* Daily Herald | Krishnamoorthi seeks FTX documents for congressional probe: Krishnamoorthi, chair of the House subcommittee on economic and consumer policy, issued the requests to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and current FTX CEO John Ray III, who was brought aboard just days ago after the company’s collapse.
* WJOL | Illinois Reaches 17 Consecutive Months of Job Growth in October: Illinois officials are touting the state’s job growth. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says the state reached 17 consecutive months of job growth last month. The unemployment rate did increase by point-one percentage points to four-point-six percent. However, non farm payrolls increased by 36-hundred in October.
* Crain’s | Curran eyes ‘balance’ as he prepares to lead Illinois Senate’s GOP minority : “We have to do a better job on the abortion messaging,” he said. “You know, the reality is, what else can we do here in Illinois? The laws of Illinois are more weighted towards guarantees of the rights to have an abortion than any other state in the nation. There’s no further to go.”
* Matt Paprocki | Amendment 1 will raise government costs, but millions finally had a choice on their ballots : Unions spent $13 million and failed to get the 60% of votes needed on the ballot question to pass the amendment outright. They inched past Illinois’ second mark for constitutional change by getting barely more than 50% of the total number of votes counted in the election. When I saw the results, I was heartbroken for the Rev. Phalese Binion and millions of Illinoisans like her.
* Politico | Illinois’ first Latina U.S. Rep on AOC and the burbs: Early in this year’s primary season, Delia Ramirez’s supporters suggested she focus on winning the city portion of the newly drawn 3rd Congressional District and leave the suburban areas to her more conservative opponent. “People would say, ‘She’ll never win in the suburbs. Just focus on the city, and you’ll be fine.’ Or, ‘She’s too left for the suburbs,’” recalled Ramirez in an interview with Playbook in her Hermosa neighborhood office in Chicago. “I said, ‘Yeah, but I also want to represent the suburbs.’”
* FOX 2 | Dozens of rural Missouri, Illinois schools get funding for new electric buses: A new federal program will help 42 school districts in rural Missouri and Illinois communities acquire new electric school buses. The opportunity comes as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program. Through the program, nearly $1 billion will be distributed to around 400 school districts nationwide to help schools replace fuel-powered school buses with electric ones.
* Injustice Watch | Lockdowns and transfers have disrupted college classes for students at this Illinois prison: From May 2021 to October of this year, prison officials transferred nearly 400 people out of Stateville’s general population. At least 60 of the transfers were enrolled in college courses through PNAP, according to the programming coordinator. Those students, including Terrell, have now lost their access to postsecondary education.
* Five Thirty Eight | The Midterms Made State Governments Bluer: For the first time in years, more Americans will live in a state fully controlled by Democrats than in one fully controlled by Republicans. Thanks to their wins in gubernatorial or state-legislative elections, Democrats took complete control of three new state governments in the 2022 elections: Michigan, Minnesota and Vermont. They broke the GOP monopoly on power in Arizona and, potentially, New Hampshire. They also kept full control of state government in four of the five states where they were in danger of losing it. And they prevented Republicans from taking full control of North Carolina, Wisconsin and maybe even Alaska.
* WMAY | Springfield Casino Resolution Likely On Hold Until New Year: Mayor Jim Langfelder had been hoping to get aldermen on board sooner than that… but has run into resistance from bar and restaurant owners who fear a casino will cut into the money they make from video gaming machines. Langfelder wants to change the resolution to only allow table games like poker and blackjack, and sports betting, at a Springfield casino… but isn’t sure that will satisfy opponents of the idea.
* NBC Chicago | Could a Weed Shop Be Set Up Inside Old Rainforest Cafe in Chicago?: A decisive zoning hearing is set for Friday, setting up a David and Goliath fight with Brown going against a clouted pot firm hoping to open a dispensary at 605 N. Clark St. Brown said he will argue that the plan is fraught with issues and would set a dangerous precedent for future marijuana businesses.
* WCIA | The ‘failed war on drugs’ and how Illinois uses marijuana tax money to heal communities harmed by it: Sherrod’s Independent Mentoring Program in Decatur received almost half a million dollars. They’re focused on violence prevention, youth development and reentry programming. They’re also partnered with seven police chiefs from the county. Program leaders and participants met with ICJIA staff Thursday to tell them about their work.
* According to Chicago Appleseed, 83 percent of the people on electronic monitoring in Cook County “had to pay a money bond to leave jail and be placed on electronic monitors.” With that in mind, here’s The TRiiBE and the Chicago Reader…
While awaiting trial, Shane (a pseudonym) has worn an electronic ankle monitor and been confined to their home, a high-rise apartment they share with their elderly mother and two children, for over two years. During their confinement, they have been visited hundreds of times by sheriff’s deputies who were summoned by erroneous automatic alerts that accused Shane of leaving home without authorization.
Deputies came so often that Shane’s toddler began to think they were family friends. “He calls them his buddies because he’s so used to seeing them,” Shane said. But their oldest son understood who the deputies were. “And that’s why a lot of these children grow into men and they disrespect authority, or they feel like they hate the police because they see them doing things that are not conducted in a proper manner.”
The alerts that sent texts to Shane’s phone and deputies to their front door originated from Track Group, a subcontractor that operates ankle monitors used by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO). Track Group sends alerts to Protocol, a call center that then sends the texts. Shane is one of hundreds of people who were similarly inundated with text alerts from Protocol while on CCSO’s pretrial home-monitoring program over an 18-month period, according to data newly obtained by The TRiiBE and the Reader.
As of press time, 2,017 people are wearing electronic ankle bracelets under CCSO’s pretrial house arrest program. They’re required to remain inside their home 24 hours a day, but can leave for “essential movement” to go to work or run errands. Sheriff Tom Dart has advocated for repealing the provisions in the 2021 SAFE-T Act pertaining to essential movement. According to a recent article by The Intercept, Dart has systematically limited people who use essential movement for work from also running errands.
The alerts, which often summon sheriff’s deputies and carry an implicit threat of being taken to jail, can be disruptive and frightening. Many of the people who were texted repeatedly said in interviews they were inside their homes when the alerts occurred. […]
In a previous story, we reported that in 2021, 80 percent of alerts were found to be false, and spoke to several people on pretrial monitoring who received frequent alerts accusing them of going AWOL even though they were inside their homes. We also chronicled the tribulations of Jeremy “Mohawk” Johnson, who documented his two-year ordeal of repeated false electronic-monitor alerts while he awaited trial on charges stemming from a 2020 protest.
Since then, we have obtained data on hundreds of thousands of text messages sent to some 10,000 people who, like Shane, were in the home-monitoring program between January 1, 2020, and June 22, 2022. The data shows that Johnson’s experience was far from unique.
During that 18-month period, most people on electronic home monitoring got a text from Protocol about three times a month, on average. But a significant number of people were texted far more often. One thousand people on home monitoring were texted an average of three times a week. Thirty people received upwards of 20 texts per week. Twenty-two people got more than 1,000 texts, an average of two a day.
Tracey Harkins, a criminal attorney who often represents defendants who are on home monitoring, said that attorneys have no choice but to advise their clients to call Protocol every time they receive a text, and to film themselves to prove they’re at home. She added that her clients have told her that the call center sometimes doesn’t pick up. “They call and the phones keep ringing and no one answers,” she said.
What a nightmare, not to mention a complete mess.
* State law allows people confined on electronic monitoring to have two, eight-hour periods of movement per week for things like doctor appointments, grocery shopping or even taking the trash to the alley. They’re still tracked during that time because they have to wear ankle bracelets, but Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has interpreted the law to eliminate those time periods for people who already have a judge’s permission to work or go to school…
Eddie Raymond needed to run to the store to grab some toilet paper on a January day this year. Under an Illinois law that had gone into effect at the start of the month, he was entitled to leave home at least two days a week to run such an errand — notwithstanding the GPS monitor affixed to his ankle that allowed the local sheriff’s office to track his every move. When Raymond contacted the sheriff’s call center to check in before leaving home, though, he was told that he didn’t have permission to go out that day. The explanation startled him.
“They said if you have work movement, you’re not supposed to get your essential days, because your essential days qualify for work,” recalled Raymond, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym to protect his privacy. “I told them that doesn’t make sense.”
Raymond had unknowingly run into a policy quietly implemented by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. He wasn’t getting his “essential days,” guaranteed by law, because he also had regularly scheduled permission to go to work.
“Our city is overwhelmed with violence and we’ve taken a group of people who are charged with violent offenses and saying ‘go out, we’re going to shut our eyes for two days just to see what happens,’” said Sheriff Tom Dart.
Defendants still wear their ankle monitors on their “free movement” days but their whereabouts are not tracked in real-time because the sheriff has no way to quickly sort through the legitimacy of “basic necessity” stops.
Advocates point to recent studies that have found the increased use of electronic monitoring is not a key driver of crime.
According to Chicago Appleseed, less than 2 percent of the people on EM were rearrested for Class 2+ felonies. A significant chunk of the 8.8 percent total rearrested were busted for previous warrants.
* Jordan Abudayyeh…
There is nothing in the act that prevents the Sheriff from tracking in real time those who are on electronic monitoring awaiting trial. The act clearly states the Sheriff “may promulgate rules that prescribe reasonable guidelines under which an electronic monitoring and home detention program shall operate.” The statute does not prohibit them from requiring more detail (date, time frame, location address) of where the person on electronic monitoring intends to go when granting movement. There is also nothing in the Act that says those on electronic monitoring cannot be tracked during these movements. Perhaps, instead of spreading misinformation, the Sheriff could focus on making sure his agency promulgates rules and secures the resources its needs to run an effective electronic monitoring program.
* More…
* Cook County judges are violating the SAFE-T Act’s electronic monitoring reforms: For example, despite the new requirement that judges should review electronic monitoring every 60 days, many people are languishing on ankle monitors for months or even years, even though they have complied fully with all their obligations.
* Law Professors Pushing Back on State’s Attorneys Proposal to Gut Pretrial Fairness Act: We are law professors and faculty from across Illinois, and we write to urge you to reject SB 4228, a SAFE-T Act trailer bill drafted by the Illinois State’s Attorney Association. This bill is a dangerous attempt to undercut the Pretrial Fairness Act and increase incarceration in Illinois. Under the Pretrial Fairness Act, individuals charged with serious crimes can already be detained if they pose a flight risk or risk to public safety. The provisions included in SB 4228 would dramatically increase the number of people in jail by granting prosecutors and judges broad discretion to lock up people who are accused of only minor offenses—people who do not pose a risk of any immediate harm to anyone. Moreover, SB 4228 violates the Illinois Constitution by creating a presumption of detention, and raises serious due process concerns. Ultimately, SB 4228 would incarcerate even more people without trial, exacerbate existing racial disparities in the Illinois criminal legal system, and subject more people and families to the severe harms associated with pretrial incarceration.
…Adding… Sheriff Dart’s office…
The only “misinformation” being promulgated comes from the Governor’s office, which signed a law without, apparently, a full understanding of the implications. There are currently more than 2,000 individuals who have been court-ordered to the Sheriff’s electronic monitoring program, and 75% of them are facing violent charges, including murder, attempted murders, aggravated criminal sexual assault, and gun-related offenses. On days that are not designated for free movement, the courts or the Sheriff’s Office approve movement for individuals based on where they are going and what they will be doing, and the Sheriff’s Office works to monitor them to make sure they are where they said they would be.
For example, if someone has approved movement to go from home to a grocery store and back home and we see the participant is five miles away in the opposite direction, we know they are likely not following the approved movement and our staff can investigate. This accountability helps to protect public safety, because it enables individuals on EM to perform tasks outside their home while serving as a deterrent against straying outside the areas they are approved to visit. With the imposition of the free movement this new law mandated, monitoring movement is impossible because there are no restrictions on where individuals can go during that time. The practical effect of free movement is that alerts about the whereabouts of individuals must be silenced and unmonitored during the hours that individuals are on free movement to avoid generating potentially millions of erroneous movement alerts each week.
It’s one thing to field criticism from advocates who have no obligation to promote public safety, but another thing entirely to hear such dismissive statements come from the state’s top elected official. Perhaps, instead of leveling snide accusations of misinformation at the Sheriff responsible for running the nation’s largest pre-trial electronic monitoring program, the Governor could focus on understanding the real challenges free movement presents, and the threat it poses to public safety. The Governor’s Office is invited to set up a time first thing Monday morning, or anytime that is convenient, to visit our Electronic Monitoring Unit so it can begin to understand the real-world effects this so-called reform has on public safety. We are confident that after educating themselves on the challenges this law has placed on our staff, the Governor’s Office will work tirelessly to provide the resources the Sheriff’s Office, as they said, “needs to run an effective electronic monitoring program.”
And…
Sheriff Dart has a long history of telling lies about pretrial justice reforms to bolster his advocacy for regressive policy proposals. We documented this history in our recent report "Obscuring the Truth."
Illinois health leaders are pleading with parents to get their children vaccinated against the flu, which is increasingly spreading in the Chicago area and threatening to further stretch already-strained children’s hospitals.
“We expect the number of children needing care for these viruses to increase significantly over the next several weeks,” said Dr. Larry Kociolek, medical director of infection, prevention and control at Lurie Children’s, referring to respiratory illnesses and the flu at a news conference Thursday. “This raises concerns for us. This raises concerns for parents. … But there’s hope. We can prevent many of these infections.”
Children’s hospitals in the Chicago area and across the country have already been packed for months, thanks to earlier-than-usual surges of RSV, which stands for respiratory syncytial virus, and other respiratory illnesses. Those surges have led to longer ER waits, occasionally delayed surgeries and difficulty transferring pediatric patients between hospitals.
Only about 9% of pediatric intensive care unit beds in Illinois were available as of Thursday morning, and earlier this week, that figure was as low as 4%, said Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Illinois Department of Public Health officials said not enough kids are getting flu shots this year, despite an early and widespread season.
IDPH said participation for kids under 5 dropped during the last two flu seasons amid the COVID pandemic.
“So far, we are seeing similar, not improved rates of Chicago children getting the flu vaccine this year compared to years prior,” said Chicago Department of Public Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jennifer Seo.
“You may not understand the risk your child has until you are in the ICU watching your child on a ventilator or planning a funeral for your child and thinking about things you could have done to prevent it,” said Dr. Larry Kociolek, Lurie Children’s Hospital Infectious Diseases medical director.
