Question of the day
Thursday, Mar 11, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* At the end of a 1200-word Chicago Crusader piece entitled “Lisa Madigan for Governor?”…
With the political climate in bloom for female political leaders and her strong reputation, Lisa Madigan may have a chance at beating Pritzker in 2022. There may also be challenges. Some voters may have forgotten about Lisa Madigan, and others may confuse her with her father’s tarnished reputation.
Retired U.S. Senator Roland Burris, who served as Illinois Attorney General from 1991 to 1995, said Lisa Madigan would have a difficult time defeating an incumbent Democratic governor because of the limited Democratic voter base in Chicago and Illinois.
“I think she would have a tough time in the Primary. If she can win the Primary, she can win the General Election.”
However, Burris acknowledged that Lisa Madigan would win because of her name and reputation.
“Lisa is smart, shrewd, tough and very confident,” he said.
I don’t know whether to laugh about this story or try to take it seriously.
* The Question: Laugh or serious? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
survey hosting
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President Obama Wants Lawmakers To Stop Gerrymandering
Thursday, Mar 11, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Are we going to continue with political maps hammered out in backroom deals or are our lawmakers ready to strive for the ideals set out by President Obama?
“The movement for fair maps will determine the course of progress on every issue we care about for the next decade.” - August, 2019
“I think people don’t completely appreciate how much gerrymandering affects the outcome [of elections],” Obama said. “You can draw a district that almost guarantees one party is going to win instead of another because you have voter histories and you have a sense of where people are typically going to vote.” - September, 2020
“I’d love to see changes at the state level that reduce political gerrymandering.” - January, 2015
“Regardless of our party affiliations,” he says, gerrymandering is “not good for our democracy.” - July, 2018
“We have to end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters and not the other way around.” - January, 2016
Learn more at CHANGEIL.org.
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* Question asked of Senate President Don Harmon this week…
Q: You have been arguing for years that Illinois needs a graduated income tax to fix the state’s structural deficit. In fact you sponsored the constitutional amendment that voters rejected last fall. Do you still think Illinois needs a graduated income tax? And if so, when would be the right time to make that argument again?
A: As you said, I sponsored this and worked on it for a long time. I think as a policy matter it’s an important tool. But the message I took from the voters rejection of this proposal was they would like us to go back to the drawing board and make hard decisions about how we spend the money they send to Springfield. So I expect we’re going to be going through that exercise, looking at difficult decisions. But I do not anticipate any sort of a general tax increase, nor do I anticipate quickly to put a fair tax back on the ballot.
* Same essential question for Harmon by a different outlet with a very similar response…
“The lesson I took from the election in 2020 was that the voters aren’t ready for the ‘Fair Tax,’” Harmon said, referring to the drubbing voters gave the proposal last fall. “I still think it’s the right policy, but I’m listening to the voters, and I think they’ve asked us to come down here, sharpen our pencils, and come up with a responsible balanced budget without a general tax increase.”
Case closed, move on.
* Speaking of the budget, Mark Maxwell asked about the federal American Rescue Plan Act…
“We’re reviewing it,” [Harmon] said. “I hope it will provide some one-time resources to solve one-time problems. We still have to look at our structural budget issues.”
“We should not look at this as a windfall,” state senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) cautioned on Monday.
She mimicked some lawmakers might think, ‘Oh, gosh, isn’t this great? Now we don’t have to worry about being thoughtful and creative in our budgeting.’”
“Absolutely the opposite,” she said. “Illinois’ economy, as we know, has got a lot of issues, a lot of long-term problems. We need to not take this as a gift, but just as a break — a pause — so that we can stabilize a little bit.”
* More on that topic from Center Square…
Illinois’ state budget is set to get $7.5 billion.
Comptroller Susana Mendoza said $3 billion of that will pay down short-term borrowing the state took on.
During an Illinois House committee hearing Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget director Alexis Sturm said they’ll be evaluating how to spend the money.
“I think most people are interested in the state stabilization dollars, recovery dollars, those we kind of need to wait and see what the funds can be used for,” Sturm said. “Primarily the expectation is that it’s going to be used for necessary expenditures for COVID response, so things that are COVID related. That could be healthcare costs, it could be our direct response. We’ll see what the guidance says from the federal government.”
“They do mention water, sewer and broadband specifically,” she said. “So those do align with projects we have appropriations for in our budget.”
