible working environments for remote professionals. These establishments form the lifeblood of a community, fostering a sense of belonging and local pride. […]
Simultaneously, housing serves as the fuel upon which the retail social epicenter thrives. Affordable housing attracts residents who, in turn, become patrons of local businesses. This symbiotic relationship between housing and retail creates a feedback loop where the prosperity of one bolsters the other. […]
When redevelopment prioritizes retail without housing, businesses often lack the density necessary for sustained profitability. Conversely, when housing leads the way, it may lack the amenities that homeowners and renters seek, making the area less attractive. By recognizing the essential interplay between retail and housing, communities can harness this synergy to nurture inclusive, vibrant, and resilient places for people to live and prosper.
By ensuring no housing plans exist without considering a retail strategy and no retail strategy moves forward without considering its contribution to a housing plan, we can weave stronger, more connected communities that benefit everyone. It’s a model that safeguards the essence of neighborhoods and enriches the lives of those who call them home.
Chicago TREND, a commercial real estate developer, is deploying a strategy that allows residents to invest in commercial retail properties. A social enterprise formed in 2016, it focuses on transforming retail economics in communities of color. It owns three neighborhood shopping centers in the city and one in south suburban Olympia Fields, with plans to buy two more Chicago properties in the next year.
Chicago TREND hired local property managers and local leasing agents who put equity into the properties. It identifies, acquires and improves service-oriented community shopping centers in urban neighborhoods by partnering with entrepreneurs and residents. The enterprise has deployed this model at two properties in Baltimore. […]
South Shore, too, with its oversaturation of fried food joints, beauty shops and dollar stores, is looking to take a similar approach. The Chamber of Commerce is set to launch a model in late 2024 that would allow residents to invest in commercial properties. Trice, of the South Shore Chamber, says allowing residents to take ownership is one of the only ways to really control which businesses open in a community.
* More on Chicago TREND from Andrew Beideman, chief strategy officer for the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, writing in Crain’s about revitalizing strip malls…
What if we were more intentional in harnessing the potential of these familiar sites to create community assets? What if this type of overlooked real estate could improve access to healthy food and needed retail? What if the properties themselves could be a vehicle to build wealth for nearby residents? […]
Led by entrepreneur Lyneir Richardson, Chicago TREND will leverage impact investment capital to buy overlooked commercial centers in underserved communities. It will then partner with entrepreneurs of color to upgrade the properties and improve each center’s retail offerings to meet community needs. Most exciting, an innovative crowdfunding structure will enable nearby residents to participate in each purchase for as little as $1,000 and benefit from future appreciation.
This comprehensive approach can turn everyday strip malls into drivers of community change — improving access to quality retail like restaurants and pharmacies, turning eyesore properties into community assets and creating pathways for nearby residents to generate wealth.
The Pritzker Traubert Foundation believes that Chicago succeeds when its residents live in strong, supportive and vibrant neighborhoods. We are partners with the Kresge Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Surdna Foundation and others to launch the TREND fund, which we believe is an important step toward this goal.
Many smaller strip malls already serve as de facto business incubators. This particular plan appears to be upping the game.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed its first pre-market consultation for a human food made from cultured animal cells. We evaluated the information UPSIDE Foods submitted to the agency and have no further questions at this time about the firm’s safety conclusion. The firm will use animal cell culture technology to take living cells from chickens and grow the cells in a controlled environment to make the cultured animal cell food.
In a nutshell, lab-grown meat — or cultivated or cell-based meat — is meat that is developed from animal cells and grown, with the help of nutrients like amino acids, in massive bioreactors.
This happens in a production facility that looks a lot like a brewery: When you picture it, don’t think of people in white coats and hairnets peering through microscopes into petri dishes, but instead people in white coats and hairnets wandering between giant vats.
Saturday, July 1st, 2023, marked an epic milestone as UPSIDE Foods made its mark in history books as the first-ever cell-cultivated meat company to sell its product in America.
Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced today that UPSIDE Foods – a leading cultivated meat, poultry and seafood company will locate its first commercial-scale production facility in Glenview. As the first cultivated meat company to receive FDA approval, UPSIDE’s new Glenview facility marks a major milestone for cultivated meat production – supporting Illinois’ ecosystem and adding to the state’s dominance in the food processing industry. Bolstered by one of the first EDGE for Start Ups agreements, the company will invest at least $141 million and create a minimum of 75 new jobs. […]
“We’re excited that the next chapter of our journey towards building a more sustainable, humane, and abundant future will be in Illinois,” said Dr. Uma Valeti, CEO and Founder of UPSIDE Foods. “Establishing our plant in this region allows us to tap into a remarkable talent pool, a thriving innovation ecosystem, and a notable history of meat production. We are grateful for the collaboration and partnership that we have built at the state, county, and local levels in our site selection process.” […]
The 187,000-square-foot facility in Glenview will open with production of ground cultivated chicken products, with plans to expand to other species and whole-textured formats in the future. Millions of pounds of cultivated meat products will be produced at the new facility, with the potential to expand to over 30 million pounds – a significant step toward creating a more humane, sustainable, and resilient food system. Cultivated meat is an innovative solution to helping solve the climate crisis by ensuring animals aren’t harmed while using less land, water, and emissions during production.
As one of the world’s largest and most advanced commercial cultivated meat facilities, the state-of-the-art facility in Glenview will house cultivators with capacities of up to 100,000 liters. UPSIDE Foods’ cultivated meat is already being served to diners in California.
As part of the State’s comprehensive incentive package, the company received one of the first Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) for Startups tax credits, which stipulates a goal of making a $141 million investment and creating 75 new full-time jobs. A link to the full agreement can be found here.