An Illinois public health official is warning of a surge in flu cases this winter.
Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the flu picture has dramatically changed in the past week. She said the southeastern part of the country is getting hit and Illinois is not far behind.
Arwady advises to get a flu shot as soon as possible because it takes some time for the protection to kick in and she is concerned that it will spread as families gather for Thanksgiving.
Health officials across the Chicago area are urging people to get vaccinated ahead of the colder weather, especially with cases of RSV and the flu rising.
“This ‘tripledemic’… what we’re calling it right now involves three viruses,” explained Dr. Geraldine Luna, medical director for the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Respiratory viruses such as the flu, RSV and COVID-19 are “spreading rapidly” across Illinois, the state’s Department of Public Health said earlier this week.
The question: Have you had or do you plan to get a flu shot this year? Explain.
* House Republican Leader in waiting Rep. Tony McCombie was interviewed today on WXAN…
Q: I think the real challenge for Republicans in Illinois is that you have a very conservative voter base throughout the Republican districts of the state. Then when you run statewide, you have to also communicate effectively with people who are more in the center and running that gambit is difficult politically. And so you look over the horizon, like how Republicans can be successful and grow in terms of their numbers in the General Assembly. Is that gambit in your mind?
A: Absolutely. I think one of the things when you’re, I feel we are the party of the of the big tent. I see that. I believe it. I don’t believe that we as a Republican Party have to all agree. And just because we may disagree on an issue or a strategic way … We we always judge our folks, you know, and call each other RINOs and do all that, but it’s the American way. We should have some disagreements. I think that makes us better even within our own policy. So for me, I can still be who I am and totally respect to who my neighbor is.
And when I first got in there, we had folks more in the suburbs, we had folks that were actually pro choice. The difference with those folks is, they would never in a million years have voted to repeal parental notification. They would never have considered a bill that’s going to allow abortion up to nine months. So that’s the difference of the extremes. There’s folks in the suburb, there’s folks in Cook County that are conservative that want to put their names forward, but are kind of nervous to do so because they don’t want to be attacked by, for lack of a better term, the far right. And we have to be willing to listen to them, embrace them, speak to the common sense voters. And I look forward to messaging that because it’s going to be a challenge. We need to worry about talking about the issues in Illinois, especially with corruption, the high taxes, our education, serving our most vulnerable. We all have the same views, it’s just how do we get it and if we can get somebody to sit in a seat in the suburbs in a left-leaning district and there’s gonna be with the conservatives, you know, 90-95 percent of the time, Bravo, then we’ve done it, we’ve done the right thing. So I look forward to that challenge. And after this election, it’s a big, big challenge. […]
Q: And does that specifically mean tailoring a new message for Republicans in the suburbs?
A: I think it’s tailoring a new message for everyone around the state. Democrats in Illinois certainly didn’t win the cycle because they fixed all the problems, right? Look at crime, look at our economy, crushing tax bills, continued corruption that it seems like people don’t even pay attention to anymore. And that’s embarrassing to Illinois. And so we need to work on those issues, obviously. And we need to have a party that’s going to have candidates that will appeal to younger, independent, moderate and women voters. We’re out there and we just need to change the message to let people know that we’re with them. And we’re gonna do that by having plans, having messaging, working really hard.
What they need to figure out first is how to successfully shepherd moderate, pro-choice, pro gun regulation suburban candidates through the Republican primaries. And that also means somehow dealing with the bigtime contributors like Richard Uihlein, who despises “RINOs” and, if history is any guide, would likely step in to try to foil any such moderation plans.
By the way, any Republican candidate who would vote to reinstate parental notification is gonna get whacked with a broad brush by Personal PAC and the Democrats. Judy Baar Topinka was pro-choice except for that one exception, and she was painted as an anti-abortion extremist back in 2006 by a lousy governor whose chief fundraiser was indicted days before the election and who still won by more than 10 points. These are not by any means new issues, nor are they new obstacles.
But the end of Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion has raised a question state lawmakers have yet to address: Can abortion’s opponents in other states sue or prosecute people in Illinois?
Legal scholars say that could be the new front in the battle over abortion, and courts ruling over an uncertain legal landscape may let plaintiffs and prosecutors reach across state lines.
It’s a concern for Dr. Colleen McNicholas, who performs abortions at a clinic along the Illinois border with Missouri, where abortion is banned. Physical and legal threats are not new for abortion providers, but McNicholas, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, said she is “expecting escalation,” possibly including cross-border legal actions. […]
Since the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe in June, other states have passed laws aimed at shielding patients and providers from those court actions. Illinois legislators are studying the issue but have not acted, and some legal scholars say that has left people here exposed.
The law is unsettled enough that courts could rule prosecutors can target out-of-state providers who perform abortions on people from their states if some element of the alleged crime happened in the prosecutor’s jurisdiction, law professors said. […]
California has put a law on the books that bars the enforcement of a court judgment coming from a state that allows lawsuits over abortions. This summer, Massachusetts enacted broad protections against lawsuits and prosecutions, including banning the governor from extraditing someone charged with an abortion-related offense in another state that would be legal in Massachusetts.
While interstate legal wars have yet to erupt, they could be on the way to Illinois. Missouri legislators this year considered but did not pass legislation letting private citizens sue out-of-state providers or others who aid a Missourian in getting an abortion. The Republican legislator who pushed the measure, Mary Elizabeth Coleman, has said her legislation was aimed at the Planned Parenthood clinic that operates just across the border in Illinois. […]
Illinois legislators have spent recent months in a working group studying their options for eventual bills. They’ve looked at laws in other states that aim to shield providers and patients from legal jeopardy and considered the way digital data collection could be used to monitor and punish those who seek abortions, Democratic legislators said.
Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, said this study process has been needed because enacting these laws is “not like flipping a switch.” She said the end of Roe showed her that those who favor abortion access have to be ready for new challenges. […]
The influx of patients to Illinois comes with new questions about interstate legal jeopardy that courts have not resolved, law professors said. The law is unsettled enough that courts could rule prosecutors can target out-of-state providers who perform abortions on people from their states if some element of the alleged crime happened in the prosecutor’s jurisdiction, law professors said.
Similarly, it’s unclear how successfully abortion opponents might be able to sue people in other states, legal experts said. Cohen, the Drexel University law professor, said out-of-state residents could sue over abortions performed in Illinois under existing wrongful death laws and potentially prevail.
“I’m not saying I would think that (lawsuit) should win but they could certainly try and a Missouri court could may agree with them,” he said.
The willingness of the Supreme Court to overturn the precedent of Roe means it’s hard to know what courts will allow, legal experts said. June Carbone, a University of Minnesota law professor, noted that even the effectiveness of new laws designed to shield abortion from legal attacks could be in question because those, too, would be subject to court challenges.
* More…
* An abortion clinic on wheels: Planned Parenthood in Illinois to reduce travel times for patients in red states by bringing abortion care to them
State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen Ayala has announced plans to retire at the end of her current contract, which concludes January 31st, 2023. Dr. Ayala has served as State Superintendent since early 2019, shepherding Illinois schools through COVID-19 and kickstarting their academic recovery – leading most recently to a decade-high in the state’s graduation rate. As the capstone of her nearly four-decade career in education, Ayala was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as permanent superintendent for the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
“Dr. Ayala represents the highest level of dedication to public service, and over her long career she has positively impacted thousands of Illinois students,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Not only did Dr. Ayala’s steadfast leadership guide our schools through an unprecedented pandemic, but she also kick-started students’ academic recovery. Under her leadership, we’ve seen significant growth in high school graduation rates and other key educational metrics, a true testament to her hard work and dedication to Illinois students. I’m grateful for her service and wish her and her family all the best for a well-deserved retirement.”
Prior to her appointment as State Superintendent, Ayala served as superintendent of Berwyn North School District, assistant superintendent in Plainfield and Aurora East Districts, and as a classroom teacher in Aurora and in Chicago Public Schools. Ayala provided steadfast leadership for Illinois schools during COVID-19, overseeing an unprecedented shift to virtual and socially distanced learning.
During Ayala’s time at ISBE, the state recorded its highest high school graduation rate since reporting began in 2011, driven by increased graduation rates for Black and Hispanic students under Ayala’s equity-focused leadership. ISBE also saw educator retention and diversity increase during her tenure. Ayala also shepherded the development and implementation of the 2020-2023 ISBE Strategic Plan and the creation of the Equity Journey Continuum, which helps school districts identify gaps in students’ access to opportunities, resources, and supports.
Ayala is a graduate of Mundelein College, Dominican University, and Loyola University of Chicago with undergraduate, masters of business administration, and doctorate in educational leadership and policy degrees. She previously served as an executive board member on the Latino Policy Forum, where she championed equitable funding and increased resources for English Learners. Dr. Ayala has held positions on numerous boards and committees, including the Illinois State Board of Education Bilingual Advisory Council, Illinois Women in Educational Leadership, Illinois Resource Center, and the Illinois Professional Review Panel for Evidence-Based Funding.
Thoughts?
…Adding… These Awake IL people are so ridiculously melodramatic and, well, other things…
Having looked her in the eyes at a state board of Ed meeting - to speak of the evil they rained down on children - I’m left worrying who will fill her shoes.
Illinois’ state schools superintendent Carmen Ayala announces retirement https://t.co/f6h6Zw8Ixm
Wait a second… if twitter goes down… nobody will know how I spent the formative years of my adulthood… I can run for office! pic.twitter.com/FkjPhTYVGV
— the prince with a thousand enemies ♂️ (@jaketropolis) November 18, 2022
* WGN | SAFE-T Act: What happens when no one is watching?: A little-known provision in Illinois’ sprawling SAFE-T Act went into effect in January and has had the effect of allowing people on electronic monitoring have two days of unmonitored movement.
* Journal & Topics | Murphy Pushes Through Senate Bill To ‘Fix’ Secretary Of State Library Appointments: One day after the Tuesday, Nov. 15, start of the Illinois General Assembly fall veto session in Springfield, a bill introduced by State Sen. Laura Murphy (D-28th) to “fix” legislation she passed into law last spring allowing Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to fill extended vacancies on library district boards passed the Illinois Senate.
* Crain’s | 42nd Ward Ald. Brendan Reilly may face his first challenger—one with deep pockets: Chris Cleary, a former vice president at BMO Harris who recently founded an e-commerce company, has launched a campaign for 42nd Ward alderman, loaned himself $50,000 to jump-start the effort and has financial backing from a prominent nightclub owner who previously supported Reilly but has feuded with the downtown alderman.
* NBC 5 | Left for Dead: NBC 5 Suing Over Public Records in Hit-and-Run Crashes: For over a year, NBC 5 Investigates has been reporting on the shocking number of hit-and-run crashes across Chicago: more than 31,000 so far this year, killing 25 people and injuring over 4,100 others. Now, NBC 5 is taking multiple agencies to court over public records requests that have been denied.
* Illinois Answers Project | Tax sale process hits Black homeowners hardest: The property tax sale process that can result in people losing their homes robs those communities of generational wealth, critics say. And Cook County’s last-chance fund to help make some of those homeowners whole is years behind in paying claims.
* Chalkbeat | Illinois State Superintendent Carmen Ayala announces retirement: Illinois State Superintendent Carmen Ayala announced Thursday she will retire in February. Gov. J. B. Pritzker appointed Ayala to serve as the state’s top education official in 2019 – making her the first woman and person of color to hold the position.
* Sun-Times | UIC faculty union authorizes strike: Leaders with the UIC United Faculty union said 74% of their nearly 900 members supported a strike. A walkout date has not been announced.
* WHAS 11 | A closer look at how marijuana is made, sold in Illinois: The full facility is 221,000 square feet,” Facility Director Andrea Meister said. “180,000 of it is canopy,” where the marijuana is grown. Meister says they’re growing about 70,000 plants at any given time and harvest every week, with a “wet harvest” of 1.6 million grams.
* NBC 5 | Reduced Fee Tickets For Indoor Shows at The Salt Shed To Be Sold at Pop-Up Box Office Event This Weekend: Just days after a packed slate of indoor shows for next year were announced at the recently-opened Salt Shed, a pop-up box office will be held at the venue to sell reduced fee tickets for the shows, along with some cookies. The pop-up will run for two days, operating from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18 and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19.
* Telegraph | Man pleads guilty to importing live catfish in Illinois: Michael Sullivan of Griffith, Indiana, entered a negotiated guilty plea in October to one count of importing live fish without a permit. He admitted to importing more than 2,600 pounds of live channel catfish into the state.
* Ford County Chronicle | Bennett ‘very glad to be home’ after accident earlier in week: State Rep. Tom Bennett said he was back home in Gibson City recovering Thursday after being released Wednesday night from Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, where the Republican lawmaker had been since Sunday evening after crashing his car near Gibson City.
* Tribune | Cook County Board unanimously approves Preckwinkle’s $8.8 billion budget for 2023: Fresh off her reelection to four more years leading the Cook County Board, President Toni Preckwinkle received unanimous support Thursday for her $8.8 billion budget for 2023, which is free of taxes and full of plans to spend the county’s federal COVID relief dollars on a slew of social programs.
Supreme court races were a relative bright spot for Republicans on Election Night.
In North Carolina, Republicans swept both contested seats on the court, flipping it to 5-2 GOP control, a near reversal of the 6-1 edge the Democrats held just before the 2020 election. This is a crucial shift, not only for resolving myriad policy questions in a state with a Democratic governor and a Republican legislature, but also because of redistricting.
The midterm election produced a 7-7 Democratic split in the U.S. House for North Carolina, not far from the 50%-49% Trump-Biden breakdown in the state in 2020. But with help from a Republican-friendly court, the GOP might be able to squeeze Democrats out of several congressional seats they just won — which would be a big deal in what promises to be a closely divided House chamber.
The other big Republican supreme court victories came in Ohio, where Republicans prevailed in all 3 seats that were being contested this year. The GOP came into the election with a 4-3 edge on the court, but their fourth vote, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, often sided with Democrats on redistricting. The makeup of the court remains 4-3 Republican, but O’Connor will not be on the court anymore. […]
That said, Democrats fared better in supreme court races outside of North Carolina and Ohio.
