Nurses represented by the Illinois Nurses Association are joined by colleagues from the American Federation of State and Municipal Employees Union to conduct informational picketing to call attention to the woeful staffing conditions at both Chicago-Read Mental Health Center and the Illinois Veterans Home at Chicago.
Chicago-Read Mental Health Center is a state-run inpatient JCAHO-accredited facility with between 150 and 200 beds located on the northwest side of the city.
The Illinois Veterans’ Home at Chicago offers 200 private rooms with baths. Its open floor plan creates community around pods of living and dining spaces. The home accommodates veterans seeking skilled nursing and memory care.
In 2021, Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a statement announcing a statewide recruitment and retention campaign to more fully staff state-run health agencies. According to INA, the agencies have not responded to this clarion call for new staff.
Nurses who work at the VA Home at Chicago have filed a number of complaints about inadequate staffing and consistent payroll issues. According to the INA, The Chicago VA location employs 12 RNs and these nurses care for 24 veterans. Nurses are often required to work alone during the day shift and families of the vets have rightly inquired about why there only one nurse taking care of all 24 patients. Several families have pulled their Vet out of the Chicago VA because of the lack of RNs.
The Purge is an American anthology media franchise centered on a series of dystopian action horror films … The films present a seemingly normal, crime-free America in the near-future. However, the country is a dystopia which celebrates an annual national holiday known as “the Purge,” a day in which all crime, including murder, becomes decriminalized for a 12-hour period.
* Sen. Darren Bailey today, with a bit of italicized commentary by me and some links for you…
We’re standing here today near the spot where two tourists were mugged at gunpoint just outside of their hotel last night.
This is not a test, this is a wake up call. Chicago is living The Purge. When criminals ravage at will and the cops are told to stand down.
JB Pritzker and his cohorts in mayhem are directing the film. With his SAFE-T Act, JB is set to unleash The Purge in neighborhoods all over Illinois as of January 1.
For those who will not see, many in the media, those who deny the hellhole Chicago has become. More people have been murdered in Chicago this year than in New York City and Los Angeles combined [Close, but not accurate]. Let that sink in. More than 500 deaths so far.
JB Pritzker, Lori Lightfoot and Kim Foxx are personally responsible for this.
For those who will not see, lift the veils from your eyes before they’re ripped away by one of the gangs or criminals that our leaders have set free.
Watch the video of a gang of armed robbers terrorizing Wicker Park residents Monday. The cops spotted them getting away, but they were told to stand down. Don’t try to catch them. Don’t pursue, was the words. That’s the rule in Chicago. Those Wicker Park robbers are serial criminals. They went off scot free and they will return.
Alderman George Cardenas, a Democrat, tweeted in a response, ‘Public Safety in Chicago is a joke. Why bother calling the police?’ Except it’s not a joke. It’s a nightmare.
Chicago has strict vehicle pursuit guidelines that make it impossible for police to do their jobs and let criminals go free. [If the city is going to have these pursuit guidelines to protect innocent bystanders, then it really needs alternatives, like drones and helicopters, and it needs them soon.]
And it gets worse. JB is so enamored of these horrific rules that he passed legislation that imposes them on the entire state of Illinois.
Soon, all of Illinois will look like Chicago, like a scene from a horror film come to life. We can and we must stop this.
He then went on to outline his anti-crime program, which he’s done before. Also, as always, please pardon any transcription errors.
* Bailey seems to be riding a wave of recent TikTok videos claiming Illinois is about to enter The Purge on January 1. Most of the videos are based on false or woefully incomplete information, including a meme produced by a far-right southern Illinois website using call letters that make it look like a licensed broadcast station.
…Adding… It’s spreading like wildfire on these sites…
I see the Safe-T Act being referred to as the "Purge Law" on hip-hop and entertainment news and blogs.
We really have to address how misinformation is spreading because bloggers are searching for content. They're not fact-checking.
There are no “non-detainable offenses” coming on January 1. Those judged a flight risk can be held, as one example. But, there’s been a lot of behind the scenes talk about changing the SAFE-T Act during the post-election veto session, particularly to tighten up some language on who gets released and when, and clarifying some things in the anti-trespassing law. So, this Fox 32 take is mostly correct…
Even some top Democrats concede privately they’d like to amend ambiguous language dealing with exactly when judges will be able to detain violent offenders.
* Last word…
I am trying to imagine someone standing on Restaurant Row in the West Loop, surrounded by gleaming new high rises and some of the best food in the country, and declaring that this place is the purge.
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday introduced a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy nationwide, the most prominent effort by Republicans to restrict the procedure since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
“I think we should have a law at the federal level that would say, after 15 weeks, no abortion on demand except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother,” Graham said at a news conference. “And that should be where America is at.”
Graham’s measure, which stands almost no chance of advancing while Democrats hold the majority in Congress, comes just weeks after he and most Republicans had defended the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe by arguing that allowing states to decide on abortion rights would be the most “constitutionally sound” way of handling the issue.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) suggested Graham had gone a bit rogue with his latest legislation: “That wasn’t a conference decision. It was an individual senator’s decision.”
“There’s obviously a split of opinion in terms of whether abortion law should be decided by the states, which is my preference … and those who want to set some sort of minimum standard,” Cornyn said of the 50-member Senate GOP conference. “I would keep an open mind on this but my preference would be for those decisions to be made on a state-by-state basis.”
* More…
McConnell on Graham’s bill: “you’ll have to ask him about it.” Says most Republicans want to leave it to the states
* I asked Gov. Pritzker’s office for react. Here’s the governor’s response…
Illinois is and always will be a state where we respect women’s rights to make their own decisions about their bodies and their healthcare. The extremists in the GOP told us it should be up to the states to decide and we knew they couldn’t be trusted. A nationwide ban on abortion is not only an egregious attempt to strip away long held rights, but it puts the lives of women at risk. The GOP’s blatant lies are disappointing, but no longer surprising. As Governor, I will never stop fighting to protect every Illinoisans’ right to choose, and I call on all of our representatives to put people over party and vote against a nationwide ban on abortion.
* Sen. Bailey was asked today whether he would support a national abortion ban after 15 weeks…
I’ll have to look at that. I haven’t looked at that. I want to remind people here in Illinois that women are well protected and cared for and nothing is going to change here in Illinois regarding abortions as Gov. Pritzker tries to throw me in that category.
…Adding… DPI…
Today, Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez issued the following statement on Republicans’ national abortion ban:
“The Republican party has made clear that it will stop at nothing to strip women of their reproductive rights. Far-right extremist Republicans in Illinois have threatened to do the same here at home — but we will not let them.”
“The stakes of this election could not be more clear. Now more than ever, we must unite to support Democrat pro-choice champions up and down the ballot who will fight to protect abortion access in Washington and here in Illinois. Together, we will ensure that our state remains a safe haven for those who call Illinois home and a beacon of hope for reproductive rights across the country.”
* For some reason, I haven’t yet posted this story…
The leading candidates for Illinois Governor will meet face to face for the first time, in a set of exclusive prime-time debates hosted by Nexstar Media Inc. next month.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Republican nominee, State Sen. Darren Bailey, have both agreed to participate in two, one-hour debates covering current issues central to voters both regionally and statewide.
The first will now take place on October 6, at Braden Auditorium on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal.
The second debate will be held on October 18 at WGN-TV studios in Chicago.
Both events will take place at 7p.m., airing live on Nexstar television stations serving Illinois and reaching voters in nearly every corner of the state. The debates will also be streamed online, including on WGNTV.com.
* Surrounded by states with abortion restrictions, Illinois remains an oasis for out of state abortion seekers. Better Government Association…
By the time word spread of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24 decision to reverse the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade, an Illinois-based hotline for one of the country’s largest abortion support funds was already about to close for the weekend.
When it reopened Monday morning, the staff was stunned to find 200 missed calls for help waiting for them. Overwhelmed, they had to shut down the line for the week — the first time in the Midwest Access Coalition’s 8-year history — just to catch up. […]
One clinic in the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis saw a nearly 30% increase in those seeking abortions from June to August. In Chicago, one non-profit abortion support group served 4,000 clients this year, already 1,000 more than all of 2021.
“We’re expecting tens of thousands more people to come to Illinois,” said Alicia Hurtado, communications and advocacy manager at the Chicago Abortion Fund, a non-profit group to support abortion access. “We’re just hopeful we can continue to be there for our neighbors, but it’s going to take deep investment.” […]
“We’re expecting tens of thousands more people to come to Illinois,” said Alicia Hurtado, communications and advocacy manager at the Chicago Abortion Fund, a non-profit group to support abortion access. “We’re just hopeful we can continue to be there for our neighbors, but it’s going to take deep investment.”
Since it was founded in 2014, the Midwest Access Coalition supported a total of 3,000 abortion patients. Last year, across a 12-state midwest region, the coalition spent $120,000 on hotels, $15,000 for food and $55,000 on flights, according to its 2021 impact report.
The coalition’s fund helped 800 people in all of 2021. This year, they hit that number in July. As of Sept. 2, the coalition served 1,050 clients with meals, hotels and travel expenses, Dreith said.
“This is a healthcare issue, this is a basic human rights issue and we are in a crisis moment and Illinois needs to act legislatively like we’re in a crisis moment,” said Dreith. “Lives are on the line as far as freedom goes as we see more and more criminalization for providing and accessing health care.
* Axios reports out of state patients cause backlogs in care and are forcing some to have the procedure later in their pregnancies, when treatment is more intensive and costs are higher…
Experts believe that as clinics struggle with demand, the number of abortions performed after the 13th week of pregnancy — which is around the end of the first trimester — might increase.
The procedures can be harder to obtain, because “as pregnancy progresses, the number of people who are skilled to provide that care further goes down,” Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, told Axios.
By the numbers: About 93% of reported abortions in 2019 were performed at or before 13 weeks of pregnancy, 6% were conducted between 14 and 20 weeks and 1% were performed at or after 21 weeks, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At an Illinois clinic, patients from states other than Missouri and Illinois have risen to 40% of cases, compared to 5% before the federal right to abortion was struck down.
* Tennessee already has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancies in the country, and abstinence-only sex education is taught in schools, NPR reports…
Abortion restrictions and bans across the South are forcing people to travel hundreds of miles to get the procedure in states that still allow it. It’s a massive barrier, especially for pregnant teenagers. They have to navigate laws around parental permission, too. For years, Tennessee teens traveled to Nashville to get a judge’s permission for an abortion instead of telling their parents. From member station WPLN, Paige Pfleger reports on what options are left for those teens now. […]
PFLEGER: For years, teens traveled from all over Tennessee to ask Judge Calloway for something called a judicial bypass. It was a rarely talked about part of Tennessee law that let young people go to a judge instead of their parents for permission to get an abortion. Calloway would approve about 10 each year. And half the time, she says teens don’t want to tell their families because they were raped or assaulted, sometimes by a family member.
CALLOWAY: There are at least 10 girls in our community each year that will be forced to have a pregnancy that either they’re not ready for, they’re not prepared for, and they’re going to be forced to do so, even if it is a situation as incest, which has happened.
PFLEGER: Tennessee now has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, with no exception for rape, incest or minors, and a narrow legal defense for the life of the pregnant person. Judicial bypasses are off the table. Welty says she cried when she heard the news. She immediately thought of the teens who would still need help and wouldn’t be able to get any.
The women’s health clinic in Bristol, Tennessee, had a seemingly simple solution to continue providing abortions after its home state banned the procedure this summer: It moved a mile up the road to Bristol, Virginia, where abortion remained legal. […]
Abortion is still allowed in Virginia through the second trimester and into the third in limited circumstances. In a recent poll of state residents, half said they believed the state’s abortion laws were reasonable and should not be altered.
But many in Bristol, Virginia, where Republican Donald Trump won 68% of the vote in the 2020 presidential election, were unhappy to see an abortion clinic come to the city of about 17,000 people.
Anthony Farnum, mayor of Bristol, Virginia, soon received dozens of calls, texts and emails from residents asking him to close the clinic. But the mayor explained he had no power to do so as long as Virginia permits abortion.
Friday, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, acting under an order from the Michigan Supreme Court, put a question before voters this November on whether to protect abortion rights in the state constitution.
Last week, the question was sent to the state Supreme Court after Republican canvassers argued the amendment’s spacing and formatting would confuse voters. The group behind the amendment, Reproductive Freedom for All, appealed the decision to the state’s highest court. Thursday, the court decided to move it along.
“Ultimately, the system works. It may be put under great stress at times, but it works,” said Republican Michigan Board of State Canvassers Tony Daunt, who followed through on a promise to vote to certify if that’s what the Michigan Supreme Court ordered. Daunt took issue with criticism leveled against the two GOP members for voting not to move the amendment forward. He said the issue of the petition forms had never been addressed before and the court decision set a precedent that future boards would now have to follow.
“It is really important for us to recognize that this is a victory for the people of Michigan who signed in such record numbers,” said Democratic board member Mary Ellen Gurewitz.
* Google Maps routinely misleads people looking for abortion providers, a new analysis by Bloomberg News has found…
In this case, medical doctors and reproductive health advocates said, letting the problem fester while debates rage on could lead to real-world harm. “If Google is a pro-science organization, or even just neutral, they would not want to lead people to these places with false advertising that can be harmful to their lives,” said Allison Cowett, the medical director of Chicago-based Family Planning Associates. “These fake clinics are not on equal footing with folks that are practicing evidence-based medicine.” […]
Cowett, the Chicago doctor, told Bloomberg that there is “absolutely, in bold capital letters” a link between Google Maps providing misleading abortion clinic results and the quality of care women receive in the real world.
She said that in Illinois, which is surrounded by states that have placed limits on abortions, the clinic is booked up for weeks on end. Staff have increased their work hours and scrambled to manage the flood of new appointments booked by patients traveling from states the clinic had never seen on its roster before, including Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
More calls to clinics in places like Illinois means it is much harder to get a staff member on the phone, Cowett said. “That means people looking on the internet, more commonly, and making these appointments online,” she said, including people traveling across state lines for care. “If people are driving 10 or 15 hours to see an abortion provider, it could be devastating for them to make an appointment somewhere which actually does not provide abortion.”
It took 174 years for Chicagoans to elect the first Asian American to sit in the City Council – and nearly two centuries for Illinois voters to send the first member of the community to Congress.
Today, at least nine Asian Americans hold elective offices across the state — two of them representing Illinois in the nation’s capital. And voters will get a chance to dramatically increase those previously slow-growing numbers in elections this year and the next.
At least 22 Asian American candidates are running for offices in the November election and the city elections next year, not to mention others running in other local races across the state.
It’s part of a nationwide trend already unfolding in Virginia, Michigan and Indiana — and reflective of a 2020 Pew Research Center study finding that Asian Americans are becoming the fastest growing segment of eligible voters out of the major racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.
This is a very significant shift, and one I’ve been trying to point out for months. It’s possibly as important as the days when Latino politicians were being elected in large numbers. The difference here is that Asian American candidates are not running in majority, or even near-majority districts.
Bailey said that if elected, he would undo the things Pritzker has done while he’s been in office.
“Commonsense tells us to repeal everything that J.B Pritzker has signed into law,” Bailey said. “That is why we are having these problems.”
* Regarding the Proft ad…
A political TV ad titled "The Scream" has aired widely in IL. It's shameful. Victims of crime should never be used as political pawns. Their stories should only be told by them or in ways they've specifically authorized. Statement from advocates @TheCAASE & @CMBWNTheNetwork: 1/6 pic.twitter.com/5168sWd9oS
— Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (@TheCAASE) September 12, 2022
With Labor Day behind us and the summer coming to a close, the residents of Illinois are beginning to focus their attention on the upcoming General Election. I firmly believe that the remaining 62 days should be about the Illinois voters, and ensuring they are given ample opportunity to hear directly from candidates regarding their vision for our state and the office they are seeking.