The EDGE program was expanded to include startups in 2022 to spur additional investment for newer companies that are in their growth stage. In order to do this, EDGE for Start Ups provides a benefit that allow companies to reduce their payroll withholding instead of their Illinois corporate income tax credit. This enables start-up companies without corporate income tax liabilities to maximize their incentive to reinvest into their expansion project.
* Let’s revisit yesterday’s NPR story about Anita Dunn’s firm consulting for Speaker Madigan while assisting Alaina Hampton…
Friends of Madigan continued to pay SKDK for “media consulting” through the end of September 2019. A review of campaign records show that Madigan’s committee paid SKDK more than $200,000.
NPR asked Madigan’s attorneys whether they were aware of SKDK’s connection to Hampton’s case. They declined to comment.
Former Madigan chief of staff Timothy Mapes said in an email, “Sorry I can’t answer your questions as I wasn’t involved in those discussions.” (The evidence from Mapes’ trial showed that he was recorded on the wiretap discussing Dunn’s representation, and was also sent emails discussing SKDK’s work for Madigan in 2018.)
Click here for a phone conversation and here for an email.
Give him credit. Mapes is living up to his reputation as a convicted liar.
* Tribune | Ex-Speaker Michael Madigan’s work with DC public relations firm sparks #MeToo anger, apology: In 2018, as the #MeToo movement was sweeping the nation and the speaker was facing accusations he ran an office for years plagued by sexual harassment, Madigan employed the Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm SKDK for guidance. The speaker met with Anita Dunn, a Democratic PR guru who helped found SKDK and currently advises President Joe Biden, and Madigan paid the firm more than $200,000 through his campaign fund, court documents and state records showed. At the same time, however, SKDK was working with the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, a women’s advocacy group, to help arrange local public relations support for a former Madigan campaign worker who was the first to call out the mistreatment of women inside Madigan’s state and political organizations.
* Sun-Times | Top Biden adviser was advising Madigan on #MeToo crisis while her firm was helping woman suing former speaker: While Dunn was advising Madigan, Hampton received support in her case from Dunn’s firm, which partnered with the anti-harassment charity Time’s Up. Dunn’s work for Madigan was specifically focused on responding to allegations stemming from Hampton’s lawsuit. As a result, SKDK (the D stands for “Dunn”) was on the one hand supporting Hampton in her harassment and retaliation case through its partnership with Time’s Up, and on the other getting paid by a defendant in that very lawsuit.
* Crain’s | Bears hold off stadium-subsidy efforts in Springfield — for now: Bears CEO Kevin Warren issued a statement Wednesday afternoon declaring that the franchise won’t pursue such support from Springfield during the legislature’s upcoming fall session as the team continues to explore the possibility of continuing to play its home games in Chicago or pursuing a stadium project in another suburb.
* WAND | DCFS grilled by Illinois lawmakers for enforcing nonexistent daycare policy: DCFS allowed assistants at daycare centers to watch children under two for up to three hours per day over the past few years to help address the worker shortage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency tried to cut that time frame down to 90 minutes per day, but state lawmakers rejected that rule in July.
* Pantagraph | Sharon Chung announces run for 2nd term in Illinois House: During a campaign announcement on Wednesday at Miller Park, the former McLean County Board member said she is working to invest more in schools, job training and infrastructure, and that Illinois can be both a fiscally responsible state and a compassionate one.
* The Southern | What are STAR bonds and how are they used?: STAR bonds are an incentive that use the state’s incremental sales tax and local incremental sales tax within a STAR bond district to encourage a developer to transform the area into a retail and entertainment destination. STAR bonds mature in 23 years. They are paid from the incremental sales tax, or the part of the tax that grows with development. Risk is assumed by the purchaser or the bonds. The city and its taxpayers assume no risk.
* Center Square | Some parents would quit job to home school if Invest in Kids not extended: Sabrina Sibby of southside Chicago has four boys involved in the program. She said if the program is cut, she may have to quit her job to home school her children to avoid placing them back into Chicago Public Schools. “I probably would opt for homeschooling,” Sibby told The Center Square. “That would be difficult for me because then I would have to quit my job and work on making sure he gets the things he needs to get. I’m still sure it would be a financial burden on me because I would have to purchase certain things.”
* Sun-Times | Private school leaders fight to save Invest in Kids Act scholarships: Backed by Republican lawmakers and local religious leaders, the program was ultimately slipped into what became the school funding bill in 2017 — which was intended to put new money for education into the state’s poorest and neediest districts. The Invest in Kids Act provides a tax credit of 75 cents for every dollar donated to fund scholarships for Illinois students from low-income families to attend private schools.
* Vox | The unconstitutional plan to stop women from traveling out of state for an abortion, explained: Notably, this list of anti-abortion localities includes Mitchell County, Texas, a sparse community of about 9,000 people. This matters because Interstate 20, the route that many people traveling from Dallas to New Mexico to receive an abortion will take, passes through Mitchell County. Several other counties with major highways or airports are also considering similar laws.
* Crain’s | Arwady visits Lori Lightfoot at Harvard: In a statement to Crain’s late Wednesday, Lightfoot said Arwady participated in a discussion with students about her experience leading Chicago through the COVID-19 pandemic. “Dr. Arwady used her experience leading a big city health department during the height of COVID as a backdrop for a discussion about macro and micro public health questions around preparedness, establishing a single point of truth to help people cut through misinformation and disinformation, and the importance of developing strong internal and external communication and collaboration systems, all with an eye toward equity, among other topics,” Lightfoot said in the statement. “Students were thrilled to hear from and be in dialogue with such a nationally recognized public health leader.”
