Question of the day
Monday, Aug 19, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Snoop Dogg show at the Illinois State Fair’s grandstand Friday night was pretty darned good. Somebody I know snapped this pic of the performer departing from his Springfield hotel on Saturday morning…
* The Question: Caption?
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* Buzzfeed has a story about how insurance companies are in some cases helping fund police investigations and prosecutions against their policyholders who file claims…
It’s impossible to say how often innocent customers are the victims of false charges, because much of the potential evidence is hidden from public view by the companies themselves. In one case, investigators at State Farm withheld several crucial reports contradicting their fraud allegations from the bundle of evidence they handed over the law enforcement. In another, a Farmers manager admitted under oath that there was an “unwritten policy” within the company to withhold evidence from customers that could help prove their innocence.
Policyholders, meanwhile, often find it difficult and expensive to fight back, leading many to walk away from claims or face pressure to take plea deals for crimes they didn’t commit. And even those individuals who are able to successfully bring lawsuits against insurers are usually obliged to sign confidentiality provisions as part of the terms of any settlement, making it difficult if not impossible for others to find out what happened.
But by reviewing hundreds of court records from around the country, complaints filed with state regulators, and internal company records, and interviewing dozens of former insurance company employees, BuzzFeed News uncovered a system that has ensnared countless innocent people.
In Florida alone, state law enforcement received roughly 14,500 suspected fraud referrals about homeowners and vehicle claims in the past five years — the vast majority of them from insurance companies. Yet authorities determined that in more than 75% of the cases, there was not enough evidence to move forward with a criminal investigation. And regardless of whether fraud accusations turn out to be false, many sit in databases shared among insurers, where they can haunt people if they ever have to file another insurance claim.
These tactics can be applied with impunity, thanks to legislation in all 50 states restricting the ability of customers to sue insurers for wrongly accusing them of fraud — unless the customers can prove the allegations were malicious or made in bad faith.
The legislation was crafted with help from insurers, which worked to get versions of it passed across the country.
But critics say that the way the law has been implemented favors insurance companies’ commercial interests while failing to provide adequate protections for innocent people. [Emphasis added.]
Thoughts?
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* Center Square…
The Illinois State Police have filed proposed rules for the Illinois Gun Dealer License Certification Act, but a mandatory 90-day review period means that gun dealers will still have to wait until all the details are finalized and the law is fully implemented before the cost of compliance is clear.
The Illinois State Rifle Association previously filed suit over the delays. The Illinois Attorney General’s office has a Monday deadline to file its response to that legal challenge.
The state licensing law Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed earlier this year requires federally licensed gun dealers in Illinois also get certification from the state. The proposed certification rules hadn’t been filed when the law went into effect last month.
As news broke that more than 1,200, or more than half of Illinois’ federally licensed dealers hadn’t applied for a state license, the Illinois State Rifle Association sued because the certification rules hadn’t been finalized.
Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said those rules have now been filed.
“Anybody who has actually submitted their application, they’re still considered to be to be in compliance while the rulemaking process is going on,” Kelly said.
Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson said that’s not good enough because it could still take months before the law is fully implemented.
“We are a long way from having these in effect and the law requires that the rules be in place before the law, not the other way around, so they’re still in violation,” Pearson said.
Pearson said the delay in finalizing the rules left gun dealers in the dark. Dealers don’t know how much things like surveillance systems suitable in the proposed rules will cost, among other issues, Pearson said.
Kelly said his agency has other aspects of the law to work on while the comment period continues. After the comment period, the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules will review the proposed rules.
“That process is moving forward,” Kelly said. “The legislature did provide for additional headcount for personnel to deal with gun dealer licensing for the Illinois State Police but that hiring process could take many months.” […]
The Attorney General’s office is expected to file a response the Illinois State Rifle Association’s lawsuit Monday in Springfield. Pearson said he expects a court hearing Sept. 5.
I’ve asked the AG’s office for a copy of its response to the lawsuit.
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* From the US Attorney…
A Chicago man has been arrested on federal criminal charges for allegedly threatening to commit violence at a women’s reproductive health clinic.
