Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Friday, Jul 12, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The knock on Elvis in his later years was that he took himself too seriously while not taking his music seriously enough. I was at the June 30 Rolling Stones concert (full show is here), and they still take their music seriously after all these years, while putting on a spectacular show. From that night…

Burns like a red coal carpet

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated x2)

Friday, Jul 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Kathy Salvi was elected chair of the Illinois Republican Party today…

Today, The State Central Committee of the Illinois Republican Party elected Kathy Salvi as the next Chair by acclimation, with a start date of July 19th in accordance with outgoing Chairman Don Tracy’s resignation.

Chairman Tracy released the following statement following the election of the new Chair:

“Congratulations to Kathy Salvi for taking on this challenging yet important position to build a brighter future for Illinois. Republicans in this state are united behind President Trump and understand that the Biden/Pritzker agenda is wrong for our families. We will show in Milwaukee this week that we are unified in purpose - to make this state and this country great once again with a message of hope and prosperity for the future.”

Some people are mad…

Meanwhile the Eggroll salesman pic.twitter.com/6sA1FnVpRi

— ROSIE RIVETED (@ROSIERIVETED1) July 12, 2024

…Adding… ILGOP…

Following today’s vote by acclamation to elect Kathy Salvi as the next Chair of the Illinois Republican Party, the Chairwoman-Elect released the following statement:

“It is an honor to be recognized by my fellow Illinois Republicans as the next Chair of the Illinois Republican Party. As we prepare to nominate the next President of the United States, Illinois stands as a testament to what Democrat governance can do: out of control cost of living, rampant crime, and rife with corruption. Illinois Republicans will stand and fight for our conservative ideals and set this state, and nation, back on the right track.

Thank you Chairman Tracy for your commitment to this State and our Party.”

…Adding… DPI…

In response to the election of Kathy Salvi as the new ILGOP Chair, the Democratic Party of Illinois issued the following statement:

“We are not surprised to see the ILGOP pick a far-right extremist to sit at the head of their party. However, we are surprised that they chose someone whose draconian views on abortion will almost certainly drag down their entire Republican ticket. The ILGOP is littered with anti-abortion extremists, but it is now chaired by someone who once opposed abortions for victims of rape, saying, ‘abortion only adds insult to injury.’ The election of Kathy Salvi is not just a threat to the ILGOP’s ill-fated ticket, but to women all across our state.

Kathy Salvi’s extreme stances on healthcare, immigration, and women’s rights are fundamentally at odds with the values of Illinois working families. Salvi will fit right in with the modern-day ILGOP as she is no stranger to losing elections. We defeated Kathy Salvi and MAGA extremism across Illinois in 2022, and we are more determined than ever to combat the ILGOP’s far-right agenda at the ballot box this November. While the ILGOP is in turmoil, we are focused on electing leaders who will enhance access to affordable healthcare, defend reproductive rights, and promote inclusive policies that benefit all Illinoisans.”

Kathy Salvi, who was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for U.S. Senate against Sen. Tammy Duckworth in 2022, has consistently aligned herself with far-right ideologies that Illinois voters have repeatedly rejected. Her failed Senate run underscores the state’s rejection of her regressive policies. Now, as the new ILGOP Chair, Salvi’s leadership threatens to drag the party even further into the depths of extremism, away from the values that define our diverse and inclusive state.

* Illinois Times…

Nine months after cash bail ended in Illinois, the state is taking its first steps in publishing the data that crafters of the bail reform law saw as essential to judging its effectiveness.

The data shows that judges in the 75 counties served by the Illinois Supreme Court’s Office of Statewide Pretrial Services had collectively issued failure-to-appear warrants in just 5% of more than 28,000 court dates as of Friday. Judges had approved about 63% of petitions to detain a defendant pretrial that were sent to them by prosecutors.

The OSPS, launched in 2021 to provide things like pretrial safety assessments and electronic monitoring for 75 of Illinois’ 102 counties, published the data in a new dashboard this week. It represents a key – but still early and incomplete – step in tracking Illinois’ progress as the first state to fully end cash bail through a wide-ranging criminal justice reform known as the SAFE-T Act. […]

The data showed that about 52% of cases that were subject to an OSPS pretrial investigation contained at least one offense considered “detainable” under the SAFE-T Act. As of June 28, prosecutors had petitioned the court to detain the defendant in 62% of those cases.

The fact that judges approved 63% of those petitions, [retired Cook County Judge Cara Smith] said, was evidence the system was working.

*** Statewide ***

* Crain’s | Retail marijuana lottery winners avoid losing their licenses: Just one winner of a cannabis dispensary license is at risk of losing it today when a deadline hits for pot-shop licensees to have found a location for their stores. It’s a far lower number than many had feared. The state used lotteries to award 185 new dispensary licenses in the summer of 2022, which would nearly double the number of marijuana shops. Winners originally had up to a year to get stores open or find a location, but the deadline was extended last year by legislators.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | As Tent Cities Are Cleared, Unhoused Residents Ask Why It Took DNC For City To Offer Housing: Encampment residents told Block Club city outreach workers have been visiting in recent weeks to offer them rooms in coveted city-run shelters, including the former Tremont Hotel, 100 E. Chestnut St. in the Gold Coast, which was bought by the city last year and has only 60 beds. Those who accept the beds can keep them until Aug. 31, Berg said. The convention is Aug. 19-22.

* Jinx Press | 14th District Oath Keeper cop interfered with DCFS investigation, removed from SWAT for unknown incident: As detailed in that investigation, Sergeant Nowacki was suspended for three days in 2008 after sending insulting, racially charged emails to a Black community member in Englewood who was soliciting donations for area families. Rather than serve the suspension, Nowacki forfeited three days of banked compensatory time. Records detailing a December 2020 incident, however, also illustrate his disturbing animosity on duty toward a Department of Child and Family Services worker. The worker, identified as a Black male, filed a complaint after a well-being check where Nowacki was belligerent.

* Tribune | Mayor Johnson to name former progressive North Side alderman Shiller to zoning board: The former alderman — a close ally of current 46th Ward Ald. Angela Clay — was both lionized and lambasted for campaigning as a “champion of the poor” in Uptown as it underwent much transformation. Johnson tapping her addresses his stated values on railing against rich elites while also potentially smoothing over an earlier snafu with a homeless shelter proposal in Uptown that failed.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Shaw Local | Joliet police officer wins part of federal appeal in privacy lawsuit case: A federal appeals court reversed the dismissal of a Joliet police officer’s claim that a detective intruded on her privacy by intentionally accessing a nude photo on her cellphone. […] The ruling followed an April 3 court hearing where the Will County search warrant for the officer’s phone was sharply criticized by U.S. Circuit Judge Thomas Kirsch. […] “I can’t believe a judge signed this warrant to say, ‘You can search the entire contents of someone’s phone to look for one text message.’ And then McKinney just happens to be searching around in Cellebrite. …And guess what? He happens upon the naked pictures that everybody is talking about in the police department. It’s weird. It’s troubling, right?” Kirsch said.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora to buy seven properties along Bilter Road: City officials have said they are interested in assembling the land in the hopes of marketing it to a residential developer, in an effort to keep potential industrial uses out of what the city considers more of a residential area. Officials have said an industrial user was interested in the properties, and would generate too much truck traffic for the area.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | $20 million Belleville training center part of vision to make Illinois a manufacturing hub: Construction of the academy on the northwest corner of the Belleville campus began in September 2022. Now outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, the facility will officially open its doors in the upcoming semester to provide students with more training opportunities in the growing manufacturing sector. According to a recent Deloitte study, U.S. manufacturing could need as many as 3.8 million new employees by 2033 as investment drives the sector’s growth, but half of those jobs could go unfilled if workforce challenges aren’t addressed.