* AP | Federal judge declares DACA is illegal; issue likely to be decided by US Supreme Court: “While sympathetic to the predicament of DACA recipients and their families, this Court has expressed its concerns about the legality of the program for some time,” Hanen wrote in his 40-page ruling. “The solution for these deficiencies lies with the legislature, not the executive or judicial branches. Congress, for any number of reasons, has decided not to pass DACA-like legislation … The Executive Branch cannot usurp the power bestowed on Congress by the Constitution - even to fill a void.”
* Capitol News Illinois | State Fair reports nine-year attendance high: The state Department of Agriculture, which hosts the fair each year, reported on Tuesday that about 708,000 people attended the fair, an 11 percent increase from 2022. Department officials attributed the increase to good weather, renovations of fairgrounds facilities and a discounted admission fee for one of the fair days.
A top adviser to President Joe Biden, whose prominent communications firm helped launch a high-profile effort to assist victims of sexual harassment, rape and assault, was also a paid adviser to a powerful Illinois politician while he was being sued by one of those victims.
Anita Dunn, co-founder of the communications firm SKDK and widely considered a member of the president’s inner circle, provided “crisis communications” assistance to Michael Madigan, the then-Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, from 2018 to 2019. That work netted Dunn and her firm more than $200,000, according to campaign finance disclosures.
Madigan, who was also the leader of the state Democratic Party at the time, was not personally accused of sexual misconduct, but was being sued by a former employee of his political committees. That former employee, Alaina Hampton, alleged that Madigan retaliated against her when she reported that her direct supervisor had repeatedly harassed her over text messages.
While Dunn was advising Madigan, Hampton received support in her case from Dunn’s firm, which partnered with the anti-harassment charity Time’s Up. Dunn’s work for Madigan was specifically focused on responding to allegations stemming from Hampton’s lawsuit.
As a result, SKDK (the D stands for “Dunn”) was on the one hand supporting Hampton in her harassment and retaliation case through its partnership with Time’s Up, and on the other getting paid by a defendant in that very lawsuit.
* A brief mention was made of this in the Tribune’s August 27th Mapes trial roundup, which I regrettably didn’t read because I was on vacation at the time…
In one email to Mapes, McClain described how Madigan’s operation hired SKDK to “handle this problem” and develop a plan to be “assertive” and met with the firm’s Anita Dunn, a top player in the Obama and Biden administrations, to develop a strategy that included beginning with an op-ed.
Mapes had initiated the email exchange on Sept. 21, 2018, the day a Madigan-signed a commentary in the Tribune said he took responsibility for failing to “do enough’ and promising to do more to address inappropriate behavior in Springfield.
Records showed the “Friends of Madigan” campaign fund paid more than $200,000 to SKDK over 2018 and 2019 for advice on how to address the #MeToo issues.
It came around the same time that McClain gathered a group of utility lobbyists — including political gurus Tom Cullen and Will Cousineau — to work out arrangements to send checks to help Kevin Quinn after Madigan had tossed him from the speaker’s organization due to the longtime lieutenant’s own #MeToo scandal.
“If I knew SKDK was working with Mike Madigan, I wouldn’t have even applied for funding from Time’s Up,” Hampton said in an interview with the Tribune. “It’s a clear conflict of interest that the communications firm SKDK was working with Mike Madigan while also working with the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund when I was a client and the legal defense fund was paying money for my legal fees and public relation fees.”
Following days of Tribune questions, SKDK issued an apology Wednesday morning.
“We understand the concerns that have been raised,” SKDK partner Jill Zuckman said in a statement to the Tribune. “In retrospect, we realize that the decision to work with then-Speaker Madigan’s campaign on these matters was an error in light of the support Ms. Hampton was receiving from another firm through a separate initiative we were proud to support.
“We apologize to Ms. Hampton and her allies and reiterate our full support for the survivor community,” Zuckman said.
To Hampton, though, the apology fell flat: “It feels like they’re gaslighting me. Even now.”
* I’m told the talks with Chicago have been going very well and the talks with and about Arlington Heights have not gone well…
Statement from Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren:
“Our process to find the best stadium solution for our franchise, our fans and the region continues to be methodical and intentional. Thanks to the leadership of Mayor Brandon Johnson and his team, we have recently engaged in positive and productive discussions with the City of Chicago. We also continue to have dialogue with officials in Arlington Heights and other Chicagoland locations about a Chicago Bears stadium project. At this time, we want to appropriately explore all opportunities for the development of a world-class stadium and therefore will not be pursuing legislative support for mega projective incentive legislation in the Illinois General Assembly’s Fall Veto Session.”
Good news for the city. But it’s not like they had much of a chance in the veto session. Still, at least they’re learning.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today endorsed the recommendation by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the newly FDA-approved COVID-19 shots for everyone over the age of 6 months. The federal agencies have given the green light for updated mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer that target the currently circulating strains of the COVID-19 virus.
Heading into the fall, IDPH is closely monitoring data on COVID-19 as well as other respiratory viruses including flu and RSV. The federal guidance comes as data indicates an uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations in Illinois and the nation, with a seven percent increase statewide in the week ending September 2, the most recent period for which data is available. There are currently 12 Illinois counties at a medium level for COVID-19 hospitalizations according to the CDC national dashboard, meaning they exceed ten new cases per 100,000 population in the last week.
* When this bill was proposed in 2010, I repeatedly called it the worst bill ever. It allows local governments to use state sales tax money for local developments. Not a fan. Comptroller Mendoza is a fan and here’s her press release…
I’m so happy the city of Marion has approved the state’s first STAR Bonds project, which will bring welcome economic investment, jobs, new businesses, entertainment, fun and great opportunities to Southern Illinois.
I was very proud to work on the original legislation that former State Rep. John Bradley passed in 2010. Speaking on the House floor in favor of the bill, I outlined my language about Angel Investment Tax Credits that formed part of the Innovation Development and Economy Act, which paved the way for this district. That same year, Marion created its STAR Bonds District.
