* They declared themselves a gun sanctuary, put a question on the ballot about kicking Chicago out of Illinois and now they’re formally weighing in on a bill that was signed into law three months ago…
The Effingham County Board Legislative Committee on Monday moved to the full board a resolution opposing the Illinois minimum wage increase.
The resolution was proposed by the committee’s vice chairman, Jim Niemann. He said the purpose of the resolution was to let Illinois legislators and Gov. J.B. Pritzker know the law will have a negative effect on Effingham County.
“This is something that’s going to not only draw businesses out of Illinois, but make it difficult for us to do our jobs,” Niemann said. “As I said earlier, too, it’s just a hidden tax. From my perspective, all it is is to raise money for the state.” […]
When it came time to vote on whether to pass the resolution on to the full board, there was some hesitation on committee member Joe Thoele’s part. Thoele voted to pass it on to the full board, but said the wage hike is already in place.
“It’s already law. That’s just my opinion,” Thoele said. “The reason I would support it would be if it had something to do with the county and how it affects the county.”
* Meanwhile, here is Rep. Allen Skillicorn’s HJRCA35…
Proposes to amend the Legislature Article of the Illinois Constitution. Provides that the legislative power is vested in a General Assembly consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives, elected by the electors from 102 counties (currently, 59 Legislative Districts) and 118 Representative Districts. Provides that one Senator shall be elected from each county in this State. Provides that the General Assembly shall divide the counties as equally as possible into three groups for electoral purposes. Establishes 118 Representative Districts independent of the number of Legislative Districts (currently, each Legislative District consists of 2 Representative Districts). Provides that no Legislative Districts shall be established following the 2020 decennial census, or any decennial census thereafter, for the purpose of selecting State Senators.
Not unconstitutional at all. Nope. Not in the least.
Illinois News Network, which provides coverage of state and regional issues to media outlets across Illinois, has changed its name to The Center Square. The rebranding is intended to stake out a nonpartisan centrist position. But it also can be seen as a break from the organization’s controversial past ties to the Illinois Policy Institute. Since 2017 INN has been owned by the nonprofit Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. “For each of us associated with this project, our name serves as a reminder that we’re working with the highest journalistic ethics and precision in mind,” said Chris Krug, president of the Franklin News Foundation. Krug previously served as publisher of the Pioneer Press suburban newspaper chain and as vice president of Shaw Media and editor of the Northwest Herald.
Confusion, Squared. The Illinois News Network, a once-reliable state government watchdog whose recent past has been spotty (2016 link)—including funding from the conservative Koch Brothers (2018 link)—is taking a new name: The Center Square – Illinois.
■ Please don’t mistake it for Chicago Public Square, which comes to you courtesy of four-star supporters including Lora Engdahl, Frank Heitzman, Joseph Sjostrom and Teresa Powell—whom you can join here for a few cents a day.
Our company has been renamed Franklin News Foundation, which is about as straightforward as it gets. With a nod to Benjamin Franklin, our nation’s best-known publisher, we’re a non-profit, non-partisan, non-political, no-nonsense organization whose mission is to connect content and audience with news from state capitals and across the states that simply isn’t reported elsewhere.
Our journalism platform is TheCenterSquare.com. When a reporter is on target within their beat, they’re said “to be hitting the center square.” I’ve always liked that saying, because rather than writing “a story,” I’ve always preferred that our reporters write “the story.” For each of us associated with this project, our name serves as a reminder that we’re working with the highest journalistic ethics and precision in mind.
Over the past two years, we’ve watched as partisanship has permeated reporting from Washington. And, state by state, as we’ve increased our staff and dialed into state-level issues across the country, reading thousands of competitive stories, we’ve seen how this same bias creeps into capitol-level news coverage – pushing readers and journalistic reputations out to the right and the left.
Commentary has overwhelmed straight-news content, and caused significant distortion for time-pressed readers disinterested in becoming professional fact-checkers. Too many people are reading someone’s take on a story before they’ve read the story.
