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Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Every year at this time, I play these videos for my mom, who watched them when she was a kid. Here’s Suzy Snowflake, Frosty the Snowman and Hardrock, Coco and Joe…

Have a wonderful break!

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And the winners are…

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The 2022 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Use of Social Media goes to Tina Sfondeles…

I get both interesting political/government scoops and needed doses of humor from Tina Sfondeles’ Twitter account, at least while it lasts.

@ChicagoBars gets honorable mention, and his nomination of Tina is also worth noting…

Good to have her back in Chicago reporting. This nomination is contingent on Miss Sfondeles getting the Sun Times web site to quit asking me to log in every 2 days on my phone.

Yes, please.

* The Wordslinger Golden Horseshoe Award for Best CapitolFax.com Commenter goes to walker…

He frequently notes insightful and often overlooked points to the critical issues facing Illinois. And his brevity in doing so is worthy of emulation by all, especially me.

From Oswego Willy’s walker nomination…

I mean, how often to do we read “walker is correct”?

Very often.

True.

* Congratulations to everyone who won this year…

    Best Session Restaurant: Fritz’s

    Best Session Tavern/Hangout: JP Kelly’s

    Best Senate Democrat Legislative Assistant/District Office Manager: Ivan Gonzalez

    Best Senate Republican Legislative Assistant/District Office Manage: Cathy Scaife

    Best House Democrat Legislative Assistant/District Office Manager: Ricardo Montoya-Picazo

    Best House Republican Legislative Assistant/District Office Manager: Megan McGuire

    Best House Democrat Legislative Assistant/District Office Manager: Ricardo Montoya-Picazo

    Best House Republican Legislative Assistant/District Office Manager: Megan McGuire

    Best Non Political State Senate Staffer: Meredith O’Brien

    Best Non Political State House Staffer: Kendra Piercy

    Best Senate Democrat Campaign Staffer: Kevin Romo & Dana Stoerger

    Best House Democrat Campaign Staffer: Craig Willert

    Best Senate Republican Campaign Staffer: Brent Ellis & Matt Butcher

    Best House Republican Campaign Staffer: Mark Revis

    Best Government Spokesperson: Eleni Demertzis & Abdon Pallasch

    Best Campaign Spokesperson: Natalie Edelstein

    Best Democrat Illinois State Representative: Rep. Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside)

    Best Republican Illinois State Representative: Rep. Tom Bennett (R-Gibson City)

    Best Democrat Illinois State Senator: Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago)

    Best Republican Illinois State Senator: Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove)

    Best Contract Lobbyist: Heather Wier Vaught & Liz Brown

    Best In-House Lobbyist: Khadine Bennett

    Best Legislative Liaison: Andi VanderKolk

    Best State Agency Director: Alexis Sturm

    Best Statewide Staffer: Anne Caprara

    Best Do-Gooder Lobbyist: John Amdor

    Best US Representative: Adam Kinzinger

    Best Statewide Officeholder: JB Pritzker

    Lifetime Achievement: Secretary of State Jesse White

    Best Association/Union Leader: Terry Cosgrove

    Best Use of Social Media: Tina Sfondeles

    Wordslinger Golden Horseshoe Award for Best CapitolFax.com Commenter: walker

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Pritzker inauguration events announced

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton’s Inaugural Committee announced the schedule of events for Inauguration Day on Monday, January 9, 2023, in Springfield.

The inaugural ceremony to swear in Governor Pritzker, Lt. Governor Stratton, and other constitutional officers will take place at 11:30 a.m. at the Bank of Springfield Center. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. Interested parties may request up to two complimentary tickets on the inauguration website starting on Friday, December 16, 2022, at ilinauguration23.com.

The governor and lieutenant governor’s inauguration celebration will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Exposition Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Pre-sale tickets will be available by invitation only with general-sale tickets to be announced pending availability. Ticket sales will benefit charitable endeavors in Illinois and will be announced at a later date.

Additional details for media coverage will be forthcoming.

ABOUT THE JB INAUGURATION COMMITTEE 2023

 
The JB Inauguration Committee 2023 is collecting and voluntarily reporting the name, address, employer, and occupation of donors that contribute more than $1,000. We will not accept anonymous contributions or contributions in cash. JB Inauguration Committee 2023 is a 501(c)(4) not-for-profit organization.

Any guesses who the musical headliner will be this time?

