Pritzker names Osman to head IDOT
Friday, Feb 22, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told subscribers this could happen earlier today…
Gov. Pritzker Appoints 29-Year IDOT Veteran to Lead Department
Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced the following personnel appointment:
Omer Osman will serve as Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). Osman has over 29 years of experience in the civil engineering and management field at IDOT. In his most recent role as Deputy Secretary for the Office of Project Implementation, he is responsible for guiding day-to-day program delivery and developing both short- and long-term technical policies and procedures. Prior to his current position, Osman served as the Director of Highways, Deputy Director of Region 5 and District Four Project Implementation and Operations Engineer. He has been an integral member of the statewide Diversity and Recruitment Team that had managed to increase and integrate a diverse population of IDOT’s technical staff. Osman received his Master of Science in civil engineering from Bradley University and his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Southern University.
Osman is an African-American and that agency has been very white throughout the decades.
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* S&P…
S&P Global Ratings believes that Illinois’ (BBB-/Stable) executive budget proposal precariously balances the current budget, but punts measures to address fiscal progress to future years. It prioritizes service solvency at the expense of lower pension contributions and does not make meaningful progress toward tackling the $7.9 billion bill backlog or projected out-year deficits. The governor called the fiscal 2020 budget a “bridge” and laid out the framework of a multiyear strategy whose success hinges largely on a tough campaign to pass a progressive income tax that requires a constitutional amendment. Its pension component also relies on unidentified asset transfers to the pension plans, but no savings from those asset transfers are built into the fiscal 2020 budget plan. Illinois has a track record of leaving difficult fiscal choices to future budgets, and to the extent that reforms do not materialize to offset weaker pension funding, the fiscal 2020 budget could weaken the state’s credit trajectory. […]
The new administration laid out a five-step plan that infuses assets into the pension systems, but undermines funding progress through extending the plans’ amortization period for budgetary relief. […]
We consider the fiscal 2020 budget’s balance dubious. First, it relies on legalization of sports betting and recreational marijuana, which could take the state longer than it estimates to implement. Second, revenue projections could prove optimistic given our expectation that U.S. economic growth will slow. The budget estimates 3.19% growth in base individual income taxes and 2.79% growth in base sales taxes, and if the state misses these projections, it would quickly exhaust its 0.4% budgeted surplus and has minimal cushion to weather additional fiscal pressures that would accompany an economic downturn. However, in our view, reliance on a degree of uncertain revenues and lingering structural imbalance is status quo for Illinois.
More consequential for credit quality, the proposed budget asks legislators to reduce pension contributions based on the faith that future years’ budgets will address fiscal sustainability. The governor has predicated his multiyear strategy on a progressive income tax that requires a constitutional amendment that will not appear on the ballot until November 2020. This revenue stream is far from certain, and there is no detail yet on rates, brackets, or the amount of revenue it is supposed to generate. Despite the potential for a more collaborative budget process with single-party control of state government, Illinois has yet to prove its ability to make politically difficult decisions in favor of structural balance and sustainability. If it adopts the budget in its current form, it remains at risk of repeating a pattern of putting off hard choices while eroding pension funding. Illinois cannot indefinitely push out pension payments given benefit payout requirements, and we saw in 2017 that it faces limits to its bill backlog. If the state fails to redeem its longer pension amortization schedule through a practical reduction in liabilities, its credit trajectory could slip.
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* Tribune last month…
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced Sunday she would return $116,000 raised at a campaign fundraiser that embattled Ald. Edward Burke hosted at his home last January, an about-face after a week of potentially damaging revelations about her history with him. […]
A copy of the invitation for the fundraiser at Burke’s home reads, “Chairman Edward M. Burke would like to invite you to a fundraiser in support of Hon. Toni Preckwinkle.” But Preckwinkle on Friday said it was Burke’s wife, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, who arranged the fundraiser.