Millions of Americans seek news from the vacated middle ground – from that center square – and simply want to understand what is happening in their state capitol, and how it affects their lives.
Our reporters are keenly interested in economics and finance, how tax dollars are generated and how they’re spent. We talk to our readers in terms that they understand rather than through the wonky, inside baseball that so often stands for statehouse reporting.
Legislative mechanics already are complicated. Reporters should be educating the reader and simplifying the news, rather than showing off and making the activity or inactivity of the statehouse more confusing. We commit to write in plain English.
I Googled “‘hitting the center square’ reporter” and came up with one result, the column excerpted above. Not quite a Googlewhack, but still unique.
Lawmakers appeared poised to vote on a bill that would more than double the state’s motor fuel tax to pay for statewide transportation projects, but the plan stalled late Tuesday as negotiations continued.
Under state Sen. Martin Sandoval’s proposed legislation, the motor fuel tax would be more than doubled from 19 cents to 44 cents per gallon and indexed to inflation. That would mean the tax would increase each year with inflation, but that annual increase would be capped at a penny per year.
With the sales tax included, the proposal would give Illinois the highest gas tax in the nation at more than 60 cents. Pennsylvania’s tax on a gallon of fuel is 58 cents. In addition, the bill would add a $1,000 annual registration fee for electric vehicles. The existing registration fee for electric vehicles is $17.50. Those registration fees would also increase with the rate of inflation every year, with caps set at 102.5 percent of the previous year’s total.
Lawmakers had until earlier this month to call legislation and amendments in committee to get them to the Senate floor, but the chamber suspended those rules Tuesday afternoon so Sandoval could get the legislation out of committee.
However, Sandoval convened and then adjourned the Senate Transportation Committee in a matter of minutes without calling the legislation.
“Leader [Don] DeWitte is working with me very arduously to try and fashion another amendment,” Sandoval said after the hearing.
He said he expects the bill to be changed to scale back some tax hikes, notably the annual registration fee for electric vehicles.
Rumor mill has it at a 19-cents increase in the Motor Fuel Tax (doubled) and maybe $400-500 for the annual EV regisration fee. But everything is fluid right now.
* Love him or hate him, more Chicago politicos talk about Maze Jackson’s morning show than just about anyone else. Press release…
Midway Broadcasting Corporation announced that former president of the Cook County Board, Todd Stroger has signed on as the co-host of the Maze Jackson Morning Show effective immediately. The show airs weekdays from 6am-9am on WVON 1690AM, Chicago’s premier Urban Talk radio station.
Stroger is a life-long Chicagoan with a name that is synonymous with local politics. He has served as a state representative, alderman and as president of the Cook County Board, which is the second largest county in the nation, a seat previously held by Todd’s father, John Stroger, who was a stalwart in the Democratic Party.
He joins an elite list of former politicians-turned- talk- show hosts, who’ve built second careers in the media industry including former Alderman Edward Vrdolyak, Congressman Joe Walsh, and WVON’s Cliff Kelley, who retired in March from the station. Stroger has sat in regularly as a guest host with Jackson.
Midway Broadcasting’s Chairwoman, Melody Spann Cooper says, “Todd joining the team is a no- brainer in a town where politics is a second sport. I’m excited about what we are doing with talk radio in this town right now, and Maze and Todd are so much a part of it.” In addition to politics, The Maze Jackson Morning Show with Todd Stroger will continue to deliver special features, and local and national newsmakers and celebrities.
The Talk of Chicago has established itself as Chicago’s premier content provider. For more than 56 years, the station has been considered one of the most credible and highly-respected media institutions in the nation providing an interactive forum for its vast listening audience to discuss social, economic and political issues that impact the African-American community. - MG Media
The last time WVON appeared in a Nielsen Audio survey, its morning show tied for 39th place with a 0.3 percent share and cumulative weekly audience of 33,600.
