Monday, Feb 10, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
While Democratic Candidates attack each other in New Hampshire and fight over results in Iowa, Mike’s campaign is laying roots on every corner in cities and towns across the nation building support, spreading his message, and taking the fight to Donald Trump’s doorstep.
Here in Illinois, the campaign has opened five field offices and hired 80 staff members, with more on the way. During the Mike Bloomberg 2020 Weekend of Action, dedicated staff and volunteers reached out to nearly 10,000 voters and held 34 events across the state.
From Belleville to Chicago’s South Side, volunteers and organizers met with some special guests including State Senate President Don Harmon, Ariel Investments CEO John Rodgers, and Mike endorser and National Co-Chair Congressman Bobby Rush.
This effort was replicated in a nationwide show of strength for Mike with over 1,200 events - in every state Trump is competing in, including all the Super Tuesday states.
Monday, Feb 10, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Kidney failure devastates people emotionally and financially as well as physically. Those with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) have only two options for survival: dialysis or a kidney transplant. They suffer from symptoms that can include fluid retention, swelling, shortness of breath, fatigue, confusion, nausea, and weakness. Faced with these challenges, they must navigate treatment options and insurance challenges. – dialysis can take place at home or at a dialysis center, for example – and access to insurance options is important to reduce financial stress. Many patients are too sick to work, and with dialysis sessions taking four hours each three times a week, it’s tantamount to having a part-time job.
Currently, more than 650,000 Americans suffer from kidney failure – including more than 30,000 Illinoisans. Of these, about 70 percent are on life-sustaining dialysis, while the rest are able to survive with a functioning kidney transplant. The Illinois Kidney Care Alliance (IKCA) has formed with community groups and advocates, health professionals, and businesses from across Illinois to educate the public about the challenges faced by ESRD patients. To sign up for more information, visit our website.
* Someone sent me a recording of Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) over the weekend. You can hear the Eastern Bloc member and candidate for Illinois Senate talking about the push to separate Chicago from Illinois…
I am a co-sponsor of the bill. And that is a way to, kinda like what I acknowledge, you know, you have your boyfriend or girlfriend, husband and wife, get kind of mad, you know, and you say ‘Hey, I’ve got problems here and I’m tired of this.’
Chicagoans, Rep. Bailey is heard saying, “wouldn’t really acknowledge southern Illinois,” so, he said, “We are doing things that will eventually get their attention.”
But if you’re a representative, represent the desires and wants of the people. So, fifty years ago, Chicago wanted to separate from Illinois. So every year, every year, someone introduces one of these bills and it’s kind of a, you know, maybe a media pop or whatever. But realistically, the House and the Senate, the state would have to pass it by a two-thirds margin and then it has to go to the federal, I mean, so it’s not gonna happen.
You find out sometimes when… you’re being a legislator that sometimes you can introduce a bill, then you get some attention.
* I reached out this morning for comment and here’s Rep. Bailey’s response…
While I do not appreciate having my conversation surreptitiously taped and leaked to the media, I stand by what I said.
I am a co-sponsor of the legislation to create a New Illinois. I, like so many of my constituents, am concerned about the direction our state is headed. We have to live under rules and laws we do not support and are not reflective of our priorities and values. The District boundaries are drawn in a such a way to maximize the power and influence of the City of Chicago in our state politics and there simply is not enough votes to defeat the bad policies the Chicago majority supports.
Those of us in rural Illinois have different values and a very different way of life. The New Illinois movement is intended to accomplish two things. One, it is hoped that legislators from Chicago will see the support this legislation has in downstate precincts and stop going out of their way to force their policies on us. Two, it is hoped that in time, there will be enough support to form a New Illinois.
What is happening in Illinois is similar to efforts in California and now Virginia.
I know that in the world of media, there is always a desire to have a “Gotcha” moment. My comments about the viability of the New Illinois movement is based on the political realities in Illinois. We are a long way away from getting the support that is needed to create a new state. Accepting the political realities of our state is hardly a “Gotcha” moment. I support the New Illinois effort but in the short term, the real value of this movement is to show Chicago legislators the harm they are doing to rural communities with their bad policies. This is the message I have consistently been communicating to my constituents.
By the way, I checked with an attorney before posting this.
US Senator Ted Cruz has officially endorsed Conservative Republican Mary Miller for Congress in the March 17th Primary Election in the 15th Congressional District.
Cruz posted the following statement on his Facebook page: “In Illinois, I am proud to offer my endorsement and support to Mary Miller for Congress in her campaign for Congressional District 15! I hope you join me in supporting her today.”
Senator Ted Cruz is one of the leading voices of conservatism in the US Senate. A recently launched podcast featuring Senator Cruz (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/867-verdict-with-ted-cruz-56253661/) is one of the most downloaded podcast in the nation.
“I am truly honored and humbled to have the support of Senator Ted Cruz in this race,” Miller said. “Ted Cruz is a principled conservative who is not afraid to stand up for his convictions. I look forward to being able to work with Senator Cruz as a member of Congress.”
Mary Miller is running for Congress in the 15th Congressional District, which includes all of 29 counties and parts of four counties. The District is almost 52 percent rural.
* Press release…
Patrick Pfingsten, spokesman for the Darren Duncan for Congress campaign, released the following statement on recent reports on Ted Cruz’s endorsement in the 15th Congressional District:
“Apparently Washington politics and Chicago politics aren’t that different. Mary Miller hires Ted Cruz’s campaign manager and Ted Cruz then endorses Mary Miller. Quite the coincidence. Like Donald Trump, Darren Duncan doesn’t play by the Chicago and DC politics game. He’s not paid for by any special interest and won’t hire any fancy political consultant for tens of thousands of dollars just to get an endorsement.