FARHAN SHEIKH, 19, is charged with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. Sheikh was arrested Friday night and made an initial court appearance this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox. Judge Cox ordered Sheikh to remain in custody pending a detention hearing set for Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
* AP…
The complaint says Sheikh subscribed to the iFunny account of “ArmyOfChrist,” the purported user name of 18-year-old Justin Olsen, who was charged earlier this month in Ohio with threatening an agent. He allegedly posted support for mass shootings and for any attacks on Planned Parenthood.
Olsen, who was arrested at a home stockpiled with guns and ammunition, had been under investigation since February. But prosecutors in the federal judicial district for northern Ohio said they choose to bring him in in the wake of recent mass shootings in Ohio and Texas.
The complaint against Sheikh doesn’t identify the clinic he is said to have threatened, saying only that it was about four miles from Sheikh’s North Side residence.
* More on “ArmyOfChrist” from the criminal complaint (redacted by me)…
* More from the complaint (redacted by me)…
I am done with my state and thier [sic] bulls**t abortion laws and allowing innocrnt [sic] kids to be slaughtered for the so called ‘womans right’ bulls**t. Ive seen nothing but wh*res go out of the way to get an abortion, but no more. I will not tolerate this anymore. Im DONE. … I will go to the [Victim A] in Chicago on [Street A]. I will proceed to slaughter and murder any doctor, patient, or visitor i see in the area and I will not back down. consider this a warning for anyone visiting. … To all the fbi agents in this app, I am NOT a satirical account. I post what I mean, and i WILL carry out what I post
* Tribune…
At an initial appearance Monday in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, Sheikh was ordered held in custody by U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Cox at least until a detention hearing Tuesday.
FBI agents linked the iFunny account to Sheikh by connecting it with other social media accounts of his. When agents confronted him Friday, he admitted that the “awarded” account belonged to him, according to the complaint.
When agents asked him why he thought the FBI was at his home, Sheikh said he believed it was because of a “joke” he had posted on iFunny, the complaint said.
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* Yvette Shields at the Bond Buyer…
The fate of the lawsuit seeking to block repayment of $14.3 billion of Illinois general obligation debt is in a judge’s hands.
Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Jack D. Davis II heard oral arguments in his Springfield courtroom Thursday about the case that opponents say is “frivolous” and filed for “a malicious or ulterior purpose.” […]
The two traded swipes over the market impact. “There is damage” to the state from the lawsuit and it “will disrupt the markets” and “it’s going to make borrowing more difficult” if the case moves forward and if the petitioners prevail, [Assistant Attorney General Joshua Ratz] said.
[Daniel Thies, an attorney for the Illinois Policy Institute’s John Tillman] disagreed. “The state’s credit rating is going to be helped…$20 billion of debt will be taken off its books” and there will be a court ruling outlining what is constitutionally allowed in the future. “This will help the state and its ability to borrow.”
* Mark Glennon at Wirepoints…
(T)he actual results for the state, if Warlander were to win, would be far different than some critics seem to think. The state would be destroyed and it’s credit slashed, some are saying.
Nonsense. The state would stop payment on the challenged bonds, indeed freeing up that cash to relieve the budget crunch and ensure that other bonds get paid. Taxpayers would be better off. Only the challenged bonds would be impaired, provided the court’s rationale were limited to those bonds. That’s an important proviso. If the court issued a sloppy or overly broad opinion, many other bonds could become suspect. Regardless, however, the credit rating for bonds to be issued in the future would improve, provided the they are made within the legal limits the court would have laid out in its decision. That point came up yesterday in court.
That’s the part that so many don’t seem to get. It’s the creditworthiness of bonds to be issued in the future that counts. Holders of old bonds are of less concern. They should get what the courts say they have a right to get, and nothing more.
That’s some truly wishful thinking. The state can’t just walk away from bond obligations. If the courts eventually do rule against Illinois (which I seriously doubt, but it’s the courts, so one never knows for sure), Illinois will have to make bondholders whole or undoubtedly face serious consequences with the credit ratings agencies. It can’t just walk away from billions in debt - even with a judicial ruling - and not expect a major downgrade into junk status. After all, most of the same institutions which now hold those old bonds are the ones who will be buying new bonds.