  7 Comments      


Distorting good news to make it appear like it’s bad news

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a Center Square story entitled “State commission offers uncertain forecast for Illinois’ economy”…

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability provided an update on the 2023 forecast to the Illinois State Board of Education Wednesday and said it is increasing its fiscal year 2023 revenue outlook to just over $51 billion. That is only $259 million above fiscal 2022 final levels.

“Only.”

What a crock.

* Here’s what CGFA actually reported…

Through the first five months of the fiscal year, overall general funds receipts are up an amazing $1.945 billion. […]

Even when excluding the $620 million growth in one-time revenues from Federal ARPA reimbursements, the general funds base growth of $1.325 billion is just as impressive - especially considering that these FY 2023 receipts are being compared to the record-breaking levels of FY 2022.

Personal income tax receipts through November are $1.019 billion above last year’s pace on a gross basis, or $860 million on a net basis. Corporate income tax receipts have risen $380 million in total or $311 million net. While the performance of sales tax receipts have been boosted by inflated prices, it still has resulted in year-to-date tax revenue growth of $407 million or $235 million net.

CGFA is usually reticent to use glowing phrases like “amazing” and “impressive,” but there you go.

* Here’s what happened. CGFA revised this fiscal year’s revenue outlook upward by $4.9 billion in November. The “strong overall performance” of financial numbers released since that decision, CGFA reported, “further solidify the Commission’s confidence in raising the FY 2023 general funds revenue estimate.”

The commission’s revised forecast was about $1.2 billion higher than the governor’s budget office revision. The governor used that GOMB forecast to justify paying off the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund debt, among other things.

* And here’s where the Center Square misinformation is important. The current FY23 state budget as originally drafted relied on total revenue projections of $46.43 billion, which was back then about $4.6 billion below FY22’s record-breaking $51.07 billion in revenues. So, if CGFA is right, then the recently revised forecast would result in total revenues almost $300 million higher than last year’s, or almost $4.9 billion higher than originally expected.

Not to mention the CGFA report advised that another upward revenue revision is possible next March, “if any semblance of the current pace of revenue growth continues.” Personal income tax receipts are currently running “well ahead” of last fiscal year’s pace, CGFA notes, but CGFA’s newly revised estimates still predict the revenue stream will decline by nearly $700 million this fiscal year.

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SDems issue list of “ten most interesting new laws”

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

As the new year starts, a number of new laws take effect. Nearly 200 laws will officially be on the books Jan. 1 – from one that bans latex gloves during food preparation, to another that reduces vehicle registration fees for seniors.

The Senate Democratic Caucus outlined 10 of the most interesting laws that will affect Illinoisans in all corners of the state. Those include:

    · SB 3120: Allows women who have a miscarriage, other diagnosis or event that impacts pregnancy or fertility, or death of a family member to take 10 days of unpaid leave.
    · SB 3459: Requires next of kin to any Illinois resident who dies while on State Active Duty or Federal Active Duty, to be presented the Illinois state flag.
    · SB 3609: Reduces the vehicle registration fees for cars and small trucks if it was manufactured in Illinois.
    · SB 3616: Changes the Illinois Human Rights Act to include traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists, to combat hair discrimination in the workplace.
    · SB 3667: Provides that a petition for a protective order may be filed at any time, in-person, by email, or online, and that a county with a population above 250,000 must offer the option of a remote hearing.
    · SB 3932: Requires a coroner or medical examiner with custody of human remains that are not identified within 72 hours of discovery to notify the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
    · HB 209: Bans latex gloves for the use of handling and preparing food, as well as for EMA personnel.
    · HB 3772: Provides people whose cars were stolen not be liable for violations, fees, fines or penalties when caught on red light cameras or speed cameras.
    · HB 4271: Requires medically necessary breast reduction surgery to be covered by state-regulated private insurance.
    · HB 5304: Reduces the vehicle registration fee for senior citizens from $24 to $10.

For more information on the laws above, click here.

Dozens of other laws will also take effect Jan. 1, 2023. A full list can be found at www.illinoissenatedemocrats.com/2023NewLaws.

Thoughts?

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Some Pritzker folks receive promotions

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Some past Golden Horseshoe winners in here…

Gov. Pritzker Announces Staff Transitions

CHICAGO – Ahead of being sworn in to serve the state of Illinois for a second term, Governor JB Pritzker announced the following staff transitions.