In Illinois, the Democrats swept the 2 seats that were up for grabs, following the first redistricting of the state’s supreme court districts in more than 50 years. With a stronger top-of-the-ticket lineup, the Republicans would have had a shot at flipping the court. But the GOP’s up-ballot nominees were weak, which dragged down the otherwise credible supreme court candidates. With their twin victories, the Democrats now have a 5-2 majority that could last a decade.
Mark Curran was surely weak and not credible at all, but he had significant financial backing. Justice Michael Burke was seen as the early favorite, but Justice Mary K. O’Brien ran a very strong campaign.
During her pregnancy, Bourne, who identifies as pro-life, was outspoken in the legislative debate concerning abortion.[…]
Bourne’s foil in the debate was state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago.
“They (Republicans) picked the right quarterback to carry the ball and it just set up this clash of the titans,” Cassidy said. “And it was so appropriate… this was a great way to give the topic the dignity it deserved.” […]
“We have a really solid friendship, which for some folks, might be confusing. She’s someone I’ve watched grow as a legislator, and she’s someone I really like. So it wasn’t, ‘I’m debating a pregnant woman.’ It was, ‘I’m debating a colleague with a solid understanding of her perspective of the issue.’”
A statement from Deanne Mazzochi regarding DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek's pending motion before the Illinois Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/L4bYbTMx9D
The long and short of it is that Rep. Mazzochi is relying on an outdated legal loophole that was apparently left open by mistake. But it’s still on the books, so I dunno.
* Pretty cool story from the governor’s chief of staff…
A quick story. In 2016, after Trump had won & so many of us were trying to figure out what to do about it all, my sister @Missy4PA called me to say she wanted to get more involved in politics. https://t.co/jWaUwFTjkn
She went to the Women’s March. She attended local school board and Democratic Party meetings. She helped @RepHanbidge get elected in 2018 and then went to work for her.
And then this past spring, Mel called and told me she was being recruited to run in PA’s 151st House District. It was a hard decision - she had to give up her job & half her family’s income to do it. I thought she might decide against it.
But she called me back after a day and said she was going to run. “If I don’t step up when I’m asked then who will?” she told me that day. From the day forward, Mel was all in.
Today, after days of counting and by just a handful of votes, she’s flipping the PA state house for Democrats. I know the last few years has been full of so many hopeless moments for so many - but don’t let anyone tell you the fight isn’t worth it. @Missy4PA is proof that it is.
* Pantagraph | Q&A with incoming Illinois House Republican Leader Tony McCombie: She is the first woman to lead an Illinois House caucus. And she is the first downstate House leader since 1983. And she has quite the challenge ahead of her. She will lead a House Republican caucus that is its smallest since the Cutback Amendment slashed the size of the chamber from 177 members to 118 in 1981.
* Fox Illinois | Illinois Senate approves divestment in Russia over Ukraine war: The Illinois Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved withdrawing state investments in Russia to protest its nearly nine-month war against Ukraine. The 50-0 vote on President Don Harmon’s legislation requires divestment of money in Russian banks and companies and prohibits future investments. It’s a pledge the Oak Park Democrat made with Gov. J.B. Pritzker and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch within three weeks of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion.
* Fox Business | Maxine Waters dodges question on FTX, Democrat ties and claims ‘both sides’ got money:Names of Democratic candidates that have received political contributions from FTX include Rep. Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., and Reps.-elect Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Sydney Kamlager of California, Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, Nikki Budzinski of Illinois, Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Rob Menendez Jr. of New Jersey.
* Patch | ‘Difficult Choices’ After Failed Frankfort Park District Referendum: The park district had asked voters to raise its portion of property taxes in order to raise additional funds to keep the level of park maintenance and recreational services. According to unofficial election results, 3,078 people voted yes to the referendum, while 4,832 voted no.
* NBC 5 | Some Chicago Starbucks Workers Plan to Join Strikes Across US on Busy Red Cup Day: The walkouts are scheduled to coincide with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, when the company gives free reusable cups to customers who order a holiday drink. Instead, workers say they’ll be handed out “Starbucks Workers United” branded cups outside stores where strikes are taking place. Workers say it’s often one of the busiest days of the year. Starbucks declined to say how many red cups it plans to distribute.
* Axios | Violent crime has plunged in Illinois over last 30 years: The FBI released its latest national crime report last month, but recent trends are still unclear due to incomplete data from local police departments that still haven’t mastered new reporting software. Yes, but: If you take a three-decade view of violent crime in Illinois, it’s clear that the state is much safer than it was 30 years ago.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate increased +0.1 percentage point to 4.6 percent, while nonfarm payrolls increased by +3,600 in October, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The September monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +14,500 to +14,100 jobs. The September unemployment rate was unchanged from the preliminary report, remaining at 4.5 percent. The October payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.
In October, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month gains in employment include: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+2,800), Leisure and Hospitality (+2,300), Manufacturing (+1,800), and Professional and Business Services (+1,800). The industry sectors that reported monthly payroll declines included: Government (-8,100) and Information (-100).
“Job growth throughout the state has remained strong for nearly a year and a half, and the most recent data is evidence that workers are engaged in the growing labor market,” said Deputy Governor Andy Manar. “IDES is committed to providing jobseekers and employers with the resources necessary to take advantage of the many newly created jobs across industries.”
“Over the past year, Illinois has continued to exhibit positive long-term employment trends, with considerable improvement in the state’s unemployment rate, and the addition of nearly 192,000 new jobs,” said DCEO Director Sylvia I. Garcia. “DCEO continues to support economic recovery throughout the state through marquee economic development programs that attract job creators, help Illinois businesses grow, and support job-seekers through statewide resources and programs.”
The state’s unemployment rate was +0.9 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate reported for October, which was 3.7 percent, up +0.2 percentage point from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was down -0.7 percentage point from a year ago when it was at 5.3 percent.
Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +191,900 jobs, with gains across nearly all major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs increases include: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+46,400), Leisure and Hospitality (+43,700), and Professional and Business Services (+35,500). The Mining sector reported a small decrease in payroll employment (-200). In October, total nonfarm payrolls were up +3.3 percent over-the-year in Illinois and up +3.6 percent in the nation.
The number of unemployed workers rose from the prior month, a +2.6 percent increase to 298,200 and was down -10.9 percent over the same month one year ago. The labor force was down slightly (-0.2 percent) over-the-month and up +1.5 percent over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.
In May 2020, Governor Pritzker launched Get Hired Illinois, a new one-stop-shop website to help connect job seekers with hiring employers in real time. The site features virtual job fairs, no-cost virtual training, and includes IllinoisJobLink.com (IJL), the state’s largest job search engine, which recently showed 48,975 posted resumes with 141,403 available jobs.
Illinois has reached six consecutive months of record-low unemployment claims, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).
The most recent data shows that Illinois has stayed below the 70,000 claims threshold for 26 consecutive weeks with a little more than 57,000 continued claims as of last week.
The IDES said Illinois has seen payroll job growth for 16 consecutive months.
“I’m not surprised at all because you can go to any business right now and they have one thing in common, they’re all looking for help,” said Mike Murphy, CEO of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce.
* Meanwhile…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced charges against a Cook County man who allegedly collected government assistance using stolen identities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The charges are the most recent resulting from the Attorney General’s Task Force on Unemployment Insurance Benefits Fraud’s monthslong investigation into unemployment insurance benefits fraud. Working closely with state and federal agencies, Raoul’s office previously charged several individuals throughout Illinois for fraudulently collecting government assistance, including state unemployment benefits and loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
“Thousands of struggling Illinois residents and small businesses were forced to rely on unemployment benefits and loans from the SBA during the height of the pandemic,” Raoul said. “Those who used the crisis to commit fraud and steal from the government also slowed the processing of legitimate claims. These charges are the result of months of tireless investigation by the Task Force on Unemployment Insurance Benefits Fraud and our partner agencies. I am committed to the continued work of the task force to ensure individuals are held accountable for their theft at a time when many Americans desperately needed help.”
“It’s appalling and disappointing the lengths to which individuals were willing to go to defraud the vital resources and funds meant for vulnerable workers who were displaced during the pandemic,” said Illinois Department of Employment Security Director Kristin Richards. “IDES is thankful to the Task Force on Unemployment Insurance Benefits Fraud for the tireless work they’ve done to position prosecutors to bring charges against these individuals.”
Kaquanice Larry, 27, of Mt. Prospect, was arraigned today in Will County after being arrested Wednesday, Nov. 16. Raoul’s office previously charged Whitney Flowers, 22, of Glen Ellyn, who, along with Larry, allegedly filed for unemployment benefits with the state of Illinois using identifying information they stole from three victims. Raoul alleges the pair obtained approximately $75,000 in fraudulent unemployment benefits. Raoul’s office is also alleging Larry filed for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in the name of a fictitious company. He received two loans of approximately $20,000 each, and both PPP loans were forgiven by the SBA.
Amazon could relieve 10,000 employees of their jobs as soon as this week, according to a report by the New York Times.
Cuts could come in areas such as devices, retail and human resources, the report says. However, the total layoff number reportedly remains fluid, yet the Times piece says 10,000 would represent 3% of the corporate employees and less than 1% of the global workforce. […]
Amazon has 14 fulfillment facilities in Illinois alone, and two in Missouri (both in the St. Louis area), according to an August 2022 report by Tinuiti. The St. Louis region of Missouri and Illinois has four total fulfillment centers. The facility in Edwardsville, Illinois made national news near the end of 2021 after it was destroyed by a December tornado — six people were killed.
Illinois State Senator Steve McClure, who represents the 50th district, which includes northern parts of St. Louis’ Metro East, said he finds the announcement odd as the busy Christmas season approaches.
“I’m just hopeful that it’s not going to affect the state of Illinois because what an awful time to lose a job, right before the holidays,” he said Monday. “Maybe it’s a sign of issues with the larger economy? Obviously, there are issues with inflation and everything else right now, but certainly, it’s troubling.”
The Condor pitchman, developer Mark Goode, promised a new, $150 million warehouse that would bring 800 jobs to the cash-strapped, predominantly African American suburb 20 miles south of Chicago. But there was a catch. Several catches.
First, trustees had to keep the identity of the company behind the project a secret, at least until the deal was sealed. Second, they had to promise more than $100 million in future tax revenues to help pay for it.
And third, they had to ram through a vote on the deal to meet the project’s construction timeline, which put the first shovel in the ground just weeks later on April 1. It was a demand that prompted trustees to bypass their practice that spreads such big decisions over three meetings to give the public a chance to have its say. […]
Amazon has been quietly cutting such deals in and around Chicago since 2015, winning tax breaks and public incentives to build 36 warehouses as part of its nationwide effort to expand its own distribution system, cut its dependence on rival shippers like the U.S. Postal Service and bolster its famous promises of next-day delivery.To help pay for its vast expansion, the company and its developers have won at least $741 million in taxpayer-funded incentives in northeast Illinois alone, according to a Better Government Association/WBEZ investigation.
An examination of public records from more than two dozen municipalities provides new details in Amazon’s six-year effort, revealing a patchwork of nondisclosure agreements, a lack of transparency during negotiations and suburbs pitted against each other to secure the most favorable deal.
* Good Jobs First press release…
Amazon.com, Inc. has squeezed more than $5.1 billion from U.S. states and localities in economic development subsidies. This is according to subsidy watchdog Good Jobs First, which posted recent tax-break data at its Amazon Tracker database documenting hundreds of incentive deals given to the retail giant.
Amazon has also continued to reap subsidies around the world, as first documented by Good Jobs First last February. While the costs of those non-U.S. deals are less-well disclosed, Good Jobs First noted likely new subsidies since February given to the company in Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Good Jobs First released the new findings as part of the global “Make Amazon Pay” campaign featuring events in many nations on Black Friday (November 25).
Most of the U.S. subsidy packages are for warehouses, even though Amazon’s rapid-delivery Prime business model compels it to build hundreds of such facilities close to affluent communities. Amazon also recently announced it will lay off thousands of workers and cancel some of its distribution expansion plans, admitting it overbuilt. While the company has failed to sign its first collective bargaining agreement with warehouse workers who have voted to unionize, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is scrubbing his image with charitable-giving announcements.
“Governments are wasting huge sums subsidizing Amazon even as the pandemic drove record growth for the company, and repeated exposés have shown the deplorable working conditions of its warehouse workers and the power it has to drive small businesses out of the marketplace,” said Good Jobs First Senior Research Analyst Kasia Tarczynska, who maintains Amazon Tracker. “Amazon must stop squeezing communities.”
“Working families want justice, not charity, from Amazon,” said Greg LeRoy, Good Jobs First’s executive director. “That means paying taxes like everyone else — with no subsidy tax breaks — and recognizing workers with a bona fide union contract.”
Within the last two years:
* Amazon received one of its biggest packages ever in Niagara County, New York. In exchange for $124 million, Amazon promised to create 950 jobs paying roughly the county’s minimum wage when the warehouse opens: $15 an hour. The jobs, per the agreement, can be part-time or contract workers employed by temp agencies.
* Blount County, Tennessee, committed $12 million for road improvements necessitated by an Amazon warehouse. Amazon will make payments for that work via a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement over the next 20 years, instead of paying property taxes that would have gone to educate kids, maintain parks, help veterans, or beef up workforce development. (The county did not disclose Amazon as the beneficiary of this deal until after approval, and local development officials erroneously claimed Amazon was getting no subsidies).
* A developer that will house an Amazon warehouse is benefiting from a tax increment financing (TIF) deal that will lower its costs by $1.8 million in Charlton, Massachusetts. Per the state, “TIF benefits are expected to be passed through to Amazon who will be creating 1,000 jobs.” The through-payment, which means Amazon is likely paying reduced rent, is another common, back-door tactic used by Amazon.
* Not content with Morrow County, Oregon’s lack of sales tax, its cheap power, and bountiful water and land, Amazon got over $51 million for data centers there in 2022. Cloud-computing server farms produce very few permanent jobs. Yet since 2015, Good Jobs First has documented over $224 million in Amazon data center subsidies in Morrow County (voters rejected a school bond in spring 2022, in part because of resentment by voters who felt they were subsidizing Amazon’s free ride, the Oregonian reported).
* Somewhere in Pennsylvania (poor transparency means the public doesn’t know where), Amazon got nearly $4.5 million in film subsidies. Expect more of these now in the wake of its acquisition of MGM.