Another former Chicago alderman, Cliff Kelley, stepped down in March after 25 years as a talk show host at WVON. His interim replacement from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays is the team of Matt McGill and Kimberley Egonmwan.
I was on that show the other day and they were a delight…
Kimberley: When I was on staff we were told never to speak to you.
Dozens of social media posts and promotional videos posted online reveal State Senator Patricia Van Pelt, a Chicago Democrat, is looking to cash in on cannabis and go “riding the wave with the rich” in the final days leading up to a highly anticipated vote that could legalize recreational marijuana for adult use in the state.
Since her re-election victory in November 2018, Van Pelt has launched an aggressive social media campaign recruiting potential investors to attend her seminars. Tickets for her upcoming events are listed on Eventbrite at a non-refundable rate of $99.95.
“You’re going to learn how to invest in the stock market and what cannabis companies are viable,” Van Pelt said in a video she posted online to promote Wakanna, a company she co-founded last month along with three other women.
In one post, Van Pelt says you can purchase cannabis stock at $0.72 cents per share. In another post, she urges potential investors to “move expeditiously” and “imagine going from $0.02 cents a share to $60 a share in three years,” which would be a 3,000 percent return on investment.
She also claimed she nearly doubled her money in a matter of roughly three weeks. […]
Van Pelt’s insinuation was “totally inappropriate,” a top ranking member of the Legislative Black Caucus told WCIA. Speaking on a condition of anonymity, the lawmaker said it was “just wrong” for “someone in [Van Pelt’s] position of power and influence to try and make money for herself.”
After reviewing several Facebook posts, the source felt Van Pelt was intentionally misleading the people in her district or in her church congregation.
“Because she’s a senator, they must think, ‘Oh, she must know something!’”
I told subscribers about this months ago. It’s really a bad look.
Investing In Cannabis Stock & Other Emerging Industries
by Dr. Patricia Van Pelt
$99.95
Join the 1000s of people that are riding the wave to wealth through the emerging industry of Cannabis!
About this Event
“Investing in Cannabis Stock/Hot Stock List Combo” (includes a list of 25 of the hottest cannabis stock on the market) & “Investing in Cannabis Stock 101” is an ONLINE CLASS that teaches attendees how to access the millions of dollars being generated through the worldwide resurgence of the Cannabis industry.
Without mentioning her name, Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) asked during a committee hearing today whether something could be done to address this issue. Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago), the legalization bill’s sponsor, said she would definitely work with Righter on language.
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Rockford business leaders are using a new strategy to reach lawmakers in Springfield about bringing a casino to Rockford.
“I would say this is the deepest dive we’ve ever done,” Einar Forsman, the President and CEO of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce says.
Part of the new strategy includes targeted social media advertisements. The Chamber says those ads are designed to pop up on your social media feed if you in your 20s to 40s and are in the Rockford or Springfield area.
Click here to track how the Facebook ads are doing. They’ve been seen by several hundred thousand people, so kudos to them.
Now is the time for a Rockford casino. We’re done being held hostage by wealthy Illinois casino owners afraid of competition. Do we have your support? #timeforrockford
.@GovPritzker Now is the time for a Rockford casino. We’re done being held hostage by wealthy Illinois casino owners afraid of competition. Do we have your support? #timeforrockford
* Maybe the mayor should start paying closer attention. This proposal, which has resulted from two years of work, is not about a GRF revenue grab. If it was, then a whole lot more than 35 percent of the proceeds would be going to GRF. Politico…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel told Playbook that legalizing recreational marijuana can’t just be about cold hard cash and says that state should lawmakers slow down their legislative efforts on the drug… for now. “Don’t go head first into this just because we’re thirsty and hungry for revenue,” he said during an interview in his office.
The announcement this spring that Illinois had collected some $1.5 billion more in tax revenue than the state projected, creates a “lack of urgency,” and gives lawmakers a chance to carefully deliberate the marijuana bill, the mayor said. Balancing the concerns voiced by law enforcement, as well as some in the Legislative Black Caucus who are pressing on social justice issues, are crucial to success, Emanuel said. “We should tread carefully here.”