To that end, I am asking that you join me in participating in three impartial, public and robust debates. Each occasion should provide voters with our detailed visions for the State Treasurer’s Office, and plans to better the lives of all Illinoisans.
To keep the process simple and transparent, and to limit delays to the planning process, I am proposing to use a generally agreed upon format and set of rules for these debates that you will find attached to this letter. Further, I believe each debate should take place a week apart from one another, should be held in geographically diverse locations across the state, and that the media and members of the public should be invited to attend.
More here. Demmer had requested a response by yesterday at 5 pm. Nothing. So, I reached out to the Frerichs campaign…
We are already scheduled to debate in front of the Daily Herald editorial board on September 28th. We are looking forward to it.
I asked if that was really a debate…
When two or more candidates appear together, with a moderator and journalists asking questions, it is a debate.
Thoughts?
* Casten…
U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) has released the following statement regarding the cancellation of the upcoming Drag Queen Bingo program at the Downers Grove Public Library:
“I’m incredibly disheartened to hear that the Downers Grove Public Library is canceling their upcoming event — one meant to celebrate self-identity and self-expression — because Keith Pekau and Awake Illinois created an unsafe environment in our community. They should be ashamed of themselves. They have used their platform to promote hatred, homophobia, and bigotry.
“Let’s be clear. This event was canceled because, after my Republican opponent and his far-right allies at Awake Illinois publicly issued a call-to-action to their supporters, the library received severe threats that endangered our community.
“The 6th District is a place for kindness, love, and decency. Hate has no home here. The fact that Keith Pekau disagrees shows he has no place in public office.”
* CD13…
Last night, it was reported that Senator Lindsey Graham and Senate Republicans planned to introduce legislation mandating a national abortion ban later today. Senator Graham plans to do so with the backing of the radical, anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List, an organization whose endorsement of IL13 Republican congressional nominee Regan Deering proudly promotes.
Josh Roesch, campaign manager for Nikki for Congress, said: “For months, Regan Deering has boasted her support from Susan B. Anthony List, despite their mission to end all abortion full stop. Yesterday, they announced a proposal for a national abortion ban, which is the ultimate Republican agenda. Regan must answer if she will reject SBA’s endorsement and their latest proposed legislation.”
Last week, Deering caved on the issue and tried to distance herself away from the organization over their support of a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest and other extreme measures.
* G-PAC…
The Gun Violence Prevention PAC and Giffords PAC are announcing their first set of endorsements of gun safety candidates who are running in the upcoming Illinois general election on November 8, 2022.
After vetting each candidate’s voting record, policy platforms and responses to a rigorous questionnaire, the leading gun violence prevention organizations are putting their full support behind 15 candidates running for the Illinois Senate and Illinois House of Representatives.
To earn a gun safety endorsement, each candidate demonstrated strong support of the following policies:
Banning assault weapons
Banning large-capacity magazines (LCMs)
Making ghost guns illegal, which G-PAC and Giffords helped pass into law earlier this year
Funding community violence intervention programs
Funding a gun storage public awareness campaign
“Gun violence has become a way of life for Illinois residents and that is unacceptable. In the upcoming election voters are looking for candidates who will stand up to the gun lobby and advance legislation to keep illegal guns and weapons of war out of our communities.” said Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of the Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC). “Gun violence is on the ballot in November and we will work tirelessly to ensure this slate is elected.”
“State legislators have the power and opportunity to make their communities safer from gun violence as they are at the forefront of enacting gun laws that can and do save lives. That’s why we’re proud to be endorsing these gun safety champions today,” said former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. “These candidates understand the devastating impact gun violence takes on neighborhoods across Illinois. They stand ready to enact much needed legislation in the effort to end our nation’s gun violence crisis. Today, I am proud to stand behind these candidates who are ready to make Illinois safer for all.”
Illinois just ended a deadly summer with 29 mass shootings, more than 600 expressway shootings, and more than 1,200 people shot in the City of Chicago alone. Endorsed candidates have demonstrated urgency of this public health crisis and their unwavering willingness to do something about it.
Each endorsed candidate supports our #1 legislative priority when the General Assembly is called into session: banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. These weapons of war have been shown to contribute to both city violence and mass shootings.
The first endorsed gun safety candidates in the 2022 election include:
Illinois Senate:
Sen. Laura Ellman (SD 21)
Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton (SD 23)
Maria Peterson (SD 26)
Sen. Ann Gillespie (SD 27)
Sen. Laura Murphy (SD 28)
Illinois House of Representatives:
Rep. Janet Yang Rohr (HD 41)
Rep. Terra Costa Howard (HD 42)
Diane Blair-Sherlock (HD 46)
Rep. Maura Hirschauer (HD 49)
Rep. Mark Walker (HD 53)
Mary Beth Canty (HD 54)
Rep. Joyce Mason (HD 61)
Laura Faver Dias (HD 62)
Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (HD 81)
Additional announcements are forthcoming on local, state legislative and statewide endorsements.
States invest in public colleges (and give nonprofit status to private ones) to build a better-educated workforce. But what if graduates move away?
The biggest losers of that kind of brain drain are small, rural states — Vermont, West Virginia, New Hampshire — places lacking the urban hubs that offer opportunity to newly minted Bachelors, according to an innovative new data source that uses LinkedIn to estimate how many college graduates stay in-state.
The nation’s capital produces relatively few graduates of its own but draws heavily from the rest of the country, making it one of brain drain’s biggest winners, according to the analysis by economists at the University of North Carolina, the W.E. Upjohn Institute, the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago. The District appears to draw in six times as many graduates as it produces, but data limitations mean that could be an overestimate, the report’s authors say.
While the District is an extreme outlier, it sets a pattern. The other winners are primarily states with cities as large, dynamic and regionally vital as D.C. That would include New York, Washington, California, Illinois, Georgia, Texas, Minnesota and Massachusetts.
Illinois is one of only two states, along with Louisiana, to empower its Supreme Court with the responsibility of appointing interim judges to fill vacancies, according to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice. The Illinois Constitution calls for the interim replacement to run for re-election in a partisan election at least 60 days after their appointment.
(Although Louisiana initially allows the Supreme Court to fill the seat, a special election is called to elect a full-time replacement within a year.)
Because Illinois’ primaries have already occurred and the general election looms in November, [appointed Supreme Court Justice Justice Joy V. Cunningham] won’t face voters until 2024. In fact, of the seven state Supreme Court Justices, only one, Republican David Overstreet, was elected to the court without first receiving an interim appointment.
The process allows the Supreme Court to “replicate itself” by choosing like-minded judges to fill vacancies, University of Illinois College of Law Dean Vikram David Amar and professor Jason Mazzone wrote in a blog post in May.
* The Question: Should Illinois require special elections held within a year for vacancies on the Illinois Supreme Court? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
The industry failed to reach a contract agreement with two unions representing much of the work force, and a federally mandated 30-day “cooling off” period ends on Friday, opening a door to strikes and lockouts. Some freight companies have started to limit services, and Amtrak, which carries many travelers on lines operated by freight railroads, said it would cancel some passenger service starting on Tuesday. […]
Most of the unions agreed to the proposal, pending a vote of their membership. But two major unions are holding out for improvements to working conditions, which they say have steadily worsened in recent years as rail carriers have cut staffing.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the SMART Transportation Division, which represent engineers and conductors, say workers must often stay on call for several days at a time, working 12-hour shifts with little notice, and are penalized for calling in sick.
Together, the two unions represent nearly half the 115,000 freight rail workers covered by the negotiations. While the unions have not committed to striking on Friday, a walkout remains an option, a spokesman said, noting that more than 99 percent of participating members of the locomotive engineers union voted in July to authorize a strike.
Texas has the most miles of railroad tracks of any state but Illinois — and Chicago, in particular — has been the most important hub of US intermodal commerce for more than a century. According to the Association of American Railroads, 25% of all US freight rail traffic and 46% of all intermodal traffic starts, stops or passes through the Chicago region.
While 10 of 12 railroad workers’ unions have struck new labor deals, the two holdouts — the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the International Association of Sheet Metal Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers — account for more than 90,000 rail employees. […]
The timing isn’t good for the trains to stop running. Harvest season across the farm belt is approaching, retailers are stocking up for the year-end holidays, and the economy already faces a stretch of weaker growth and high inflation.
The most immediate concern in the event of a rail strike would be for perishable goods. The American Bakers Association said “even a temporary interruption would create a devastating ripple effect” that would create a shortage of materials and ingredients.
Amtrak is canceling trips on some long-distance routes out of Chicago, as the deadline for a possible strike by freight rail workers looms.
Beginning Tuesday, the passenger rail agency is suspending service on routes between Chicago and San Francisco, the Pacific Northwest and Los Angeles. Service will also be suspended along part of a fourth route out of Chicago, between Los Angeles and San Antonio, Amtrak said. […]
The cancellations are intended to avoid possible disruptions should freight railroad workers walk out on strike while lengthy trips are underway on the California Zephyr, Empire Builder, Southwest Chief and Texas Eagle routes. Though Amtrak workers are not involved in the ongoing contract negotiations, nearly all of the passenger service’s routes outside the Northeast U.S. run on track that is owned, maintained and dispatched by freight railroads, and a walkout could disrupt passenger service. […]
Federal law bars a freight railroad strike or lockout before Friday, and Congress could intervene and block a work stoppage if the unions and railroads can’t reach a deal by the end of the week.
Jermont Terry reported Monday night, service on nine different Metra lines in the Chicago area could also come to a halt if the strike happens. The tracks on the Metra lines are owned by freight railroad companies – and if the rail unions choose to stop operating the trains, nothing will move on the railroads. That goes for passenger and freight trains alike. […]
The BNSF, Union Pacific North, Union Pacific Northwest, and Union Pacific West Metra lines are on tracks owned and directly operated by refight rain companies. Five others intersect with tracks owned by freight partners are dispatched by freight railroads.
The only lines Metra owns, operates, and controls – and that thus would be certain to keep running – are the Metra Electric and Rock Island lines. […]
At issue is the fact that the two key unions representing conductors and engineers have yet to reach a deal. They want better pay, and a better quality of life.
* Freight train workers in Galesburg rallied for better quality of life in July. WQAD…
Representatives from over a dozen unions were at the rally, including Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division Local Vice President Nick Allen.
“We’re just looking for a fair contract for ourselves and our families, looking for the pay raises that we haven’t received since our contract ended in 2020,” Allen said. “We’re just looking to be able to continue to support our families and for what they have to go through for us working on the railroad.”
Workers said companies are also trying to reduce crew members on a train down from two to one, a move they claimed is a safety issue. […]
“We’ve had disasters in Canada, blowing up whole towns with a one-man crew operation,” SMART-TD Illinois Alternate Legislative Director Jordan Boone said. “We run through this town, and we need to be able to get a guy on the ground as soon as possible. And if there’s only one person up there, they can’t get off that motor.”
The railroads are using shippers, consumers, and the supply chain of our nation as pawns in an effort to get our Unions to cave into their contract demands knowing that our members would never accept them. Our Unions will not cave into these scare tactics, and Congress must not cave into what can only be described as corporate terrorism.
Rather than gridlock the supply chain by denying shipments and potentially locking our members out next Friday, the railroads should work towards a fair settlement that our members, their employees, would ratify. For that to happen, we must make improvements to the working conditions that have been on the bargaining table since negotiations began. Penalizing engineers and conductors for getting sick or going to a doctor’s visit with termination must be stopped as part of this contract settlement. Let us repeat that, our members are being terminated for getting sick or for attending routine medical visits as we crawl our way out of a worldwide pandemic.
No working-class American should be treated with this level of harassment in the workplace for simply becoming ill or going to a routine medical visit. Sadly, the Presidential Emergency Board recommendation got it wrong on this issue. As we have said from the day that they were implemented, these policies are destroying the lives of our members, who are the backbone of the railroad industry.
These employment policies have forced thousands of employees out of the industry and make it all but impossible to recruit new workers. With understaffed operations, these railroads abuse their best customers by refusing to provide deliveries consistent with their legal obligations. These self-appointed titans of industry complain constantly about government regulation and interference — except now when it comes to breaking the backs of their employees. It’s time for the federal government to tell the CEO’s who are running the nation’s railroads into the ground that enough is enough. Congress should stay out of the rail dispute and tell the railroads to do what other business leaders do — sit down and bargain a contract that your employees will accept.
While a strike could happen starting Friday, people close to the negotiations tell POLITICO they’re not expecting it — at least not that soon.
“There is this narrative being developed that a work stoppage is inevitable and unions are chomping at the bit,” said a person familiar with the conversations, but not authorized to speak to the press. “My view is that a strike is unlikely, and that the likeliest scenarios are, one, that they reach an 11th hour or 11th hour and 59 minute deal. The second likeliest scenario is they extend the cooling off period so that they can have more time to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s.”
* I’m the oldest of five brothers, so my Uncle Kenny has always been like my older brother. He’s also developmentally disabled. Back in the day, the jocks at his school took him under their wing. Nobody could say anything bad about Kenny or they’d get beaten to a pulp, and he’d be right in there with them. Kenny is the strongest, most generous and loving man I’ve ever known in my life. He’s just a treat to hang out with. He’s overcome so much and has lived a life almost fully in the mainstream, retiring from a state job he held for decades.
Tom Devore is a few years younger than me, but we grew up in about the same era. I was raised in rural Iroquois County, as was my uncle. We had our faults, but we definitely didn’t want people like him around us…
"As for the phrase “window licker,” generally recognized as a derogatory term for an intellectually disabled person, DeVore said he “grew up in a different era.”" https://t.co/EaZ0G3zUUV
Too often, people like this get a pass because they’re deemed as somehow not responsible for what comes out of their mouths. DeVore blames the era he grew up in, instead of the fact that he apparently hasn’t learned anything since then.
Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley is the latest official publicly speaking out against the SAFE-T Act, the abominable Illinois law taking effect statewide on January 1st. Criticism against the law seems to be hitting critical mass as outrage intensifies. The People Who Play By The Rules PAC encourages more officials, States Attorney’s especially, to sound off.
According to his recent special column to the Rockford Register Star, the State’s Attorney for Illinois’ 7th largest county says that “On Jan. 1, 2023, it is estimated that more than half of the inmates in the Winnebago County Jail will walk out the door. Approximately 400 criminal defendants will be released back into our community because our Illinois legislators passed the SAFE-T Act back in 2020.”
PBR PAC President Dan Proft: “I suppose the Winnebago County State’s Attorney is just another fear-mongering racist (like me) according to Governor Pritzker.”
* I asked Jordan Abudayyeh at the governor’s office for a response and she pointed to her comments from a month ago when Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow made essentially the same claims…
To be very clear, the Pre-trial Fairness Act creates a system where detention is based on risk, rather than poverty: that’s why domestic violence groups and other victims’ rights groups support it. There is nothing in the law that requires those suspected of crimes be let out of prison when it goes into effect. There are too many people that have been held not because they’re a risk, but simply because they could not afford monetary bail, and not only does that affect that person in custody but also their family. At the same time, victim’s rights groups have long been concerned that dangerous individuals have been released simply because they could afford to pay bail. Public safety is best addressed by focusing on risk rather than money.
Background
• When the law goes into effect, the State’s Attorney would have the ability to go to court and present evidence as to why a person suspected of a crime should be held, and a judge could rule to hold them.
• The State’s Attorney has seemingly identified 60 people that he believes will pose a risk to public safety if released. That is the first step in preparing for a future bond hearings focusing on the risk factors rather than monetary bail request considerations. The state’s attorneys have time to plan ahead, assessing both the pending and future cases.