Mary Miller should disavow Ted Cruz’s endorsement, break her ties with Jeff Roe, and denounce Ted Cruz for his failure to endorse Donald Trump in 2016 and his obstruction to Trump in the Senate.”
The 15th Congressional District covers all or parts of 33 counties in central and southern Illinois. It stretches from Champaign and Ford Counties to the north, all the way south to the Ohio River and across to Madison County, just outside of St. Louis. The district includes Danville, Mattoon-Charleston, Effingham, Harrisburg, Metropolis, and Collinsville. The current Congressman, John Shimkus, is not seeking re-election.
* The Question: Do you think a Ted Cruz endorsement can move the needle in a GOP congressional primary in that part of Illinois? Explain.
Illinois’ private school scholarship program’s largest facilitator of grants sent more students to schools of their choice despite a $10 million slump in donations statewide compared to the year before.
The Illinois Department of Revenue has yet to finalize the total amount donated, but Empower Illinois, the state’s largest scholarship-granting organization, estimated all scholarship-granting organizations brought in about $50 million, down from $61 million in the first year of the program. The Invest in Kids private school scholarship program offers a 75 percent state tax rebate in exchange for a donation to help a student go to the school of their choice tuition-free. In 2019, more than 46,000 students applied.
“That potential cut and cap threat to the program in the budgetary process really chilled donors,” Empower Illinois Director Anthony Holter said. “Many of the donors we’ve reached out to subsequent of that say ‘we thought the program was over.’ ”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker had proposed to halve the amount that the Invest in Kids Program could raise and to stop accepting new members instead of letting the program live out its five-year lifespan. However, Pritzker backed down after facing pressure from parents.
Empower raised $41 million, down from $45 million in 2018, according to its annual report from the 2019 school year.
Despite raising less, the organization sent 5,858 students to private schools at no cost, 400 more students than the year prior.
Holter said the reason is that schools in central and southern Illinois saw activity through the program in 2019 and tuition for those schools is cheaper compared to private school tuition in Cook County or the Chicago suburbs.
Thank you for your follow-up FOIA request from earlier this afternoon. The Secretary of State response follows:
In your request, you ask the Secretary of State to provide you with redacted copies of all photos of every individual currently subject to the General Orders that were referenced in the Secretary of State response to your initial FOIA request sent to you at 11:46 A.M., February 7, 2020. The Secretary of State is unsure what you mean by redacted copies of all photos, photos taken from Secretary of State drivers’ license or state identification files are exempt from production under the Illinois Vehicle Code and therefore, Section 7(1)(a) of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act [5 ILCS 140/7(1)(a)] as explained in my previous email. If, however, you mean that you seek all but the digital photos, the Secretary of State response is the same as in the email sent to you yesterday-the information is exempt from production under the same sections of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act as I stated in the second to last paragraph of the email sent to you at 11:46 A.M., yesterday. Your request is therefore denied.
Should you wish to do so, you may file a request for review with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Public Access Bureau, 500 S. Second St., Springfield, Illinois 62706 or you may seek whatever remedy that may be available to you under Section 11 of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.[5 ILCS 140/11].
Donna M. Leonard
Executive Counsel
Illinois Secretary of State
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Saturday endorsed Marie Newman in her bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., giving Newman’s campaign a key progressive boost ahead of the Chicago area’s biggest Democratic primary contest next month.
Lightfoot previously signaled her support for the challenger last month, declaring it was Lipinski’s “time to leave” after the eight-term, anti-abortion incumbent co-signed a legal brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the Roe V. Wade decision.
But after declining to name her candidate, Chicago’s first black female and openly gay mayor formally announced she was “proud to endorse Marie Newman” in the heated 3rd Congressional District primary. […]
The Newman backing helps Lightfoot burnish her progressive credentials, but it also puts her at odds with state House Speaker Mike Madigan, a strong Lipinski backer whose support Ligthfoot will need in her efforts to secure a Chicago casino.
I wouldn’t be too certain that Madigan is still a super-strong Lipinski backer. Madigan was a big supporter of Dan’s father, but the son is a different matter. He’s not big on listening.
Their much younger political opponents say they are out of touch, aren’t visible enough in their districts and, after spending decades in office, miss important meetings and votes in Washington. The challengers say this shows it’s simply time for newer, younger energy.
But U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Bobby Rush, two titans of Chicago’s Democratic political scene who have outlasted presidents, mayors and aldermen, say there’s more for them to do.
Davis and his South Side colleague, Rush, each have three challengers in the March 17 primary election.
Ives said Casten “demanded the impeachment of the Republican President before the Mueller report was even released.”
Mueller’s report was released on April 18, 2019. Casten called for an impeachment inquiry on June 20, 2019, and announced publicly he would vote in favor of impeachment on Dec. 12, 2019. So Ives’ timeline doesn’t track.
In the ongoing ComEd corruption probe, federal prosecutors are now zeroing in on lobbyist Michael McClain who wrote the bombshell ‘Rape In Champaign’ email.
McClain, a close confidant of Michael Madigan, is also one of Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s donors.
So far Betsy’s been silent as to why she accepts money from corrupt ComEd lobbyists who cover up rape.
As suburban police tout the crime-fighting benefits of striking deals for access to video from Amazon’s Ring doorbell cameras, several critics, including a prominent civil-rights organization, are raising concerns about privacy and about law enforcement helping a private company build a surveillance network.
In nearly 1½ years, Ring, with its associated Neighbors app, has gained relationships with at least 90 police departments in Illinois — many clustered in the suburbs, according to a company map. Aurora was the first Illinois department to link with Ring in September 2018, and Palatine, Schaumburg, Barrington and Libertyville are among this year’s newcomers.
But those deals could be troubling to residents who don’t support police teaming with Amazon’s subsidiary, said Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. Elected officials should place the Ring contracts on an agenda for debate and public approval, he said, even though no money is involved.