Just, please, pretty please, heed Harmon and don’t create a bunch of new long-term programs with one-time cash infusions that will require the state to find the money to pay for them when the federal money runs dry.
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* Not a great result for the governor…
A new poll shared with Playbook indicates Illinois residents have a mixed opinion about Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has now spent a third of his term managing the coronavirus pandemic.
The survey, conducted by 1892 Polling, a firm that counted former Gov. Bruce Rauner as a client during his successful 2014 gubernatorial campaign, shows 40.6 percent of Illinois residents view Pritzker favorably, compared to 41.0 percent who don’t and 18 percent who so far have no opinion.
Most of the other questions examine education issues and culture wars. The survey of 800 residents was commissioned by the American Council on Trustees and Alumni, a conservative nonprofit group that advocates for trustees to have a greater role in decision-making on college campuses and pushes against what it sees as liberal ideas related to intolerance. Lynne Cheney, wife of the former Vice President Dick Cheney, previously headed the organization.
Interviews were done Feb. 17 through 21 by cell phones and landlines for the poll that has a ± 3.5 percent margin of error. The poll states 39 percent of respondents identified as Democrats, 25 percent were Republican, and 27 percent Independent and many had mostly favorable views of the Black Lives Matter movement, police officers, teachers unions, and their local school boards.
But multiple questions in the survey address ACTA’s interest in culture wars issues, particularly around academia and race.
One question asks if public universities in Illinois are too liberal or conservative (35 percent of respondents said too liberal, 36 percent said fair, and 6 percent said too conservative).
And while 42 percent of those interviewed think Americans are “too politically correct,” 41 percent think Americans aren’t politically correct enough or are just right.
Other areas of the poll address “culturally responsive” education, which was passed by the Illinois General Assembly last month, and show a slant to the questioning. Republicans have criticized the effort as serving up liberal politics in the classroom and the poll reflects that by asking people whether teachers should “embrace progressive viewpoints” and prioritize “social justice advocacy” (rather than plainly describing what those mean). A statement about whether public universities should combat systemic racism by teaching students about white privilege is set as the sole counterpoint to a more neutral position about whether those schools should teach the nation’s founding principles as “the basis for reasoned debate and civil dialogue.”
Asked whether K-12 schools should institute a new curriculum that teaches that America is “founded on slavery” or demonstrates principles for a “free and democratic country” — nothing in between — 38 percent chose the new curriculum and 48 chose the old.
Another question on racism touched on an episode that recently came up at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It asks if “Obstructing Jewish students from expressing support for the State of Israel is a form of anti-Semitism” (50 percent agree, 25 percent disagree, and 25 percent were unsure).
1892 is a pretty darned good firm, by the way, so the governor and the U of I should take note. Click here for the full topline results. I was hoping to get crosstabs by now, but they haven’t yet arrived and I got tired of waiting.
I think the last poll on Pritzker is from one I had done for subscribers in October which had him at 48-45 fave/unfave with likely voters, so something appears to have happened since then. That same poll, conducted by Change Research, had the graduated income tax proposal at 42-51 fave/unfave and had support for it at 47 “Yes” and 48 “No” with 4 percent undecided. It also had Biden over Trump by 17 points, had the Illinois Republican Party’s fave/unfave at 31-51 and Speaker Madigan’s at 8-70 (not a typo). I’ve been thinking about doing another one on the governor and others in the near future.
*** UPDATE *** Crosstabs are here.
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* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,700 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 55 additional deaths.
- Adams County: 1 male 90s
- Alexander County: 1 male 70s
- Bureau County: 1 female 60s
- Cass County: 1 male 70s
- Cook County: 1 female 20s, 1 male 30s, 2 females 40s, 1 female 50s, 2 males 50s, 1 female 60s, 3 males 60s, 4 females 70s, 5 males 70s, 5 females 80s, 2 males 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 males 90s, 1 female over 100
- DuPage County: 2 males 80s
- Edwards County: 1 male 60s
- Fayette County: 1 male 80s
- Grundy County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 80s
- Jackson County: 1 female 70s
- Lake County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 80s
- Madison County: 1 male 70s
- McHenry County: 1 female 20s
- McLean County: 1 male 70s
- Montgomery County: 1 male 60s
- Peoria County: 1 male 80s
- Perry County: 1 female 70s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
- Union County: 1 male 70s
- Will County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s
- Williamson County: 1 male 50s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,204,409 cases, including 20,863 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 89,893 specimens for a total of 18,894,652. As of last night, 1,118 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 231 patients were in the ICU and 102 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from March 4-10, 2021 is 2.2%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from March 4-10, 2021 is 2.5%.