Instead of Amazon squeezing workers, the company should pay living wages and stop its aggressive, even potentially illegal responses to organizing efforts.
Instead of squeezing the planet – its carbon dioxide emissions in 2021 were the equivalent of 180 gas-powered plants, the Verge reported - Amazon must work to take meaningful action on climate change.
And instead of squeezing communities for every dime, Amazon should pay them when it arrives, for roads, schools, parks, environmental mitigation and everything else other residents and other businesses already pay for.
Bottom line: Instead of celebrating a man’s dubious pledge to cherry-pick charitable causes, let’s work to build an economy that properly rewards workers and their support systems for the riches they create and enable.
Former prosecutor John Curran, who on Tuesday night was elected by Senate Republicans as their next leader, said Republicans have not been part of those [SAFE-T Act] talks.
“We continue to be frozen out of this process. I am in regular communication with the state’s attorneys that are at the negotiating table and involved, as well as the chief of police representative and the sheriff representative,” Curran said. “It sounds like it’s been a very uneven process that’s taken place behind closed doors. If they open that process up I think we can get a lot of these issues resolved.”
Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2-1.
Curran said he knows that Democrats therefore have the numbers to go it alone.
“What we know is the go-it-alone path is going to produce results that are not meeting the needs of working families in Illinois. They are at the point, they’re not going to be able to handle their base if they go it alone,” Curran said. “They need Republicans participating in the process in a meaningful manner in order to moderate and bring balance to what we do as policy makers for all Illinoisians. So we play an incredible, important role. Democrats would be foolish not to respect that and invite that in.”
What Sen. Curran appears to be offering is a way for Senate President Don Harmon to get around the Black Caucus and the progressives and run a more law enforcement-friendly trailer bill.
* The Question: Should Senate and House Democratic leadership take Sen. Curran up on his apparent offer? Explain.
* A question that came up near the end of the governor’s race was if challenger Sen. Darren Bailey had passed enough legislation. Well…
Is this anti-trans bill, which will obviously not advance any further, Bailey’s token gesture to the nutters at Awake Illinois who supported him and Devore’s failed campaigns? https://t.co/rFLD8cEkHm
The bill was filed during Transgender Awareness Week and currently has no co-sponsors. Synopsis…
Amends the School Code. Provides that, for interscholastic athletic programs or comparable programs supported from school district funds, a student’s sex shall be the student’s biological gender assigned at birth. Provides that, in determining a student’s biological gender, a statement of a student’s biological sex on the student’s official birth certificate is considered to have correctly stated the student’s biological sex at birth if the statement was filed at or near the time of the student’s birth. Amends the Board of Higher Education Act. Provides that interscholastic athletic teams or sports that are operated by a public university must be expressly designated based on the biological sex at birth of team members. Provides that a statement of a student’s biological sex on the student’s official birth certificate is considered to have correctly stated the student’s biological sex at birth if the statement was filed at or near the time of the student’s birth. Provides that an athletic team or sport designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex. Provides that an athletic team or sport designated for males, men, or boys may be open to students of the female sex. Amends the Public Community College Act.
At least 32 transgender and gender-nonconforming people have been killed in the United States in 2022, the Human Rights Campaign announced Wednesday in its annual report ahead of the Transgender Day of Remembrance. […]
Shoshana Goldberg, public education and research director for the HRC Foundation, said this year’s report comes amid the largest recorded wave of anti-trans legislation at the state level, which she said has largely been fueled by disinformation and stigma.
Some bills sought to limit discussion of LGBTQ topics in schools, restrict gender-affirming health care, and prevent transgender children from playing on sports teams or using bathrooms that align with their gender identities.
Such bills, she said, fuel anti-LGBTQ sentiment by painting queer and transgender people as a risk to children and communities.
Jazmine was laid off during the pandemic and needed money to pay her rent. So she got a loan from a pawn shop using her cameras and Macbook Air as collateral.
“Not only did they give me $800, but they also low balled me because I had to come back two days later, and I got another loan, both of them high APR rates of 150%, which I had no knowledge of, they never broke down what would happen,” Jazmine, a social media influencer and digital content creator, said.
In 2021, the state passed the Predatory Loan Prevention Act (PLPA), which caps the interest rate on consumer loans at 36%. But the law doesn’t apply to pawn shops.
After the PLPA passed, pawn brokers asked the courts for an injunction so that the law wouldn’t apply to them and they received one. […]
Now, lawmakers are considering legislation to close the loophole and it’s what brought Jazmine to the State Capitol.
Pawn shops are accused of giving high interest rates to active duty service members. Despite the injunction, federal law is supposed to cap interest rates for members of the military and every store is supposed to ask customers if they serve.
An e-mail to Rich…
On behalf of Senator Collins, I wanted to bring the attached exchange to your attention.
To put it in context, in January 2021, Senator Collins spearheaded the passage of the Predatory Loan Prevention Act (PLPA), which established an interest rate cap of 36% on consumer loans. The pawnbroker industry sued the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation claiming that the PLPA did not apply to them. Judge Raylene DeWitte Grischow of the Sangamon County Circuit Court granted the pawnbrokers’ request for an injunction. The injunction permitted the pawnbrokers to continue to charge interest rates as high as 243%.
Senator Collins filed a bill (SB 4241) last week to close this loophole. At the same time, she continued researching pawn loan interest rates in other states. She sent requests for information to neighboring states and to the National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA). Chris Stone was copied on the request for information to the NPA.
The email he sent to Senator Collins yesterday was a response to Senator Collins’s request.
With opioid-related overdoses rising nationally and in Illinois, two state legislators announced new legislation that would target dealers of fentanyl-laced opioids and other medications with increased penalties.
Republican state Sens. Sally Turner and Sue Rezin introduced Senate Bill 4221 during a Tuesday press conference at the Capitol. They hope the bill sees some action during the six-day veto session that started Tuesday.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, more than 2,650 Illinoisans died from synthetic opioid overdoses last year. That number is up from 87 in 2013. Rezin said not enough attention is being given to the issue.
“In less than a decade, the state of Illinois saw nearly a 3,000-percent increase in synthetic opioid overdose deaths,” the Morris Republican deputy leader said, adding that last year’s total was greater than the combined sum of homicides and suicides in the state.
After the terrifying mass shooting at Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade, many noted the irony that the incident occurred in one of the few cities in Illinois where assault weapons are banned by local law.
But few have noted that today, no other Illinois community can put such an ordinance on the books, barred from doing so by a bizarre act of the Illinois General Assembly in May of 2013, which briefly allowed towns like Highland Park to act.
It all happened in the aftermath of the massacre at the Sandy Hook elementary school in December 2012, and a failed effort to enact an assault weapons ban here in Illinois.
“I was very disappointed,” former Gov. Pat Quinn said of those days more than nine years ago. “Some of the Democrats who I thought would vote yes on the legislation all of a sudden were saying, ‘People in my district aren’t for it.’” […]
While most observers believe it’s a tough legislative hill to climb, gun safety advocates say they plan a renewed push for such a ban statewide when the legislature reconvenes in 2023. But in the absence of any such ban, some Highland Park victims are taking a different route, suing the accused gunman, his father, the gun manufacturer and the store that sold the weapon used in the Fourth of July attack.
Parents of students from across the state involved with the state’s Invest In Kids school choice pilot program are lobbying Illinois lawmakers to make it permanent.
The program allows donors to get a 75% income tax credit toward donations to fund school choice scholarships for qualified families throughout the state. Scholarship Granting Organizations are approved to administer the program, which is set to sunset Jan. 1, 2024. As lawmakers return, parents are looking for an extension. […]
Opponents of the measure say the tax credit to fund the school choice program with private donations takes resources away from the state’s public schools. Cynthia Riseman Lund, who represented the state’s public schools teachers’ unions, expressed her opposition to the program during a House Revenue and Finance Committee meeting last month.
“[The teachers’ unions] support elimination of the Invest In Kids program. It is set to sunset … and we will call for the elimination of the program even sooner,” Lund said.
Before the SAFE-T Act, if someone was trespassing on your property, you could call police and have them arrested on a misdemeanor charge. Under the new law, the most police can do is hand the offender a ticket, if that person doesn’t pose a threat to the community. There’s no mechanism to get the offender to leave.
One claim often misrepresented is that as of Jan. 1, police will no longer be able to arrest someone for trespassing on a residential front porch, backyard shed, business or other private property. Many falsely claim that police will only be able to write a ticket and that the law would prevent officers from arresting a trespasser.
“We’re fearful that many of these events will end up in a physical altercation,” Glotz said in the video message. Homeowners will have to fend for themselves against violent perpetrators as law enforcement helplessly stands down, in other words.
Numerous nonpartisan groups have debunked the claim.
“Police officers still have the discretion to arrest someone if they determine that they threaten public safety,” InjusticeWatch reported Sept. 15.
Contrary to claims by Glotz, Pekau and others, the SAFE-T Act does not prevent police officers from arresting someone for trespassing, the State Journal-Register reported Monday.
“The bill’s only explicit mention of trespassing refers to trespass of vehicles, but still applies due to the degree of the crime,” the newspaper reported. “Typically listed as a Class B misdemeanor, a charge for criminal trespassing can lead up to six months in jail or a $1,500 fine.”
The law does not prohibit police officers from arresting and removing criminal trespassers from private property if the person poses a threat to the community, any person, or their own safety. Police officers will continue to be able to use their discretion about what constitutes a public safety risk in these instances. For example, see this flow chart for guidance on citation procedures.
Law enforcement organizations do have discretion to remove the person from the location of the alleged criminal activity, and then cite and release the person from another location.
Hinsdale Village President Tom Cauley recently said, according to the Hinsdale Patch, “I guarantee you that we’re going to find ourselves with people just camped out in parks, and we cannot ask them to leave. They may be in your backyard or in your shed living there.”
Nonsense.
The Illinois Supreme Court’s Implementation Task Force has officially advised law enforcement they “do have discretion to remove the person from the location of the alleged criminal activity, and then cite and release the person from another location.” Repeated refusals to comply could then easily be interpreted as being a threat, which would allow an arrest.
It just seems to me that tightening up the law’s language to fully reflect the task force’s guidance and resulting inference about arrests would be a no-brainer response to the question about changes [Gov. Pritzker] wants to make.
And Amdor explains what activists are actually saying…
Advocates have been and continue to be willing to support clarifications to the law needed to offset the millions spent to smear the SAFE-T Act. What we won't support (and what in my estimation doesn't have the votes to pass) are rollbacks. https://t.co/Rg8S4RzLwH
* Personal PAC has been right up there with organized labor as the Democratic Party’s most important ally. Love him or hate him, the indefatigable Terry Cosgrove has been a major driving force in Illinois politics and government for decades, so this is important news for those of us who follow these things…
Personal PAC has hired political strategist Sarah Garza Resnick as President & CEO. Current President and CEO Terry Cosgrove recently announced his departure to coincide with the conclusion of the 2022 mid-term election. Garza Resnick’s appointment will be effective in January. She is the second CEO and will be the first woman of color to lead the organization in its more than 30-year history.
Sarah has been a life-long advocate for reproductive rights, a campaign strategist who has elected leaders across all levels of government, and is a change management expert who knows how to merge policy, politics, and people together to build political power.
“The need to advance reproductive freedom is more important than ever,” said Garza Resnick. “The midterm elections show that organizing builds wins and creates historic change. Our new post-Roe world means putting our values front-and-center to protect the rights of the vulnerable and create a more just world. It’s not enough for us to say we believe in reproductive rights and women’s health. We have to build coalitions to protect those beliefs.”
Garza Resnick has worked on mayoral and Congressional campaigns across the country and managed State House Caucus efforts in New Hampshire. As a leader, she has built successful political campaigns through her passion for fundraising and her training as an organizer.
Personal PAC Board Chair Natalie Federle stated, “Sarah’s hire is reflective of Personal PAC’s evolution to meet the challenges of this political environment. Her life in public service, along with her belief that advocacy must be paired with political power meets the needs of this moment. Her experience, background, and collaborative style will serve the organization well, especially as we continue our vital work protecting and advancing reproductive freedom in Illinois.”
Resnick takes the reins from Cosgrove, who has led the organization since 1989, and has called serving Personal PAC “the opportunity of a lifetime.” With the mid-term election results one of the best election results in Personal PAC’s history, solidifying pro-choice leaders in critical offices across Illinois, he leaves the organization well positioned for the future. He called Sarah Garza Resnick “the perfect choice to lead the organization in these changing and challenging times.”
Garza Resnick’s most recent professional accomplishments were as Chief of Staff at the Cook County Assessor’s Office where she led the office’s transition team and executed a vision of reform. Under Sarah’s leadership, the Assessor’s Office became an award-winning example of ethics, transparency, and fairness. Sarah was also Chief of Staff to Cook County Clerk David Orr and served as an Assistant Cook County Public Defender, where she was elected Secretary of AFSCME Local 3315, and the Executive Director of First Defense Legal Aid in Chicago. She is a graduate of Cardozo School of Law and received her undergraduate degree in Political Science & Economics from Brandeis University, and she has a master’s degree in Political Sociology from the London School of Economics. She lives in Cook County with her husband and two sons.
My first time in the makeshift Illinois Senate chambers in the Howlett Building. The Senate will meet here through 2024 as renovations continue on the north wing of the state Capitol. It’s actually pretty nice. Still has that “new Senate chamber smell.” #twillpic.twitter.com/lLCMRBwapn
* Capitol News Illinois | Technical SAFE-T Act changes could happen, nothing certain in last 3 days of session: “I will say, when it came to the idea of gutting it, that was a bipartisan thing that was real, and I will acknowledge that,” Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, said at a news conference Tuesday. “But what I will say is that, after Tuesday, the main thing is to make sure it’s technical and we can implement it the right way.”
* WTVO | Illinois lawmaker files amendment to SAFE-T Act: The controversial criminal justice law was a major talking point during the election. Illinois State Senator Scott Bennett filed an amendment on behalf of the state’s attorney association that would clarify. […] Bennett’s proposal is still the only one officially filed in the capitol so far. The legislature is expected to come to a new compromise on the law before it goes into effect January 1.