“When law enforcement is making these agreements, I think elected officials ought to be responsible for them,” Yohnka said. “Building out this kind of system isn’t simply a law enforcement decision. It’s a community decision. It’s the kind of community one wants to live in.”
Rolling Meadows Police Chief John Nowacki, whose department was the second in Illinois to forge an agreement with Ring and the Neighbors app, countered that the deal with his town — just like in other communities — was a standard administrative function that didn’t need city council approval.
Susnjara has written an insightful story that I really think you should read from beginning to end. So, please, click here.
Chicago has turned around its perennially dismal rate at solving murders, according to statistics released Tuesday.
The city’s murder clearance rate in 2019 was about 53%, according to Chicago Police Department figures. In 2016, the clearance rate was just 29% — an improvement of more than 50% in three years, the department’s figures show.
The police said that in 2019 they “cleared more murders than in any of the past 10 years, with 263 murders cleared.” […]
Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the police, said the increase in the clearance rate is “the result of hiring more detectives and giving them technology to help with their investigations. The investments we are making in detectives are already showing gains.”
But, of the 261 murders that the police signed off on as having been cleared last year, 152 were closed “exceptionally” — what the department labels “CCX” for “cleared, closed exceptionally,” meaning no one was charged.
That means there was no arrest in 58% of the cleared homicide investigations.
The number of murder cases that were CCXed has gone up every year since 2016, police department figures show. After the department cleared 70 murders exceptionally in 2015, the number dropped to 39 in 2016, then rose to 87 the following year and 111 in 2018.
The vaunted improvement in the murder clearance rate obscures an important fact: The number of murder cases in Chicago that result in an arrest has gone down, the Sun-Times found.
BREAKING: Mayor Lori Lightfoot endorses Eva Dina Delgado in the race to replace former State Rep. Luis Arroyo, over the @CTULocal1-backed @Nidia4StateRep Carranza. Delgado faces 2 challenges to her qualifications since @Ald_Reboyras used Arroyo's votes to appoint her pic.twitter.com/ID5KnpPCr4
Delgado is backed by Mayor Lightfoot’s city council floor leader, Ald. Gil Villegas.
* I told subscribers last week that it seemed possible the House could punt the two qualifications challenges until after the primary, when it could be a moot point either way. And then the House unexpectedly canceled a couple of perfunctory session days scheduled for this week, which had the apparent impact of pushing back the appointment deadline of a special committee that will take up the challenges.
Anyway, bottom line is that if Speaker Madigan sticks to the schedule in the rules, the House will have just two weeks to conduct an investigation, hold hearings and then bring it to the floor before March 5th, the final day of spring session ahead of the March 17th primary. He could always decide to appoint the committee ahead of schedule, however, so stay tuned.
…Adding… A commenter made a point that I’ve also made in the past. Delgado’s opponent is Nidia Carranza, a public schools teacher and a CTU activist who went on a hunger strike during last year’s labor battle. So, this can be seen as a proxy battle between Lightfoot and the CTU.
The tally of former Chicago Housing Authority employees in positions paying $85,000 to $195,000 at the Illinois tollway is growing, and that concerns some lawmakers given the top tollway executive also is a CHA alumnus.
Tollway leaders dismissed questions of nepotism when asked about nine ex-CHA staffers who were hired from August through December and are paid more than $1.3 million collectively, state records show. Executive Director Jose Alvarez, the former CHA chief operating officer, joined the tollway in April.
“Taken together, all nine of these employees have decades of experience at a number of different organizations in human resources, talent recruitment, procurement and compliance,” tollway spokesman Dan Rozek said. […]
Democratic state Sen. Laura Murphy of Des Plaines, a tollway reform advocate, said, “I find this information troubling. I am interested in getting a full and complete explanation.” […]
“I understand the need to hire people you trust, but I hope that Mr. Alvarez will cast a wider net when looking for employees in the future,” [Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin] added.
Justice Robert R. Thomas has announced his retirement from the Illinois Supreme Court effective Feb. 29, 2020. Justice Thomas, 67, became the first Chief Justice from DuPage County when he was elected to that post from 2005-2008. One of the major accomplishments during Justice Thomas’ tenure as Chief was the establishment of the Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, an outgrowth of the Special Supreme Court Committee on Civility, which was formed in 2001. […]
Justice Thomas will join the Power Rogers law firm where he will practice with his son, Jonathan. Justice Thomas was represented by firm co-founder Joe Power in a successful 2006 defamation case against the Kane County Chronicle. […]
The Supreme Court has constitutional authority to fill interim judicial vacancies and has appointed Appellate Justice Michael J. Burke to fill Justice Thomas’ seat effective March 1 through Dec. 5, 2022. Justice Burke has been a member of the Second District Appellate Court since 2008. DuPage County Circuit Judge Liam Brennan has been assigned to the Second District Appellate Court, effective March 2 through Dec. 5, 2022. […]
Following his graduation from Notre Dame, Justice Thomas played 12 seasons in the National Football League, 10 of them with the Chicago Bears. In the 1977 season, Justice Thomas kicked a 28-yard overtime field goal that sent the Bears to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, and he remains the fourth leading scorer in Chicago Bears history.
The Kane County Chronicle has agreed to apologize for publishing defamatory statements about Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Thomas and to pay a reduced damage award to settle a case playing out in state and federal courts.
In a joint statement given to the Tribune Thursday, Thomas affirmed the importance of a free press and equal treatment of all under a court system he heads — issues that the paper insisted were at stake.
The statement was attributed to Thomas and Tom Shaw, the Chronicle’s president and chief executive officer, and included the name of former columnist Bill Page. His allegations in 2003 of high court politicking by Thomas were found by a jury to be false and defamatory.
Page, in a phone interview from Florida where he now lives, said he would not have agreed to a settlement and stands by his work.