A total of doses of 4,488,655 vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 414,900 doses total have been allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 4,903,555. A total of 3,680,703 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight, including 353,125 for long-term care facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 98,166 doses. Yesterday, 112,776 doses were administered in Illinois.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for a death previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
* Meanwhile…
In a move that will be critical to bringing more students back to classrooms but will likely be met with skepticism from teachers and some parents, Illinois education officials reduced the 6-foot social distancing requirement in schools to 3 feet as long as educators are vaccinated.
Officials pegged the new guidance released this week by the Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health as a way to help school districts reopen sooner and with higher student capacity.
“It reflects what we have learned about the transmission of COVID-19 in school settings, as more students in Illinois and across the country have returned safely to in-person learning during the 2020-21 school year,” State Supt. of Education Carmen Ayala wrote in a letter to school leaders statewide.
“This joint guidance supports the return to in-person instruction as soon as practicable in each community.”
* One year ago today…
World Health Organization Declares COVID-19 Pandemic
CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today is announcing six additional individuals have tested positive at the IDPH laboratory for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“More cases in more places in Illinois means we are seeing growing transmission of the virus in the community,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “Today the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. We will see additional cases in Illinois and I urge people to take steps now to reduce the impact this will have on their daily lives.”
Public health officials are still investigating the travel history of these individuals and any potential contact with a known COVID-19 case. Public health officials will identify and contact people who are considered close contacts of these cases.
At this time, we can release the following information regarding the new cases:
Chicago:
80s male
70s male
70s male
50s female
40s male
Lake County:
For information about how you, your school, workplace, and community can prepare, please visit Preventing COVID-19 Spread in Communities. For general questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
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One year ago today
Thursday, Mar 11, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This tweet prompted me to set the Wayback Machine to March 11, 2020…
* From the subscriber edition a year ago today…
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH SESSION? Despite a growing number of moves across the country to ban some public gatherings, close down universities, move polling places, etc., no state legislatures have yet decided to cancel or drastically curtail spring sessions.
A few committee hearings have been postponed in Texas, Florida’s House chamber was sanitized after five legislators attended conferences where the novel coronavirus was present (the legislators were not tested because they had no symptoms, but were told to practice social distancing and then they all walked onto the House floor together). Alaska’s legislative leaders recently announced restrictions on out-of-state travel for legislators and staff. The state of Washington, which has been particularly hard-hit by the virus, is preparing to close its statehouse if the virus is discovered there. But aside from that sort of thing, legislators are continuing to do their jobs across the country.
“We continue to monitor the situation,” said Senate President Don Harmon’s spokesperson John Patterson yesterday. “We’ve participated in briefings and conference calls and like other employers and workplaces will look for any advice from the state’s public health and emergency preparedness professionals.”
House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown said almost exactly the same thing as Patterson when asked yesterday about the spring session schedule and the chamber’s cooperation with public health officials.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s press secretary Jordan Abudayyeh released a statement yesterday saying: “IDPH and IEMA are working around the clock to monitor this situation as it develops and are studying best practices for containing and mitigating the spread of COVID-19. As we learn more information and the situation develops, the administration will be in contact with our partners in the General Assembly to implement policies that protect the health and wellbeing of Illinoisans.”
A spokesperson for Secretary of State Jesse White, whose office controls the Statehouse, could not say yesterday what it planned to do about already scheduled “lobby day” gatherings and the traditional visits by busloads of school children.
The General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene a week from today, the day after the spring primary. It’s still possible that a session change could be announced. These things tend to escalate quickly, as we saw when Boston all of a sudden decided to cancel its St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Speaking of the parade, Gov. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot are holding a press conference this morning at 9:15 to discuss COVID-19 issues. It’s expected that an announcement about the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parades could be in the cards. Check the blog and stay tuned.
And then all heck broke loose.