• The Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force has published draft conditions flowcharts and considerations for use by all law enforcement and criminal justice officials. They are currently accepting suggestions at pretrialtaskforce@illinoiscourts.gov
Ken: When you’ve been around as long as we have, you’ve seen it all.
John: But one thing I thought I’d never see is Illinois’ state government working again.
Rhona: It’s been a mess for years.
John: We had billions in unpaid bills.
Velma: We didn’t even have a budget.
Amy: But JB Pritzker changed things.
Patricia: JB balanced the budget.
John: He’s filling the rainy day fund.
Dorothy: And our credit has been upgraded.
Rhona: Now I really have seen everything.
VO: JB Pritzker, strong leadership for Illinois.
* Budzinski press release…
Today, the Nikki Budzinski for Congress campaign is launching its first broadcast and cable television ads of the general election. The ad, called “Buttinski”, is a conversation between Nikki and a union steelworker from Illinois about Nikki’s focus on rebuilding the middle class, Medicare negotiating prescription drug prices, and tackling inflation.
The ad is centered on the core message of Budzinski’s campaign - an economic message focused on helping working families in Central and Southern Illinois.
Budzinski is the first candidate to begin paid advertising in IL13 - the campaign executed a robust digital buy that began last week. “Buttinski” will run on broadcast in the St. Louis, and Springfield, Decatur, Champaign media markets.
Chris: “I’m excited about Ms Butt-inski here and how she wants to rebuild the middle class.”
Nikki: “Thanks Chris — it’s Budzinski.”
Chris: “Nikki Butt-inski grew up middle class and knows we need to tackle inflation.
She’ll cut taxes for the middle class and let Medicare fully negotiate down the price of prescription drugs.
Nikki Butt-inski will…”
Nikki: “Budzinski.”
Chris: “Well, she may be a bit of a Butt-inski – but she’s on our side.”
Nikki: “I’m Nikki Budzinski and I approve this message.”
State Senator Darren Bailey (R-Il55), the Republican candidate for Illinois governor, made a campaign stop Saturday at the Palestinian American Club of Bridgeview, Illinois where he spoke in front of a map that erased the state of Israel, depicting the entire region as “Palestine.” The map labeled Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, included Yafo but not Tel Aviv, and restored the Golan Heights to Syria.
* Meanwhile, this relatively new Pritzker campaign video already has 670,001 views as of last check, which is in the top five of all his online videos…
*** UPDATE *** Bailey walked it back today, but considering his past behavior, one wonders how long it’ll be before he doubles down or claims he was taken out of context…
I strongly support Israel I always have and I always will. But I will listen to every one who wants to come to the table and talk.
That was a conversation that I had had with them earlier and I told them, they they told me it was unconstitutional. I said if it is we’ll take a look at that.
In an interview with Palestine TV at the event, Bailey also questioned the constitutionality of legislative measures backed by his opponent Governor JB Pritzker to counter the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
“I’ll always stand on the constitution and it sounds like some of those values are being stepped on right now,” Bailey said in his interview with Palestine TV. “And that makes sense, that’s what’s taking place in every aspect of government with this governor of ours. He doesn’t follow the law, he doesn’t follow the constitution. So the constitution will always be front and center. The Muslim community, the Arab community will always have a seat with me as we learn together, work together, and live together.”
* The Martin Luther King, Jr. statue near the Statehouse was “toppled over” last night, according to Beth Kaufman at the Secretary of State’s office.
A person is in custody, but has not yet been formally charged. The statue is currently at a state warehouse being “assessed for damage,” Kaufman said. According to Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) there’s video of the alleged crime. Rep. Butler took this photo today of the empty pedestal…
I really hate people sometimes.
*** UPDATE *** According to Ms. Kaufman, Fernando Garcia Martinez, 24, has been formally charged with criminal damage to state supported property, which is a felony. He’s currently at the Sangamon County Jail.
…Adding… I’m told Martinez “has no address,” so it’s unknown at this time where he’s from. Bail will be determined tomorrow during a court hearing.
DeVore, 53, a small-town attorney who has the words “liberty” and “freedom” tattooed on his forearms, received his law degree from Saint Louis University and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 2011.
* The Question: Do you have any tattoos? Explain either way.
Most Illinois taxpayers will soon be getting onetime income and property tax rebates from the state.
Distribution of the money to qualifying residents starts Monday. […]
Who qualifies? You must have been an Illinois resident in 2021 with an adjusted gross income on your 2021 Form IL-1040 filing under $200,000 for individual filers and under $400,000 for those who filed as couples.
How much is the rebate? Taxpayers who filed their tax returns as a single person will be eligible to receive $50. Couples who filed joint returns are eligible to get $100. If you have dependents, there’s an additional $100 per dependent, to a maximum of $300.
On top of the income tax rebates, some homeowners may receive more assistance.
Qualified property owners will receive a rebate equal to the property tax credit claimed on their 2021 IL-1040 form, with a maximum payment of up to $300. To be eligible, you must have paid Illinois property taxes in 2021 on your primary residence and your adjust gross income must be $500,000 or less if filing jointly. If filing alone, your income must be $250,000 or less.
Rebates will be distributed in the method that your original income tax refund was sent, according to the state of Illinois website. If you did not receive a refund, did not file an Illinois income tax return, or are requesting the property tax rebate separately, then your rebate will be sent by paper check.
As is the situation with the income tax rebates, property owners who completed the IL-1040 form will receive rebates automatically. If you didn’t, though, there’s no need to worry.
* Pritzker press release…
The rebate payments, which will take at least eight weeks to be issued in total, will be sent automatically to Illinois residents who filed 2021 state income taxes and claimed a property tax credit. Those who have not filed can still access the rebates after completing additional filing. […]
“I’m very pleased to announce that we remain on schedule and the first wave of tax rebate checks will be going out to taxpayers beginning today,” Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza said. “My Office will be working diligently to get these rebates into the hands of taxpayers. After all, it’s your money. A total of $1.2 billion dollars will be released over the next 6-8 weeks to nearly 6 million taxpayers.”
“If direct deposit was used, the rebates will be deposited directly into taxpayers’ accounts,” said Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) Director David Harris. “If there was no refund or a paper refund was issued, the rebate will be mailed to the address on file. Taxpayers who did not receive a refund directly from the state of Illinois, such as those who received an advancement of their refund from their preparer, will receive a paper rebate check mailed to the address on file.”
* If you watched the Bears game yesterday, you may have seen that “Scream” ad put out by Dan Proft’s PAC. Click here if you missed it or didn’t see it posted on the blog last week. Gov. Pritzker was asked today about his thoughts on the ad…
Pritzker: Look, it’s terrible. It’s a terrible commercial. They’ve chosen a particular crime in which there was a white woman who is the victim and apparently Black perpetrators. That’s the ad they want people to see, particularly in the suburbs. That’s part of the entire racial tinge of everything that’s being put out by that PAC.
And let’s also take note, at least this morning, I think I read that the victim may not have approved of any of this and probably should have been consulted about her crime being put all over television, the crime that was perpetrated against her. I think it’s disgusting and I’ve said that before.
…You want to talk about crime? Let’s talk about crime. Darren Bailey sanctions these kinds of ads, thinks they’re okay, has accepted the support of that PAC. And Darren Bailey is the one who voted to defund police, literally voted against budgets that would fund State Police for Illinois, the increase in state police that we need, voted against providing new crime labs so we can solve crimes faster. Those crime labs are the ones that have eliminated the rape kit backlog in our state. Darren Bailey voted against all of the things that would reduce crime, preventing violent crime. So, you know, he talks out of one side of his mouth, and then he’s okay accepting support from people who were putting forward racially charged ads that are attacks about crime, that, frankly, he’s responsible more than many others for.
Q: Are you saying the commercial is racist?
Pritzker: I’m saying that the intent of the people who put it out, look at all the things that they’re involved in, clearly has a racial tinge to it.
This was an independent expenditure, so Darren Bailey is not supposed to play a role in the ad. The governor seems to be more than just suggesting otherwise, but hasn’t offered up proof.
* I told subscribers about this earlier today, but here’s Dan Proft’s response when I asked if he’d obtained permission to use the footage from either CWBChicago or from the victim featured in the ad…
Chicagoland news stations broadcast the same video. CWBChicago put it up on its site. That’s where we obtained it. It is public domain material just as is anything else posted by any media outlet so long as it is not being used by a third party for commercial purposes, which this isn’t.
Attribution is not synonymous with endorsement. This is well-established. You see proper attribution to media outlets as the source of material all the time in political ads. In fact, people get criticized when they air content that makes claims that doesn’t have attribution.
All PBR PAC did was air video aired by news stations across Chicagoland and connect the dots to the responsible parties for the unchecked violence in Chicago, and soon via the SAFE-T Act, the rest of Illinois.
It’s holding pols responsible for the violence and mayhem they induce through their anti-police, anti-prosecution policies that has their friends in the media doing their performative pearl-clutching. Period.
* From the Pritzker campaign…
Illinoisans of all backgrounds can agree that exploiting an act of violence without permission from, or any compassion for, the victim is reprehensible. Darren Bailey should call on Dan Proft to stop running these ads and he should demand that his largest donor, Dick Uihlein, stop funding them. Their complete lack of empathy is shameful and our state deserves better.
I’ve asked the Bailey campaign for comment and will post it if I receive one.
…Adding… Bailey campaign…
Rich, JB doesn’t want to face the fact that he is keeping Illinoisans less safe. That’s why he doesn’t like the AD on the air. Does he have a response to this [person] being robbed in the middle of the day at 11AM.
* We’ve been talking about all of these things and more for quite a while here, but the Tribune finally put some of them together in one piece headlined “GOP attorney general candidate Thomas DeVore has record of taking critics to court, including his girlfriend’s mom and Gov. J.B. Pritzker”…
While running for a downstate school board seat five years ago, Republican Illinois attorney general candidate Thomas DeVore complained in a Facebook post about students who struggled to make correct change at a concession stand during a basketball game.
“Lord help us with the window lickers, I mean special children,” DeVore, a civil attorney from Sorento, wrote.
People critical of DeVore’s post shared it more widely and in one case urged area residents to contact his law office. DeVore proceeded to file a libel lawsuit in Montgomery County against three people, including a local special education teacher, alleging they had falsely accused him of ridiculing “children with ‘special needs.’”
* Speaking of DeVore, he highlighted this button on his Facebook page yesterday…
I kinda think I want one.
* Here we go again…
Last edition alleged Pritzker planned to release criminals of color into white neighborhoods. New edition alleges Pritzker plans to populate your schools with perverts. Coordinated with Bailey campaign text. #twillpic.twitter.com/b2×4dM5iT6
Chris Dargis, Republican candidate for Congress in Illinois, was a key advisor to PAR Technology, a New York-based “global provider of restaurant software” which has sourced products from a factory using alleged Uyghur forced labor.
Dargis is taking on Raja Krishnamoorthi, three-term sitting Indian American Democrat in Illinois’s 8th congressional district, in the Nov. 8 midterm election.
* Catalina Lauf has scrubbed her campaign website of abortion references. Up until very recently, this was on the 11th Congressional District Republican nominee’s “Issues” page, via the WayBack Machine…
* We talked last week about a Democratic ad whacking 17th Congressional District Republican nominee Esther Joy King. A TV news fact-check of the ad found one attack misfired because Politico made what turned out to be a false claim. Another fell through because the Democratic PAC didn’t look far enough back in the records. And two were true.
* IL AFL-CIO…
Alyssa Goodstein has joined the Illinois AFL-CIO as Communications Director, effective September 1. Alyssa will focus on building the organization’s statewide and federal strategic communications efforts, while working with local affiliates to develop public affairs programs.
“We are excited to have Alyssa leading our communications team, bringing a creative eye and breadth of experience to the table,” said Tim Drea, President of the IL AFL-CIO. “Most recently, Alyssa served as Deputy Chief of Communications to Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia. In this capacity, she advised on message development, managed media relations and crisis communications for a citywide office serving 2.69 million constituents.”
Previously, Alyssa was Chief of Staff to Illinois State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-6), running Feigenholtz’s district and Springfield operations. She was also one of the ten original staff members on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s primary campaign, developing outreach and field strategy that contributed to the mayor’s historic victory. In addition to her work with the federation, Alyssa is the LGBTQ+ Caucus Director for Young Democrats of Illinois, building relationships with stakeholders throughout the state to enhance LGBTQ+ advocacy efforts.
A native Californian, Alyssa holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from UCLA and earned her Master of Arts from the University of Chicago in 2018.
* PPIA…
Today, the Planned Parenthood Illinois Action (PPIA) Board of Directors, the non-partisan political and advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, announces its endorsement of Alexi Giannoulias for Illinois Secretary of State.
“We are endorsing Alexi Giannoulias because we must remain vigilant to keep abortion safe and legal in Illinois,” said Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of PPIA. “Giannoulias has been a long-time champion of this fight to preserve and expand abortion access. Giannoulias recognizes that abortion bans disproportionately impact the people who already face the greatest barriers to health care, including Black, LatinX, Indigenous folks, disabled people, young people, people in rural areas and immigrants. He will work tirelessly to protect the right and access to care for those already having difficulty making ends meet.”
Giannoulias said, “I am honored to receive Planned Parenthood Illinois Action’s endorsement. I have always been pro-choice and have always supported access to reproductive health care. Now more than ever, I am committed to defending everyone’s freedom to make their own reproductive health care decisions. I want to make sure that no politician or government agency has the power to interfere with the right to obtain an abortion in the state of Illinois.”
Since the SCOTUS ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, Giannoulias has worked with state Rep. Ann Williams (D-11) and Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-14) to develop legislation aimed at protecting the privacy of people who travel for reproductive health care.
PPIA endorses candidates based on their reproductive health care policies and their commitment to protecting the health and rights of all Illinoisans. A full list of PPIA endorsements and more information is available at ppiaction.org.
* Rep. Wheeler…
Representative Keith Wheeler today announces a coalition of job creators endorsing his candidacy in the 83rd District House race. The Illinois Chamber, Illinois Farm Bureau-Activator, NFIB Illinois, and the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) endorse Wheeler over Hanson for the Illinois House in the General Election on November 8.
“Our members support candidates who support small business. Representative Keith Wheeler has shown that he understands the challenges facing Illinois’ job creators,” said NFIB State Director Chris Davis. “Our members believe Keith Wheeler will continue his good work to create, protect, and maintain an environment where small businesses can thrive and create jobs.”
“Small business owners and job creators here in the Fox Valley and all across Illinois are doing incredible work to grow our economy,” Wheeler said. “As a state representative and a business owner, myself, I feel a special connection with these folks and an obligation to do everything I can to redirect state policies to make it easier for small businesses to do what they do best - create Illinois jobs for Illinois families.”
* DuPage…
DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek announces that the DuPage County Fairgrounds’ main parking lot will be completely repaved in 2023 thanks to a $585,000 polling place accessibility grant from the Illinois State Board of Elections. A portion of the parking lot was already repaved in 2022 thanks to an initial state grant of $149,000. The Fairgrounds serves as DuPage County’s most popular polling place during Early Voting and Election Day.
“Nearly 34,000 people voted at the Fairgrounds during the 2020 General Election. Voters returning in 2022 will already notice a night-and-day difference in the condition of the main parking lot from funding from the first grant,” Kaczmarek says. “Many of the bumps, potholes, gravel and puddles near the polling place are already gone. We’re pleased that this latest grant was approved so the lot can be completed.”
I was pretty skeptical when I first started reading that, but it sounds like a win/win.
