…[Defense attorney Katie Hill] stepped up to speak on Mapes’ behalf. She told jurors to imagine being forced to take a pop quiz on their way into their high school reunion.
“The test is full of questions about your life from that time period,” Hill said. “Who was elected class president your junior year? What was the name of that guy your best friend had a crush on when you were a freshman? What color was the corsage you wore to prom?”
Hill later turned to the reputations Madigan and McClain had in Springfield — where people assumed McClain spoke for Madigan. But she said Madigan was not “free-flowing” with information. And when information is not free-flowing, she said, “folklore takes its place.”
But for someone like Mapes, she said, “there was no need to rely on folklore or common knowledge.”
Hill said someone like Mapes, with rare direct access to Madigan, “would not have considered what McClain said to be the gospel truth about what Madigan actually said or wanted.”
According to Hill, Mapes did his “level best” to inform the grand jury about his relationships with Madigan and McClain. She claimed he was only charged because in seven questions out of some 500 he was asked, Mapes gave “answers the government did not like.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur contended Mapes “perverted” the grand jury process and “jeopardized” the corruption investigation against Madigan with “false testimony.”
“The defendant lied. Not just once but again and again and again, to prevent the grand jury from finding out” about Madigan’s actions.
UAW President Shawn Fain on Tuesday criticized early bargaining proposals from Stellantis as a “slap in the face” to members before throwing a copy of the document in a trash can during a livestream on Facebook.
Fain, who last week detailed the union’s “audacious and ambitious” economic demands, including more than 40 percent raises, said the response from Stellantis doesn’t address the union’s concerns. The two sides started bargaining last month on contracts that expire Sept. 14. […]
The company, Fain said, is seeking cuts to medical coverage, threatening profit-sharing payouts, refusing to reopen the idled Belvidere Assembly Plant and insisting on keeping a two-tier wage system.
* The Washington Post took a look at the costs of recharging electric vehicles as opposed to filling up with gas…
The bottom line? In all 50 states, it’s cheaper for the everyday American to fill up with electrons — and much cheaper in some regions such as the Pacific Northwest, with low electricity rates and high gas prices.
That frustration was also voiced by Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette who detailed how recently a neighboring law enforcement agency drove a homeless individual from their community to Springfield to drop that person off.
“That person is now a consumer of our health system, is now a consumer of our social service system, is now a consumer of the mental health system,” Scarlette said. “People are bringing homeless individuals into our community because they think this is where the services exist.”
* Press release…
In a year that saw exponential growth in the youth in agriculture movement, the Illinois State Fair, along with Governor JB Pritzker, announced that the Illinois State FFA Officers will serve as Grand Marshals for the annual Twilight Parade.
Since Governor Pritzker announced in 2022 that every student in the state of Illinois taking an agriculture class would have their FFA dues paid, FFA membership increased from 23,000 to over 41,000 members strong. Additionally, 5,500 students not enrolled in agricultural education courses joined FFA, demonstrating an appreciation of the value of the organization. […]
The Grand Marshals are as follows:
President Thaddeus Bergschneider- Franklin FFA
Vice President Eric Wisely- Nashville FFA
Reporter Cooper Nelson- Canton FFA
Secretary Riley Kessler- Staunton FFA
Treasurer Benjamin Bremmer- Pearl City FFA
* Northwestern’s sports culture ain’t ready for reform…
Several Northwestern coaches/staffers, including OC Mike Bajakian, are donning "Cats Against the World" shirts with No. 51 — Pat Fitzgerald's old jersey number — on them. pic.twitter.com/ZFQ3tNU1Vv
* WBEZ | Researchers say tens of thousands in Cook County have a high risk of flooding: Roughly 172,000 properties in Cook County have a high risk of flooding — about eight times more than what FEMA’s maps show, according to First Street’s assessment. In the city of Chicago, roughly 79,000 properties are at high risk, according to First Street. That’s more than 50 times higher than the number of high-risk Chicago properties indicated in FEMA’s maps.
* Tribune | Tim Mapes perjury trial opens in earnest with clash over alleged lies in sprawling federal probe: Hill maintained Mapes was “limited to what he actually knows” and an appearance before a grand jury “is not the time to start making assumptions, not the time to start guessing.” And while McClain might have told Mapes directly at times about orders he got from Madigan, Mapes knew that McClain was prone to exaggerating, Hill said.
* SJ-R | Helping Hands will most likely open shelter on Dirksen after New Year’s: As members of the city council took up consideration of an ordinance dealing with already-budgeted funds to deal with the city’s homelessness issue, Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams Jr. raised a question of whether the issue had worsened in the city.
* Business Wire | ComEd Announces New Programs to Accelerate Adoption of EVs Across Northern Illinois: ComEd today joined with regional and municipal leaders to unveil its latest programs designed to accelerate the adoption of electrified technologies, including electric vehicles (EVs), in northern Illinois. As part of ComEd’s $231 million investment in new customer programs geared toward removing barriers to electrification, ComEd today announced a new EV Charging Delivery Rate option to incentivize the buildout of an expanded network of EV charging infrastructure to meet a growing need in the northern Illinois region.
* Daily Southtown | Thornton administrator says help may be coming to alleviate stench from quarry reservoir: But Beckman said the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago is now taking a proactive approach to address the odor concerns. “They’ve been talking to us about different operational procedures to try to control it, but I think they finally realized they have to do more than that,” Beckman said. “They finally started investing some money.”
* Block Club | Police Are Launching A Nightlife Patrol In The West Loop And West Town: The new unit will consist of six officers and one sergeant, all focusing on criminal activity along entertainment strips. Several focus areas include Greektown, parts of Taylor Street, the University of Illinois Chicago and part of Division Street, said Sgt. Mike Karczewski, business, licensing, and special events supervisor for the 12th District.
* Bond Buyer | On Yvette Shields, and the Hall of Fame: I first want to make it clear that this is not a decision we came to lightly, impulsively, or emotionally. Our intention with this Hall of Fame has been to celebrate those individuals who, over the course of their life’s work, have made an indelible impact on the municipal finance community. When we set that criteria, we did so intending to honor the practitioners of muni finance themselves, not necessarily fellow journalists covering the industry. But that notion began to change after Yvette’s passing.
* WGN | Elmhurst baseball team on the brink of Little League World Series: That has shown as the Elmhurst team is now just one win away from Little League World Series after an impressive season & run through the Great Lakes tournament. They’ll face Ohio for the regional championship in Whitestown, Indiana at 4 p.m. time and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
* Forbes | Chicago’s 30 under 30: The Second City is first class when it comes to its bevy of young entrepreneurs, tech geniuses and changemakers. The inaugural 30 Under 30 Local Chicago list includes a photographer capturing the 2020 protests across the city, a duo creating a burgeoning ceramics studio and a founder streamlining composting for apartments.
* Crain’s | McDonald’s new meal celebrates its pop culture cameos — from ‘Seinfeld’ to ‘Loki’: The meal, which will be available for a limited time starting Aug. 14, is tied to the chain’s upcoming appearance in the second season of “Loki” on Disney+. The bag for the meal includes a list of TV shows, movies and songs that have also referenced McDonald’s, including “Seinfeld” and “Space Jam.” “Loki Season 2” appears last on the list, with an asterisk that clarifies, “New season streaming soon.” The season premieres Oct. 6.
* Sun-Times | Out of sriracha? Try one of these 12 Chicago-made hot sauces: Even now, a 28-ounce bottle of Huy Fong sriracha was spotted selling on Amazon for $24.99, down from $29.99. On eBay, you can still find sellers listing sriracha packets, possibly a hangover from the height of the pandemic-driven hoarding mania.
* NYT | This Is a Reminder That You’re Probably Oversharing on Venmo: The snooping works the other way around, too. Even if you seldom use Venmo today, the app is most likely leaking sensitive information about you to the general public. How do I know? I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I recently discovered that my contacts list, which includes the names of people in my phone book, was published on Venmo for anyone using the app to see.
Q: Last night, voters in Ohio rejected a measure which would have made it more difficult for them to amend the constitution. You sent a tweet that it is a massive win for democracy. However, Ohio makes it a lot easier than Illinois does for citizens [scrambled audio about passing constitutional questions]. Would you support a change to the Illinois Constitution to make it more easy for Illinois citizens to make similar changes like they currently do in Ohio [simple majority]?
Pritzker: What went on in Ohio, leading up to the vote last night was solely an effort to stop pro-choice forces from passing an amendment to their constitution, that’s all it was about. That’s all it was about. It was masquerading as we need to make it harder or, you know, raise the bar for putting an amendment into our Constitution. But it only grew out of the fact that they had already put together the petitions to get it on the ballot, to change the constitution to make Ohio a pro-choice state. So entirely, that’s what that was about. And I’m proud to have supported the Vote No, that’s the side that supported choice. And it was a resounding victory, as you saw in 2022 in so many places around the country, a resounding victory for those of us who are pro-choice and for the people who live in those states who just want to preserve their reproductive freedom. So I was pleased with the outcome.
You’re asking about whether Illinois should change. We have a 60 percent threshold here. We’ve had amendments pass and fail in Illinois. And I think I wouldn’t change what we’re doing here in Illinois.
But I’m just saying what you saw last night was really about choice. That’s all it was. And you also heard Republicans who are backing that, saying last night that they intend to bring their referendum back, to make it hard for people to change the constitution. Maybe they will. But by that time, Ohio would have put into its constitution a restoration of a woman’s right to choose.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
The Illinois Constitution allows the General Assembly, with three-fifth majorities, to put constitutional amendments on the ballot. Those questions must be approved “by either three-fifths of those voting on the question or a majority of those voting in the election.”
* The Question: Should Illinois lower its constitutional amendment threshold to simple majorities of those who vote on the question? Make sure to explain your answer. We’re not going to tackle the legislative aspect of this today. So please just stick to the question at hand. Thanks.
After Florida adopted its Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking standards in 2020, the Department of Education distributed recommended reading lists it said included “top of the line literary works with world renowned titles.”
Authors on the high school list included William Shakespeare.
Three years later, some Florida school districts are shying away from Shakespeare, along with other classic and popular materials. They say they’re attempting to comply with new state law restricting books with and instruction about sexual content.
Hillsborough County became the latest to take this step, telling teachers they could assign excerpts of plays such as “Romeo and Juliet,” but not the full text.
To comply with state law, a major Florida school district has issued guidance that will bar transgender employees from sharing their preferred pronouns and force trans students and staff members to use group restrooms that follow their “biological sex at birth.”
Orange County Public Schools — the fourth-largest district in Florida, with about 209,000 students at 210 schools — released the new guidance for the 2023-24 academic year Monday. […]
As a result, transgender employees or contractors “may not provide a personal title or pronoun to students which does not correspond [to] the employee’s or contractor’s biological sex at birth,” the memo said.
The law also mandates that employees and contractors may not ask a student to provide his or her preferred personal title or pronoun, the memo said.
Large school districts across Florida are dropping plans to offer Advanced Placement Psychology, heeding a warning from state officials that the course’s discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity violates state law.
Eight of the 11 districts with the largest enrollments in the class are switching to alternate courses, and just one said it will stick with AP Psychology. Two others are still deciding, officials said.
The state of Florida has encouraged schools to teach the course without objectionable material about sexual orientation and gender identity. But the College Board, which runs AP, says these topics are central to the study of psychology and cannot simply be excised. Last week, the College Board said the course was “effectively banned” and advised districts not to offer it.
Further complicating the matter, a day later, Florida’s education chief told districts that his agency believes the schools can offer the course “in its entirety” but also said it should be “in a manner that is age and developmentally appropriate.” The state has previously said teaching school-age students about sexual orientation and gender is inappropriate.
Civil rights groups asked a federal judge Tuesday to stop Florida officials from enforcing a section of a new state immigration law that criminalizes transporting someone who has entered the United States unlawfully. But the jurist denied the request immediately on a technicality.
The portion of the law known as Section 10 makes it unsafe for people to get to medical appointments, meet with family and go to work, the groups said in a motion that is part of a July lawsuit challenging the law.
“For many individual Plaintiffs, Section 10 interferes with their ability to go about their daily lives,” said the motion, which asks for a temporary injunction halting enforcement.
Almost immediately after it was filed, U.S. District Judge Roy Altman denied the request for a temporary injunction on a technicality, saying Gov. Ron DeSantis and other defendants who include prosecutors from across Florida hadn’t been properly given notice about the motion. The judge said the civil rights groups could file the request again.
* This is the last one from Florida today. I promise…
Of all the PragerU propaganda you've seen, this might be the worst.
Frederick Douglass takes a dig at BLM while praising the founding fathers as abolitionists and calling the Constitution a "glorious liberty document."
The long-simmering debate over school choice in Nevada will hit a pivotal moment Wednesday, when the state’s Interim Finance Committee decides whether to use unallocated federal money to replace dried-up funds for a private school scholarship program pushed by the Republican governor but rejected by legislative Democrats.
It’s a last-ditch effort by Gov. Joe Lombardo to pass a remnant of his landmark school choice priority in Nevada’s increasingly rare split-party government. Instead of expanding the program in both funding and eligibility, Lombardo now is looking to maintain the program at previous levels.
Lombardo originally wanted to expand eligibility and provide an additional $50 million for the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program, passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2015, that allows businesses to receive tax credits on donations that go toward the private and religious school tuitions of mostly low-income students.
With that proposal dead, Lombardo is seeking $3.2 million in unallocated federal coronavirus relief funds to maintain existing scholarships that his office says will soon run out. Lombardo’s spokesperson Elizabeth Ray said nearly 800 students could be forced to switch schools without additional funding.
Newly uncovered records show Texas officials ignored warnings that installing anti-migrant buoys in the Rio Grande and concertina wire along the banks violated federal law and a U.S. treaty with Mexico.
On March 29, a Texas Highway Patrol captain even asked the International Boundary Commission that controls the Rio Grande to help with a permit the city of El Paso refused to grant, to put electricity in a command trailer.
The commission declined, reminding the captain that the trailer — under a bridge in the floodplain — was on federal property without authorization.
“The State of Texas, operating through various entities, including but not limited to, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) (and its contractors) does not have authorization for its presence on the federal property that is managed, owned, and/or controlled by the United States, International Boundary and Water Commission” or USIBWC, said the April 21 response.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana says it filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of a citizen journalist from South Bend, claiming Indiana’s new 25-foot “encroachment” law violated his constitutional right to observe and record the police.
The new law, which went into effect on July 1, prohibits a person from knowingly or intentionally approaching within 25 feet of a police officer after the officer has ordered them to stop. According to our sister station WTHR, it is classified as a Class C misdemeanor.
The ACLU of Indiana says the plaintiff, Donald Nicodemus, is a citizen journalist who lives in South Bend and monitors the activity of public-safety personnel — primarily the South Bend Police Department. Nicodemus regularly posts videos to his YouTube channel “Freedom 2 Film,” which has more than 24,500 subscribers as of Tuesday afternoon. […]
“The unbridled discretion given to law enforcement officers by the new 25-foot law allows for, and invites content and viewpoint-based discrimination,” said Ken Falk, legal director at the ACLU of Indiana, in a press release sent to 16 News Now. “This gives police officers unchecked authority to prohibit citizens from approaching within 25 feet of the officers to observe their actions, even if the actions of the citizens are not and will not interfere with the police.”
Six university professors and two teachers’ unions are suing Idaho over a law that they say violates their First Amendment rights by criminalizing teaching and classroom discussion about pro-abortion viewpoints.
The 2021 No Public Funds for Abortion Act prohibits state contracts or transactions with abortion providers and also bans public employees from promoting abortion, counseling in favor of abortion or referring someone to abortion services. Public employees who violate the law can be charged with misuse of public funds, a felony, and be fired, fined and ordered to pay back the funds they are accused of misusing.
The law is “simultaneously sweeping and unclear” and places a “strait jacket upon the intellectual leaders” of Idaho’s public universities, the educators, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, wrote in the lawsuit.
The case was brought by five University of Idaho professors who teach philosophy, political science, American literature and journalism, as well as a Boise State University professor of social work. Other plaintiffs include the Idaho Federation of Teachers, which represents faculty at UI, BSU and Idaho State University, and the University of Idaho Faculty Federation.
* A few comments on a post about some new state laws yesterday were a hoot, particularly this one…
I don’t believe that Illinois has any need to design or adopt a new/better/different/progressive state flag. Those pushing this agenda aim to abolish history, like Lori Lightfoot removing the Christopher Columbus statues in Chicago.
“The first of these was adopted on July 6, 1915, after a campaign by Ella Park Laurence, State Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution.” This is what the leftists don’t like, pesky reminders of the people that founded this state and nation.
Establishes the Illinois Flag Commission Act. Creates the Illinois Flag Commission for the purpose of developing new State flag designs and making recommendations to the General Assembly concerning whether the current State flag ought to be replaced with a redesigned State flag. Identifies the members to be appointed to the Commission. Describes the duties of the Commission. Requires the Chair of the Commission to convene the first Commission meeting by no later than September 1, 2023. Requires the Commission to report its recommendations to the General Assembly by no later than December 3, 2024. Provides for the repeal of the Act on January 1, 2026. Effective immediately.
One of the top proponents of Senate Bill 1818 (get it?) is former Rep. Tim Butler, a Springfield Republican and hardly a leftist progressive.
* And abolish history? Here’s the flag…
Let’s see, there’s “1818″, the year Illinois became a state. “1868″ is the year Illinois adopted a new state seal, which is hardly an historically significant fact except that it’s a self-referential nod to the flag’s design…
Illinois Secretary of State Sharon Tyndale spearheaded the drive to create a third state seal for Illinois. In 1867, he asked State Senator Allen C. Fuller to introduce legislation requiring a new seal, and suggested to Fuller that the words of the state motto be reversed, from “State Sovereignty, National Union”, to “National Union, State Sovereignty”. However, the bill passed by the legislature on March 7, 1867, kept the original wording. Despite declining his suggestion, the legislature nonetheless entrusted Tyndale with designing the new seal. And Tyndale managed to (literally) twist the legislature’s intent; he kept the words in the correct order on the banner, but the banner twists, so the word “Sovereignty” is upside down, arguably making it less readable.
So, the state seal, which is on the state flag, violates legislative intent.
Lovely.
* And the design was so non-Illinois that the state actually added the word “Illinois” to the flag in 1970…
In the 1960s, Chief Petty Officer Bruce McDaniel petitioned to have the name of the state added to the flag. He noted that many of the people with whom he served during the Vietnam War did not recognize the banner. Governor Richard B. Ogilvie signed the addition to the flag into law on September 17, 1969, and the new flag, designed by Sanford (Florence) Hutchinson, became official on July 1, 1970.
* And who the heck is reminded of the founders of our country by looking at the state flag? Ella Park Lawrence was designated “Honorary State Regent of Illinois for life” for her work to pass the flag bill. But, I gotta say it, the flag she helped choose is subpar.
If you still need more convincing, here’s another commenter from yesterday…
The main reason we need a new flag is that Indiana’s flag is much better than ours, and we cannot be upstaged by Indiana.
*** UPDATE *** Rep. Dan Didech recently received an email from George Lonngren with his suggestion for a “Union State” flag…
I like that. Lonngren’s explanation…
It’s “The Union State” flag because our state is really a microcosm and representation of our nation as a whole. We are in the core of the country, we have provided greatly to its defense and preservation. We are a major portion of its breadbasket. Culturally we have strong communities of all groups large and small from all over the nation, and world. We have large cities and small rural communities. If you removed the other 49 states and just had Illinois, the American Spirit would be little diminished in Illinois’ sole contribution to our nation.
Blue Field: Illinois massive contribution to the union army during the civil war to preserve our nation
Lincoln Silhouette: The president who saw us preserve our nation, also from our state
Yellow Silhouette: For Illinois Agriculture
Stars: One for each president with strong ties to Illinois (Reagan, Grant, Lincoln, Obama).
Point being, let’s see what people can come up with.
* The headline, “Alderman Taylor turns thumbs down on migrants becoming cops,” tells you all you need to know about this story…
When Governor JB Pritzker signed HB 3751 into law allowing non-U.S. citizens to become police officers, it sparked a flurry of protests, especially from Alderman Jeanette Taylor (20th).
“It’s a no for me,” Taylor said. “The folks at Wadsworth (in Woodlawn) have been kicked out of their shelter. They are standing around the shelters because they are not familiar with the city.
“Your allowing people who are not familiar with our city or our laws to become law enforcement officers just doesn’t make sense,” Taylor said. “I think once they go through the immigration process and they become citizens, then yes.”
Reminded that federal law prohibits non-citizens from carrying guns, Taylor said she doesn’t understand why the bill was passed in the first place, chalking it up to politics.
“I hope this was not the reason, but I don’t support it because you are talking about people who don’t know the United States. If we know anything about policing, it has not worked in Black and brown communities,” Taylor stated.
The alderman is so frustrated over this added burden of keeping the peace between her residents and migrants, along with fighting for resources, that she placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott who continues to send busloads of migrants to Chicago.
She actually believes that asylum-seeking migrants, who are not even allowed to work, are gonna become police officers. Wow.
Also, just saying, but it might help “keep the peace” between residents and migrants if she stopped ignorantly popping off like this.
Former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Paul Simon-Jim Edgar Statesmanship Award. Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar and John Shaw, director of Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, announced White’s selection on Aug. 8.
Edgar and Shaw applauded White’s half-century of constructive, practical and principled leadership in Illinois.
White, a native of Alton, Illinois, served in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, played baseball in the Chicago Cubs farm system and created the nationally famous Jesse White Tumbling Team for underprivileged young people.