* Blog headlines for March 11th from earliest in the day to latest…
* Downtown Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is called off (updated numerous times)
* It’s probably time to start thinking about remote legislating (updated x3 with legislative-related cancellations)
* More on the latest AVR snafu (updated)
* COVID-19 morning roundup (updated with news that we were officially in a worldwide pandemic)
* HDems gonna HDem, but the schtick is really getting old
* ICJL says be wary of judicial candidates with Irish surnames during St. Patrick’s Day voting
* Emptying my campaign in-box (updated)
* Session canceled for next week (updated with Senate cancellation)
* Pritzker announces 6 additional COVID-19 cases, for a total of 25 (updated numerous times during his briefing)
* Secretary White bans large groups from Statehouse (updated several times)
* Pritzker will file emergency rules to provide benefits to people unemployed due to COVID-19
* ISU extends spring break, switches to online instruction, closes down university housing (updated with closure of CME trading floor)
* U of I goes online
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*** UPDATED x1 *** It’s just a bill
Thursday, Mar 11, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Capitol News Illinois…
State lawmakers are considering changes to an internet privacy law that recently led to a $650 million settlement between Facebook and more than 1 million of the website’s users in Illinois.
A state House judiciary committee advanced House Bill 559 on Tuesday, a measure that would revisit the Biometric Information Privacy Act of 2008, known as BIPA, to include provisions which sponsors say will protect small businesses but detractors say will render the privacy law obsolete.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, introduced the bill, saying thousands of BIPA related lawsuits have been filed against big businesses and small businesses alike, hitting the “small guys” the hardest. […]
“Since that case (Rosenbach v. Six Flags), we’ve seen an explosion,” Kearicher said. “As of last month, we were up to 1,076 cases filed, both open and closed, in a two year period here in Illinois alone.”
* Also from CNI…
A bill that would expand the use of political campaign funds to include child care and elderly home care expenses advanced out a state Senate committee on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 536 would amend the state election code to allow candidates to spend political committee funds on part-time or full-time child care or dependent elder home care expenses, as long as those expenses are “necessary for fulfillment of political, governmental or public policy duties, activities or purposes,” the bill states.
The bill would also apply to candidates running for political office, as well as officeholders, campaign staff or volunteers.
Sen. Melinda Bush, a Democrat from Grayslake who sponsored SB 536, said the measure “helps us level the playing field for people that want to run for office, and maybe don’t have the financial wherewithal to cover those childcare, and eldercare expenses.”
* WICS…
Another proposed bill, HB374, would allow community colleges and local housing authorities to collaborate and build affordable housing for college students.
“I was in discussions a few years ago with our local community college board here, Danville Area Community College, about maybe trying some affordable housing projects for the college,” Rep. Michael Marron, R-Danville, said. “I think we came to realize it wasn’t legally possible at that time.”
Marron says he believes the Danville community is interested in pursuing more affordable housing for local community college students.
* Press release…
An Illinois law that requires a young person seeking an abortion to involve an adult family member is dangerous for youth in the state, violates their human rights, and threatens their health and safety, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois said in a report released today. The Illinois General Assembly should repeal the law, the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act, as a matter of urgency according to the report.
Under the Parental Notice of Abortion Act, a doctor providing care to a young person under age 18 seeking an abortion in Illinois must notify a designated adult family member – a parent, grandparent, step-parent living in the home, or legal guardian – at least 48 hours beforehand. If there is a reason that the young person is not able to have one of these family members notified, the young person can go to court and ask a judge for permission to have the procedure without this forced family involvement, in a process known as “judicial bypass.”
The 73-page report, “‘The Only People It Really Affects Are the People It Hurts’: The Human Rights Impacts of Parental Notice of Abortion in Illinois,” is the product of a collaboration between Human Rights Watch and the ACLU of Illinois. The groups found that young people often seek judicial bypass because they fear physical or emotional abuse, being kicked out of the home, alienation from their families or other deterioration of family relationships, or being forced to continue a pregnancy against their will. The groups also documented the hardships faced by young people forced to involve unsupportive family members in their abortion decision or navigate an unfamiliar court system to obtain a judicial bypass, and the additional stress and delays in seeking care this caused.
The report is here.
* Almost three weeks after it’s filed and suddenly it’s an issue? Also, no co-sponsors and it’s still in Rules Committee…
“I’m flabbergasted;” New bill proposal would require bachelor’s degree for officers
A bill proposed by Rep. Jaime Andrade (D – 40th District) would require police and corrections officers to have bachelor’s degrees with majors or minors in social work in order to move from probationary to permanent officers.
He filed it February 22, the same day Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a sweeping criminal justice reform bill into law.
Some law enforcement officials are worried this legislation doesn’t reflect the realities of the job.