* Daily Herald | New leader hopes to bring balance to state House GOP:State Rep. Tony McCombie said Wednesday that her top priority when she becomes the next House minority leader will be to rebuild the GOP caucus following last week’s elections that were, for Republicans, a disappointment. “The top priority is to bring balance to the Republican Party,” she told reporters during her first Statehouse news conference since being elected leader. “I mean, we need some numbers, seriously. We need to collaborate on our messages. We need to bring our caucus all together to have opinions.”
* Quad | City Times | Q&A with incoming Illinois House Republican Leader Tony McCombie: Q: You’ve worked on many bills over the past few years — some of the DCFS bills, for instance, that featured bipartisanship. How important is it to have that moving forward? A: “You know, as leader, I might actually get that bill passed now. So, we’ve been fighting for Pam Knight for a long time. We’ve done it in the House and it died in the Senate. Again, with the tragic loss we had (of DCFS worker Deidre Silas) here in Springfield, we thought we were going to get that through with the Senate and the House again, and we did not. Common sense legislation should be easy. And my conversations and relationships, I hope, will bring those issues around.”
* WGNTV | Illinois State Senate unanimously approves legislation banning state investment in Russia: The Illinois State Senate unanimously approved legislation prohibiting the investment of state funds in Russia Wednesday. The proposed law, House Bill 1293, would require the state to divest or withdraw any existing investments in Russian banks and companies and prohibit such investments moving forward on top of several other stipulations.
* WCIA | Lawmakers considering legislation to close interest rate loophole for pawn shops: In 2021, the state passed the Predatory Loan Prevention Act (PLPA), which caps the interest rate on consumer loans at 36%. But the law doesn’t apply to pawn shops. After the PLPA passed, pawn brokers asked the courts for an injunction so that the law wouldn’t apply to them and they received one.
* Ted Slowik | Rural counties vote to break from Illinois. Here’s what they should do instead: The growing movement by dozens of Downstate counties to break away from the rest of Illinois to form a new state shows how toxic politics has distorted our reality. I wish politicians who represent red parts of the state would offer their constituents more realistic solutions to address concerns. I have visited Cairo and other small towns ravaged by blight. I have seen similar conditions in south suburban Harvey, Dixmoor and Robbins.
* WREX | Illinois Native Americans Gathered in Springfield to Ask for Inclusion and State Recognition: A group of Native Americans gathered in Springfield to ask for inclusion and state recognition. The Chicago American Indian community collaborative held a Native American summit today at the state capitol, and at the top of the agenda, was an effort to introduce legislation requiring native American history in Illinois public schools starting next year.
* Tribune | Mayor Lori Lightfoot chastises security detail for parking in a bike lane while she picked up doughnuts: Following an uproar on social media, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot chastised her security detail for parking in a bike lane while she picked up doughnuts. The controversy began on Twitter after @bikelaneuprise posted photos Nov. 9 showing Lightfoot’s security detail parked in the street outside Roeser’s Bakery on North Avenue while she was inside picking up doughnuts.
* Block Club Chicago | Weed Dispensary Green Rose, Owned By Phil Stefani, Former Police Commander, Opens In River North: Green Rose is owned by GRI Holdings and qualified for the state’s social equity license by having members of the management and ownership team who are Black, Latino, veteran and part of the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to Stefani, former police Cmdr. Thomas Wheeler, former CTA executive John Trotta and veteran Dana Oswald are owners, according to the Chicago Tribune. Ownership is “diverse and includes Black, Latinx, veteran and females,” a company representative said.
* Sun-Times | Village of Oak Lawn approves $10 million settlement in 2019 hit-and-run accident involving then-village manager: Mark Berkshire was hospitalized for months after he was hit by Larry Deetjen’s car in nearby Chicago Ridge in 2019, according to a lawyer for Berkshire. He is still unable to walk and requires around-the-clock care, according to attorney Victor Henderson. Deetjin was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, failing to render aid, failure to give information after striking a person, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and failure to exercise due caution.
* Politico | GOP civil war spreads to Georgia runoff: But Senate Republican infighting isn’t the only dispute affecting the Peach State race. Georgia GOP activists are worried about the potential effect of Donald Trump launching his 2024 run on Tuesday, an announcement that local party leaders fear could depress turnout among moderate Republicans — votes that Walker needs to beat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who finished just ahead of him in last week’s election. Despite even some of Trump’s own allies urging him to delay an announcement until after the runoff election, Trump declined to wait.
* Illinois Times | The next chapter for Avery Bourne: “I don’t want a eulogy written. People keep coming up to me with a sad look in their eyes and saying, ‘You had such a wonderful career.’” At age 30, state Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, says she has plenty of career still ahead of her. She is leaving the General Assembly in January after an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
* The Workers’ Rights Amendment is getting almost 90 percent support in Chicago’s Black-majority wards. Data compiled by Isabel…
As I told you earlier, it got abut 80 percent citywide.
* Tom DeVore apparently believes everybody is as gullible as his handful of followers…
But here’s what he said in September…
Whiner.
* Why would the GOP even try to run a comprehensive and expensive mail and chase program when its base thinks mail-in and early voting are evil and should be abolished?…
Dem campaigns had more money than Rs, real campaigns. We got canvassing back, a D strength. Ds were motivated. DNC spent a lot of money on field.
Look at how much better Ds did in the early vote than 2018, 2020. Sign of organizational strength, hustle, good campaigns. 3/ pic.twitter.com/GMz0w72EWc
Mail and chase works, as do early voting pushes. Democrat Maggie Trevor was trailing Matt Padgorski for a Cook County Board seat by about a thousand votes last week. As of yesterday, she was ahead by 481 votes.
* Pantagraph | GOP chooses new leadership in Illinois General Assembly as Dems retain control: House Republicans elected Tony McCombie of Savanna and Senate Republicans chose John Curran of Downers Grove. The change in leadership comes after Democrats maintained control of every statewide office and had strong gains in last week’s elections across the rest of state government, aside from in the state Senate.
* Center Square | Some question rosy picture painted by Illinois’ five year budget projections: Gov. J.B. Pritzker claims the state is in great financial shape after the release of five-year budget projections. However, one economic analysis says the state still needs to address a particular problem. The state’s fiscal projections released this week show Illinois has been making strides in attempting to clear some of its long-term debts
* Crain’s | Like it or not, the Illinois GOP is now grappling with Candidate Trump: Jeanne Ives, a strong social and economic conservative who almost unseated then-Gov. Bruce Rauner in the 2018 GOP primary, welcomed the idea of a competitive GOP presidential primary. “I think it’s a great idea for Republicans across the country to have a debate over where the party should go,” she said. But, Ives continued, Trump overall is “a mixed bag.” Asked if his running would help the party, she replied: “Not in Illinois.”
* Jim Schultz and Warren Ribley | A December rail strike would be another gut punch to Illinois farmers: Behind the recommendations of an independent panel of arbitrators assembled by the president at the request of labor, the White House brokered a compromise that appeared to appease both management and union leadership. Yet, despite seven of the 12 rail unions approving the Biden deal during the last two months, three have failed to ratify. Two other unions are set to announce the outcome of their ratification votes in the coming days, with the likelihood of approval anyone’s guess.
* Great Lakes Echo | Green-backed candidates for governor fair well in Great Lakes states: Election Day has come and gone, and the results show that green-backed candidates for governor won in six Great Lakes states. They won in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New York, but lost in Ohio. All are Democrats. Environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters, backed them candidates in hopes of having their environmental priorities enacted.
* Let’s go back to the state’s Economic and Fiscal Policy Report that the administration is required to submit to the General Assembly each year. I posted the walk-down on Monday, but I wanted to look closer at pension payments, since the usual suspects are beating that particular war drum again.
Here are the annual projected state payments for the Teachers Retirement System, the State Employees Retirement System and the State University Retirement System by fiscal year. Dollar amounts are in millions…
Pension payments are estimated to be 20.1 percent of all expenditures this fiscal year and they’re projected to be 20.1 percent of all expenditures in five years.
Of course, that’s only if the current projections hold, which they sometimes don’t. Back in 2019, FY23’s projected state pension contribution was projected to be 20.4 percent of all state expenditures.
That’s obviously manageable.
* The problem is that projected expenditures will start outpacing projected revenues in FY25 by $464 million, and that gap will widen to $792 million by FY28. But those are small percentages and also include annual $80+ million in rainy day fund contributions. But even with those contributions, the budget deficit in FY25 is projected to represent just 0.9 percent of overall spending, and it’ll be 1.5 percent of spending by FY28.
Still, without a new revenue source, this means the state will have to keep a rein on spending.
In a historic win for organized labor, Illinoisans are adding a new amendment to the state constitution that will dedicate a “fundamental right” for workers to unionize and the ability to collectively bargain, according to unofficial results from The Associated Press. […]
The passage of a constitutional amendment is a rare act and the referendum question was being closely watched by union and business leaders across the nation. The Illinois measure required 60% of those voting on the question to vote “yes” for it to pass or 50% of all ballots cast to vote in favor of the question. […]
The amendment outperformed Democrats in many counties throughout the state, particularly in more conservative downstate areas.
In the small, far southern county of Massac, for instance, the “yes” vote on the amendment won by two percentage points even though Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey easily defeated Pritzker in the county, according to the AP.
According to projections, the amendment received about 2.1 million “yes” votes and 1.5 million votes against. That’s 58.4 percent of the votes cast on that issue but about 53 percent of all the ballots cast in the election.
* Click here to see the list of county results. Click here to see a map of where the measure is currently clearing a constitutional hurdle for passage (60 percent of those voting on the question or a majority of all those voting in the election).
It has 60 percent or more in Cook, St. Clair, Champaign, Rock Island and Jackson counties. It has less than 30 percent in Effingham, Wayne, Clay, Jasper and Edwards counties. It’s at almost 80 percent in vote-rich Chicago and 64 percent in vote-rich suburban Cook.
Today, Lightfoot for Chicago announced the launch of its TV ad campaign with two ads, “Delivers Again” and “Believe.” “Delivers Again” stars characters “Oscar” and “Felix,” the two Chicago “experts” who are discussing Mayor Lightfoot’s track record for the city. “Believe” highlights the Mayor’s personal view on the progress of the city, while acknowledging the unprecedented challenges of the last four years.
“Delivers Again” features “Oscar” and “Felix” discussing Mayor Lightfoot’s public safety and violence reduction efforts, including:
Oscar: People don’t know. She’s delivering record spending for violence reduction, getting guns off the street, and more money for police. You know we didn’t get into this mess overnight.
Felix: True.
Oscar: Getting out of it takes time, and Lightfoot has a plan. Right?
Lightfoot: [On the phone] Hold on. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Felix: [Offers video game controller] Wanna play?
Lightfoot: Love to, but I’ve got work to do for our city. [Returns to phone call]
Lightfoot: Believe in us. Believe in this city. We have come through hell and back, and we are the better for it.
Our economy is the best in the country.
We are making significant progress in public safety and implemented some of the most progressive policies that are going to make life better.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you we did everything perfectly–we haven’t. But we’ve tried our darndest to make sure that we got it right. And when we haven’t, you pick yourself up, and you listen, and you’re humble, and you learn from your mistakes.
* I long ago lost count of the number of times that the House Republicans won the news media cycle here. Agree with them or not, you absolutely cannot deny that they’ve been amazingly adept over the years at convincing reporters to run with their spin. It’s been quite something to watch. And the person in charge of the HGOP comms operation for most of that time has been Eleni Demertzis. Eleni informed staff today that she is leaving for another job. Culloton + Bauer Luce is fortunate to get her and I wish her nothing but the best…
I wanted to let you all know that my last day on staff will be November 30. I’ll be starting the next chapter as Vice President at Culloton + Bauer Luce, a boutique public affairs firm specializing in corporate reputation, issues management and crisis communications.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – The HGOP has the best communications team in state government. Everyone brings their own talents to the table, but the reason why we are the best is because we always work as a team to get things done. We collaborate on ideas, we pinch-hit for each other no matter what the task is, we are always ready for the fight and we have always been in it together.
Thank you to each and every one of you for the role you play in the HGOP caucus, because it wouldn’t be possible without your contribution.
Malkin: At the state level, where you’re at, some prominent Republicans, such as Jim Durkin and Tim Butler are stepping down. What do you think that means for the future of the state Republican Party?
Miller: Well, I think that one of the things is that conservative ideals are gaining traction, and we have a beachhead, established in Illinois with the Illinois Freedom Caucus where, you know…we’re emphasizing…our worldview, as well as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the Republican Party platform. And I know that we’re committed to those three ideals. It’s going to be our true north to guide that…some see their power structure falling apart, then rather than staying and trying to fix things, they’re going to move on and do something else.
Malkin: Do you think that creates some more space or opportunity for the Illinois Freedom Caucus?
Miller: Oh, I think so. I think that, you know, let’s face it, the ideals that we’re promoting with individual liberty, with limited government, with the rule of law, with fair markets, with fiscal responsibility, the sanctity of life and peace through strength. Those are ideals that make America America. And I think one of the things that we haven’t done very well is we haven’t communicated those ideals. Because let’s face it, most of the people that live here in the state of Illinois, those are ideals that they live by, as they raise their families and they work hard and those are the ideals that motivate us to do the right thing, the right way all the time.
And then he went on to talk about how January 6 was just a peaceful gathering of mostly old folks and not an all an insurrection.
* Meanwhile…
Newly reelected GOP House member from rural Illinois wastes no time saying she's sticking with Trump https://t.co/5eUDklvxqK
McFarland Mental Health Center employees to demonstrate over lack of staff
WHO: Frontline employees of McFarland Mental Health Center represented by INA and AFSCME
WHAT: Informational picket to raise awareness of severe staff shortage
WHERE: Outside McFarland Mental Health Center, 901 Southwind Dr.,
Springfield, IL 62703
WHEN: TODAY (Wednesday, November 16 at 2:30 p.m.
BACKGROUND: Frontline employees who support individuals with mental illness at McFarland Mental Health Center in Springfield, Ill., are raising awareness of a severe staff shortage at the state-operated facility and throughout state government.
Members of the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 will hold an informational picket outside McFarland Mental Health Center today, November 16th at 2:30 p.m.
AFSCME and INA members say the lack of staff threatens to erode the quality of care for patients at McFarland, poses a safety risk to employees, and is driving out-of-control overtime—including mandatory overtime—that is leading to burnout among workers.