It sounds like the mayor is spending too much time reading erroneous Daily Herald editorials. That $1.5 billion in unexpected revenue is for this fiscal year, not next. No cannabis revenue will be collected this fiscal year. The $800 million in additional projected revenue for next fiscal year will all be gobbled up by pension payments. So, cannabis revenue will still be needed next fiscal year.
* The problem with law enforcement’s role in the talks is their lobbyists and supporters are trying to kill the bill while demanding more money. From what used to be the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service and then became the Franklin Center’s Illinois news outlet and is now something called The Center Square Illinois…
Proponents of a plan to tax and regulate recreational marijuana use for adults in Illinois plan to address a growing list of concerns, including how the tax money will be spent and how the state should treat people who were convicted of marijuana-related crimes in the past. […]
[Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington] said law enforcement should get more.
“They’re going to have to retrain dogs, they’re going to have to put new processes in place, they’re going to have to buy some equipment,” Barickman said. “All of these things suggest that for our [law enforcement], they’re going to need some money … so they don’t have to dip into their own pockets just to comply with this new law.”
Law enforcement is also attempting to undermine the Black and Latino Caucus’ attempts to expunge arrest and conviction records. So… maybe the outgoing mayor could pick up a phone and talk to his police superintendent?
* May 6th statement from the person who will be Chicago’s mayor before any legalization bill is signed into law…
Mayor-Elect Lori E. Lightfoot releases statement on legislation to legalize recreational marijuana
“The recent legislation introduced is an important step forward in creating a fair process for legalizing recreational marijuana. More importantly, it allows Illinois the opportunity to put an end to a long overdue and unjust drug policy that has disproportionately affected Chicago’s black and brown neighborhoods for decades. I look forward to working with Gov. Pritzker, Rep. Cassidy, other members of the General Assembly, and other important stakeholders in Chicago to ensure safe and equitable legislation becomes law in Illinois.”
…Adding… Again, not a money grab…
New revenue estimates are in for cannabis program. @HeatherSteans says next year (FY 2020) it will bring in an estimated $56 million. In FY2021, the program is expected to bring in ~$140 million
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Three Georgia legislators send a message of support to Illinois lawmakers urging passage of the Reproductive Health Act to protect access to health care for women in Illinois and across the nation.
Learn more about the Reproductive Health Act here.
Today, Think Big Illinois released a new television ad urging state legislators to give Illinoisans the opportunity to vote on the fair tax. By supporting the fair tax amendment in Springfield, legislators will ensure Illinoisans have the chance in November 2020 to decide what kind of tax system they want – one that works for everyone, or one that just works for the wealthy few.
“Deserve” will run in markets across the state. Watch the ad here.
“Illinoisans deserve to decide if they want to keep our current unfair tax system in place, or want a system that levels the playing field for all our families. It’s not often that voters have the chance to have a direct say on such important issues for them and their families, and legislators should not deny them of that opportunity,” said Quentin Fulks, Executive Director of Think Big Illinois. “Think Big Illinois hopes legislators will do what’s best for our state and give Illinoisans the chance to vote on the fair tax.”
Illinois’ child welfare agency is so intent on keeping children with their parents even when they have strong evidence of abuse that it has sometimes left those children in grave danger, a study released Wednesday found.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered the study of the Department of Children and Family Services’ Intact Family Services unit after the recent deaths of three children. That unit is responsible for overseeing households in which children are left at home after allegations of abuse or neglect.
Illinois has been lauded for having one of the lowest foster care entry rates of any state in the U.S. Yet researchers found a profound failure to communicate within the department; overburdened staffers; staffers so convinced that prosecutors wouldn’t agree with requests to remove children from homes that they didn’t bother to ask; and cases in which evidence and suspicions of abuse or neglect were brushed aside.
