Open thread
Monday, Nov 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’ll see you tomorrow. Please be nice to each other and keep it Illinois-centric. Thanks. And keep an eye on the live coverage post for any updates.
A bit of news before I go. Background is here if you need it. Mark Maxwell…
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Caption contest!
Monday, Nov 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’ll be leaving work a bit early today to get to this event…
The public is invited, so if you’re in the neighborhood stop on by.
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Question of the day
Monday, Nov 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Back in 2009, after Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached and removed, the Illinois Reform Commission published several recommended legal changes, including…
At this juncture in the State’s history, establishing a well-rounded campaign finance regulatory framework has never been more important. Accordingly, we recommend:
1) requiring year-round, real-time submission of campaign disclosure filings;
2) requiring disclosure of campaign contribution “bundlers;”
3) requiring greater disclosure of those making independent expenditures on behalf of a campaign;
4) imposing limits on contributions to political campaigns from all sources;
5) banning campaign contributions from lobbyists and trusts, and extending bans on contributions from state employees, entities seeking state contracts and entities engaged in regulated industries;
6) holding primary elections in June;
7) enacting a pilot project for public financing of judicial elections in 2010, with an eye toward expanding the program to elections of statewide legislative officials and Constitutional posts;
8) enhancing powers of the Illinois State Board of Elections; and
9) creating more robust discovery and enforcement mechanisms.
Some contribution limits were put in place. More disclosures were required. But not much else.
* The Question: What campaign and government reforms should the state implement? Make sure to explain your response.
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Cannabis roundup
Monday, Nov 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Having a pot-related arrest or conviction used to be a liability for Illinoisans seeking employment. Now, a criminal record might lead to a job in the legal industry.
HempStaff, a Miami-based recruitment and training agency, launched a new division last month to help cannabis firms in Illinois and five other states hire employees that meet certain social equity requirements, including those with pot offenses on their records.
A news release from HempStaff said the company hopes to help those folks “find their dream opportunities.” But there’s also benefits for employers.
Under Illinois’ legalization law, budding “ganjapreneurs” vying for licenses to sell and grow recreational weed can get an edge in the application process if most of their employees have been arrested for or convicted of a cannabis offense that’s eligible for expungement, live in an area “disproportionately impacted” by past drug policies or have an affected family member.
* Tribune…
Illinois gave two more marijuana facilities approval to grow weed for recreational customers, with just two months to go before sales start next year.
The licenses went to Wellness Group Pharms in Anna and GTI Rock Island, which is run by Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries. Both already grow cannabis for medical patients, and join seven other facilities that got the state’s OK in September to also grow recreational pot.
The state law allows the existing 21 grow facilities to be the first to produce recreational pot, and it was largely expected most would opt to do so. But the companies need state approval. The licenses, which will continue to be issued, will help determine which products customers see on store shelves when recreational sales start next year.
The law does not allow any more large cultivators to supply the Illinois market until 2021 at the earliest, and then only if demand warrants them.
* Speaking of demand…
Get ready for some very long lines if you’re planning to buy marijuana in Chicago on Jan. 1, when recreational sales become legal.
Under new rules issued [last week] for a lottery process that will be used for new dispensaries, only the 11 existing medical locations are likely to be available to serve recreational customers on New Year’s Day.
Once it became clear that the city was going to take a go-slow approach to marijuana, including controversial zoning laws that prohibit retail sales from much of downtown, cannabis companies have been quietly speculating that there might not be any new dispensaries open in the city by Jan. 1.
A lottery held Nov. 15 will determine the order in which existing medical license holders can seek new recreational-dispensary locations in seven districts of the city. Winners would then have to submit applications to the Zoning Board of Appeals to receive special-use permits to open a dispensary. Before receiving approval, license seekers would have to hold public meetings to get community input on opening a retail dispensary.
* Related…
* Law firms getting over their fear of cannabis
* Illinois marijuana law aims to undo harm of war on the drug
* Where to buy recreational cannabis in Central Illinois? Some cities are still deciding
* Illinois colleges face medical cannabis conundrum
* Barrington officials not hearing a whole lot from residents, stakeholders on cannabis dispensaries: Village leaders
* Sycamore City Council to look at recreational marijuana again
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It’s just a bill
Monday, Nov 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Daily Herald…
While some towns want state lawmakers to take quick action on a recommendation to combine suburban and downstate police and firefighter pension funds in an effort to boost returns and cut costs, not all municipalities are on board.
