* Whether you’re going somewhere fun or are stuck in an “In-district work period,” try to have a good time while the General Assembly is adjourned for two weeks. Blogging will probably be light next week. We’ll see.
* The House and Senate have both adjourned, so spring break (or, as Sen. Don Harmon called it today, “In-district work period”) has begun.
I know several folks plan to kick off their break by stopping by the retirement party being thrown for Lisa Guinan today at DH Browns. The party starts at 3.
If you don’t know Lisa, click here for the House Resolution congratulating her for her many years of dedicated service to the Illinois House of Representatives, particularly her time spent as the House GOP’s Floor Manager.
I’m not sure yet what I’m doing for spring break. I will be taking some time off, but I haven’t yet been able to make up my mind.
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* Sen. Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) was not pleased when Gov. Pritzker did not appoint a single Lake County resident to the Tollway board. So, she introduced SB764…
Increases the number of directors of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority appointed by the Governor from 9 to 11. Provides that, of the 11 directors of the Authority appointed by the Governor, at least one shall be from Cook County, at least one shall be from Lake County, at least one shall be from DuPage County, at least one shall be from Will County, at least one shall be from Winnebago, Boone, or McHenry County, and at least one shall be from Kane, DeKalb, Ogle, or Lee County. Provides that no more than 6 (rather than 5) directors shall be from the same political party. Provides that, within 30 days of the effective date of the amendatory Act, the Governor shall appoint one director from Lake County and one director from Winnebago, Boone, or McHenry County. Effective immediately.
Provides that a public university or community college may not inquire about or consider an applicant’s criminal history information at any time during the admission decision-making process, except as required by federal law or specified provisions of the Department of State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois or the Medical School Matriculant Criminal History Records Check Act, if applicable.
Aaron Woodruff, chief of police at Illinois State University, told us they’re not against second chances and notes that most who admit to a conviction on their college application still get admitted. But they want exceptions carved out in the law that would require applicants to disclose convictions for sex crimes and other violent offenses.
“The universities and police recognize that education can be a key component in rehabilitation, but we have to do it with some common sense,” he said, adding the campus law enforcement community hopes to negotiate a compromise with the bill’s proponents in the legislature.
Woodruff said police have found allies on this issue among women’s and LGTBQ organizations.
“They’re asking, ‘Why are we more concerned about someone convicted of a sex crime than other students on campus?’” he said.
The House will soon take up a measure to allow high school students old enough to vote to take time out of class to vote.
State Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, said his Senate Bill 1970 will help get young people to vote.
“We are trying to make sure that we encourage our young people to participate and exercise our civic duty,” Sims said.
Under state law, high school students who are 18 years old at the time of a general election can vote in the primary when they’re 17.
State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said there should be some way to ensure students leaving school to vote are actually casting a ballot.
* Other bills…
* Proposed parking fee for Starved Rock State Park rejected by Illinois Senate: Opponents questioned a provision that would have exempted residents of LaSalle County, where the park is located, from paying the fee. The vote on the bill was 29-8, but 30 votes are required to pass any legislation in the Senate.
A real estate developer has been indicted on federal charges alleging he steered legal work to powerful Ald. Edward Burke in exchange for help at City Hall with a permit and $2 million in tax-increment financing for a Northwest Side development.
The charges against Charles Cui, of Lake Forest, were the first to be brought in connection with the ongoing City Hall corruption investigation since Burke himself was accused more than three months ago of attempting to shake down two businessmen seeking to renovate a fast-food restaurant in the 14th Ward.
Cui, 48, was charged in an four-count indictment made public Friday with federal program bribery, using interstate commerce to facilitate bribery and official misconduct.
Burke was not named or charged in the indictment against Cui, but the charges make clear he was the alderman who was allegedly bribed.
Charles Cui, 48, allegedly steered the business to Burke after the city denied a permit for a sign for a retailer at the project site in the 4900 block of West Irving Park Road in the Portage Park neighborhood. The project includes a Binny’s Beverage Depot and a Culver’s restaurant, public records show.