Chief Justice Anne M. Burke has announced her retirement from the Illinois Supreme Court. Her last day on the bench will be November 30, 2022. Chief Justice Burke has served on the Supreme Court since 2006 and has served as Chief Justice since October 2019. Her term as Chief Justice concludes on October 25, 2022. Justice Burke’s full statement on her retirement is available here.
“I have been blessed to serve as a Supreme Court Justice for the past 16 years and have loved working with my staff, colleagues and Judicial Branch staff to serve the people of Illinois,” Chief Justice Burke said. “The past three years as Chief Justice have been a challenging time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but I am thrilled with the progress made by the Illinois Courts.”
The Supreme Court has constitutional authority to fill interim judicial vacancies and has appointed First District Appellate Justice Joy V. Cunningham to fill the seat vacated by Chief Justice Burke. Justice Cunningham, whose term is effective December 1, 2022, through December 2, 2024, will be the second Black woman to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court. The first, Justice Lisa Holder White, was appointed earlier this year.
“I am grateful to the Supreme Court for the trust it has placed in me by allowing me to continue to serve the people of the State of Illinois as a Justice of our Supreme Court. I will do my best to serve with humility, integrity and compassion and always remember why I am there – to serve the people,” Justice Cunningham said. “We have a distinguished Supreme Court in Illinois, and I am proud to have the opportunity to serve alongside these exceptional public servants. I am pleased to live in a state and a country in which my contributions are valued and my opportunities are limitless.” […]
Justice Joy V. Cunningham has served as a First District Appellate Court Justice since 2006 and currently serves as Chair of the Executive Committee. She has served on and chaired the Settlement Committee and serves on the Orientation Committee for new justices. She spent a decade on the Education Committee and chaired the court’s Judicial Performance Committee. She currently co-chairs the First District’s Diversity Committee.
Justice Cunningham received her Bachelor of Science from the City University of New York and earned her Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall Law School. She began her career in 1982 as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. She went on to be a law clerk to First District Appellate Court Justice Glenn T. Johnson. For 10 years she was the Associate General Counsel and Chief Counsel for HealthCare at Loyola University where she established, directed, and managed Loyola University’s in-house healthcare legal division.
In 1996, Justice Cunningham was sworn in as an Associate Judge in Cook County Circuit Court where she was assigned to the civil trial division. She left the bench in 2000 to serve as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Northwestern Memorial Healthcare where she reported and provided counsel to the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. She returned to the bench in December 2006 as an elected First District Appellate Court Justice and was retained by voters in 2016.
Her professional associations include the Chicago Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Cook County Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, the Black Women Lawyers Association, the Illinois Judicial Council, the Illinois Judges Association, the Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Network, the CBA Past Presidents’ Council, the American Law Institute, and the American Bar Foundation.
Justice Cunningham was the first African American woman elected President of the Chicago Bar Association, the nation’s largest municipal bar association. Her awards include the John Paul Stevens Award, the Earl Burrus Dickerson Award, the Mary Heftel Hooten Award, and the Torchbearer Award.
I ran into the Chief Justice at an event the other day and she talked a little about finishing out her term as the state’s top judge, but gave no indication that she was planning to step down from the Court.
Maybe her husband will finally take the hint and retire as well.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that Justice Mary Jane Theis will be its next Chief Justice. Justice Theis was selected by the Court to serve a three-year term commencing October 26, 2022. She succeeds Justice Anne M. Burke whose tenure as Chief Justice began in October of 2019.
An installation ceremony marking Justice Theis’ selection as Chief Justice will be held at the Supreme Court Building in Springfield during the Court’s November Term.
“I would like to thank my colleagues for giving me this opportunity to serve the people of Illinois as Chief Justice,” Justice Theis said. “I would also like to congratulate Justice Burke for her successful term as Chief and her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. I look forward to working with the bench, bar and community at large to further the Court’s mission of providing access to equal justice, ensuring judicial integrity and upholding the rule of law. Our goal continues to be increasing public trust and confidence in the courts.”
Justice Theis will be the fourth woman to serve as Chief Justice following the late Justice Mary Ann McMorrow, Justice Rita B. Garman, and Justice Burke. She will be the 122nd Chief Justice in Illinois history.
* McLean County’s largest school district recently denied four resignations submitted by tenured special education teachers weeks before the first day of school. WGLT…
Unit 5 has invoked a rarely used state statute that allows school districts to reject teacher resignations in certain circumstances.
McLean County’s largest district denied four resignations, submitted by special education teachers weeks before the first day of school. Two of the teachers agreed to stay for the 2022-2023 school year.
But for two others who ignored the warning, Andrea Jefferson and Emily Andris, who left to teach elsewhere, their teaching licenses now are in jeopardy. […]
What’s at issue here is Illinois statutes in place that apply to tenured teachers during the school term: A district has the right to reject a tenured teacher’s resignation if that means the teacher would leave during the school term to take a teaching job at a different school district. […]
That critical need for special education services was key in Unit 5’s decision, said Baldwin. The district already had four vacancies in special education. The newly-submitted four resignations would have doubled the shortage.
While districts across the state report slight and sporadic shortages, there is little dispute that there continues to be a shortage of special & bilingual education, along with world languages, agriculture, and some secondary sciences teachers. And, according to Liam Chan Hodges, Media Coordinator for Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), “These current shortages have a disproportionate impact on chronically struggling schools, underfunded schools, and schools serving low-income communities.” The shortages hit hardest where the need is often the greatest – and simply doing more of what we’ve done in the past will not solve the issue.
* Some suburban school districts’ solutions to the special education and language teacher shortage is substitutes, ABC7 reports…
Superintendents around the area say the main problem they are encountering is that they simply don’t have enough qualified people applying for the positions they have open, most of which appear to be special ed, bilingual and dual-language teachers. […]
Around 35,000 students returned to the classroom in School District U-46, the second largest in the state, including Elgin as well as 10 other surrounding communities. But even as students begin to shake off the summer cobwebs, many will be taught by substitutes, for now.
“We still have around 100 teacher vacancies,” District U-46 Supt. Tony Sanders said. “We’re able to fill those. We have retirees. We have long-term subs. We have lots of people to step in to fill those roles.”
Most of U-46’s vacancies are for dual language and special ed teachers.[…]
It’s a similar story in Joliet’s Public School District 86, where students will be welcomed back on Wednesday. They are still short about 20 full-time teachers, and the Illinois State Board of Education will only allow districts to use subs for 30 days at a time in a single classroom.
* Illinois State Board of Education’s statement to ABC 7…
Like many states across the country, Illinois is currently experiencing a teacher shortage. In the hopes of better understanding this shortage, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) conducted an analysis to understand the specific students and communities most impacted by teacher vacancies. This analysis found that the current shortage has a disproportionate impact on chronically struggling schools, underfunded schools, and schools serving low-income communities, as well as specific subject areas including special education and bilingual education. The data reinforce the importance of equity as the driving strategy for continuing to strengthen the teacher pipeline in Illinois.
To help address the shortage of substitute teachers, ISBE has instituted changes to expand the pipeline for substitute teachers. For example, in addition to any individual with a bachelor’s degree, we also now allow those enrolled in an Illinois approved educator preparation program who have completed 90 semester hours of coursework to substitute teach beginning January 1, 2023. We have also waived the $25 application fee during public health emergencies, such as the current covid-19 pandemic, so individuals can get licensed to sub completely for free. Short-term substitutes can also teach up to 15 consecutive days, instead of the usual five, for up to 120 days for school year 2022-23.
The state has also employed several other strategic initiatives, which have proven to be effective in growing the teacher workforce, raising enrollment in educator preparation programs, and increasing teacher retention rates. […]
As a result of these initiatives, and others, the teacher workforce in Illinois has grown year-over-year since 2018, adding more than 5,000 new teachers to the profession. The state also saw an 11 percent increase in enrollment in educator preparation programs between 2019 and 2020, and last year teacher retention rates rose to over 87 percent, the highest since 2014.
This school year, 48 states, including Hawaii, reported shortages of special education teachers to the federal government.
The shortage is so severe that Hawaii is one of several states that rely on teachers without licenses in special education to teach some of the highest needs students — like those who do not speak and those with challenging behaviors.
But Hawaii’s pay increase [$10,000 per year for special ed teachers], which began in 2020, was a game changer. Before the incentive, in October 2019, almost 30% of the state’s special education positions were vacant or staffed by teachers without appropriate licenses, district data shows. By October 2021, that number dropped by half, to about 15%.
If the SAFE-T Act were in place a violent criminal like Drew Peterson – who is being held on murder charges and was caught on tape planning the murder of Glasgow himself – would have been on the street.
“If you go back to his murder trial, he was in jail for three years on a $20 million bond,” Glasgow said. “That’s the most difficult prosecution I’ve ever handled. And there’s no way in the world that I would have weathered that storm had he been out of jail. In fact, on the overhear when he was captured by the FBI, when they were discussing my murder, he said if he was out on the street, he’d take care of it himself. And then he referenced back to ‘07 when it all started that he was going to take care of it then but he couldn’t slip the media and the police. So there’s real danger at all levels here when violent offenders cannot be held.”
Upon verified petition by the State, the court shall hold a hearing and may deny a defendant pretrial release only if:
(1) the defendant is charged with a forcible felony offense for which a sentence of imprisonment, without probation, periodic imprisonment or conditional discharge, is required by law upon conviction, and it is alleged that the defendant’s pretrial release poses a specific, real and present threat to any person or the community.
Since Peterson was caught on tape saying he wanted to murder Glasgow, that would be a pretty darned specific, real and present threat to a person.
(2) the defendant is charged with stalking or aggravated stalking and it is alleged that the defendant’s pre-trial release poses a real and present threat to the physical safety of a victim of the alleged offense, and denial of release is necessary to prevent fulfillment of the threat upon which the charge is based;
(3) the victim of abuse was a family or household member as defined by paragraph (6) of Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, and the person charged, at the time of the alleged offense, was subject to the terms of an order of protection issued under Section 112A-14 of this Code, or Section 214 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 or previously was convicted of a violation of an order of protection under Section 12-3.4 or 12-30 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or a violent crime if the victim was a family or household member as defined by paragraph (6) of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 at the time of the offense or a violation of a substantially similar municipal ordinance or law of this or any other state or the United States if the victim was a family or household member as defined by paragraph (6) of Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 at the time of the offense, and it is alleged that the defendant’s pre-trial release poses a real and present threat to the physical safety of any person or persons;
(4) the defendant is charged with domestic battery or aggravated domestic battery under Section 12-3.2 or 12-3.3 of the Criminal Code of 2012 and it is alleged that the defendant’s pretrial release poses a real and present threat to the physical safety of any person or persons;
(5) the defendant is charged with any offense under Article 11 of the Criminal Code of 2012, except for Sections 11-30, 11-35, 11-40, and 11-45 of the Criminal Code of 2012, or similar provisions of the Criminal Code of 1961 and it is alleged that the defendant’s pretrial release poses a real and present threat to the physical safety of any person or persons;
* Some more alleged crimes that can get people held pre-trial…
(A)ggravated discharge of a firearm; aggravated discharge of a machine gun or a firearm equipped with a device designed or use for silencing the report of a firearm; reckless discharge of a firearm; armed habitual criminal; manufacture, sale or transfer of bullets or shells represented to be armor piercing bullets, dragon’s breath shotgun shells, bolo shells or flechette shells; unlawful sale or delivery of firearms; unlawful sale or delivery of firearms on the premises of any school; unlawful sale of firearms by liquor license; unlawful purchase of a firearm; gunrunning; irearms trafficking; involuntary servitude; involuntary sexual servitude of a minor; trafficking in persons; unlawful use or possession of weapons by felons or persons in the Custody of the Department of Corrections facilities; aggravated unlawful use of a weapon; aggravated possession of a stolen firearm.
We finally obtained a copy of the settlement agreement in the lawsuit where Senator Michael Hastings was sued, along with the Illinois Senate, for discrimination and harassment against Cassandra Matz, a former employee of Sen. Hastings.
In the settlement agreement, Hastings and the Senate deny any wrongdoing but agree to pay a total of $100,000 to Matz and her attorneys.
The settlement also:
• prohibits Matz from disclosing the settlement (a gag agreement) to anyone,
• prohibits the filing or use of the settlement in any court
• agrees to file a Stipulation to Dismiss in the court stating that each party shall bear their own attorney fees, costs, or expenses (kind of flies in the face of the $100,000 payment)
This leads us to think there are wider harassment issues in the Illinois government than simply this lawsuit, which by all appearances attempts to make the public think it was dismissed and no payments were made.
* I told subscribers about the $100,000 payout last week, but here’s WBEZ today…
And those were not the only costs to taxpayers from that legal battle. The state also hired a private attorney who represented Hastings — with the payments to the outside counsel’s firm adding up to nearly $47,000, according to records obtained by WBEZ.
Still, a veteran environmental lobbyist in Springfield told WBEZ that Kathleen Hastings’s complaint to police — and what she says are her own personal experiences of being bullied repeatedly by Michael Hastings in professional interactions — have led her to decide she would no longer lobby him and to call for his resignation from the Senate.
Jen Walling, the longtime executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, said in an interview last week that Hastings had yelled at her, pounded his hands on a table in a Capitol meeting room and approached her in a menacing manner during disagreements over legislation in Springfield in the past five years.
“He clearly, to me, in observing him, has had serious issues with anger management that aren’t appropriate for the workplace where we are making laws for the state of Illinois,” Walling said. […]
But in a written statement sent to WBEZ, Hastings spokesman Ray Hanania said Walling was “not being honest,” and Hanania suggested her accusations and other complaints against Hastings recently — including those stemming from the senator’s marital problems — were designed to hurt his reelection bid. […]
Hastings’s spokesman, Hanania, said Walling “is the bully. And she is not being honest. Hastings has been the sponsor of the most sweeping environmental legislation we have seen.”
Yeah, that attack ain’t gonna fly, dude. Stay tuned.
…Adding… I asked Senate President Don Harmon’s spokesperson if Harmon had a comment…
We are just seeing this article, and at this time we do not.
…Adding… Sen. Napoleon Harris has released a statement in support of Sen. Hastings…
“With the statements made by Jen Walling, I cannot sit by and allow her misleading and false political rhetoric to go without a response.
“First, how coincidental that Ms. Walling decides to make a statement two months before an election. I have known Mike Hastings to be one of the most upstanding, professional, and honest legislators in the Illinois Senate. As the Chairman of the Senate Energy & Public Utilities Committee, he helped champion one of the most sweeping clean energy pieces of legislation in the nation and has fought to implement diversity hiring requirements throughout the utility industry.
“Second, there is an unknown truth to Ms. Walling and the manner in which she conducts her business. She is one of the most abrasive and disrespectful lobbyists in Springfield. She is a bully. When trying to advance a piece of legislation that would help the South Suburbs and the 17th District, she literally threatened to organize local people in my community against me along with threatening to protest my office location. I know that she did the same to Senator Hastings in his district when she did not get her way.
“Jen Walling does not have the slightest clue about the best interests of Harvey or the South Suburbs, for that matter. However, when she does not get her way or someone does not agree with her demands, she either threatens you or bullies you to get what she wants. In this instance, she should be ashamed of herself and reflect on the way she conducts business.
Walling flatly denies the protest threat. She doesn’t deny asking constituents to contact their lawmakers, which is pretty common. The issue in question was SB1104, a bill pushed by the fossil fuel industry.
That Napo comment is just weird, man.
…Adding… ILGOP…
Illinois State Senator Michael Hastings continues to blame everyone but himself for his problems, like the inexcusable domestic violence allegations and the taxpayer-funded defense of alleged discrimination and retaliation against a former staffer. Meanwhile, Hastings’ Democratic colleagues have been either completely silent on his alleged misconduct or, in some cases, have even come to his defense.