He served in the Illinois House of Representatives, as the Cook County Recorder of Deeds and as the 37th Illinois Secretary of State. As secretary of state from 1999 to 2023, White worked for traffic safety, teen driver safety, strong DUI laws, truck safety, and enhanced organ and tissue donations.
“I first met Secretary White in the 1970s when we were both junior members of the Illinois General Assembly,” Edgar said. “Jesse has always been modest, gracious and committed to working with members of both parties to solve problems.”
“Jesse respected the people of Illinois, and they liked and respected him – and -voted for him in record numbers.”
Shaw said White’s career illustrates the value of searching for common ground and viewing everyone as potential allies and partners.
“Secretary White has been a model public servant,” Shaw said. “He has demonstrated the ability to set partisanship aside to advance the public interest.”
The annual Simon-Edgar Statesmanship Award is presented to an elected state or local government official in Illinois who has demonstrated a pattern of public service characterized by vision, courage, compassion, effectiveness, civility and bipartisanship.
The Simon-Edgar Award shines a spotlight on remarkable leadership that is taking place in our state and our communities, inspiring current and future public servants to act in the best traditions of Illinois.
Edgar, the 38th governor of Illinois, founded the Edgar Fellows Program at the University of Illinois’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs. Shaw is the director of SIU Carbondale’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
* From the Sangamon County Historical Society’s website…
Dr. Andrew McFarland, the namesake of the Andrew McFarland Mental Health Center near Springfield, directed the Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the Insane in Jacksonville in the 1850s and ’60s. Perversely, McFarland (1817-91) also helped expand the rights of people accused of mental instability – by opposing them.
McFarland’s nemesis was a Manteno woman, Elizabeth Packard (1816-97), who won national fame in the late 1800s for her efforts to reform mental treatment and the mental confinement process.
Packard was sent to the Jacksonville asylum in June 1860 – literally carried out of her house and put on a train – on the sole authority of her husband, Theophilus, a Calvinist minister. The “evidence” of her insanity was that she publicly disagreed with Theophilus on religious issues. […]
The legislature nonetheless set up a commission in 1867 to investigate Packard’s allegations against McFarland and the asylum. Among other things, the panel found McFarland had tolerated a variety of abusive treatments, including one similar to modern-day waterboarding: obstreperous patients would be wrapped in a straitjacket and dunked in a bathtub over and over, submerged each time until they nearly passed out. […]
McFarland, suffering from depression, hanged himself at Oak Lawn in 1891.
* Today, Gov. Pritzker fittingly announced that the Andrew McFarland Mental Health Center’s name would be changed to commemorate Elizabeth Packard…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced a new name for the McFarland Mental Health Center. By executive proclamation, it is now officially the Elizabeth Parsons Ware Packard Mental Health Center. On signage and in common use, it will become known simply as the Packard Mental Health Center. Located on the south side of Springfield, the psychiatric hospital employs more than 250 staff and supports over 120 patients with serious mental illness on a 24/7 basis.
“Today, we are putting a spotlight on the real hero associated with this institution, someone who in truth better expresses our proud history of positive reform and someone who changed our world for the better,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Here in Illinois, we are committed to righting the wrongs of the past wherever we can. Renaming this Center in honor of Elizabeth Packard, who founded the Anti-Insane Asylum Society and pushed multiple states to reform their laws to better recognize the rights of mental health patients, is an important step in the right direction.” […]
Best-selling author Kate Moore published The Woman They Could Not Silence about Packard in 2021. This non-fiction book tells the story of Packard’s involuntary commitment and chronicles Dr. McFarland’s role in keeping her inappropriately confined. Since the book’s release, staff and community members have questioned the appropriateness of keeping Dr. McFarland’s name on the building. In January 2023, an online petition was created, calling on the State to rename the facility.
“I am delighted for Elizabeth that this mental health center is being renamed in her honor, and I have no doubt she would be thrilled too. In her lifetime, she was denigrated and dismissed as a madwoman because she stood up for those in need, but today we honor her courageous stance and her remarkable achievements,” said Kate Moore. “It is fitting, too, that Elizabeth’s name replaces that of her tormentor and doctor, McFarland. She always warned him she was not mad, simply ahead of her time, and today, at long last, her truth is heard. Truly the woman they could not silence, Elizabeth deserves this honor deeply and I am so grateful to the Governor and the State for recognizing this very special woman.”
This renaming reflects the State’s commitment to righting the wrongs of the past, while celebrating the contributions of those who have historically been overlooked.
Ohio abortion rights backers have a clearer path to victory in November now that voters refused to make it harder to amend the state constitution.
Those pushing for a reproductive rights amendment will only need to convince a simple majority of the electorate rather than the 60% sought by the Republican-led legislature and Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
About 57% voted against the proposal (Issue 1) to raise the threshold for future constitutional amendments after some ad campaigns emphasized the potential impact on the abortion question to come in the fall election. The initiative was closely watched as the latest evidence of the extent to which abortion is an issue that animates voters and gets them to the polls.
The yes campaign committee, Protect Our Constitution, raised a little more than $4.85 million according to its filing. Nearly all of it came from a single individual who lives out of state.
Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein donated a total of $4 million to the committee. The right-wing megadonor owns the Uline shipping and office supply company, and his grandfather and great-grandfather ran Schlitz brewing.
* The Uihlein crew also appears to have done its usual schtick, adding to the boss’ direct spending by pushing fake news…
Some of the messaging from the outside groups has been deceptive. A fake newspaper distributed throughout the state has spread misleading claims about the opposition while conspiracy theorists hosted a get-out-the-vote event. […]
But a closer look revealed the mailer was far from unbiased journalism. The articles emphasized prominent elected Republicans who supported Issue 1, while stereotyping the opposition as communists, Black Lives Matter supporters and LGBTQ+ allies. […]
An internet search for The Buckeye Reporter reveals it is one of more than a thousand pseudo-local news outlets created by an Illinois-based network known as Metric Media or Pipeline Media, which churns out content promoting Republican candidates and ballot issues across the country.
A Chicago return address on the mailer matches the business address of Pipeline Media, according to state filing documents.
* You remember these folks, and so does Pearson…
The Uihlein-Proft-Timpone trio were behind millions of dollars in TV ads and fake newspapers that made up the bulk of support for Darren Bailey’s failed bid for governor last year against Dem Gov JB Pritzker.
* Earlier this week, Marcus Gilmer at Crain’s noted that Uihlein is backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid. The closing paragraph was about DeSantis, but could’ve also been about the Ohio effort…
Ahead of last year’s midterm elections, Richard Uihlein donated millions to candidates up and down the Illinois ballot, including GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey. And given what happened to Bailey — not to mention Walker and Cruz in 2016 — there’s reason to think that this could just be more money sunk into a candidate destined to fall short.
* WTTW | Illinois Lawmakers Look to Address Domestic Violence Rise With Laws to Help Survivors: “Illinois is one of the best funded states for domestic violence services. In this year’s budget we allocated $70 million,” said state Rep. Joyce Mason (D-Gurnee). “We also have one of the most comprehensive Domestic Violence Acts. So, we stack up very well compared to other states — but that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of work still to be done and so many victims who need better protection and services.”
* WGFA | Ducat to seek 53rd Senate seat: Ducat is currently the Vice-Chair of the Iroquois County Board. He’s held several positions at the county level. He’s chairman of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) committee, which came about thru the Federal government plan to distribute recovery monies from the COVID pandemic. ARPA is filtering federal dollars to help agencies and people recover from the economic burdens brought on from the pandemic.
* Tribune | Metra took its board members on a train ride to a monthly meeting. It cost the agency more than $10,000: Board members and Metra executives made the journey in an observation car lent by BNSF Railway. Attendees had coffee and breakfast available during the train ride, and lunch after the board meeting. Shuttle vans were provided to take the board members from the Joliet train station to the meeting at the Will County Office Building. All told, records show the outing cost Metra at least $10,836.
* NBC Chicago | Cook County improperly used nearly $240 million in transportation funds for other projects: The legal battle has been raging for years after the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association filed a lawsuit, along with numerous other groups, arguing that Cook County was violating the language of the “Illinois Transportation taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment,” which was overwhelmingly supported by voters in the 2016 election.
* Crain’s | Wilmette officials unanimously oppose Northwestern’s Ryan Field proposal: In a unanimous vote late Tuesday night, Wilmette’s board passed a resolution outlining its concerns over the addition of up to 10 concerts at the stadium, citing increased traffic and parking issues, noise pollution and potential public safety effects.
* Chicago Mag | As companies flee big headquarters and office parks, suburbs are scrambling to reinvent those spaces — and themselves: One popular option for filling these vacancies: companies acquiring, demolishing, and replacing office campuses and towers with multibuilding logistics hubs that will rival Amazon’s 200-acre distribution center in Kenosha, Wisconsin. That metamorphosis is underway at Allstate’s former 232-acre site (since annexed by Glenview), which sold last year to a Nevada investor group for about $232 million. The insurance giant’s home since 1967 is becoming a 10-building trucking and warehousing complex.
* Sun-Times | Chicago’s ‘bikeability’ is behind the curve in recent cycling studies: Compared to the average of the 50 cities, Chicago had fewer fatal crashes, more bike-share docking stations, a higher percentage of bike commuters and a bikeability score of 72 out of 100. But the city fell short of having enough trails, bike shops and bike rental places per 100,000 people.
* Grist | On Chicago’s South Side, neighbors fight to keep Lake Michigan at bay: Lake Michigan has long tried to take back the land on its shores. But climate change has increased the amount of ground lost to increasingly variable lake levels and ever more intense storms. What was once a tedious but manageable issue is now a crisis. The problem became particularly acute in early 2020 when a storm wreaked havoc on the neighborhood, severely damaging homes, flooding streets, and spurring neighbors to demand that City Hall support a $5 million plan to hold back the water.
* Tribune | Can you eat a dish from every nation on Earth without leaving Chicago? This TikTok influencer is trying: Since January, he has been posting videos of himself on TikTok eating those meals. He uses the tag @BoredinChicago, though considering the work and prickly issues he must navigate to accomplish his goal, he may be the least bored person in the city. His videos, which are posted alphabetically by nation and only now moving into the F’s, have drawn an average of 100,000 viewers per post. What started as a personal project has become decidedly public.
* ScribbleLive is still down. Twitter has stopped allowing people to embed list feeds on websites. So, click here or here to follow breaking news. You can click here to follow the Tim Mapes trial.
Residents and consumer advocates urged state regulators to reject a proposed $402 million rate hike sought by Peoples Gas.
The meeting Tuesday at UIC’s Dorin Forum, was organized by the Illinois Commerce Commission - the state panel that has until the end of the year to rule on the utility’s rate increase request. […]
Peoples Gas made $208 million in profit in 2022, breaking its earnings record for the sixth year in a row, according to a year-end financial report issued in March.
The company filed an increase request in January. Company officials said this was its first request for a hike in nine years. They said it was “meant to ensure ongoing safety, reliability and environmental sustainability in Chicago.”
The nonprofit watchdog Citizens Utility Board has argued the hike would fuel “an excessive profit rate” and should be slashed by at least $63 million.
* The Natural Resources Defense Council is spending about $100,000 on cable TV to run this spot through September 5th…
The gas company just proposed the largest rate hike in history. They also just announced record profits.
Let’s face it, Chicago. Gas stinks. When buildings burn gas, we all pay the price, because burning gas in our homes costs us more, pollutes our city and increases the risk of asthma, especially for kids.
That’s why it’s time for Chicago to take action and shift to newer, cheaper all-electric technologies to make our homes and buildings clean and healthy and affordable.
After serving nearly four years as the watchdog for the Illinois Department of Human Services, Peter Neumer will step down from his role overseeing investigations into the abuse and neglect of some of the state’s most vulnerable people.
The department announced the move to staff on Friday, noting that Neumer accepted a position as the inspector general for the Chicago Park District and that he will be replaced by Charles Wright, Neumer’s deputy since March 2021. Neumer’s last day as IDHS OIG will be Aug. 17.
Neumer and his staff investigated allegations of abuse or neglect of individuals who receive mental health or developmental disability services in programs that are overseen by the Illinois Department of Human Services. That includes oversight of the seven state-operated developmental centers and six mental health facilities.
Reports from Neumer’s office were a critical source of information for a series of investigative stories by Capitol News Illinois, ProPublica and Lee Enterprises into abuse, neglect and a cover-up culture at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in far southern Illinois.
Illinois’ rank as a place to do business rises — to 17th […]
The study is from CNBC, the financial news network, which for the fourth year in a row raised Illinois’ ranking. The state now is 17th, up from 19th last year, right behind Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and just ahead of New York and New Jersey. Illinois was ranked 30th as recently as 2019. […]
On the good side, the No. 2 ranking for infrastructure and education is a boost from third and sixth, respectively, last year. Also rising is Illinois’ ranking for access to capital, up from eighth to sixth, and cost of living, with relatively lower housing and other prices here moving the state from 20th to ninth.
On the other hand, the state’s relative cost of doing business worsened from 31st to 32nd. “Business friendliness” was an abysmal 39th, the overall economy 33rd, and workforce — usually considered a strength by local leaders — no better than 28th, down two ranks from 2022.
Illinois small businesses are improving, according to recent numbers that show the state rent delinquency rate of 22% in July was half of what it was in May.
The survey was conducted by Alignable and showed that 55% of small businesses in the nation had difficulty paying their rent in July.
A few months after its largest tenant walked out, the owner of a landmark Loop office building has landed a deal with a new company that bucks a pair of trends in the battered downtown office market.
Total Quality Logistics signed a five-year lease for 36,322 square feet at 125 S. Clark St., according to a statement from real estate services firm Transwestern, which oversees leasing in the 20-story building. The move is an expansion by the third-party logistics company, which will move from roughly 31,000 square feet it occupies in the West Loop at 328 S. Jefferson St.
The deal stands out as a rare addition of workspace at a time when many companies are cutting back on it, given the rise of remote work that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. TQL is also going against the grain by moving from the trendy West Loop office submarket to the heart of the Loop, which has seen a slew of companies decamp from older buildings in favor of newer office properties elsewhere in the city.
* Opposing a sitting Democratic state Senator in a primary would just be one reason why Martinez likely isn’t being slated, but whatevs…
Cook County Clerk of the Court Iris Martinez held a fundraiser at Moe’s Cantina in Wrigleyville on Monday — just ahead of next week’s slating for the 2024 election.
“I’m ready for the challenge,” she told your Playbook host in between making margaritas for guests. “I hope I get slated because I’m an incumbent. But if not, I’m ready.”
Martinez is going against the machine in next week’s slating by the Cook County Democratic Party. Even though she’s the incumbent Democrat, Martinez doesn’t have the support of county party Chair Toni Preckwinkle.
There’s tension because Martinez has been seen as not always towing the party line. Her goal has been to support Latina candidates, which didn’t necessarily align with Preckwinkle’s plans.
And she has a long way to go with her fundraising. Martinez ended the last quarter with just $19,328.52 in the bank.
* Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton held her first fundraiser last week since being elected statewide. Here’s her speech…
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced the State of Illinois is accepting grant applications from schools and agencies that support child and adolescent health for a share of $10 million in federal funding intended to strengthen mental health services for students across Illinois. The funding from the CDC’s COVID-19 Public Health Workforce Supplemental Funding program is being offered to help schools and local agencies improve student care in areas such as workforce enhancements, developing frameworks to prevent adverse childhood experiences, interventions to assist children suffering from trauma, and training for medical and school staff to expand adolescent mental health resources. […]
The funding is authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and the application process is being administered by IDPH’s Office of Women’s Health & Family Services. Following are the two program areas in which funds will be allocated:
• $6.9 million for Enhancing Post-Covid Recovery Efforts for School Based Health Needs: Up to $500,000 per school district or qualifying school affiliated organization to expand workforces, purchase mental health training materials and deploy programs and resources to enhance student mental health. (Up to 25 grants expected.)
• $3 million for Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Post-COVID-19: To identify mental health issues within school populations and provide education, resources, care coordination, and or training that helps to develop frameworks to prevent adverse childhood experiences and improve mental health outcomes for children and youth in a post-pandemic world. (Up to 15 grants expected.)
* Media advisory…
OFFICIAL UNVEILING OF THE 2023 BUTTER COW
What: 2023 Butter Cow Unveiling
Where: Dairy Building
Central Avenue
Illinois State Fairgrounds
When: Wednesday, August 9
3:00 p.m.
Invited: JB Pritzker, Governor of Illinois
Jerry Costello II, IDOA Director
Rebecca Clark, State Fair Manager
Paige Van Dyke, Miss Illinois County Fair Queen
Local, State Dignitaries
The iconic Butter Cow will be unveiled on August 9, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. in the Dairy Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Each year, fairgoers look forward to seeing the sculpture made of 500 pounds of unsalted butter.
The 2023 Illinois State Fair will be held from August 10-20.
* Welcome home!…
Theo was diagnosed with an abnormal heart rhythm. First his heart beat too slow, then too fast. There also were complications with his intestines. That was about as scared and as helpless as I have ever felt.
— Treasurer Michael Frerichs (@ILTreasurer) August 8, 2023
Thankfully, everyone is home and we are now sleeping under one roof. Well, sleeping might be a relative term. But it’s the first step in what I’m sure will be a long and rewarding journey, and I cannot be more excited for my wife, our sons, and their big sister, Ella. pic.twitter.com/r6Feaej4zt
— Treasurer Michael Frerichs (@ILTreasurer) August 8, 2023
* Bloomberg | Rivian’s wounded shorts set for potential squeeze: Short interest has risen to 13% of the shares available for trading — representing about $2.2 billion worth of stock, according to data from S3 Partners LLC. Rivian’s 32% advance this year has cost the shorts more than $736 million in mark-to-market losses as of Monday’s close, S3 said. After Tesla Inc., it’s the biggest short position among US electric-vehicle firms.
* SJ-R | ‘Several hundred’ workers laid off from Memorial Health System, citing negative economic trends: “Several hundred” employees from Memorial Health System have lost their jobs, according to announcement from the organization Tuesday. […] The statement did indicate that the number reflected 20% of leadership positions across the organization. The reduction also represents 5% of Memorial Health’s total salary and benefits.
* WGN | COVID hospitalizations jump nearly 30% in Illinois: An additional 9,056 people were hospitalized with the virus last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – that represents a 12.5% jump.
* SJ-R | Installation set for Busboom as bishop of ELCA synod: Busboom, the lead pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Springfield since 2011, was elected bishop of the synod at a gathering of church officials in East Peoria on June 3. He was elected on the fifth and final ballot.
* WaPo | White House unveils wage rule for federal projects, in win for unions: The measure aims to restore an old definition of the “prevailing wage,” scrapped by President Ronald Reagan, that the Biden administration says would change pay standards on federal construction projects. Under the new rule, employers would be required to pay construction workers the equivalent of wages made by at least 30 percent of workers in a given trade and locality.
* Crain’s | Lime wants electric scooters on the Lakefront Trail: “We’re following the lead of our riders who showed signs of wanting to use the Lakefront Trail, so now we’re looking for more concrete data before we approach the (Chicago) Park District and city,” a Lime spokesperson said. “Anything we do on this would be hand-in-hand with the Park District, (the Chicago Department of Transportation), the mayor’s office, the aldermen and our community partners across the city.”
* Tribune | 19 years ago today, a Dave Matthews Band tour bus dumped human waste on a tour boat in the Chicago River. Here’s our original report.: Nineteen years ago, a Dave Matthews Band tour bus passing over the Chicago River unleashed a torrent of foul-smelling waste onto a tour boat and passengers below. At the time, nobody knew who was responsible for the dumping, but the Chicago Tribune was first to report it based on interviews with passengers, including a Tribune reporter, and the tour boat company. The incident would eventually be connected to the band, and criminal charges, apologies and at least one lawsuit would follow.
Tuesday, Aug 8, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
At Uber Eats, local restaurants are the backbone of our communities and delivery continues to help small business owners reach new customers and increase sales.
We recently published the results of the 2022 US Merchant Impact Report—which come directly from a survey of merchant partners. Read More.
The Illinois Department of Transportation and Illinois Department of Agriculture today announced temporary changes in traffic patterns around the Illinois State Fairgrounds to accommodate the influx of vehicles during the fair.
Beginning at 5 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, IDOT will change the traffic flow around the fairgrounds to one way counterclockwise. In addition, both eastbound and westbound turn lanes from Veterans Parkway to Eighth Street will be closed. Portable signs will inform motorists of the changes. Normal traffic patterns will resume by 6 a.m., Monday, Aug. 21.
Twilight Parade Route
The Twilight Parade is Thursday, Aug. 10, with the route beginning in Lincoln Park. It will head north through the park to Sangamon Avenue and then east to the Main Gate and to the fairgrounds. Staging for the parade will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the park.
The parade route will close to traffic at 4 p.m., with detour signs along North Grand Avenue and Veterans and J. David Jones parkways in place. The Parade Run begins at 5 p.m. The parade starts at 5:30 p.m. The route is expected to remain closed until 9 p.m. No public parking will be available for parade viewing in Lincoln Park and the Nelson Center. Patrons of the Nelson Center will be able to access the center using Third Street and Black Avenue.
Parking Restrictions
Beginning Thursday, Aug. 10, parking will be prohibited on neighborhood streets south of Sangamon Avenue. These changes will remain in effect until the morning of Monday, Aug. 21.