Keeping children with their families is “a laudable goal,” said Michael Cull, one of the study’s authors. “But over time for a variety of reasons it becomes an overriding priority that leads to decisions that (the agency) may not even know they are making.” […]
Illinois is not the only state with a child welfare system under fire. In fact, according to the study, the rate of death due to child maltreatment in Illinois in 2016 - 2.16 per 100,000 children - was actually a bit lower than the national figure of 2.36 per 100,000 children.
Yet the organizations who provide these [intact family services] told researchers they sometimes feel like their hands are tied. They raised the concern that some of the cases they receive are “too complex, too severe or too longstanding” for them to handle but that it’s difficult to decline a case or question the appropriateness of such referrals, said Dana Weiner, a lead researcher of the six-week study. The caseworkers also reported that they didn’t believe judges, prosecutors or department investigators would support more intensive interventions if they petitioned for it.
Families are also not required to accept the services, which can range from mental health counseling to parenting classes. Supporters of intact services note that removing a child from relatives and finding a foster care placement is a traumatic experience that should be avoided when a child’s well-being is not compromised.
“The intact providers do their best to serve the families that they are assigned with the resources that they have available to them,” said Weiner of Chapin Hall, a child welfare think tank based at the University of Chicago that put out the study. “But I think that the expectation that removals will be avoided sometimes discourages them from applying critical thinking to the current safety concerns and the best course of intervention for a family.” […]
Nearly all intact family services — or about 85 percent — are provided by community-based organizations that have contracts with DCFS. The caseworkers are only supposed to have 10 open cases at a time, the report said. When possible, the department retains the highest-risk cases to address in-house.
The Chapin Hall report identified 41 child deaths due to mistreatment that were investigated by the agency’s inspector general between 2014 and 2018. In six of those cases, the fatality occurred while there was an open intact family services case.
Some of the most serious problems highlighted in the report include the lack of historical information in critical cases that prompt Intact supervisors to be “reluctant” about elevating cases to supervisory review. The report also found a lack of communication between investigators, who identified with law enforcement, and Intact supervisors, who identified as mental health and social workers.
The report also found some structural issues, such as lack of information because a case was expunged or purged. Under current law, cases are expunged after five years, so the record would only reflect an event happened. If the allegation was unfounded, there are no details on record.
[DCFS Acting Director Marc Smith] said that change could come through the legislative process, but said it would be more helpful to see a “pattern of need and support” and not just the details of an unfounded allegation.
“Assessment of a family’s safety sometimes evolves over time,” the report says. “The unavailability of so much historical information may contribute to critical case details being lost and influences child welfare staff to rely on family’s accurate self-reporting on their history.”
“It’s basically a bureaucratic mess,” says Charles Golbert, the Illinois Public Guardian. “And we’ve known that for a long time.”
Golbert said private providers have no incentive to keep cases open until problems are resolved.
“They actually get paid less money if the case is still open after six months,” he said. “It makes no sense—it puts bureaucracy and artificial timelines ahead of child safety.”
The study recommended nine ways to address the issues; which include refining protocol for closing cases, working with courts and state’s attorneys to refine criteria for removal, redesigning assessment and child intake processes, and giving direct attention to cases at greatest risk of severe harm.
Action: Review of Open Investigations. DCFS is prioritizing the highest risk cases by taking a close look at investigations where young children are involved and certain allegations of abuse and neglect are present. This urgent review by some of DCFS’ most senior staff will cover more than 1,100 open investigations and focuses on reviewing compliance with key safety measures. Investigations found to be out of compliance will be rectified immediately and receive an additional qualitative review. DCFS expects to have findings from this internal investigation in coming weeks. These findings will help determine the scope of future reviews of investigation work.
Action: Crisis Intervention Team. In the tragic event of a child death, this 8-member team will initiate an immediate review when the death occurs during an open investigation or involves a child with an extensive history of contact with DCFS. The team will examine the family’s full history of involvement with DCFS and all relevant investigations and casework, including other current and previous cases that staff involved are handling. Their scope includes both human and systemic failures that may exist. The Crisis Intervention Team is tasked with quickly developing recommendations following their investigation and when appropriate, implementing changes in training or protocols that will rapidly lead to improving our work of protecting children.