“I will never back down from what I wrote,” Page said. “It was based on what I had from confidential sources.”
Attorneys for both sides declined to disclose the settlement sum, but Page said the paper agreed to pay $3 million in order to halt court battles that could drag on for years and cost millions.
…Adding… Justice Thomas was up for retention this year, but his district has shifted toward the Democratic Party in past years, so this may have been the smart move. The timing of his announcement means Thomas’ successor will not have to run until 2022 and will face actual opponents.
As part of their sprawling public corruption probe, federal prosecutors in Chicago are now scrutinizing a 2012 email in which a powerful Illinois lobbyist lauded a state worker who “kept his mouth shut” about an unspecified “rape in Champaign,” WBEZ has learned.
The bombshell email was written by Michael McClain, a long-time confidant to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. McClain is now a central figure in the ongoing probe into utility Commonwealth Edison’s Springfield lobbying activities. WBEZ first reported on the email last month after obtaining it through an open-records request, prompting immediate calls for criminal investigations from elected officials.
In the 2012 email, McClain wrote to two aides for then-Gov. Pat Quinn to seek leniency for a state worker facing discipline. McClain praised the worker because he “kept his mouth shut on Jones’ ghost workers, the rape in Champaign and other items.” […]
It’s still unclear what McClain was referring to. WBEZ has not been able to verify the facts underlying his statements in the email, including whether a rape occurred, its alleged perpetrator or whether Forrest Ashby, the worker facing discipline, had actual knowledge of the crime, as McClain contended.
But a law enforcement source with knowledge of the federal investigation says the feds are interested in several aspects of the email, including the mention of the rape and the apparent reference to ghost payrollers. The source requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing criminal probe.
* Hannah Meisel’s Daily Line story is chock full of interesting stuff today, but I want to focus on this part for now…
One major area the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform is studying in the weeks leading up to the deadline for its March 31 report is conflicts of interest — a subject the commission spent nearly five hours on during its Jan. 30 meeting.
[Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope] said the legislative inspector general is put in an awkward position by current state law, which prohibits her from using statements of economic disclosure filed by lawmakers as evidence of wrongdoing that could lead to discipline.
Pope told The Daily Line that “several” investigations of possible conflicts of interests have been hamstrung by seemingly competing responsibilities both to investigate possible wrongdoing and the language of the statute.
“You get to the point where you say to yourself, ‘Okay the taxpayers are paying me, am I going to spend hours, days investigating a conflict of interest?’” Pope said. “Even if there is a conflict and it’s not disclosed because disclosure is not mandated, where’s it going ultimately? I have to think about, ultimately, so I, you know, if I know that even if I make a founded report it’s not going to be published or go anywhere because of the conflicts legislation, it seems not a good use of resources to pursue it.”
Moreover, as the laws are written, the IG has a much broader authority to investigate various types of transgressions than the commission has the authority to do anything about. The commission is restricted to acting on such misconduct as doing political work on state time, promising something of value in exchange for a political contribution, accepting certain positions after state employments ends, sexual harassment and similar violations.
That leaves a world of mischief that the IG might uncover but for which the commission can’t impose penalties, such as fines.
So for example, if the IG gets a tip that a legislator is working for a company that’s going to get a huge financial windfall as a result of a bill the legislator is pushing, the inspector general can check it out and write up a report. But there is no way for the commission to impose a punishment.
And, of course, if the commission isn’t pleased, the report will never see the light of day.
Strengthening the legislative inspector general’s authority should not wait until a March 31 deadline Pritzker set for his ethics task force to make recommendations. The legislature reconvenes Feb. 18. Make it priority No. 1, Gov. Pritzker. And then get about making public whatever “founded” allegations involving elected officials are being kept secret. Voters deserve to know. […]
The hearing also exposed the wariness of lawmakers to empower the watchdog, even now when ethics is top-of-mind for voters.
To Porter and other experts who testified, lawmakers tossed out numerous hypothetical questions about what could be considered investigation-worthy. What about political retribution, false claims, personal matters? Would divorces be off limits? Relationships? Financial conflicts? Stocks and investments? What about showing up drunk to work? Really. It came up. As a hypothetical, of course. […]
Pritzker cannot leave this inadequate setup for House and Senate leaders to overhaul on their own. They have proved they won’t do it, or they’ll only hang some window dressing. Pritzker needs to lead on this, and he needs to lead hard.
Elections have consequences and the voters did not elect someone who would wage all-out war with the General Assembly. That guy lost.
I’ve read and heard a lot of commentary about what Gov. J.B. Pritzker didn’t say in his State of the State address last month. Some folks are still quite angry that he didn’t address their pet causes.
And the previous day’s guilty plea by former Sen. Martin Sandoval prompted the news media to focus mainly on the anti-corruption portion of the governor’s speech. Behind his strong, quote-worthy rhetoric, however, were three concrete proposals: 1) A ban on legislators being paid to lobby; 2) Disclosure of conflicts of interests and punishment for non-compliance; and 3) Forbidding legislators from becoming lobbyists immediately after leaving office.
The House Republicans are already on record in favor of a legislator lobbying ban, and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin has introduced a conflict of interest bill (HB 3954) that would even require attorneys to disclose clients who could pose potential conflicts. Senate President Don Harmon offered support of the lobbying revolving door provision. Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady said he supports the conflicts of interest disclosure bit.
House Speaker Michael Madigan did not indicate support for anything. The chairman he appointed to head an ethics commission, however, supported all three.
But beyond what Pritzker didn’t say, and beyond the corruption angle, the governor did get into some other substance which was lost in the shuffle.