Emily Miller will now oversee both of Governor Pritzker’s Policy and Legislative teams as Senior Advisor to the Governor for Policy and Legislative Affairs. Miller is an attorney who has previously served as Governor Pritzker’s deputy chief of staff for policy, and as a policy advisor to Governor Pritzker’s 2018 campaign. Prior to that, Miller directed policy and advocacy work at Illinois-based non-profit organizations where she specialized in issues related to economic mobility, early childhood education, fiscal policy, consumer protection, human services, and government accountability. Miller began her career in Illinois policy and politics after she graduated from the DePaul university college of law in 2006.

Chris Shallow returns to the Governor’s Office to serve as Legislative Director after serving as Political Director on the Governor’s 2022 reelection campaign. He previously served as Director of Public Engagement in the Office of Governor Pritzker. Before entering state government Shallow served as District Director for Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, and over the last decade has held management roles within numerous political and campaign organizations. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, a native Illinoisan, and a passionate White Sox fan.

Jordan Abudayyeh will begin a new role as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Strategic Media, overseeing the Governor’s Communications team. Abudayyeh previously served as Governor Pritzker’s Press Secretary for his first term. Abudayyeh also served the same role on Pritzker’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign. Before entering politics, Abudayyeh was an award-winning political reporter for Springfield’s ABC affiliate WICS-TV, an anchor and producer for Naperville’s NCTV17, and an associate producer for Milwaukee’s WISN-TV. She received a degree in broadcast journalism and sociology from Marquette University.

Jason Rubin will begin a new role as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Agency Strategy, overseeing the Governor’s Communications team. Rubin previously served as Governor Pritzker’s Deputy Communications Director, a role he has held since the governor’s inauguration. Prior to that, Rubin served as Deputy Communications Director on the governor’s 2018 campaign and held communications roles with New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development and Rep. Patrick Murphy’s 2016 U.S. Senate campaign in Florida. Rubin began his career in politics as the Director of Scheduling for U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. He is a graduate of Vassar College with a degree in political science.

Emily Bittner will begin serving as Senior Advisor to the Governor, overseeing a new portfolio including the Department of Innovation and Technology, the Illinois Tollway, the Illinois Racing Board, the Illinois Gaming Board, along with the Illinois Lottery. Previously, Bittner served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications. She also served as Chief of Strategy for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a role she began in 2017 after serving for three years at Chicago Public Schools, where she led the district’s communications and strategic efforts during the push for historic education funding reform. Bittner served as an adviser for Mayor Emanuel’s 2015 re-election campaign. Bittner previously led communications strategy serving as the chief spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, and the Democratic Governors Association. She began her career as a reporter at The Arizona Republic covering public safety. Bittner is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she earned degrees in journalism and political science.

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Afternoon news roundup

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Far-right Republicans regularly demand a single flavor of Republicanism. But while a large chunk of the party’s members side with those folks, majorities and pluralities appear to support a big tent philosophy on most individual hot-button issues, according to a Monmouth University poll of party members…

However…

A majority (55%) of Republican voters continue to say that Biden’s 2020 victory was due only to voter fraud. Just 28% say the current president won fair and square.

*Heavy sigh*

I don’t know how anyone can be taken seriously if they believe that nonsense.

* From the Illinois Supreme Court…

The Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force (Task Force) has updated its resource documents, including draft flowcharts, considerations documents and sample orders, to reflect the latest Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) amendments as of December 15, 2022.

The updated resources and other Task Force information can be found here.

* “Voters overwhelmingly rejected my candidate, so they are all doomed to ignominious death”…


Merry Christmas to you, too, Dan.

…Adding… Amnesty International…

Amnesty International USA’s Campaign Manager for Ending Gun Violence, Ernest Coverson, issued the following statement in support of the Protect Illinois Communities Act (HB5855).

“It’s imperative that the Illinois legislature pass the Protect Illinois Communities Act ahead of the January session. This bill, which would ban assault weapons, among other provisions, is a step toward keeping the communities of Illinois safer and free of gun violence. Gun violence continues to tear apart our communities nationwide and has a disproportionate impact on people of color; for example, nationally, Black people are 10 times more likely to be victims of firearm-related homicides and 18 times more likely to suffer firearm-related injuries than white people. Illinois was ravaged by gun violence this year with more than 50 mass shooting incidents, some of which could have been prevented with stricter gun control measures such as what is contained in HB 5855.”

“Legislation like the Protect Illinois Communities Act puts necessary safeguards in place such as banning large capacity magazines, rapid-fire mechanisms, increasing the Firearm Owners Identification eligibility age to 21 with limited, specific exceptions, and dedicating law enforcement to counter the trafficking of illegal firearms from out of state. All of these measures will help address the plague of gun violence in both urban and rural communities across the state. Amnesty International urges state leaders and local communities to come together to support the Protect Illinois Communities Act and move one step closer to a safer Illinois.”