Gov. JB Pritzker announced a $58.1 million project last year, specifically targeting the Multi-Purpose Arena and the Coliseum, road improvements for a smoother drive through the fairgrounds and replacement of the roof and HVAC systems in many of the site’s buildings. Years of dereliction prompted the investment along with another $6.7 million from the Illinois Department of Agriculture - racking a total of nearly $65 million towards fairgrounds improvements in the last five years.
Renovations caused the closure of MPA during last year’s fair, requiring events to be moved to the Coliseum and the Grandstand instead. This year, IDOA Director Jerry Costello II said the arena will reopen Thursday - opening day for the 2023 Illinois State Fair - as host to the Monsters of Destruction tour in addition to several truck and tractor pulls and a rodeo show over the course of the fair.
The state invested $8.6 million through Rebuild Illinois into MPA, these funds going towards a new canopy and structural repairs to the the foundation and terraced walls. Work on restrooms and new concession stands at the 23-year-old building is also nearing completion.
“I can tell you any fairgoers moving around the fairgrounds, it’s hard to miss the tents of the Multi-Purpose Arena,” he said during fair media day earlier this week. “It’s something that I think everyone will notice is new.”
Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law Friday to require the state to offer a discount program to allow high-risk diabetics to buy insulin for $35 per month.
Sponsors said this could be a game changer for people who are uninsured or have high deductible plans.
“I personally had one and had a $5,000 deductible years ago and was paying about $1,000 a month for insulin,” said Rep. Jenn Ladisch Douglass (D-Elmhurst). “This kind of program would have been very helpful because the cost of insulin has been very difficult for people and has allowed people to die because of cost.”
Program participants will receive an official card from the state with information about how pharmacies will honor the discount. The bill language also states that participants would receive instructions on how to request reimbursement from their health insurance if they bought insulin at the full purchase price.
* ACLU of Illinois…
Today, House Bill 1596, which amends various child welfare and juvenile court statutes to reflect more inclusive language in laws relating to children and families, becomes law. The new law was signed by Governor Pritzker in early June of this year. The new policy recognizes that many of the children under the care of DCFS identify as LGBTQ+ and that our system must affirm and recognize the identity of these individuals. The following can be attributed to Nora-Collins Mandeville, Director of Systems Reform Policy at the ACLU of Illinois:
Today is a good day for the growing number of LGBTQ+ youth under the care of DCFS. We know that the Department has failed to meet the needs of this group of youth. Recognizing and affirming LGBTQ+ youth by using appropriate and inclusive language is a small, but critical first step to providing care to those for whom DCFS is responsible. Adopting gender inclusive language promotes equity and respect for all people. We are proud that the State of Illinois is moving forward to fully implement this laudable goal. Our work to ensure that Illinois serves all the young people under the care of DCFS, including LGBTQ+ youth goes forward.
* Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid…
State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid’s legislation that will ensure the Middle East and North African (MENA) racial category is used on official state government forms, studies and reports was signed by Governor Pritzker on Friday. HB 3768 makes Illinois the first state to officially recognize Arab Americans and minority groups from the Middle East.
“I am proud that Illinois is paving the way for Arab Americans to be counted,” said Rep. Rashid, the first Palestinian-American elected to the Illinois State Legislature. “This information will help our state develop policies that address the unique needs of the Arab American community, such as access to healthcare, education, and employment opportunities. Additionally, it will allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the experiences of Arabs and other groups from the Middle East and help to combat racism and prejudice.”
In Illinois and across the country, statistical racial data is used to understand different groups and communities and to inform programs, funding, and policy. However, Arab Americans are categorized as white, which has been a barrier to studying and addressing the unique challenges experienced by the Arab community. Furthermore, Arab Americans have historically been excluded from benefits that come from minority status and other race-conscious policies. A recent study by the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago shows that Arab Americans have lower household median incomes, higher rates of unemployment, and higher rates of being housing-cost-burdened compared to Chicagoland residents overall.
House Bill 3768 will address longstanding concerns of the Arab American community by ensuring that the MENA racial category is used on official state government forms, studies and reports. This paves the way for minorities from the Middle East to be counted, and equips institutions, advocates and policymakers with important data to support the needs of these communities.
HB 3768 has been signed by Governor Pritzker and will be enacted starting January 1, 2024.
* Press Release…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed SB1818 which creates the Illinois Flag Commission for the purpose of exploring the creation of a new state flag and developing new state flag designs. The commission will make recommendations to the General Assembly concerning whether the current State flag should be replaced with a redesigned flag. By September 2024, the Illinois Flag Commission will select no more than ten potential flags and submit a report to the General Assembly by December 2024.
“Throughout our 205-year history, Illinois has boasted two official state flags—and it may be time we create a new one that exemplifies the values of our great state,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Today, I am proud to sign SB1818 to establish the Illinois Flag Commission to aid us in this process as we decide what our future flag should represent.”
“Our state flag demonstrates who we are as one Illinois, uplifting our history and our values. This bill will ensure the Illinois flag continues to be a symbol of progress and the ideals we uphold with the utmost honor,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. “With the creation of the next flag of our state, we are ushering in a new era that will represent every Illinoisan and commemorate how far we have come so we may go even further together.”
Prior to this, Illinois has had two official state flags. The first of these was adopted on July 6, 1915, after a campaign by Ella Park Laurence, State Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Thirty-five designs for the flag were submitted and the winner was crafted by Lucy Derwent. The flag became law on July 6, 1915. In September of 1969, the original flag was amended to carry the state’s name so it was easily identifiable.
The next move to design a new state flag was initiated by Governor Ogilvie. The former Governor convened a committee to develop specifications for a new state flag to ensure uniformity in reproduction of design and color by flag makers. Sanford Hutchinson of Greenfield, who had previously done extensive research on the official design of the state seal, submitted a flag design that was accepted by the committee, the Secretary of State, and the Governor. It became the official flag of Illinois on July 1, 1970.
SB1818 creates a similar committee to the one in 1970, convening the Secretary of State, three members appointed by the Governor, four members appointed by the President of the Senate, four members appointed by the Speaker of the House, four members appointed the minority leader of the Senate, and four members appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the State Superintendent of Education, and Chairperson of the Board of the Illinois State Museum.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law Friday sweeping reforms that for the first time will give tribal nations — not state agencies, universities or museums — final say over how and when the remains of their ancestors and sacred items are returned to them.
“With the Governor signing these bills into law, Illinois is proving that a government is capable of reflecting on its past injustices and planning for a future that respects and celebrates our interconnectedness,” Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Chairperson Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick said.
The newly signed Human Remains Protection Act was shaped by tribal nations over more than two years of consultations with the Illinois State Museum and the state Department of Natural Resources. The legislation unanimously passed the state House and Senate this spring and follows publication of ProPublica’s “The Repatriation Project,” an ongoing investigation into the delayed return of Native American ancestral remains by universities, museums and government agencies.
The law makes it the state’s responsibility to help return ancestral remains, funerary objects and other important cultural items to tribal nations, and it compels the state to follow the lead of tribal nations throughout the repatriation process. It also establishes a state Repatriation and Reinterment Fund to help with the costs of reburial, tribal consultation and the repair of any damage to burial sites, remains or sacred items.
A new Illinois law fortifies existing legislation aimed at preventing the sexual grooming of students by teachers and staff.
The law is named after Illinois resident Faith Colson. Colson was sexually abused by a teacher at her high school and learned years later during the course of legal proceedings that several adults within her high school suspected the inappropriate relationship but did not take action.
Faith’s Law was passed by the 102nd General Assembly as two separate pieces of legislation. The first legislation, Public Act 102-0676, took effect on Dec. 3, 2021 and, for the first time, established the definition of sexual misconduct within the School Code. […]
The new law closes a loophole that previously allowed teachers and school staff to have a sexual relationship with a student because the age of consent in Illinois is 17.
Tania Haigh, executive director of the nonprofit child protection organization Kids Too, said the new law also closes a loophole and addresses the possibility that an offender moves to another school.
* Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton…
State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton championed a new law to make Native American history a requirement for all public elementary and high school students.
“Native American history is American history. It’s time we introduce it in our classrooms,” said Glowiak Hilton (D – Western Springs). “It is important that our children’s learning experiences are formulated in an atmosphere that is both inclusive and equitable.”
House Bill 1633 requires public schools to make Native American history part of curriculum. Teachings will include the study of the genocide of and discrimination against Native Americans, as well as tribal sovereignty, treaties made between tribal nations and the United States, and the circumstances around forced Native American relocation.
Social studies courses pertaining to American history or government are required to include a unit of instruction studying the events of the Native American experience and Native American history within the Midwest and Illinois.
“By providing our students a better understanding of our history, we are presenting a brighter future ahead,” said Glowiak Hilton. “We need to invigorate our classrooms and present new perspectives to give our children learning opportunities they haven’t had before.”
House Bill 1633 was signed into law Friday. Native American history will begin being taught during the 2024-2025 school year.
Every Illinois school will be required to create, implement, and maintain at least one written policy prohibiting discrimination and harassment against students based on race, color, or national origin.
The law also bans retaliation against students who submit complaints to school administrators. Senate Bill 90 calls for the Illinois State Board of Education to collect data on all reported allegations of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation against students.
“This is a bill that would define racial discrimination, prohibit it in schools, and provide an avenue for some restitution and correction of that behavior,” said Sen. Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines).
The Illinois Department of Human Rights will start a training program to prevent discrimination and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. Any schools failing to take disciplinary action against students harassing others could face civil rights violations. […]
Senate Bill 90 takes effect on August 1, 2024.
* Sen. Julie Morrison…
State Senator Julie Morrison passed a measure – which was signed by the governor Friday – to fill a significant gap in current Illinois law by giving victims of doxing a voice in deterring bad actors looking to take advantage of the evolving cyber landscape.
“As technology evolves, so must our laws,” said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “The measure signed into law today is a positive step toward providing a necessary solution to the dangerous practice of doxing, both by helping victims and deterring future bad actors.”
To give victims of doxing the justice they deserve, Morrison passed House Bill 2954. The law allows people a civil private right of action against the individual who committed the offense. The victim will be able to recover damages and any other appropriate relief, including attorney’s fees.
Among the more than 90 measures the Democratic governor signed into law on Friday, one measure expands the Central Illinois Regional Airport’s tax base beyond Bloomington-Normal, and another allows District 87 schools to acquire property without a public referendum.
The Illinois legislature approved creation of the Central Illinois Regional Airport Authority in May. It would replace the Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority as the airport’s governing body and add all of McLean County to the airport’s tax rolls. […]
Pritzker also signed a bill that grants the Bloomington public school system a waiver to buy property to expand early childhood education.
District 87 Superintendent David Mouser has said the district has a pre-K waiting list due to a lack of space and would like to double capacity. Mouser has said the district has available funds for a new building and will not need to raise taxes.
* Background is here if you need it. From US District Judge John Kness’ July ruling denying Tim Mapes’ motion to prevent statements in his indictment from being used against him at his perjury trial…
Defendant seeks to strike the following statement from the Indictment: “MAPES provided [McClain] with messages communicated to MAPES by [Madigan], including messages concerning work and assignments [McClain] was performing on behalf of [Madigan] between 2017 and 2018.” Defendant appears to contend that this statement fails to “state the elements” of perjury as required under Vaughn because this allegation does not contradict any of his statements in Episodes 1–7 and so cannot form the basis of a perjury charge. The Court disagrees.
In Episode 4, Defendant stated that he was “not aware of any” “reason to think [McClain] was acting as an agent for [Madigan],” where “acting as an agent” was defined as “doing work for him or carrying out assignments for him.” If Defendant was, in fact, “provid[ing] [McClain] with messages communicated to [him] by [Madigan], including messages concerning work and assignments [McClain] was performing on behalf of [Madigan],” this would directly contradict Defendant’s response to the question in Episode 4. Accordingly, the motion to dismiss this portion of the Indictment is denied.
That last paragraph has stuck with me ever since we discussed it in July. The judge essentially placed a large neon arrow next to what he viewed as a likely criminal act. Mapes may need a miracle to pull this off.
Mapes and McClain kept each other abreast of other developments in their world for months after Mapes’ resignation, including when Mapes was approached by FBI agents in January 2019. Mapes prepared a memo after his meeting with the feds, and the next month told McClain about a conversation he’d had with Madigan’s attorney, Sheldon Zenner, according to court filings.
Mapes said he’d given Zenner the memo per “a request,” and that he was calling McClain to “report back in” afterward.
“A jury could readily infer that Mapes made these statements to McClain with the intent that McClain relay them to Madigan,” prosecutors wrote last month. “At the end of the call, Mapes again says, ‘I’m just reporting in,’ again clearly showing that he was intending to keep McClain in the loop, so that Madigan too could be kept in the loop.”
* We heard yesterday from House Republican Leader Tony McCombie about why all of her caucus voted for House Bill 3751 the first time it went through the chamber. Now, here’s Senate Republican Leader John Curran writing in the Sun-Times about why all but one SGOP cast their vote against the bill…
First, this legislation — as intended and as written — would empower non-citizens with the lawful authority to arrest U.S. citizens in Illinois. This concept was philosophically opposed by most members of our caucus and the constituents they serve.
Second, some claimed the legislation was symbolic, and no non-citizen would be able to become a police officer in Illinois without a change in federal law regarding non-citizen firearm possession. We believe this is inaccurate and this legislation is not merely symbolic. Due to HB 3751’s passage, non-citizen residents lawfully present in the United States on immigrant visas (which are issued to foreign nationals wishing to live in the United States permanently) will now also be eligible to be police officers in Illinois.
Finally, we opposed HB 3751 as a mandate on all local law enforcement departments in Illinois. Any department that does not want to participate in the lax standard could be opening themselves up to significant legal and financial risks. Under the Illinois Human Rights Act, it is a civil rights violation in this state for an employer to refuse to hire an otherwise qualified applicant for a position on the basis of their citizenship or work authorization status.
Therefore, with this new law, if a local sheriff/police department refused to consider a non-citizen for a position as a police officer, their organization would potentially be subject to civil liability. While HB 3751 was presented as an “option” for law enforcement departments, this legislation is actually a mandate to hire non-citizens as police officers.
Gov. J. B. Pritzker last month signed into law a bill allowing non-U.S. citizens in Illinois to become police officers last month. The measure, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, states that “an individual who is not a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law is authorized to apply for the position of police officers.” The bill also includes Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients in the group of non-citizens eligible to become police officers.
“That is the most stupidest bill he could ever sign,” Angel said. “Why would you want an immigrant or any other person to run your city as a police officer?”
* STL PR | Missouri lawmakers find uniting bipartisan cause — beating Illinois in softball: Reprising their victory from last year, Missouri trampled the Illinois delegation in a 10-2 win on Monday night at Busch Stadium. The Land of Lincoln struggled to get on the board as the Show-Me-State secured a pair of runs in the first and second inning. Missouri then sealed the title in the fifth with a 6-run rally which was too much for Illinois to overcome.
* WQRL | Rep. Dave Severin announces re-election campaign: Severin says he is also fighting the leftist progressives’ “Green New Deal” that is hurting working families and driving up electricity bills. Severin noted that his experience in office has allowed him to become the ranking member of the House Energy and Environment Committee.
* Austin Weekly | West Side aldermen to choose State Sen. Patricia Van Pelt’s successor: Democratic ward committeepersons whose wards fall within the state Senate’s 5th District will meet on Aug. 15 at 1 p.m. at Plumbers Local 130 union hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd., to appoint a replacement for State Sen. Patricia Van Pelt, who resigned in late July.
* The Telegraph | McDonough seeking to challenge Elik: McDonough is seeking to face state Rep. Amy Elik, R-Alton, in the November 2024 general election. Elik was elected to the post in 2020 and reelected to it in 2022. Last month Nick Raftopoulos of Granite City also announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Elik for Illinois’ 111th House District in 2024.
* WAND | New Illinois laws will cap prices of insulin, EpiPens in 2025: Lawmakers helped cap the price of insulin at $100 in 2019. Although, that law only applies to roughly 15% of people under insurance for Illinois state employees. Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law Friday to require the state to offer a discount program to allow high-risk diabetics to buy insulin for $35 per month.
* NBC Chicago | CDOT’s next leader must ‘enact transformational change’: After Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi announced her resignation earlier this month, advocacy groups have penned an open letter urging Mayor Brandon Johnson to pursue leadership that will “enact transformational change” in the city.
* Week 25 | New ‘Birth to Five’ report highlights gaps in Central Illinois childcare: The report divides the state into 39 regions with Peoria County as its own and Tazewell, Woodford, and Mason counties combined to make up another. Birth to Five regional managers say the biggest gap is in transportation from preschool to aftercare.
* SJ-R | More than $58 million: Where do state fairgrounds renovations stand?: Renovations caused the closure of MPA during last year’s fair, requiring events to be moved to the Coliseum and the Grandstand instead. This year, IDOA Director Jerry Costello II said the arena will reopen Thursday - opening day for the 2023 Illinois State Fair - as host to the Monsters of Destruction tour in addition to several truck and tractor pulls and a rodeo show over the course of the fair.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is coming to Illinois in 10 days to headline a fundraiser for incumbent Congressman Mike Bost, who’s facing a competitive primary in the 12th District with former gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey. […]
McCarthy will be in O’Fallon on Aug. 17 for Bost’s luncheon fundraiser. That’s the same day as Republican Day at the State Fair when all the big GOP names show a united front to kick off the campaign season. It wasn’t ideal, but “with multiple schedules, we had to work with the day that aligned” with everyone, Bost’s spokesman Myles Nelson told Playbook.
Speaker McCarthy’s visit is not unexpected, of course. Bost is the incumbent.
* The timing is interesting, however. And it’s probably a relief for the ILGOP.
So far, the only really big race to watch in Illinois next year is Bost vs. Bailey. Therefore, Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair next Thursday looked to me like it was going to be dominated by that battle, which could’ve turned out to be uncomfortable for everyone involved (except people like me, of course). I joked to a friend last week that maybe the ILGOP should just cancel the whole thing to avoid a possible train wreck.
But Speaker McCarthy, inadvertently or not, has given the state party an out. Bailey will get access to the news media at the fairgrounds, but Bost will be home in his district, near to his local news media outlets, and that’s a decent contrast for him.
Anyway, not the biggest story in the world, nor the most important, but I thought I’d mention it since I forgot to include the piece in the afternoon roundup.
What are you looking forward to at this year’s State Fair?
Today, 27th Ward Democratic Committeeperson and Chair Walter Burnett announced the date, time, and location for the Democratic Party’s Fifth District Illinois State Senate Committee meeting. The Committee will conduct in-person interviews at Plumbers Local 130, 1340 W Washington, Basement, Chicago, IL 60607 to fill the vacancy in the 5th District of the Illinois State Senate created by the resignation of Senator Patricia Van Pelt. Doors will open at 12:30pm and the meeting will begin promptly at 1:00pm. The meeting will conclude upon the completion of the candidate interviews, committee deliberations, and an appointment to fill the vacancy by a majority of the entire weighted vote of the Committeepersons.
Candidates who would like to apply for the position of 5th District State Senator will need to send their cover letter and resume to this email address: wbj863@gmail.com by August 11, 2023.
The members of the 5th District’s election committee include Committeeperson Daniel LaSpata (1st Ward), Committeeperson Tim Egan (2nd Ward), Comitteeperson John Daley (11th Ward), Committeeperson George Cardenas (12th Ward), Committeeperson Mike Rodriguez (22nd Ward), VACANT (24th Ward), Committeperson Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward), Committeeperson Walter Burnett (27th Ward), Committeeperson Jason Ervin (28th Ward), Committeeperson Chris Taliaferro (29th Ward), Committeeperson Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward), Committeeperson Emma Mitts (37th), Committeeperson Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward), and Committeeperson Lucy Moog (43rd Township).
What:
Democratic Committee Meeting to fill the vacancy in the office of the Illinois State Senate for the 5th District
When:
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
12:30pm - Doors open to public and press
1:00pm - Meeting and interviews begin
The apparently vacant 24th Ward Committeeperson slot can only be filled by the central committee, per party bylaws.
Residents of Robbins looked up at their town’s water tower last week and watched as hundreds of gallons of water cascaded down from the top.
When a water main broke July 28 and increased the flow of water into the tower, it triggered the emergency overflow system used to prevent the water tower from bursting. It also resurfaced questions about why the state’s leadership isn’t doing more to upgrade the community’s infrastructure.
“If the governor really cared about the people, he’s a billionaire. He could fix all of Illinois himself,” said Robbins Mayor Darren Bryant, who is asking lawmakers for $40 million for his town to conduct infrastructure upgrades. “Put a billion to it, governor, if you want to run for president.”
When the Will County Board decided to send four of its members to the National Association of Counties’ legislative conference in Washington this past February, the contingent included new Republican board member Daniel Butler of Frankfort. […]
Little more than two years earlier, prior to being elected to office, Butler was in Washington attending then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally. Butler joined the march to the U.S. Capitol but he was not charged and he said he did not enter the building as insurgents staged a deadly insurrection in a failed attempt to stop the counting of Electoral College votes that made Biden the nation’s president.
Displaying a long history on social media of propagating elaborate and widely debunked conspiracy theories — ranging from pandemic vaccines linked with computer chip technology to a QAnon-backed tale contending Italian satellites were used in 2020 to switch votes from Trump to Biden — Butler won a seat on the Will County Board on Nov. 8. […]
Butler said he still has doubts that Biden’s vote total in defeating Trump exceeded that of President Barack Obama and said he recalls hearing that “some satellite in Rome that the Vatican has” was used to switch votes from Trump to Biden and “they traced stuff that went to a server in Germany.” […]
Butler’s election was assisted by more than $3,300 worth of campaign mailings paid by the Illinois Republican Party, campaign records show. The Illinois GOP did not respond to a request for comment.