* Back to Yvette…
…Adding… From Glennon…
Rich, the whole point of the suit is to stop payment on just those certain bonds. That’s their specific request for relief. That’s the part that’s wishful thinking because I, like you, think they likely will lose. But if they win you apparently think the state would somehow pay those bondholders anyway. No, the state would be barred from doing that, and the bar would apply only to the challenged bonds. Other bonds and future bonds would benefit, provided, as I said, that the ruling was limited to the challenged bonds. It would be as if a court said you no longer had to make payments on your mortgage because of some claim you had against that lender. Would your credit rating be impaired? No, of course not. It seems very odd to me that you and many of your readers are so concerned about the rights of old bondholders instead of protecting of future bond issues.
This passage is just so goofy it blows my mind…
It would be as if a court said you no longer had to make payments on your mortgage because of some claim you had against that lender.
Poppycock.
The lawsuit is not about the lender. The lawsuit is about the borrower (the state) allegedly making false claims when it borrowed the money. If the state is found in the wrong, bondholders and credit agencies would naturally wonder how many other bonds could be suspect. And that would indeed kill the credit rating.
So, to use Glennon’s logic, if you are busted for borrowing money under false pretenses your credit rating is gonna suffer. He has it all bass-ackwards.
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* AP…
Illinois alleges that a company that provides water to a Chicago suburb made changes without permission from state regulators that caused lead to contaminate the village’s drinking water.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a lawsuit Friday against Aqua Illinois, the company that supplies water to residents of University Park, a village about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Chicago. […]
More than 85% of the village’s nearly 7,000 residents are black, and Raoul noted serious damage has occurred in other predominantly minority communities where contaminated water wasn’t immediately addressed. In the majority-black city of Flint, Michigan, for example, the toxic metal leached into the supply in 2014 and 2015 due to a lack of corrosion-control treatment following a switch in the water source while the city was under state emergency management.
* Background from a Raoul press release…
In 2017, Aqua switched the source of the village’s water from groundwater wells to the Kankakee River. Because of the switch, Aqua is required to conduct testing every six months. In May, Aqua reported elevated lead levels to the IEPA and later issued a notice to residents warning them not to drink the water. Additional testing in July continued to show elevated lead levels. In the most recent sampling done in August, 27 out of 60 samples collected from customers contained lead levels above the regulatory action level. The company is currently providing bottled water, pitchers with filters, and faucet filters to the impacted residents.
In response to residents’ complaints about the water’s taste following the switch to water from the Kankakee River, Aqua began adding a blended phosphate mix to the public water system. Raoul’s and Glasgow’s complaint alleges the change of the water chemistry combined with the phosphate blend caused a chemical reaction that removed a protective layer in residential plumbing. As a result, lead leached out of plumbing materials and into the water flowing into some homes and businesses.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no safe level of lead in drinking water. Children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure, which can lead to irreversible brain damage and lifelong intellectual, emotional and behavioral consequences.
Raoul and Glasgow also allege Aqua proceeded with construction and operations without having secured the required permits from the IEPA. Aqua began providing Kankakee River water to University Park’s approximately 7,000 residents before it had secured an operating permit to do so. The complaint also alleges that Aqua introduced a blended phosphate into the public water system before it had received the requisite permit from the IEPA.
In the lawsuit, Raoul and Glasgow are seeking a preliminary injunction that requires Aqua to act immediately to correct the situation. The lawsuit also seeks to ensure Aqua provides residents with permanent, safe drinking water, as well as civil penalties, the maximums of which are defined in state statute.
* CBS 2…
You may take safe, usable water for granted until you’re forced to live without it for three months like Pamelia Roby’s family.
“Someone needs to do something about it. It should have been done a long time ago, but they really need to do something about it,” Roby said. “It’s absurd. They wouldn’t live in this mess.”
Roby’s family’s home is one of hundreds in University Park relying on bottled water for their own safety. They have to use the bottled water to drink, cook, clean and brush their teeth, because the tap water is contaminated with lead.
“I’m worried about my health; the health of my child,” Roby said. “It’s disgusting.”
* Daily Southtown…
About 1,500 Aqua customers in University Park remain unable to consume water normally following the company’s detection of elevated lead levels on June 14 and Blanchette has said it could be several months before those residents are able to drink tap water without restrictions.
The company has told affected customers they can safely drink tap water if they run their faucet two to three minutes before each use and use a pitcher or faucet filter certified by the National Sanitation Foundation to reduce lead.
Mayor Joseph Roudez, whose own home remains among those affected by the lead problem, has said it’s been “hectic” adjusting to life with tap water restrictions and admitted in early August that he still did not feel safe drinking from his tap despite Aqua’s assurances.