On the subject of property taxes, Pritzker complained about the “perverse incentives in state law” that encourage local governments to “max out” their property tax levies “even when they don’t need to.” He was referring to an unintended consequence of the state’s Property Tax Extension Limitation Law that essentially encourages units of government to tax to the cap every year for fear of forever losing that revenue. What Pritzker wants to do is not yet known.
Pritzker also proposed allowing citizens to initiate consolidating or eliminating units of local government. The General Assembly has passed some limited, highly localized legislation on this topic. Pritzker wants to take it statewide.
Other governors have talked about ethics, property taxes and consolidation and ended up accomplishing little. Pritzker will have to use all of his considerable persuasive powers to move his agenda to the goal line. He spent a whole lot of his political capital on last year’s mega-agenda and a governor’s second year is never as “easy” as the first. There is generally an eagerness to help a brand-new governor achieve his goals, but that can wear off.
Pritzker’s clean energy proposals included legislation “that reduces carbon pollution, promotes renewable energy, and accelerates electrification of our transportation sector.”
That matches up with the three “pillars” of the Illinois Clean Jobs coalition. Pritzker also made clear that ComEd’s hegemonic days are over: “I’m not going to sign an energy bill written by the utility companies.”
Harmon told Public Television’s Jak Tichenor after the speech that he didn’t believe anyone was suggesting that Exelon and ComEd shouldn’t be at the bargaining table. “What is encouraging to me,” Harmon said, “is that they won’t be the loudest voice in the room now. The governor made it very clear that he’s going to amplify the voices of other people.”
On the social justice front, the governor said he wants to start phasing out cash bail. He also wants to follow “many of the recommendations made by the bipartisan criminal justice reform commission created by my predecessor, most of whose ideas were never adopted because of the rancor and dysfunction.” Gov. Bruce Rauner drew widespread praise for his criminal justice reforms, but the issue got lost in his never-ending battles with Democrats.
Pritzker did have a pointed response to those who have been pushing him hard to hire more Democratic patronage workers.
Democratic insiders have been grumbling for a full year that their people have to go through the same hiring practice as everyone else and often don’t wind up being picked.
In response, people within the administration have complained about how party bosses have been trying to shove an inordinate number of politically connected and unqualified or under-qualified white men down their throats.
Pritzker insisted that his way of hiring has made the state better: “The old patronage system needs to die…finally and completely. The input of women and people of color needs to be treated as essential to decision making — not as some token show of diversity.”
It was a well-written speech, but the really hard part comes soon when he introduces his next budget, which, at last check, was projected to be $1.8 billion out of balance.
Here's background on what can expect to happen today:https://t.co/3DvBLu4yCQ This vacancy was indirectly triggered by the retirement of Senate President John Cullerton. Feigenholtz was appointed to fill his senate seat, meaning her rep seat now needs to be filled.
46th Ward committeeperson Sean Tenner is asking for a temporary appointment, just til the primary, so he conveyed his voting power over to @lucymoog. That means the weighted vote breakdown today is: Tunney: 45.09% Moog: 45.93% 2nd Ward committeeperson Tim Egan: 7.73%
UPDATE: Tenner has pulled his name from consideration. He says he now no longer believes he's "the right fit" for the position. Coke and her allies had supported Tenner's "caretaker" proposition, so signs now point to @yonipizer being appointed today.
Croke says she’s pulling her name from consideration for the appointment. “I think everyone knows the appointment has been decided.” Tunney: “Just because it’s in the media does not mean it’s decided.” pic.twitter.com/BmWoW2t0g6
Burnett votes Pizer. Egan votes Pizer. Moog votes (with Tenner's proxy) for Eastwood. Tunney votes Pizer. This gives Pizer ~54% of the vote, enough for the appointment.
This Sunday, 38 days before voters have the opportunity to vote for the next State Representative for Illinois’ 12th House District, Chicago Democratic Party insiders rubber stamped the appointment of Jonathan Pizer in an attempt to boost his chances in the March primary election. Margaret Croke attended the forum but did not seek the appointment, citing a lack of transparency and accountability to voters in the process.
“This decision deprives voters of a voice in our democratic process and it is exactly what’s wrong with politics in Illinois. At a time when legal, ethical, and moral scandals have shaken the foundation of our state, transparency, and accountability to the people of Illinois is paramount. People have lost faith in our state legislature and this only adds to that cynicism and discontent.
Appointing a candidate who is unelected and running for election in a month is undemocratic. This decision should be left to the voters on March 17th.
I stand with the hundreds of people who have come out to volunteer for these campaigns and the thousands of voters in this district who signed petitions to get six candidates on the ballot.
Simply put, the voters of this district deserve a vote.”
Margaret attended to address the committeemen and committeewomen in the room. She wanted to take the opportunity to speak against the process and when asked directly if she was seeking the appointment she said no. She was then asked to leave. She did not speak on behalf of her candidacy or present her credentials.
From Margaret:
“At the appointment session, I emphatically did not seek the appointment and that is exactly what I said to the committee. I believe that the voters of the district should decide their next representative and object to the appointment of any candidate currently on the ballot for an election only weeks away.”
Everyone go out and have a cocktail tonight. The port has been removed. 44 for 44. Done. Kaput.
Thanks to my oncologist. The nurses and nurses aids. Thanks to the American Cancer Society volunteers who always offered encouragement, a warm blanket and treats. You will always be in my prayers. Thanks to Mrs Blue and those who took a day out of their lives to drive me.
Special thanks to CapFax and commentators. You made the days and nights go by much better. You’re always just a ’say it’ away. It is priceless.
Thanks.(I am looking forward to a cold Bud and some pork rinds soon). Love ya’ll.
A search warrant was recently served on the Statehouse offices of House Speaker Michael Madigan, prompting questions from the press corps on whether the state should rethink its FOIA law which allows for exemptions for the General Assembly.
