* Rep. Spain replaces Rep. Tony McCombie, who challenged House GOP Leader Jim Durkin’s reelection. Press release…
Of the two positions in Illinois House Republican leadership elected by legislators, State Representative Ryan Spain won the Chairmanship of the campaign arm of the organization in a unanimous vote on Tuesday night for the 2022 cycle. Spain will guide campaign operations from candidate recruitment to fundraising. Last cycle, Spain served on the House Republican Organization’s Executive Board, which saw House Republicans gain ground under the tenure of Republican Leader Jim Durkin.
“I thank my colleagues for their vote of confidence as we look to build upon our successes from the last cycle,” stated State Representative Ryan Spain. “To be clear, I am taking on this role with the sole purpose of making Republicans the majority party in the Illinois House in the election following the remap.”
In the 2020 election cycle, House Republicans surpassed expectations, defeating four incumbent Democrats. While HRO was vastly outspent, Spain helped build hundreds of individual contributors to HRO for the first time in years. In the upcoming redistricting cycle, Republicans have fresh opportunities to win in areas voters rejected the progressive income tax amendment.
“I am excited to have Ryan Spain take the helm at the HRO,” said House Republican Leader Jim Durkin. “Ryan’s ascent within the caucus and General Assembly has been remarkable. Ryan is dedicated to our mission of gaining the majority, and he will serve the party well.”
Ryan Spain has served as State Representative of the 73rd District since January 2017, following State Representative David Leitch’s retirement. The 73rd District encompasses portions of Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall, Peoria, Stark, and Woodford counties.
A Cook County judge has dealt state Rep. Thaddeus Jones another setback in his quest to become mayor of Calumet City.
The judge’s ruling may apply to any Illinois town where citizens want to prevent elected officials from becoming “double dippers” by also serving as state lawmakers, said Burt Odelson, city attorney for Calumet City and an expert in Illinois election law.
“When the appellate court upholds this, you’re going to see other communities changing their form of government so they don’t have double dippers doing this,” Odelson said.
Cal City Mayor Michelle Qualkinbush has been battling with Rep. Jones for a very long time. Jones wants to be the city’s first African-American mayor. Qualkinbush and Odelson have been using every trick in the book to keep him off the ballot. For instance…
In 2016, the Calumet City City Council voted to place three referendum questions on ballots. The question seemed aimed at rendering Jones ineligible to run for mayor in 2017. Jones pursued a constitutional challenge in federal court, but judges rejected his arguments.
* Well, Odelson’s prediction was wrong because the appellate court sided with Rep. Jones today, ordering that Jones’ name must be placed on the mayoral ballot. Click here for the order.
* Meanwhile, during last month’s lame duck session, Rep. Jones complained bitterly during debate that a bill he passed in 2019 to install special cameras on expressways to combat shootings had not yet been implemented by IDOT. During his remarks, he called for Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman to resign.
Press release…
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced today it will provide $12.5 million to the Illinois State Police (ISP) for the purchase and installation of automated license plate readers (ALPR) and software to aid in the investigation of Cook County expressway shootings. ALPR installations at 47 locations will include specialized cameras to read the license plate numbers of vehicles moving in traffic. The installations will also include a communication system to backhaul the video images to a central location where additional software is used to query and match license plates to existing license plate and vehicle databases. This will help agents investigating expressway shootings.
“No one should feel afraid for their life or safety on Illinois expressways, and I’ve directed my administration to work collaboratively and creatively to ensure we have assets in place to protect the public,” Governor JB Pritzker said. “Tamara Clayton’s tragic death must not be forgotten, and we must do everything we can to prevent more expressway shootings.”
“The ISP welcomes this important step toward expanding force-multiplying technology we have long needed to protect the public,” said Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly. “With funding secured, the next step is to execute the plan, and start collecting the evidence we need to detect and deter crime on our interstates.”
“Making sure Illinois highways are as safe as possible always is our No. 1 priority at IDOT,” said Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “This agreement, made possible through the efforts of the General Assembly and Gov. Pritzker, is another step in that direction. We look forward to continuing our partnership with ISP and law enforcement throughout the state in finding new ways to protect the public.”
The $12.5 million grant from IDOT will cover the costs of engineering, permitting, and labor associated with the purchase and installation of readers, controllers, servers/software, electrical power, and communications equipment required to install ALPR systems. The maintenance of the ALPR systems for up to two years is also included in this agreement.