* Oops…

Federal prosecutors say recent FBI surveillance of Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) undermined her claim that she is medically unfit to stand trial on public corruption charges.

In asking last month for U.S. District Judge John Kness to find her unfit, Austin’s lawyers said her deteriorating health issues have brought her to a point where she could not pass a six-minute walking test in September, and that she struggles even with the help of a portable oxygen concentrator.

But while being surveilled on Nov. 19, the feds say Austin was seen walking in and out of a salon unassisted. After spending three hours at the salon, she was allegedly seen visiting a beauty store — “again, unassisted.”

“FBI agents did not observe her using oxygen at any time during the surveillance,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Didwania wrote.

* Press release…

Memorial services for State Senator Scott Bennett will be held on Monday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana.

Senator Bennett passed away on Friday, Dec. 9 surrounded by his wife, family and loved ones from complications of a large brain tumor.

He had served in the Senate since 2015 and has served as chair of the Senate’s Higher Education and Agriculture committees.

Senator Bennett, a fifth-generation Central Illinoisan, was a tireless advocate and champion for measures to protect and improve the quality of life for the most vulnerable in our state: children, families, older adults, and individuals with developmental disabilities and mental health issues.

During his tenure, he fought to secure MAP grant funding and make college more affordable for Illinois families, instituted protections to keep the drinking water in the Mahomet Aquifer safe, promoted compassionate courtrooms by authorizing the use of “comfort dogs,” and teamed up with Treasurer Michael Frerichs to create the Illinois Achieving a Better Life Expectancy Act, better known as the ABLE Act.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations in Senator Bennett’s memory to CU Able or Champaign-Urbana Autism Network, as his priority for the upcoming legislative session was going to center around assistance for people with disabilities.

The Bennett family has asked that their privacy is respected as they navigate this difficult time.

WHO: Governor JB Pritzker, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert J. Jones, State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs, U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe, Senate President Don Harmon, Former State Senator Pat McGuire, State Representative Tom Bennett, Champaign County States Attorney Julia Rietz and Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen

WHEN: Doors open at 9 a.m. and the Memorial will start 10 a.m., Monday, Dec. 19, 2022

WHERE: Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL) and live on BlueRoomStream.com

* From Navy Pier…

CHICAGO— Reyes Coca-Cola is bringing in the classic Coca-Cola Caravan Saturday, December 17 from 4 pm – 9 pm. This Coca-Cola semi-truck is decked out in holiday lights! Guests are invited to take a free photo with the iconic Coca-Cola Polar Bear and enjoy a free sample of Coca-Cola products. Reyes Coca-Cola is the new beverage partner across the Pier.

On Friday, December 16, Ozinga’s Merry Mixer is coming to Navy Pier. Ozinga’s signature red-and-white striped mixer is decked out with more than 32,000 programmed lights. This dazzling display features animated light sequences and toe-tapping renditions of favorite holiday tunes. Guests can experience this free display from 4 pm – 10 pm.

The Holidays are coming alive all-around Navy Pier! Visit our Winter Artisan Market to find a one-of-a-kind, locally-made gift. Guests can join one of our free workshops led by Chicago artists and learn how to make a gift for your special someone. Stay into the evening to celebrate the season at our night markets while enjoying some tunes from local musicians or sipping on a holiday cocktail from one of our restaurants.

On Saturday, December 17 from 1 pm – 3 pm, there will be cookie decorating. Guests will choose different holiday-themed cookies and learn from a master cookie decorator how to paint and decorate edible holiday scenes. Then, from 4 pm – 6 pm, local Chicago artist, Cookie Kwan, will guide guests in the creation of traditional Filipino ‘Parol Lanterns’ which are displayed throughout the holiday season.

From 7 pm – 9 pm, guests will begin the Gift of Music workshop by selecting a song that reminds them of someone. The first part of this workshop is creating a detailed card in the shape of a record with a note attached to it as well as an envelope to insert the card into. The second part of the workshop will include printing out a QR code to the song selected that will then be attached to the card. When the QR code is scanned, the song will play on the person’s phone.

There will be live art with Natalia Virafuentes from 2 pm – 5 pm. Virafuentes is a Mexican-American multimedia artist born and raised in the city of Chicago. Her works go from 2D to 3D but primarily consist of drawing and painting. She has been working hard as a muralist since 2019. Guests can also enjoy live holiday music by JoLin & the Cousins from 6 pm – 8 pm.