* WCIA | Protestors rally at Sangamon Co. Sheriff’s Office after woman’s death: Two sheriff’s deputies responded to [Sonya] Massey’s home just after midnight on July 6. Family and friends at the rally say Massey was the one that called the police. She was allegedly worried there was someone trying to break in, according to the county. After being on scene for half an hour, one of the deputies shot Massey. She was taken to the hospital, where she died from the gunshot wound, according to the Coroner.

* Capitol City Now | Attorney Ben Crump retained by family of Sonya Massey: Attorney Ben Crump, who specializes in civil rights and personal injury cases such as wrongful death lawsuits, announced Thursday the family of Sonya Massey has retained his services. Some of the well-known cases Crump has been a part of include Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown and George Floyd. Crump is known for taking on cases involving police misconduct. The investigation into Massey’s death by Illinois State Police is ongoing. Wednesday, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell urged the public and media to be patient as ISP completes its investigation.

* WCBU | Peoria County Board isn’t keen on a 15-year delay to build new landfill: There’s essentially two parallel stories happening in the ongoing landfill saga. On one track, the regulatory process to start construction of the new landfill is still slowly moving forward. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources doesn’t believe abandoned underground mines pose an impediment to continuing development on the proposed site, but the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency still needs to sign off.

* KSDK | ‘It’s shocking’: Gov. Pritzker after Alton sinkhole swallows soccer field: “We’re working very hard to make sure that’s not a problem going forward,” [Pritzker] said. “Of course, we got the federal government involved. We’re going to make sure we’re doing everything we can. It’s shocking, really. I’m so glad nobody was on the field when it happened. But, the question is why did it happen, and what is the federal government going to do to make sure it never happens again?” Our newsroom has seen chatter online and reporting by other news outlets that the Alton sinkhole is growing. Our reporter checked in with a representative for the New Frontier crews on the ground to verify this on Thursday. The company representative tells us the sinkhole itself hasn’t grown in size since the initial collapse.

*** National ***

* AP | Small Nashville museum wants you to know why it is returning artifacts to Mexico: When Bonnie Seymour took a job as assistant curator of Nashville’s Parthenon museum, one of the first things she did was to look through the collections. Among paintings by American artists and memorabilia from Tennessee’s 1897 Centennial Exposition — the event for which the Parthenon was built — she found a random assortment of pre-Columbian pottery from Mexico. The artifacts had almost no identifying information, and Seymour knew next to nothing about them. But she knew they did not belong in a Nashville storage room.

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Keep calm and Dolt-on

Friday, Jul 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and here for some of our past roundups. WGN…

Soon after outraged residents began filling public meetings demanding answers from self-proclaimed “Super Mayor” Tiffany Henyard, the south suburban politician hit the road for a series of interviews to try to reset the narrative about her spending, leadership style and tumultuous tenure.

Henyard appeared in-studio for an interview with Roland Martin in Washington, DC in late February and then travelled to New York City to be on the “Way Up with Angela Yee” program. […]

Township credit card bills show a photographer named David Dickerson was paid $3,259 plus an additional $561 for Dickerson’s airfare between Chicago, Washington and New York. Dickerson confirmed to WGN Investigates that we hired by Henyard’s team to take photos of during her interviews with Martin and Yee. He doesn’t know what became of his images. […]

Henyard is the supervisor of Thornton Township and mayor of Dolton. It’s unclear who paid for airfare and lodging for Henyard and the rest of her entourage. While the township released credit card records after a Freedom of Information Act request, the village of Dolton has repeatedly failed to do so in apparent violation of open records laws.

* Daily Southtown…

Dolton has few remaining options for recourse after an Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the $33.5 million judgment stemming from a fatal police chase, and an insurance policy that only covers about one-third of the judgment, attorneys said. […]

Dolton is covered at about $10.5 million by insurance, an amount that continues eroding with increasing village legal fees, according to a petition for payment the plaintiffs’ attorneys filed in January.

The petition laid out concerns about the village being able to provide the verdict, including the $23.5 million not covered, which was considered “present and due” even during the appeal’s process because the village never sought a stay on the payment. […]

Under state law, municipalities are “entitled and directed” to pay the judgments owed and may do so by issuing bonds or levying taxes. The plaintiffs’ attorneys are requesting Dolton float a municipal bond to allow their clients to be paid upfront, while the village repays the bond over multiple years at an interest rate lower than what the court judgment is accruing. […]

Dolton has also been penalized for failing to fulfill an agreed settlement of $220,000 in a whistleblower lawsuit from 2019 despite the Village Board approving the payment. After a June 24 hearing, a Cook County court froze double the amount of the settlement in a village account. The attorney for the plaintiff in that case said the check “is just sitting on the mayor’s desk.”

* The money problems don’t end there for Dolton. NBC Chicago…

The company behind new welcome banners in Dolton claim they have not been paid yet as the cash-strapped village’s residents are questioning the new signs.

Donning light poles along a busy Sibley Boulevard, the banners, which reportedly cost $19,000, contain different messages on the back and the front, along with a picture of Mayor Tiffany Henyard with her self-ascribed “Supermayor” title written underneath. […]

Mosca Design, the vendor behind the banners, told NBC Chicago that they have not been paid for the banners and other items and are owed an outstanding balance of over $85,000.

According to Trustee Tammy Brown, the purchase was never approved by Dolton trustees.

* More…

WGN | Burt Odelson says lawsuit brought on by Dolton Mayor’s former attorney is ‘baseless and meritless’:

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Saying the quiet part out loud (Updated)

Friday, Jul 12, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Andy Shaw…

Covering politics for three decades left me with a lifetime of takeaways, but a compelling one that resurfaces more often than most, as we try to explain widespread public perceptions of politicians, is the importance of narrative.

It’s an overarching media-and-consultant-driven storyline that, for better or worse, defines, describes and tends to stick to candidates and elected officials like glue until the passage of time or a figurative solvent — an unanticipated major event — pries it loose.

Emphasis added.

* Meanwhile, I’m not at all saying that President Biden is not in political trouble and that he’s not weighing down his fellow Democrats. He’s obviously in trouble and people are most definitely freaking the heck out. All I’m saying is hyping a partisan congressional district poll of just 309 likely voters taken 9-10 days ago and calling it “new” doesn’t really add much to the debate, but does feed into the national news media/consultant narrative…

A NEW POLL in the IL-11 District suggests the Biden crisis is having an impact. The survey conducted by Republican challenger Jerry Evans’ campaign against incumbent Congressman Bill Foster shows Biden at 38 percent to Trump’s 37 percent. In 2020, Biden won the district 62 percent to 36 percent. The poll also shows a close race for Congress, with a generic Democrat leading a generic Republican by 3 points, 45 percent to 42 percent with 13 percent undecided.

In a head-to-head, Foster beats Evans 41 percent to 34 percent but with 35 percent undecided. The Cygnal survey was conducted July 2 and 3, five days after the Biden-Trump debate. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.55 percentage points.