The Tamara Clayton Expressway Camera Act (Expressway Camera Act) was signed into law on July 12, 2019 and became effective on Jan. 1, 2020. On Feb. 4, 2019, Ms. Clayton was on her way to work when she was tragically shot and killed while driving on Interstate 57 near Cicero Avenue. ISP investigators responded and the investigation into her death remains open and ongoing. The Expressway Camera Act requires the ISP, IDOT, and Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA) to conduct a program to increase the number of cameras along expressways in Cook County. The images from these cameras will not be used for petty offenses, such as speeding.
“Today is a victory for Tamara Clayton and her family,” said Rep. Thaddeus Jones, who sponsored the bill. “By implementing this camera technology, we are not going to stop the number of shootings on the expressways; however, this technology will be used as a tool to catch those people who are using our expressways as their own personal shooting range. We have had enough these senseless shootings,” he concluded.
* This makes sense, but relying on existing vendor pools still lets state contractors off the hook. Contractors need to be pushed to help establish a much more diverse pool of subcontractors. That can’t be done overnight, but there’s no time like the present to get things started…
The Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) Business Enterprise Program (BEP) today announced the roll out of its new formula to increase representation of diverse contractors throughout the state. The new methodology is the first change to the formula since its inception and will help ensure that diversity goals are attainable.
”CMS is committed to increasing access to opportunities for diverse businesses across the State to ensure they have the resources they need to grow and thrive,” said CMS Director Janel L. Forde. “Businesses have been hit especially hard over the last year and we are exploring new options like this methodology to build equity and representation in state contracting.”
BEP establishes diversity contracting goals for state agencies based on the Federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) model. The model uses a formulaic approach to diversity goal setting.
The new formula changes make contracting goals more representative of the overall vendor pool. In the previous methodology, goals were set using the Dun & Bradstreet Hoovers database which is comprised of more than 1M vendors who may not all be interested in doing business with the State. The new methodology replaces that formula input and narrows the data source to the approximately 20,000 vendors who have registered in the State’s BidBuy e-procurement system, demonstrating that these businesses are ready and willing to bid on State contracts.
The new formula divides the number of BEP certified vendors registered with the State, under the relevant scopes of work, by the overall number of vendors registered under the relevant scopes of work to determine the percentage of BEP vendor availability (BEP Vendors / All Vendors in BidBuy). This change will increase the diversity goal percentage by using a smaller pool of vendors and increasing the contract spend with BEP certified vendors.
For example,
Contract A for uniforms is worth $250,000. If the previous goal was 1%, the spend with BEP certified vendors would equal $2,510. Using the new formula, the goal could increase by 15%, resulting in a spend of $40,160 with BEP certified vendors.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,838 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 102 additional deaths.
- Clay County: 1 female 80s
- Clinton County: 1 female 80s
- Coles County: 1 male 60s
- Cook County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 40s, 1 male 40s, 1 female 50s, 4 males 50s, 6 females 60s, 6 males 60s, 7 females 70s, 7 males 70s, 7 females 80s, 7 males 80s, 4 females 90s, 2 males 90s
- DeKalb County: 1 female 90s
- DuPage County: 1 female 40s, 3 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
- Greene County: 1 female 50s
- Grundy County: 1 male 60s
- Jefferson County: 1 male 80s
- Kane County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
- Knox County: 1 female 80s
- Lake County: 1 male 50s
- Lawrence County: 1 male 60s
- Livingston County: 1 male 80s
- Logan County: 1 female 90s
- Marion County: 1 male 70s
- McLean County: 1 male 60s
- Monroe County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
- Moultrie County: 1 male 70s
- Randolph County: 1 male 70s
- Sangamon County: 1 female 70s
- St. Clair County: 1 female 50s, 1 female 90s
- Stephenson County: 1 male 80s
- Tazewell County: 1 female 40s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
- Vermilion County: 1 male 70s
- Washington County: 1 female 90s
- Whiteside County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 90s
- Will County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 3 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 2 females 90s
- Winnebago County: 1 female 90s
Approximately 80 cases previously reported in McLean County have been removed from both the statewide and McLean County totals due to false positives. IDPH is currently reviewing this situation.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,155,833 cases, including 19,841 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 96,525 specimens for a total of 16,918,910. As of last night, 1,954 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 448 patients were in the ICU and 227 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from February 4–10, 2021 is 3.3%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from February 4–10, 2021 is 3.9%.
A total of 1,929,850 doses of vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 456,100 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 2,385,950. A total of 1,549,108 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight, including 226,974 for long-term care facilities. The 7-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 56,094 doses. Yesterday, 69,029 doses were administered.