Senate President John Cullerton introduced a bill Tuesday to consolidate the 649 suburban and downstate police and fire pensions. Gov. J.B. Pritzker followed with a statement praising Cullerton’s move in the first half of a six-day fall veto session that ended Wednesday. […]
Barrington Hills is asking lawmakers to take their time and not pass the proposal during the veto session. The session’s second three-day leg runs Nov. 12-14.
In part, Barrington Hills’ resolution says the Pension Consolidation Feasibility Task Force’s recommendation would be a complex financial, economic and operational undertaking requiring “proper and comprehensive analysis and review by all stakeholders” and should not be pursued until the regular legislative session starts next year.
* Capitol News Illinois…
Chicago Teachers Union representatives are asking lawmakers for legislation that would force Chicago Public Schools to direct more of its state funding to services aimed at low-income students, English language learners and students with special needs. This comes amid a strike now stretching into its second week.
Kurt Hilgendorf, a lobbyist for the union, told a legislative committee Monday Illinois’ new Evidence Based Funding formula is designed, in part, to direct more state resources to the neediest districts. But, he said, there is no requirement that districts — Chicago Public Schools in particular — direct resources to the neediest schools in those districts.
“There is no equity provision for funding CPS students in a student-based budgeting model,” he told an elementary and secondary education appropriations panel. “Each student is assigned a base funding regardless of the need of that student.”
House Bill 3917 would require that the funds CPS receives for those high-needs students be distributed among all the schools in the district in proportion to the number of high-needs students they serve. It would apply to only the Chicago district.
* Press release…
State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) introduced a bill [last] week that redefines felony murder charges in Illinois.
The language of current state law allows prosecutors to charge someone with first-degree murder if a death occurs during the commission of another offense when acting alone, or if a third-party individual causes a death when acting within a group. The new legislation would ban prosecutors from being able to do so.
“Incarceration rates are disturbingly high as it is,” Peters said. “These laws do nothing to improve safety in our community and are not an effective way to combat the unforgivable crowding of our jails and prisons. They are quite simply not a reflection of any sort of justice we should strive for as a society.”
The bill is an initiative of Restore Justice and was filed in response to an incident in Lake County where five teens were charged with first-degree murder after a failed home burglary in which the homeowner shot and killed a sixth teen.
Senate Bill 2292 was filed with the secretary of the Senate on Monday. It is currently awaiting assignment to a committee, which likely will not occur until full session resumes in January.
* ProPublica Illinois…
Illinois lawmakers approved a bill Tuesday that would eliminate driver’s license suspensions for unpaid parking tickets, putting an end to a decades-old practice that has hurt tens of thousands of motorists across the state.
The bill now awaits Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature. A spokeswoman for the governor said he looks forward to reviewing “this meaningful legislation.” Rep. Carol Ammons, a Democrat from Urbana-Champaign who co-sponsored the measure, said that the governor has told her he supports the bill’s intent and that she expects him to sign it.
* Other stuff…
* Legislation proposed to ban criminal background checks on public speakers following Tribune stories
* Illinois leaders demand answers about ambulance diversion by hospitals: ‘Something has to be done.’
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Corruption roundup
Monday, Nov 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* You really should read beyond the excerpts posted here because there’s a lot more to all of them. From WBEZ…
Commonwealth Edison cut ties with a lobbying firm co-owned by a top Chicago alderman a month ago, just as a federal criminal investigation into the power company’s state lobbying activities intensified.
ComEd ended its Springfield lobbying contract with Elgin-based Stratagem Consulting Group on Oct. 3, WBEZ has learned. The firm is co-owned by 36th Ward Ald. Gilbert Villegas, Jr., who is Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s floor leader, trusted with guiding major legislative initiatives through the City Council. […]
But on Friday, [Villegas] also told WBEZ that he did not do any work for ComEd personally under that deal. Villegas was not a registered lobbyist for the company in Springfield. Stratagem’s lobbyists for ComEd were Villegas’ business partner, Elgin City Council member Baldemar Lopez, and another man. […]
Stratagem signed a one-year lobbying contract that was to pay $60,000, Lopez said. The deal with ComEd ended early, Lopez said, because, “They were doing some restructuring of their lobbying activities.”