…Adding… The 11th is no longer the overwhelmingly Democratic district it was in 2020. When you look at the district’s current precincts, Biden won in 2020 by 15 points - which is 11 points less than he won the old district. Also, while JB Pritzker won the district in 2022 by about 13 points, he only won it by 2.5 points in 2018. Foster won the new district in 2022 by 13 points. I should’ve checked those numbers in the quoted story above, but made the mistake of relying on what was written.

Methodology…

This probabilistic survey was conducted July 2 – 3, 2024, with 309 likely general election voters. It has a margin of error of ±5.55%. Known registered voters were interviewed via online panel and SMS. This survey was weighted to a likely general election voter universe.

* Also, reputable polls in battleground states haven’t yet shown a dramatic impact on down-ballot races. And then there’s this from yesterday…

(A)ny post-debate analysis using polling to justify sweeping conclusions about the state of the race is way out ahead of the data. This soon after the debate, with relatively few polls having come home to roost, there are early indications that Biden has lost at least a point or two in the polls, but the early indications are just that — early indications. (This is why, as G. Elliott Morris explains here, 538’s forecast hasn’t changed much post-debate.)

Deep breaths, please.

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Study: Illinois has the most diverse cannabis business ownership in the US (Updated)

Friday, Jul 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* IDFPR…

Today, the Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office (CROO) published the Disparity and Availability Study for adult use cannabis licenses in Illinois finding that Illinois currently has the most diverse cannabis industry in the nation. The study, as required by the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA), examined 559 adult use cannabis licenses issued by the State to more than 400 businesses during the study period, which spanned from the start of adult use cannabis sales, January 1, 2020, through January 31, 2023.

The disparity study found the CRTA successfully resulted in license ownership diversity for each license type with new licenses over the study period. Over the study period, 59% of dispensary licenses were issued to minority- or women-owned businesses (compared to 21% for the medical cannabis market). For all licenses issued by the State, that number jumps to 60%. Additionally, minority- or women-owned businesses held 63% of craft grower, 61% of infuser, and 74% of transporter licenses. Additionally, the study found nearly 84% of the State’s Direct Forgivable Loans went to minority- or women-owned businesses. According to this independent review, these demographics make Illinois the most diverse cannabis industry in the nation. Since 2023, IDFPR has conducted another Social Equity Criteria Lottery and issued 55 more conditional licenses, all going to social equity designated businesses.

* Recommendations from the study…

To cultivate a more inclusive and equitable industry we recommend the following:

• Broaden availability of financing: Findings from our focus group conversations with cannabis business holders and applicants across license types, coupled with our survey analysis, suggest a need for additional revenue sources for the Cannabis Business Development Fund to improve sustainability and increase access to capital for more businesses.

• Unify data systems and additional data management: Interviews with industry leaders indicate a need for a centralized data system to ensure the state’s licensing, enforcement, and case management systems are compatible and unified to improve tracking, monitoring, and supporting cannabis businesses across the entire industry.

• Consolidate regulatory structure: Based on our assessment of the quantitative and
qualitative analyses, we recommend centralizing the five main regulatory agencies’ cannabis units into one, unified department with clear accountability to the governor and public. Consolidation would allow for a more seamless and coordinated approach to operationalize the application process and business regulatory practices in support of all extant and future cannabis license holders in an equitable and just manner. […]

• Additional administrative recommendations:

o Allow SEAs [Social Equity Applicants] to obtain a social equity business designation after receiving a cannabis license. This will allow for continued support for SEAs after they become licensed, provided they maintain their status as a social equity business.

o Implement a no-change affidavit for license renewals: simplify the renewal process for businesses that have no changes in ownership or management.

o Implement a sliding scale for licensing renewal fees based on sales: set renewal fees based on sales to improve equity in license renewal.

o Implement a third-party transport mandate: codify a statutory change for transportation so that businesses can only transport up to a certain amount of their inventory transfers, like the rule for dispensaries to have no more than 40% of their inventory from one source.

o Allow infusers to apply for processing licenses: allow infusing organizations to apply for the ability to process and extract cannabis products from raw materials and contribute to an adequate supply of distillate.

* Forbes…

Illinois has reached a significant milestone in marijuana sales, hitting the $1 billion mark so far this year. […]

Governor Pritzker said in a statement that “the increase in total adult-use marijuana sales, combined with the policies my administration is implementing to support communities ravaged by the War on Drugs, highlights how this emerging industry is helping us set a national standard in equity and economic justice. Growing sales in 2024 means marijuana tax revenue will continue to play a major role in righting decades of wrongs in the state’s criminal justice system.” […]

Marijuana sales have generated over $244 million in tax revenue, which the state has allocated to grants for youth development, economic development, and violence prevention programs. This funding also enabled the establishment of the Illinois Cannabis Social Equity Loan program. This initiative aims to support communities that have been disproportionately affected by marijuana-related criminal justice issues by linking them to the legal marijuana industry. Through this social equity program, the state has distributed nearly $22 million in forgivable loans to craft growers, transporters, and infusers.

* Marijuana Moment…

Tax revenue from cannabis sales has now put more than $244 million toward grants to encourage economic development, violence prevention and youth development in areas disproportionately impacted by cannabis arrests and imprisonment, the state said on Wednesday. And through its Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program, “almost $22 million in forgivable loans has been issued to social equity craft growers, transporters, and infusers.”

More of the loans are expected to be awarded soon following an April deadline in the latest round. The state also says more full dispensary licenses will be awarded “to conditional licensees selected in the 2022 and 2023 lotteries as they meet the requirements for full licensure.”

“It is imperative barriers are removed to ensure workforces and industries reflect the diversity of the population who calls Illinois home,” said Mario Treto Jr., secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. “We are already seeing the results of our efforts to accomplish this, and I am excited to see what the future holds for the cannabis industry across Illinois.”

* Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton…

“When we legalized cannabis in Illinois, we didn’t just want to create a new industry – we wanted to right some wrongs. This report shows we’re doing just that. We’re seeing people who’ve been left out of opportunities for too long now owning businesses and creating jobs in their communities. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s progress we can be proud of. Every new shop that opens, every loan that helps a small business get started, that’s another step towards making things right. We’re showing the rest of the country that when you put fairness first, everyone wins.”

* More…

SJ-R | Missouri-based marijuana dispensary opens first Illinois location in Springfield:

…Adding… Press release…

Today, the Pritzker Administration announced that SEquity Ventures (LLC dba The Dispensary Champaign) became the 100th social equity cannabis dispensary to open its doors in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issued a full adult use cannabis dispensary license to The Dispensary Champaign on June 6, 2024, who applied for and was selected in the Social Equity Criteria Lottery (SECL) and met the lottery’s criteria.

“From day one of legal cannabis sales in Illinois, my administration has been committed to making sure we don’t sacrifice a fair, equitable opportunity to join the industry – while also undoing decades of wrongs in the failed War on Drugs – just for the economic gains,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “More than three years later, we’ve consistently learned and made our industry more accessible, while also seeing strong, consistent year-over-year revenue growth.”

The Dispensary Champaign celebrated this major milestone with a ribbon cutting ceremony at their new storefront located at 1826 Glen Park Drive, Champaign, IL. The ceremony was attended by IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto, Jr., Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer Erin Johnson, and other industry leaders.