My Deputy Director of Outreach and Community Affairs, Josh Downs, read my letter of support for this project before the vote at last night’s Marion City Council meeting.
The Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) Bonds are paid for by future sales taxes collected by businesses that locate in the district.
The new businesses anticipated at Marion’s Oasis Outdoors development include sports complexes, expanded golf and pickleball complexes, go-karts, virtual reality, bowling alleys, climbing walls, arcades, restaurants, a redevelopment of the mall to showcase one of the world’s largest RV dealerships, and so much more.
This project will be an economic driver for Southern Illinois and will attract significant out-of-state tourism dollars.
Congratulations to developers Rodney Cabaness; Shad Zimbro, Millennium Destination Development LLC, Marion Mayor Mike Absher and everyone else who is working on this innovative project.
Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) released the following statement on Saving Illinois Tax Credit Scholarships
“All Illinois children, regardless of their parents’ bank accounts or connections, deserve access to the best quality education possible to fit their individual needs. This access has been increased for over 9,000 lower-income families in Illinois through private donations in the Invest in Kids Scholarship program. The innocent children receiving these life-changing scholarships, and the thousands more on the waitlist, should not be caught in the middle of political or ideological fights, but instead should be given the certainty of a permanent program so they can continue to excel in their family’s school of choice. The Senate Republicans are united in our commitment to making permanent the Invest in Kids program this coming Veto Session, and will continue to prioritize empowering lower income parents to make the best educational choices for their children.”
* Press release…
Skokie, IL – The Women’s Board (WB) of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center (IHMEC) raised more than $350,000 at its annual signature Soirée. More than 400 guests came together on Sept. 7th at Bryn Mawr Country Club to support the Museum’s mission to preserve the stories of Holocaust Survivors and continue their legacy into the future.
“We were thrilled to have everyone come together for such a wonderful night,” said Sue Spinello, Women’s Board co-president. “We appreciate everyone’s support of the Soirée as these critical funds will go a long way in helping the Museum achieve its mission,” said Leslie Schaffel, co-president. […]
“With the rise of antisemitism and other hate crimes, connecting the lessons of the Holocaust to present day continues to be as urgent as ever,” said Bernard Cherkasov, Museum CEO. “While our primary focus is on education and awareness, social events such as the Soirée are another way to work toward our mission.” […]
The Soirée raises funds to support the Museum’s mission to combat hatred, prejudice, and indifference, and to inspire visitors to become Upstanders who speak out for what’s right – turning powerful lessons of history into positive actions today. The WB specifically earmarked funds from this event to support upcoming special exhibitions, field trips to the Museum (virtual and in-person) for students in under-served communities, and Law Enforcement Action and Democracy (LEAD) Training.
* Women Employed press release…
Women Employed (WE) today announced it was named to the Crain’s Chicago Business 2023 list of Best Places to Work. For 50 years, Women Employed has relentlessly pursued equity for women in the workforce, from shaping policy change, expanding access to educational opportunities, to advocating for fair and inclusive workplaces so more women, families, and communities can thrive.
Ranked 22 out of 100 employers, WE was recognized in the top 25% for its deep commitment to equity that starts in its own workplace. As a small non-profit organization of 26 staff members, WE provides top-tier benefits, prioritizes fairness and inclusivity, and is highly responsive to staff needs. To ensure they are aligned with what they advocate for, WE offers family-friendly and employee-centered benefits such as generous sick time, paid leave, vacation, and health insurance, plus hybrid work and flexible scheduling options, allowing staff to manage responsibilities inside and outside of work. The leadership team holds itself accountable for organizational culture, staff development and nurturing and supporting the overall well-being of staff.
“We couldn’t authentically pursue equity for women in the workforce without ensuring equity, inclusivity, support, and flexibility in our own workplace,” said Cherita Ellens, President and CEO of Women Employed. “We believe our staff members deserve the best working environment to achieve success for themselves and our mission. We are thrilled to be recognized alongside so many other notable organizations that are doing right by their workers.”
* Oppo dump!..
On September 13, Eileen O’Neill Burke is set to hold a “Women Lawyers” fundraiser at the law offices of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard.
The first host listed on the invitation is Kristin Barnette – wife of disgraced and racist former Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy. Barnette donated a total of $23,120 to her husband’s mayoral campaign. Several other hosts of Burke’s upcoming fundraiser were also supporters of McCarthy’s Rudy Giuliani-supported mayoral run.
In total, the hosts of this event gave $30,600 to McCarthy’s Mayoral run. In addition to his wife, McCarthy received donations from:
• Sarah King - $500: Clifford Law Partner Sarah King gave $500 to McCarthy’s mayoral bid.
• Beth McCormack - $250: Beerman Partner Beth McCormack gave $250 to McCarthy’s mayoral bid.
• Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard - $2,500: The law firm where the fundraiser will take place gave $2,500 to McCarthy’s mayoral run.
• Patrick Salvi - $2,000: The firm is chaired by Patrick Salvi who gave $2,000 to McCarthy’s mayoral bid.
• Patrick Salvi Jr. - $2,000: The firm’s Chicago Managing Partner Patrick Salvi Jr. also gave $2,000 to McCarthy’s mayoral bid.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Daily Herald | Witness says ex-DCFS workers were ‘ultimately responsible’ for AJ’s safety: Acosta, 57, of Woodstock, and Polovin, 51, of Island Lake, each are charged with two counts of endangering the life of a child and health of a minor and one count of reckless conduct related to their handling of the child’s case. Defense attorneys have argued the child welfare agency’s Woodstock field office, from which AJ’s case was handled, was “overwhelmingly overworked and understaffed.” […] To each question, Ruzicka said neither Acosta nor Polovin adhered to training and did what was required.