Asked why the justice’s name wasn’t on the invite instead of the alderman’s, Preckwinkle replied, “She was a candidate at the time, so the invitation came from Ed.” Anne Burke was seeking retention to a second 10-year term as a justice, and such high-level jurists often try to maintain an appearance of being above the political fray.
* Sun-Times today…
[Mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot] argued that Preckwinkle has “made herself a fact witness in the Ed Burke case” because of the fundraiser and would be “questioned by the FBI” if she hasn’t been already.
“They’re gonna want to know what was said. How did this fundraiser come to be? And they’re gonna look, of course, at every dollar that was raised during that fundraiser to make a determination if Ed Burke put the arm improperly on anybody else,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot scoffed at Preckwinkle’s claim that Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke —not the alderman— was responsible for throwing the January, 2018 fundraiser at the Burke home.
“She threw Anne Burke under the bus. Of course, Anne Burke had nothing to do with that fundraiser…She’s a good and able judge. She knows what the rules are. That had nothing to do with Anne Burke. It had everything to do with Toni Preckwinkle’s relationship with Ed Burke,” Lightfoot said.
* And now, this…
…Adding… WBEZ…
Jeff Orr told WBEZ he does not support any candidate in Tuesday’s mayoral election, but his father has endorsed Preckwinkle rival Lori Lightfoot.
And Preckwinkle’s campaign accused Jeff Orr of being a Lightfoot supporter, too.
“This is pure politics from a supporter of one of Toni’s political opponents the weekend before the election,” the campaign said in a statement Friday. “The details of the event have been known for several months. But now, a couple of days before the election, this supporter of millionaire corporate attorney Lori Lightfoot files a claim. Why?”
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* About 25 minutes ago, I received a text message with a link pointing me to this Tribune op-ed by Greg Baise, who, according to the paper, is the “chairman of Ideas Illinois, a pro-job-creation political committee.” The op-ed was published online at 11:40 this morning. Exerpt…
To be clear, Illinois has the second highest property taxes in the nation. Politicians in Springfield have raised income taxes by historic amounts, yet we are still billions in the hole.
The Pritzker administration would say that’s where its “progressive income tax” comes in. The state raises taxes on people at a certain income level, and they pay for all the new spending ideas. Ask some of the small business owners and job creators you know how they feel about that.
Let’s call it the “jobs tax” — because it will accelerate the push of already-struggling job creators out of Illinois.
In addition, the governor has floated this idea without telling voters the rates at which they would be taxed.
Raise your hand if you think it’s a good idea to give Springfield politicians, through a state constitutional amendment, an unfettered ability to raise taxes year after year.
* Then minutes later I received a texted heads-up about a forthcoming statement from Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady. It arrived a few minutes ago…
The Democrat’s graduated income tax plan is nothing more than a tax increase on the middle class. What we need to be focusing on is advancing policies that attract businesses and jobs, grow our economy and provide our over-taxed homeowners with relief.
* Exactly one minute later, this statement from House Republican Leader Jim Durkin landed in my in-box…
State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) today released the following statement on the Progressive Tax:
My caucus is united in its opposition to the Democrats’ tax increase on Illinois families and employers. Higher taxes won’t solve our problems, nor have they ever as history has shown. Higher taxes only lead to more spending and more government programs. Until our state learns to live within its means, we should not ask for another penny from Illinois families, workers and businesses.
* There’s a bit of a competition brewing between Baise’s group and the Illinois Policy Institute to lead the anti-progressive tax charge. There’s potentially a whole lot of money to harvest for this push, so it should be fun to watch. And while I’m not saying that Brady and Durkin are aligning with Baise, I’m just saying that was an interesting little coinkydink. (The SGOPs, by the way, say it was a total coincidence.)
Both advocacy groups are currently running Facebook ads railing against the progressive tax. Click here for the Policy Institute ads and click here for the Baise ads.
The Institute is also running dozens of Facebook ads railing against a possible tax hike on motorists. Click here to see those ads.