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Open thread

Friday, Jul 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please…

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, Jul 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: US Reps. Brad Schneider, Eric Sorensen call on President Biden to drop reelection bid. Tribune…

Click here for our updated recap.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WGN | State Rep. Bob Morgan: How the Healthcare Protection Act will reform health coverage in Illinois: State Representative Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) joins John Williams to talk about Governor Pritzker signing the Healthcare Protection Act into law. Rep. Morgan explains how this new law will reform health coverage in Illinois, how it will impact people’s healthcare, what this new law covers, and how this law will no longer allow insurers to stand in the way of the health care you need.

* Pantagraph | Illinois lawmaker recap: Sen. Dave Koehler lauds education investments: Koehler said lawmakers “did a good job” funding education, particularly early childhood and K-12. An additional $350 million was included for the evidence-based funding formula, which seeks to close the funding gap between rich and poor school districts. That brings total invested up to $2 billion since it was enacted in 2017. More funding was also included for the state’s Smart Start initiative, which will create an additional 5,000 pre-K slots across the state. […] While touting pre-K and K-12 investments, Koehler said he was disappointed by the comparatively flat higher education budget. The amount allocated to the state’s public universities and community colleges only increased by 2%. Funds for need-based scholarships through the Monetary Assistance Program increased by just $10 million.

* Pantagraph | Illinois lawmaker recap: Sen. Chapin Rose disappointed to see carbon capture legislation pass: Rose said the biggest disappointments from session were the budget and the carbon capture bill passing through both chambers. Rose said he’s actively spoken out about the carbon capture legislation and how this would negatively impact certain areas around the state. “I don’t want to hear anything more from the supposed environmentalists about how they care about the environment when they deliberately had the choice. We gave them (a bipartisan) letter 10 days out that said ‘don’t forget this. Make sure you’re not including sequestration on the Mahomet Aquifer.’ They knew about this, and they did it anyway.”

*** Statewide ***

* ProPublica | Two Reporters Covering Education in the Midwest Followed the Money … to a School in New York: Shrub Oak International School in Mohegan Lake, New York. Black eyes and bruises. Insufficient staffing. Medical neglect. No kitchen. At least 15 Illinois students were enrolled there this past school year using state and local taxpayer dollars at $573,200 each. No state outside of New York sends more students to Shrub Oak than Illinois.

* Tribune | Illinois GOP set to select one of three finalists for state chair: The Illinois GOP has long been beset by fighting between moderate and conservative wings. That conflict also has become a geographic battle between hard-core conservatives downstate and the more populous suburban areas, even as that region’s reputation as a moderate Republican stronghold has faded and Democrats have made major inroads. Democrats now control all statewide offices, the Supreme Court and have supermajorities in the Illinois House and Senate.

* NBC Chicago | Yuengling weighs in on rumors that popular beer brand is coming to Illinois: Yuengling is aware of the speculation, but a representative for the brand wouldn’t confirm the rumors– or even if the company plans to expand at all. “Yuengling has not announced when or where its next expansion will be,” said Yuengling Director of Communications Paul Capelli.

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | Mayor Johnson rejects cuts in CPS’ proposed budget meant to fill a half-billion deficit: The day after Chicago Public Schools officials released a budget proposal that filled a half-billion dollar deficit in part by some cutbacks in staff and other areas, Mayor Brandon Johnson made the surprising declaration that he would not accept cuts by the district. […] It is highly unusual for the mayor, who appoints the schools CEO, to suggest he is unhappy with the school district’s budget after it is presented to the public. It also is unclear what options Johnson has to fill the deficit, though his deputy mayor for education, Jen Johnson, said the administration was “working on something.”

* Tribune | Bally’s Chicago secures casino financing, unveils new hotel design: Bally’s announced a deal Friday with Gaming and Leisure Properties, a Pennsylvania-based real estate investment trust, to provide $940 million to fund the construction of the permanent casino. In addition, Bally’s has also finalized redesign of its planned 500-room hotel tower, which has been shifted from north of the casino to the south to avoid damaging city water pipes along the Chicago River, pending approval from the city’s planning department.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Dolton insurance would only cover a third of $33.5 million judgement from fatal police chase lawsuit: Under state law, municipalities are “entitled and directed” to pay the judgments owed and may do so by issuing bonds or levying taxes. The plaintiffs’ attorneys are requesting Dolton float a municipal bond to allow their clients to be paid upfront, while the village repays the bond over multiple years at an interest rate lower than what the court judgement is accruing. […] Dolton has also been penalized for failing to fulfill an agreed settlement of $220,000 in a whistleblower lawsuit from 2019 despite the Village Board approving the payment. After a June 24 hearing, a Cook County court froze double the amount of the settlement in a village account. The attorney for the plaintiff in that case said the check “is just sitting on the mayor’s desk.”

* Daily Southtown | Will County committee seeks to end ‘divisive’ proclamations, then proposes ‘non-sanctuary’ designation: At the same time some Will County Board members want to eliminate proclamations from their monthly meetings because they can be divisive and political, a board committee passed, along party lines, a resolution declaring Will County a non-sanctuary county, which some board members said was both divisive and political. The Will County Executive Committee, which includes about half of the Will County Board, recommended 7-5 Thursday to advance a resolution to declare the county a non-sanctuary county for asylum seekers and illegal immigration.

*** Downstate ***

* SJ-R | Popular low-cost airline temporarily ending route from Springfield: Breeze Airways, a low-cost airline headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been busy adding flights to its roster of 29 states in the past couple of months, but the company plans on shuttering one of its flights: the nonstop service from Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield to Tampa International Airport in Florida. The planned end of nonstop service to the popular destination will be on August 12, 2024, according to Breeze, but it won’t be forever. According to Breeze to communications specialist Ryan Williams, the flights to Tampa were seasonal for the summer and will be returning in 2025.

*** National ***

* Tribune | US appeals court says some NCAA athletes may qualify as employees under federal wage-and-hour laws: College athletes whose efforts primarily benefit their schools may qualify as employees deserving of pay under federal wage-and-hour laws, a U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday in a setback to the NCAA. The court, in the latest challenge to the NCAA’s long-held notion of “amateurism” in college sports, said that a test should be developed to differentiate between students who play college sports for fun and those whose effort “crosses the legal line into work.”

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Friday, Jul 12, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Friday, Jul 12, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Live coverage

Friday, Jul 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* You can click here or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Friday, Jul 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Thursday, Jul 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* US Rep. Brad Schneider wants President Biden to step aside…

Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10) issued the following statement on President Biden:

“I love Joe Biden. I was proud to be the first member of the Illinois delegation to endorse his candidacy five years ago. I knew then he would be a great president and he has proven me right. If the history books were to be closed today, he would unquestionably be recorded as one of our greatest presidents:

* He rescued our country from a potential despot and restored international confidence in the U.S. as the world’s indispensable nation. 
* He guided our nation through a global pandemic, crafting and passing the American Rescue Plan to ensure the U.S. not only weathered the crisis, but that our economy would emerge from COVID the strongest in the world, and that we would help lift the economies of other nations as well. 
* He passed transformative, bipartisan legislation, including the Infrastructure and Jobs Act, the CHIPS + Science Act and the PACT Act that will serve our nation for years to come. 
* He lowered costs for families, took on the climate crisis and made our tax code fairer with the Inflation Reduction Act. 
* He re-established, revitalized and expanded our alliances around the globe after four years of potentially catastrophic diminishment by Donald Trump.

President Biden now has the opportunity to secure his legacy and boldly deliver the nation to a new generation of leadership.