Senator Napoleon Harris went so far as to defend Hastings, saying in a statement he was, “one of the most upstanding, professional, and honest legislators in the Illinois Senate.”
According to the police report as quoted in WBEZ, Hastings’ wife, “advised on 11-09-2020, Michael battered her, by placing her in a chokehold/neck restraint, and slammed her body into a door multiple times.” What has Hastings himself had to say?
Instead of taking responsibility for these deplorable allegations, Hastings has attempted to deflect time and again.
According to WBEZ, “Records show Hastings called two different police departments and unsuccessfully sought to have his wife arrested and charged two months ago in a dispute over visitation rights. In addition to denying his wife’s allegations of domestic-battery, he also sued south suburban Frankfort for allegedly leaking the report containing those allegations.”
According to the Chicago Tribune last month, Hastings accused the police report of being, “intentionally leaked to the news media in a sinister attempt to influence the elections, hurt me politically by tarnishing my reputation, and turning the divorce around to blame the divorce on me by using these false domestic violence accusations.”
While Hastings and his colleagues dodge and deflect, Illinois taxpayers are left to pick up the tab for his state-funded settlement and legal fees, to the tune of nearly $150,000.
“Senator Hastings’ colleagues should be ashamed of their silence. He has lashed out against everybody while using our tax dollars to do so. It’s time for Illinois Democrats to step up and condemn Hastings for these allegations unbefitting of anyone, let alone a public servant,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy.
I was looking for something else recently on Scott Kennedy’s Illinois Election Data website and noticed he had voter turnout numbers from statewide races since 1990.
We all know that Downstate has lost a significant amount of its political importance, but the numbers really help illustrate this decline.
In 1990, 42% of the total vote for governor came from Downstate counties, while a mere 17% came from the suburban collar counties outside Cook.
By 2018, just 36% of the total vote for governor came from Downstate and 25% was from the collars. When you expand the definition of the collar counties to include some in the Chicago metro region that had previously been considered more rural, the Downstate figure drops to 31% and the share of the collar county vote rises to 29%.
I happened to be talking with former Gov. Jim Edgar about something else shortly after seeing those numbers, and when I brought it up he said in those days, Republicans would figure on being stomped in the city, but they’d win Cook and the collar county suburbs and then the margin Downstate would wind up being pretty close to the statewide spread.
In Edgar’s first gubernatorial election in 1990, that’s just what happened. He lost Chicago by 33 points, won suburban Cook by 18, won the collars by 27 and took Downstate by 3, winning overall that year by just under 3 percentage points.
Edgar focused intently on the suburbs, campaigning on a promise to cap local property taxes and highlighting his strong support of abortion rights, among other things the voters in that region cared about.
By 2018, Chicago and suburban Cook County made up almost the same percentage share of the total vote for governor as in 1990, declining only by about a percentage point. The difference, though, is the Cook County suburbs are now firmly in Democratic control. Edgar won them by 18 points back in the day, but J.B. Pritzker won them by 29 points in 2018. That’s a 47-point swing.
The collars have leaned Democratic during presidential years since Barack Obama’s national bid in 2008 and gradually started trending more Democratic in off-year races, culminating in Pritzker’s three-point collar county win over Bruce Rauner in 2018 and historic county-wide Democratic wins in the region both that year and in 2020.
Downstate has become much more reliable for Republicans. No statewide Democrat except Secretary of State Jesse White has won the region for the past 10 years. Obama won it in 2008 by four points but lost Downstate four years later by seven, an 11-point flip. Pritzker lost it by 10 points four years ago.
But the increase in Republican identification in the region has not been enough to make up for its falling vote share and the party’s more recent disadvantages in the suburbs. Pat Quinn lost Downstate by 24 points in 2010 and still managed to eke out a narrow victory, after all.
Partisan red meat works well in Downstate, and Republican gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Darren Bailey will likely run up his numbers there, but it definitely doesn’t work in the suburbs.
Bailey has spent much of his campaign ignoring this basic Illinois electoral math and crafting an under-funded message that, if anything, almost appears to be designed to turn away those collar county voters. It’s impossible to win statewide by running up the score in a region that contains barely more than a third of the vote while turning off, and even firing up opposition in, the rest of the state.
Bailey’s recent “kitchen table” policy proposal is to require the University of Illinois’ flagship campus in Urbana-Champaign to guarantee 90% of its enrollment is made up of Illinois residents.
Other states have similar requirements mainly because of pressure from parents, and many of those folks live in the suburbs.
When Bruce Rauner was governor and universities struggled without a state budget, UIUC and other campuses were left to their own devices. The fiscal situation was only marginally better under Pat Quinn. Rauner took a fiscal crisis and turned it into a calamity.
State finances are better now, so perhaps it is time to start discussing the use of large numbers of international students to subsidize tuition for everyone else.
But, on the politics side, Bailey is gonna need infinitely more than this to overcome his geographical and ideological deficits.
Earlier this year, Burr Ridge hosted asylum-seeking refugees from Afghanistan who have now found permanent housing and employment, according to [Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso]. Those families also stayed at Hampton Inn & Suites, he said.
“Being a place for refugees to come sounds like immigration — it’s not the hotel business,” Grasso said, sharing that he has been in touch with hotel staff. “We would likely not let you open a hotel if you tell us that you’re going to be housing refugees as your primary source of business.”
* Meanwhile, from a CBS 2 reporter…
I said it when WGN did the same story earlier this week and I'll say it again now: they don't need to notify the mayor to provide humanitarian aid, and any insinuation that they do is at best a racist dog whistle.
The ABC 7 story in question is basically just a copy and paste of Mayor Johnson’s press release without any sort of label. Click here for the press release and click here for the station’s rewrite.
Also, while there may not be any need to notify the mayors, that particular mayor was notified in advance and he still complained.
[Democratic Rep. Mark Walker] said, as a businessman, the Bears’ endeavor makes sense in contrast to renting Soldier Field from Chicago.
But in order to get those economic development assists, he said he will use government tools to make sure there are minimum levels of affordable housing and that the Bears meet minority contractor goals, and will guarantee to employ a diverse workforce.
“One thing I’d like to not do is treat the Bears specially,” Walker said. “The Bears are any other company that’s coming here that is offering a lot of jobs and property tax revenue. We’ll treat them like anyone else. As people move in and use the site, we typically do things like invest in roads, infrastructure, just like any other development.”
The Chicago Bears have had preliminary talks with Gov. J.B. Pritzker, state legislators and village trustees in Arlington Heights about the infrastructure help they need to support a $5 billion “stadium-anchored development” and nobody has thrown them for a loss, retiring President Ted Phillips said Friday. […]
The preliminary talks with Pritzker, local lawmakers and village trustees were aimed at “understanding the political climate” and “what makes sense” in terms of a state and local contribution.
“We don’t have a specific ask. … We’re working on that. … We’re just asking everyone to be open-minded. To not jump to conclusions and give us a chance to make our case. And I would say, 100% everyone said, `We understand what you’re telling us,’” Phillips said.
Asked whether any officials slammed the door on public funding, Phillips said: “Nobody did. Everybody said they appreciated being brought up to speed on our preliminary plans. And that’s all we wanted to accomplish. We’re gonna be transparent. That’s how we got the Soldier Field renovation done. … What it took was Mayor Daley developing some trust,” Phillips said.
“We will need help,” McCaskey said. “There are broad, long-term public benefits of this project, and we look forward to partnering with various governmental bodies to secure additional funding and assistance needed to support development of the remainder of the site. How much or what form this will take we do not know at this time. But we do know that without infrastructure support and property tax certainty, the project as described to you tonight will not be able to move forward.”
On infrastructure, the Sun-Times speculates that new entrances and off-ramps alone would run well over $100 million. As for “property tax certainty,” well, that likely means a TIF.
* Sen. Darren Bailey was on WIND this week and Amy Jacobson asked him this…
People don’t understand that there are no restrictions on abortions [in Illinois], and even 72% or 70% of Democrats want some restrictions on abortion, and I know that you’ve been hit hard about incest and rape and I just want to know where you stand on that.
Once again, here’s an explanation of Illinois law…
In Illinois, you can have an elective induced abortion until fetal viability, around 24-26 weeks of pregnancy. A fetus is considered viable if it is able to survive outside of the uterus with or without medical intervention. A healthcare provider must determine whether or not pregnancy has reached viability; viability varies and it is different for every pregnancy. After a pregnancy is determined to be viable, an induced abortion can only be done to protect the patient’s life or physical and mental health. If you are unsure whether or not your pregnancy is viable, speak to a healthcare provider to determine whether or not you can legally have an abortion in Illinois.
People need to realize that all this fear mongering That JB Pritzker is doing that is exactly what he’s doing. He’s not talking about the issues of crime, taxes and our failed education and refuses to talk about that because he has created that problem, but instead he wants to fear monger, let people assume or saying that there’s something crazy is going to happen or change now when the reality is, nothing’s going to change. … but there is no reason in the world why we Illinois, our tax money should be paying for abortion. So two things, restoring parental notification and getting rid of taxpayer-funded abortions. Those two items will be front and center on my agenda on day one as governor.
Chicago aldermen are considering an ordinance that aims to protect by law abortion providers and patients, as concerns grow that states restricting the procedure will next turn their attention toward trying to stop and criminalize people traveling across state lines for care.
The so-called “Bodily Autonomy Sanctuary City Ordinance” would prohibit the Chicago Police Department, or any other city employee, from carrying out search warrants, sharing data, or assisting in investigations related to other states’ laws that restrict “bodily autonomy” in a way that’s “inconsistent” with Illinois law.
On Wednesday, AL.com reported that a pregnant 23-year-old woman had been held in a jail for three months in Etowah County, Alabama. The reason for her imprisonment is a county rule that requires pregnant women arrested on drug charges to go through rehab and post $10,000 in cash bail before they can leave.
The woman, Ashley Banks, was arrested on charges of chemical endangerment of her fetus. She admitted she had smoked pot the day she learned she was pregnant, around six weeks into the pregnancy. Despite being ordered to attend rehab, the rehab center refused to take her, saying she didn’t meet a level of need that would warrant treatment. This left her stuck in jail, even after she developed a pregnancy complication that left her bleeding for weeks.
Women’s Med Center runs some of the only clinics in the region that provide abortions. They are set to close their Dayton and Indianapolis locations next week because of laws that restrict abortions in both states.
If Women’s Med does close in Ohio and Indiana, a few staff members are planning to open a new clinic in one of the closest states where abortion is legal.
A representative, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, confirmed to WYSO that a Women’s Med physician and manager are looking to open a new location in Eastern Illinois. The new location would be about three and a half hours away from Dayton.
Illinois clinics have seen increased demand since Roe vs. Wade was over turned in June because it’s one of the only states in the midwest with comprehensive abortion protections.
* Articles compiled by Isabel…
* Abortion bans could have far-reaching impacts on the Black community in the Midwest: “They’re disproportionately in that lower-income category… only having access to jobs, for instance, that don’t offer paid leave, or don’t offer time off to access the care that they need,” she said. … A peer-reviewed study published last year predicted the rate of Black women who would die from pregnancy-related causes would increase 33% in the years following a total abortion ban, compared to just 21% for the general population.
* Startup Choix Will Sell Abortion Pills to Patients Who Aren’t Pregnant: The company will only offer the service, also known as “advanced provision,” in US states where it’s licensed to operate — California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine and New Mexico — all of which currently allow abortion.
* California Prosecutions for Pregnancy Loss Spark Outrage, and a Bill to Stop Future Investigations: California lawmakers are now trying to pass legislation reducing the chances of law enforcement involvement in someone’s pregnancy loss. Assembly Bill 2223, introduced this session by Assembly Member Buffy Wicks, a Democrat from Oakland, is a legislative attempt to codify Bonta’s guidance by preventing coroners, who often double as law enforcement officials in the state, from investigating pregnant people for stillbirths or miscarriages. It also includes a provision that would allow people criminalized for pregnancy outcomes to sue law enforcement civilly. Anti-abortion groups in California who oppose the bill have staged a public campaign falsely claiming it “decriminalizes infanticide.”
Are you concerned about election integrity? You should be. Do you realize the Constitution has a position for us to serve in to monitor election integrity. It’s called poll watchers and election judges. The poll watchers, we’re training poll watchers, I am assigning pollwatchers into high-risk precincts that we’ve located. We’re going to train you, we’re going to equip you, we’re going to be there to support you. And as you’re keeping records and doing your job and see something that’s concerning, there’s going to be lawyers available that we can call and get advice and take care of business and activity if it so happens. Our state, our future, our children are depending on this, friends.
We’ve discussed his campaign’s emphasis on Chicago poll watchers before. It’s a huge waste of resources, unless he’s preparing the grounds for some sort of excuse about how he didn’t really lose. I mean, his campaign’s State Election Integrity Coordinator worked at a radio station which organized a January 6 bus trip.
* Equality Illinois…
Equality Illinois, the state’s civil rights organization for LGBTQ+ Illinoisans, on Thursday announced Illinois General Assembly and county-level endorsements for the November 8, 2022 General Election.
“Equality Illinois is excited to announce our state legislative endorsements today as we continue to make our state fairer and more just for LGBTQ+ people,” said Justin DeJong, Board Chair of Equality Illinois, a 501(c)(4) organization. “In recent years, Illinois has been a beacon of equality and inclusion. Ensuring our beacon continues to burn brightly is so important at a time when anti-equality forces have introduced more than 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in state houses across the country. These endorsed candidates will continue to advance our progress as we keep fighting for equality and inclusion for all LGBTQ+ residents and visitors in Illinois.”
The full endorsement list is here. It’s quite long, so I asked my associate Isabel Miller to go through it and find Democratic incumbents who were not endorsed for reelection…
Sens. Patricia Van Pelt, Emil Jones III, Napoleon Harris III, Bill Cunningham, Patrick Joyce, Meg Loughran Cappel, Scott Bennett and Kris Tharp.
Reps. Jawaharial Williams, Angie Guerrero-Cuellar, Curtis Tarver II, William Davis, Mary E. Flowers, Cyril Nichols, Marcus Evans, Nicholas Smith, Frances Ann Hurley, Kelly M. Burke , Fred Crespo, Martin J. Moylan, Lance Yednock, Anthony DeLuca, Lawrence Walsh, Jr., Jehan Gordon-Booth, Sue Scherer and LaToya Greenwood.
* ILGOP…
Republicans from across Chicagoland joined together Wednesday night at the Jefferson Park Copernicus Center for a standing-room-only grassroots fundraising event to highlight the 65 Republican candidates running for office in Cook County and the City of Chicago - a historic number.
“Never before have we seen the grassroots energy that we’ve seen so far this cycle. A record number of Republican candidates stepped up and answered the call to run for office up and down the ballot in Chicago,” said Chicago Republican Party Chairman Steve Boulton.
Cook County Republican Party Chairman Sean Morrison added, “Voters are fed up with the dangerous ‘soft on crime’ policies of Kim Foxx and Toni Preckwinkle. We’re energized to take on their failed tax & spend policies that have given us record inflation across Cook County. It’s time to put an end to the institutional corruption of the Chicago Democratic Machine. Taxpayers can no longer afford it.”
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy echoed their sentiment, “Republicans are ready to take back our state after decades of mismanagement, corruption, and turning a blind eye to the rise in crime all across this great city. There’s no better evidence of this energy than the presence of so many great candidates who have stepped up and put their names on the ballot to take on this corrupt machine. The path to victory in November goes through Cook County and voters are clearly fed up with the status quo.”
Last month, the Cook County and Chicago Republican Party slated over 30 candidates for the November General Election. They joined the 35 Cook County and Chicago Republicans running for offices ranging from Illinois State Legislature, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, and Cook County Commissioner who were already on the ballot.