*** UPDATE *** A zinger from Kyle Hillman, the Director of Legislative Affairs for the National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter…
While we appreciate the sponsor’s acknowledgement of the importance of social workers for their knowledge of human development and behavior, of social, economic, and cultural institutions, and their understanding of how all these factors interact—we also recognize that today’s modern law enforcement would never agree to abide a social worker’s code of ethics. And likewise, today’s social worker would never agree to have their profession co-opted by today’s law enforcement.
While we can’t imagine a scenario where this bill passes in the Illinois General Assembly, and while we are focused on how to replace armed interventions with therapeutic ones, if this bill was ever to move, it would be a hard no from us.
Ouch.
* Arguing that a bill doesn’t solve all problems…
Opponents to the legislation, including Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, said the bill would not relieve other pressures that lead to pharmacies closing, including financial pressures.
“A pharmacy could still have other business pressures that jeopardize their success, individuals could just choose not to go to a certain pharmacy and that could lead to their closure,” Demmer said. “There are a number of factors at play there.”
* Read to the bottom line…
An Illinois lawmaker wants to get rid of a required test for teachers before they can step into the classroom.
ADVERTISEMENT
The test is called edTPA. It’s a performance-based and subject-specific exam. […]
State Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Louisville, said the test is expensive, and requiring it is making the teacher shortage worse. […]
[Illinois Regional Superintendent Kyle Thompson] believes instead of requiring the edTPA exam, local schools should be allowed to evaluate the candidate and determine if they are qualified to teach in their classrooms.
* Related…
* Bill to make exceptions to Illinois eviction ban fails to pass committee
* Illinois Senator wants to tax your carpet [ADDING: Sen. Melinda Bush points out that the only carpet manufacturers which will pay this new fee are located in Georgia]
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* WCIA…
A review of state records shows the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity sent at least $1.1 million in Business Interruption Grants to 72 companies the state considers “dissolved.”
In order to qualify for the Coronavirus relief funding, state application forms show the businesses had to attest that they were open on March 1st, 2020, they would try to stay open all year, and would use the money “exclusively for costs and losses incurred due to the business interruption” caused by Covid-19.
Business registration records kept at the Secretary of State’s office showed at least 72 of the companies that won grant funding were considered dissolved or terminated long before the pandemic began. […]
The Illinois Department of Revenue found as many as 17 of those 72 still have active accounts open with the state, another sign the entities are collecting sales taxes or withholding income taxes.
However, the tax agency confirmed it had no records of 19 of the companies who won grants, and 33 others had closed their doors. […]
Lauren Huffman, a spokeswoman with DCEO, said any company that won grant money that is later found to be in “violation of their agreement will put their grant status in jeopardy and could result in the state pursuing a return of funds.”
The total was never mentioned in the online text version of the story (it was mentioned in the actual on-air story) to provide some context, but the BIG program handed out over $275 million in funding before closing in January. So, $1.1 million would be 0.4 percent. And some of those businesses appear to have just not renewed their state paperwork.
* ILGOP…
Pritzker’s schtick in running for this office was to be responsible and get back to the basics of governing. Whether it’s been the disaster at IDES, the tragic death of over 30 veterans at a state-run facility, or this colossal waste of taxpayer money - the Pritzker administration has been a complete failure at running state government.
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* Joe Mahr has a stats-packed piece in the Tribune today about excess deaths…
Looking at federal estimates of excess deaths — how many more people died than is usually expected — Illinois ranked among the 10 worst states (including the District of Columbia) for the 10-month period from March through December.
In Illinois, nearly 111,000 people died from March 1 through Jan. 2, as tallied on a weekly basis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s 27% higher than the average for 2015 through 2019, which was about 87,000 deaths for the same 44-week period. […]
The hardest hit may not be a surprise — it’s New York — because of the massive number of deaths there during the first wave. Even with generally milder stretches later in 2020, New York state saw an increase in deaths of nearly 37% during the last 10 months of 2020. […]
The data suggests it’s because Illinois, unlike most places, suffered not one but two significant waves, and deaths were still higher than normal in between. […]
And then came the fall, when Illinois saw an even deadlier wave, with death figures from mid-November to mid-December hovering between 50% to 60% more deaths than average. This surge was broader, across the entire state
Too many people and, more importantly, local government officials outside Chicago and Cook County figured that since they were relatively safe during the first wave they didn’t have to worry about a second wave. Deadly consequences.