* Citizens Utility Board…
Water. We need it to live. Should we all own this valuable resource, or should private companies own our water? That question will be asked all over this state in the wake of two private companies passing one of the nation’s most substantial water-privatization laws here in Illinois.
Aqua Illinois and Illinois American Water (IAW) succeeded in lobbying state lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 3051 in the fall of 2018. Aqua and IAW can now crisscross our state offering cash-strapped municipalities top dollar for their systems, all the while the ratepayers of Aqua and IAW will pay for their expansion.
Since the companies’ legislation took effect on June 1 of this year, the two companies have already filed for four acquisitions with the Illinois Commerce Commission. Those four acquisitions are scheduled to cost the ratepayers of the two companies $11.35 million, and the companies are likely just getting started. As I write this, their agents are knocking on the doors of Illinois municipalities, dazzling them with big money for water systems that are fully depreciated and in need of investment. […]
There is a bill in Springfield that would allow you a vote before your community could privatize its water and/or sewer system. House Bill 2392, sponsored by Rep. John Connor, would allow a referendum so the current owners of a municipal water system, the people that live in the community, would have a voice in the future of an asset critical to their lives.
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* Press release…
Illinois Rising is a new project of America Rising PAC dedicated to holding Illinois Democrats at the state and federal level accountable through video tracking, research, and strategic communications. This system will ensure that Democrat candidates must account for their policies and actions.
“Illinois Democrats at the highest reaches of government are continuously under investigation and promoting far-left policies including increased taxes and the most extreme late term abortion bill in the country. Illinoisans are already among the highest taxed citizens and deserve better from their elected officials. Illinois Rising is dedicated to holding Democrats accountable for their agendas and campaign promises and exposing the hypocrisy of their policies,” said Sarah Dolan, Executive Director of America Rising PAC.
Dolan worked briefly for US Sen. Mark Kirk after a stint with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
* I told her the press release was a bit vague and asked if she would be targeting anyone in particular in Congress, the state legislature or statewides. Dolan’s response…
All of the above
* From Source Watch…
America Rising is a Republican opposition research organization that was co-founded in spring of 2013 by Matt Rhoades, former campaign manager for Mitt Romney, along with Tim Miller and Joe Pounder, two staffers who worked for the Republican National Committee.[1] America Rising describes itself as “an entity that is focused on solely holding Democrats accountable for their actions and records using research, candidate tracking, rapid response and digital tools,” according to a statement by Rhoades. It focuses on tracking statements by Democrats “in hopes of catching gaffes and flip-flops and collecting an archive that can be mined for hypocrisy and errors,” as described by Slate.
America Rising is comprised of a “super PAC” (America Rising PAC) and a limited liability company that can legally work directly with political campaigns and committees.
* Its Illinois website is so far mostly just aggregated news stories about Democrats…
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* Bernie…
Republicans in Springfield last week got a preview of the field of possible candidates to take on U.S. Sen. DICK DURBIN, D-Illinois, in 2020. Some of the rhetoric was not subtle.
“I need you to help me kick slick Dick to the curb,” said former Lake County Sheriff MARK CURRAN, 56, of Libertyville. […]
“Lake County is not purple, it’s blue, folks,” Curran said. “You know, the wrong people moved in, what have you. We need to change that and we will.”
Curran said later that he was saying that “it was a Republican county and then Democrats moved in,” and the “wrong people” comment had nothing to do with race. “The ethnic groups haven’t changed,” he said. “We’re the same percentages.”
Lake County has the same ethnic and racial percentages? Really?
The 1990 Census counted 38,570 Latinos in Lake County, or about 7.5 percent of the county’s total population. By 2000, the number had risen to 92,716, or 14.4 percent of the total. That number grew by more than 50 percent in the next ten years, to 139,987, or 19.9 percent of the total in 2010 (Curran was first elected in 2006). And the latest count as of 2017 has the population at 148,894, or 21.1 percent of the total.
* Daily Herald…
On Thursday night Curran posted a video of the speech to his Facebook page and wrote that when he mentioned the “wrong people” he was referring to Cook County “transplants.”
“Obviously what I was referring to was a lot of Chicago transplants moved to Lake County and now Lake County has the highest property taxes in the state of Illinois,” Curran told the Daily Herald on Friday. “The people who moved in wanted big government and big government spending.”