Um, wait. Butler claims the Pope’s satellite was used to defeat Trump? Are there no Catholic voters in that guy’s district or in the ILGOP who might be just a wee bit upset about this? Sheesh.
* The task force report isn’t due until next March, which will be too late to implement RCV for the presidential primary cycle…
Governor Pritzker signed SB2123 into law [last week] , greenlighting a task force to evaluate the implementation of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) in presidential primaries and to analyze the necessary modernization of Illinois’ elections equipment and systems. The Ranked Choice and Voting Systems Task Force will begin convening to analyze the state’s capacity for implementation of RCV and will release a comprehensive report in March, 2024.
The convening of this task force will be the first time in Illinois history that there will be a concerted state-led effort to review RCV and the state’s capacity for implementation. The task force’s work will give lawmakers and election officials a better understanding of RCV, while also facilitating an accounting for how the state certifies certain election systems and equipment, many of which are outdated and less secure.
“Ranked Choice Voting helps ensure everyone’s vote counts” said Patrick Hanley at FairVote Illinois. “Modernizing election equipment is not only critical to implementing Ranked Choice Voting, but it will also ensure election integrity and security at a time when election workers and the systems they use are under increased threat.”
Right now, more than 30% of Illinois’ counties are utilizing outdated voting machines and systems. The RCV Task Force’s report will provide details about the costs of updating these machines to process RCV ballots and make elections more fair and more secure. […]
RCV in presidential primaries is an elegant solution to many of the problems facing our electoral system today. It solves the wasted vote problem that happens now in our current system where voters who vote early can select a candidate who later drops out before the Illinois contest, rendering their vote wasted and their voice silenced.
In 2020, 70,000 Democratic votes were wasted in the presidential primary. Likewise, 30,000 Republican votes were wasted in Illinois’ 2016 presidential primary.
Our current system allows people to vote early for presidential candidates in primaries, even if they are no longer in the race
“Too many votes are wasted in presidential primaries because our current system allows people to vote early for candidates who eventually drop out before the primary day,” State Representative and State Central Committeeman Maurice West (D-Rockford) said. “Ranked Choice Voting ensures voters’ voices are heard and helps solve that problem. It’s a common-sense solution to address a flaw in our system, and I’m grateful for the Governor’s support in exploring this important issue.”
RCV gives voters the option to rank candidates in order of preference – first, second, third, and so on. If their first choice is not viable, their vote counts for their highest-ranked candidate who is. The ability to rank backup choices ensures voters’ voices are heard and rewards candidates with the broadest appeal.
Currently Maine and Alaska have adopted RCV statewide, including for presidential primaries, and over 60 cities and counties have adopted RCV for local elections.
* Press release…
State Representative Tony McCombie (Savanna) was successful in spearheading five legislative initiatives through the Illinois House, all of which passed with bipartisan support and were recently signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker.
“These bills are common sense solutions for Illinois and will help make communities across our state safer, streamline certain government processes, and celebrate those who fight for our nation,” said McCombie. “For me, this is about solving problems and making life better for residents.”
The bills signed by the Governor include:
House Bill 3203: Works to curb the fentanyl epidemic affecting communities across the state by allowing a pharmacist or retailer (rather than only a pharmacist) to sell fentanyl test strips over-the-counter to the public to test for the presence of fentanyl.
House Bill 3206: Beginning July 1, 2024, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall supplement all paper-based certificates and licenses (rather than certificates, licenses, and authorities) with a digitally verified electronic credential.
House Bill 3436: Allows the issuance of the Thank a Line Worker license plate decal by the Illinois Department of Education and creates the Thank a Line Worker Scholarship Fund through the purchase of the decals, which shall be paid as grants in support of scholarships for students studying electrical distribution at an Illinois college or university.
House Bill 1465: Increases competitive bidding threshold to $30,000 for Road Districts as had been done for townships.
Senate Bill 1072: Designates the Honor and Remember flag as the specific symbol to acknowledge American servicemen and women who lost their lives in the line of duty.
* Press release…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed SB 2195, also known as the “So Kids Can Move” initiative, which will allow thousands of children and youth with limb loss or limb difference to afford prosthetic care that enables them to participate in physical activities. This legislation makes Illinois just the fourth state in the nation to pass this act. […]
The legislation requires insurance coverage for medically necessary prosthetic or custom orthotic devices to maximize the patient’s whole-body health and function. It amends the Accident and Health Article of the Illinois Insurance Code and codifies that with respect to an enrollee at any age, coverage of a prosthetic or custom orthotic device shall be provided.
* I would’ve guessed Washington, DC /s…
Field Museum: 33 (+ 5 heads) Oriental Institute Museum: 5 Art Institute of Chicago: 2
Evanston - 1 Naperville - 1 (Naperville Central High School, Late Ptolemaic pd - one of the only HS in the world with its own mummy)
* Tribune | After long delays, new cannabis businesses are opening in Illinois with a vow to help others along the way: Existing medical cannabis growers and dispensaries were allowed to begin recreational sales in 2020. Since then, startups had to wait through multiple delays until 192 initial new licenses were issued with preference for veterans and social equity applicants, generally defined as those coming from poor areas with high arrest rates, or with prior minor cannabis convictions. As of mid-July, just 27 of those new social equity businesses have opened, due mainly to license holders being unable to get financing.
* WTVO | Pritzker signs Racism Free Schools Act into law: The Illinois Department of Human Rights is required to model a training program to prevent discrimination and harassment in elementary and high schools. The law would also make the failure of a school to take disciplinary action against a harassing student a civil rights violation and applies to public, private, and charter schools in Illinois.
* John T. Shaw | Finding candor, compassion and fun in politics: It’s a curious sign of our times that one of the best places that I’ve found to witness candor, compassion, and fun in American politics is the Illinois State Archives’ website. I suspect it is not the first place that most people would go to feel good about politics.
* Crain’s | This federal push is spawning green shoots of innovation in the Midwest: The U.S. CHIPS and Science Act and other recent federal legislation aimed at reinvigorating innovation and high-tech production leadership includes funding to support science, R&D, manufacturing, technology commercialization and workforce development to help the United States better compete globally in advanced technologies as well as reclaim leadership in the crucial semiconductor industry.
* Daily Herald | It’s not just O’Hare: Suburban airports pumping billions into the economy: At the DuPage Airport, “business is booming,” Executive Director Mark Doles said. “The corporate and business traffic is extremely strong — as is flight training.”Diversification is one reason the state’s public-use airports generate $95.5 billion dollars in total annual economic activity, the Illinois Department of Transportation reported.
* Crain’s | Citigroup slashing suburban office space, relocating to Schaumburg: The move is in line with the trend of companies shrinking their office footprints in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which set off a remote work movement that has driven up the suburban office vacancy rate to almost 29%, a record-high. The Chicago suburbs have collectively lost 3 million square feet of tenants since the beginning of 2020, according to data from brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle, a wave of attrition that is pushing some landlords to the financial brink and others into foreclosure.
* Austin Weekly | Want to improve public safety? Beat facilitators needed: Beat facilitators are residents or business owners of a specific police beat who volunteer to be the liaison between the community and the police. They work closely with each district’s office of community policing, also known as Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy to co-chair and help facilitate beat meetings. Beat facilitators represent the residents’ interests, identify community needs and communicate with residents, business owners and police officers in their beat. Thus, beat facilitators often reside or work in the beat they represent.
* NYT | How a Sexual Assault in a School Bathroom Became a Political Weapon: “Look, the kid is not transgender,” [Scott Ziegler, interim superintendent] recalled [Tim Flynn, the Stone Bridge principal] saying. “He runs with the drama crowd, and you know how the drama crowd can be. They’re attention-seeking. And he’s been experimenting with different looks.” He wore skirts on occasion, “but he has never come out to the school as either nonbinary or transgender.” (Flynn did not respond to requests for comment.) The boy’s mother described her son similarly. “He had presented to me this desire to explore a different lifestyle,” she said, which involved sometimes wearing women’s clothes. But he was “absolutely not” transgender, she said, and “he did not identify as fluid or anything like that.” If the boy had never to anyone’s knowledge identified as anything other than a boy, Ziegler reasoned, then he would not have been allowed in the girls’ bathroom under Policy 8040 any more than he would have been under the existing rules.
* The Hill | America’s white majority is aging out: “Race is the most complicated variable in the census, and it’s the one that draws people like moths to the flame,” said Dowell Myers, a professor of policy, planning and demography at the University of Southern California.
* WICS | Illinois State Fair introduces affordable ‘Small Plates, Big Tastes’ food program to delight every tastebud: The Illinois State Fair created Small Plates, Big Tastes. For just $3, you can get sample-size portions from any Village of Cultures vendor. “There are so many tasty options all around the fairgrounds, especially in the Village of Cultures, that we came up with a great way for fairgoers to travel around the world without breaking the bank,” said Illinois State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark.
* NBC Chicago | Illinois State Fair to get underway this week. Details on tickets, concerts and more: Festivities will officially kick off on Thursday at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, with the agricultural and entertainment spectacle starting at 7 a.m. Carnival rides won’t be up and running until noon, however. The fair’s popular opening event — the longtime Twilight Parade — will get underway at 5:30 p.m.
* Sun-Times: “Gov. J.B. Pritzker listens as researchers explain their work in one of the University of Chicago quantum engineering laboratories last month”…
Illinois will soon outlaw advertising for firearms that officials determine produces a public safety threat or appeals to children, militants or others who might later use the weapons illegally, as the state continues its quest to curb mass shootings. […]
The prime exhibit in Democratic Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s effort is the JR-15, a smaller, lighter version of the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle advertised with the tag line, “Get ‘em One Like Yours.” The maker says it is deliberately made smaller, with added safety features, to fit younger shooters as they learn from adults how to safely maneuver such a weapon. Raoul says it’s marketed to children and potentially entices them to skip the adult supervision and start firing. […]
Illinois would be the eighth state to approve legislation that allows such lawsuits against firearms manufacturers or distributors. […]
Raoul finds precedent in the 25-year-old settlement with large tobacco companies and more recently with advertising for vaping. […]
Except that other industries don’t produce constitutionally protected products, counters the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry trade association that has filed federal lawsuits in nearly every state that has approved a similar law.
A federal lawsuit filed against the California law failed in federal district court, but is being appealed.
* The Illinois-based company that produces the JR-15 website attracted lots of attention with its initial marketing rollout…
Newsom has multiple times brought up the "JR 15," apparently a rifle marketed to young people. This seems to be what he's talking about. pic.twitter.com/TDo6uw3EKg
Effective July 20, 2023, nonprofit organizations and others making non-commercial calls using an artificial or prerecorded voice (known as robocalls) to residential lines may make no more than three such calls to a particular residential line within any consecutive 30-day period without prior express consent of the called party and must give the called party the ability to opt out of any future calls they do not wish to receive.
These new requirements are part of regulations issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (the TRACED Act) passed by Congress in 2019.
Phone Number Provided Must Connect to Opt-Out Option. Robocalls are already required to include a phone number through which the organization may be reached. The FCC’s new rules require that this phone number must allow people to make do-not-call requests during regular business hours. If the call goes unanswered, answering machine or voicemail messages must include a toll-free number that connects the recipient to the voice or key press opt-out mechanism described above.
Written Policy and Training. Nonprofit and political organizations that make robocalls must have a written policy for maintaining a do-not-call list that is available on demand. Organizations must also provide training opportunities about these rules to personnel who are involved with robocall operations.
The types of robocall subject to the three-call-per-month limit is not restricted to fundraising calls. Rather, non-commercial calls such as calls conducting research, market surveys, political polling, or similar noncommercial activities are also subject to the three-call-per-month limit.
Three new FCC rules within the Telephone Consumer Protection Act went into effect at the end of June that will limit telecom capabilities, whether you’re conducting a poll or doing paid outreach to voters via robocalls.
We wanted to make sure you were aware of these changes because ignoring them (or being unaware) can cost you thousands of dollars in violations—or worse.
New FCC Rules
1. All automated calls need to identify who the caller is at the beginning of the call.
2. Within 2 seconds of identifying who the caller is, you need to provide specific opt out instructions.
3. An entity can only call a phone number with automated voice three times within a 30-day period.
What does this mean for you? For polls, more data will need to be obtained to compensate for the third rule. In addition, we’ll likely see more drop off and need to make more overall attempts to hit a desired sample size. Overall, this just means things will get pricier, unfortunately.
At the end of the day, this trio of rules fits what we’ve been saying—automated response gathering is reaching the end of its useful life, and other solutions, like texting, panels, and live dialing will soon make up a majority of any samples. And robocalls—well, robocalling has been 99% dead for a while now, easily replaced with competitively priced peer-to-peer messaging.
As the bombshell federal investigation into then-House Speaker Michael Madigan was heating up two years ago, prosecutors handed Madigan’s former chief of staff Tim Mapes the ultimate free pass, albeit with one crucial string attached.
Granted immunity, Mapes was assured he would not be charged as long as he told the truth to a federal grand jury. But he allegedly blew it.
According to prosecutors, Mapes lied repeatedly in his March 31, 2021, grand jury testimony in an ill-fated attempt to protect his longtime boss, claiming he couldn’t recall anything relevant about Madigan’s relationship with Michael McClain, the speaker’s longtime confidant at the center of the probe.
Those allegedly misleading statements had little effect, as Madigan and McClain were both indicted on racketeering charges last year alleging Madigan was at the top of a criminal enterprise aimed at enriching himself and his cronies and maintaining his nearly unfettered political power.
Now, Mapes is set to stand trial starting Monday in Chicago on federal charges of perjury and attempted obstruction of justice for an alleged bid to block prosecutors’ investigation of Madigan, who forced Mapes to resign in 2018, and Michael McClain, another Springfield insider. […]
Madigan and McClain also loom large in Mapes’ case. Key witnesses from McClain’s first trial are set to return to the stand. Among them: state Rep. Robert “Bob” Rita, who has testified in two corruption trials this year, and former Madigan aide Will Cousineau.
The backdrop this time will be a series of #MeToo scandals in 2018 that rocked Springfield and forced key figures, including Mapes, out of office.
The FBI was listening at the time, and prosecutors are ready to play recordings that were secretly made amid the fallout.
* Here is Jon’s thread on today’s trial proceedings…
Tim Mapes' attorney wants to have until the weekend to respond to the feds' motion about Bhachu. Feds say that's fine, as long as the defense doesn't mention Bhachu in opening statements.
And in this trial, federal prosecutors will attempt to show that Mapes was well aware of McClain’s role as Madigan’s other right-hand man, a label often used for Mapes himself in the decades he served the speaker.
In the weeks following Mapes’ ouster in early June 2018, he and McClain spoke about a dozen times, according to federal court records.
“You’re the only person’s made me cry today,” McClain told Mapes on the day he was forced to resign, according to court records. “Anything I can do, ya know, I’m willing to do, you know that, don’t ya?”
That afternoon, McClain also told Mapes, “I never thought you would be the one to leave the fox hole.”
The best argument against collective bargaining for government workers is that no one represents taxpayers. Union chiefs and the politicians they support sit on both sides of the bargaining table. That was demonstrated again last week when Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a whopping new contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (Afscme).
The contract covers the next four years and gives 35,000 public workers 19.28% raises, outpacing the growth in private wages. That’s more than the Teamsters are getting for tenured drivers in their rich new deal from United Parcel Service, and that’s merely the increase in Afscme base pay. Many workers will get more pay increases based on job tenure. The contract also includes a $1,200 “stipend” to every worker merely for ratifying the contract. Mr. Pritzker included these bonuses in his last contract negotiation in 2019, supposedly to compensate workers for the financial “hardship” of being a state worker under previous Governor Bruce Rauner. (Remember when a Governor tried to represent taxpayers?) The unions liked the sweetener, so now it has become an expected fillip.
The governor’s office says the increases are actually 17.95 percent over four years. They also pointed to this AP story…
Public employers across the U.S. have faced similar struggles to fill jobs, leading to one of the largest surges in state government pay raises in 15 years. Many cities, counties and school districts also are hiking wages to try to retain and attract workers amid aggressive competition from private sector employers. […]
In Georgia, state employee turnover hit a high of 25% in 2022. Thousands of workers left the Department of Corrections, pushing its vacancy rate to around 50%. The state began a series of pay raises. This year, all state employees and teachers got at least a $2,000 raise, with corrections officers getting $4,000 and state troopers $6,000. […]
Missouri gave state workers a 7.5% pay raise in 2022. This spring, Gov. Mike Parson signed an emergency spending bill with an additional 8.7% raise, plus an extra $2 an hour for people working evening and night shifts at prisons, mental health facilities and other institutions. The vacancy rate for entry level corrections officers now is declining, and the average number of applications for all state positions is up 18% since the start of last year. […]
Since 2022, the [Brevard County transit system in Floriday] has twice raised bus driver wages to a current rate of $17.47 an hour. The school board recently countered with a $5 increase to a minimum $20 an hour for the upcoming school year. The goal is to hire enough drivers to regularly get kids to class on time, said school system communications director Russell Bruhn.
Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo signed another important budget bill on Thursday, bringing 12% raises to state employees starting in July. […]
The bill goes beyond Lombardo’s proposed 8% raise with another 4% raise next year. Democratic lawmakers built on that plan by increasing it to 12% in the 2023-2024 fiscal year — a 50% increase over Lombardo’s proposal. Democrats changed the structure of the governor’s proposed bonuses and added more permanent pay increases. […]
The state has been struggling to fill positions, with a job vacancy rate around 20%. This budget contains quarterly bonuses for employees of $250 to help retain staff on top of the 12% raise. Longevity pay is also part of the compensation plan after it was removed in lean budget years after the Great Recession.
The state’s largest public employee union has reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with the state of Oregon that would include a 13% to 22% pay increase over the next two years. […]
Workers are set to receive a 6.5% cost-of-living raise in December, followed by another 6.55% cost of living increase in early 2025. As part of the contract, the state will also hand out one-time payouts of $1,500 to state employees in September. […]
The average worker will see about 19% with steps and COLAs
International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a statement that UPS “put $30 billion of new money on the table as a direct result of these negotiations,” and called the tentative agreement “the best contract in the history of UPS.” […]
They also notched a big win through the creation of 7,500 full-time jobs. The negotiating committee said part-timers would get a 48 percent wage increase on average over the five years of the contract.
Republican U.S. Rep. Mary Miller helped ignite a firestorm over the weekend of July 29th when she expressed her disgust on social media with Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Miller (no relation) claimed on Twitter that Pritzker had signed a bill late on a Friday afternoon “to allow illegal immigrants to become police officers, giving non-citizens the power to arrest citizens in our state.”
Miller continued by claiming: “No sane state would allow foreign nationals to arrest their citizens, this is madness!” Her more well-known Republican colleague Lauren Boebert amplified the issue the next day and Fox News picked up the ball and ran with it. The rest of the right-wing media soon followed and a typical feeding frenzy ensued.
Trouble is, Miller’s own husband, state Rep. Chris Miller, R-Oakland (also no relation), voted “Yes” on the House’s initial version of the bill, which would’ve allowed non-citizens to become police officers.
Oops.
House Bill 3751 cleared the House on a unanimous roll call on March 24th. It specifically struck out an existing state law which prohibited sheriffs and law enforcement from employing non-citizens as law enforcement officers. The bill then added language allowing those non-citizens who are “legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law,” and who received federal approval to “obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise possess a firearm,” to become law enforcement officers.
The bill was supported by various groups, including the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, and passed 101-0. One of the bill’s chief co-sponsors was Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, a Donald Trump-supporting police officer.
After the bill arrived in the Senate, its sponsor added an amendment allowing people, “against whom immigration action has been deferred by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process,” to also become police officers.
Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorne Woods, the former Senate Republican Leader, voted for that version, but all other Senate Republicans opposed the bill as amended, as did two Democrats, Sens. Patrick Joyce, D-Reddick, and Willie Preston, D-Chicago.
Most all House Republicans stood firm during their chamber’s motion to concur with the new Senate amendment, including House Republican Leader Tony McCombie. Not one member of McCombie’s leadership team voted against the motion, which passed 100-7. However seven of the eight members of the House’s self-declared “Freedom Caucus” voted against it, including Rep. Miller. The eighth member, Rep. David Friess, R-Red Bud, had an excused absence.
Pritzker eventually pointed out on Twitter that House members, “including those who are now complaining about it,” had voted for the bill before the Senate Republicans “started spreading lies.”
State Rep. Miller responded to the governor online by claiming his own vote against “legislation allowing non-citizens to arrest actual citizens,” paled in comparison to Pritzker’s “blatantly attacking the Consitional [sic] right of honest citizens to bear arms.”
But, again, state Rep. Miller did indeed vote to allow “non-citizens to arrest actual citizens.” His spouse, the congressperson, tweeted at Pritzker the same day that “Giving foreign nationals the power to arrest US citizens in Illinois is not ‘common sense.’” Ms. Miller should’ve maybe had a talk with her husband last spring.
As you might imagine, several House Republicans are eager for this particular news cycle to end. It’s enraging the base, and there’s some worry that it could lead to some Republican primary challenges.
But McCombie went on a southern Illinois radio station WJPF last week to defend her fellow Republicans who voted for the bill.