Asked if those changes were prompted by the federal probe, Lopez replied, “I would assume.”
* Tribune…
State Rep. Luis Arroyo’s foray into the shady world of sweepstakes machines is at the center of the federal bribery case alleging he agreed to pay off a state senator in exchange for support on legislation that would benefit the largely unregulated industry.
Now other players linked to the alleged scheme are emerging, including businessman James Weiss, the son-in-law of former Cook County assessor and county Democratic Party boss Joseph Berrios, and an ex-Chicago cop who was fired for consorting with a drug trafficker, the Chicago Tribune has confirmed through state records and a source with knowledge of the probe.
The FBI raided Weiss’ business offices Friday after the charges were filed against Arroyo under seal, the source told the Tribune.
State business records show Weiss is connected to the former cop, John Adreani, through a complex web of corporations, many of which list the same address in a south suburban strip mall as their headquarters.
* Sun-Times…
A businessman whose lobbying efforts to legalize sweepstakes machines are part of the federal criminal case against state Rep. Luis Arroyo also runs a political action committee with close ties to Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan.
James T. Weiss — a son-in-law of Joseph Berrios, the former Cook County Democratic Party chairman and county assessor — owns and operates sweepstakes machines. Weiss also runs the Alliance of Illinois Taxpayers, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, largely from personal injury law firms allied with Madigan. Other donors include individuals with ties to Madigan’s political organization.
Weiss is chairman and treasurer of the PAC. His mother Mary Murray is president. The secretary is John Hynes, a Chicago firefighter who is part of Madigan’s political organization and a friend of the speaker’s son Andrew Madigan. […]
The PAC has raised $630,000 since it was created seven years ago and has given money to help elect candidates including Cicero Town President Larry Dominick. The PAC also spent nearly $20,000 on fliers in 2016 to defeat state Rep. Kenneth Dunkin after the Chicago Democrat broke ranks with Madigan and sided with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on key votes. […]
Weiss and his mother also run two Bridgeport charities, aided by powerful political allies including Cook County Commissioner John Daley and his nephew Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11th), Andrew Madigan and former state Rep. Dan Burke, D-Chicago, brother of Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th). One of the charities, Benton House, is a former settlement house that operates an emergency food pantry. The other is a scholarship fund.
Background on Benton House…
For 13 years, the Internal Revenue Service hounded a politically connected Bridgeport charity to pay back taxes, slapping it with a series of liens totaling $109,000, records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times show.
At the same time, the charity, Benton House, let its buildings fall into disrepair, resulting in repeated citations from City Hall inspectors for building code violations.
It got so bad that Benton House’s then-board president, Chicago police Officer Anthony Skokal, and executive director Mark Lennon borrowed $120,000 from another Bridgeport institution, Washington Federal Bank for Savings, to pay the back taxes and make repairs, personally guaranteeing to repay the money. […]
Now, the Murrays run both charities, relying on powerful political backers to support them including Cook County Commissioner John Daley and his nephew Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11th), Andrew Madigan, son of Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, and state Rep. Dan Burke, D-Chicago, brother of Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th).
* More…
* Speaker Madigan’s son got Alsip business, hit up mayor for campaign cash for his dad: A fundraising invitation for an event benefiting Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan came as Andrew Madigan’s insurance firm was angling for business from the south suburb.
* Luis Arroyo: the slow rise and sudden fall of a low-profile, clout-heavy state rep: Much like state Sen. Martin Sandoval, another Chicago legislator facing intense federal scrutiny though not yet charged, a common reaction to state Rep. Luis Arroyo’s arrest in political circles was: ‘What took them so long?’
* Cook County OK’d insider deal for Ald. Carrie Austin’s top aide: Chester Wilson’s delinquent property tax tab on a South Side building topped $200K. County land bank erased that — and gave the property to a Wilson business partner for $40,000.