That permit was critical to Cui, who was the managing partner of the company that owned the property. The company stood to have it tenant either cancel the lease or lose as much as $750,000 if it was unable to obtain the permit because the retailer could pay that much less in rent if it didn’t get the sign. […]
Burke motioned to approve the redevelopment project and voted for it at a City Council meeting in March 2016. The tax increment financing deal was worth $2 million for the project.
After the city denied the permit for the sign, Cui allegedly emailed Burke, asking him “to look into the matter.”
Cui’s email said the retailer “really needs it, otherwise they will cancel the lease, or ask for significant rent reduction,” according to the indictment.
*** UPDATE *** Mayor-elect Lightfoot…
Today’s charges add more definition to the utterly corrupt way in which Alderman Ed Burke has exploited his position and power. This is exactly the kind of conduct that the voters mandated must change. My commitment is that we will be vigilant in cleaning up corruption throughout all of City government. I was elected ten days ago to build a government where you don’t have to give to get—where Chicagoans can receive basic City services, and where being business owners can get signs and permits without bribes and delays.
We’re going to build a transparent and accountable City government that Chicagoans can trust to put their needs first. That’s why I’ve consistently called for critical ethics reforms, including banning profiting from public service. The public gave us a mandate for change, and we intend to deliver.
A former state senator was the subject of a grand jury subpoena in January that sought his emails and mileage reimbursement records as part of an apparent federal investigation, according to documents obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The subpoena issued to the state Senate out of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois sought emails, tax documents, mileage-reimbursement records and any payments made to William Sam McCann during his time in office from 2011 to 2018, records show.
The reimbursements in question would have come from taxpayer dollars. […]
The subpoena, sent on Jan. 3, came at the behest of U.S. Assistant State’s Attorney Timothy Bass, who was the one-time lead prosecutor in former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock corruption case.
McCann, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, told WBEZ Thursday in a text message that he had not been made aware of the subpoena until learning of it through WBEZ. He declined further comment.
McCann expensed $26,061.74 in travel reimbursements during his tenure in the Senate, according to records from the Illinois Comptroller. McCann, a Republican from downstate Plainview, served from 2011 until January 2019.
Campaign finance records show he also received more than $36,000 in mileage reimbursements from his campaign fund in 2017 and 2018. That would translate to nearly 68,000 miles of driving, based on IRS approved mileage reimbursement rates at the time.
Before his successful 2016 legislative re-election bid, McCann’s mileage reimbursements arose as an issue and led to a complaint filed with the State Board of Elections. That complaint was later withdrawn.
* The Chicago Tribune has finally published a story on the House Republican secessionists. We’ve covered this a lot, so let’s just focus on Sen. Manar’s advice…
State Sen. Andy Manar, a Democrat from the southern Illinois community of Bunker Hill, had the regionalism game played against him as a lead architect of a historic change in school funding. Critics claimed it was a bailout of the Chicago Public Schools.
Manar said some of the problems his district faces are akin to what Chicago sees in some of its neighborhoods. Manar said understanding the similar nature of problems is needed to overcome the regional fissure.
“Lack of pharmacies, lack of doctors, lack of specialists, underfunded schools, vacant classrooms, unemployment, child abuse rates going up. Those things are happening in rural communities and urban communities alike,” Manar said. “Too often, when policymakers get into this building, it’s very easy to use geography to explain deep challenges that our state faces. That’s an easy explanation that plays to the cheers of the crowd.”
In the end, Manar said, the answer is to tone down the rhetoric, find common ground and get things done.
“Look, I could show up here every day and beat the crap out of the city of Chicago and get re-elected every four years. That would be easy to do, right? It would guarantee re-election,” Manar said. “But when you’re done as an elected official in the Senate, you probably wouldn’t be able to point to one single accomplishment for the people who sent you here to get things done.”
And, of course, he spoke about the graduated income tax. But he tries not to call it that.
It’s a “fair tax” — a more digestible term that no doubt helps to market his plan. But it’s not so easy. Pritzker has a swear jar of sorts in his office. He has to put in money every time he doesn’t use the preferred “fair tax” name.