According to INA, there are 49 nurses who work at the Center but there are seven nursing positions open. Meanwhile, 22 of the 98 Security Therapy Aide and Mental Health Technician positions, represented by AFSCME, are also unfilled. Both unions are calling on the State to host a job fair and aggressively recruit to fill these vacancies. Nurses have also told management they want the option of working 12.5-hour shifts to reduce burnout and not being mandated to work overtime. Center management has failed to implement a negotiated agreement on these key issues, according to INA.
Representing registered nurses employed by the state of Illinois, the INA stands for nurses’ rights to be the best advocates for their patients and their communities.
AFSCME Council 31 is the largest union of public service workers in Illinois—with a membership that includes more than 30,000 state employees—and a leading voice for working families statewide.
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon issued the following statement after receiving support Tuesday from the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus to continue in the position next year.
“I want to thank my colleagues for their continued support. Our accomplishments in the Senate are a team effort. We head into a new session collectively focused on moving Illinois forward.”
The 103rd General Assembly inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 11, 2023.
* Sen. John Curran…
THE FOLLOWING IS A STATEMENT BY STATE SENATOR JOHN CURRAN (R-41st DISTRICT) ON HIS UNANIMOUS ELECTION AS SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER FOR THE 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
“I am humbled and honored to have the full support of my Senate Republican colleagues to serve as their new leader in the 103rd General Assembly. We stand ready, with our focus directed toward the future, on developing solutions that will address the critical issues facing our state. We are equally dedicated to growing our ranks, which will give all Illinoisans greater representation and balance in their state government.”
* Sen. Dan McConchie…
In response to the Senate Republican Caucus choosing a new Leader for the 103rd General Assembly, outgoing Leader Dan McConchie released the following statement:
“It has been my distinct privilege to serve as Senate Republican Leader, and I wish Senator Curran the very best as he assumes the helm.
“Running for office, let alone running for Leader, was never something I aspired to do. In both cases I responded to a call to serve. In this latest role, I am proud of my record and accomplishments.
“Illinois’s problems are not a mystery. While people for years have flocked to states with lower taxes and better standards of living, Illinois’s net population has largely stayed flat. We all know people who have left our state for better environments. It is the moral responsibility of the state’s leadership to attempt to address the real systemic problems facing our state so that we once again can become the people magnet we once were. On this point, the Democratic leadership fails miserably while the Senate Republicans stand strong.
“In my tenure, we became a caucus unafraid of putting real solutions on the table and engaging in rhetorical battle for them. We introduced numerous bills covering a whole host of issue areas that outline our vision to once again make Illinois a state to which people flock. We weighed into the debate with vigor fighting for that vision that we know can put us on the path to a brighter future.
“I can only presume that the majority’s refusal to even allow debate on our suggestions is rooted in fear - fear that the public will embrace an alternative to the singular reality they are currently offered.
“When I assumed this role, I committed to grow the Caucus by recruiting outstanding candidates and providing them with resources so they had a chance to win despite Pritzker’s wallet and the gerrymandered maps that put us at a severe disadvantage. To that end, I was able to raise the most money the Senate Republicans have perhaps ever seen and will leave the Caucus with more members than I started - even as our party saw defeats in every other area.
“During my time, we brought forward real ideas to move Illinois ahead, gave voice to them, and worked to have them considered. We stayed true to ourselves and fought for both our values and our constituents. As I continue to serve in the Senate, I promise to keep up this fight for the future of all Illinoisans.”
Hoping to revive their party in Illinois after tough Election Night losses, Republicans on Tuesday met behind closed doors to select their new legislative leaders: state Sen. John Curran of Downers Grove and state Rep. Tony McCombie of Savanna.
House Republicans voted 31-8 to select McCombie as their new leader in a binding caucus vote.
Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin announced last week that he wouldn’t be seeking reelection as minority leader — and the Western Springs Republican threw his support behind McCombie to take the leadership baton. State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, secured eight votes. […]
A letter signed by 23 House Republicans last Friday acknowledged the caucus was experiencing “profound changes” and needed a leader with “energetic determination to rebuild the House Republican Caucus.”
McCombie also has joined Republicans who’ve been critical of Pritzker’s management of the state’s Department of Children and Family Services. She was the House sponsor on a bipartisan bill allowing the families of DCFS workers to acquire state benefits if the workers are killed while performing their duties. The measure, which Pritzker signed into law, was prompted by the January slaying of DCFS worker Deidre Silas who was stabbed to death during a home visit in central Illinois. McCombie also joined fellow Republicans in opposition of COVID-19 mitigations. In February, McCombie was among several GOP House members who refused to wear a mask on the House floor.
McCombie also joined fellow Republicans in opposition of COVID-19 mitigations. In February, McCombie was among several GOP House members who refused to wear a mask on the House floor. […]
Regarded as a more moderate Republican, Curran, unlike McCombie, has supported various gun control measures over the years. He was the only GOP senator in 2021 to vote with Democrats in passing a bill that overhauled the state’s firearm owner’s identification card system. That legislation was prompted by a mass shooting at an Aurora warehouse that left six people dead, including the gunman, and several wounded, five of them police officers.
“We stand ready, with our focus directed toward the future, on developing solutions that will address the critical issues facing our state,“ Curran said in a statement Tuesday night.
McConchie issued a statement wishing Curran well and saying Democratic leadership in Illinois has failed “miserably” at addressing the state’s systemic problems.
McCombie, who will represent the 89th district in the new General Assembly, was one of the early favorites to ascend to the position, according to Politico, and she was voted into the office during a caucus meeting on Tuesday.
“The House Republican Caucus is focused on helping Illinois families by offering common sense solutions to the many problems our state faces,” she said in a statement. “We will be a unified force that will grow our party by sticking to our core values and ending the corruption that has pervaded state government.”
McCombie is the former mayor of Savanna, with party leadership praising her ability to balance budgets before being elected to the General Assembly in 2016.
She previously headed up the campaign arm of the House Republican caucus, and she is currently the party’s spokesperson on the Restorative Justice Committee.
McCombie will be the first woman to serve in a top leadership position in the Illinois House. In 2009, Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno of Western Springs became the first woman to serve in a top leadership post in that chamber. […]
“I came up short. And I’ve done this job for nine years and I have no regrets,” Durkin said. “I’ve been involved with some amazing pieces of legislation, historic moments in Springfield, but I’m also – at this point – I believe it’s great for me to be able to say goodbye and pass it off to the next generation. We’re bringing in a new set of eyes, new energy.” […]
While she has a reputation for conservative leanings, those with knowledge of the internal meeting said McCombie did not receive unanimous support – a sign of the ongoing tension within Republican ranks.
Signs the most right-leaning wing of the House Republican caucus would not support McCombie were apparent last week, when news broke that she had locked enough support to win the job.
Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, released a statement Friday bemoaning what he said was “strong arming and media manipulation … the kind of tactics that have produced an apparent permanent minority caucus in the House.”
Republican senators also changed leaders, selecting Downers Grove Republican state Sen. John Curran.
“I am humbled and honored to have the full support of my Senate Republican colleagues to serve as their new leader in the 103rd General Assembly,” Curran said in a statement. “We stand ready, with our focus directed toward the future, on developing solutions that will address the critical issues facing our state. We are equally dedicated to growing our ranks, which will give all Illinoisans greater representation and balance in their state government.”
Curran replaces Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods.
“Running for office, let alone running for Leader, was never something I aspired to do,” McConchie said in a statement Tuesday evening. “In both cases I responded to a call to serve. In this latest role, I am proud of my record and accomplishments.”
…Adding… Press release…
The American Federation for Children, the nation’s voice for educational choice, congratulates newly chosen leadership of the Republican caucuses in the Illinois General Assembly. The Illinois Senate Republican Caucus has chosen Senator John Curran as its next Leader while the House Republican Caucus has chosen Representative Tony McCombie to serve as its next Leader and first female Leader.
The American Federation for Children looks forward to working with both Leader Curran and Leader McCombie to galvanize their respective caucuses in support of the successful Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program, with the critical legislative goal of removing the sunset.
The American Federation for Children also wishes to extend its strong appreciation for the contributions that outgoing Leaders Dan McConchie and Jim Durkin have provided to the school choice movement during their tenure leading their caucuses in Springfield.
* WAND | Sen. John Curran selected as new Illinois Senate Republican leader: Outgoing leader, Senator Dan McConchie released a statement wishing Curran the best. In his own statement, Curran said that the caucus stands ready, “with our focus directed toward the future, on developing solutions that will address the critical issues facing our state.”
* CBS Chicago | Rep. Tony McCombie elected new Illinois House Republican leader: McCombie was elected to the Illinois state House in 2016, representing a Western Illinois district. She previously served as the mayor of the Mississippi River town of Savanna, where the Illinois General Assembly said she was known for balanced budgets and her solid administrative background.
* WBEZ | Republican challenger concedes to Illinois Democrat accused of domestic violence: Democrat Michael Hastings could claim a narrow reelection win in a state Senate race in the south suburbs after officials reported updated vote totals Tuesday, overcoming accusations of domestic violence to edge Republican challenger Patrick Sheehan. In a statement, Sheehan said he had conceded the race. The concession came hours after Will County officials released the results of their tabulation of hundreds of ballots from the Nov. 8 election.
* Jim Nowlan | Here’s my advice for making the Illinois Republican Party relevant again: What to do? Contrary to the adage of late U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neill that all politics is local, American politics today have largely been nationalized by social media, Trump and the decline of local and state party organizations. Yet each state has its own issues, and Illinois is struggling with population loss, as well as job growth that has been slower than nationwide. Thus, the Illinois Republican Party needs to have a constructive, appealing program in place as the Trump phenomenon fades away.
* Illinois Newsroom | State Rep. Chris Miller reflects on January 6, analyzes midterm elections in IPM interview:“Well, I think the first thing that we have to, you know, (do is) admit that our projections, and our predictions were off. Actually, by a lot. But, you know, I think…you always have to look for the silver lining in some of these things. And I know that it’s pretty clear that Republicans made inroads in suburban women to Latinos and many other groups. And, you know, and it wasn’t that long ago, where Florida was kind of looked at as a swing state,” Miller said.
* WJBC | Illinois Senators are on the move during Capitol construction: The renovation of the north wing of the state Capitol has pushed out the senators. Tuesday marked not only the start of the 2022 veto session; it was also the first day of a nearly 2 ½ -year stay in the adjacent Howlett Building. A deteriorating auditorium received a massive facelift to function as the temporary Senate chamber.
* SJ-R | Illinois Native Americans to gather at Old State Capitol, demand inclusion: Johnson said the lack of representation on the Illinois State Board of Education’s Inclusive American History Commission, a 22-person group chosen to assist ISBE in revising its curriculum to be more inclusive of all cultures, is telling of how native people are ignored.
* NBC 5 | How a Strange Deal Struck in Springfield a Decade Ago Now Prevents Illinois Communities From Banning Assault Weapons: “I was very disappointed,” former Gov. Pat Quinn said of those days more than nine years ago. “Some of the Democrats who I thought would vote yes on the legislation all of a sudden were saying, ‘People in my district aren’t for it.” Quinn said he was astounded that the proposed statewide ban fell two votes short, despite the presence of Sandy Hook families he had taken to the Capitol to tell their personal stories.
* WPSD | Illinois voters approve collective bargaining amendment: Unions groups said its approval could signal a new chapter in the struggle over workers’ rights as U.S. union ranks have grown. They view it as a way to ensure that workers will always be able to use their collective clout to secure better pay, hours and working conditions.
* Politico | Unbowed by midterms fiasco, Trump tries for president again: It is an extraordinary — although long anticipated — move for Trump, one certain to reshape his party’s trajectory, raise complicated legal questions and alter the presidency for the man who defeated him, Joe Biden. He explicitly discussed his campaign as an effort to restore the presidency he had.
The Illinois House Republican Caucus elected Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) as the House Republican Leader for the upcoming 103rd General Assembly. The vote took place this evening at an internal caucus meeting in Springfield.
Before becoming State Representative, McCombie served as the Mayor of Savanna, where she was known for balanced budgets and a solid administrative background. McCombie’s first election for State Representative in 2016 taught her what a tough campaign fight is, as she defeated an incumbent Democrat. McCombie has previously chaired the House Republican campaign organization and is the Republican Spokesperson on Restorative Justice Committee.
“The House Republican Caucus is focused on helping Illinois families by offering common sense solutions to the many problems our state faces,” said McCombie. “We will be a unified force that will grow our party by sticking to our core values and ending the corruption that has pervaded state government.”
Inauguration for the 103rd General Assembly will occur on January 11th, 2023.
…Adding…
The following statement is from Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza:
“I offer my heartiest congratulations to State Representative Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, on her historic achievement in becoming the first woman chosen to lead a caucus in the Illinois House of Representatives. Leader McCombie was a chief co-sponsor of my historic and transformational Debt Transparency Act in 2017. Risking the wrath of a vengeful governor from her own party after he vetoed the bill, Rep. McCombie assisted in marshaling the votes of Republicans to help us unanimously override the governor’s veto in the House. Rating agencies have regularly cited that very reform in their upgrades of Illinois’ creditworthiness. Leader-elect McCombie has shown real leadership when it matters. We won’t agree on every issue, but she has proven herself a bipartisan leader willing to work across the aisle for the betterment of Illinois without compromising her values. I look forward to working in the House with Speaker Welch and Leader-elect McCombie to move our state forward.”
* Click here to see the projection at the New York Times. Press release…
Today, the Associated Press officially projected the Workers’ Rights Amendment was passed by voters in this year’s midterm election.
Current projections show the amendment earning support 53% of all voters casting a ballot in the election, exceeding the simple majority of all voters threshold needed to pass.
The amendment received support from an overwhelming number of Illinoisans, with 58% of Illinoisans casting a ballot on the question voting yes.
This historic amendment will protect the freedom for Illinois workers to organize and bargain collectively for better wages, stronger safety protections at work, and more.
The group also says it confirmed the projection with the AP.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced he has reached a settlement with Walmart to resolve allegations that the company contributed to the opioid addiction crisis by failing to appropriately oversee the dispensing of opioids at its stores.
The settlement provides more than $3 billion nationally and requires significant improvements to how Walmart’s pharmacies handle opioids. Seventeen state attorneys general on the executive committee, attorneys representing local governments and Walmart have agreed to this settlement, which has been sent to other states for review and approval. The settlement is effective upon approval by 43 states and a population representing 85% of local government units.