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Question of the day
Friday, Feb 22, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
To ensure the public is better protected from those who lose their right to carry deadly weapons, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart proposed legislation Thursday to create countywide police units to recover those weapons and to improve information sharing about those firearms.
The move would close loopholes in state law and processes that Sheriff Dart and anti-violence advocates have long pointed out. Currently, Illinois law relies on an “honor system” when an individual’s firearm license (FOID) is revoked, which often happens because of an arrest, an order of protection or a court’s determination that the person is a danger to themselves or others.
Under the law, such an individual is sent a letter by state police directing them to turn their weapons over to police or another person lawfully able to carry weapons. Additionally, critical information about whether the person attempted to purchase weapons – before or after the revocation – is not shared with local law enforcement.
Sheriff Dart’s proposal requires such information to be shared with local police within 24 hours of a revocation or attempted purchase.
The legislation also mandates the creation of countywide units to recover weapons from those who have their FOID cards revoked. The units will be led by the county sheriff and include members of the county state’s attorney office and local law enforcement. The legislation directs a portion of existing state FOID fees to the effort. Plus, the proposal increases the penalty from a misdemeanor to a Class 4 felony for those who fail to relinquish their weapons when their FOID is revoked.
In 2013, Sheriff Dart created a specialized unit to recover weapons and revoked FOID cards in Cook County. So far, the unit has recovered more than 1,000 firearms.
Additionally, the Sheriff is proposing an increase in the FOID card application fee from $10 to $15, the additional money would be deposited into a fund dedicated to revocation enforcement.
“Last week’s tragedy at the Henry Pratt Company serves as a stark reminder of these dangerous loopholes in our current laws,” Sheriff Dart said. “Too many times there are clear warning signs about deadly violence. We must do more as a state to ensure law enforcement is reacting to those signs and has the information and tools necessary to do so. As we are constantly and tragically reminded, lives are at stake.”
* The Question: Your opinion of Dart’s ideas? Make sure to explain.
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* Capitol Illinois News covered yesterday’s Senate committee hearing on the state’s infrastructure issues…
Matt Magalis, acting secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation, laid out just some of the numbers to a Senate panel that’s been tasked with putting together a plan.
“We currently have 79 million square feet of bridges requiring maintenance and updates,” he said. “That’s over 730 state bridges. We also have a need over the next 10 years of additional funding of $13-15 billion for our highways. That is just maintenance. We also have a need for capacity (highway expansion) that is in the billions of dollars.”
In addition to highways, Magalis said there is a long list of needed upgrades for other forms of transportation: $250 million in state funds for airports around the state, not including Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports; $19.1 billion for public transit; $800 million for passenger rail; and $4 billion for freight rail.
Also, Margalis said, locks and dams along the state’s waterways, which carry a significant volume of freight, are facing costs in the “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
That totals $39 billion without the highway expansions, Chicago airports and the locks and dams.
* And that doesn’t include “vertical.” NPR Illinois…
Requests for money from across state government and beyond are starting to pile up.
The leaking roofs, aging plumbing, and failing heating and cooling systems at state facilities could cost up to $7.8 billion and, at public colleges and universities, $6.5 billion, according to the Capital Development Board, the agency responsible for state construction. And the Illinois State Board of Education says deferred maintenance at local schools totals around $9.6 billion. […]
While senators heard testimony from state agencies, elsewhere in the Capitol state representatives fielded requests for money for more pre-K classrooms and other deferred maintenance in schools, upgrades to Navy Pier, 10,000 units of affordable housing, and replacement of drinking water pipes that contain lead.
That totals $23.9 billion without the stuff in the second paragraph.
So, that’s $53 billion plus many more billions.
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“They’re putting nails in our coffins”
Friday, Feb 22, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SJ-R on the governor’s proposed 32-cents per pack tax hike on cigarettes…
“Given available data from public health research on smoking habits in Illinois, cigarette consumption is likely to continue decreasing over the next few years,” said an entry in the budget book prepared by Pritzker’s office.