“I think that’s something worthy of being looked into. I haven’t, I have not personally thought about the differences and why there should be a difference between the Legislature and the executive branch with regard to the revelation of internal documents,” Pritzker said. “You know, the legislators themselves operate differently. Each individual legislator operates differently than agencies in terms of record-keeping. … It’s done very differently in the Legislature. So I would say you’re raising something that probably ought to be looked into.”
* The Question: Should members of the General Assembly be subjected to the same Freedom of Information Act disclosure regulations that already apply to the executive branch? Make sure to explain your answer, please. Thanks.
* From the secretary of state’s executive counsel…
Dear Mr. Miller:
This email is to acknowledge the receipt of and to respond to your FOIA request dated February 3, 2020. In that request, you ask the Secretary of State to provide you with the following documents:
“Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, I am requesting the list of people who are currently banned from entering the Illinois Statehouse and/or the Statehouse complex. An electronic copy can be delivered as a reply to this email or separately to capitolfax@gmail.com.”
I have been directed to deny your request.
There is no list of people who are banned from entering the Illinois Statehouse and/or Statehouse Complex that complies with your request. There are General Orders that are issued by the Secretary of State Police/Capitol Police that are provided to Capitol Police to advise Capitol Police that a certain individual(s) is/are not permitted access to the Capitol Building and/or any other building within the Capitol Complex without an escort, as the facts/situations warrant. The General Order includes the digital photo of the banned individual (taken from Secretary of State electronic files), the banned individual’s name, the possible reason for the ban and the name and/or location within the Capitol Building/Capitol Complex of any alleged victim where the banned individual is prohibited from visiting without escort.
With respect to the release of digital photos to the news media, the Secretary of State is statutorily prohibited from releasing digital photos unless the requester falls within the categories provided in Section 6-110.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code [625 ILCS 5/6-110.1]. The section provides that digital photos captured by the Secretary of State are considered confidential and are not to be released except to (1) the individual who is the subject of the request; (2) Secretary of State employees who have a need to access the photos; (3) law enforcement for a lawful civil or criminal law enforcement investigation; and (4) the State Board of Elections for the sole purpose of providing signatures for voter registration purposes. There is no exception for members of the news media.
Banning individuals from the State Capitol and/or Capitol Complex unless escorted is a serious matter. Not only do the Secretary of State Police/Capitol Police take seriously the safety and security of all who enter the Capitol Building/Capitol complex, the Secretary of State Police/Capitol Police also take seriously the privacy rights of the alleged victim, the banned individual and any witnesses who may be affected. It is in balancing the interests of the alleged victim, the interests of banned individual and/or any witnesses, with the public’s interest in disclosure, that the Secretary of State rejects your request to provide copies of these General Orders, whether for past years or for the current year. The Secretary of State asserts that the release of the requested information, even with redactions, will lead to the disclosure of the identity of the alleged victim, the banned individual and potentially any witnesses. Disclosing the identities of the victim, banned individual and/or witnesses will result in an unwarranted invasion of their respective personal privacy and may ultimately endanger their respective lives.
In balancing the privacy rights of the alleged victim, the banned individual and any witnesses, with the public interest in disclosure, the Office of the Secretary of State respectfully declines to invade the personal privacy of, or expose the victim, the banned individual and any witnesses to, potential harm either personally or professionally by revealing their identities through the release of the requested information. Accordingly, your request is denied pursuant to Sections 7(1)(a), 7(1)(c), 7(1)(d)(iv) and 7(1)(d)(vi) of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. [5 ILCS 140/7(1)(a); 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(c ); 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(iv); 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(vi)].
Should you wish to do so, you may request a review of our denial with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Public Access Bureau, 500 S. Second Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706 or you may avail yourself of the remedies provided in Section 11 of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. [5 ILCS 140/11].
Friday, Feb 7, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Eighteen state attorneys general have joined in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a Second Amendment Foundation petition for writ of certiorari seeking high court review in the case of Culp v. Raoul, which challenges the refusal by Illinois to take applications from non-residents for an Illinois carry license.
Plaintiffs are asking the Court to determine “Whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms requires that the State of Illinois allow qualified non-residents to apply for an Illinois concealed carry license.” SAF is joined by the Illinois State Rifle Association, Illinois Carry and several private citizens. They are represented by attorney David G. Sigale of Wheaton.
The amicus brief, submitted by Missouri Attorney General Eric S. Schmitt, is joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
While Illinois statute says the State Police “shall by rule allow for nonresident license applications from any state or territory of the United States with laws related to firearm ownership, possession, and carrying, that are substantially similar to the requirements to obtain a license” in Illinois.
“However,” the petition for review says, “that right to concealed carry is denied, in a discriminatory and arbitrary manner, to the law-abiding and qualified persons in 45 states, who are prohibited from even applying for an Illinois concealed carry license (“CCL”), regardless of their qualifications. Therefore, Illinois’s prohibition on virtually all non-residents obtaining a concealed carry license for self-defense violates the Petitioners’ rights under the Second Amendment.”
“We’re grateful to the 18 attorneys general for joining the amicus, on behalf of the residents of their respective states,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The right to bear arms does not end at the Illinois state line, and untold numbers of citizens from other states have occasion to travel to or through Illinois and they should not be expected to leave their right of self- defense at the border.”
An Illinois lawmaker is proposing to change the Illinois Constitution to protect Firearm Owners Identification card fee revenue from being swept into the state’s general fund.
The proposal filed Wednesday would require that proceeds from the issuance and renewal of the Firearm Owners Identification card and concealed carry permits go solely toward facilitating the program or other firearm-related activities, akin to the 2016 “lockbox amendment” that altered the state’s guiding charter to protect road funds from being used for other purposes.
“What this does is put all of our money into a lockbox, so to speak, dedicated solely for the purpose of processing our applications or renewing or reviewing someone’s application that got turned down that they filed an appeal on,” state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, said of his proposal.