The stakes in this election could not be higher. Donald Trump and the administration he would install are an absolute threat to the very core of our nation. He is publicly committed to undermining our constitution and the democratic republic it established. A second Trump administration will tear apart our economy, further devastate reproductive freedom, threaten our national security and degrade our vital leadership role in the world order that we helped establish after World War II.

We are faced with a stark choice: be resigned to slog through this election praying we can successfully defend our democracy, or enthusiastically embrace a vibrant vision for our future, building on the extraordinary foundation President Biden has created for our nation over the past four years.

I choose the latter.

I love President Biden. I am forever grateful for his leadership and service to our nation. The time has come, however, for President Biden to heroically pass the torch to a new generation of leadership to guide us to the future he has enabled and empowered us to pursue.

In his farewell address, George Washington set a standard that every president since has tried to live up to. He declined to run for a third term – despite the encouragement of the nation and many of his supporters – for the good of the nation and the people. He knew when it was time to pass the torch.

In passing the torch now, President Biden has a chance to live up to this standard and seal his place in history as one of the greatest leaders our nation, and history, has ever known. He can lead the transition of power to a new generation that can build a stronger party and a stronger nation. I fear if he fails to make the right choice, our democracy will hang in the balance.”

US Sen. Tammy Duckworth told reporters today Biden is “our President, he’s our nominee.”

*** Statewide ***

* WBBM | 1.5 million Illinoisans at risk of seeing higher water bill: Find out why: Aqua Illinois and Illinois American Water have requested the Illinois Commerce Commission approve millions in rate hikes in November and December. CUB’s Director of Government Affairs Bryan McDaniel says, since 2013, the companies have bought 59 water systems across the state and passed the costs on to customers.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Chicago Taxpayers Have Paid $35.7M to Defend Disgraced Detective Reynaldo Guevara, With No End in Sight: In addition to the cost of outside attorneys, Chicago taxpayers spent an additional $60.5 million to settle six lawsuits filed by Chicagoans who said they were the victims of Guevara’s misconduct. Another 34 lawsuits are pending, with the latest lawsuit against the city and the former detective filed June 26. In all, it has already cost Chicago taxpayers more than $98 million to defend the disgraced former detective, investigate his conduct and resolve lawsuits that allege Guevara violated dozens of Chicagoans’ civil rights, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

* Sun-Times | $11.25M settlement proposed for women paramedic candidates victimized by discriminatory CFD physical test: The post-hiring test was so demanding and so unrelated to the skills needed as a Chicago Fire Department paramedic that four of the 12 plaintiffs suffered “career-ending” hip and back injuries during the testing. One of the women literally “tore her hip open,” her attorney said. “They were terrible tests. Constructor-concocted tests. Terribly dangerous,” said Marni Willenson, an attorney representing the impacted women.

* Block Club | Billionaire Family Behind Walmart Buys Old West Side Women’s Shelter, Will Create Community Space: Matt Berenberg, who is part of the ownership team and is responsible for overseeing design and construction, said Samantha Walton decided to buy the 132-year-old building after reading Block Club’s coverage about the previous owners planning to tear it down. […] Preliminary plans include creating a multifunctional space to host technology, art and food programs, Berenberg told neighbors at a meeting Tuesday at the Revival Fellowship Church of God, 2810 W. Washington Blvd.

* WBEZ | Students at a Chicago university can get credit for life experience but only a few get the chance: Called the University Without Walls, it’s based on a model that’s been around since the 1970s and awards students course credits for life experience. […] Students enrolled in University Without Walls are paired with a faculty advisor who helps them craft their work and life experience into a narrative portfolio. […] University Without Walls could be transformative for so many students. But it requires consistent one-on-one advising, which takes a lot of financial support. And state funding for Northeastern Illinois University is a fraction of what it was two decades ago.

* Block Club | Bike Lane Ticketing Program Still Hasn’t Started 16 Months After City Approved It: But 16 months after the ordinance’s passage, no tickets have been issued under the program. The Council’s pedestrian and traffic safety committee on Wednesday approved an extension to the pilot’s end date, but no one at the hearing was sure when exactly it would get started. Robert Kearney, chief of staff for Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), one of the original ordinance’s sponsors, told alderpeople the delays were due to difficulties the Chicago Department of Transportation has had in finding a proper vendor for the pilot technology.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | ‘Trailblazer’ Nanci Vanderweel, who shattered political glass ceilings in the 70s, dies at 87: Vanderweel was 33 when she became the first woman elected to the village board in 1971. The top vote-getter in that election, Vanderweel ran on the campaign slogan, “A woman trustee, why not?” Upon her retirement as township supervisor in 2013, she told the Daily Herald it wasn’t easy getting others to take her seriously during the early days of her political career. “We were a fighting bunch,” Vanderweel said. “Most of the men were chauvinists on the board. It took some getting used to for them. They weren’t the good ol’ boys anymore.”

* Lake County News-Sun | Waukegan planning to prepare former industrial site for development; ‘A great opportunity … to live close to the lake’: Imagine a lakefront park in Waukegan, south of the harbor and the Amstutz Expressway, with homes across the street with a very short walk to the beach on land that once housed a factory that fabricated steel products. Before any of that becomes a reality, 10,000 tons of contaminated dirt must be removed from the 11-acre site and it needs to be remediated so it is safe for residential and light-commercial development.

*** Downstate ***

* WAND | Police still investigating one year after Emma Shafer stabbed to death: Friends, family, and the police are still seeking closure and answers one year after Emma Shafer was fatally stabbed. […] Friends and family have paid tribute to Emma’s memory with Facebook posts as today marks one year since her death. […] Police believe Gabriel Calixto Pichardo of Bethalto, Illinois, is responsible for Shafer’s death. A warrant was issued for his arrest on July 12, 2023 for three counts of first-degree murder and aggravated domestic battery with a bond amount of $3,000,000.

* WICS | Illinois State Fair announces tram service: “We are excited to bring back trams as a convenient way to move our guests around the Illinois State Fair,” said Jerry Costello II, Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. “The fairgrounds cover 366 acres, and we want to make the experience accessible with tram stops at popular spots around the grounds.” Maps showing the tram routes will be displayed on the fairgrounds. Stops include the Campground/Arena entrance, 4-H Road at the 4-H Master Gardeners, entrance to Conservation World, Goat Barn at Grandstand Avenue, Horse Racing Office, South End of the Half-Mile Track near Gate 4, and the Hobbies Arts & Crafts building.

* WCIA | IL Dept. of Corrections investigating personal data breach at Danville Correctional Center: Employees at a Danville prison have been told their data may be compromised. The Illinois Department of Corrections is investigating a breach of personalized data at the Danville Correctional Center. IDOC confirmed with WCIA they notified the Illinois Attorney General, Illinois General Assembly, and the Department of Information Technology about the leak, under Illinois’ Personal Information Protection Act.

*** National ***

* LA Times | RIP Redbox. The DVD kiosk business will shut down and fire 1,000 people: In 2022, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Redbox was acquired by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment in a $375-million all-stock deal. […] The Chicken Soup entertainment arm took on significant debt to complete the transaction, a risky bet on the future viability of DVD rentals. In public filings, the company blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and last summer’s Hollywood strikes for choking off the flow of fresh content.

* AP | Two 80-something journalists tried ChatGPT. Then, they sued to protect the ‘written word’: Basbanes was the first of the duo to try fiddling with AI chatbots, finding them impressive but prone to falsehoods and lack of attribution. The friends commiserated and filed their lawsuit earlier this year, seeking to represent a class of writers whose copyrighted work they allege “has been systematically pilfered by” OpenAI and its business partner Microsoft.