* You really should go read the whole thing, but here are a few charts…
If you have questions about the charts, click here and look them up in the article.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Locals behaving badly
Thursday, Mar 11, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Edgar County Watchdogs…
It has come to our attention that the Village of Poplar Grove has been using its official Facebook page for electioneering purposes - in favor of the current Village President, Owen Costanza.
Use of official government communications, like email and social media, for electioneering purposes, is wrong and we urge residents of Poplar Grove to file an official complaint to either the Village’s Ethics Commission (if there is one) or the Illinois State Board of Elections.
This gives an unfair disadvantage to other candidates and gives the impression that the Village is taking sides in the upcoming election. No amount of couching it as an informative listening session or “coffee talk” while advertising it as a “Re-elect Costanza” event could bring it into compliance.
These advertisements also pulled Illinois State Representative Joe Sosnowski into the electioneering issue, since his name is listed as a speaker at this event. He should have known better.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
State Representative Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, issued the following statement today in response to the coffee he hosted in Boone County earlier this week at which Poplar Grove Village President Owen Costanza was a guest:
“The Coffee Talk held at the Boone County Family Restaurant on March 8 was my event, organized by my legislative office as an opportunity for me to update constituents on state issues and listen to feedback from members of the community. As a benefit to constituents, I invited Poplar Grove Village President Owen Costanza to be a guest at the coffee. I have spoken with Village President Costanza, and he has acknowledged that he accidentally shared an invitation on the Village’s Facebook page with his political logo attached to it, making it appear that the event was sponsored by his campaign. Upon being made aware, he immediately removed the image.
“I will take additional precautions when scheduling these events in the future to ensure that all are aware that these are official events not to be associated in any way with an individual campaign or political purpose.”
* Not good…
* Meanwhile, from the BGA…
Nearly a year-and-a-half after federal agents raided Lyons Village Hall as part of a sweeping corruption investigation, clean government has become a top issue in the west suburb’s upcoming election as controversial Mayor Chris Getty seeks a fourth term.
Getty, the son of a former mayor who went to federal prison for stealing from the village, is fending off a challenge from residents vowing reform. At the same time, the current mayor has spent nearly $100,000 in campaign funds on legal fees as part of the wide-ranging probe that has hit suburban mayors, state lawmakers, contractors and utility giant Commonwealth Edison.
At stake for Getty is not only maintaining his political power and access to campaign cash, but a significant payday. Should Getty win, he stands to make at least $70,000 in salary for each of the next four years as mayor and liquor commissioner. That’s compared to $10,000 he made in both jobs when he was first elected in 2009. The salaries have been growing steadily since Getty himself pushed the pay hikes through a compliant Lyons Village Board. With insurance and retirement, his total compensation at the end of 2021 will exceed $109,000.
Richard Gatz Jr., a longtime resident of the working-class suburb who was a village board member nearly 20 years ago, is running for mayor along with a slate of board member and clerk candidates on the Village Integrity Party ticket.
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[Bumped up from late last night for better visibility.]
* Greg Hinz at Crain’s…
In an interview, Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes says that, with COVID infection and hospitalization numbers now nearing record low levels and vaccinations speeding up, the administration wants to send a clear message that “conventions will return. There’s a way to bring them back safely. Signaling that is important.”
Added Hynes: “It’s our intention to allow and plan for conventions at McCormick Place and other locales during the summer, and certainly by July, which is when the Chicago Auto Show will occur.” […]
“We have faith we can host the auto show on July 15, barring some dramatic change in the trajectory of the pandemic,” Hynes said. […]
Industry sources said the event could run five to seven days starting on or around July 15, with events both inside McCormick Place’s West Building and outside. Hynes said that, for economic reasons, “several thousand people at any one time” would have to be on hand, but state believes that’s doable within safety guidelines.
…Adding… Sen. Sara Feigenholtz…
“Establishing a Tourism and Hospitality Committee in the Senate was the brainchild of Senate President Don Harmon. Putting me in the chair — also his decision.”
“The Senate Committee proved to be a catalyst once it convened and provided a public forum for labor, conventions, hotels and restaurants to discuss the impact of the devastating job loss to their respective industries”
“The Governor’s announcement came at the perfect time. It tells the public that Illinois government is quite capable of following the science and simultaneously making a plan to safely bring back an industry for events that are six months away.”
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Open thread
Thursday, Mar 11, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Heh…
Please keep it Illinois-centric and polite. Thanks.
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