*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. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick worried about one component of a sweeping criminal justice reform bill that is set to make Illinois the first state to drop the cash bail system. […]
Mendrick is convinced this law will have “unintended consequences” that could hurt more than it helps, namely those inmates who, while awaiting court dates, take part in intensive rehabilitation and reformation programs to address the issues – mostly drugs and alcohol – that landed them in the system in the first place.
“People are not going to get off drugs on their own,” Mendrick said. “We have a captive audience here. We take advantage of that.”
Since taking office three years ago, Mendrick has formed an especially close partnership with JUST of DuPage, a nonprofit organization that tackles issues of alcoholism, mental illness, anger and lack of opportunity through a robust rehabilitation and reaffirmation program inside the jail.
Those with addiction issues make up 80% of his inmates, the sheriff said, and for many of them jail becomes their “one best chance” at dealing with the problems that landed them behind bars.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Illinois, Legal Action Center, and the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center today filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit against the DuPage County Sheriff on behalf of Christine Finnigan to ensure she’s provided with her prescribed medication for addiction treatment (also known as MAT) while she is serving time on a February 2016 DUI.
DuPage County is alleged to have an unwritten policy that forces detainees to go through withdrawal, specifically refusing to confirm a plan for people facing imminent incarceration to be medically treated with methadone or another MAT medication known as buprenorphine. Other corrections facilities – including the nearby Cook County jail – provide these medications.
“I am horrified and afraid of going through detox while in jail,” said Ms. Finnigan. “I have gone through detox before without medication and know the pain and trauma. I nearly died. I just want to take the medication that has been prescribed for me.”
Ms. Finnigan was diagnosed with OUD in August 2019 and prescribed a daily methadone maintenance dose. This medical treatment is critical to her remaining alive. In 2016 she was charged with driving under the influence. She expects to serve 30 days in jail, starting February 25th.
“The opioid epidemic is ravaging our communities throughout the country, and jails and prisons are exacerbating the crisis by not allowing basic medication to treat opioid use disorder,” said Joey Longley, Equal Justice Works fellow at the ACLU’s National Prison Project. “Making sure that incarcerated people have access to Medication for Addiction Treatment (MAT) saves lives, with one study showing that it decreases mortality rates by as much as 74 percent. The tide is turning on this issue, and we look forward to the day that access to MAT is not up for debate.”
OUD is a chronic brain disease that involves structural changes in the brain, particularly to the parts of the brain responsible for assessing and responding appropriately to risk and reward. It is characterized by compulsive use of opioids despite negative consequences. OUD and overdose deaths are a national health crisis. In Illinois, thousands of people die each year from opioid overdose, with more than 2,000 dying in 2019. […]
The risks of relapse, overdose, and death are even higher for people who are released from incarceration after disruption of their treatment with MAT.
Regarding the second step, here it cannot be said that Plaintiff will undergo any hardship absent a Court order. Defendants do not owe any duty to Plaintiff to provide her any treatment (or assurances thereof) prior to her incarceration. Even after she is incarcerated, we cannot know-in- advance the result of Plaintiff’s physical, or the attendant opinions of her medical providers for the care and treatment of her prospective OUD. There is not yet any “immediate and/or real” indication that Plaintiff would be harmed should the Court elect to set the matter of her potential course of treatment aside. … Thus, Plaintiffs’ constitutional argument does not pose an issue that is fit for judicial decision at the present time.
The position of Press Secretary within the Office of the Speaker is a senior level staff position, full-time and salaried. Ideal candidates will have experience in media relations, communications strategy, and developing a clear message around an issue. The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to (i) collaborate with caucus leadership and other senior staff on the public face of the Speaker and the Office, (ii) develop an overall strategy for the relationship between the media and the Office, and (iii) thrive in a professional, fast-paced work environment.