Chicago transplants caused Lake County’s high property taxes? Um, the county board was controlled by Republicans until last year.
* And there’s this…
Since 2010, Lake County’s population has mostly floated around 703,000, with a slight dip in 2011 and 2012 to figures closer to 701,000.
The slight population loss for 2016 in Lake County can be mainly attributed to domestic migration. The 7,773 births in Lake County outpaced the 4,589 deaths, and the county gained almost 1,700 people due to international migration. But that was offset by nearly 5,200 people moving out of Lake County between July 2015 and 2016.
* All that being said, here is Curran’s own analysis of why he lost last November…
Curran said he normally has had big support from the Latino community, but he said he does not think Latinos voted for him Tuesday because of President Trump.
“They’re so upset about referring to people in terms that are, as though they’re less than human beings,” he said.
The sheriff said of immigrants, “these are human beings, created in the likeness and image of God.”
Sheriff Curran does not like what he sees for 2020 and he does not believe President Trump would repeat his victories in places like Michigan and Wisconsin. Curran would like to see the President replaced at the top of the ticket in two years.
‘We, as Republicans should probably look to take him out in some way, shape, or form because ultimately, he’s horrible for our brand,” he said.
“There’s no light. There’s no illumination that’s coming from the president that’s going to draw others into him, certainly not as our nation becomes browner. So, if he’s the future of our party, put a fork in it,” Curran said.
Sheriff Curran said Republicans who disparage immigrants, but also call themselves “pro-life” should talk to their pastors about whether immigration is a pro-life issue.
“As Christians or Jews or Muslims that believe we’re to live in this world together, the way [President Trump] speaks of other people, specifically immigrants, but beyond immigrants, is very bad for our brand,” the sheriff said.
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Today’s must-read
Monday, Aug 19, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune has the best story I’ve yet seen on what’s ahead for the state’s new gaming laws…
After years of failed efforts, a Chicago casino seemed within reach this spring when Illinois lawmakers approved massive gambling expansion.
But after a report raised questions about whether a city casino would be profitable because of the heavy tax burden exacted by the city and state, the players may need to go back to the table.
Moving ahead, and striking a new deal if necessary, figures to be a major test for rookie Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who came into office just as casino bill negotiations were nearing a conclusion in Springfield, as well as for first-year Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The proposal’s future could hinge on whether the city or the state — or both — is willing to take a smaller cut of tax revenue, and whether supporters can round up the votes to alter the gambling legislation that was frantically put together as the General Assembly’s spring session went into overtime.
* One of the reporters…
Go read the whole thing.
* Related…
* First Chicago-area sports book coming soon — to Indiana
* Five takeaways from the Chicago casino feasibility study
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* Oy…
Turns my stomach that anyone could think that was a good idea anywhere, not just at a campaign fundraiser.
* Gov. JB Pritzker…
As our nation grapples with the epidemic of gun violence, purposely pointing a fake gun at anyone is insensitive and wrong. I condemn actions like the ones displayed in the pictures because they lack the civility our politics demands.
* Democratic Party of Illinois…
The tragedies in El Paso and Gilroy have demonstrated how hate-filled political rhetoric can fuel violence. These images are unacceptable and dangerous. The place to make our voices heard against Trump is at the ballot box.
* Maxwell’s story…
Donors paid a minimum of $250 to attend Sandoval’s golf outing at the Klein Creek Golf Club in west suburban Winfield. A woman who attended the event posted the photos to her Facebook page on Saturday and tagged Sandoval in them. Sandoval is pictured separately posing with the man who held the fake weapon, but it remains unclear if the Senator knew about the incident when it occurred. […]
Sandoval, a powerful state lawmaker who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee and was a driving force behind the recent gas tax increase to fund the ‘Rebuild Illinois’ capital plan, issued an apology in an emailed statement.
“The incident that took place is unacceptable,” he said. “I don’t condone violence toward the President or anyone else. I apologize that something like this happened at my event.”
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider called on Sandoval to fire the person in the photo if they were a staffer or volunteer.
…Adding… Center Square…
State Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, said Sandoval should resign.
“I think the man should resign his position and I hope that the voters of his area will be just as disgusted as I believe the rest of the state will be and call for his resignation,” Bailey said.