“Every single [House] Republican, all 40 of us, voted for this bill,” McCombie told host Tom Miller (also no relation). “And that is because what the media is saying is not accurate. You can’t have 40 Republicans voting for a bill that is going to have undocumented illegal immigrants become a police officer. That is not gonna happen.” She also rightly pointed out that the asylum-seeking migrants pouring into Illinois won’t qualify, either, because they’re not allowed to work.
McCombie blamed Democrats for creating an environment that is forcing people out of policing as a career. This bill, she said, could help alleviate that problem. And she stressed that only people who could be approved by the federal government to possess and carry a firearm would qualify.
“It is a conditional step to support law enforcement,” McCombie said. “It is not, it is not a license to give illegal immigrants, undocumented folks who are coming across our borders illegally, the ability to become law enforcement. Hard stop.”
A new law allowing Illinoisans to sue so-called crisis pregnancy centers under the state’s Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act is on hold after a federal judge late Thursday granted a preliminary injunction against it.
After a lengthy hearing in his Rockford courtroom, Judge Iain Johnston issued a brief oral ruling on Thursday evening, saying the law violated the First Amendment. Nearly 24 hours later, Johnston on Friday filed a 14-page order explaining the preliminary injunction, which began by recalling a joke told by the late conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
“Justice Scalia once said that he wished all federal judges were given a stamp that read ‘stupid but constitutional,’” Johnston wrote. “SB 1909 is both stupid and very likely unconstitutional.”
Johnston, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2020, went on to characterize the law as “likely classic content and viewpoint discrimination prohibited by the First Amendment.”
The law, signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week, was challenged by the National Institute of Family & Life Advocates, Women’s Help Services (doing business as 1st Way Life Center and Focus Women’s Center), Rockford Family Initiative, Relevant Pregnancy Options Center and Pro-life Action League. […]
In the motion, the anti-abortion groups argue that the Illinois law violates First Amendment protection of speech because it “goes far beyond traditional restrictions on deceptive business practices, in part by stating in its express legislative intent that it unapologetically targets alleged pro-life ‘misinformation’ — that is, controverted facts about abortion that the Illinois General Assembly majority believes are not among the ‘orthodox’ views on the subject.”
During a press conference last week, Raoul said the law simply clarifies that the state’s long-standing deceptive practices law applies to crisis pregnancy centers that use practices like deceiving patients that they are part of existing abortion clinics or removing people from near an abortion clinic to delay them from entering that clinic.
Pritzker said he’s confident the law will ultimately be upheld.
“I’m disappointed that the far right is interfering with the ability for women to access safe medical care without deception or lies,” Pritzker said in a statement. “This law is constitutional, and I am confident that the law will ultimately be found constitutional and we’ll continue to work alongside Attorney General Raoul to ensure Illinois patients are protected from misinformation.”
Johnston heard more than four hours of testimony from anti-abortion advocates during an emergency hearing Thursday afternoon. They said the law has threatened their rights to free speech and expression and their ability to distribute literature that identifies alternatives to abortion.
During Thursday’s hearing, the plaintiffs presented four witnesses to the stand, where the defendant had none. Those testifying included Anne O’Connor, vice president of legal affairs for NIFLA; Judy Cocks, executive director of Women’s Health Services; Kevin Rilott, director of the Rockford Family Initiative; and Matt Yonke, communications director for the Pro-Life Action League.
During the courts final moments, Judge Johnston said he thought it was “crazy” that Raoul was not stopped while creating the bill.
The state is expected to appeal the ruling. The plaintiffs said they will continue to fight for their side of the debate, no matter how high the case goes in the federal court process.
* WTVO | Rockford holds emergency federal hearing over Illinois abortion law: “This injunction against SB 1909 is not just a victory for the pro-life community in Illinois. It’s a victory for the women of Illinois, who are being pushed by J.B. Pritzker and the General Assenbly into abortions they often desperately do not want. This injunction restores real choice to women facing untimely pregnancy in Illinois — and a chance at life for their unborn children,” said Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League.
* Fox News | Judge blocks Illinois law targeting crisis pregnancy centers, calling it a violation of the First Amendment: Jennifer Welch, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, called the ruling frustrating. “For decades, crisis pregnancy centers have targeted our patients using deceptive and false practices,” she said. “Often crisis pregnancy centers provide misleading and medically inaccurate information, sometimes deliberately misdiagnosing patients or misdating their pregnancies, so people think they have more time to decide about abortion or that they are past the time when they can have an abortion.”
* WAND | Motion to temporarily halt crisis pregnancy center law granted: The Thomas More Society announced that a federal judge granted a motion requested by the organization for a preliminary injunction seeking to immediately halt the law which bans crisis pregnancy centers from deception in advertising, soliciting, or offering pregnancy-related services.
* WEHT | July Illinois marijuana sales break records: The state’s regulating department says that July’s marijuana sales topped 140 million dollars. That’s the highest this year, and the second highest monthly total since marijuana became legal for recreational use back in 2020.
* NBC Chicago | Illinois transit bill includes reduced fares, requires zero-emission buses: One of the most-noteworthy inclusions in the bill was a provision that will require all transit agencies to purchase zero-emission buses by July 1, 2026. In addition, the legislation will provide free fare cards for victims of domestic violence, with state agencies partnering with The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, according to the language of the bill.
* WMAY | Illinois bans driving while utilizing video applications such as Zoom: In the “I can’t believe that was actually allowed” category, Gov Pritzker just signed into law a ban on driving while participating “in any video conferencing application, including, but not limited to, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or WebEx, or access any social media site, including but not limited to Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram or Twitter.”
* WAND | Pritzker signs bills honoring ancestry of Native Americans in Illinois: Although, a new law calls on the Illinois State Museum and federally recognized tribes to help return the Native remains and artifacts for proper burial. The law will also allow the state to create a cemetery for remains that are unable to be identified.
* Daily Herald | Monthly COVID deaths drop to an all-time low in Illinois: Just 41 Illinois residents died of COVID in June, an all-time monthly low since the outset of the pandemic in March 2020. […] The highest monthly death toll in Illinois came in December 2020, when 4,237 deaths were recorded.
* WTTW | What Chicago and Illinois Residents Should Know About COVID-19 Uptick, New Vaccine in the Fall: Local public health officials say it’s too soon to sound the alarms about a potential surge; however, they offer insight into how health departments are approaching COVID-19 since the end of the public health emergency declaration in May and how people can protect themselves, especially as we head into the fall season.
* Sun-Times | Chicago Police Board’s disciplinary power undercut by arbirtrator’s ruling: Chicago police officers who have been recommended for firing or suspensions of more than a year will have the option of going around the Chicago Police Board and putting their fate in the hands of an independent arbitrator under a new ruling Mayor Brandon Johnson called a “major setback” for police reform.
* Tribune | 52 days on the road: A migrant family’s desperate journey to Chicago: The Tribune traveled with Esperanza and her family from El Paso — one of the world’s largest urban border regions — to Chicago Union Station to gain a better understanding of what migrants might experience on the U.S. portion of their journey. The trip took more than 48 hours by bus and train.
* WSPY | Davis thinks that SAFE-T is done deal: 75th District Republican State Rep. Jed Davis says that the SAFE-T Act, which was recently upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court, is not right for Illinois. Although he does say that area law enforcement are ready for it.
* The Telegraph | Former Alton union leader heading to prison: Byron Clemons, Sr., 36, of Alton, pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen money and was sentenced by a U.S. District judge to 18 months in prison after he admitted to embezzling more than $200,000 from the Alton chapter of the AFSCME labor union and using the money for personal expenses.
* Tribune | Illinois attorney general sides with Winnetka in Open Meetings Act dispute related to lakefront land controversy: The challenge was filed by Winnetka resident Ted Wynnychenko after the Dec. 6, 2022, Village Council meeting where discussion was held about the consolidation of several plots of land owned by Ishbia and his wife Kristin. After an hour in closed session, the council voted unanimously to approve combining the four lots into a single 3.7-acre lot for the family to build a home.
* WICS | Redneck Fishing Tournament draws dozens of boats to the Illinois River: “The fish were huge this year. We dodged more than we probably caught, but it was a lot of fun,” John Patterson, a participant, said. […] “It’s a little bit dangerous. It’s a great day on the river. You see a community like Bath that has this horrible invasive species, and they can all sit around and complain. instead, they create this great event around it,” Patterson said.
State Senator Julie Morrison passed a measure – which was signed by the governor Friday – to fill a significant gap in current Illinois law by giving victims of doxing a voice in deterring bad actors looking to take advantage of the evolving cyber landscape.
“As technology evolves, so must our laws,” said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “The measure signed into law today is a positive step toward providing a necessary solution to the dangerous practice of doxing, both by helping victims and deterring future bad actors.”
To give victims of doxing the justice they deserve, Morrison passed House Bill 2954. The law allows people a civil private right of action against the individual who committed the offense. The victim will be able to recover damages and any other appropriate relief, including attorney’s fees.
Doxing is the act of sharing an individual’s personal information without that person’s consent and with the intent to cause harm to the individual whose personal information is shared.
“Today marks a critical step forward in the fight against online hate in Illinois. Doxing victims will now have a critical ability to hold their attackers accountable in the aftermath of unspeakable pain,” said David Goldenberg, ADL Midwest Regional Director. “Thank you to Representative Gong-Gershowitz and Senator Morrison for their tremendous leadership in pushing this bill through the legislature, to Governor Pritzker for swiftly signing the bill into law, and to our robust coalition of partners who activated at each stage of the process. ADL is committed to fighting hate on all fronts and the evolving online landscape is no exception.”
House Bill 2954 was signed by the governor Friday.
* Sen. Doris Turner…
To encourage community gardening, incentives will be provided for affordable housing projects that incorporate urban and suburban gardening under a new initiative sponsored by State Senator Doris Turner that was signed into law Friday.
“We’ve seen the positive outcomes that come from community gardens,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “There’s an economic benefit that provides residents with the needed tools that they may not get otherwise and engages the community by encouraging people to spend more time outside.”
The new law allows the Illinois Housing Development Authority to develop a program that provides incentives for affordable housing projects that incorporate urban and suburban gardening.
Turner’s law requires IHDA to consult with the University of Illinois on the program, work with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to facilitate the distribution of produce from the garden, and provide all necessary tools for the garden.
“Food deserts leave people with few options for nutritious meals,” Turner said. “This is a great opportunity to provide fruits and vegetables to the residents who can’t easily access a grocery store.”
House Bill 3892 takes effect immediately.
* Sen. Murphy…
The price of insulin will be capped at $35 for a 30-day supply thanks to State Senator Laura Murphy.
“When Fredrick Banting discovered insulin in 1923, he refused to put his name on the patent: he believed it was unethical for a doctor to profit from a discovery that would save lives,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “He and his co-inventors sold the insulin patent for $1: they wanted everyone who needed their medication to be able to afford it. We need to lead by the example of Mr. Banting’s selflessness, and honor the legacy of selflessness on the 100 year anniversary of its discovery.”
Under the law the price of a 30-day supply of insulin will be capped at $35 for all private individual and group insurance policies. In addition, an insulin discount program will be established by the Department of Central Management Services. The program will begin July 1, 2025.
More than 10% of the U.S. population has diabetes according to the Diabetes Research Institute. One in 12 Illinoisans have insulin-dependent diabetes, approximately 1.3 million people. According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the cost of insulin has risen 600% in the last 20 years. Americans pay 10 times than that of citizens of 32 other nations – $98.70 on average compared to $8.81.
“Medication like insulin must be affordable for every individual who needs it,” Murphy said. “I am proud that Illinois has taken this important step, which will ensure that no one will need to ration or put off purchasing insulin when they need it.”
House Bill 2189 was signed into law by the governor on Friday.
* NASW Illinois…
Governor J.B. Pritzker has taken a momentous step toward fostering equity and inclusivity in the field of social work by signing a groundbreaking bill (HB2365) that establishes an alternative to the ASWB exam for clinical licensure. This landmark legislation marks a significant milestone in the quest to create a more equitable path for aspiring social workers, ensuring that opportunities are accessible to a diverse pool of talent across Illinois.
HB2365 builds on the success of previous legislation that removed the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) exam for non-independent clinical licensure and created a first-in-the-nation alternative to for independent clinical social workers to complete the licensure process.
The bill’s chief senate sponsor and licensed school social worker, Senator Karina Villa, MSW, said: “With social worker shortages hitting across the US, it is important to consider what is in the best interest of the people who need these types of services the most. By supporting people who are dedicated to empowering individuals and families, we can improve the quality of life for thousands of Illinoisans.”
The ASWB exam has long been a standard requirement for individuals seeking to enter the social work profession. However, this assessment has, at times, posed a barrier for many aspiring social workers who possess exceptional skills and abilities but face disparities in standardized testing environments. This new law reflects the governor’s continued commitment to dismantling systemic barriers and opening doors to a more diverse and talented social work workforce.
The bill’s chief house sponsor, Representative Lindsey LaPointe, MSW, added: “For all of us working to increase access to mental health supports in Illinois and nationwide, it’s crystal clear that our shortage of clinicians is a central issue. Once law, HB2365 will rapidly increase the social work workforce by removing the barrier of the LCSW exam—an exam shown to be racially and age biased. I’m proud that Illinois is leading the way to broaden and build up the mental health workforce with the ultimate goal of access.”
The bill’s implementation will incorporate an apprentice approach to evaluating the competence and capabilities of aspiring social workers, offering them a fair and unbiased opportunity to demonstrate their qualifications and take into account a broader range of factors such as practical experience, interpersonal skills, and the ability to navigate real-life scenarios that social workers often encounter on the job.
Latesha Newson, MSW, LCSW, board president of the National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter (NASW-IL) stated: “NASW-IL couldn’t be prouder to have lent our support and resources to see this become a reality. This is a measure of justice; transformative justice for those who have been locked out of a profession that they are fully qualified and prepared to be in. As social workers, we are charged to remove barriers and challenge systems that perpetuate inequities to change, and we have done just that!”
As the new alternative assessment takes effect on January 1, 2024, it is anticipated that more social workers with disabilities, older social workers, and those from underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities will be empowered to pursue their passion for creating positive change and providing critical support to those in need. At a time when Illinois is facing a significant mental health workforce shortage, the state cannot afford to leave fully qualified professionals on the sidelines due to biased testing.
Cassandra Walker, LCSW, CCTP, an organizer for the #StopASWB coalition and owner of Intersections Center for Complex Healing, PLLC, reflected, “I hope that other professions and states follow our example and push this work further as it is clear that these kinds of tests are not making us safer, don’t measure what they claim, and generally weaken our ability to properly staff organizations in professions which already have massive shortages.”
Governor Pritzker’s decisive action in signing this bill underscores the importance of creating a diverse and equitable workforce in the field of social work and will serve as a nation-leading model for other states to follow.
* Sen. Peters…
Temporary workers will soon have increased safety, transparency and recourse thanks to a new law sponsored by State Senator Robert Peters.
“Temp workers’ contributions to our economy are often overlooked and taken for granted, even though they often deal with the most unsafe work conditions,” said Peters (D-Chicago). “This new law is long overdue. Temporary workers deserve to work in the same safe conditions as permanent workers.”
The Day and Temporary Labor Services Act requires staffing agencies to provide transportation and safety equipment to workers, provide an itemized list of wages due to workers and maintain records related to third party clients.
Peters’ law expands the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act to ensure safety and transparency for workers. Under the expansion, temporary laborers assigned to a third party client for more than 90 days will be paid no less than the rate of pay and equivalent benefits as the lowest paid hired employee of the client with the same level of seniority and performing the same or substantially similar work.
The measure also requires agencies to notify laborers that the assigned workplace is where a strike, lockout, or other labor trouble exists and that the laborers have a right to refuse the workplace assignment. Further, temporary and day labor service agencies must obtain information about a client company’s safety practices and provide training to workers on industry hazards they may encounter at the worksite.
“The expansion of the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act will bring an end to the hazardous workplace situations that many Black and Brown workers face,” Peters said. “A new normal is coming. I appreciate the work the Chicago Workers’ Collaborative, the Illinois AFL-CIO and State Representative Edgar Gonzalez have done to make this new normal a reality for a service sector that is often forgotten.”
House Bill 2862 was signed into law Friday and takes effect immediately.
* Sen. Murphy…
A new law will increase transparency between schools, students and parents regarding transfers to alternative schools thanks to support from State Senator Laura Murphy.
“Alternative schools are necessary for some students to thrive. These schools are designed to help educate those who need an extra push outside of traditional environments,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “However, students and their parents are often left in the dark when it comes to the nature of the programs, or even when they can return to regular school.”
Alternative schools are designed to educate students who have not been successful in regular schools, due to either behavioral or discipline issues. Both the sending school and the alternative school hold meetings regarding the student and establish an alternative education plan for them. Murphy’s measure will ensure that students and their parents or guardians are invited to participate in the meetings.
Before the effective date of the student’s transfer, the parents or guardians must be provided with the specific nature of the curriculum, number of students in the school, available services, disciplinary policies, typical daily schedule and extracurricular activities, under Murphy’s measure.
In addition, a meeting will need to be held with the student’s parent or guardian at least 30 days prior to the student’s planned return to regular schooling.
“We want all of our students to flourish,” Murphy said. “Establishing expectations and keeping open lines of communication will help ensure that students and their parents can make choices that are best for the student.”
Senate Bill 183 was signed into law on Friday.
…Adding… Last one I’m posting today…
Labor groups are celebrating the passage of the seminal Temp Worker Fairness and Safety Act (TWFSA), HB2862 into law upon the Governor’s signing of the bill earlier today. The bill had earlier passed the IL Senate by a bipartisan 49-3 vote and the IL House with a commanding majority of 72-36.
“It has long been the reality that the most vulnerable workers are also the least protected. The Temp Worker Fairness & Safety Act will change that by ensuring that temporary workers employed through staffing agencies receive the same rights and protections as any other worker,” said Jose Frausto, Executive Director of the Chicago Workers Collaborative. “This is a victory for all workers that was made possible by years of organizing by temp workers. We thank the Governor and the members of the General Assembly for standing with workers and showing, once again, that Illinois is a pro-worker, pro-labor state.”
“Latino and Black workers are the backbone of our economy, but they are also the most vulnerable when it comes to workplace abuse and exploitation. This bill was my number one priority because of the impact it would have on so many of my constituents,” said Representative Edgar Gonzalez, the bill’s lead House sponsor. “The Governor’s action today means an average of $4 more per hour for the thousands of temp workers in my district for work assignments that last more than 90 days. That’s as much as $8,000 a year more going into the pockets of working people, regardless of immigration status. District-wide, that will also mean millions more dollars going to support small businesses as the spending power of our community members increases.”
“Make no mistake, the Temp Worker Fairness and Safety Act is a historic bill that will set the bar for temp worker protections across the country. Over the past several decades, industry at large has shifted large parts of its workforce from well paying direct-hire, full-time roles, to part-time contract labor provided by third party staffing agencies. They’ve done this to depress wages and take shortcuts on worker safety by undercutting the power of workers to organize, to unionize, and to demand better. With this new law, we are sending a message that in Illinois, worker rights are not negotiable,” said Senator Robert Peters (IL-13), chief Senate sponsor for the bill.
“We are thrilled by the Governor’s decision to sign this important piece of legislation into law,” remarked Tim Drea, President of the IL AFL-CIO. “The Temp Worker Fairness and Safety Act builds on the success of the Workers Rights Amendment by restricting the practice of “permatemping” whereby workers are kept in “temporary” assignments for years, restricting their access to union jobs and creating a downward pressure on wages and working conditions for all workers. The IL AFL-CIO was proud to stand in solidarity with temp workers to advance this critical piece of worker legislation that will benefit all workers across Illinois and set an example for other states to follow.”
“Following wins in New Jersey and Illinois the goal of our movement is to undo the deregulation of the staffing agency industry that’s happened over the last several decades,” said Roberto Clack, Executive Director of Temp Worker Justice. “We are developing a road map to address pay inequities while strengthening workers ‘ ability to build power in the workplace.”
The TWFSA is a landmark law that updates the state’s Illinois Day and Temporary Services Act. Key provisions of the law include:
● Discouraging the practice of “permatemping” by guaranteeing equal pay for equal work for temps who are assigned to the same job for more than 90 calendar days
● Keeping workers safe by improving training and workplace safety standards for temps
● Ensuring that all temp workers have the right to refuse a strikebreaking assignment without being retaliated against
● Increasing funding for enforcement through increased fees and increased fines for violators of the act
● Expanding enforcement through an innovative enforcement mechanism that will allow for even enforcement of the law across the entire state of IL for the first time
The equal pay provision in the law follows the passage of a similar provision in New Jersey under the recently passed “Temp Worker Bill of Rights”. This is expected to have an immediate and significant material impact on temp workers who earn on average $4 less per hour than direct hire employees doing the same work.
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois Senate,
103rd General Assembly:
Today, at the request of the sponsors and advocates, I will veto Senate Bill 1515 from the 103rd General Assembly. The bill is intended to increase protections for workers. However, due to irreconcilable drafting errors, the bill will have an adverse effect on the workers it seeks to protect.
My administration appreciates the hard work of the sponsors in the House and Senate and the workers’ rights advocates who worked to get this bill passed. I look forward to working together with sponsors and advocates to craft legislation to increase worker protections.
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 1515, entitled “AN ACT concerning employment,” with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
The bill is here. It places restrictions on the use of E-Verify and related applications. Not sure what happened, but I’ll let you know what I hear.
*** UPDATE *** From the sponsors…
State Senator Javier Cervantes and State Representative Eva-Dina Delgado announced that they would continue their work to protect marginalized employees following the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 1515 that Cervantes sponsored in the Senate and Delgado led through the House.