Several of their slated legislative candidates did not survive the petition process. Click here for the list of objections sustained and overruled. Only two were overruled.
* It’s tough to imagine the mild-mannered Demmer as some far-right MAGA guy, but I suppose the object here could be to make him deny that he is one…
With two months to go until the general election, it’s far past time for MAGA conservative candidate for Illinois treasurer Tom Demmer to explain why he has been a consistent anti-woman, anti-worker, pro-gun vote in Illinois.
Demmer refused to complete any candidate questionnaires during the primary, trying desperately to dodge his own far-right agenda and his support for former President Donald Trump, former Governor Bruce Rauner and GOP gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey.
Voters are still waiting for answers to major questions such as:
• Do you stand by Darren Bailey’s extremist positions, his obstructionist voting record, and his divisive rhetoric?
• How will you prioritize fiscal responsibility after leading the voting bloc to help Rauner break the state by going two years without a budget?
• Why do you oppose common sense gun measures to restrict dangerous military-style weapons?
• Why did you vote against the Equal Rights Amendment?
• Why did you refuse to support critical health measures for working families such as a cap on out-of-pocket insulin costs?
Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs’ record of delivering for Illinoisans speaks for itself. Over two terms, he has:
• Created one of the best college savings plans in the country, increasing college savings from $7 billion to $17 billion and saving families more than $100 million in fees.
• Established a retirement savings program that travels with the worker, enabling over 100,000 workers who previously did not have a retirement plan to now save $85 million with Secure Choice.
• Returned a record $1.5 billion in unclaimed property and tripled the number of claims paid per year, streamlining the process such that some residents do not even have to file a claim in order to be paid.
* Pritzker campaign…
A new ad from longtime political loser Dan Proft and January 6-supporting megadonor Dick Uihlein calls Darren Bailey a “practical problem solver” — but his legislative record tells a different story.
Candidate Darren Bailey is quick to point out issues facing Illinois, but State Senator Darren Bailey has roadblocked progress by consistently voting against solutions every chance he got and is best known for trying to separate Chicago into its own state.
Following decades of financial mismanagement by previous administrations, Gov. JB Pritzker has enacted four consecutive balanced budgets and delivered an unprecedented amount of tax relief to working families. Darren Bailey voted against all four budgets and voted against pension consolidation, which takes pressure off of property taxes. Bailey also voted to raise property taxes 81% while serving on a local school board.
While Bailey often calls out “high crime rates” as a key issue plaguing the state, he’s also spent the last four years standing in the way of budgets that prioritize public safety and voting against bipartisan legislation that supports law enforcement. Bailey voted against the single largest investment to expand cadet classes in Illinois history, $10 million for a local law enforcement retention grant program, and $8 million for a multi-year equipment replacement program at the Illinois State Police.
This ad is just the latest in Bailey’s long pattern of saying one thing while doing the opposite. While he parades himself around as a “practical problem solver” — Illinoisans know the truth: on the issues that matter most, he’s all talk and no action.
* Pritzker campaign highlights the founding chair of Personal PAC…
Lifelong conservative and Winnetka-native, Marcie Love, is the latest Illinois Republican to denounce Darren Bailey and his radical plans in a new video released today. Bailey’s extremism continues to show he’s unfit for office, and Illinois Republicans are speaking out against his cruel and hypocritical stances on abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and health care.
In my mind, no Republican woman and no man who loves a woman should vote for Darren Bailey. Unless you want him in your bedroom.
I’m Marcie Love, an 84-year-old lifelong Republican. I live in Winnetka.
I think of myself as a limited government person. I do not believe that the government should come between individuals and what they do in their bedroom or at their doctor’s offices.
That, to me, is very important. It’s a privacy issue.
When I hear that Darren Bailey is against abortion for rape or for incest, I think he must be a very cruel man. How can anybody be against abortion for a ten-year-old who’s a rape victim?
Rape and incest?
Tell me that. Tell me where their heart is.
If Daren Bailey wants to intrude in our private lives on the issue of choice, what else does he want to intrude in? What else, in personal liberties, does he want to take away?
…Adding… ILGOP…
llinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs has a long history of changing his facts. Last week, he lashed out against State Rep. Tom Demmer and the media for repeating comments he made about taxing retirement at the Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce Forum in 2020.
FACT: Frerichs added one argument for the progressive tax is the consideration of taxing retirement income of those who can afford it.
Daily Herald, June 17, 2020: ‘Frerichs added one argument for the progressive tax is the consideration of taxing retirement income of those who can afford it. He said he knows people who receive 6-figure yearly pensions and do not pay income taxes, but the current system doesn’t differentiate between them and retirees who barely get by on their savings or pensions.
“One thing a progressive tax would do is make clear you can have graduated rates when you are taxing retirement income,” he said. “And, I think that’s something that’s worth discussion.”
FACT: Frerichs has been flip-flopping on whether he supports combining the offices of the Comptroller and Treasurer.
Chicago Tribune, September 21, 2014: “I think his statements on Israel bonds weren’t carefully thought out. It’s been one of the better investments in the state treasurer’s office,” Giannoulias said of Frerichs.
Giannoulias also appeared critical of Frerichs’ back-and-forth on the issue of combining the offices of state treasurer and comptroller. Frerichs had supported the idea, later appeared to back off the position, but then said he was in favor of combining the offices.”
FACT: Rather than taking accountability for his statement on retirement income or repeated flip-flops on the Comptroller’s Office Frerichs said everyone else is lying.
Herald-Whig September 1, 2022: “It is good to hear that Tom Demmer agrees with me in that retirement income should not be taxed and that the comptroller’s office should be folded into the treasurer’s office,” Frerichs said, in an email to The Herald-Whig. “I’ve been saying the same thing for years. Anything that contradicts these statements simply is not true. Anyone who contradicts these statements should be asked, ‘Why are you lying?’
FACT: Frerichs has been supporting a progressive income tax as a way of raising taxes since 2007.
Frerichs introduced his own constitutional amendment to create a progressive income with SJRCA69 in 2007 and followed with two more amendments SJRCA92 and SJRCA89 in 2008, SJRCA101 in 2010, SJRCA17 in 2013.
Since becoming Leader, McConchie has dedicated himself to significantly growing his Caucus. His commitment to doing so is proven by continuing to dramatically improve fundraising results, putting Senate Republicans in a position to achieve victory this November. As our fundraising continues to accelerate, he will ensure that voters across Illinois know they have a choice this election.
*** UPDATE *** The Senate Democrats just sent over a spreadsheet showing that committees controlled by Senate President Don Harmon filed disclosure reports today totaling $2.2 million, which is of course larger than the Uihlein contribution to the Senate Republican Leader. Click here.
She’s a fraud. A liar. Esther Joy King inflates her resume. Esther Joy King claimed she ran three companies, but there’s little evidence they exist. She claims to serve on the board of a nonprofit, but get this, there’s no public record, anywhere. One job she did have inflated her title, fired in less than a year. She’s a fraud. F-R-A-U-D. Esther Joy King lied every step of the way. Don’t send her to Congress. House Majority PAC is responsible for the content of this message.
* Gov. Pritzker said this yesterday about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s sending people seeking asylum to Illinois…
At the staff level, our staffs have been in contact with one another. But they have been wholly uncooperative in Texas. They are trying to sow chaos around the country, not just here in Chicago.
The Texas Republican’s office in turn told the Sun-Times Pritzker and his staff “have at no point made any effort to reach out to Governor Abbott or his office.” […]
But Pritzker’s office countered that Illinois Emergency Management Agency head Alicia Tate-Nadeau has made repeated efforts to reach Abbott’s emergency management director, including phone calls, voice mail messages and a letter emailed on Thursday morning.
The Democratic governor’s administration provided a copy of that letter to the Sun-Times. It was sent to W. Nim Kidd, who serves as chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
The letter requests that a liaison officer be able to work with the Texas Department of Emergency Management to provide demographics and population of those on the buses, departure and arrival times and “anypertinent information related to overall medical disposition.”
WGN Investigates has learned several dozen of the migrants Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent to Chicago have now been relocated to a hotel in the suburbs without advance warning to the local mayor.
“I am concerned neither the village administrator nor I were told about this,” Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso told WGN. “We want to know: Why Burr Ridge?”
Just days ago, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted Abbott for treating the migrants like “cargo” and not providing her with advance notice they were arriving.
“My frustration comes from the actions of the governor of Texas,” Lightfoot said Sunday, when the first bus load of 50 migrants arrived. “There could be a level of coordination and cooperation, but he chooses to do none of those things and instead tries to send human beings — not cargo, not freight — human beings across the country to an uncertain destination.” […]
The governor’s spokesperson issued the following statement:
The state is working with our partners at the City of Chicago and Cook County along with advocacy organizations to welcome those seeking asylum in the United States and provide them stability as they work to build a new life in Illinois. The state has a prior relationship with the hotel being used in the suburbs and their staff has done amazing work welcoming refugees and asylum seekers before, so it is interesting that local officials are choosing this specific instance to gripe to the press about this specific group of asylum seekers that consists of about 30 families. Gov. Pritzker has made it clear that Illinois is welcoming state and xenophobia has no home here.
Sources told the Sun-Times Texas officials opted to drop off the immigrants at the very public Union Station, instead of a welcoming center, where local officials had implored bus operators to send them.
Burr Ridge doesn’t have to do anything because the migrants are being brought directly to a welcoming center with experience dealing with this sort of thing. They’re not being dumped at some random bus station, where the town would have to expend finite resources to handle the influx. It isn’t remotely the same thing.
Still, a heads up might’ve been nice.
…Adding… The state also housed Afghan refugees in that hotel and not a peep was heard from Mayor Grasso or Fox News.
Juul Labs — the e-cigarette giant that just agreed to a nearly $440 million settlement with states around the country that accused it of hooking minors on vaping and masking its dangers — has given more than $120,000 to Illinois politicians’ campaign funds since 2020, records show.
In February 2021, two bills were introduced in Illinois taking aim at e-cigarettes and were overwhelmingly approved by legislators and signed into law in August 2021 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
One of the laws “prohibits the use of cartoons, video game characters and popular children’s media to promote e-cigarette products.” It also forbids sellers from marketing e-cigarettes as a “low-risk product.”
A companion law allows regulators “to conduct compliance checks of retailers . . . to investigate whether such retailers are selling tobacco products, alternative nicotine products or e-cigarettes to persons under 21 years of age.”
Among the sponsors was state Sen. Christopher Belt, D-East St. Louis, who took two campaign contributions, in 2020 and 2021, totaling $2,500, from Juul, campaign-finance records show. Belt couldn’t be reached.
* OK, not one Democratic legislator singled out in that story voted against either of those bills that whacked the vape industry. The only “No” votes on either bill were by Republican Reps. Frese, Halbrook, Jacobs, McCombie, Miller (no relation), Niemerg and Wilhour. They’re not mentioned in the story.
Rep. Jacobs received $16,250 from Juul parent company Altria, Rep. Freese received $5,000 from Altria and Rep. Halbrook received $1,500 from the company. The company gave $156,250 to House Republican caucus committees. Juul has given $10K to House Republican organizations, including $5,000 when Rep. McCombie chaired the HRO. None of those contributions were mentioned. Whatever. They’re in the super-minority, but still.
* Now, maybe those contributions to the super-majority Democrats lessened the impact of those bills. I have no idea, and, according to the above article, neither does the Sun-Times. So, perhaps the headline should be that most legislators who received money from Altria/Juul followed the Molly Ivins/Jesse Unruh maxim about legislating, which is an expanded version of the headline on this post.
So far this year, Chicago police have made an arrest in less than a quarter of all 2022 murders, according to city data. Meanwhile, police data obtained by the investigative news outlet The Trace and analyzed by WBEZ show that of the cases that are solved, the median length of a Chicago homicide investigation is about six weeks. Many cases take far longer.
It can be an agonizing wait for grieving families seeking justice, but police spokeswoman Margaret Huynh said sometimes a “lengthy process” is necessary for “complex cases that require evidence such as witness corroboration and forensic evidence.”
“Laboratory results, forensic results … are a bit of a problem for police,” said Thomas Hargrove, executive director of the Murder Accountability Project. “Because everybody’s overwhelmed … especially in Chicago.”
“If you’re looking for a city to get away with murder, Chicago ought to be on your shortlist. And that in itself promotes more murder, and then more murders overwhelm the police. So you know, it’s a cycle that constantly feeds itself, ever downward.” [Hargrove said]
Justice Mary Kay O’Brien has always believed when Illinois courts are fair - We all rise. Her courtroom is a place where rights and freedoms are protected fairly.
From growing up on an Illinois farm to being an Appellate Court Justice, she’s devoted her career to fighting for fairness
Now, with Roe v. Wade being overturned, women’s freedom to choose in Illinois is at risk.
Justice O’Brien is endorsed by Personal PAC and other pro-choice groups.
A nearly 100-year-old road that runs through Harvey, Dixmoor and Riverdale will be completely modernized for the first time in its history thanks to a $94 million investment from the state, officials announced Thursday.
“Illinois infrastructure is really just a word for opportunity,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a news conference in Harvey. “By investing in it, we open doors for our residents, and virtually everyone, who calls this state home can see and feel the results in real time.”
The roadway on Wood Street/Ashland Avenue that stretches three miles from 161st and 138th streets has largely remained untouched for nearly a century — only receiving the occasional resurfacing. The road is uneven, riddled with potholes and is often flooded when it rains excessively. […]
Bike and pedestrian accommodations will also be added throughout the corridor as well as the bridge over the Little Calumet River will be rehabilitated. One of the most important features of this modernization project is a new storm sewer system will be added to address longtime drainage and flooding issues associated with the outdated road.
This week, Vote Yes For Workers’ Rights, a diverse coalition of working Illinoisans, labor unions, and community organizations dedicated to passing the Workers’ Rights Amendment, launched their second television ad on broadcast television markets across Illinois.
The ad, titled Game Changer, features Knut, who knew college wasn’t the right fit for him and found a great-paying job as a crane operator. […]
With the new ad, Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights expanded its reach onto broadcast television in the Champaign, Peoria, Rockford, and St. Louis media markets, building on its existing presence on Chicago broadcast television, cable markets statewide, and key digital platforms.
The new ad debuted immediately following Labor Day weekend, which the Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights campaign spent building key momentum through community outreach events across the state.
Statement from Vote Yes For Workers’ Rights:
“Our campaign is proud to share the stories of incredible Illinois workers like Knut who understand how critically important protecting their rights to collective bargaining and workplace safety are. Every Illinois worker deserves a chance to earn a great wage in a safe workplace. The Workers’ Rights Amendment will give Illinois all workers, even those without college degrees, that opportunity.”
About the Workers’ Rights Amendment
The Workers’ Rights Amendment will update the Illinois Constitution to guarantee workers’ fundamental rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace, putting more money in the pockets of families struggling to deal with rising costs and giving emergency responders like firefighters, nurses, and paramedics the training and equipment they need to keep our families safe.
Knut: “I’ve never been afraid of hard work, but college just wasn’t in the cards for me. This job was a game changer. It’s a stable career and a good paycheck. We need more jobs like this in Illinois, especially with costs going up across the board. The Workers’ Rights Amendment will keep more jobs like this in Illinois. It’s good for families, and it’s good for the economy. College isn’t for everyone, but good paying jobs should be.”
Voice-Over: “At the top of the ballot, Vote Yes on the Workers’ Rights Amendment and protect Illinois jobs.”
With a petition of more than 650 signatures in hand, Brian Costin came to this week’s Arlington Heights village board meeting to oppose any suggestion of what he calls corporate welfare that could be part of the Chicago Bears’ proposed redevelopment of Arlington Park.