Responsibilities:
• Develop external communications in partnership with the internal Speaker’s Staff leadership team, the
• Speaker, any designated advisers for members of the media and the general public
• Meet regularly with Speaker and senior staff to gain insight on the day-to-day operations of the House,
• develop an understanding of the pertinent issues and assist with planning on communicating that to
• media and the public
• Respond to media inquiries received by the Speaker and the staff
• Assist with the preparation of external communications material for the Speaker and other designees
• concerning information the Speaker wishes to highlight, on behalf of both himself and the Office of the
• Speaker and the Illinois House
• Develop and manage a communications plan and calendar in partnership with policy experts and other
• team members to highlight programming, services, and announcements
• Develop and execute best practices for consistent, optimized regional/local communications
• Prepare the Speaker for media interviews and speaking engagements
Qualifications:
• At least 5 years of experience in communications and media relations
• Strong written skills, including drafting press releases, statements, and digital content
• Excellent verbal communication skills, with the ability to think and communicate clearly, formulate a clear
• point of view on complicated issues, and create a concise and well-written narrative
• Strong understanding of Illinois media, the legislative process, and the political landscape
• Proven ability to work well within a team and elevate potential press opportunities or challenges to
• leadership
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced work environment, work well under tight deadlines, and readily adapt to
• changing priorities
• Demonstrated organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks/projects at once
• On the record experience and experience working with news media
Salary Range:
• Minimum of $70,000; Full-time position; compensation based on experience and education
• Health, dental, vision, prescription, behavioral health, and life insurance, for details visit:
• https://www2.illinois.gov/cms/benefits/StateEmployee/Pages/StateInsuranceProgram.aspx)
• Participation in State Employees’ Retirement System
• Optional participation in health savings account and deferred compensation programs
• Competitive vacation, sick, and personal time
* Steve Brown became Speaker Madigan’s press secretary after Brown’s tenure with Mayor Jane Byrne ended. His current contract runs through the end of June.
Brown told me he had suggested to Welch that he should find someone to help him establish his own presence and identity and Brown offered to help.
I imagine we’ll be seeing a whole lot of stories about Brown’s tenure in the coming months, but I just wanted to mark this moment today. I’ll have more another time. Meanwhile, here’s a classic pic…
We’ve had our differences over the years (whew, boy), but I do appreciate his service and his friendship.
Also, $70K? I sure hope they’re not gonna go with the lowest bidder.
In a new Illinois House speaker, scandal-tainted Commonwealth Edison may have a powerful new friend in its pursuit of locking in a controversial and profitable method of setting electricity rates that has cost consumers billions of dollars in the past decade.
As recently as 2019, Democratic House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch favored a long-term extension of ComEd’s soon-to-expire and highly lucrative ratemaking template. Federal prosecutors connected passage of the 2011 bill that originally authorized those rates to the company’s long-running Springfield bribery scheme.
ComEd’s so-called formula ratemaking expires in 2022 and figures to be part of talks surrounding a big utility omnibus that could surface this spring in Springfield, with Welch potentially playing a prominent role in its development.
The rate-making system put in place a decade ago weakened state regulators’ oversight of utility rates and essentially guaranteed ComEd would always turn a profit. […]
In 2019, allies of the company introduced two similar bills in the House and Senate that initially would have extended formula ratemaking into perpetuity, but later amended that extension to 10 years. Both Welch and newly installed Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorne Woods, were co-sponsors of the measure.
ComEd’s past behavior is not defensible. Going forward, however, the company is bound by a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors. That means the G is monitoring the company pretty closely. ComEd’s entire fate depends on it successfully emerging from that DPA. Everyone around the Statehouse ought to know that. So, Speaker Welch and Leader McConchie would have to be outstandingly stupid to engage in any hanky panky.
Understandably, the consumer groups are raising a stink, partly because it helps them kill any attempt to pass that costly formula rate extension. It’s the smart move. But the reality is that the legislature could finally be in a position where ComEd’s Statehouse operation is at least somewhat more about the merits of an issue than the company’s political clout.
At least, I hope so. As we’ve seen time and time again, people can be truly dumb. But if this DPA doesn’t stop them, I’m not sure what could, short of putting all the execs in prison and breaking up the company.
* Speaking of which, here’s another press release from our two US Senators…
Following an announcement by the Biden Justice Department that Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys appointed under the previous Administration were to submit their resignations by February 28, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) renewed their request that John Lausch, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, be permitted to remain in his position until the confirmation of his successor. In a letter to President Joe Biden, Durbin and Duckworth noted that there is precedent for U.S. Attorneys in the Northern District of Illinois to remain in office across administrations in order to conclude sensitive investigations. Durbin and Duckworth first voiced their desire to retain Mr. Lausch until his successor is confirmed back in November 2020.
“We have made our position clear on Mr. Lausch’s retention both publicly and privately, including in direct conversations with the White House Counsel as recently as last week,” the Senators wrote. “We reiterate today that John Lausch should be permitted to remain in place until the confirmation of his successor.”
In August 2017, the non-partisan screening committee set up by Durbin and Duckworth to assist them in evaluating candidates for vacant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Marshal, and federal judgeship positions in Illinois recommended Mr. Lausch to serve as the next United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. He was unanimously confirmed by voice vote in the Senate on November 9, 2017.