SB1515 is aimed at protecting our immigration community, yet it fell short from its intention. Instead of moving forward with legislation that may not make Illinois a national example in protecting our immigrant community, Senator Cervantes, Representative Delgado, the Governor and advocates unanimously decided the best approach is to introduce a new bill that will make us leaders in the nation.
“We brought this legislation forward to protect employees and ensure Illinois is following through to protect workers’ rights,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “Unfortunately, we were unable to achieve our goal with this legislation but the job does not stop there. I want to assure residents that I am committed to getting this measure right to protect our community.”
Delgado added, “Senator Cervantes and I are committed to continuing our work to protect all workers and determine a secure path for advancing workers’ rights in the workplace. No one should find themselves subject to, or in fear of name or social security number discrepancy notifications and we remain focused on working together with the Governor’s office, labor leaders and advocates to bring forth a permanent solution for consideration during session in the fall.”
Senate Bill 1515 was vetoed by the governor on Friday. Cervantes and Delgado pledge to continue conversations and work with the administration and advocates to bring forth a solution for potential review in the fall veto session.
Not exactly illuminating, but that’s all I have so far.
…Adding… I’m told the bill would’ve violated federal rules and actually made it harder on employees. Oops.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* Press release…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker took the following bill action:
Bill Number: SB1515
Description: Amends the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. Places restrictions on the use of Employment Eligibility Verification Systems.
Action: Veto
Bill Number: HB1076
Description: Amends the Counties Code to permit county boards to lease farmland, acquired or held by the county, for any term not exceeding 5 years.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB1120
Description: Requires all charter schools in Illinois to include a union neutrality clause in the requirements for their formation.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB1122
Description: Creates the Freelance Worker Protection Act. Protects freelance workers from intimidation, harassment, and discrimination from hiring parties, requires timely compensation and requires employers to provide freelance workers with written contracts.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB1187
Description: Makes changes to the nonprofit security grant program requirements, administered by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB1367
Description: Exempts licensed funeral directors and embalmers from continuing education requirements if they have been practicing for at least 40 years.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB1565
Description: Requires insurance coverage of vaginal estrogen products without cost-sharing.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2025
Bill Number: HB1571
Description: Creates the Michael Bauer Memorial Act. Adds disinterment into current statute surrounding the treatment of dead bodies.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2039
Description: Creates the Access to Public Health Data Act.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2057
Description: Amends the Chicago Laborers and Chicago Park Employees’ Articles of the Illinois Pension Code.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB2077
Description: Provides clarification to items within the Dental Practice Act and E-Prescription requirements.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2089
Description: Allows a person convicted of a felony to serve as an executor if certain criteria are met.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2023
Bill Number: HB2098
Description: Exempts beneficiaries from the definition of a seller who has both never occupied the residential real property and never had management responsibility for the residential real property.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB2102
Description: Allows a health care employer to hire any individual for a position involving direct care for patients and clients who has been convicted of committing certain offenses under law if a waiver is applied for.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2189
Description: Expands access to those who are in urgent need of affordable insulin.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2025
Bill Number: HB2235
Description: Allows school boards to determine the appropriate length of a transportation contract for students to and from school.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2267
Description: Changes the definition of “public health supervision” by changing the federal poverty level from 200% to 300%.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2338
Description: Requires manufactured homes to be removed only by an Illinois licensed manufactured home installer.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB2365
Description: Allows for social workers who have taken but unsuccessfully completed traditional examination to use an alternative to licensure for their license to engage in the independent practice of clinical social work (LCSW).
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2500
Description: Requires animal control facilities to waive adoption fees for dogs and cats for veterans, and allows facilities to limit the fee waivers to one dog or cat each in a two-year period.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2528
Description: Creates the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program and the Hunger-Free Campus Designation for institutions of higher education to help combat food insecurity and provide better access to SNAP enrollment and utilization for students on their individual campuses.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB2827
Description: Allows the Health Care Professional Credentials Data Collection Act to allow the form to be collected in an electronic format.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2862
Description: Expands the scope of protections and rights afforded to both day and temporary labor workers.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2023
Bill Number: HB2949
Description: Allows staff and children participating in after-school care programs to use epi-pens and inhalers if an emergency arises.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB2954
Description: Provides a private right of action for individuals who have been doxed.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3030
Description: In the event that a medical bill is not resolved within 30 days, permits the health insurance issuer, nonparticipating provider, or the facility to initiate binding arbitration for a single bill or group of bills.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3086
Description: Increases certain fees to offset the cost of pesticide misuse investigations by the Department of Agriculture.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3109
Description: Requires the State Medical board when determining mental capacities of applicants for a medical license shall consider the latest recommendations of the Federation of State Medical Boards.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB3161
Description: Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Restores the Chicago Municipal Article to the form in which it appeared before amendment by Public Act 98-641, which has been held unconstitutional.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB3172
Description: Allows individuals to be admitted to an assisted living facility if they require sliding scale insulin administration.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3456
Description: Authorizes the Department of Natural Resources to enter a public-private partnership to develop, finance, lease, manage, and operate the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Illinois.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB3498
Description: Provides debt relief to teachers who missed their original window to avoid repayment of an Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) teacher grant, but later fulfilled their obligations by working with Illinois students.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB3500
Description: Allows, by passage of a proper referendum, the Joliet Public SD 86 to issue bonds with aggregate principal amount not to exceed $99.5 million.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3516
Description: Allows employees of businesses with 51 or more employees to use up to a maximum of 10 days of leave in any 12-month period for the purpose of organ donation.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3563
Description: Creates the Generative AI and Natural Language Taskforce under the Department of Innovation and Technology.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB3570
Description: Requires the Illinois State Board of Education to report (instead of analyze and assess) teacher evaluation data from each school in the State. Makes changes to what data are included in the report.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3631
Description: Prohibits pharmacy benefit managers from retaliating against pharmacists for disclosing information in government proceedings if they have reasonable cause to believe that the disclosed information is evidence of a violation of a state or federal law, rule, or regulation.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2023
Bill Number: HB3639
Description: Caps the cost of a twin-pack of medically necessary insulin at $60 for state regulated insurance plans.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2025
Bill Number: HB3646
Description: Amends the Chicago Municipal Article of the Illinois Pension Code. When purchasing service credits from the CTA or its predecessor, clarifies the employees’ salary is at which the credits are purchased is that later of the date of his or her entrance or reentrance into service.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3677
Description: Creates new 3-year licenses for fishing, hunting, sportsmen’s combination (both hunting and fishing), and trapping.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3744
Description: Requires CMS to annually report on workforce demographics.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3809
Description: Expands insurance coverage to include therapy, diagnostic testing, and equipment for children who have been clinically or genetically diagnosed with any disease, syndrome, or disorder including low tone neuromuscular impairment.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3892
Description: Authorizes Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) to develop a program incentivizing affordable housing that incorporates urban and suburban gardening programs.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB0058
Description: Requires State entities to track single-use plastic purchasing beginning in July of 2024 and establish goals to reduce single-use plastic.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0063
Description: Changes the permitting process for billboards regulated by Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB0090
Description: Amends the Human Rights Act and the School Code to include legal remedies for racial harassment in school.
Action: Signed
Effective: August 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0183
Description: Ensures that before a student is transferred to an alternative school program, they and their parents must be given information about the alternative school program.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0188
Description: Allows a parent who consented to a health care service to be performed on their child to be entitled to inspect and receive a copy of that part of the child’s medical record.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0195
Description: Stipulates that no petition for guardianship shall be filed for the sole purpose of a student qualifying for additional educational financial aid while their parents continue to support them.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0273
Description: Permits mobile safety inspections for all trucks, truck-tractors, trailers, semi-trailers, buses engaged in interstate commerce, and first division fees and adjusts fees for permits.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB0285
Description: Removes requirement that the date a controlled substance is dispensed must be part of the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). Requires a dispenser to electronically transmit required information under the Section.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0375
Description: Authorizes the Department of Children and Family Services to develop and implement a safety-based child welfare intervention system centered on child safety.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0380
Description: Allows certain individuals to bring action against a healthcare provider who knowingly used the person’s reproductive material without their consent.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0505
Description: Expands the Home Services Program allowing additional family to serve as program recipient’s provider of care.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0684
Description: Creates the Central Illinois Regional Airport Authority.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB0734
Description: Requires school districts that provide 457 plans to make available more than one financial institution or investment provider to provide services.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0764
Description: Creates the Vision Care Plan Regulation Act.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB849
Description: Reenacts the Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Infrastructure Funding and Policy Act and requires the commission to produce a final reports of its finding by January 1, 2024.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB0851
Description: Evaluate the expansion of Illinois Century Network (ICN) to public schools, libraries, and state-owned correctional facilities.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1251
Description: Ensures that operators of ambulances and rescue vehicles have training on and make proper use of warning signals.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1291
Description: Requires the Department of Human Services to notify recipients of overpayments of benefits and provides that actions for the recovery of overpayments must commence within 10 years after the first notice is sent.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1344
Description: Exempts reports from the Abortion Care Clinical Training Act from FOIA. Clarifies that the no-cost coverage mandate for abortifacients, hormone therapy, and PrEP/PEP applies to all health insurance plans amended, issued, or renewed in Illinois on or after January 1st, 2024. Allows the Department of Public Health to issue a statewide standing order for HIV prophylaxis to be issued by a pharmacist.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1460
Description: Adds requirements for contracting between municipal governments for road maintenance and repair.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1476
Description: Makes changes to affordably housing plan definitions, plan requirements, and Appeals Board membership.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1488
Description: Puts a 2-year hold on new teachers taking a teacher performance assessment and convenes a working group to evaluate potential teacher performance assessments to replace the current system.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1497
Description: Makes changes to the Nursing Home Care Act as it relates to restraints, drug treatment, and the definition of “emergency.”
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1499
Description: Amends the Humane Care for Animals Act to specify offenses for which law enforcement making an arrest may take possession of a companion animal and adds offenses for which a court may order the forfeiture of an animal.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1570
Description: Allows municipalities and school districts to use design-build processes on public projects.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1665
Description: Prohibits hospitals from using guaranteed income program participation as household income for those who apply for financial assistance.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1674
Description: In Long-Term Stabilization Support Program and the Short-Term Stabilization Support Program settings, provides that an individual receiving program services may request alternate placement when the wants or needs of the individual, as reflected in the individual’s personal plan, would be better served in another setting along the full spectrum of care and requires the Department of Human Services to report, beginning March 31, 2025, on the number of individuals participating in the programs and other data.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1701
Description: Creates the Illinois Healthy Soils Initiative focusing on the enhancement of soil health and to improving water quality and agricultural production.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1721
Description: Makes several changes to the Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Act.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1772
Description: Creates the Pesticide Application at Schools Act. Prohibits the application of pesticides on K-8 school grounds during the school day when students are in attendance for instructional purposes.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1787
Description: Creates the Rural Education Advisory Council to develop policy recommendations on the needs, challenges, and opportunities of rural school districts in the State.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1794
Description: Requires the Department of Human Services to establish a home visiting program to support communities in providing intensive home visiting programs to pregnant persons and families with children aged birth through elementary school enrollment.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1824
Description: Amends the General Provisions and Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Exempts wage increases above 6 percent or 1.5 times CPI when calculating final average earnings if required by State or Federal law.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1861
Description: Authorizes Joliet Park District to sell Splash Station if approved by board of commissioners.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1872
Description: Removes the fourth year of a teacher’s probationary period to make it quicker for teacher to reach tenure status.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2023
Bill Number: SB1907
Description: Requires each public university and community college in Illinois to make available emergency contraception through at least one on campus wellness kiosk.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1999
Description: Increases the time from 72 hours to 30 days that a parent who relinquishes their child under the Abandoned Newborn Protection Act may request information about their child.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2031
Description: Creates the Expanded HS Snapshot Report to better inform the public about what courses are available and the expertise of the teachers who teacher these courses.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2039
Description: Requires Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Department of Human Services (DHS) to keep parents of and students with intellectual and developmental disabilities well informed about the PUNS database, and they shall have registration be considered during their annual IEP meeting.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2059
Description: Extends the sunset of the Veterinary Medicine and Surgery Practice Act to January 1st, 2029.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB2100
Description: Amends the Police Officers’ Pension Investment Fund Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Updates provisions for the Board of Trustees of the Fund.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB2123
Description: 2023 Elections Omnibus package. Makes changes to the Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act, the Election Code, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Act, the Park District Code, and the School Code.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately, except changes to Section 3-6 of the Election Code are effective January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2130
Description: Adds anesthesiologists to the definition of eligible health care provider to include them in the grant, scholarship, and loan repayment program for those individuals working in underserved areas.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2152
Description: Provides that the State Treasurer may manage, upon the affirmative vote of three-fifths of each Board, the State Universities, Downstate Teachers’ and the Board of Investment’s domestic and international proxy voting activity and execute required ballots on behalf of the System or Investment Board.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB2288
Description: Requires all Illinois public colleges and universities to accept all major course credits approved for transfer from Illinois community colleges.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2294
Description: Repeals the Illinois Health Information Exchange Act.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1st, 2023
Bill Number: SB2323
Description: Allows Bloomington Public SD 87 to, without referendum, expend existing fund balances to purchase a building site for the construction of a new school building.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB2368
Description: Creates a framework for statewide adoption of recent building code updates.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2424
Description: Amends the definition of “project” to include land acquisitions by the Department of Transportation or Illinois Toll Highway Authority.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2034
Description: Creates the Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act. Provides that an employee of a large employer that employs 250 or more full-time employees is entitled to use a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave if the employee experiences the loss of a child by suicide or homicide. Provides that an employee of a company that employs between 50 and 250 full-time employees is entitled to 6 weeks of unpaid leave.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
…Adding… New appointments…
Illinois Department of Human Services
Charles Wright will begin serving as the IDHS Inspector General. Wright currently serves as Deputy Inspector General for the Illinois Department of Services (IDHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) where he oversees investigations into abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of persons with disabilities at facilities and agencies throughout Illinois. He previously worked as an Assistant Inspector General for the City of Chicago and as a Deputy Attorney General with the State of New Jersey Office of Attorney General. Wright holds a Juris Doctorate from Boston College Law School, as well as a bachelor’s degree in politics and a certificate in African American Studies from Princeton University.
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Board
Ahmadou Dramé will serve as a Member of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Board.* Dramé was promoted to Director of the Illinois Justice Project (ILJP) in June 2023 after serving as Program Director for two years. Throughout his career, he has used his advocacy skills to empower communities impacted by mass incarceration, to call attention to the injustices of the criminal legal system, and to advance initiatives that eliminate permanent punishments and reduce society’s reliance on the criminal legal system as a response to socioeconomic and racial disparities. Dramé was an instrumental member of the award-winning Just Housing Coalition, which eliminates barriers to housing for returning residents in Cook County by securing the passage of the Just Housing Ordinance. He directed a program that provided “Know Your Rights” trainings to incarcerated people inside state prisons. He was Co-Chair of the Chicago Mayor’s Reentry Working Group, which created the city’s first Director of Reentry position and more than $50 million for housing and services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he directed a reentry housing pilot program that served 120 households. He is a 2023 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. Dramé earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Master of Public Administration from DePaul University.
Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board
Louise Medina will serve as a Member of the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board.* Medina was appointed to the position of Director of Special Projects in May of 2022 at the Sheet Metal Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) Workers International Association and she has been a member since 2000. Some of her current projects include DEI initiatives, strategic planning, disaster relief fund grants, and webinar planning. Medina was also the first elected female Business Representative for SMART Local 265, and she served in various roles and elected positions within the union including as an apprentice, journeyperson, foreperson, organizer, and elected positions including conductor, trustee, executive board member, and recording secretary. She also served on the SMART International Women’s Committee and as the President of the newly formed SMART International Recruitment and Retention Council. During her term as Business Representative, she was also Vice President of the Kankakee Federation of Labor (KFL-CIO), recording secretary of the Kankakee/Iroquois County Building Trades, and delegate of the Will/Grundy County Building Trades.
Illinois Workforce Innovation Board
Lisa Wojick Burns will serve as a Member of the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board.* Wojick Burns has a spent the past decade working to support her neighbors with disabilities in areas including skills training and job development. She also works as the Placement Manager with Challenge Unlimited. In this role, Wojick Burns provides ongoing support for clients seeking community employment and provides feedback to support them. Wojick Burns received a Bachelor of Business Administration from American Intercontinental University.
Marlon McClinton will continue to serve as a Member of the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board.* McClinton serves as the President and CEO of Utilivate Technologies providing energy management, evaluation, measurement, and verification services to utilities, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and government agencies across the country. McClinton has been recognized for his skilled leadership, inviting engagement and participation from under-served and under-represented communities in utility energy efficiency programs. He serves on the Illinois Community College Board and Chairs the Continuous Improvement Committee. McClinton earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois and his Master of Science and Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University.
* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.
Governor JB Pritzker signed three bills today offering increased protections for Native and Indigenous Illinoisans. HB3413, the Human Remains Protection Act, establishes procedures for encountering human remains or gravesites and returning remains to Native American Nations. SB1446 prohibits schools from banning students from wearing cultural regalia as graduation attire. HB1633 mandates instruction on Native American history in Illinois public schools.
“Today, we take another step forward in repairing generations of harm and building a brighter future for our state’s Native American and Indigenous Peoples,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “At its core, this legislation is about respect. Respect for those who came before us and those who will come after—and that is why we want to teach our children this history, to avoid the mistakes of the past and to instill that respect from an early age.”
“As we are seeking new ways to continue to make Illinois inclusive and welcoming to all, our administration is committed to expanding protections for our Native and Indigenous Illinoisans - past, present, and future. Today’s bill signing is a measure to address the generational injustice, while we extend our hand in support for our Native and Indigenous communities,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. “Thanks to the compassionate leadership of Governor Pritzker and members of the General Assembly, and the voices of residents in Illinois, together we honor the history, contributions, and experiences of Indigenous people with honesty and dignity at the forefront.”
HB3413 seeks to streamline and concentrate efforts to return known or newly discovered Native American remains and cultural artifacts to their nation of origin. Many Native remains and artifacts remain in museums across the country. This act, which amends the existing Human Remains Protection Act will coordinate with the Illinois State Museum and federally recognized tribes with ties to Illinois to determine tribal identity of the remains and be returned for appropriate burial. The bill also allows for creation of a cemetery for remains unable to be identified.
Illinois currently has the second largest collection of unrepatriated remains in the United States. The Illinois State Museum has committed to the largest repatriation effort in the state’s history. Violators of this bill will be subject to pay restitution, which will be held in a fund to aid in reinternment or restoration. The law is effective immediately.
SB1446 protects the rights of Illinois students to wear accessories that reflect cultural, religious, or ethnic heritage at graduation ceremonies. The bill was proposed following an incident where Nimkii Curley, an Illinois high school senior, was forced to sit out his graduation ceremony after refusing to remove traditional Native regalia. The act protects not only Native American and Indigenous cultural attire, but anything worn that is associated with a student’s protected characteristic as laid out under the Illinois Human Rights Act. The law is effective immediately.
HB1633 adds Native American history to the list of required curricula for public schools in Illinois. The law specifies that this includes teaching about the genocide and forced resettlement of Native Americans by settlers, alongside the history of tribes in the Midwest and nationwide. Governor Pritzker has previously signed laws mandating instruction on Asian American and LGBTQ+ history in Illinois schools.
“It is important that our children’s learning experiences are formulated in an atmosphere that is both inclusive and equitable,” said State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs). “These new laws will empower students to express their cultural identity and provide them with a full picture of how our nation was founded. We need to invigorate our classrooms and present different perspectives to give our children learning opportunities they haven’t had before.”
“Native American history is Illinois’ history, from the awe-inspiring Cahokia mounds to the Illiniwek tribes encountered by French colonists to the tens of thousands of people of Native American ancestry who live in Illinois today,” said State Rep Maurice West (D-Rockford). “We must understand the history and experience of Native Americans if we want to truly understand our home state, but too many students miss out on this important aspect of our nation’s past and present. These laws will help preserve and promote the rich history of Native Americans in Illinois while ensuring students can freely honor their cultural, ethnic, or religious identity through their attire during their graduation ceremonies.”
“I can’t imagine how horrible I would feel if someone dug up the grave of my grandmother, stole a necklace she was buried with to be sold as a curiosity, and put her bones on display, but that’s what we’re talking about here,” said State Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights). “Illinois’ past and present are better because of the history and impacts of Native Americans. Reconciling the sins of our past means ensuring these remains are reburied with the honor and respect they deserve.”
“We’ve longed for the day we can bring respect to our history and our ancestors the way they should’ve been respected centuries ago. Today means that can finally happen,” said Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick. “This new law puts Illinois on a path to free the remains of our ancestors so they can be buried with the dignity they always deserved.”
“The new Human Remains Protection Act is just one step in our commitment to continue to elevate Indigenous voices at the Illinois State Museum,” said Jenn Edginton, interim director of the Illinois State Museum. “Native people have always been on the land on which we stand. Their stories are the stories of Illinois. The Illinois State Museum and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources are committed to continuing to ensure Native stories are heard and that we continue to collaborate with them.”
* More from Sen. Glowiak Hilton…
“Native American history is American history. It’s time we introduce it in our classrooms,” said Glowiak Hilton (D – Western Springs). “It is important that our children’s learning experiences are formulated in an atmosphere that is both inclusive and equitable.”