It was accompanied by a chart showing cigarette tax receipts dropping from $807 million in the 2016 fiscal year (which ended June 30, 2016) to an estimated $700 million this year. The last cigarette tax hike was in 2012 when it was increased by $1 a pack to $1.98.
Illinois ranks 19th in the country now for the level of its cigarette tax. The only state adjoining Illinois with a higher tax is Wisconsin at $2.52 a pack. It would still be higher if Illinois enacts the latest increase.
However, Illinois will be surrounded by other states with far lower cigarette taxes, including Missouri which ranks 50th at 17-cents a pack.
“They’re putting nails in our coffins,” said Bill Fleischli, executive vice-president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association, Illinois Association of Convenience Stores, who also pointed to the effort to raise the tobacco purchasing age. “They raised the minimum wage, they’re going to try to tax gasoline.”
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* From The Gate…
On February 6th, University of Chicago College Republicans President Brett Barbin spoke to David Krupa, a candidate for alderman in Chicago’s 13th Ward, over the phone. They discussed allegations against Krupa made by the candidate’s ex-girlfriend, Juliet Schmidt. These allegations are outlined in an emergency order of protection filed by Schmidt’s family, which has since been vacated.
The content of the conversation left Barbin unsettled, and he came to Gate reporters with his concerns. The Gate has since spoken with Barbin, Krupa, Schmidt, and others to investigate the allegations ahead of the February 26th Chicago election. […]
Krupa claims that the allegations in the documents were falsified by [Juliet’s father] Michael Schmidt in order to keep the couple apart. […]
However, Juliet Schmidt told the Gate that she agreed with her parents that an EOP was necessary, and that she was afraid of seeing Krupa at the time the order of protection was filed.
Schmidt said the idea of filing an order of protection was first suggested by a social worker she met with due to issues in her relationship with Krupa. Her teacher, Amy Fritsch, confirmed she sent Schmidt to see the social worker during school hours. Her father corroborated that the idea of filing an EOP was first proposed by the social worker. Schmidt said that her father filed the EOP on her behalf due to the fact she was only 17 years old at the time. “My dad did file it,” she said, “but it was my decision.”
* But the big bombshells were the allegations made by College Republicans President Brett Barbin about a phone call he says he had with Krupa…
[Krupa] said the judge in the case was never going to side with him because she was female. He wished he had had a white, male judge who had faced these kinds of allegations in the past, stating that then he would have been fine. In the midst of our conversation about the case, Mr. Krupa admitted to one of the allegations. In a conversation about his condom use, Mr. Krupa said he did not like wearing a condom during sex and never did early on in his relationship with his ex-girlfriend. But, later on, his ex-girlfriend asked him to start using a condom when the relationship was falling apart. I then asked if he ever took his condom off without her consent. He confirmed this, and said that she never had a problem with unprotected sex at the beginning of their relationship. He then questioned the difference that it made.
To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Krupa has only categorically denied these allegations to the public. He has dismissed them as politically motivated and fabricated by his ex-girlfriend’s father who did not want them to date. Based on the conversation I had with Mr. Krupa on February 6, I believe his public denials to be at least partially false. […]
Mr. Krupa is seeking an office with the responsibility of handling millions in public tax dollars. He has opened himself up to criticism and rigorous vetting in order to earn the public’s endorsement and trust. I would never want a representative who could so easily and consistently lie about his background.
As a Republican in Chicago, I often find myself at odds with the prevailing opinion. However, I think we can all agree that City Council does not need any more lies and deception.
Krupa addresses those allegations in The Gate’s story.
* Meanwhile…
Clarification of Paul’s Public Schedule
Contrary to recent releases, Paul Vallas will not be participating in aldermanic candidate David Krupa’s “New Chicago Way Coalition” or joint press conference regarding the initiative. We did not provide or approve use of our logo. Any questions regarding the matter can be directed to our media contact.
And…
Oops.
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* Interesting points…
Other [Gov. Pritzker budget] ideas included making a recent [pension] buyout program permanent.
State Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, who helped craft the buyout program last year, said making it permanent could be irreversible and possibly be abused, costing taxpayers more.
“The way to do something like this is to expand it, not make the small thing we’re doing permanent, but to expand the buyouts and do it for a short period of time,” Batinick said.
Batinick said if the buyout were made permanent, the state constitution’s pension-protection clause would make it impossible to undo. He said the program needs a sunset date. Instead, Batinick said the state needs to find other incentives to get eligible people to take the buyout in a limited time frame.
“I didn’t hear those,” Batinick said after Pritzker’s budget speech Wednesday. “What I just heard was more borrowing, higher taxes, more spending and counting on revenue that has yet to be realized with new programs.”
Fitch analysts said extending the plans indefinitely could add to current year budget pressures by eliminating the incentive for those eligible to sign up for a buyout this year, reducing estimated savings.
State Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, who also helped usher in the buyout plans last year, said there’s also the risk of negative selection.
“The most common example would be ‘I’m set to retire but I found out that I only have three weeks to live and so I go in and I take a buyout,’ and so the state loses because it would be a negative selection.”
Thoughts?
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* Mark Brown…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday he will press the General Assembly to approve a graduated income tax before it adjourns in May — with both a constitutional amendment to put before voters and companion legislation setting forth the new tax rates.
Pritzker’s ambitious timetable would set the stage for an immediate political showdown in the legislature to be followed by a protracted 17-month public campaign leading up to a November 2020 referendum.
In the past, Democratic legislative leaders have insisted they would not consider constitutional amendments in odd-numbered years when no statewide election is held.
But Pritzker said both House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton have promised to support his strategy to address the tax issue this spring.
* From Cullerton’s spokesman…
The Senate President is eager to support the governor’s ideas and timeline for accomplishing them. He recognizes how important this is to finally fixing the lingering structural deficit and providing financial stability going forward.
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* Tribune…
Illinois State Police rescinded more than 10,000 gun licenses last year — and more than 75 percent of the revocation recipients ignored it, according to newly released data.
The state agency provided the staggering figures late Thursday, as part of trove of law-enforcement documents involving Gary Martin, the convicted felon who fatally shot five co-workers and wounded several police officers at an Aurora warehouse last week. Martin, 45, went on a rampage after learning he was being terminated — opening fire with a gun he never should have been allowed to purchase.
In the shooting’s wake, authorities disclosed that Martin passed two background checks before buying the Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun used in the mass killing. As convicted felon, Illinois law prohibited Martin from holding a Firearm Owners Identification Card or owning a gun.
* ISP…
In 2018, 10,818 FOID Cards were revoked. In 2018, ISP received only 2,616 Firearm Disposition Records. During that year, only 3,469 FOID cards were returned to ISP. More than 75% of FOID card revocations failed to result in a Firearms Disposition Record being returned.
From 2014 through 2019 (YTD) there have been a total of 110 arrests for violation of 430 ILCS 65/9.5(a) - Failure to Return FOID card or/ not submitting a Firearm Disposition Record. In 2018, there were only 10 arrests statewide for this offense. Therefore, of the 7,531 revocations that did not result in a Firearm Disposition Record being returned, less than 0.004% of revocations resulted in an arrest or conviction.
That’s just a ridiculously low arrest rate.
* ABC 7…
In his first TV interview since being sworn in, new Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul told the I-Team this week that Illinois’ FOID card enforcement needs to be examined as part of a comprehensive look at gun laws.
Raoul pointed to Martin’s false answer on his FOID application in 2014 that went unchecked. Martin declared that he had never been convicted of a felony, which he had. The new state attorney general suggested to the I-Team that lying on a FOID application should be more than a misdemeanor, which is where it now stands.
The penalty is actually a Class 2 Felony, not a misdemeanor. It needs to be enforced.