* Thanks, but the real thanks go to the people who stepped up and more than doubled our previous online fundraising record set in 2021…


* Isabel’s roundup…

    * FOX 32 | New poll shows Lightfoot trailing Garcia, Vallas: A new voter opinion survey suggests Mayor Lori Lightfoot would come in third if the Feb. 28 election were held today. That would eliminate the first-term incumbent from competing in any April runoff election.

    * Lake County News-Sun | Lake County’s first Latino and openly gay countywide official begins term; ‘Government works better when it reflects the community’: The 30-year-old is believed to be the both the first Latino and first openly gay person to hold an elected, countywide office in Lake County. “A few cycles ago, Avon Township in Lake County made history by electing Krystal Larson the first openly transgender township clerk,” Vega said. “It’s 2022, the county is a quarter Latino, we have thousands of folks that are proudly LGBTQ and I’ve always said government works better when it reflects the community they represent.

    * FOX 32 | Staffing woes hamper CPD reform efforts, new report warns: The Chicago Police Department’s deep staffing and personnel issues continue to hinder its court-ordered reform efforts, according to a progress report released Thursday. By the end of the most recent reporting period, covering the first half of the year, the police department had earned some form of compliance with 78% of the reviewable sections in the sweeping federal consent decree, which the city entered into after the police killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014.

    * Crain’s | Inflation is eroding the power of basic income checks in America: A group of low-income residents of Cook County, Illinois is getting their first $500 checks this week from the $42 million two-year program, which organizers say is the largest-ever such initiative in the US. The idea is to give families a government-funded guaranteed payment every month to help pay for the basics like food, shelter and other living expenses. Lightfoot’s budget doesn’t include funding to extend Chicago’s basic income program beyond one year. But with soaring prices for everything from food to fuel, more than 3,000 recipients will find that money won’t stretch nearly as far as when the grants were announced in May.

    * Crain’s | Unionized Starbucks workers kick off three-day strike: Employees of unionized Starbucks locations are participating in a nationwide demonstration starting today. Workers are demanding an end to store closures in a three-day unfair labor practice strike through the weekend. Six locations across Illinois, four of them in Chicago, are taking part in the action, which begins at 7 a.m. today. The demonstration includes 100 locations across the country.

    * WTTW | 14-Year-Old Charged With Bringing Firearm Into Chicago Elementary School: Chicago police announced the student has been charged with felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon and threat to a school building. He was also cited for possessing a high-capacity magazine and metal piercing bullets. According to police, the student — whose name was not released because he is a minor — was arrested Wednesday at Mary E. Courtenay Language Arts Center, 4420 N. Beacon St., after he was reported to staff in the building.

    * Semafor | Democratic lawmakers are looking for the exits in case Twitter implodes: A number of Democrats have publicly criticized Musk’s recent decisions to suspend journalists, his conspiratorial tweets, and his abandonment of the prior management’s approach to hate speech and harassment. While no members are quitting just yet, several offices say they’re checking out new options and may change up their social media diet.

    * Daily Herald | Botched police raids lead to change in state’s attorney’s warrants policy: “The intrusion that search warrants legally authorize justifies greater disclosure and transparency to ensure that a search warrant is carried out on the correct individual and location,” State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said in announcing changes. “Going forward to receive our signoff, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office will require law enforcement to submit to increased checks of the information provided to request search warrants and then disclose the outcome of the warrant.

    * Tribune | Chicago police officer tied to disgraced unit fired 18 years after scandal: The Police Board decided to dismiss Officer Thomas Sherry in a 5 to 1 decision for his alleged actions in the disgraced Special Operations Section, a specialized unit that was disbanded when some of its officers committed home invasions and robberies in the 2000s.

    * Crain’s | Kinzinger delivers a scathing farewell speech that singes the GOP—and Dems, too: The Channahon Republican, who along with now-ousted Wyoming Republican Liz Cheney was one of only two GOP members to serve on the House’s Jan. 6 investigative committee, criticized his party for embracing “lies and deceit” while buying in to conspiracy theories and slavishly supporting former President Donald Trump.

    * The Hill | Trump’s digital cards sell out within a day: As of Friday morning, the site selling the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) says they are sold out, and links to purchase the digital cards are no longer available. OpenSea Data, which tracks the sales and markets for NFTs, indicated there were 45,000 of the Trump cards initially made available for purchase for $99 each. The Trump digital cards were the top trending item on the site as of Friday morning.