Action: Expanding Training Programs and Retraining Caseworkers. Starting in June, veteran investigations staff will have access to the department’s newest and most advanced simulated (SIM) lab training facility in Englewood. This initiative will give key veteran front-line workers access to the latest tools and techniques being used in training. DCFS is also introducing a re-training program for all child welfare workers across the state. All staff licensed with DCFS, whether they work for the department or for a private agency, will be required to participate in ongoing training. The first re-training will be launched this summer and will focus on safety training, including identifying risks and warning signs.
DCFS Responses to Chapin Hall’s Recommendations
1) Recommendation: Develop and refine protocol for closing Intact cases. When caseworkers are properly supported and they have the right tools, they make good decisions. DCFS will address this problem immediately and develop new standard protocols for closing Intact cases in the next 60 days.
2) Recommendation: Clarify goals and expectations across staff roles. DCFS will clearly articulate expectations for every actor and agency involved in the work of promoting child safety. Defining roles for DCFS investigators, supervisors, Intact providers and staff will be addressed over the next 60 days through training, changes in policy and through communications with staff.
3) Recommendation: Utilize evidence-based approaches to preventive case work. DCFS will examine models that have been piloted and tested in Illinois and other states. We will work closely with Chapin Hall to address this recommendation over the next six months.
4) Recommendation: Improve the quality of supervision. DCFS will develop a new structure for supervision within the agency that provides more clear lines of authority and accountability. DCFS will also work with supervisors to ensure that their teams are openly communicating. Following this report, we will prioritize Intact teams to receive training on the new practice model within the next 30 days.
5) Recommendation: Adjust the preventive service array to meet the needs of the population. We will continue to work with Chapin Hall to identify the services to best support the populations Intact is serving. This process will take 12 months to implement.
6) Recommendation: Restructure preventive services (generally) and Intact (specifically). DCFS has convened a working group to develop a restructuring plan so that there is better collaboration between Intact services (which provides services) and the Investigations division (which is responsible for case investigations). DCFS will develop this plan over the next 30 days, followed by a 30-day rollout across the department.
7) Recommendation: Work with courts and State’s Attorneys to refine the criteria for child removal in complex and chronic family cases. DCFS will work to build consensus among courts and State’s attorneys concerning removal of children who have experienced multiple incidents of abuse. The department will work with partners like Casey Foundation and Chapin Hall to help us implement this system change over the next 12 months.
8) Recommendation: Redesign the assessment and intake process based on systemic review to: a) reduce redundant information collection and data input; b) support decision making with youth and families; and c) improve effective communication across child serving systems. DCFS has introduced several recent changes that eliminate some redundancy in information collection and data input. Over the next 60 days, the department is putting into place a re-training of staff to improve the efficiency, reliability, and accuracy of assessments across screening, intake, service planning, and care transitions.
9) Recommendation: Direct attention to cases at greatest risk for severe harm. DCFS, in consultation with Chapin Hall, will revisit predictive models for help identifying cases with a high risk for maltreatment. Chapin Hall has identified that other child welfare systems are increasingly making use of administrative data to speed the detection of cases that may require additional attention or intervention. This process will take 12 months to complete.
…Adding… Illinois Collaboration on Youth Chief Executive Officer Andrea Durbin…
We appreciate the thorough and thoughtful analysis by Chapin Hall focused on Intact Family Services and agree with many of its findings and recommendations. Supporting and strengthening the Intact system is a goal we all share. It is important to remember that taking children from their families can have lasting negative effects and is a very serious step that should be considered when a child’s safety is paramount. We should also remember that while Intact is an important piece of the child welfare system, it is not the only piece. The system needs focused attention across all levels of care in order to achieve long term stability. We look forward to continuing this critically important discussion and finding solutions to stabilize Illinois’ child welfare system in the days ahead.