“Someone else in my office suggested something like that, and I thought it was a good idea. It turns out I’m the guilty party for the most part because people ask me questions that have the words ‘graduated income tax’ in or ‘progressive,’ and then I sometimes will parrot it back, and then I catch myself,” Pritzker said. “So yes, but it’s really my own swear jar.”
* Ideas Illinois had a little fun with the swear jar…
This week Governor Pritzker acknowledged to the Chicago Sun-Times that his office has created a swear jar to train him and his staff to use the term “fair tax” when describing his Jobs Tax™ on middle class families.
“It is telling that Governor Pritzker is the biggest offender of his own swear jar while trying to convince himself that his jobs tax on middle class families is fair. His Jobs Tax™ swear jar is offensive to every small business owner and middle class family in Illinois,” said Executive Director of Ideas Illinois Jason Heffley.
“[Republicans] could have come to talk about any of those things [proposed individual and corporate rates],” Pritzker said. “I’m here. I sit in the governor’s office. My door is open. … The most important part, I think, is that I’m open to conversations about it. I have risen the subject where I could with Republicans. But coming with proposals and having real conversations and negotiations, that’s something that I welcome. But you can’t sit on your hands and say no to everything. That’s what Bruce Rauner did for four years and that clearly didn’t work.”
“What I’ve heard from both leadership and individual members of both the House and the Senate is that they appreciate me being here. It seems like they haven’t seen a lot from a mayor of Chicago, and Springfield is incredibly important to the entire state,” Lightfoot said. “I have a feeling I’ll be here with some frequency.”
Asked by reporters how the city will unwind from a pension disaster and bring in new revenue to support itself, Lightfoot tiptoed around specifics. Of a state gas tax that is being considered as part of a state capital plan, Lightfoot noted she is “following” developments.
“We are following it and will continue to follow it really closely. Both to make sure that we’ve got a realistic and sustainable funding source, but also the projects are really important,” Lightfoot said. “Chicago stands to benefit significantly, as does the rest of the state, from having a capital bill which hasn’t been in play, I think for 10 years. We’re going to look at what the options are and weigh in as appropriate as the legislation moves through the General Assembly.”
Lightfoot’s Springfield agenda includes a push for expanded gambling to provide more revenue for the city, and that includes a Chicago casino. The mayor-elect said it’s time to have “serious conversations” about it.
“The sad reality is if we don’t do something about this, we’re going to continue to lose tens of millions of dollars every single year to Indiana and Wisconsin. And that makes no sense to me,” Lightfoot said. “We’ve got to have serious conversations about a casino in the city of Chicago and elsewhere.”
State lawmakers, however, are scheduled to finish their legislative session May 31, just 11 days after Lightfoot takes office May 20. That leaves little time to make specific financial proposals, let alone win approval from the House, the Senate and Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Lightfoot, however, said her initial trip this week was not the time to start making a specific pitch.
“What I have done is been very direct with them about the magnitude of the challenge that we have seen, and we’ll be talking more specifically about that in the coming days,” Lightfoot told reporters under the Capitol dome Thursday. “This is kind of the first couple dates, right? So, we’re getting to know each other, but I’m pressing on the issues that we have to address in this term.”
* Chicago Mayor-Elect Praises Illinois Move Toward ‘Fair Tax’: “You have taken the initial steps to move forward with the governor’s plan to institute a fair tax that ensures everyone pays their fair share but frees the more modest earners from aggressive taxation that has kept them from getting ahead,’’ Lightfoot said.
* To Help Chicago, Lightfoot Looks To Springfield — But Not On Violence: “The violence is something that we’ve got to take on and own as a city,” Lightfoot said. “I don’t think we need to — in the short term — look to Springfield to solve that problem. We’ve just got to do better in the City of Chicago.” Lightfoot says that will take the form of greater investment in communities and better practices by police. In the past, Chicago has been a driving force behind gun control legislation in the General Assembly.