* Shaw Local | Grundy County chairman Chris Balkema announces candidacy for 53rd District senate seat: The district includes Grundy, Bureau, Ford, Iroquois, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McLean, Peoria, Putnam, Tazewell, Will and Woodford counties. During Balkema’s tenure, he said he defended Grundy County residents against gun regulations and executive orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said his firm stance ensured the rights of Grundy County residents were never compromised.
* Crain’s | White Sox sued over alleged discriminatory ticket-sales practices: The lawsuit, filed today on behalf of Sox fans Ralph Yaniz and Douglas McCormick, alleges that the White Sox failed to offer equal benefits to people with disabilities, required under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, by refusing to sell accessible-seat season tickets on its website.
* WBEZ | Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson vows he won’t raise property taxes to close $538 million budget gap: The gap is fueled in part by the ongoing effort to support migrants being sent to the city, as well as rising personnel costs and pension payments, the budget forecast released Wednesday reads. At least $149 million of the shortfall is driven by support for new arrivals. But in a news release, Johnson vowed to follow through on a campaign promise to produce a budget that “holds the line on not raising the base property tax levy.”
* WCIA | ADM East plant evacuated again days after explosion: An ADM spokesperson said that an employee noticed smoke during a walk-through of the plant. Out of an abundance of caution, the spokesperson said the immediate area was evacuated and the fire department was called for support. The area was deemed safe by 11 a.m. and employees are allowed to reenter the area. The spokesperson added that ADM is taking additional precautions to ensure the safety of the area and to inform employees about the issue and resolution.
* WCIA | Fourth ADM worker released from hospital after explosion: “As we continue the process to assess the damage to our processing complex in Decatur and begin the process to restore operations, our priority remains offering to support our four injured colleagues who remain in the hospital as well as their families,” ADM officials posted to their website Tuesday night. “One colleague has been released. We are also providing counseling resources to colleagues on-site.”
* SJ-R | More than 700 IEMA workers will move to White Oaks Mall; here’s an update on construction: The mall project is in the second construction phase with CDB turning much of the former retail space into an office for more than 700 workers. Upgrades to electrical, HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, and security systems are underway along with installation of new flooring, lighting, windows, restrooms, and sewer. But workers also have had to navigate a series of change orders – nearly $6 million worth – caused by the aging condition of the building.
* Chalkbeat | Schools face a funding cliff. How bad will the fall be?: Some advocates had hoped that even more federal dollars would be on the way. For instance, the Los Angeles teachers union had sought to make federal relief permanent. But this is not going to happen. The recent deal that President Joe Biden struck with Congressional Republicans limits new federal spending on education for the next couple years.
* The Pantagraph | Illinois State University hires firm for presidential search: A statement Wednesday from ISU said Parker Executive Search was selected as the hiring and consulting firm to assist the search, and will be reimbursed $110,000, plus expenses. University leaders are seeking a replacement for former President Terri Goss Kinzy, who abruptly resigned in February after less than two years on the job. The board and Kinzy, the university’s first female president, agreed not to comment beyond an initial statement that said she would “pursue other opportunities.”
* Tribune | UAW may strike at small number of factories if it can’t reach deals with automakers: At the Tuesday meeting, Fain didn’t say whether the union would target vehicle assembly plants or component factories, one of the people said. Strikes at parts plants could force production halts at multiple assembly factories. He also didn’t say how many workers would walk off their jobs.
* Block Club | Southwest Siders With Kias, Hyundais Can Get A Free Steering Wheel Lock Next Month: Vehicles must be registered to owners in the 8th District, which includes parts of West Lawn, Chicago Lawn, Ashburn, Midway, Gage Park and Archer Heights. […] Over 7,000 Kias and Hyundais were stolen from Chicagoans in 2022, prompting Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to demand a federal recall of the vehicles. Raoul was one of several officials across the country to sign a letter asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to take action.
* County approves nearly $750,000 in ARPA funding: The Kankakee County Board approved three requests for American Rescue Plan Act funds at its meeting on Tuesday, providing nearly $750,000 to the Helen Wheeler Center, a circuit court remodel and for the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department’s old jail.
* Shaw Local | Woman charged with falsely reporting a bomb threat at Geneva High: A Geneva woman has been charged with making a false report of a bomb threat at Geneva High School. Terry L. Thomas, 54, of the 600 block of Willow Lane, is also charged with aggravated battery to a peace officer, aggravated assault and resisting a peace officer.
* SJ-R | Springfield council to consider new Lincoln Library director; Yazell returns to former job: With no discussion at Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting, the council moved Gwendolyn Harrison’s appointment as Lincoln Library’s director to the full city council’s agenda on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Val Yazell, the interim director of the Office for Planning and Economic Development, will move back to permanent director pending council approval.
* Block Club Chicago | South Loop Neighbors Want To Block Data Center Expansion Near McCormick Place: The $500 million expansion would include a new, 565,069-square-foot, 13-story building with seven data center suites between the third and ninth floors with a bridge connecting the new building with the existing one. A chiller plant would be installed on the 10th floor, with additional cooling towers on the roof.
* Daily Herald | Why some people complained about pot-friendly music festival in Mundelein: Christine Spisla was the first person who spoke about the festival during the public comment portion of the meeting. She said the performances rattled her windows, shook the floors and made her walls vibrate. In response, Village Administrator Eric Guenther said sound levels sporadically were checked by police officers during both days of the festival, and the decibel outputs never reached unacceptable levels.
* Journal Star | Lead water line replacement is ramping up in Peoria: On Tuesday, Illinois American Water updated the Peoria City Council on where it stands in that process and is asking Peorians to help its census by self-reporting lead water pipes in their homes. By April 2024, Illinois American Water must have an inventory submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency of where lead water lines still exist in Peoria, the company told the council.