House Bill 1633 requires public schools to make Native American history part of curriculum. Teachings will include the study of the genocide of and discrimination against Native Americans, as well as tribal sovereignty, treaties made between tribal nations and the United States, and the circumstances around forced Native American relocation.
Social studies courses pertaining to American history or government are required to include a unit of instruction studying the events of the Native American experience and Native American history within the Midwest and Illinois.
“By providing our students a better understanding of our history, we are presenting a brighter future ahead,” said Glowiak Hilton. “We need to invigorate our classrooms and present new perspectives to give our children learning opportunities they haven’t had before.”
House Bill 1633 was signed into law Friday. Native American history will begin being taught during the 2024-2025 school year.
…Adding… Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation…
llinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law today three bills that overwhelmingly passed the state legislature with bipartisan support, bringing long overdue honor to past, present and future Native communities in Illinois.
The three newly signed laws will:
• Allow the state of Illinois to create cemeteries protected from public use on state lands for the reburial of repatriated Native American remains and materials
• Allow for the expansion of Illinois public school curriculum to include Native history
• Require schools to permit students to celebrate their cultural or religious identity during graduation ceremonies, including wearing traditional Native regalia
“Illinois has made tremendous strides this year in its work to repair the centuries-long injustices that started with colonizers doing everything they could to extinguish our people and the origins of this land on which the United States of America was constructed,” said Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick. “Illinois today proved that a government is capable of reflecting on its past injustices and planning for a future that respects and celebrates our interconnectedness.”
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation was integral in the advocacy efforts for all of the new laws signed today, particularly HB 3413 which allows for the burial of Native remains on state lands. Illinois possesses the remains of thousands of Native people – some dug up by the Department of Transportation during highway construction and unceremoniously housed in desk drawers – but that’s set to change as the state is on track to return 1,100 of the 7,000 Native American remains the state currently holds.
“Native tribes have existed since before colonization, and our land and culture are the foundation of our society. Yet the remains of thousands of our ancestors have been in the hands of governments and institutions, just as our Native lands have been for centuries,” Chairman Rupnick said. “By signing this bill today Governor Pritzker is undoing a modern-day extension of colonization. This new law will bring respect to our ancestors the way they should’ve been respected centuries ago.”
Despite the progress in Illinois this year as it relates to the state’s Native origins, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation still faces the reality that its identity in Illinois remains diminished due to an overreach by the United States government.
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has roots in Illinois with DeKalb County being home to a Reservation that belongs to Chairman Rupnick’s great grandfather four generations removed.
However, the U.S. Government in 1849 illegally auctioned off more than 1,280 acres of Chief Shab-eh-nay’s home Reservation near the village of Shabbona in southern DeKalb County when he traveled from his family in Kansas. Illinois is the only state in the Midwest – one of just 15 states nationwide – without a federally recognized Tribe.
Legislation recently filed in the House by state Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights) would return state-owned lands comprising the Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.
Although the U.S. Congress is the only governing body that has the authority to designate land titles for Native nations, the state of Illinois owns and operates a state park on a portion of Prairie Band’s 1,280 acres, they have the agency to return that to Prairie Band with legislation or through executive action.
“Although our land was illegally taken from us, we’re still here, living and contributing to life in Illinois, all while practicing our traditions and serving our country,” said Chairman Rupnick, a U.S. Army Veteran who served for 13 years. “We may not yet have our Reservation land back in the hands of our Tribe, but we have the truth and increasing acknowledgement that our cause is just.
“Thanks to Governor Pritzker, state Representatives Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights), and Maurice West (D-Rockford), state Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs), former state Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas, and Republicans and Democrats in the Illinois legislature, today is an important day for policy changes that put Illinois on a path to break down oppressive structures and the lingering effects of colonization that upended our Native communities.”
…Adding… Rep.West…
Today, Gov. JB Pritzker signed HB1633 and SB1446, both sponsored by State Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford). HB1633 will require the experience and history of Native Americans to be taught to all Illinois elementary and high school students. SB 1466 prohibits K-12 schools from restricting students from wearing or accessorizing graduation attire that reflects their cultural, ethnic, or religious identity.
“Native American history is Illinois’ history, from the awe-inspiring Cahokia mounds to the Illiniwek tribes encountered by French colonists to the tens of thousands of people of Native American ancestry who live in Illinois today,” said Chief House Sponsor State Rep. Maurice West. “We must understand the history and experience of Native Americans if we want to truly understand our home state, but too many students miss out on this important aspect of our nation’s past and present. This law will help preserve and promote the rich history of Native Americans in Illinois while helping our young people understand the important contributions Native Americans make to Illinois in the present day.”
“Furthermore, graduation ceremonies should be a time for students and their families to celebrate their educational journey and their personal identity,” said West. “Now, students can freely honor and recognize their cultural, ethnic, or religious identity through their attire during their graduation ceremonies. I am deeply grateful to the amazing advocates from Illinois’ Native American community as well as the Illinois State Board of Education for their multi-year collaborative effort to make these pieces of legislation a reality, and I thank Gov. Pritzker for signing these bills into law.”
HB1633 requires certain history courses to include teaching about Native American nations’ sovereignty and self-determination with a focus on urban Native Americans, as well as information about the Native American genocide in North America. The legislation also includes requirements for the State Board of Education to provide curriculum materials developed in consultation with the Native American community that school districts can choose to use regarding Native American history. Instruction will be required as of the 2024-2025 school year.
The bill passed the Illinois House of Representatives by a vote of 81 in favor to 31 opposed and the Illinois Senate by a vote of 44 to 8. More information can be found HERE.
SB1446 arose from an incident when a student was prohibited from wearing graduation clothing that reflected their Native American heritage during a graduation ceremony at an Evanston, Ill. high school. The bill passed the Illinois House of Representatives by a vote of 104 to 7 and the Illinois Senate by a vote of 49 to 4. More information can be found HERE.
* So, wait, you mean there won’t be massive prisoner releases and carnage in the streets? What happened to The Purge we were promised? I mean, didn’t this very same state’s attorney warn that the SAFE-T Act would “lead to the ‘greatest jailbreak’ in Madison County history”? Huh. Interesting…
Madison County officials say they have been preparing for the implementation of the SAFE-T Act and are ready when cash bail ends in Illinois on Sept. 18.
Representatives of the courts, the sheriff’s department and the public defender’s, state’s attorney’s and court clerk’s offices gave reports about those preparations to the county board’s judiciary committee on Thursday.
It was noted several times that most of the prisoners currently in custody at the Madison County Jail are there for what would qualify as “detainable” offenses under the SAFE-T Act, and that Madison County generally does not hold people for misdemeanors or minor felonies.
* Rep. West…
Today, Gov. JB Pritzker signed Zachary’s Parent Protection Act (SB2034), legislation that will require employers to provide additional unpaid leave for parents who experience the sudden loss of a child by suicide or homicide.
Under the legislation, employees of large employers are entitled to use a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave and employees of small employers are entitled to use a maximum of 6 weeks of unpaid leave. Currently, parents are only entitled to use a maximum of 2 weeks (10 work days) of unpaid bereavement leave after the loss of a child.
“The loss of a child is an unimaginable tragedy. Amid the pain and suffering that follows, no parent should be forced to choose between their grief and their employment,” said State Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford), chief sponsor of Zachary’s Parent Protection Act. “Parents who lose a child to suicide or homicide deserve a respect and patience from their employers as they cope with their trauma and grief. Zachary’s Parent Protection Act will extend the amount of leave parents can use in these situations, which will hopefully provide some small measure of relief in the immediate aftermath of such a tragic event. I extend my sincerest gratitude to Laura Kane, Zachary’s mother, for her tireless efforts to pass this critical legislation, and I thank Gov. Pritzker for signing this bill.”
The bill passed the Illinois House of Representatives by a vote of 81 to 24 and the Illinois Senate by a vote of 42 to 10. More information can be found here.
* Treasurer Frerichs…
The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office returned more than $11.5 million in unclaimed property during July, Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced today.
The total includes nearly $11.5 million in cash and interest and almost $45,000 in stock value. All told, 12,554 claims were paid.
“My office helps the Illinois economy by putting money back in people’s pockets,” Frerichs said. “I have taken numerous steps to make the system of reuniting people with their unclaimed property more efficient.”
Illinois’ unclaimed property program — also known as I-CASH — is one of the state’s oldest consumer protection initiatives. The State Treasurer is tasked with safeguarding unclaimed property, such as the contents of overlooked safe deposit boxes, unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards. Illinois holds more than $5 billion in unclaimed property.
The Treasurer’s Office has returned more than $1.8 billion since Frerichs took office in January 2015. When Frerichs first became treasurer, there were 60,000 claims paid in a year. Today, more than 200,000 claims are paid each year.
So far this year, the Treasurer’s Office has returned nearly $120 million through more than 103,400 claims.
The record-setting performance is the result of a complete restructuring of the unclaimed property process under Frerichs. The state treasurer’s office has added electronic claims, eliminated red-tape that slowed small-money claims, and leveraged technology to allow payments to be made without a claim even needing to be filed.
* SoS Giannoulias…
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is encouraging vehicle enthusiasts to mark their calendars for the 73rd Secretary of State Vehicle Show, which will be held Saturday, September 9, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in downtown Springfield at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Second Street. The show is celebrating the 1966 Pontiac GTO.
First organized in 1949 as an Antique Auto Meet, the Secretary of State Vehicle Show features some of Illinois’ finest antique and classic vehicles, sports cars, motorcycles, trucks and tractors. The show will be held rain or shine.
* The HDems are starting to catch up with last Friday. Rep. Norma Hernandez…
Cook County’s water management agency will be able to more quickly and efficiently hold accountable those who violate the law by improperly discharging waste into the sewage system—under a new law introduced by state Rep. Norma Hernandez, D-Melrose Park.
“When hazardous waste is being introduced into our sewer system by unscrupulous businesses or other entities, we can’t afford to let that go on any longer than it has to,” Hernandez said. “Having to wait for a letter to arrive in the mail and for the offender to read it takes too long and results in additional contamination and longer and more expensive cleanup.”
Under existing law, when a person or entity was found to be unlawfully discharging waste into the sewer system, notices and orders—including cease-and-desist orders—had to be sent either by certified mail or by official courier.
Hernandez’s House Bill 3133 permits Cook County’s Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) to implement an electronic reporting system that, once operational, can be used to serve notices and orders to violators via email. It also stipulates that such electronic notices have the same validity and effect as those delivered by mail or by hand.
The bill was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on July 28 and took effect immediately.
In case you missed it, “Copi” is the new term for what used to be called Asian Carp.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Capitol News Illinois | Federal judge temporarily blocks Illinois law subjecting ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ to civil liability: The judge is also presiding over a long-awaited bench trial in a related case next month over a 2016 law aimed at health care providers – including individual practitioners and faith-based hospitals – who have moral objections to abortion. The law, if allowed to take effect, would require providers with such objections to give patients information about where to get an abortion, and a referral if requested. Johnston’s colleague blocked the law in 2017 on First Amendment grounds, but litigation has been ongoing since. Since the law was first challenged in court, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 struck down a California law aimed at forcing crisis pregnancy centers to advise women about where to get an abortion.
* ABC Chicago | Federal judge halts law targeting crisis pregnancy centers; Pritzker responds: Pritzker signed that law last week, and insists it is constitutional. “Remember what they’re doing? They’re putting their crisis pregnancy centers next-door to abortion rights centers, and they’re directing people to go in their front door, or telling them things that aren’t true often, and when that’s the case, they ought to be held liable,” Pritzker said on CNN.
* Crain’s | Judge freezes Illinois law targeting anti-abortion pregnancy centers: “Free speech won today in the Land of Lincoln — pro-life advocates across Illinois can breathe a sigh of relief they won’t be pursued for ‘misinformation’ by Attorney General Kwame Raoul,” Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of litigation for the Thomas More Society, said in the statement.
* State Week | Former top Madigan aide heads to trial: Prosecutors say Tim Mapes failed to tell the truth to a federal grand jury about his former boss, Michael Madigan, who has been indicted for racketeering. Mapes, who worked as Madigan’s Chief of Staff, faces charges of perjury when his trial begins Monday. His trial is estimated to last about three weeks.
* WREX | Pritzker signs bill creating statewide Farm to Foodbank Program: “Illinois farmers are producing some of the finest food in the country, and now that produce, dairy, and meat can go directly to Illinoisans struggling with food insecurity,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “It’s good for our farmers’ bottom line, it’s good for those in need, and it’s good for our state—a win for everyone in Illinois.”
* Center Square | New Illinois law allows some felons to serve as executors: As signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, House Bill 1268 amends the Probate Act of 1975, which prohibited a convicted felon from serving as an executor, and will require the person who is the owner of the estate to acknowledge that they are aware that the person named executor is a convicted felon.
* CBS Chicago | Oak Forest man charged with trafficking machine gun switches: According to the indictment and a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Prisco sold 25 machine gun conversion devices, a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and a 3D printer to the officer.
* The Atlantic | How the Recession Doomers Got the U.S. Economy So Wrong: Last October, a Bloomberg economic model said that the odds of a U.S. recession this year were 100 percent. No, not 99.99 percent, as in the odds that you’ll avoid being struck by lighting this evening. One hundred percent, as in the odds that you’ll avoid falling into a time-bending wormhole that spits you out in 17th-century Versailles at a dinner table with Louis XIV.
* Crain’s | United Airlines is bulking up in Denver: The Chicago-based airline also has been ramping up its flying out of Denver, where it’s in the middle of an expansion that will increase the number of gates by more than one-third. Denver, one of the country’s fastest-growing cities and a popular travel destination during the COVID-19 pandemic, has enjoyed a faster recovery in air travel than many cities. And United is in a fierce battle in Denver with Southwest Airlines.
* Crain’s | Michael Reese developer nears deal to buy empty Mag Mile building: A joint venture of Chicago-based Farpoint Development and Northfield-based Saxony Capital is under contract to pay just more than $40 million for the empty 117,400-square-foot building at 830 N. Michigan Ave., according to people familiar with the deal. The building has been vacant since Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo closed its store there almost two years ago.
* Newsweek | ‘Sound of Freedom’ Funder Fabian Marta Arrested For Child Kidnapping: Fabian Marta was charged with felony child kidnapping in July, while since-removed Facebook posts appear to show the same person revealing their pride in funding the film. Marta’s name appears in the movie’s credits among the “investors [who] helped bring Sound of Freedom to theaters.”
* Sun-Times | Beer prices have gone higher and higher. Why?: The Cubs are charging $28.99 for a 26-ounce “beer bat” memorabilia cup filled with cold lager — a little pick-me-up you might well need to get over how much the cup costs.
* NBC Chicago | Where to get Illinois’ best cookies on National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day: Coming in at No. 27 was the cookie at 3 Arts Club Café, inside RH Chicago. Further down on the list, at No. 61, was the chocolate chip cookie at Summer House Santa Monica, located in Lincoln Park. And the 71st best chocolate chip cookie can be found at Defloured, a gluten-free bakery in Andersonville.
* WaPo | Canada’s wildfires have doubled previous records and keep raging: In British Columbia, 350 fires are burning, according to the BC Wildfire service, including 15 “wildfires of note” that are out of control. Numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders this week, because of expanding fires. Another hundred-plus blazes are ongoing in Alberta, with similar numbers in the Northwest Territories.
* The Atlantic | Bird Flu Has Never Done This Before: At bird breeding grounds this spring and summer, the skies have been clearer and quieter, the flocks drastically thinned. Last year, more than 60 percent of the Caspian terns at Lake Michigan vanished; the flock of great skuas at the Hermaness reserve, in Scotland, may have shrunk by 90 percent.
Recreational cannabis is a growth industry, and Springfield resident Chris Stone plans to take full advantage of the potential behind the once-banned substance. […]
His years in the nascent video gaming industry taught Stone some valuable lessons that he was able to use when he entered the cannabis business. The most important lesson was, don’t expect to turn a profit right away.
“We were the first video gaming parlors in the state, and the state forced us to build out the facilities and actually staff them with employees even though we had no games to actually use,” Stone said. “So we sat there for almost nine months and burned a bunch of cash waiting for the state to allow us to put the machines in place.
“Knowing how the state operated on that, I told the cannabis investors that we were probably going to burn cash for the first year if they were going to operate the same way they did with video gaming,” Stone said. “We might not be able to get product, we might not be able to get open for a while even after we build something out. We incorporated that into our business model and it was definitely the right move.”
Ugh.
* Another example of this in today’s Daily Herald…
As the two-year anniversary of the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act approaches, the state is continuing to implement several workforce development and grant programs. For some, that rollout hasn’t been fast enough. […]
“When Gov. Pritzker rolled out the renewable energy plan for Illinois approximately two years ago, I was initially very excited,” [Troyce Polk, who founded solar developer Selenium Energy in 2017] said. “Since then, it’s just been a slow rollout of everything. There’s just been a lot of frustration for myself and our business, as well as a lot of other small, renewable energy businesses in this space. The capital or seed money that those programs and grants would provide are essential to getting in the game.”
Polk recently won a bid to complete 100 installations in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago. The residential solar pilot program, which includes two other projects in Waukegan and the Carbondale-Marion area, is administered through the Illinois Power Agency.
Because Selenium Energy is required to complete the installations before receiving payment, Polk is facing challenges in securing operating capital. […]
Polk added that solar power is just beginning to boom in Illinois, and he’s competing with “goliath” national energy companies to secure future bids.
Alison Maley, Government and Public Relations director with the Illinois Principals Association, said the law could be taxing on some school districts.
“One of the major concerns that we had was there was no funding allotted for this and not only will some districts need additional space, they will need additional teachers,” Maley said.
Bryan Soady, associate executive director of Governmental Relations with the Illinois Association of School Boards, said there have been local referendums on this proposal that have been defeated.
“This is a mandate that we think will require volunteer, elected school boards to force this on taxpayers who have stated they don’t want it,” Soady told The Center Square.
Districts that currently do not offer a full-day program can apply for a waiver to extend the implementation date up to two years past the 2027-2028 school years if they meet certain criteria.
The majority of states require school districts to offer either full- or half-day kindergarten, however less than half actually mandate student attendance. California recently proposed legislation that would require kindergarten enrollment and for days to be longer than four hours, but the bill was vetoed in September 2022 by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who cited cost as a factor.
The Illinois Association of School Administrators was also opposed.
* When it comes to the pension issue, Chicago is chock full of reporters who are uninformed, gullible and even outright hostile. Before we begin, let’s take another look at this…
SECTION 5. PENSION AND RETIREMENT RIGHTS Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired. (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
* OK, now let’s move on to this weird report from WBBM Radio…
Illinoisans have heard for decades about how bad the state is at funding its pensions for public employees, and now, a new organization is working to make that easier for the public to see.
Katie Dunne is the executive director of Secure Illinois Retirements (SIR), which was launched last week. She said the nonprofit aims to be a resource for teachers, firefighters and other public employees. One way to do that is through SIR’s interactive tool.
“[It] allows visitors to find comprehensive information about their specific fund,” Dunne said.
The tool’s available for anyone to use. It shows, for example, how a treatment plant operator — who worked at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District for 34 years before retiring — is only collecting about $38,000 of his $66,000 annual promised pension.
“It’s a true example of a public sector worker in that fund, and then we just had some fun and changed the names,” Dunne said. “So that is a pretty accurate view of where each of the funds are at.”
Emphasis added to highlight the complete falsity of that claim. If you were supposed to receive a $66,000 annual public pension in Illinois, you’re currently receiving $66,000.
* To my eyes, the Secure Illinois Retirements website appears designed to scare pension recipients. This part of the site is what appeared to trip up WBBM…
The State Employees’ Retirement System of Illinois is only 38.67% funded* so let’s imagine that means you would receive only 38% of your promised benefits. If the funded status of your retirement system determined the amount of your pension, then this is the kind of situation you could be facing:
“Let’s imagine.” Ugh. This is a totally made-up scenario. The reality is that the funded status of a retirement system does NOT determine the amount of anyone’s pensions. Pensions have to be paid, whatever these people might ask you to “imagine.”
* If that reporter had simply scrolled down further, there was this buried disclaimer…
+ Disclaimer: The numbers displayed in the graph are intended for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered as accurate data. These are projections used to help visualize the current pension system funding levels. Therefore, they should not be used for any analytical or decision-making purposes. Please consult your local pension board for more in-depth information about your specific fund.
The funded ratio of your retirement system will not directly correlate with the portion of your pension you end up receiving.
The likely scenario is that everybody will get their full benefits for as long as the fund is solvent. When a fund becomes insolvent, your retirement is in peril.
When a fund becomes insolvent, the state constitution demands that the government must appropriate the money to at least fund annual pension payments, which the state already does. The state can’t declare bankruptcy. Municipalities can only declare bankruptcy with state permission.
* I asked this group multiple times several days ago where their funding was coming from and what they wanted. I received no response to the funding source question, but here’s part of their response…
Our organization has a simple mission: To educate public sector workers about the pension system and convene discussions about how to begin to move towards a fully funded system. There are many reputable sources and experts out there, but also those who seek to politicize or spread misinformation.
Yeah, well, intentionally or not, their group helped spread information on one of the top radio stations in the region.
The state pension ramp and local pension ramps (including first responders and Chicago) are a process over multiple decades. People look at unfunded liability increases even after billions in government payments and conclude that the state will never get ahead (click here for an example). They should take out their mortgage books and see how it actually works. There will come a time when we catch up, but, in the state’s case, the end is not until 2045 because the payoff was put on a 50-year, back-loaded schedule. For the past few years, pension payments have held to about 20 percent of state spending. That’s high, but sustainable.