Thursday, Feb 11, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
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From the Chicago Sun Times
It would be nice if society could order up frank, respectful and loving discussions in every home by fiat.
But often, that’s just not how life works.
That’s the flaw in Illinois’ Parental Notice of Abortion Act, which requires that doctors who intend to perform an abortion for a minor give at least 48 hours of notice to an adult family member. In too many homes, such a notification could be disastrous.
It’s time to repeal this law. An effort to do so got no further than approval by a state Senate committee two years ago, but a new effort is expected to be introduced in the Legislature this week. And this time around, this editorial page — along with many of the most respected medical groups in the country — hopes to see a bill land on the governor’s desk.
* Joint statement from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle…
Our goal is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly and efficiently as possible. That said, our greatest challenge in doing so is the very limited supply of vaccine we are receiving. While we are making progress every day with vaccinating people in 1a and 1b, at this time we are not being supplied with enough doses that would allow us to expand eligibility in these phases.
Doing so in Chicago and Cook County would add well over one million additional people to 1b, and the result would be that those currently eligible, including seniors, frontline essential workers and those in our most heavily COVID-burdened communities, would have an even harder time getting a vaccine.
These phases were established after careful study and consideration, and are based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We recognize the Governor must make tough choices and consider needs across this diverse state, but given the limited supply of vaccine, we must also make the tough choices as the leaders of the most populous city and county in the state. We look forward to expanding eligibility as vaccine supply improves.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Wednesday the city is only getting enough vaccine for 5% to 10% of Chicagoans who are already eligible.
The expansion of eligibility may make sense in other parts of Illinois, where there is ample supply, Arwady said.
Under the city’s vaccine rollout plan, all essential workers as well as Chicagoans age 16 and older with underlying health issues will be eligible to get vaccinated as of March 29, if there is enough supply.
More than 900,000 Chicagoans would be eligible in the next phase of the effort, Arwady said. But the city does not have “anywhere near” enough vaccine to meet that demand, she added.
I don’t think there’s ample supply anywhere, but dosage shipments are about to increase and the governor’s folks say they’re they’re finally getting reliable shipment estimates out of the White House.
The governor is speaking at 10 o’clock in Elgin, so we should know more soon. I’ll update this post.
Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday she will allow Chicago bars and restaurants to expand the number of people they serve indoors.
But the city will continue to keep tighter restrictions on restaurants than the looser rules allowed elsewhere by the state.
…Adding… Pritzker press release…
The number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination locations across Illinois continues to increase. Since yesterday, more than 340 new retail pharmacy locations have been added to the list of COVID-19 vaccination sites open to the public. There are now more than 850 vaccination locations in Illinois open to the public. The new sites include 339 Walgreens stores throughout Illinois, which will be receiving vaccine out of a federal allocation and not from the state’s allotment. Additionally, four CVS locations are being added.
The Governor strongly believes the most medically vulnerable in our state should qualify for vaccination as soon as possible, and that it would be unfair for the medically vulnerable like cancer patients to be denied vaccine in Illinois. Even though vaccine supply remains limited throughout the nation, the pipeline has started to increase and nearly 100 million more doses are on the horizon. Federal guidance already includes this vulnerable group, and the Governor is particularly invested in expanding access because this group includes a disproportionately large share of vulnerable people of color.
The part about federal guidance is key there.
Background…
The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is up for approval in just a few weeks, and 100 million doses of the vaccine are expected to be distributed nationally.
The federal government has already increased the supply of vaccine sent to states over the past week and started delivering more doses to pharmacies across the state.
With these promising developments, other states have begun to expand phase 1B in line with federal guidance, and some local health departments across the state have already expressed their readiness to move to the next prioritization group in the coming weeks.
The state of Illinois is working with local health departments to ensure they have the resources they need to administer doses to those who need them most as quickly as possible.
This critical step gives local health departments the ability to make plans to open up appointments to this group of vulnerable residents.
Senator Darren Bailey, who was kicked off the House floor for refusing to wear a mask, told me Monday he hasn't seen conclusive evidence that masks work to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. Today, GOP Leader Dan McConchie assigned Bailey to the Senate Health Committee.
*** UPDATE *** Sen. Sara Feigenholtz is a member of the Health Committee…
“Having had a front row seat to Darren Bailey’s anti-masker and science-denying tirade during the pandemic, I certainly hope that after nearly 20,000 Illinoisans have died from the pandemic, his seat on the Senate Health Committee doesn’t result in another slap in the face to science and health care facts.”