* WGLT | State to fund Illinois State University area traffic safety study: Normal Public Works Director Ryan Otto said the cost of the study to begin next year will be $450,000. “It will start with a larger overall review of crash reports, some surveys of students and community members, to try to identify points of conflict people see on the street. We’ll do a deep dive into geometrics, traffic counts, and things like that in specific areas,” said Otto.
* Daily Herald | Done deal: Texas data center firm closes on deal for Sears campus in Hoffman Estates: “We are very pleased to welcome Compass Datacenters to Hoffman Estates,” Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said in a statement. “The redevelopment of the former Sears headquarters into a data center campus begins a new chapter for this high-profile property and continues the technology diversification of our tax base. Although still preliminary, the investment by Compass will be in the billions of dollars and will have positive effects for our community for years to come.”
* Daily Beast | And Now Gannett Wants a Beyoncé Reporter to Join Its Taylor Swift Reporter: The headline-making job listings come as Gannett, the largest U.S. newspaper chain, has gone through a series of layoffs over the last two years that have affected dozens of its local newsrooms, most recently shedding six percent of its news division in December. A Gannett spokesperson wrote to The Daily Beast that “we have hired 260 journalists and have more than 100 more open roles which are actively being recruited for as we grow our audience.”
* BND | Metro-east golfer shoots holes-in-one both left-handed and right-handed, a very rare feat: One day in 2021, for reasons he cannot explain, he found he could no longer grip a golf club from his natural left side. “All I know is one day I woke up and couldn’t hit the ball left-handed,” Martintoni said. “ I got up and we were playing and the next day I couldn’t hold the clubs and I couldn’t hit them anymore, so I struggled with that for a couple of months.”
* Not a lot of details in this pretty thin story, but it raises several questions: Are private organizations really responsible for two-thirds of the migrant influx? If so, which organizations are they? Are these aid groups really shipping migrants to Chicago knowing they can’t help the migrants once they get to Chicago and that the migrants then have nowhere to go? And approximately what percentage of these trips are paid for with federal dollars? Also, if the feds are paying for this travel, why isn’t the federal government paying to house and feed them at their destinations?…
About a third of new arrivals are bused here by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but many are also sent by Texas and Denver organizations using federal money without coordinating with Chicago officials.
Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed to Axios last week that the federal funds they provide to local organizations can be — and are — used to buy bus, train and plane tickets for migrants to come to Chicago. […]
[First Deputy Chief of Staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas] first got wind of the issue from migrants arriving at O’Hare this month who told Chicago officials that FEMA had paid for their tickets.
As far as the numbers go, Gov. Abbott claimed last week that his state has shipped about 7,200 migrants to Chicago since last year. NBC 5 reported at the end of August that Chicago “has received over 13,500 migrants in the past year from Texas, and as 6,500 are spread among the 15 currently operating shelters.” So, that’s a little over half the total, not a third. But he could be including private groups in that total.
Whatever the case, it would be nice to know who these groups are so that we can ask them for their rationale about what the heck they’re doing. I have an inkling about who one of those groups might be, but I’m still waiting on a reply.
Other priorities, according to Pacione-Zayas, include … Taking a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border to share information about Chicago’s challenges and “the forecasting of a brutal winter.”
Talking to these groups might be helpful. It would also be helpful if the rest of us knew who those groups are.
Buses to Chicago are sent not only by Abbott, but also by the city of Denver and Catholic Charities in San Antonio. Denver began providing free transportation for people to other destinations in mid-December, much to the exasperation of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who in January demanded in a letter to Colorado’s governor that the city stop. Months later, under a new mayor, the buses keep arriving. […]
Denver has received more than 14,000 migrants since December, and has bought about 6,400 bus and Amtrak tickets for over $2.3 million since then, according to Victoria Aguilar, a spokesperson for Denver Human Services. Roughly a third of those have gone to Chicago, according to Denver data.
A spokesperson for Catholic Charities in Chicago told me this afternoon she was not aware of any direct collaboration with Catholic Charities in San Antonio, but would check.
The former police chief of west suburban McCook [Mario DePasquale] pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring with the tiny town’s then-mayor to extort two businessmen out of tens of thousands of dollars. […]
DePasquale who became McCook’s police chief in 2013, admitted in his 20-page plea agreement with prosecutors that in 2016 he conspired with Tobolski to shake down a business owner who ran a restaurant at a McCook-owned facility and needed the mayor’s approval to host events with liquor.
The charges stated DePasquale demanded the restaurant owner — identified only as Individual A — pay $1,500 in bribes for each “themed event” that he wanted to host. DePasquale later picked up the money in person, and he and [then-McCook Mayor Jeffrey Tobolski] split the cash, according to the plea. […]
DePasquale also admitted to a second extortion scheme involving another new business owner in town, identified as Individual B. According to the plea, beginning in 2015, DePasquale and Tobolski demanded $1,000 monthly payments from Individual B, who agreed to pay out of fear of losing the business.
When Individual B asked what would happen if the payments were not made, DePasquale said words to the effect that “it would not be good” for the company according to the plea.
In St. Clair County, home to some of the most severe poverty anywhere in the state, taking money bonds out of the system amounts to a major disruption, both for the government entities tasked with upholding justice and for many of the private attorneys that make their living defending the accused.
“Lawyers won’t want to do this work anymore,” one attorney quipped. “This is going to eviscerate the private bar.”
Defense attorneys who take cases to represent their clients often make their money by placing a lien against the bond payments. Now that the system is removing those funds from the equation, private lawyers and county clerks stand to lose significant streams of reliable revenue.