* Lightfoot says budget shortfall more ‘dire’ than she thought, but how much more?: Budget Director Samantha Fields was asked what she told the mayor-elect that made Lightfoot believe the financial mess was worse than anticipated. “We highlighted a list of things we knew were outstanding — like Local 2 [firefighters contract], possible FOP contract and a number of other items that we’re projecting for 2020’s budget. And I think her team has done some of their own background and determined the range of those expenses,” Fields told the Sun-Times. Fields was asked to project the final shortfall with the cost of police and fire contracts, retroactive pay and debt service costs.
Illinois State Police (ISP) officials announce the arrest of Craig W. Dittmar (M/55) for his involvement in the March 28th, 2019, fatal crash which resulted in the death of Trooper Brooke Jones-Story.
On March 28th, 2019, at approximately 11:24 a.m., Trooper Brooke Jones-Story, #5966, was inspecting a commercial motor vehicle on United States Route 20 westbound, just west of Illinois Route 75 in Stephenson County. At approximately 12:20 p.m., Trooper Jones-Story was outside her squad car when she was struck and fatally wounded when a truck tractor semi-trailer combination struck her squad car and the semi Trooper Jones-Story was inspecting. The semi-trailer combination that struck and killed Trooper Jones-Story was being driven by Craig W. Dittmar of Stockton, Illinois.
On April 11th, 2019, the Stephenson County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charging Dittmar with two counts of Reckless Homicide (both Class 2 Felonies), and one count of Operating A Commercial Motor Vehicle While Fatigued - Causing Death (Class 3 Felony). An arrest warrant was issued for Dittmar and the bond for the warrant was set by the judge at $250,000 (10% applies). Dittmar was later taken into custody and lodged in the Stephenson County Jail where he is being held in lieu of that bond.
The ISP would like to remind the public of Scott’s Law, which requires vehicles to slow down, move over, and change lanes if possible, when they are approaching an emergency vehicle, or any vehicle with its hazard lights activated. The ISP urges the public to help save lives by making responsible driving choices and following the law.
Sixteen state troopers have been hit by vehicles, three of them fatally, since Jan. 1 of this year and continues an unexplained spike in crashes. State police said the crashes were related to violations of Scott’s Law.
Trooper Gerald Ellis was killed on March 30 when a wrong-way driver crashed into his squad car in north suburban Green Oaks. The wrong-way driver, identified as Dan Davies, was also killed in the crash.
On Jan. 12, Trooper Christopher Lambert was struck and killed on I-294 when he stopped to help at a three-car crash in the north suburbs of Chicago. Scott Larsen, 61, of Wisconsin, was charged with a count of reckless homicide of an officer and two counts of reckless homicide involving Scott’s Law.
About 500 violations of Scott’s Law have been logged this year, compared to nearly 200 during the same time period last year, according to state police. The law is named after Chicago Fire Department Lt. Scott Gillen, who was killed on an expressway in 2000.
* Gov. Pritzker sat down with Tina Sfondeles yesterday for a wide-ranging interview. One topic they discussed was legalizing cannabis. Pritzker predicted the final proposal will be a “very, very, strong good bill” and will pass. Here’s some of what he said on the topic..
“I have teenagers, and I was very concerned, just not knowing. I asked a lot of questions about how does this affect teen use,” Gov. Pritzker said. “And in Washington state — where that was the governor’s big concern there too — they did a very good job of showing there was no increase in teen use.”
As for the concerns of police associations across the state over how law enforcement will be able to determine whether a driver is impaired, he acknowledged there’s no current technology to measure impairment when it comes to cannabis.
“Necessity is the mother of invention, and it’s now clear that with 11 states already with legalized adult use cannabis, there are entrepreneurs out there that recognize that every police department is going to want something,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker said he has spent a “reasonable” amount of time studying other states that have legalized recreational marijuana, specifically Washington state. And he acknowledged there will likely be follow-up bills to the legalization measure. But he said legalization is crucial as a criminal justice reform element, to ensure the safety of cannabis in the state and to create jobs.
“This happened in medical cannabis. You start out and then you figure out this isn’t working out quite as well and you make tweaks along the way,” Pritzker said. “With legislation, nothing is perfect and so yes, along the way, it’ll improve.”