Costin, the deputy state director of the conservative political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, on Tuesday night turned in pages of signatures to Village Clerk Becky Hume in his bid for a village ordinance that would ban any public giveaways to any business — including the Bears — to operate in town. […]
Costin’s petition — containing signatures of a little more than 1% of registered voters in town — requires the board to consider his group’s proposed ordinance at the next village board meeting Monday, Sept. 19, under an antiquated and rarely, if ever, used section of the municipal code.
That’s a new one on me.
* The Question: If you could force the General Assembly to consider any bill you’d like with a simple petition process, what would it be? Explain.
If state Rep. Marcus Evans has his way, Chicago will enter the race to build the first offshore wind farm on the Great Lakes.
Evans has introduced a bill that lays the groundwork for a proposed wind farm in Lake Michigan, about 10 miles from the shores of the Southeast Side. The bill sets up a fund that would help the state to compete for federal money, including $230 million for port infrastructure projects available from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Illinois would enter the race behind Ohio — where the Icebreaker wind farm in Lake Erie recently won a court battle that should allow construction of a demonstration project to proceed — and New York state, which is studying the feasibility of a Lake Erie wind farm.
“This is happening,” said Evans, a Chicago Democrat. “This is not a pie-in-the-sky thing. This is an opportunity for development.”
* Press release…
With growing momentum sweeping across the United States to rein in the power of dominant corporations, State Senator Robert Peters announces the launch of Fight Corporate Monopolies Task Force, a new coalition of state and local leaders leading the charge.
“Corporate monopolies extract wealth from working class communities, particularly communities of color,” said Peters (D-Chicago). “Companies like Amazon make deals in the shadows that dangerously fluctuate prices, suppress wages and propel a race to the bottom. We have to fight back against the unchecked power corporate monopolies exploit and the illusion that if we don’t give into that power, then we’re blocking economic development.”
Peters is the lead sponsor of the Honesty in Economic Development Act, which will prevent state and local governments in Illinois from entering into contracts where nondisclosure agreements are in place that prevent the terms of the contract being publicly known.
“The movement to dismantle the power of corporate monopolies is being led at the state level. The task force provides a real time check on the same corporations that are price gouging working people, profiteering while workers suffer, and making backdoor deals on taxpayers’ dime,” said Helen Brosnan, Executive Director of Fight Corporate Monopolies. “Their efforts reflect constituents’ concerns about the control and power corporations have over our economy and democracy. We’re proud to work with a coalition of legislative champions who are taking on bold policy fights to challenge corruption and corporate power at the root. We hope other state and local leaders continue to join their efforts.”
Peters was instrumental in the passage of the Fair Food and Retail Delivery Act, a bill that protects restaurants, bars, and retail businesses from deceptive third-party practices. This bill is now Illinois law and goes into effect Jan. 1, 2023.
“State governments have a long history of challenging corporations in order to protect their states’ workers, local businesses, and communities from the harms of consolidated economic power, and those efforts are continuing todays thanks to these great champions,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at Fight Corporate Monopolies. “The members of this task force have proven they’re willing to take on the toughest fights against the country’s largest corporations. They’re providing an example that elected leaders all across the country can and should follow.”
Peters joins Delaware Rep. John Kowalko, Pennsylvania Reps. Sara Innamorato and Nick Pisciottano, New York Deputy Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, and New York Assemblymembers Emily Gallagher and Anna Kelles as members of the task force.
State and local governments in Illinois spend millions every year on economic subsidies, but a new bill would eliminate non-disclosure agreements in those deals.
Senate Bill 3038 would prevent government bodies from entering into non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in economic development deals. Supporters of the measure said it would eliminate a tactic that allows businesses to secretly lobby while negotiating deals without the knowledge or input of local residents. […]
Confidentiality agreements are common in economic development, but agreements with lawmakers take NDAs to another level.
“Public money deserves public scrutiny,” Mozena said. “Venture capitalists, hedge fund managers and bank loan offices wouldn’t invest without knowing who was getting the money, and American taxpayers deserve at least the same level of basic transparency from their economic development agencies.”
Some firearm owners in Illinois may soon need to update their Firearm Ownership Identification.
A new bill filed by Representative Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) would require young gun owners to apply for a FOID card again after their 21st birthday. She says this proposal would give law enforcement the chance to do another background check.
“Again and again, we see these heartbreaking crimes committed by young adults with a documented history of threatened and actual violence, including self-harm,” Costa Howard said. “Simply requiring young adults to re-apply for FOID cards after they turn 21 will create an opportunity to spot red flags and intervene to prevent tragedies.”
The bill was specifically inspired by the Highland Park mass shooting, where seven were killed and dozens more were wounded. The suspected gunman, Robert Crimo III, is 21, and legally acquired the guns used.
Asserting that the Illinois Gaming Board faces the biggest challenge to its credibility in decades, an activist group with church connections is urging the board to go slow and potentially block a bid by Bally’s to operate Chicago’s proposed casino.
In a letter to the board, Washington, D.C.,-based Stop Predatory Gambling and Illinois Churches in Action charge that Bally’s is “financially wobbly,” has run afoul of regulators in Rhode Island, and would hold “undue economic influence” in Illinois gaming business if the board grants Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s request to award the company the city license.
“This board must conduct a full and thorough suitability investigation and stand up against the pressure to hastily issue a license,” the groups wrote. The seven-page note compares the situation to another two decades ago, when officials initially signed off on the proposed Emerald Casino in Rosemont under strong political pressure only to have its license ultimately pulled amid allegations that some of those involved had ties to organized crime.
The letter does not raise any questions about Mafia involvement. But it does cast a light on a series of other matters that potentially could impact the board.
The Bally’s Corporation deficient application for a License for a new casino in the city of Chicago on August 10th represents the biggest challenge to the Illinois Gambling Board’s regulatory authority and credibility since the proposed Emerald Casino in Rosemont.
Much like the characters deemed unsuitable in the Rosemont proposal, executives with the Bally’s Corporation have approached their license application like they are entitled to a casino in Chicago, including taking steps to exert pressure on the Board to create the impression their licensure in Chicago is “a done deal.”
Because all applicants and licensees have a duty to disclose and maintain suitability for licensure, we strongly urge this Board and your investigators to follow your precedent to conduct a full, thorough, and transparent investigation into the major deficiencies and lack of candor in Bally’s August 10th application that we have detailed below.
We ask the Board to pay special attention to the conduct of Bally’s executives and investors, the company’s affiliation with unregulated and unlicensed online gambling networks, and its wobbly financial condition to honor the promises and representations made to the public and the Chicago City Council. We also urge the Board to hold extensive public hearings and fact-finding hearings during this licensing process.
* The letter includes reasons why Bally’s August 10th application requires a Board investigation…
- Restrictions on Bally’s Gambling Licenses
- Bally’s History of Bankruptcy
- Bally’s Disregard for the Culture of Compliance Central to the Illinois Gambling Board’s Mission and Regulatory Process in Its Investor Presentation Disclosures and During the Company’s August 4, 2022 Earnings Call
- Bally’s Affiliation With Unregulated and Unlicensed Online Gambling Operations
- The Economic Concentration of Bally’s Chairman and Largest Shareholder, Soohyung Kim
Bally’s has not received approval from the Illinois Gambling Board to do anything in Chicago. However, as seen below in its recent SEC-registered filings the company states plainly: “Initial facility opens JUNE 2023” and the “Permanent facility opens JUNE 2026.” Companies with a culture and history of compliance recognize the regulatory process takes time and refrain from openly pressuring state gambling regulators with definitive opening dates.
In addition to touting casino opening dates in its SEC filings, the president of Bally’s Chicago Holding Company, Amet Patel, disclosed during the company’s August 4, 2022 quarterly investor call that Bally’s is ordering gambling equipment, supplies and other materials to support a casino in Chicago. This investor call took place six days before Bally’s application was even submitted to the Illinois Gambling Board!
Chicagoans in search of reliable political coverage in today’s fractured media environment have a new source this campaign season. But whether that source is news or recycled propaganda from a prominent political activist is most debatable. As are the actions of the big donor who’s apparently picking up the tab.
At issue is the recent appearance in mailboxes all around town of Chicago City Wire, a broadsheet publication that bills itself just below its nameplate as “Real data. Real News.”
In fact, articles in recent editions of the newspaper mostly are negative pieces about Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, mixed with a little positive coverage of GOP gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey. […]
Particularly striking in one issue are two pages of mug shots of people accused of violent crimes who may be released without bail under terms of a criminal justice reform bill Pritzker signed into law. At least 25 of the 36 men pictured are Black.
In DuPage County, one of the papers, entitled the “DuPage Policy Journal,” showed two full pages of photos of men – mostly Black and Latino – whom the publication says will be released from prison because of the new legislation. […]
Pritzker says that the mailers are not marked properly as campaign material, and says that the reduction of local media outlets throughout the state has allowed the paper to gain circulation.
“When you get one of these in the mail, you should know that this is not a real newspaper,” he said. “It isn’t even marked properly as campaign material. It’s put out by this right-wing network of newspapers that we all know exists in Illinois, and they’re trying to take over where local, real journalism unfortunately has receded.”
Proft dismissed Pritzker’s concerns about the publications in an email to NBC 5 Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern.
“Newspapers spreading misinformation and representing only one point of view? Pritzker must be talking about the Chicago Tribune and the NPR/AFL-CIO (Chicago) Sun-Times.”
* Gov. Pritzker was asked about the papers again today…
Well, first of all, this is a messaging that’s coming from a racist political consultant, who used to associate himself with Illinois, now lives in Florida. And he’s sending messages that are, you know, if you look at what he’s printed, it’s clearly all about the idea that, again, what he’s printing, that Black people are threatening your way of life. That’s essentially what he’s putting in these publications.
It’s a scare tactic. It’s meant to have people you know, concern for their safety. And the truth of the matter is that what he’s purveying here is complete hogwash. I’m probably being polite when I say that. It’s disgusting. It’s a terrible thing to do. We’re seeing it more and more in American politics, and unfortunately, we hadn’t seen it as much in Illinois, until this guy, Dan Proft, I think it’s missing an ‘i’ because it’s really all about profit for him. But that’s what he does.
And frankly, he’s doing it on behalf of Darren Bailey. And that says as much as you need to know about Darren Bailey
*** UPDATE 1 *** We have some react. Rep. Deb Conroy…
The DuPage Policy Journal and the “papers” Dan Proft puts out are trying to scare people with lies. They printed and doubled down on the hateful líes that caused months of threats to my life and prevented me from not only doing my job but going out and gathering petitions to run for DuPage County Board Chair. This is not journalism, this is paid for lies for political gain.
* Senate Black Caucus Chair Robert Peters…
The following is a statement from State Senator Robert Peters, Chair of the Illinois Senate Black Caucus, responding to the growing number of racist attack ads paid for by far right conservatives. These include “The Summer of Joy” ad, the People Who Play By The Rules PAC’s ad, and the mailer in the form of a fake newspaper, “Chicago City Wire” with the lead story titled, “It’s going to be the end of days,” referring to the end of money bond:
“The drumbeat of racist attack ads intended to decieve and scare suburban voters into supporting anti-abortion, pro-assault weapon right wing radicals must be called out for what they are: Willie Horton-level propaganda harkening back to Birth of a Nation that has nothing to do with working towards real public safety.
“The SAFE-T Act is based on evidence, data, and solving root causes of violence. It dares to imagine a world–that actually existed up through the 1970s–where people who never posed a threat to others weren’t rounded up and thrown into jail. And, it’s the only criminal justice reform legislation that has the full support of domestic violence, sexual assault, and victims rights organizations because it protects victims over perpetrators.
“These right wing groups have no intention of keeping us safe–they only want a rope around our necks. The SAFE-T Act will not be part of a Willie Horton-style lynch mob carried out by January 6th Oathkeeper zealots.”
* His papers seem to have quite the fixation on the governor’s daughter…
Governor JB Pritzker continues to attack private citizen, radio host and People Who Play By The Rules PAC President Dan Proft during press conferences around the state, first in Chicago yesterday, and then again today in Harvey while talking about the extremely controversial SAFE-T Act. On January 1st, thousands of violent alleged perpetrators will be let out of jail when HB 3653 applies statewide. 100 of 102 Illinois State’s Attorneys of both parties oppose the law. According to NBC Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern, Pritzker said the following yesterday in Chicago regarding Proft’s association with local newspapers that have printed photos of some of the violent alleged perpetrators who will be released: “It’s pretty awful. These are lies and they’re putting them out in various forms, attacking people based on their background.”
All of the photos in the stories are accurate and publicly available, and all of the information printed is 100% objectively factual.
Pritzker comments in Harvey today: “Well, first of all, this is a messaging that’s coming from a racist political consultant, who used to associate himself with Illinois, now lives in Florida. And he’s sending messages that are, you know, if you look at what he’s printed, it’s clearly all about the idea that, again, what he’s printing, that Black people are threatening your way of life. That’s essentially what he’s putting in these publications.”
Dan Proft’s response:
“Pritzker infuses race into every, single policy debate. He never deals on the merits, particularly on public safety. He signed the state’s death warrant with his no cash bail law. Challenge to JB: name one specific item in the newspaper you excoriate that is untrue or inaccurate.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice takes up Proft’s challenge…
We have detailed four of the most egregious lies featured in the mailer here as a resource for journalists:
1. The mailer’s centerfold includes pictures of people—the vast majority of whom are Black—who it suggests are currently incarcerated in Cook County Jail. It then claims that under the Pretrial Fairness Act, they will be “released to Cook County’s Neighborhoods.” This is a lie. After January 1, 2023, judges will still have the ability to detain every person pictured.
Right now, any of the people pictured could be released from jail at any time by paying their money bail. In the current system, the amount of money someone has determines whether they can be released—not whether they pose a threat to someone else or are likely to flee prosecution.
The Pretrial Fairness Act ensures that the facts of a person’s case will be the main factor determining who is jailed and who is released pretrial, instead of the size of their bank account. When the Pretrial Fairness Act takes effect, a robust, individualized hearing will determine who is able to safely return to the community while awaiting trial.
2. “The Summer of Joy” section of the mailer claims that the Pretrial Fairness Act “mandates” that people charged with murder are released while awaiting trial. This is a lie. Any person charged with murder may be denied pretrial release under the Pretrial Fairness Act if they are found to be a danger to others or a flight risk.
3. The mailer features a list of charges that they claim are “non-detainable” under the Pretrial Fairness Act. This claim is factually incorrect; most of the charges listed are detainable if the person poses a flight risk. And anyone who is arrested for one of these charges while already on pretrial release for another crime can be denied release until trial.
4. Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow tries to sow fear by suggesting that Drew Peterson—a person convicted of both the murder of his wife and of attempting to hire someone to kill State’s Attorney Glasgow himself—would not have been able to be detained under the Pretrial Fairness Act. This is completely false.
Anyone charged with murder who poses a specific, real and present threat to another person can and would be denied release under the Pretrial Fairness Act. In fact, State’s Attorney Glasgow lays out in the article the exact facts that he would be able to present to a judge to have Mr. Peterson jailed without money bond under the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Q: Another busload of migrants came in Chicago last night. Has your office reached out to Governor Abbott’s office to see what if anything can be done coordinating, and do you expect these busings to continue?
Pritzker: At the staff level, our staffs have been in contact with one another. But they have been wholly uncooperative in Texas. They are trying to sow chaos around the country, not just here in Chicago. And as you’ve heard, the mayor also had words about this and I will just say that we’re going to do everything we can to care for the these refugees and asylum seekers, who are escaping their homes to come to the United States of America. And it shouldn’t be that the governor of Texas is essentially taking these people, treating them like chattel, treating them like property, putting them on buses, sending them wherever he wants to send them. It shouldn’t be the choice of people who come to this country and of course, the United States government should be managing that. And I guess I’ll just say, if they’re coming to Illinois, and we’re a welcoming state, we’re gonna make sure that they have a place to live. We’re going to make sure that they are able to get fed and get health care. But what’s happening, what the governor of Texas is doing is disgusting and it needs to stop. But again, when people arrive here, we’re going to care for them.