If the incentives for private attorneys dry up, then the public defender’s office could see their workload swell even larger. In addition to the expectation of higher caseloads, the county workers anticipate more vigorous work in the early phases of their client’s cases when the judge assesses their risk.
“I don’t have enough lawyers to handle both the beginning and end stages of the case in great detail,” [St. Clair County public defender Cathy MacElroy] said. “There’s only so many hours in a day.”
* PD MacElroy, by the way, has just five full-time public defenders on staff. In addition to their daily caseloads, MacElroy told Maxwell that her defenders represent 360 of the 474 people currently sitting in the county jail, many of whom have filed for pretrial release.
The General Assembly appropriated $10 million in new, additional funding for suburban and Downstate public defenders, but the Illinois Supreme Court has not yet distributed the money. *Heavy sigh*
*** UPDATE *** From the Illinois Supreme Court…
Rich,
I noticed your comment on the PD Fund (created by PA 102-1104). This has been stayed until Sept. 18 so is not possible to distribute the funds before then. There has been a lot of work to prepare for the distribution. This was included in the release we just sent out on preparations for the end of cash bail:
The 101 counties that are a part of the fund will receive from $77,000 up to $147,555 using a formula based on several factors. This additional funding is expected to be transformative for public defenders and their clients across Illinois. It is expected to be distributed in the next few weeks.
“What people need to realize in DuPage County is, we are the second biggest judicial circuit in this state. We have 48 judges, the second biggest number of judges in this state,” said 18th Circuit Chief Judge Kenneth Popejoy.
Popejoy called the new $20 million renovation and expansion “necessary tools.” […]
The improvements include new courtrooms, a new, expanded grand jury room, more space for the public defender and a renovation of space for the state’s attorney. The new square footage means more space for additional staffing necessary to navigate new challenges brought on by the SAFE-T Act.
“We are going to be seven days a week, 365 days a year having detention hearings. These hearings must take place within 24, 48 or 72 hours. We have to be available Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 in the afternoon to do hearings. Bond court never used to be that way; 15-20 minutes, this bond, this bond, this bond, this bond, go home,” Popejoy said.
Cash bail let the system off easy. We’ll see if the actors are up to the new order.
* Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell Jr. described Chief Judge Popejoy’s “15-20 minutes, this bond, this bond, this bond, this bond, go home,” depiction in highly stark terms…
“You go to a bond hearing, it sounds like a slave auction. People are talking very fast. They’re putting price tags on people’s freedom.”
Between 1970 and 2015, there was a fivefold increase in the number of people jailed before trials, according to the 2022 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report. Data shows more than 60% of defendants were detained prior to trial because they couldn’t afford to post bail, and that nearly 74% of the 631,000 people jailed daily in the United States are awaiting trial.
* Last item…
Today, nearly one hundred organizations sent an open letter to the Illinois State’s Attorney Association urging them to align with the collective statewide effort to faithfully implement the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Some members of your association have opposed this legislation and spread misinformation about it from the moment it was introduced and have continued to engage in fear-mongering about its impact even after it was upheld by our highest court. Others have supported this reform from the beginning, while more came to the table to collaborate on making modifications in the trailer bill. Some prosecutors have acknowledged your collective responsibility to abide by the law in the wake of the recent ruling. Every member of the State’s Attorneys Association has a responsibility to call on its members to cease all continued attempts to deliberately obstruct the law’s implementation. Ample time and space was provided to craft this policy and prepare to enact it—now it’s time to put differences aside to protect community safety and the rights of those harmed and those accused
IL Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Rochford Fundraises for Democrat Candidates
On Saturday, Rochford violated the Illinois Supreme Court’s Code of Judicial Conduct by being the keynote speaker at the Lake County Democratic Women PAC’s annual fundraiser.
NORTH CHICAGO — This past Saturday, September 9, Rochford was the keynote speaker at the Lake County Democratic Women Political Action Committee’s annual fundraiser. The fundraiser’s online donation page states ticket sales will benefit the PAC, whose purpose, according to their filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections, is “to support the election of Democratic women candidates in Lake County, IL.”
The Illinois Supreme Court’s Code of Judicial Conduct (Canon 4, Page 48-50) is clear: sitting judges who aren’t up for election shall not speak at political functions supporting the election of candidates:
“Except as may be specifically authorized in the context of judicial election campaigns, Rule 4.1 prohibits judges and judicial candidates from “publicly” endorsing or making “speeches” on behalf of political candidates or organizations.”
“Paragraphs (A)(2) and (A)(3) prohibit judges and judicial candidates from making speeches on behalf of political organizations.to prevent them from misusing the prestige of judicial office to advance the interests of others.”
As recently as 2021, the Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee issued a clear opinion on this very issue: “…an incumbent judge who is a judicial candidate may appear as a guest of honor at a political party’s fundraising event, but a judge not presently a candidate is forbidden from doing so.”
The Code of Judicial Conduct makes clear why these ethics rules for judges are so important: “Public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary is eroded if judges or judicial candidates are perceived to be subject to political influence.”
“Illinois voters deserve a fair and impartial state Supreme Court that’s free of and from politics, which does not appear to be the case here,” - Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Shaun McCabe
Watch for a complaint to the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board.
For what it’s worth, attendees said Rochford opened her speech saying she wouldn’t get political. And she didn’t. There was no discussion of reproductive rights or gun legislation, both high-profile subjects facing the court and pitting Republicans and Democrats in Illinois. “It was actually really a boring speech,” said one attendee.
* Justice Rochford sent me this statement…
I receive speaking requests from many groups and organizations. I believe it is important for judges to appear in public and help educate people about the Judicial Branch. My speech at this event was about the work of the Illinois Supreme Court, its non-partisan nature and the collegiality that is fostered by our unique lodging arrangement during court terms. The content of my speech was not political in any way and so should not be construed to have been provided on behalf of any political candidate or organization.