* Nov 15…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a bipartisan coalition of 23 attorneys general filing an amicus brief in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) efforts to combat alleged illegal debt collection practices in the student loan industry.
The CFPB filed a lawsuit alleging that 15 trusts purchased student loan debt and then engaged in illegal debt collection practices in an attempt to collect on that debt. The CFPB’s complaint describes how collections agencies hired by the trusts submitted false and misleading affidavits and testimony in support of nearly 100,000 debt collection actions brought by the trusts. Additionally, the trusts are alleged to have filed hundreds of lawsuits against consumers for debt that was time-barred or missing critical supporting documentation. Raoul and the coalition argue that the trusts should be held liable for these misdeeds under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. […]
Raoul’s office has discharged more than $14 million in fraudulent private student loans since 2019. Attorney General Raoul’s office also worked to pass a “Know Before You Owe” law, which aims to alert borrowers of their remaining federal student loan eligibility to help them steer clear of predatory private loans like those provided by Navient.
* Nov 14…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced a more than $391 million bipartisan national settlement with Google after an investigation by Raoul and a coalition of attorneys general revealed Google misled consumers about its location tracking practices. Illinois will receive more than $19.5 million under the settlement. […]
Raoul and a coalition of 38 attorneys general opened an investigation into Google following a 2018 Associated Press article that revealed Google recorded movements “even when you explicitly tell it not to.” The article focused on two Google account settings: Location History and Web & App Activity. According to the article, the Location History default setting is “off” unless a user turns on the setting. However, Web & App Activity, a separate account setting, is automatically turned on when users set up a Google account, which includes all Android phone users. […]
Under the settlement, Google has agreed to a series of provisions designed to give consumers more transparency into Google’s practices, including showing additional information whenever users turn an account setting on or off; making key information about location tracking unavoidable for users (i.e., not hidden); and creating an enhanced “Location Technologies” webpage where users can get detailed information about the type(s) of location data Google collects and how it’s used.
The settlement also puts limits on Google’s use and storage of certain types of location information and requires Google account controls to be more user-friendly.
* Nov 14…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined 13 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief challenging an Indiana statute that bans transgender female students from participating in girls’ school sports. The brief is filed in A.M. v. Indianapolis Public Schools, which arose after a 10-year-old student was barred from playing on her school’s girls’ softball team after the law was passed even though the student had been a part of the team with no issue in the past.
The brief argues that the court should affirm the preliminary injunction entered by the lower court, which allowed the Indiana student to continue participating on her team during the ongoing litigation. The court made its ruling on the basis that the Indiana statute, which banned her from the team, likely violates Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as it denies transgender girls access to the same athletic opportunities that other girls and boys have.
* Nov 11…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced national settlements with Experian relating to data breaches in 2010 and 2015 that compromised the personal information of millions of consumers nationwide, including hundreds of thousands in Illinois. Raoul and the coalition also obtained a separate settlement with T-Mobile in connection with the 2015 Experian breach, which impacted more than 15 million individuals who submitted credit applications with the telecommunications company.
Illinois was one of the states to lead an investigation into Experian’s 2015 data breach, which impacted more than 735,000 Illinois residents. Under the settlements Raoul announced, Experian and T-Mobile have agreed to improve their data security practices and pay states more than $16 million. Additionally, Illinois will receive a total of more than $1.2 million. […]
Raoul and the coalition obtained two separate settlements from Experian and T-Mobile in connection with the 2015 data breach. Under a $12.67 million national settlement, Experian has agreed to strengthen its due diligence and data security practices going forward, including by implementing a comprehensive information security program. Experian will also enact data minimization and disposal requirements, including specific efforts aimed at reducing the use of Social Security numbers as identifiers; and specific security requirements, including the use of intrusion detection, firewalls and risk assessments. Illinois will receive $1.04 million. The settlement also requires Experian to offer affected consumers five years of free credit monitoring services as well as two free copies of their credit reports annually during the timeframe. Affected consumers who were members of the 2019 class action settlement are also eligible to enroll in extended credit monitoring services. More information on eligibility can be found online.
Raoul and the coalition also obtained a $2.43 million settlement with T-Mobile. Under the settlement, T-Mobile has agreed to detailed vendor management provisions designed to strengthen its vendor oversight going forward. Illinois will receive around $204,000. The settlement does not involve an unrelated, massive data breach T-Mobile announced in August 2021, which is still under investigation by Attorney General Raoul and a multistate coalition of attorneys general.
* Nov 10…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a bipartisan coalition of 21 attorneys general filing an amicus brief challenging “no-poach” provisions — which restrict the rights of workers to move from one franchise to another in the same restaurant chain — used by McDonald’s in its franchise agreements.
The workers in this case contend that, until 2017, McDonald’s required all McDonald’s franchisees to sign agreements that contained a provision prohibiting them from hiring workers who worked for any McDonald’s restaurant currently or in the prior six months. Raoul and the collation argue that such agreements violate federal antitrust laws and interfere with workers’ ability to seek better employment opportunities, wages and benefits.
“No-poach agreements allow employers to take advantage of workers by trapping them in low-paying jobs and limiting their ability to seek better employment opportunities,” Raoul said. “I am committed to holding companies accountable when they engage in unlawful employment practices that prevent employees from seeking opportunities that allow them to better support themselves and provide for their families.”
A new, animated video released today by anti-poverty advocates starts with “You would think that child support goes toward supporting children, right? But families in Illinois who need the most help are getting just a fraction of child support payments.”
The video goes on to explain that families living in extreme poverty and who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) have child support collected from their non-custodial parents only to have most of that money go to the State of Illinois. In fact, only 14 cents of every dollar paid by non-custodial parents go to support their child. The policies disproportionately harm Black families in Illinois and make it harder for families to lift themselves out of poverty. The video can be found here: It is Time to Fix Our Broken Child Support System
House Bill 4423, which passed unanimously out of the Illinois House of Representatives last spring, can be passed this lame-duck session by the Illinois Senate and would fix this harmful policy. Passing HB4423 would help families living in extreme poverty meet their basic needs and ensure child support paid by non-custodial parents goes to support children receiving TANF. The bill would make the TANF grant amount equivalent to 50% of the Federal Poverty Level and direct the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to send funds collected from non-custodial parents directly to the custodial parent and their children.
“This video lays it out straightforwardly. This legislation isn’t about partisan politics; this is about righting a wrong that has been decades in the making,” said Niya Kelly, Director of State Legislative Policy, Equity and Transformation with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. “It’s simple: This is about ensuring dollars that are collected on behalf of children who are living in extreme poverty actually get to those children.”
The legislation is sponsored by Representative Marcus C. Evans, Jr., Speaker of the House Emanuel Chris Welch, Senator Adriane Johnson, and Senator Celina Villanueva, among others. The video was put out by Chicago Coalition for the Homeless in support of House Bill 4423.
* Sens. Sally Turner and Sue Rezin…
In their ongoing desire to combat the ongoing fentanyl epidemic that is running rampant throughout the state and nation, State Senator Sally Turner (R-Beason) and Senate Deputy Minority Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris) held a press conference at the State Capitol with McLean County State’s Attorney Erika Reynolds to unveil legislation that creates two new offenses and penalties for individuals who intentionally sell scheduled drugs with fentanyl or use electronic communication devices to sell fentanyl.
“This epidemic grows more serious each year as the number of deaths continues to climb. No longer is this just something that is happening in a faraway land, it’s happening everywhere,” said Senator Sally Turner. “We, as legislators, have a responsibility to take action and to protect the people who are the targets of this awful poison. Each day that we do nothing, more lives are lost.”
Senate Bill 4221 would amend the manufacture and delivery offense within the Illinois Controlled Substances Act to create a new Class X felony requiring nine to 40 years in prison for unlawfully selling or dispensing any scheduled drug, like Adderall or Vicodin, that contains a detectable amount of fentanyl.
“Nationally, nearly 70,000 people 18 and older died in 2021 from synthetic opioid-related incidents, with 90 percent of those being fentanyl-related. That is equivalent to one plane crashing each and every day,” said Senator Sue Rezin. “In Illinois, we have seen the number of synthetic opioid deaths jump from 87 in 2013 to 2,672 in 2021. That means in less than one decade, the state of Illinois saw nearly a 3,000 percent increase in synthetic opioid overdose deaths. We cannot and should not continue to turn a blind eye to this staggering trend.”
Additionally, Senate Bill 4221 would expand the controlled substance trafficking offense to create a new Class 1 felony, which would come with a fine up to $100K for anyone using an electronic communications device in the furtherance of controlled substance trafficking involving a substance containing any amount of fentanyl.
“As the McLean County State’s Attorney, I am thankful that Senator Turner and Senator Rezin are taking steps to support communities victimized by the ongoing fentanyl problem. My office welcomes the opportunity to hold accountable the people who prey upon the weakest among us by pushing fentanyl for financial gain,” said McLean County State’s Attorney Erika Reynolds. “This poison is killing people in our communities, and those who knowingly spread that poison should face harsher penalties.”
Sen. Turner and Sen. Rezin hope to see this legislation move through the legislative process this veto session.
* Stand Up America…
Today, the Illinois General Assembly begins its veto session in Springfield. Lawmakers will work to pass Senate Bill 828, legislation to restore voting rights to nearly 30,000 individuals while they serve a felony sentence. If passed, Illinois would become the first state to restore voting rights to incarcerated citizens and join Maine, Vermont, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C. in allowing currently and formerly incarcerated citizens to vote.
During the 102nd General Assembly, state lawmakers worked to pass SB 828. However, the bill narrowly failed just days before the end of the regular session. During the session, Stand Up America members in Illinois sent nearly 2,400 constituent emails to their state legislators in support of voting rights restoration.
In addition to grassroots advocacy, Stand Up America and its partners recently released a poll revealing that 56% of Illinois voters believe voting should be a guaranteed right for all and the state should give full restoration of voting rights to all citizens over the age of 18. The polling also showed wide support for voting rights restoration in the state among younger voters, older voters, and voters of color – including the notion that all citizens should be eligible to vote – with 60%, 53%, and 65% support, respectively.
Voters in Illinois are ready for all citizens to be eligible to vote, no matter their relationship with the criminal legal system. Although many voters in Illinois aren’t aware of the laws in their state around voting rights, the majority of them believe that every citizen should have the right to vote.
Illinois Review (IR) announced on Tuesday a new ownership team that includes conservative radio show host and Newsmax columnist Mark Vargas and Chicago attorney and former US congressional candidate Scott Kaspar. The widely recognized and conservative publication on Illinois news was founded in 2005 by conservative leaders Fran Eaton and Dennis LaComb.
“After 17 years and 17,000 stories later, it was time to hand over Illinois Review to a trusted and capable new ownership team that could take the organization to the next level,” said IR co-founder Fran Eaton. “Now more than ever, we’re going to need leading conservative voices and perspectives to rebuild the Republican Party in Illinois – and I know Mark and Scott are the team that can do it.”
“I have known Fran and Dennis since 2005, and I am honored to leverage my resources and rolodex to help take IR to the next level,” said Mark Vargas. “The very first OpEd that I published many years ago was on IR – and so it brings me great joy to officially be a part of the team as co-owner.”
“For decades, IR has been a leading voice on conservative news and perspectives here in Illinois,” said Scott Kaspar. “The brand, our contributors, supporters and subscribers have made IR a total success over the last 17 years – and we can’t wait to build upon that and make IR an even bigger force not just here in Illinois, but across the country,” said Kaspar.
Vargas and Kaspar plan to roll out a new website design, a newspaper division that will bring IR to your doorstep, expand IR’s social media presence and subscriber list and compensate contributors for their work. Vargas will serve as Editor-in-Chief and Kaspar as Publisher.
* Vargas hosts a talk show on WIND 560 AM, the same station where Dan Proft has a show. Vargas’ first IR column doesn’t mention Proft by name, but it’s clearly aimed at him…
Now let’s talk about the Bailey Campaign. $42M in total to a Pro Bailey PAC and $10M directly to Bailey.
$100M this Election Cycle to support 2 men – Irvin and Bailey. While the rest of the Republican field struggled to raise any money at all.
Talk to any Republican who ran for office this General Election and they’ll tell you the same thing: we had no money to get our messages out or to defend ourselves from vicious lies and smears by the Democrats.
$50M for the governor’s race to be called at 7:06 pm – one of the fastest races to be called in modern Illinois election history. […]
It’s time for the Illinois Political Consulting Class to go. Just like a controlled burn removes old vegetation and makes room for new growth – we need this in Illinois if we are ever to be in a position to win again.
It’s time to hold these so-called “political experts” accountable.
They are not experts at winning races – they are experts at losing races. The records speak for themselves. And we are in the super minority because of it.
Think about this in terms of your doctor or a surgeon. If you or a loved one needed surgery, would you call a doctor whose patients all died? No! Of course not!
To be out there promoting a single poll that said Bailey was within “striking” distance and only 2 points behind – is Political Malpractice.
…Adding… I’m told by someone at the Bailey campaign that Vargas tried to get hired as a consultant, but the campaign refused. Much of the conversation I had was unprintable.
First Lady Jill Biden kicked off National Apprenticeship Week with a visit to Chicago. Biden encouraged business leaders to take an active role in creating job opportunities for students, @carigaribay reports. https://t.co/qmgDLWgruK
* And Speaker Welch’s office is looking for employees…
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch is hosting the second annual job fair at the Illinois State Capitol on Friday, November 18th from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. in Room 114.
The Office of the Speaker is actively recruiting for legislative coordinators, policy analysts, communications specialists, attorneys, IT professionals, and more.
“After the success of last year’s event, I am looking forward to another job fair that allows us to attract the best and brightest Illinois has to offer,” said Speaker Welch. “I’m proud to be a leading voice for equity and diversity in the workplace, and I’m grateful I get to lead by example as the Speaker of the House.”
Nearly 100 applicants attended the in-person event in 2021 and more than 500 resumes were collected for open positions. Applicants ranged in age from college students to retirees looking to reenter the workforce. In addition to the in-person event, 100 people registered for the virtual option that was also offered due to COVID-19 concerns.