* Concealed carry applicants can submit fingerprints to expedite the process. For whatever crazy reason, Martin chose to do that, which led to a search result that finally showed his previous felony conviction. Back to the ISP…
Upon receipt of the court documents, Martin’s FCCL application was denied on March 26, 2014. A letter dated April 15, 2014, was sent to Martin notifying him of his FCCL application denial as well as indicating he was no longer eligible for a FOID card. Martin was notified he was responsible for surrendering his FOID card and any weapons in his possession. FCCL staff notified FOID staff for purposes of revoking Martin’s FOID card. Martin’s FOID card was subsequently revoked on April 17, 2014.
The ISP’s procedure in 2014 was to notify local, county, and state law enforcement of the revocation, where the FOID card holder resides, electronically by means of the LEADS system. ISP records do not contain a copy of an electronic notification sent to law enforcement for Martin. These LEADS administrative messages are only maintained for three years. As of March 16, 2015, notification to law enforcement regarding FOID revocations is made via a typed letter sent through the United States Postal Service. After an exhaustive search of paper and electronic records, neither Martin’s FOID card nor a related Firearms Disposition Form could be located.
Sheesh.
FOID cards are valid for 10 years. The ISP needs to keep records longer than they are and do a much better job of keeping those records.
And putting the sole onus on the felon for turning in his or her guns is just ridiculous.
* Back to fingerprinting…
Richard Pearson, the executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, said he would oppose fingerprinting because of the potential cost to those who apply for a FOID card. Pearson estimated that the current $10 fee could go up dramatically if the cost of a fingerprinting would be passed onto applicants.
“It is just too expensive,” he said, calling what happened in Aurora a “tragedy,” but adding that this was an example of one error.
Pearson told me, however, that he’s willing to work on other issues related to this to get these guns away from people who shouldn’t own them.
* ISP…
There are currently 2,285,990 active FOID cards and 325,187 active FCCL statewide. Of FCCL holders, only 126,559 submitted fingerprints with their applications. Therefore, only 0.06% of FOID card holders were fingerprinted as part of the FOID/FCCL application process.
* NBC 5…
In a news release, the Illinois State Police blamed authorities in Mississippi for failing to link Martin’s criminal history with a so-called “state identification number” (SID). That failure reportedly prevented detection of a conviction from the nineties for aggravated assault for which he served five years in prison.
Ugh.
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I find this difficult to believe
Friday, Feb 22, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mark Brown…
On a related matter, Pritzker acknowledged he has provided some of the initial funding for Think Big Illinois, a new non-profit issue advocacy organization expected to provide political cover for his policies — including the switch to a graduated income tax.
But Pritzker said he doesn’t know how much he’s donated and denied he’s made any specific future dollar commitment to the group, which is being run by one of his former top campaign aides.
Dude doesn’t know how much he’s given to the group set up by his former deputy campaign manager? Please.
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Today’s feel-good story
Friday, Feb 22, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SJ-R…
A freshman Republican state representative is calling a Democratic senator a “hero” for successfully performing the Heimlich maneuver on him after he choked on food at a reception.
State Rep. Mike Murphy, R-Springfield, said state Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Tinley Park, intervened after noticing he was in distress.
Murphy said he stopped by the gathering Wednesday at the President Abraham Lincoln Springfield–a DoubleTree by Hilton, put on by pipe trades unions. He took a bite of a roast beef slider, and “it immediately lodged in my throat.”
“I walked over, grabbed some water, tried to swallow,” Murphy said. But he “couldn’t swallow at all, and was panicking. I turned and looked and everybody had their back to me. Then I turned the other way, and Senator Hastings was walking in the door, and I frantically waved at him. He came over and performed the Heimlich on me twice and got the food to come up. So I got some good help from a good Democrat.” […]
Hastings, a former U.S. Army captain who played football at West Point, served in Iraq and on the borders of Iran and Syria, and is trained in advanced combat lifesaving, said he administered the Heimlich maneuver.
“I lifted him off the ground, and little did I know that he was choking on a piece of steak, and it came out,” Hastings said, saying he also gave Murphy “a good swat on his back” as part of the throat-clearing maneuver.
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