* Former candidate for state representative charged with theft and money laundering, Lake County authorities say
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26 ISP squad cars hit this year
Monday, Nov 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* CBS 2…
An Illinois state trooper posted a passionate plea online, urging drivers to pay attention.
It comes after two troopers were taken to the hospital after a crash during a traffic stop along Interstate 57 early Sunday.
ISP say troopers were working a traffic stop on I-57 near 115th early Sunday morning when a red car slammed into one of their squad cars.
The crash sent the trooper’s vehicle into a second squad car. Two state troopers and two other people were all taken to the hospital. The troopers have been released and the other people have minor injuries.
* This is getting way out of hand…
* At least enforcement is up…
Move over. Slow down. The concept isn’t that difficult.
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Our sorry state
Monday, Nov 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kate Thayer at the Tribune…
Premature birth rates and other factors related to maternal and infant health remain “alarming” in the United States, according to the March of Dimes, a nonprofit that supports research, education and advocacy related to those issues. The group Monday released its annual report card, which assigns letter grades to states, counties and large cities, using data from the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Illinois received a D+, as did Chicago, where 10.7% and 10.6% of all births in 2018 were premature, or occurred earlier than 37 weeks gestation. The letter grades are assigned based on the organization’s determination of how far rates are from a goal of 8.1% or less. The national average is about 10%, according to the CDC, a rate that after declining from 2007 to 2014 has increased for the last four years.
The March of Dimes report shows that while rates slightly improved over the previous year in Chicago, as well as in some of the collar counties (where they ranged from 9.4% to 10.4%), Illinois’ statewide rate increased from 10.4% in 2017 to 10.7% last year — the highest premature birth rate in 10 years, according to the report. The state is ranked 39th out of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. […]
(P)premature birth rates among African American women in Illinois were 52% higher than all other women in the state.
The report card is here.
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
The first day of the 2019 veto session on Monday was unlike any other that most people have ever seen.
First, we learned that Rep. Luis Arroyo, D-Chicago, had been arrested on public corruption charges. About an hour later, federal prosecutors claimed that Arroyo had attempted to bribe a state senator, who has been cooperating with the feds since 2016.
An alleged venal criminal in the House and a government mole in the Senate. That can tend to disrupt your day.
Even so, the House Democratic caucus meeting early that afternoon was almost completely routine. House Speaker Michael Madigan went over several mundane topics with members and then finally wound up an hour later by reading a statement to his members about Arroyo.
Madigan’s central message was that Arroyo must resign from the House or face a potential expulsion. One member of his caucus thanked him for the statement. Other than that, the meeting was routine. Members talked incessantly amongst themselves about Arroyo but were mainly mum in caucus.
Things were a little different in the Senate Democratic caucus meeting. Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, angrily demanded that corrupt members should be forced out if they don’t leave. Sitting in that room was Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, who was indicted on over 40 federal counts during the summer. Tom Cullerton was re-elected just last year, so he can continue attending session unless he’s eventually convicted of a felony or is also expelled.
Also in that caucus meeting was Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan. The Sun-Times and the Tribune both reported that Link was the one who helped the feds sting Arroyo. Link, 72, the most prominent gaming expansion supporter in the Senate, repeatedly denied being the mole, and each of the newspapers relied on a single source for their stories. But the unnamed senator said on a government recording that he was in the “twilight” of his career, his first meeting with Arroyo was in Lake County and they talked about a gaming-related bill. If it’s not Link, the government sure seemed to go out of its way to draw a map to his house.
Regardless, this might put a damper on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s gaming bill if Sen. Link is still involved. People may be hesitant to enter a negotiating room believing that someone in the venue might be manipulating them into saying something that the FBI could interpret as a potential criminal offense.
And then there are the lazy criminals who think the only way to get things done is by bribing people. That’s apparently the category that Arroyo falls into, if the government transcript of his conversation with the cooperating witness is accurate and in context.
”This is, this is the jackpot,” Rep. Arroyo said to that unnamed senator as he handed over the first of what he thought would be 12 $2,500 monthly checks.
Seriously? The jackpot? $2,500? That’s only 30 grand over the life of the one-year bribe. Either Arroyo figured the unnamed senator was desperate for cash or that the senator was recklessly corrupt. And “recklessly corrupt” is definitely what I would call someone who threw away their future by handing over a $2,500 check to an FBI informant.