He plans to gather support from Democrats who have already said the program is underfunded and proposed higher fees for cards over shorter periods of time.
No charges will be filed in the shooting that wounded an employee last month at the John Boos Factory Showroom and Outlet, according to authorities.
Effingham Police Chief Jason McFarland said the shooter was a 60-year-old man from Michigan who had a semi-automatic handgun and a valid concealed-carry permit. He was not required to have a FOID card because Michigan state law does not require one, McFarland said. […]
A preliminary investigation into the incident determined that the shooting to be accidental, and police turned the case over to Effingham County State’s Attorney Bryan Kibler for review.
Kibler said Thursday he agreed that it was all just an accident and no criminal charges are warranted. He said it is his understanding that Nick Nichols does not want to pursue charges.
“We need to show that we’re doing something about property taxes during the spring session”
The article’s focus was Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s revised legislation…
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi and his allies in the Illinois House of Representatives are poised to introduce a revised version of a bill he says is designed to improve how the county’s millions of commercial properties are assessed.
However, many of the same interest groups that blocked the bill last year are gearing up for another fight.
SB1379, which Kaegi has dubbed the Data Modernization Bill, would require owners of large commercial properties to submit their rental income and expense data to their county assessor’s office. Assessors would use that information to determine the taxable values of properties.
The bill would automatically apply to Cook County, but governing boards of the state’s other 101 counties could opt in.
The head of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce warned that shifting Cook County’s property tax burden to businesses could shock the entire state of Illinois into an economic downturn.
Is Mayor Lori Lightfoot quietly plotting an end-run around the City Council to deliver on her signature campaign promise to end aldermanic prerogative over zoning?
Or is a DuPage County Republican state lawmaker acting on her own to target the unwritten rule at the heart of the racketeering indictment against Ald. Edward Burke (14th) and virtually every other aldermanic indictment over the years?
That’s the question Chicago aldermen have been asking themselves after learning about the Chicago-only bill introduced this week by state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Westmont).
By the way, this is what Rep. Mazzochi told the Daily Line…
Mazzochi said she was moved to act by the 14-count indictment of Ald. Ed Burke (14), which alleges that Burke repeatedly — and brazenly — used his powerful position at City Hall to force those doing business with the city to hire his private law firm. Burke has pleaded not guilty.
The sort of “shady back room deals” Burke is accused of must be stopped, Mazzochi said.
She and her husband own rental properties. They did development and renovation work in Chicago. They know first-hand the chilling effect of giving local aldermen iron-fisted control over zoning in their wards.
“There’s a lot of people that, when the allegations came out about Alderman Burke, were not surprised because this sort of thing happens behind the scenes all the time. I’ve actually divested most of my interests in the city of Chicago because of that toxic climate,” she said.
The sponsor of a measure that would give local governments the ability to tack on a municipal gas tax on top of state and federal gas taxes said it was designed to level the playing field inside the state’s boundaries, but a group representing convenience stores said it would make Illinois even more of an outlier compared to neighboring states.
Senate Bill 2978, filed earlier this month, would open up the ability for all municipal governments to tack on an extra 3 percent gas tax to the state and federal gas tax.
Bill sponsor, state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said the bill wasn’t going to move anytime soon, but it could come up before the end of the legislative session. He said it would open up local control of local gas taxes.
“If people in those towns are complaining about side streets for instances not being repaired, not being repaved, potholes not being fixed, this would be a way for the local municipalities to address that,” Cunningham said.
To put Illinois back on firm fiscal footing, we must make some hard choices among three feasible options: 1) raise income tax rates on everyone by raising the flat tax; 2) cut schools, universities, public safety, mental health and addiction treatment drastically; or 3) raise tax rates only on the wealthy while giving the middle class a tax break. I choose option 3, the fair tax.
Let me explain why I support a constitutional amendment to change our tax structure to protect the middle class.
The fair tax is what a vast majority of states and the federal government use. But in Illinois, we don’t. Our wealthiest residents have enjoyed 50 years of the middle class and working class paying a higher tax burden while the richest pay a much lower tax burden. In fact, today in Illinois, the lowest earners in our state pay 14 percent of their income in taxes while the wealthiest people in our state pay only about 7 percent.
The bulk of homeowners’ local property taxes—nearly 60 percent on average—goes to fund local schools. If the state does more to pick up its share of school funding, property taxes can go down. So I began to make that shift by increasing the state’s share of school funding.
The next-largest property tax driver is municipal and first responder pension funds—which is why I insisted on passing landmark pension reform to consolidate police and firefighter pensions. This will improve investment returns and lower costs, and that means a lower property tax burden for homeowners.
Lastly, our bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program provides hundreds of millions of dollars directly to local governments for transportation infrastructure and buildings that otherwise would be paid for by property taxes.
* This one camera has produced $2.5 million in revenues over three years…
The red light camera at a designated right turn lane in Rosemont has raked in millions of dollars. Critics and motorists said it’s a trick to make drivers turn right on red without stopping.
The busy intersection in the heart of Rosemont is near the convention center, popular restaurants, hotels and a casino.
“Are you really giving people tickets on technicalities, or are you trying to put things in place to protect safety?” asked ticketed driver Scott Albrecht.
He and others are fuming over one camera facing a right turn lane, going northbound at the intersection of River and Higgins roads. Critics say it’s confusing and call it a red light camera trap for two reasons.
The Illinois Department of Transportation explained to the I-Team that it does not physically place cameras; law enforcement does that. IDOT said it only makes sure cameras are positioned in a way that does not interfere with traffic controls or obstruct traffic lanes and sidewalks.
Gov. Pritzker needs to do something about this lackadaisical attitude by IDOT. As I mentioned yesterday, IDOT’s rules need to be tightened up to focus placement on safety and not revenues.