10 Comments

Speaker Welch talks about The Infinite Game

Thursday, Jul 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Click here for more context, but House Speaker Chris Welch spoke yesterday at a violence prevention announcement. I thought it was worth sharing…

What’s going on here today reminds me of a book that I have given to our caucus that I talk about regularly, because I want you all to understand the mindset that I have every day I go to work as the Speaker of the House.

The book is called The Infinite Game, written by an author named Simon Sinek. The Infinite Game is different than a finite game. A finite game, we all know it when we see it. It’s basketball, it’s baseball, it’s football. When you play a finite game, you play to win. You know you want to win that game today. You know that’s your mindset. They call it a finite mindset.

When we go to work every day, when we get to walk into that beautiful Capitol, when the mayor gets to walk into that beautiful building called City Hall, we’re playing an infinite game. Our game is going to go on, and on and on. Illinois has been here for almost 206 years. I’m the 70th Speaker of the House. There’s going to be a 71st, a 72nd and so on. It’s going to go on, and on and on.

When you play an infinite game, you’re not playing to win. We’re not trying to beat somebody. We’re playing an infinite game to be better. We’re trying to leave the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois better than we found it. And so every day that I go to work, we’re trying to find policies and practices that’s going to make this great state better.

It’s definitely something to aspire to.

9 Comments

Today’s quotable

Thursday, Jul 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Some background is here if you need it. WBEZ…

The [Republican] party has been in the superminority in Springfield for years and hasn’t held a statewide office since Bruce Rauner was governor.

Steve Balich, an elected [RNC] delegate from Will County, blames “establishment” Republicans, whom he accused of leaning further left and compromising too much to try winning elections. Balich said GOP members who consider themselves part of the “grassroots” are tired of it.

“We feel like we’ve been pushed to the edge of a cliff,” the Homer Township supervisor said. “There’s nothing to compromise anymore for us. So any kind of compromise for us becomes … well, we might as well just jump off the cliff.” […]

Balich is a die-hard Trump supporter. After a New York jury convicted Trump of falsifying business records, he raised an upside down American flag in front of the Homer Township administration headquarters last month. The flag was returned to right-side up when people got angry.

22 Comments

‘Pretextual fishing expeditions’

Thursday, Jul 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Click here for the IDOT study. ACLU of Illinois…

Police in Illinois conducted nearly 200,000 more traffic stops in 2023 compared to the previous year. The 12% increase in traffic stops means that more than 500 motorists in Illinois were stopped for each day of 2023 compared to 2022. Longstanding racial disparities persisted, with Black and Latino drivers stopped at higher rates than white drivers in almost all localities. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) released its Traffic Stop Study Act Report for 2023 on July 1, 2024, based on data that every law enforcement agency in the state is supposed to report annually, although about 20% of agencies failed to submit the required data for 2023.

New this year, IDOT analyzed individual drivers who were stopped multiple times in 2023, finding that Black drivers were about three times more likely to be stopped a total of two to ten times, and nine times more likely to be stopped more than 10 times compared to white drivers who were stopped.

The data suggests that many of the stops of Black drivers are pretextual “fishing expeditions” to search for evidence of unrelated crimes based on racial stereotypes, not to enforce road safety. Police were more likely to stop Black drivers for suspected equipment and registration violations, while white drivers were stopped more often for moving violations. And Black motorists are less likely to be cited for these violations than their white counterparts.

The IDOT data also shows that racially disparate stops are not effective at fighting crime. Statewide, more than 97% of all stops of Black drivers, and more than 98% of all stops of Latino drivers, did not result in police finding any contraband. The minuscule contraband recovery rates have remained consistently low for years.

“With 20 years of data reflecting ongoing racial and ethnic disparities in traffic stops, localities in Illinois can no longer ignore this problem. Police departments’ refusal to remedy these unjustified disparities amounts to intentional discrimination,” said Alexandra Block, director of the Criminal Legal System and Policing Project at the ACLU of Illinois. “This reality should cause public officials at the state and local level to convene a public discussion about how to fix the persistent biases in traffic stops.”

The IDOT report demonstrates that, statewide, police officers stop Black drivers at 1.7 times the rate of white drivers. For Latino drivers, the rate is 1.11 times. Beneath the statewide numbers, many communities across the state saw much wider disparities for Black and Latino drivers. For example:

• In Aurora, Black drivers were 4.1 times more likely to be stopped than white motorists, and Latino drivers were 2.4 times more likely to be stopped than white drivers;
• Belleville police were four times more likely to stop Black drivers than white drivers;
• In Bloomington, Black drivers were more than 4 times more likely to be stopped than white drivers, while Latino drivers were 2.7 times more likely to be stopped than white drivers;
• Champaign police stopped Black drivers at a rate 6 times higher than white drivers and Latino drivers were 2.5 times more likely to be stopped than white drivers;
• Danville police stopped Black drivers at a rate nearly 5 times higher than white drivers;
• In Kankakee, police stopped Black drivers at a rate 5.5 times higher than white drivers;
• In Naperville, Black drivers are nearly 4.5 times more likely to be stopped when compared to white drivers, and Latino drivers are 1.6 times more likely to be stopped than white drivers;
• Peoria police stopped Black drivers 5.4 times more often than white drivers, and Latino drivers were nearly 2 times more likely to be stopped than white drivers;
• In Springfield, the state capitol, Black motorists were 5.7 more likely to be stopped than white drivers; and,
• In Urbana, police stopped Black drivers at a rate 5.5 times higher than white drivers and Latino drivers were 2.7 times more likely to be stopped compared to white drivers.

“Sadly, the story remains the same,” added Block. “Black and Latino drivers continue to be more likely to be stopped at a higher rate in many communities around Illinois. Nothing has changed. The embarrassment, humiliation and disruption caused by thousands of unnecessary stops of Black and Latino drivers continues to waste police resources and create resentment between the police and the communities they serve – all without enhancing public safety or reducing crashes.”

“With the number of traffic stops escalating, it is time for serious action to fix their disproportionate burden on Black and Latino drivers in Illinois.”

Discuss.

24 Comments

Rate the new NRCC ad (Updated)

Thursday, Jul 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Here it comes…

* Script…

Announcer: The scandal of the century. Our president lacks the mental fitness for office, and Eric Sorensen covered it up. Sorensen met privately with Joe Biden. He witnessed Biden’s mental failures up close, but allowed crises to rage under Biden’s frail leadership.

Now, Eric Sorenson ignores our concerns.

Interviewer: You’re confident in his ability to serve another term as president?

Sorensen: I just don’t think that my opinion matters.

Announcer: Tell Eric Sorensen to stop defending Biden when he knows the truth.

They’re running the same basic ad in several congressional districts.

…Adding… Sorensen has finally weighed in…

NEW: Another Illinois Congressman urges President Biden to step aside. https://t.co/3fZOBUISnO

— Rob Elgas (@RobElgasABC7) July 12, 2024

And the NRCC mocks him for it…

.@ERICSORENSEN is a fraud who is only demanding Biden drop out to save his political career.