Q: Do you expect this could continue all the way up until the November election?
Pritzker: It certainly could. He sent thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to Washington DC, sent thousands to New York, now he’s chosen Chicago. And we’ll, like I said, we’ll do what we need to do to make sure that they get the care they need.
More buses should arrive at Union Station in the coming days. The city welcomed about 50 migrants on Sunday. Last Wednesday, more than 60 migrants touched down in Chicago.
“The role here is just to make sure they have the basic needs to live their life,” Duewel said.
More than 100 migrants arrived Wednesday. The Salvation Army told WGN News they’ve seen many families come with children of all ages. The organization adds that its support also includes several staff members within the facility.
“They’re staffed 24 hours a day,” Duewel said. “There is security here 24 hours a day. There’s Salvation Army translators here. There’s city translators here. We have volunteer translators here. We knew that was going to be an issue, so we made sure we were covered there.”
“We’re a welcoming city, so we’re always gonna step up and do the right thing to make sure that migrants who are coming here to our city are well received,” Lightfoot said during a news conference on Sunday evening.
The mayor said Chicago had not yet heard from any Texas officials and urged the state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, to collaborate on a more humane treatment of the asylum seekers and migrants.
“My frustration comes from the actions of the governor of Texas,” Lightfoot said. “There could be a level of coordination and cooperation but he chooses to do none of these things.”
Williamson County Republican Central Committee presents Donald Trump Jr.
Sat, Oct 8, 5:30 PM
The Pavilion
1602 Sioux Drive
Marion, IL 62959
Join the Williamson County Republican Central Committee for a black-tie celebration with Donald Trump Jr. The night will include a keynote by Donald Trump Jr., a cocktail hour, dinner, a silent auction, and recognition of elected officials & county chairman.
Donald Trump, Jr. is the eldest son of President Donald J. Trump. He is Executive Vice President at The Trump Organization, where he has overseen major construction projects in New York City, Chicago, Las Vegas and numerous countries internationally. During the 2016 presidential election, he became a sought-after speaker on politics, Republican fundraisers and played a major role in Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump, Jr. is an avid outdoorsman, and when he’s not on the campaign trail, he can be found on streams and in the mountains all over the world. He is also an active and loving father of 5 young children. Donald Jr. holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Real Estate from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.
I asked Darren Bailey’s campaign last night if the candidate planned to attend the event. “We aren’t confirming events that far out right now,” was the reply.
Elected officials in Chicago and statewide reshape their districts every decade—but they prioritize their political careers instead of us and our communities of interest!
These maps dictate policy and the flow of power and money in our city. Let’s talk about how communities can organize to make change happen.
We, the people, need to take back our power and demand fairer redistricting instead of more corruption.
Whether you’re worried about gun violence, abortion, rising costs, quality education or any other concern, it all starts with making sure we have fair districts.
Disturbing ad: People Who Play By The Rules PAC has launched a new ad, titled “The Scream,” that shows a woman in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood being attacked by three men. The video appears to be taken from a nearby home security camera. The video fades to a picture of Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot with the words, “How much worse does it have to get,” an allusion to crime.
The PAC, which is backing Republican Darren Bailey for governor, is fronted by conservative operative Dan Proft and largely funded by billionaire Richard Uihlein. It’s the same group that put out an ad that was criticized as racist for showing Lightfoot’s face darkened.
Fentanyl-laced mail is making its way into Illinois’ corrections system and some are demanding a change in policy to make it stop.
Scot Ward, president of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Corrections Lodge 263, said there are ongoing issues concerning safety of staff and inmates.
“There’s always a staffing issue, there’s always mental health for the offenders and the officers,” Ward told The Center Square. “There’s all kinds of things going on in the [Illinois Department of Corrections] that needs to be spoken about.”
But, Friday, in a statement Ward was critical of what he characterized as a system being watered down to appease special interest groups.
Keep in mind that Lodge 263 does not collectively bargain on behalf of corrections’ workers. AFSCME does that. The Lodge is a fraternal organization in this case.
* Ward’s full statement…
The environment in Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) facilities is becoming increasingly more dangerous for both correctional officers and offenders and there seems to be little or no movement toward improving the situation, according to the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Corrections Lodge 263.
According to Lodge 263, during the Pritzker administration the Governor’s appointee Camile Lindsay, who gives direction to IDOC, has dangerously shifted focus to an anti-law enforcement, criminal-centered environment that placates social justice advocates at the expense of accountability for criminal behavior.
“Over the last several months working conditions for IDOC officers have become increasingly more stressful and dangerous,” said Lodge 263 President Scot Ward. “There is no valid plan in place to improve the situation, and frightening tragedies will undoubtedly occur unless something is done soon.”
Illegal, synthetic drugs are entering IDOC facilities at a more rapid pace through mail sent to the offenders. These drug-soaked cards, letters and fraudulent attorney-client correspondence has led to an increase in offenders being under the influence of drugs, carrying out violent acts on staff and other offenders. In addition, IDOC officers handling the mail have been unknowingly exposed to these substances, and as a result several officers have required a dose of Narcan or an emergency room visit.
“Many correctional agencies in the United States scan the offenders’ mail and then deliver those scans to the offenders, which keeps illegal drugs from entering the prison through the mail,” Ward said. “We have suggested this solution to top IDOC officials, but to date no action has been taken to stem this postal poison flow.”
The system that holds incarcerated offenders responsible for their actions has been watered down through policy and law changes, Ward said, and the result is that offenders no longer fear repercussions if they harm or kill a fellow offender or an IDOC officer. Restrictive housing for offenses has been reduced or eliminated, fewer cases of offender violence are being sent to county state’s attorneys for prosecution, and parolees are not being sent back to prison for violating the terms of their parole.
“Offenders are no longer concerned about being punished for their violent acts, and that means they literally have nothing to lose by assaulting any human being they encounter in prison,” Ward said. “And if they are not accountable on the inside, how can you ever hope to safely return them to society once their sentences are over?”
The mental health of IDOC officers is also a major concern. Ward said that these men and women work in some of the state’s most dangerous environments and they are under the constant threat of violence, intense scrutiny, lawsuits, investigations, drug exposure, and the daily fear of walking into an environment where anything can, and often does, happen.
“What makes matters worse is that these officers are forced to work excessive amounts of overtime to deal with critical staff shortages,” Ward said. “The mental health assistance systems in place do not offer the anonymity that officers need to avoid the stigma and negative scrutiny of both offenders and their fellow officers.”
“Mental health professionals with experience in helping law enforcement officers must be made available to assist IDOC officers when needed,” Ward said. “IDOC administrators must also be open to the idea of mental health time off, assignment changes, and small acts of appreciation for officers.”
Camile Lindsey has only been in the governor’s office for a few months.
* I asked the governor’s office for a response. Here’s Jordan Abudayyeh…
While smuggling contraband through the mail is a challenge for corrections institutions across the country, let’s look at the facts— the Department of Corrections houses approximately 29,000 individuals and this year there have been less than 230 instances of synthetics being discovered in the mail. If every individual in custody received just one piece of mail, that comes out to less than one percent. We remain committed to ensuring that staff are safe and instances of synthetics being smuggled into facilities are treated with the utmost importance.
What seems to be the real problem for the union is that a Black woman is in a position of power and is working diligently to carry out this administration’s mission to clean up the Department of Corrections and ensure we are treating those in our custody with respect and with a focus on rehabilitation.
* Background from the governor’s office…
• The Department’s evolution to an incentive-based corrections model is an administration-wide initiative and has resulted in a reduction of violence within DOC facilities. The restrictive housing reform is in accordance with the Department of Justice’s guiding principles and ACA standards.
• The Department offers staff wellness training, which uses best-in-class curriculum as well as providing staff wellness teams that provide peer support for facility staff statewide on an as needed basis. The health and safety of staff and the individuals in custody is the Illinois Department of Correction’s top priority.
It was also noted that the shift iaway from placing individuals in restrictive housing is part of active litigation. IDOC is apparently trying to avoid a consent decree.
* Also, I’m having a hard time buying the “several officers have required a dose of Narcan or an emergency room visit,” line. The FOP swears this is true, and I don’t doubt that officers have asked for Narcan doses or visited emergency rooms. However…
* Fact Check-Overdose of fentanyl just by being in its presence is not possible, experts tell Reuters: “You cannot overdose just by touching fentanyl or another opioid and you cannot overdose just by being around it,” said Dr Ryan Marino, medical director of Toxicology & Addiction at University Hospitals, Cleveland. “It will not get into the air and cause anyone to overdose.” … Lewis S. Nelson, professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and director of the Division of Medical Toxicology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey, agreed with these comments, explaining that an overdose from fentanyl by being in its presence was “not possible”. … “All of the findings that we see on this, and other videos, are inconsistent with fentanyl poisoning and are fully consistent with a stress/anxiety response.”
* Accidental Occupational Exposure to a Large Volume of Liquid Fentanyl on a Compromised Skin Barrier with No Resultant Effect: The high prevalence of fentanyl in the illicit drug supply has generated concern among first responders regarding occupational exposure. Social media sharing of unconfirmed first responder overdoses after brief exposure to fentanyl may be contributing to an inappropriate risk perception of brief dermal fentanyl exposure. This case details a dermal exposure to a large dose of analytically confirmed pharmaceutical fentanyl (fentanyl citrate, 10 microgram fentanyl base per ml), over a large skin surface area. Additionally, the exposure occurred at a site with some skin barrier compromise, a factor that can increase fentanyl absorption. The patient underwent appropriate decontamination and underwent a brief medical assessment with no clinical effects of opioid exposure observed.
* Cops say touching fentanyl is making them sick. Doctors say it’s impossible: Pharmaceutical fentanyl is used in hospitals — often in the form of a patch — for patients with extreme pain. But even then, said Dr. Ryan Marino, an emergency medicine physician and toxicologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who uses #WTFentanyl to bust myths surrounding the drug, it’s not easily absorbed . “Fentanyl patches require putting fentanyl into special liquid vehicles so it can be absorbed through skin, and then sealing them against the skin for 72 hours at a time,” Marino said. “The patches took decades and millions of dollars to develop and are still incredibly slow and inefficient.”
The Pritzker administration, once again, has decided to try and divert attention from a serious and deadly issue instead of taking care of the problem. They are playing the race card while putting lives at risk by their inaction.
The men and women who staff our prisons, many of them people of color, are facing more dangerous situations every day. As recently as Sunday, at the Western Illinois Correctional Center, an 18-page drug-soaked book caused several offenders to need medical attention and posed an extreme risk to staff.
So while the Pritzker administration plays the race card, they ignore the incompetence and inaction of the person who should be their advocate for change and safety in our prisons.
Color doesn’t matter, competence does. The 50 percent of our executive board and the large percentage of our membership who are people of color join all of their brothers and sisters in Lodge 263 in just wanting to go home safely to their families each night.
Minority marijuana license holders are calling on the state to loosen ownership regulations in order to make it easier to create and build retail stores.
Many of them cite issues with the state’s cannabis social equity program.
The program was designed to offer disadvantaged people and communities of color disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs an opportunity to benefit from the cannabis industry.
But instead, license holders say the process has been plagued by red tape.
“Three years in, and we still don’t have any Black-owned cannabis operators,” Douglas Kelly, head of the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition, said at a news conference today outside the State of Illinois Building in the Loop, a move aimed at increasing political pressure on Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
License holders say they’re being hampered by the state’s Department of Financial & Professional Regulation’s rules, which prevent them from making any changes to ownership reported on their initial applications until they receive a final state inspection to open a dispensary. But it can cost $500,000 to $1 million or more to get a dispensary ready to open, requiring many license holders to seek investors.
“The rule-making process is screwing it up. Instead of making it easier for Blacks and Latinos, they’re making it harder,” said Rickey Hendon, a former state senator who won a retail license and plans to open a location in the South Loop.
He said he has an agreement with investors, but the state rules make it hard to complete a deal that would allow him to raise additional money to build out a facility, which he estimates will take $1.5 million to $2 million.
But under guidance by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, license holders are prohibited from selling their preliminary “conditional” licenses until they are approved to begin retail sales.
“Which is ludicrous, because in the conditional phase is when you need to raise the most capital,” said Edie Moore, co-founder of Chicago NORML and a conditional license holder. “There’s no reason not to do it. It’s not disallowed in the law, and it hurts people.” […]
The conditional license holders can’t open for business until they pass background checks, get local site approval, pass an inspection, and pay the license fee.
The apparent intent of the policy against selling conditional licenses was to keep minorities and social equity license holders from selling out before even beginning operations. But owners say that keeps them from using their greatest asset, shares of ownership in the license, and they should have the same rights as business owners in other industries.
* Chicago NORML’s Executive Director Kiana Hughes and Deputy Governor Christian Mitchell spoke on Chicago Tonight…
Kiana Hughes: One of the things that we’re hearing is that on every level, licensees are hitting obstacles that are being put in place, or that are just kind of left in place, whether it’s by actual legislation, whether it’s by the rules, whether it’s by interpretations of the law. So for example, you might have there are some dispensary owners, that are all dispensary owners.
All you get when you get the license is a conditional license. Your license isn’t real until you’re actually able to open your doors. Well, as you can imagine a lot of social equity licensees are trying to raise capital to get to the point where they can actually open their doors.
One of the rules is being interpreted as saying that you cannot sell or exchange any portion of ownership or equity in your company in order to get investors for your business. So it’s making it very hard for them to raise capital.
Christian Mitchell: We’re hearing two different sides of this. On the one hand, you’ve got owners who are saying ‘hey, we want to change principal officers so we can raise capital right now because we need it.’ On the other hand, you have a pretty much an equal number of folks saying ‘hey, wait a second.’
We’ve got principal officers who have been holding this for a couple of years. They’re people of color, we want that growth in this industry. But we don’t want to some of these predatory folks who are coming in and saying, hey, I’ll give you some cash, but you’ve got to give me a majority stake in your business. Do we have to restore that license now? Is that true social equity is now a majority person has bought in has the sake and now is saying ‘I’m a social equity license because this person originally had the licenses conditional holder.’
These are all nuanced debates that we need to have. My office door is open as as the governor’s our phone lines are open there. Multiple members of the coalition have contact info for us. We got to sit down and have a nuanced conversation about this in the future social equity in the dispensary.
There has been a drastic surge during the pandemic of these drivers meeting up and blocking traffic for these raucous street parties, prompting new legislation and crackdowns from law enforcement across the country.
In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed a new law targeting illegal stunt-driving events in the state. That measure, increasing fines and threatening arrests, followed similar moves in the past year by Arizona, California, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas to curtail dangerous driving antics.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed a law in October threatening a six-month suspension of a driver’s license for participating in a sideshow, even as a spectator. Two months later, Oakland’s current mayor, Libby Schaaf, pointed to “reckless driving and gunfire brought on by sideshow activity” as contributing to the city’s high number of homicides. There were 134 murders in Oakland in 2021, the highest in a year since 2006. […]
Since the emergence of sideshows in Oakland in the late 1980s, successive mayors have railed against them. In 2005, after eight people died in sideshows over a year, former Gov. Jerry Brown, then mayor of Oakland, called for action. But sideshows continued. In 2009, following three sideshow-related deaths, the Mayor Ron Dellums made a plea for change — to no effect.
* I asked my associate Isabel Miller to compile some other news stories about the topic…