Line 2 of the “List of Items to be Seized” in the September federal search warrant of Sen. Martin Sandoval’s Statehouse office read: “Items related to CW1, Lobbyist A, and/or Lobbyist B.” CW is fed-speak for “cooperating witness.”
The unnamed senator is described in the Arroyo criminal complaint as “CW-1.” The cooperating witness “became a source for the FBI” in 2016. The feds must have let that person off the hook for something else because the complaint says the person had to be “admonished multiple times” to report his/her involvement in any “unauthorized” illegal activity. And then the witness allegedly filed false income tax returns and the FBI “closed” him as a source. They apparently gave the senator an opportunity at redemption, or at least a sentence reduction, with the Arroyo sting.
The herd mentality requires a rejection of informants. This particular informant, mole or whatever else you want to call it, was obviously no angel. But he did help nab someone who apparently thought he could bribe a state senator into carrying legislation to legalize sweepstakes games. There is a strong positive to what the cooperating witness accomplished here.
By the end of the week, Arroyo had resigned. In his resignation letter, he practically begged his colleagues to let his district keep the pork projects he had inserted into the infrastructure program. Maybe somebody should take a look at those.
We’ll get to several other stories on this topic soon.
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* My Crain’s Chicago Business column was submitted before we found out that the SEC is also investigating Exelon/ComEd…
Does Chicago-based Exelon even want to be in the energy production business in Illinois anymore? If you just listen to what the company’s CEO says, you might wonder.
A few years ago, Exelon threatened to close two of its six active nuclear power plants and eventually persuaded the General Assembly and Gov. Bruce Rauner to hand it a $200 million-per-year ratepayer bailout.
And then this year on Halloween, Exelon CEO Chris Crane said the company could shut down its other four nuke plants if the Legislature doesn’t give it lots more ratepayer money next year.
For years now, Exelon and its subsidiary ComEd have held sway over Springfield. The companies accomplished this with what seemed at the time to be brilliant lobbying strategies. Its last bailout, for example, was enmeshed with a proposal strongly supported by environmental groups and green energy companies. It was one of only a handful of truly bipartisan bills passed during Rauner’s sharply divisive term.
But this year, some of the companies’ top lobbyists and consultants found themselves on the wrong end of federal search warrants, and Exelon itself was hit with two subpoenas related to its lobbying operation and its dealings with Sen. Martin Sandoval, a Chicago Democrat whose house, district office and Capitol office were raided in September.
Please click here to read the rest before commenting. Thanks.
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Yes, it can happen here
Monday, Nov 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Saturday report in the Naperville Sun…
A group of children and adults celebrating a birthday at a Naperville restaurant last weekend were asked to move to different tables because of the color of their skin, two men who were part of the group said.
Justin Vahl and Marcus Riley said they visited the Buffalo Wild Wings on 75th Street east of Route 59 to celebrate a child’s birthday about 8:30 p.m. Oct. 26.
As employees set up the tables to seat the group, a host asked Vahl about his ethnicity, and later a manager asked the group to move to another location because a nearby customer didn’t want to sit near black people, the men said.
A manager at the restaurant Friday directed any questions to Buffalo Wild Wings’ corporate communications team.
* AP…
Justin Vahl says he was at a Naperville restaurant Oct. 26 with children and adults when a host asked him about his ethnicity. Later, a manager asked the group to move because a regular customer didn’t want to sit near black people.
Vahl, of nearby Montgomery, says he’s multiracial. His wife, Mary, first shared the story on social media. After several managers tried to move the group, they left for another restaurant.
* React from a Republican Naperville House member…
* Daily Herald…
On Sunday, Buffalo Wild Wings issued a statement saying it fired the employees.
“We take this incident very seriously and after conducting a thorough, internal investigation have terminated the employees involved,” it said. “Buffalo Wild Wings values an inclusive environment and has zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind.” White said he had been told the same about the managers on duty Oct. 26.
Another manager at the Naperville location on Sunday also said the customers who didn’t want to sit near the multiracial group no longer are welcome there.
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