Does Sorensen think Biden is fit to serve RIGHT NOW? #IL17 https://t.co/Hqjy1p3hkc

— NRCC (@NRCC) July 12, 2024

22 Comments

Feds to spend $334 million on Stellantis’ Belvidere plant

Thursday, Jul 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Governor’s office…

Today Governor JB Pritzker announced Stellantis’ Belvidere plant as the recipient of $334 million in federal funding through the United States Department of Energy’s Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program. This marks a major milestone in the mission to reopen the Belvidere assembly plant.

“For nearly two years we have been intensely focused on creating an environment in the state for the successful return of the Stellantis plant in Belvidere,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Because of this funding and the work we’ve done to make Illinois an EV manufacturing hub, this facility will make our state’s clean energy economy stronger than ever before. I am deeply thankful to our partners in the federal government for recognizing our work, awarding us this critical funding, and joining us in our mission to create 21st century jobs in our state.” […]

This funding follows years of efforts by Governor Pritzker and the Biden administration to bring this facility back online and is a key part of our commitment to a continued widespread adoption of zero emission vehicles.

In addition to the reopening of the Belvidere assembly plant, Governor Pritzker has secured agreements from Gotion to build electric vehicle (EV) battery gigafactory in Manteno – which represents the largest manufacturing investment in decades and the largest EV battery investment to date, as well as REV agreements with Manner Polymers in Mt. Vernon, who is building a first-of-its kind solar-powered PVC compounding plant using clean energy generated on-site; Prysmian Group in Du Quoin, whose $64 million expansion will manufacture cables for the renewable energy and electric vehicle sector; and Rivian, which has invested over $2 billion in Normal and produced over 100,000 vehicles since production began in 2021.

So far, the state has set aggressive goals of 1 million EVs on Illinois roads by 2030, invested in charging infrastructure, offered unique incentives for manufacturers to build facilities, train workers, and create thousands of 21st century jobs. Thanks to the Governor’s efforts, in partnership with federal partners in the Biden administration, Congress, and the Illinois General Assembly and a wide range of stakeholders, Illinois is securing its place as a leading manufacturing state for electric vehicles and suppliers.

* Meanwhile…

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today it has signed a six-year, $48 million agreement with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Illinois Center for Transportation at The Grainger College of Engineering to continue a longtime joint research program.

“We are excited about our progressing partnership with the Illinois Center for Transportation,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “Together, we will continue to lead the way in innovative new technologies and practices to prepare our multimodal system for the future and better serve the public.”

6 Comments

Three contenders finalized for Illinois GOP chair (Updated)

Thursday, Jul 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Illinois GOP release…

Yesterday, the window to apply to be the next chair of the Illinois Republican Party closed. The applicants for the position are as follows in alphabetical order by last name:

Rep. John Cabello
Aaron Del Mar
Kathy Salvi

A meeting will be held on Friday for applicants to make their case. This meeting is not open to press. When voting occurs, the State Central Committee will decide based on a weighted vote system by congressional district. The district with the most Republican ballots cast carries the most weight, and so on down.

…Adding… A split is developing on the far right. Illinois Family Action…

The Illinois Republican State Central Committee (SCC) will be meeting tomorrow to consider how to fill the vacancy left by Chairman Don Tracy, who resigned in June. We are only aware of a couple of candidates who are up for consideration. Of course, we want to see someone who is fully committed to uphold the planks on the sanctity of human life, marriage, family, immigration security and religious liberty.

Therefore, we wholeheartedly endorse Kathy Salvi for the next Illinois GOP chair. In fact, we don’t think we could ask for a better person to serve in that role. The 64-year-old mother of six adult children is the wife of former State Representative Al Salvi (1993-1996), who was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in 1996 and Illinois Secretary of State in 1998.

We have complete confidence that Kathy is not only a true conservative, but one who will fight to keep the aforementioned planks in the Illinois GOP Platform.

* Illinois Review…

Angry, Bitter Don Tracy Meddling in IL GOP Chairman’s Race as SSC Rushes Selection to Appoint New State Party Chair

With the Republican National Convention just days away, the Illinois Republican State Central Committee is moving at warp speed to appoint a new state party chairman as Republicans across the state raise concerns about the vetting process and the need for transparency as candidates jockey to be the next leader of the Illinois Republican Party. […]

For the last two years, Salvi has defended outgoing chairman Don Tracy, co-hosted state party fundraisers with Tracy, and was endorsed by gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin during the 2022 election cycle. Irvin was the state party’s favorite candidate – and Tracy’s too, although he won’t admit it – during the 2022 primary, but lost in a landslide to the conservative grassroots-backed candidate by 43 points. And during the primary campaign, it was reported by WTTW’s Paris Schutz that in 2018, Irvin sent text messages calling Trump an “idiot” and a “bigoted racist.” Irvin also texted the friend, “I hate Trump too!”

In conservative circles across the state, many believe that Tracy is propping up Salvi to be his heir apparent, and multiple party insiders have shared with this publication that a backroom deal has been struck that gives Salvi the chairmanship and Jason Plummer – a downstate Republican state senator, the vice chair position. Plummer works closely with Tracy’s sister-in-law, State Sen. Jill Tracy, who serves alongside Plummer in the state senate and is the Senate Republican Whip.

7 Comments

Open thread

Thursday, Jul 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s up? Keep it Illinois-centric please…

3 Comments

Isabel’s morning briefing (Updated)

Thursday, Jul 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Pritzker signs health insurance reform measures. Capitol News Illinois…

Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Wednesday that puts new controls on the state’s health insurance industry, including bans on certain practices companies have used to reduce costs by controlling the amount of health care services a patient receives.

The Health Care Protection Act, House Bill 5395, was among Pritzker’s top legislative priorities during the just-completed legislative session.

Pritzker also signed House Bill 2499, which bans the sale of short-term, limited-duration insurance plans in Illinois – policies Pritzker and other critics refer to as “junk insurance” because they are not required to meet the minimum standards under the federal Affordable Care Act. […]

Among other things, the Health Care Protection Act bars the use of a restriction known as “step therapy,” also known as a “fail first” provision, that requires a patient to try and fail on one or more treatments preferred by the insurance company before they can access a treatment recommended by their doctor.

* Related stories…

∙ Tribune: Gov. J.B. Pritzker says new law will curb ‘predatory practices’ by insurance industry
∙ AP: Pritzker signs law banning health insurance companies’ ‘predatory tactics,’ including step therapy
∙ ABC Chicago: Governor JB Pritzker signs Healthcare Protection Act into law

* Sun-Times political reporter Tina Sfondeles…

Gov. Pritzker caught on hot mic at Chicago event saying, "I don't like where we are…" about the presidential race. "I mean, we're just going to keep fighting. I don't know what to say. You know, got to do what we have to do." https://t.co/aaDYk8C4K0

— Tina Sfondeles (@TinaSfon) July 10, 2024

* CBS Chicago…

“I mean, we’re just going to keep fighting. I don’t know what to say. You know, got to do what we have to do,” Pritzker was heard saying to a man at the event. “I don’t like where we are, but…”

Jordan Abudayyeh, deputy chief of communications for Gov. Pritzker’s office, said it “sounds like [Pritzker] was talking about the state of the presidential race.”

At 11, Governor Pritzker will attend the opening of new St. Clair County Public Safety Center. At 2:15 he will attend SWIC Manufacturing Training Academy ribbon cutting at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville. Click here to watch.