*** UPDATE *** From Emily Bittner at the governor’s office…
The administration believes that it is critical that red light cameras meet communities’ documented safety needs. IDOT will be reviewing its approval process to ensure that the rationale for installing and keeping these devices in place is about residents’ safety
All three people who have held the position of legislative inspector general in Illinois told a joint ethics panel Thursday the office needs more independence to police the General Assembly and maintain the public’s confidence in the process.
Carol Pope, the current officeholder, and former Inspectors General Julie Porter and Tom Homer appeared before the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform, a group that is to make recommendations for governmental ethics reform in the state by the end of March. […]
“The legislative inspector general cannot be independent, and having a legislative inspector general is a waste of resources, if a Legislative Ethics Commission staffed by legislators — all appointed by the House and Senate leaders — presides over her investigations and has the power to kill them,” Porter said in written testimony submitted to the panel. “That is precisely the system we have now in Illinois: The fox is guarding the henhouse.” […]
“Number one, the statute says that the legislative inspector general is an independent office. And I think the public thinks I’m an independent office, but I ask you if I have to go to eight legislators over whom I have jurisdiction to investigate, to ask for permission to open an investigation, how independent am I?” Pope asked.
* Hannah Meisel at the Daily Line has this bit about a legal loophole…
The legislative inspector general has jurisdiction over both lawmakers and staff members employed by each of the four caucuses. While the mandatory release of a report is fairly uniform across the inspectors general and ethics commissions across state government — any punishment of a suspension of three days or more means a founded summary report is automatically released.
However, Homer pointed out that it’s not so with lawmakers.
“Legislators can’t be suspended,” Homer said. “Ergo, there is no mandatory release of a report.”
* The commission should’ve asked Porter about her written testimony…
Former Legislative Inspector General Julie Porter on Thursday planned to testify in front of a newly formed ethics commission that legislators quashed — and hid from the public — an investigation into another sitting lawmaker, which Porter said involved “serious wrongdoing.”
Porter shared her prepared testimony with reporters ahead of the meeting with the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform, but she never got the chance to publicly discuss the thwarted investigation. Commission members — themselves state legislators — did not ask her or others testifying to read their prepared statements, although the legislators promised to enter them into the record and publish them all on the panel’s website.
That meant Porter was not questioned about the past investigation that members of the Legislative Ethics Commission — a separate body that handles complaints against state lawmakers — effectively made sure went nowhere.
All three inspectors general said they believe it’s improper that the Legislative Ethics Commission can refuse to publish investigations when members voting on whether to publish reach a 4-4 deadlock along partisan lines.
“What has happened is the four legislative leaders, over time, have put their surrogates on there to protect the interests of the caucus and of the caucus members, and that’s really not the commission’s role,” Homer said.
He and Pope both suggested the addition of a nonpartisan citizen member to break ties.
Better yet, Pope said, the inspector general should be given the authority to initiate investigations and publish reports without seeking permission.
“There’s really no reason why the LIG should report to people whom she is charged with investigating,” Porter said. “This is a great opportunity for this joint commission to make this change. It is absolutely critical to the independence of the LIG.”
“I’ve heard from colleagues that, you know, you don’t want an inspector general going rogue or running roughshod,” said State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago). “You don’t see that happening around the country. I don’t think that’s a real risk. What is a real risk is people losing confidence in who we are as a body and what we do.”
And lawmakers called on Governor JB Pritzker to be involved.
“He has to lead on this issue of corruption, it’s not going to get done without the governor being active,” Rep. McSweeney said.
“With nearly 7,000 units of government in Illinois, it’s time to empower local taxpayers and voters to consolidate them or eliminate them,” the governor said.
Illinois Municipal League Executive Director Brad Cole said it was time to take a look at the idea.
“And it doesn’t have to be radical,” Cole said. “I think any change, any positive movement, would be worthwhile so it doesn’t have to mean that everything gets eliminated, everything gets consolidated, but some common-sense approach would be good.”
Cole said lawmakers could either go back to previous task forces on consolidation for ideas, or come up with new ones. But he said he anticipated some snags.
“Well the barriers are obviously that everybody wants to protect their area, their piece of the pie, or if they’re an elected official or their particular unit of government, there’s a natural tendency to try and protect that,” Cole said.
(A) new report Thursday from a court-appointed watchdog suggests since Pritzker took office in January 2019 his administration has taken steps that have made it more difficult for those charged with monitoring state hiring practices to ensure political considerations aren’t influencing who gets government jobs.
Court monitor Noelle Brennan wrote in a court filing that her communication with the governor’s office and other state agencies, which “had been very productive over the years,” “has been diminished by new restrictions placed on the (court monitor’s) ability to communicate freely with agency personnel.”
“We believe these new restrictions imposed by the Governor’s Office are unproductive to the previously cooperative efforts of the parties to eliminate unlawful patronage, reform state employment practices and implement lasting improvements,” Brennan writes in the court filing.
Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said the assertion that there are new restrictions on communication is “false.”
“There are no new restrictions, and the state will be responding in court shortly,” Abudayyeh said in a statement.
Mired in delays for seven years, President Donald Trump’s appeal for a refund of at least $1 million on his Chicago skyscraper is now the subject of two state of Illinois investigations that center on whether a Republican state official pressured his staff to cut the president a break.
Trump’s appeal of the 2012 property taxes he paid for Trump International Hotel & Tower has come under scrutiny by the state’s executive inspector general’s office and then Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
Those are the result of an anonymous complaint the inspector general’s office received last fall that Mauro Glorioso, the executive director of the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, pressured his staff to rule in the president’s favor, rejecting the staff’s decision to deny Trump any refund.
Glorioso is a Republican attorney from Westchester the Democratic governor appointed as the state property tax agency’s executive director last summer.