* The Question: Should Illinois Supreme Court justices, appellate justices and judges be officially sanctioned for making speeches to groups like this when they’re not in an active campaign cycle? Explain and stick to the topic at hand, please.
A new Illinois law that seeks to deter book bans and restrictions in public schools and libraries came under the scrutiny of a U.S. Senate panel Tuesday during a hearing that revealed stark partisan divisions over education and parental responsibility while also raising questions about the federal role in what is traditionally an area of local control.
Democratic Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who championed the law, was questioned by the committee’s ranking Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who initially sought to change the subject of the hearing to immigration policy under President Joe Biden before returning to the issue of book policy. […]
In addition to warning of threats made to librarians, Giannoulias told senators that several libraries in the Chicago suburbs were forced to close a few weeks ago due to bomb threats. Only hours after his testimony, it happened again, with bomb threats reportedly made to the Harold Washington Public Library in Chicago and to libraries in Addison, Aurora, Evanston, Hanover Park, Schaumburg and Streamwood.
In Schaumburg, a threat made via an online chat message led to the evacuation and a police response to the Schaumburg Township District Library at 130 S. Roselle Road. The district closed that building and branch facilities in Hanover Park and Hoffman Estates as a result.
Schaumburg police Lt. Christy Lindhurst said that as of 4 p.m., police had found no evidence that the threat was legitimate, but their investigation is ongoing.
Aurora police said officers responded to all three of the city’s libraries after a bomb threat was made through an online source. Officials said no explosives were found.
Inside Chicago’s largest library, an employee alerted police to a disturbing message. Officials say an anonymous email stated that a bomb was located somewhere inside the Harold Washington Library. The Bomb Squad and K9s searched the premises, but nothing was found. […]
In Addison, police were alerted to a bomb threat at the Addison Public Library on Friendship Plaza. As a precautionary measure, both the village and library campuses were closed to the public. The DuPage County Bomb Squad conducted a thorough search, ultimately determining the threat to be baseless.
In Evanston, police received reports of a bomb threat at the Evanston Public Library on Orrington Avenue. While no substantiated threat was found, the Cook County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad was called to the scene, and the building was evacuated. A cautionary advisory to avoid the area was issued. […]
Additional reports suggested that further threats were made to other libraries in the Chicago area, making this an ongoing investigation.
Aurora police have shut down downtown streets after a reported bomb threat against the city’s public libraries Tuesday afternoon.
According to authorities, the threat targeted the library in the 100 block of South River Street, with officers currently evacuating workers and closing down streets in the area.
Police have deployed officers to all three libraries in the community after the threats, according to officials.
River Street remains closed in both directions between Cross Street and Benton Street, according to authorities.
* Not a library, but it is a school in Springfield…
Lanphier High School students and teachers were returning to classes Tuesday afternoon after receiving an “all clear” following a threat of a bomb on campus.
Springfield Police and Illinois Secretary of State Police, who operate K-9 units, deemed the building clear after a search, according to Springfield District 186 officials.
The threat was called into the school at 12:30 p.m.
* NBC Chicago | Bomb threats target Chicago-area public libraries: The Harold Washington Library in Chicago was the subject of one threat, according to Total Traffic. Police activity has been reported at Van Buren and State Street, and an investigation remains underway. Police in suburban Aurora have also shut down downtown streets after a reported bomb threat against the city’s public libraries Tuesday afternoon.
* Sun-Times | Giannoulias, Durbin push back against book bans at Capitol Hill hearing as GOP senators urge parents to ‘speak up’: The debate is over what books should be in taxpayer-funded libraries, and who gets to decide what to put on the shelf — librarians or parents, or some combination of both. […] According to a March report from the Chicago-based American Library Association, the vast majority of the most threatened books “were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color.”
* WREX | Governor Pritzker announces retirement of outstanding debt from 2010: On Tuesday, Governor Pritzker announced $49 million in tobacco bonds have been retired through a contract that voided the bonds. The bonds were what remained of a $1.5 billion debt associated with the Great Recession dating back to 2010.
* The Southern | Illinois State Treasurer makes stop in Carbondale: Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs covered a wide range of topics during a 45-minute discussion at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Tuesday. The third-term Democrat talked about his role as state treasurer, ideas about his office merging with the state comptroller’s and the process of returning unclaimed funds and property to Illinois residents.
* Tribune | US Senate confirms Illinois judge to the federal trial bench: Cummings, a 1987 graduate of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, will become the fifth judge President Joe Biden has appointed to the Northern District of Illinois. He was named after Judge Robert Dow of the Northern District of Illinois was appointed to be counselor to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
* AP | CDC OKs updated COVID-19 vaccine, clearing way for shots to begin this week: Chicago public health officials have said the CDC approval was all they needed to “begin the rollout” of the vaccine, which will be free for all city residents. “We already have the vaccine in Chicago,” Dr. Geraldine Luna, medical director for the Chicago Department of Public Health, said Monday.
* Crusader | Lt. Governor Stratton continues leading Illinois delegation to Japan with state and business leaders: Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton continues to lead the Illinois Delegation at the 53rd Annual Joint Meeting of the Midwest U.S. – Japan Association Conference (MWJA) in Tokyo, Japan. Lt. Governor Stratton has held meetings with Japanese Governors, dignitaries and corporate business leaders to discuss opportunities to strengthen connections and economic partnerships between Illinois and Japan.
* Sun-Times | Blackhawks project, Fulton Market towers get OK from City Council zoning panel: In the largest of the approved plans, the committee endorsed a zoning change to allow Vista Group to proceed with a three-tower residential or commercial complex at Kinzie and Morgan streets. The long-term plan, with a reported budget of $448 million, allows for up to 1,450 residences.