…Adding… Pritzker was asked about the hot mic comments today…

All I was referring to is, I don’t like the polls, right? Joe Biden is behind by a couple of points nationally. I think we should be doing a lot better. I’ve certainly said that President Biden should get out there more talk to the American public, make sure that he’s communicating about the issues that are important to them and that the Democratic Party stands up for. And so I don’t like the fact that we’re behind, and I think we can do much better. And I’m going to go campaign for him and watch him win in November.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Ahead of DNC, city officials to close, cordon off one of Chicago’s largest, most visible homeless camps: The “tent city” sandwiched for years between the Dan Ryan expressway and the 1100 block of South Desplaines Street will be cleared out on Wednesday and permanently cordoned off, Brandie Knazze, commissioner of the city’s Department of Family and Support Services, told the Chicago Sun-Times. Nearly all of the 22 residents living there recently in a few dozen blue and orange tents have agreed to move to a city-operated shelter of 60 beds at 100 E. Chestnut St., in the former Tremont Hotel. This year’s inaugural summer-shelter arrangement has been funded through Aug. 31, Knazze said, a little more than a week after the end of the convention expected to draw tens of thousands of Democratic leaders and supporters, as well as protesters.

* CBS | $100 million from State of Illinois to go to anti-violence programs in Chicago: Lori Crowder, the executive director of the Alliance of Local Service Organizations, said a coalition of seven community organizations will be able to use $5 million in new funding for outreach, case management, victim services, employment and education, and mental health and behavioral health services. “What we know to be true is this: when jobs go up, violence goes down,” Crowder said. “When education goes up, violence goes down.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | Illinois legislators and CUB urge rejection of water rate hikes requested by Aqua Illinois, Illinois American: Later in 2013, a state law was passed that allows Illinois American and Aqua Illinois to buy up depreciated water and wastewater systems, and charge consumers for the acquisition costs, according to CUB. […] State Rep. Nabeela Syed, a Democrat from Palatine, argued against granting water utilities a rate increase, citing poor service experiences reported by her municipality and others.

*** Statewide ***

* Forbes | Illinois Marijuana Sales Hit $1 Billion So Far This Year: Governor JB Pritzker announced on Wednesday that Illinois hit $1 billion in marijuana retail sales on July 1, 2024. This figure includes over $850 million in adult-use marijuana sales and nearly $150 million in medical marijuana sales. […] Additionally, total marijuana sales for the Fiscal Year (from July 1 through June 30) in 2024 exceeded $2 billion, up from $1.9 billion in FY 2023 to $1.8 billion in FY 2022.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Chicago Public Schools’ $9.9 billion proposed budget purports to close $500 million deficit, for now: The total proposed budget’s $500 million increase over last year’s $9.4 billion reflects facility investments that are “vital to keeping facilities operating safely and smoothly,” according to CPS. Representing the lion’s share of CPS spending, school budgets will cumulatively increase by $149 million compared with the start of last year — a margin that the district attributed to the cost of required services for special education students, state-mandated charter school funding increases and expanded bilingual services. Staff salaries and student benefits make up nearly 70% of the total budget, which will fund more than 800 additional full-time employees this year, CPS announced.

* Tribune | School board candidates present platforms during forum: ‘This is a really big deal’: More than half of the candidates running for one of 10 elected seats on the new, hybrid Chicago Board of Education gathered at a virtual forum Wednesday evening to introduce themselves and their platforms. Funding neighborhood schools, improving disability services and literacy rates, and balancing the district’s budget were among the issues discussed at the event, which was hosted via Zoom by the education nonprofit Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education.

* WTTW | Illinois Reparations Commission to Host Public Hearings, Starting in Chicago: The state’s reparations commission is kicking off public hearings across Illinois — with the first taking place in Chicago on Saturday. The commission is tasked with researching and reporting on possible reparatory actions for Black residents who are descendants of slavery. Leaders said the public’s input will be used in developing proposals for policymakers.

* Sun-Times | Fact check: Viral tweet wrongly claims Brandon Johnson blamed Richard Nixon for Chicago violence: But Johnson didn’t blame Nixon for violence in Chicago. The mayor’s only mention of Nixon came after reflecting on President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty. “Black death has been unfortunately accepted in this country for a very long time,” the mayor said. “We had a chance 60 years ago to get at the root causes and people mocked President Johnson, and we ended up with Richard Nixon.”

* Sun-Times | Newly hatched piping plover chick presumed dead at Montrose Beach. ‘Much loved and will be missed’: The chick went missing after 6 p.m. Tuesday and was presumed dead, “as it cannot survive away from its parents,” said Tamima Itani, lead volunteer coordinator with Chicago Piping Plovers. The other three chicks “are doing fine,” she added.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Lake County News-Sun | Lake County Forest Preserves District to expand lakefront footprint: The Lake County Forest Preserves District Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the purchase of 18.2 acres of the former Ft. Sheridan adjacent to the Openlands preserve Tuesday in Waukegan, creating a larger footprint along Lake Michigan. With a little more of the Lake Michigan shoreline now in the public domain, Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, D-Lake Bluff, said planning should be more long-term than the usual strategic planning.

* Daily Herald | Fire ‘buddies’ helping build pool deck for Schaumburg girl with cerebral palsy: Schaumburg firefighters are continuing their friendship with a 7-year-old girl with cerebral palsy and epilepsy by helping build a deck for the beloved swimming pool she recently received through Make-A-Wish. Kelly Boscardin said her daughter Savanah, though nonverbal, has been delighted by the firefighters since even before she was selected for the Project Fire Buddies chapter served by the local union.

*** Downstate ***

* Forbes | Discover The Midwest’s AI Powerhouse: The University Of Illinois: It was no coincidence that Arthur C. Clarke chose Urbana, Illinois, as the birthplace of HAL, the infamous fictional AI from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Back then, the University of Illinois (U of I) was becoming a powerhouse in the fields of technology HAL represents. Today, the U of I’s Grainger College of Engineering and its brand-new Siebel School of Computing and Data Science constitute a world-leading hub of AI innovation beyond anything Clarke could have imagined. Since 2019, the university has conducted over $270 million of AI-related research projects, spurring advancements in agriculture, biotechnology, education, and other fields while equipping the next generation of inclusive experts with hands-on experience.

* NBC Chicago | Rep. Mike Bost, Darren Bailey among Illinois delegates to 2024 RNC in Milwaukee: According to the list released Wednesday, Reps. Mary Miller and Mike Bost will both be among the delegates headed to Milwaukee to nominate former President Donald Trump for the third consecutive election cycle. […] Each of Illinois’ 17 Congressional districts will send three delegates apiece to the convention, according to the Republican Party’s press release. In addition, 13 at-large delegates will also cast ballots during the event, which kicks off Monday at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum.

* Sun-Times | Downstate man who wore Revolutionary War costume and gas mask at Jan. 6 riot gets 2.5 months in jail: Derek Nelson, 31, of Danville pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C., that an “indelible” image of Nelson and a companion appearing as “willing foot soldiers of chaos” crystallized the harm caused “to the perceived stability of our republic.”

*** National ***

* AP | EU accepts Apple pledge to let rivals access ‘tap to pay’ iPhone tech to resolve antitrust case: The deal promises more choice for Europeans. iPhone users will be able to set a default wallet of their choice while mobile wallet developers will be able to use important iPhone verification functions like Face ID, Vestager said. […] The changes that Apple is making are to remain in force for a decade, will apply throughout the bloc’s 27 countries plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, and will be monitored by a trustee.

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Thursday, Jul 11, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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