Friday, November 18, 2022 • 10 AM - 12PM
Illinois Capitol Building, Room 114 - 301 S. Second Street, Springfield
If you’re looking to make a difference, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and the House Democratic Caucus are looking for you! To learn more about the opportunities available with the Office of the Speaker, visit ilhousedems.com/employment/.
Do you like your current job?
…Adding… From Mike Ziri…
Hi Rich,
I saw your post today, “Want a new job?” Equality Illinois has an opening for Manager of Civic Engagement. The position description is linked at https://www.equalityillinois.us/17209-2/ and can be shared on your blog, if you’d like. Thanks.
Mike
–
Michael Ziri
Director of Public Policy
EQUALITY ILLINOIS
he/him/his
In accordance with Illinois Supreme Court Rule 39, as Chief Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit of Illinois, I do hereby give notice to the members of the Bar that two vacancies exist for the position of Associate Judge for the Third Judicial Circuit. This vacancy exists due to the retirements of Associate Judge Philip B. Alfeld and Thomas William Chapman, effective July 5 and July 21, 2022, respectively.
Applications shall be taken from any United States citizen, who is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and a resident of the Third Judicial Circuit. Applicants shall have 30 days after this notice of vacancy within which to electronically file a signed application with the Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts on the form prescribed and furnished by the Director.
With the Illinois General Assembly back at the Capitol Tuesday, House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) lays out his expectation for one of the big issues, the “Safe-T Act.”
A key provision of that package, which passed almost two years ago, is the end of cash bail Jan. 1. Police and prosecutors have said their ability to catch and keep criminals will be severely hampered. If they are expecting lawmakers to use the veto session to overhaul the legislation, they are in for a disappointment.
“Certainly it’s a hope that we get clarifications done before we leave here in the second week of veto session,” which ends Dec. 1, Welch said. “I don’t think there’s a need for a big overhaul. We have already done three trailer bills that have been signed into law.”
Welch, about to enter his second two-year term as speaker, says the big issues – abortion, Safe-T, gun control – are delegated first to “working groups.” Those groups are all Democrats and not open to the public.
“One of the ways I manage the caucus is making sure that there is a consensus among us first,” said Welch. “The committee process will allow Republicans to be involved in it. After that, we’ll take it to the floor. (That process) has produced a whole lot of solid results.”
Jim Kaitschuck of the Illinois Sheriffs Association told The Center Square it could be a while before changes to the act are agreed upon even though lawmakers return this week.
“Our last conversation was last Wednesday, and we do not have a schedule to meet again, but that could change,” Kiatschuck said. “Lawmakers are only in session Tuesday and Wednesday, so in terms of something moving this week, I don’t think that’s remotely likely.”
Over the past few months, Republicans have called for a repeal of the measure, while Democrats have discussed further legislation. Kiatschuck said one idea is more realistic than the other.
“It’s a trailer bill is more likely,” Kaitschuck said. “Especially with the change of politics that has occurred, I do not see how a full repeal would occur.”
Many groups have spoken out against the measure, including the Illinois Sheriffs Association. Kaitschuck has been a part of the negotiations on the subject and said it’s all up to lawmakers now.
“We shed some light on the concerns we have, and states attorneys have and how we would address some of those things,” Kaitschuck said. “Ultimately, now the case has been presented now, it’s a matter of making a determination as to what the General Assembly is able to change or wants to change.”
Voter turnout in Chicago’s Black wards dropped significantly in Tuesday’s midterm elections after a record high turnout in the 2018 midterm election, according to a Crusader analysis of data from the Chicago Board of Elections.
Overall voter turnout among Chicago’s 1.5 million registered voters on Tuesday was just 41.3 percent, compared to 60.67 percent in the 2018 midterm election. In Black wards that year, voter turnout was 57.51 percent.
But voter turnout Tuesday, November 8, in Chicago’s Black wards was even lower. Election data show that out of the city’s 17 Black wards, only 36 percent or 573,514 registered voters cast ballots on Tuesday. Voter turnout in Black wards was even lower than during the 2014 midterms election, where turnout was 49.56 percent, higher than the city’s overall turnout of 48.81 percent.
In Tuesday’s election, 11 Black wards experienced voter turnout that was within 30 percentage points. The 16th and 37th Wards had the lowest voter turnout with 25.13 percent and 27.45 percent, respectively. The 16th Ward, representing the neighborhoods of Chicago Lawn, Englewood, Gage Park, New City and West Englewood, historically has the lowest turnout than any of Chicago’s Black wards.
In Tuesday’s election, none of the Black wards experienced a higher voter turnout than in 2018, when Democrats wrestled control of the U.S. House from the Republicans under President Donald Trump.
Tom DeVore, who was defeated by incumbent Democrat Kwame Raoul in the race to be Illinois attorney general, downplayed the influence of the former President Trump on the Republican’s poor electoral performance.
“Trump’s been gone a long time, so absent Trump would we have won any of these races? I don’t think so,” said DeVore. “There’s bigger issues at play from a structural perspective and an organizational perspective for the party in Illinois and I think that had a much larger impact on these races than any former president ever could have had.”
Republican state Sen. Jason Plummer agreed that the Republican Party in Illinois simply does not have the electoral infrastructure to compete effectively.
“We have an infrastructure problem here in Illinois regardless of the election cycle, regardless of names that people like to talk about,” said Plummer. “The fact of the matter is what we’ve done in Illinois Republican politics would be the equivalent of sending the Chicago Cubs out on the field without bats or gloves.”
Both DeVore and Plummer bemoaned in particular the lack of an early vote effort on the GOP side while noting the success of Democrats in turning out their vote.
“Structural” analysis coming from Tom DeVore? The guy who had no discernible campaign structure at all?
And the lack of an early and mail-in vote push by Republicans is precisely because of Donald Trump, who wants everyone to vote on election day. Republican voters would’ve revolted if the state party had gone against Trump and ran a mail and chase program. Maybe now, the rank and file will learn something. Or not.
But, more importantly, they lost on the issues that mattered most to actual voters. And abortion was at the top of that list. No amount of money and “infrastructure” improvements were gonna change that this year.
* From Heather Wier Vaught’s post-election analysis…
Democrats won two Illinois Supreme Court seats in the newly drawn Second and Third Districts, and Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis received the vote to be retained for a 10-year term. This gives Democrats a 5-2 majority for the first time since 2004. In a first for the Court, a majority of the justices will be female (5-2), there are three African American justices, and a majority are new to the Supreme Court.
The irony is Ken Griffin is the person who should receive the most credit for the changes to the Court and Democrats’ 5-2 majority. In 2020, Griffin and independent expenditure committees spent millions against Justice Kilbride with the goal of knocking him off the Court and electing a Republican to that seat to have a 4-3 Republican court. But Kilbride’s close defeat (he received 57% but needed 60% to be retained) and the retirement of Justice Thomas triggered two elections in 2022, and the General Assembly seized that opportunity to redistrict the Supreme Court districts for the first time since 1964. The Illinois Constitution’s requirement that the districts be of “substantial equal population” allowed the legislature to draw two districts that slightly favor Democrats. Had Kilbride won in 2020, the General Assembly likely wouldn’t have redistricted the Court, and the Republicans could have retained the now-lost seat in the Second District. That could have allowed Republican donors to redirect the tens of millions spent on Supreme Court races to executive and legislative races.
Griffin recently called former President Trump a three-time loser. Maybe look in the mirror, genius.
* The trend is most definitely not Rep. Mazzochi’s friend…
DuPage County counted more ballots today, and now the Democratic challenger Jenn Ladisch Douglass @jldfor45 leads Illinois Republican state representative Deanne Mazzochi @deannemazzochi by 280 votes. I'm calling this election for Ladisch Douglass #twillpic.twitter.com/TzcaVyzrsu
* State Journal-Register | Illinois General Assembly veto session begins. Here’s what to know: Expected to add up to five seats in the Illinois House, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch announced Monday that he would retain his position for a second term. “We have more work to do – and with a strong, diverse, and talented Democratic caucus alongside me, I am excited to continue the work Illinoisans have sent us to do,” he said in a released statement.
* Washington Post | Muslim Americans make historic gains in midterm elections: Nabeela Syed made history in this year’s midterms when she defeated a Republican incumbent in Illinois’s 51st District, making her the youngest member of the Illinois General Assembly and among the first Muslims elected to the state legislature. […] Syed is among a cohort of candidates who made history this year by becoming the first Muslim Americans to be elected to the state legislature in states including Texas, Illinois, Georgia and Minnesota. All of them are Democrats, many are women and a rising number are Somali Americans.
* WSIL | Illinois comptroller helps hand out turkeys in Cairo: 150 turkeys were handed out in Cairo on Monday in an event that’s been going on for six years. Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza has been a part of the event that entire time. She joined with Arrowleaf Community Center and Laborers’ 773.
Conservative groups that sought to get hundreds of “parents’ rights” activists elected to local school boards largely fell short in last week’s midterm elections, notching notable wins in some Republican strongholds but failing to gain a groundswell of support among moderate voters.
Traditionally nonpartisan, local school boards have become fiercely political amid entrenched battles over the teaching of race, history and sexuality. Candidates opposing what they see as “woke” ideology in public schools have sought to gain control of school boards across the U.S. and overturn policies deemed too liberal.
The push has been boosted by Republican groups including the 1776 Project PAC, which steered millions of dollars into local school races this year amid predictions of a red wave. But on Tuesday, just a third of its roughly 50 candidates won..
A big 1776 Project PAC contributor is billionaire Illinoisan Richard Uihlein, via his Restoration PAC.
Uihlein backed the failed effort to flip the Illinois Supreme Court. He put big bucks into several losing congressional races here (and across the country). He supported Darren Bailey directly and also with $42 million to Dan Proft’s committee. He plunked down at least $2 million against the Workers Rights Amendment and appears to have lost there as well. And he was the primary funder of the Common Sense Reforms PAC, which wasted a bunch of money on a whole lot of failed state legislative races. Also, he contributed millions to the Illinois Senate Republican Leader, who did pick up a net seat but is now about to be forced out by his own members.
And that’s just this year. Uihlein’s losses here go back years.
* Something else I didn’t know. From the Citizens Utility Board…
For the tenth consecutive year, Illinois had the lowest average electricity bills in the Midwest, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Illinois, which at one point had the highest bills in the Midwest, has now had the lowest since 2012.
The EIA, the statistical arm of the Department of Energy, reported that Illinois’ average monthly bill, $95.86 in 2021, fell well below the national average of $121.01. In fact, Illinois had the fifth lowest average bill in the country. Utah, the cheapest, is at $80.87, and Hawaii tops the list with $177.78. Here’s how Illinois stacks up against other Midwestern states:
Here’s where Illinois ranks among the states (and the District of Columbia) that have the lowest average power bills:
• Utah: $80.87
• New Mexico: $87.31
• Colorado: $91.96
• District of Columbia: $92.42
• Illinois: $95.86
• Wyoming: $96.82
Despite a decade of relatively low electric bills in comparison to other parts of the country, there is still a lot of work to be done here in Illinois. In June, the electricity prices for ComEd and Ameren skyrocketed for a number of reasons, including an over-dependence on fossil fuels in the country.
Thanks to a provision in the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act that CUB worked for, ComEd customers have actually been able to cut their electric bills by about $18-20 a month, on average. The problems are more complex in Central and Southern Illinois, and the consumer group has been seeking ways to give short-term and long-term relief to consumers there.
Following the recent midterm election, some Illinoisans still feel as though the state is neglecting their interests.
The nonprofit Illinois organization, New Illinois, held its second constitution convention this weekend at the Thelma Keller Convention Center in Effingham. The organization has expressed its intention to break away from Chicago and some of its surrounding areas and establish a new state called New Illinois.
One of the convention’s main speakers was Ted Dabrowski, who is president of Wirepoints Incorporated, a nonprofit that independently researches Illinois’ economy and links it to certain political policies.
Throughout his speech, Dabrowski shared several of the organization’s statistics, most of which centered on educational funding and other educational statistics of public schools.
“We don’t use the word secession because that’s not what this is, it’s legally something different,” said G.H. Merritt, chair of the nonpartisan organization New Illinois. “We are trying to form a new state, and we’re not trying to kick Chicago out of Illinois, we’re trying to kick ourselves out of Illinois.”
Only Congress has the power to create new states, but there has never been a formal agreement on how the process should take place.
Merritt said a driving force behind the expanding movement is that many southern Illinoisans want to be heard regarding issues that affect the state as a whole.
“You have this movement in Illinois, you have it in California, you have it in New York, you have it in Colorado, it’s because the people in the rural areas don’t have a meaningful voice in the government,” Merritt said.
She said a resolution is expected to be filed in January to begin the process.
* WTAX | Welch ready for veto session: “Certainly it’s a hope that we get clarifications done before we leave here in the second week of veto session,” which ends Dec. 1, Welch said. “I don’t think there’s a need for a big overhaul. We have already done three trailer bills that have been signed into law.”
* Country Herald | State Rep. Bennett hospitalized after Car Crash near Gibson City: “He was taken to the hospital where they’ve been observing him and running some tests. He’ll be resting for a few days, so he won’t be able to make it over to Springfield for the veto session which begins tomorrow.“ A Representative for Bennett posted Monday afternoon.
* WGN | Jim Durkin on the future of the GOP: “Donald Trump is toxic, everything he’s touched in the past year has been a failure.”- IL House Minority Leader Jim Durkin
* Capitol News | Theis, sworn in as chief justice, says partisanship has no role on state Supreme Court: Mary Jane Theis was sworn in as chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court on Monday in a public ceremony, becoming the fourth woman to hold the gavel since the court was created in 1818. By next month, the Democrat will find herself presiding over a new historic first for the court, as women take a 5-2 majority for the first time in Illinois’ history.
* WBEZ | Jill Biden touts ‘career-connected learning’ in Chicago, calling education a nonpartisan issue: The first lady urged Chicago employers to create “inclusive career opportunities” for students from all backgrounds. She touted the Biden administration’s commitment to “career-connected learning” programs that bridge the gap between what students learn and the careers they eventually find, calling it “the future of our workforce.”
* WCIA | First snowfall lands in Central Illinois, more to come : A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued as another round of snow is set to arrive Monday night. If you didn’t see snowfall on Saturday, expect to see some tonight, with the possibility of more than three inches in some areas.
* It’s my first day covering session! Tell me about what you want to see happen during veto session, or whatever else is on your Illinois-centric mind.