* The Chicago first responder funds are most worrisome because they were neglected for so many years. The city was granted a casino license to boost payments. But let’s hope the previous mayor didn’t totally botch the deal or taxes will have to rise even further…
Bally’s Corp. says its chief financial officer’s statement that the gambling company intends to “right-size” its Chicago casino is not an indication the company has decided to reduce or otherwise alter the size of its much-anticipated venue here.
“The comments on our earnings call earlier today reference the opportunity relative to the size of the addressable market and our project scope, which we have never wavered upon,” Christopher Jewett, Bally’s senior vice president of corporate development, told Crain’s in an email. […]
Despite Bally’s statements, the company continues to post mixed financial results, with revenues in the last quarter increasing from $552 million to $606 million compared to 2022, but with the company reporting a net loss of $25.6 million in the latest period. The company also reported $3.31 billion in net long-term debt, with the Chicago casino and entertainment complex projected to cost $1.7 billion. […]
Asked on Thursday’s analyst call how Bally’s will finance the remainder of the $1.7 billion, Bally’s treasurer said the company is “looking at, you know, different forms of financing,” with Glover saying the company is “exploring all options.”
But if you think that this mayor, a former CTU official, is gonna cut off pensioners (even police pensioners), you might want to think again.
…Adding… Katie Dunne at Secure Illinois Retirements…
Secure Illinois Retirements is led by an all-volunteer board, who are retired/current public sector workers from across the state, including union members who serve as teachers, firefighters, and police. As previously shared, we believe a fully funded pension system will take a multi-faceted approach that should be culminated through engagement and collaboration. We are here to be an independent resource and to serve as a catalyst for those discussions across the state.
Our website includes funding ratios provided by the Illinois’ Department of Insurance, an educational course on pensions, and more information on the history of the pension system in Illinois. The graphs you mentioned were included as an example of one’s pension in relation to the funding ratio of the specific fund. We believe that the headline and the disclaimer, “The funded ratio of your retirement system will not directly correlate with the portion of your pension that you end up receiving. The likely scenario is that everybody will get their full benefits for as long as the fund is solvent. When a fund becomes insolvent, your retirement is in peril, ” make it clear that the graph is for illustrative purposes only.
As for our nonprofit, we received seed-funding from Ira Weiss. Ira is a professor at the University of Chicago and the son of two CTU members/retired Chicago Public Schools teachers.
We hope that this helps dispel any misunderstandings.
1) If a news reporter at WBBM was terribly confused, then I don’t see how that wouldn’t also happen to an average citizen.
* I received this Illinois Latino Agenda press release late yesterday…
Yesterday, members of the Illinois Latino Agenda (ILA) met with Toni Preckwinkle, Chairperson of the Cook County Democratic Party, to discuss the urgency for the Party to increase equity on our state’s highest court by slating a candidate with roots in Latino communities. Given recent retention, it is unlikely that voters will have a chance to elect a Latino Supreme Court Justice in Cook County for at least another ten years.
Although the ultimate decision of who becomes Illinois’ next Supreme Court Justice comes down to voters, the Party’s endorsement has been a seal of approval and a path to victory for all Supreme Court candidates they’ve slated in recent history.
“We thank Chair Preckwinkle for the opportunity to meet with her and discuss the historical underrepresentation of Latinos in our state’s judiciary, and we continue to urge her to consider supporting a Latino to serve as an Illinois Supreme Court Justice for the first time in our state’s history,” said Jose M. Muñoz, Co-Chair of the Illinois Latino Agenda. “We believe that a Latino Supreme Court Justice, who understands the issues we face and has roots in our community, will enrich the Court and help make more inclusive and culturally responsive decisions.”
In the past five years, there have been three vacancies filled in the Illinois Supreme Court–three opportunities to finally bring Latino representation to the state’s highest court. Despite the community’s vocal and united effort to have a Latino appointed in these vacancies, they were ignored, and no Latino was appointed.
“Illinois may be a progressive state, but when it comes to equity in the highest levels of government, it is falling short,” said Sylvia Puente, Co-Chair of the Illinois Latino Agenda and CEO of the Latino Policy Forum. “We can no longer accept a court that is not reflective of the communities it serves, which is why we are strongly advocating for committee members to support a Latino candidate with lived experience who can give voice to the values and needs of our communities.”
Latinos are one of the fastest growing demographics in Illinois, and they make up more than 26% of the population in Cook County and 18% in the state. Even though Illinois has the fifth largest Latino population in the country, it is not on the list of ten states with a Latino Supreme Court Justice.
“Having an open dialogue with Chair Preckwinkle and other Party representatives about the importance of Latino representation in all levels of government is a step in the right direction, and we look forward to working with her to also ensure more Latinos are represented in state Appellate and Circuit Courts,” said Juan Morado, Jr., Chair Emeritus of the Latino Leadership Council and Illinois Latino Agenda member. “We are now counting on the support of the Party’s committeemen to help Illinois create a more equitable judiciary.”
I ran into Appellate Justice Jesse Reyes at a political function last night. I’d heard he was out there working the hustings, and it appears to check out. Justice Reyes wants to run for the top court, but Supreme Court Justice Joy Cunningham was appointed last year (an appointment Reyes also sought) and is up for election in 2024. A highly credentialed Black woman with an Irish-sounding surname is gonna be tough to beat, with or without party support. And she is expected to have that party support. Progressives, including some (not all) Latino progressives, appear to be wary of Reyes. This could very well be yet another in a series of intra-party battles next year.
* I received this release yesterday as well…
State Senator Ram Villivalam’s comprehensive public transit plan and commuter benefits legislation were signed into law Friday.
“As we work on a comprehensive solution to address the funding challenges that our major public transit agencies are facing, these laws are critical first steps to making our public transit operations more accessible, equitable, environmentally conscious, transparent and safer,” said Villivalam (D-Chicago). “These laws will significantly assist the hundreds of thousands of riders who use Illinois transit every day and encourage more residents to do the same.”
House Bill 1342 allows public transit agencies to suspend riders if the rider commits assault, battery, sexual assault or violations of public indecency toward an employee or another commuter. It also provides for a formal appeals process.
To help survivors of domestic violence seek the services they need and deserve, the legislation requires the Regional Transportation Authority to distribute 25,000 pre-loaded $20 fare cards to domestic violence service providers. Villivalam’s law also provides for reduced fares for youth as they travel to and from their place of employment. Further, CTA, PACE and METRA are required to purchase buses that are zero-emission come July 1, 2026, which puts the state on a clearer path to achieve the climate goals that residents are advocating for.
House Bill 2068 requires employers to allow employees to use pre-tax earnings on a transit pass that would be deducted through the employee’s payroll before tax, lowering the tax burden for both the employer and employee.
The covered employer must be located in Cook County or specified townships in collar counties, have at least 50 full time employees, and be located at an address within one mile of a transit service. Under the new law, the Regional Transit Authority will create a publicly searchable map of addresses that are located within one mile of a transit service.
“We are looking at every community across Illinois to ensure their transit options are accessible and affordable,” Villivalam said. “I am honored to have pushed for improvements to safety and increased accessibility for transit as we work to find ways to help our residents who ride Illinois transportation every day.”
House Bill 1342 and House Bill 2068 were signed into law on Friday.
* And this…
Governor JB Pritzker signed HB2879 into law today, establishing the Illinois Farm to Food Bank Program to expand resources for food bank systems across the state while supporting local farmers. The bill creates mechanisms for acquiring and distributing fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry, dairy, and eggs to organizations providing free food for those in need. The program initially began with a pilot in 2021 with grant funding from USDA and is made permanent through this bill.
“Illinois farmers are producing some of the finest food in the country, and now that produce, dairy, and meat can go directly to Illinoisans struggling with food insecurity,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “It’s good for our farmers’ bottom line, it’s good for those in need, and it’s good for our state—a win for everyone in Illinois.”
The program, administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services with a $2 million investment in FY24, seeks to address the strain placed on nonprofits and other organizations due to increased food bank usage while also supporting local farmers. During the two years of the pilot program, nearly 2.5 million pounds of food were donated.
Food acquired via this program must be from Illinois producers and must meet market-grade quality and consumption levels. However, much of the food going to the program is excess food that would have been wasted without foodbanks as an outlet. The lack of centralized donation program was a barrier to farmers looking to donate in the past.
The bill also includes capacity-building grants for capital improvements needed to store and transport fresh food to better reach underserved communities. The program focuses on fresh and nutritious foods, which are often difficult to secure at many food banks. The bill also creates a Farm to Food Bank Advisory Council to support and advise the work of the program and establish and build relationships with agricultural producers.
* Illinois National Guard…
When Senior Master Sgt. David Schreffler started riding with Gold Star Mission it was a great way to combine two of his greatest passions, bicycle riding and a desire to honor and remember fallen U.S. service members.
The Illinois Air National Guard NCO never thought it would bring him across the ocean to ride in honor of the fallen service members of our nation’s staunch ally, Poland. But, from Aug. 8-12, Schreffler will join five other volunteer U.S. riders and two volunteer support staff on the first Polish Veterans Bike Rally.
“It is a great way to ensure the fallen are not forgotten,” said Schreffler, the Chief of Quality Assurance with the 217th Engineering and installation Squadron, 183rd Wing, based in Springfield.
The rally, sponsored by the Polish Association of Families of Fallen Soldiers, will travel 538 kilometers (almost 335 miles) throughout Poland from the city of Siedlce to Rzeszów, with stops in Terespol, Chełm, Zamość, and Stalowa Wola. It is expected to include about 60 cyclists and is modeled on the Gold Star Mission’s annual Gold Star 500 in Illinois. Last year, the Polish had 16 participants in the Gold Star 500 including seven Polish Army Soldiers, six students and three Polish Gold Star Family members.
* ILGOP…
Friend,
As you probably know, the People’s Republic of California’s government has decided that all of the economic strife they are going through isn’t enough, so now they are flirting with the idea of reparations.
STOP THE DEMOCRAT DIVISION >>
We in the Illinois Republican Party believe in creating opportunity over dependence on government handouts. We believe in the freedom to prosper and the availability of opportunity to all our fellow Americans.
Chicago suburb starts making reparations payouts
We are asking for your voice today as we get ready to send out this petition of ours to the Illinois Legislature, the Chicago City Council and Mayor, and the Governor of Illinois >>
SIGN OUR PETITION AND END THE DIVISION >>
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PRO-OPPORTUNITY PLATFORM >>
For America
Illinois Republican Party
* And this is from last night, so we didn’t miss it, but it’s quite something…
Best park. Best lakefront. Best season. 🤔 Best city in the world.
Politicians are usually booed at Chicago events. I saw Harold Washington booed during the Chicago Blues Festival back in the day. My out of town brother was horrified.
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of Illinois’ newly signed Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act.
“The bill is painfully and blatantly a violation of the First Amendment,” Judge Iain Johnston said Thursday in federal court in Rockford.
It was just one week ago when Gov. JB Pritzker signed SB1909 into law barring crisis pregnancy centers from using “misinformation, deceptive practices, or misrepresentation” in order to interfere with access to abortion services or emergency contraception. Violators faced up to $50,000 fines. […]
Johnston said, “There’s no doubt who the Attorney General wants to win or lose in the market place of ideas, but the government doesn’t get to decide that. The people do.”
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The preliminary injunction halts a recently passed law that amends the Consumer Fraud & Deceptive Business Practices Act to specify that the act applies to crisis pregnancy centers that deceive women who are seeking abortion services. […]
During a press conference last week, Raoul said the law simply clarifies that the state’s long-standing deceptive practices law applies to crisis pregnancy centers that use practices like deceiving patients that they are part of existing abortion clinics or removing people from near an abortion clinic to delay them from entering that clinic.
* Thomas More Society…
At an August 3, 2023, hearing in United States District Court, a federal judge granted a motion requested by Thomas More Society attorneys for a preliminary injunction seeking to immediately halt Illinois’ new law attacking life-affirming maternal health care centers. The lawsuit, National Institute of Family Life Advocates et al. v. Raoul, asserts that this law—enacted on July 27, 2023, and amending the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act—was designed to target pregnancy help ministries solely because of their pro-life message.
“Free Speech won today in the Land of Lincoln—pro-life advocates across Illinois can breathe a sigh of relief they won’t be pursued for ‘misinformation’ by Attorney General Kwame Raoul,” stated Peter Breen, Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation for the Thomas More Society. Breen argued the case on behalf of National Institute of Family Life Advocates and other pro-life ministries, including pregnancy care centers in Illinois.
“Across the nation, pregnancy help ministries are being discriminated against by laws that target their life-affirming work,” said Breen. “The injunction granted today sends a strong, clear message to the country that the First Amendment protects pro-life speech.”
Read the Verified Complaint for Temporary and Permanent Injunction and Other Relief filed on July 27, 2023, in the United States District Court – Northern District of Illinois Western Division, by Thomas More Society attorneys on behalf of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, Women’s Pregnancy Services, Rockford Family Initiative, Relevant Pregnancy Options Center, and Pro-Life Action League, in National Institute of Family Life Advocates et al. v. Raoul here [https://tinyurl.com/4wvsvryb].
The governor will be in Schaumburg this afternoon, so maybe we’ll get a react. I’ve also reached out to Planned Parenthood and Personal PAC.
…Adding… With a hat tip to a commenter, here’s a press release from early 2020…
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after the White House announced the nominations of David Dugan to serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Iain Johnston to serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and Franklin Valderrama to serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
“We are pleased that the President nominated Judge Dugan, Judge Johnston, and Judge Valderrama to fill vacant district court judgeships in Illinois. All three nominees were carefully reviewed by nonpartisan screening committees we established to evaluate potential candidates, and we expect these nominees to be diligent, thoughtful, and principled District Court Judges. We look forward to guiding their nominations through the Senate.” […]
If confirmed, Iain D. Johnston will serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Iain Johnston currently serves as a United States Magistrate Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Before taking the bench in 2013, Judge Johnston was a unit supervisor for the Office of the Illinois Attorney General and in private practice at Altheimer & Gray, Holland & Knight LLP, and Johnston Greene LLC. Judge Johnston also serves as an adjunct professor at UIC John Marshall Law School. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Johnston served as a law clerk to Judge Philip Godfrey Reinhard of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Judge Johnston earned his B.S., cum laude, from Rockford College and his J.D., cum laude, from UIC John Marshall Law School.
…Adding… Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois…
I am frustrated that a federal judge temporarily halted a new law targeting organizations actively working to deceive people trying to access health care.
For decades, crisis pregnancy centers have targeted our patients using deceptive and false practices. Often crisis pregnancy centers provide misleading and medically inaccurate information, sometimes deliberately misdiagnosing patients or misdating their pregnancies so people think they have more time to decide about abortion or that they are past the time when they can have an abortion.
We are grateful the State of Illinois continues to fight for our patients to have expanded access to the essential health care they need and deserve.
…Adding… Lisa Battisfore, President of Reproductive Transparency Now…
The news of this preliminary injunction against SB1909 is disappointing, but not surprising. We have expected that this would be the path forward from the very beginning. Illinois is mapping out the pathway that other states will eventually follow. Which is why we should all be watching NIFLA v. Raoul closely.
To be clear, the Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act does not compel speech. Anti-abortion centers simply must not lie to their clients, and must not deceive or mislead in service to their mission to prevent people from accessing abortion care.
We must ask ourselves: Why is it that these anti-abortion groups are so concerned about being prohibited from lying and deceiving?
While covering this story, we implore members of the media to ask probing questions about anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers,” such as:
• Who are the medical providers on staff (if there are any) and how often are they on-site? What are their specialties and credentials?
• What must clients do in order to receive material support? And what material support do they receive in exchange for those requirements?
• Do they have a separate website for clients and donors? How is the organization’s mission described differently between those websites?
• What personal information are they collecting about clients? Are they bound by patient data privacy laws to keep that information protected?
• Do they promote “abortion pill reversal”? What clinical studies are they using to justify this unproven–and potentially dangerous–protocol?
We have many examples of pamphlets and forms from CPCs in Illinois, available upon request.
…Adding… I asked for examples from the group. Click here and here.
…Adding… Gov. JB Pritzker…
I’m disappointed that the far-right is interfering with the ability for women to access safe medical care without deception or lies. This law is constitutional and I am confident that the law will ultimately be found constitutional and will continue to work alongside Attorney General Raoul to ensure Illinois patients are protected from misinformation.
…Adding… Sarah Garza Resnick CEO of Personal PAC…
We know the anti-abortion movement is fond of forum shopping, so this latest move is not surprising. Consumers in Illinois are protected against fraud and deception, and that has not changed. People have just as much of a right to bring a complaint against so-called crisis pregnancy centers engaged in deceptive practices as they do against a car dealership, a payday lender, or any other business. We look forward to working with Attorney General Raoul and our allies to ensure that CPCs are held accountable for deceptive practices.
…Adding… Leader McCombie…
After a federal judge granted a motion to immediately halt a new law targeting crisis pregnancy centers, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie issued the following statement:
“House Republicans consistently said this bill violated the First Amendment and US District Judge Johnston confirmed that concern. We will continue to fight to protect women and the care they receive from pregnancy centers.”
Below is Leader McCombie’s Floor Speech during the bill’s initial debate in the Illinois House: https://youtu.be/m_hMqP1ulQg.
…Adding… Freedom Caucus…
The IL Freedom Caucus is issuing the following statement on a federal judge’s decision to grant a stay in the National Institute of Family Life Advocates et al. v. Raoul lawsuit.
“This is a victory for free speech. Crisis pregnancy centers will continue to be able to operate while this case is being litigated without fear of being harassed or being shut down. We are confident that in the end the courts will side with common sense and the Constitution and ultimately overturn this outrageous law.
The people who volunteer at crisis pregnancy centers are simply exercising their First Amendment rights. The women seeking help from crisis pregnancy centers do so of their own volition. Crisis pregnancy centers are up front and honest about their mission and about their pro-life views. The only concern about the crisis pregnancy is not the volunteers who work at these clinics but the deranged pro-abortion lunatics who are setting off bombs at these clinics to intimidate pro-life people. Instead of denying the free speech rights of pro-life activists, Kwame Raoul should be focused on the mentally unstable pro-abortion advocates who believe their political world view provides just cause to commit violence against people with whom they disagree.”
The Illinois Freedom Caucus is comprised of State Representatives Chris Miller (R-Oakland), chairman; Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City), vice-chairman; Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich); Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville); Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur); Jed Davis (R-Newark) and David Friess (R-Red Bud). The members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus are members of the Illinois General Assembly who are advocating for limited government, lower taxes and accountability and integrity in government.
* Sun-Times | More evidence that car insurance pricing in Illinois is biased against the poor: The group’s report echoes a Chicago Sun-Times Watchdogs investigation that tested insurance companies’ online price-quote tools and found price disparities that hurt women, renters, people working jobs that don’t require college and people living on the “wrong” side of a ZIP code dividing line.
* 21st Show | Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton talks about new Emmett Till Monument: Juliana Stratton, the Lieutenant governor of Illinois joins the show to discuss the signing of the Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Chicago. Also, we hear the Lt. Governor’s thoughts on the SAFE-T-Act, the state of legal and commercial Cannabis, the ruling of affirmative action, and more.
* Chalkbeat | Chicago public schools run by principals given more independence saw better student achievement: study: The analysis looked at 44 elementary schools that joined ISP between 2016 and 2018. Those schools saw pass rates for state reading and math tests grow, on average, by about 4 percentage points more than similar schools that weren’t part of ISP, according to the study. (Comparison schools were chosen based on things like demographics and test scores.)
* Tribune | Chicago sues property management firm over alleged ‘rent-to-own’ scheme targeting South Side residents: The city filed a lawsuit against the now-defunct Vision Property Management LLC, its successor FTE Networks Inc. and affiliates over “deceptive and unfair practices in the course of selling and leasing properties to predominantly low-income Chicagoans,” according to a Thursday news release from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office. The complaint, filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, alleges the company’s actions violate Chicago’s consumer protection laws.
* Crain’s | Here’s what a $4,350 ticket gets you at Lollapalooza: A platinum ticket, which costs $4,350 for all four days and $2,000 for a single day, offers festivalgoers access to lounges with free food and beverage, front-of-stage viewing at six stages, golf cart shuttle transportation, a concierge service, festival merchandise and more. Also included, in typical Lollapalooza fashion: hair and glitter treatments at the festival.
* Tribune | Lollapalooza’s new contract with Chicago could make this year’s fest the biggest ever, and give the city a bigger cut: But besides the festival’s usual public safety, weather and traffic challenges, this year marks the first test of a new contract overseen by a new mayor, Brandon Johnson. The deal to keep Lolla in Chicago for at least another 10 years — inked by the mayor Johnson later defeated, Lori Lightfoot — makes this year’s fest potentially the biggest Lollapalooza yet: It allows up to 115,000 attendees per day, up 15,000 from the previous contract.
* Center Square | After $64.8 million in upgrades, Illinois State Fair opens next week: In addition to agriculture exhibits, live music, fair food and rides, there will also be a mullet competition. After a year being closed, the Multi Purpose Arena will be back open following $8.6 million in renovations, among $56.2 million spent on the grounds over the past five years.
* WBEZ | There’s no ‘New Yorkland’ or ‘Bostonland,’ so why ‘Chicagoland’?: The term “Chicagoland” is part of the region’s DNA. You’ve probably seen it plastered on car dealership billboards or grocery store coupons. Maybe you’ve even heard the weatherman refer to “sunny skies across Chicagoland.”