Bailey noted this is another reason why southern Illinois is “disgusted” with some politicians in Chicago. He also said Sandoval bullied him when Bailey was critical a proposal to double the state’s gas tax. At the time, Sandoval suggested carving Bailey’s district, and any other district represented by lawmakers who didn’t support the tax increase, out of the capital plan.
“That’s the mindset, that’s the bullying mentality that’s taking place of the power that Chicago has and it’s got to change, it needs to change,” Bailey said. “That’s just the flat mobster bullying idea and that’s got to end and he needs to be called out for it.”
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The end of the Carrigan era
Monday, Aug 19, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
The Illinois AFL-CIO hosted its annual State Fair reception last week. The highlight was probably a speech by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who thanked his audience of union leaders for their support in the 2018 campaign and for their help passing an enormous amount of legislation during his first session of the General Assembly.
But there was also some real news. The event was the last time Michael Carrigan attended as the organization’s president.
President Carrigan intends to retire at the end of this year after ten years at the helm of the State Fed. He succeeded the late Margaret Blackshere in 2010 after serving ten years as the organization’s secretary-treasurer — the number-two position.
The Illinois AFL-CIO isn’t as cash-rich as the Chicago Federation of Labor (which once owned a popular commercial radio station in the city), but it can be an enormously influential organization among unions in election campaigns and with legislators in the General Assembly.
After years on its city council, Carrigan served briefly as mayor of Decatur. So, when Gov. Bruce Rauner chose that city shortly after taking office in 2015 as the site of his first formal address urging passage of anti-union “right to work” laws, the decision was seen as a direct shot at the AFL-CIO President. Carrigan worked hand in glove with House Speaker Michael Madigan against Rauner for four solid years, even going so far as to warn Senate Democrats against agreeing to any “grand bargain” with the Republican. And he was determined to oust Rauner in the 2018 election.
President Blackshere engineered an early labor endorsement of Rod Blagojevich ahead of the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, which helped bring the rest of organized labor on board. Carrigan helped do the same for J.B. Pritzker in June of 2017, almost a year before the 2018 primary. That early endorsement was crucial for Pritzker. Some influential trade unions had endorsed the candidate a month before, but the AFL-CIO nod was essential to broadening his appeal. None of Pritzker’s Democratic primary opponents received any significant labor support after that.
Carrigan told me around that time that he’d only reluctantly agreed to meet with Pritzker at the urging of Madigan. He worried he couldn’t sell the unknown billionaire to rank and file members. But he said he came away enormously impressed with Pritzker’s ability to connect one-on-one during their meeting in Pritzker’s Chicago office. Carrigan told me he realized he could take Pritzker to meet with refinery workers in the Metro East or workers anywhere else, for that matter, without worrying about being embarrassed. He quickly began putting together union support.
It hasn’t all been ponies and rainbows between Carrigan and Pritzker’s campaign and governing teams (to say the least), but those have mostly been specific personality conflicts. Carrigan didn’t care for some of the people running Pritzker’s campaign and had his gripes about the way things were being managed during the spring session. He turned out to be wrong. Pritzker won big in the primary and the general and had one of the most successful spring sessions of any Illinois governor.
But, when it came to the issues, Carrigan and Team Pritzker were pretty much of a single mind.
A gradual minimum wage increase to $15 an hour, a progressive income tax, legalizing cannabis, and a massive $45 billion infrastructure program were just a few of the things they got done. Labor had a myriad of smaller, relatively unknown legislative requests which had been piling up during Gov. Rauner’s hostile administration, and most of those were approved as well. Carrigan told me last week that he’s had a super-busy summer traveling the state explaining to unions all they’d managed to accomplish.
The tradition at the AFL-CIO is for the secretary-treasurer to move up to the top job when the president retires. Carrigan did so with relative ease ten years ago, but Blackshere had to fight a tough campaign ahead of her 2000 ascension.
The current secretary-treasurer is Tim Drea, who started out as a coal miner and eventually went back to school (with me at one point) and worked his way up the ladder at the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Drea is widely expected to seek the presidency.
So far, no competition has yet emerged, and it’s not known for sure who Drea will choose as his running-mate. Since the top leadership has been solidly white male for the past decade, I assume he’ll choose a person of color and/or a woman. Stay tuned
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