    * Crain’s | NASCAR’s image overhaul starts in Chicago: NASCAR has to change something to rebuild its audience. Its average national TV viewership has shrunk to just over 3 million people per race, barely half of its size 10 years ago, though that drop may be partly a product of fewer people subscribing to pay-TV or streaming services. Stock car racing has been gradually reverting to its roots as a regional Southern sport, a far cry from its glory days two decades ago, when its popularity exploded nationally. Ratings for the Daytona 500 topped the World Series for four years in the mid-2000s.

    * WTTW | Chuck Swirsky, Radio Voice of Chicago Bulls, Reflects on 50 Years in Broadcasting: His broadcasting career spans 50 years and many sports, but basketball was always his first love and this is now his 25th season in his dream role as an NBA broadcaster. A pioneer of Chicago sports talk radio, Swirsky has also covered many iconic moments in sports history – including L.A. Laker Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors in 2006.

    * The Southern | A Murphysboro woman has been battling against a sinkhole in her driveway for over 2 years : For about two and a half years, Wilson has been dealing with the sinkhole. Her son, Johnnie Sims, said nearly 40 tons of gravel has been put into the hole. Each time it is repaired with gravel, the sinkhole opens back up again. In mid-November, nine tons of gravel was placed in the hole in an attempt to stop it from reopening. By the first of December, it was open again.

  17 Comments      


Do better

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* More info is here if you need it. From Crain’s…

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is swinging for the fences when it comes to Stellantis.

As he works with the Legislature for additional tools to lure and retain automotive jobs, including a new “deal closing” fund and tax credits, Pritzker hinted he’s trying to land an auto-assembly plant and a battery factory in Belvidere. […]

Stellantis is the largest property tax payer in Boone County, near Rockford, where its plant is located. It paid $1.9 million in property taxes this year and owns about 249 acres under and around its factory. EV plants with battery factories nearby can be 10 times that size. Hyundai’s new vehicle and battery plants in Georgia are on a 2,900-acre site. Rivian’s planned vehicle and battery plants are on nearly 2,000 acres However, the Stellantis facility sits across Interstate 90 from a vast swath of farmland.

The Rivian and Hyundai projects are valued at about $5.5 billion each and promise to create about 7,500 manufacturing jobs apiece. But they’ve also garnered huge incentives, totaling about $1.5 billion for each project.

* And this map posted by the White House Director of the National Economic Council clearly shows why the governor feels the need to kick it into gear…


Not quite “all over America.”

  11 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Gun issue update

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Lawmakers heard more testimony for and against assault weapons ban

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Background is here if you need it. Peter Hancock…

A legislative committee on Thursday heard more witnesses call for a ban on high-power, semi-automatic rifles and large-capacity magazines, but some experts said that alone won’t solve the problem of violent crime in Illinois.

During its second hearing on a proposed assault weapon ban, an Illinois House committee, meeting in Chicago, heard from several officials who said public investment in marginalized communities and community-based programs that aim to stop cycles of violence also are needed. […]

Adams spoke during a House Judiciary-Criminal Committee hearing on House Bill 5855, sponsored by Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield. It would ban the sale and possession of “assault weapons,” .50 caliber rifles, .50 caliber cartridges and high-capacity magazines. The bill provides a long list of firearms, both rifles and pistols, that would fall under the definition of “assault weapons.”

And starting 300 days after the bill takes effect, it would make it illegal to possess such a weapon or ammunition unless it is registered with the Illinois State Police.

* AP…

“The goal is to make sure we’re keeping dangerous weapons from those who shouldn’t have them,” said the measure’s sponsor, Rep. Bob Morgan, a Democrat from the Chicago suburb of Deerfield who attended the Highland Park parade. […]

People under age 21 currently can obtain a Firearm Owners Identification card with the consent of a parent or guardian, but the measure would prohibit those under 21 who are not in the military from getting the card. They could hunt under the supervision of a guardian who has a gun owner ID.

A court-ordered Firearm Restraining Order could be issued for a year, instead of six months. The bill would also bolster the power of the Illinois State Police to target trafficking of illegal guns from outside state lines, working with federal authorities.

Rep. Tony McCombie, a Republican from the western Illinois city of Savannah, said rather than protect communities, the plan would jeopardize safety.

“This will leave communities, women unprotected,” said McCombie, who will be the House Minority Leader when a new Legislature is seated next month. “They’ll be unprotected and ultimately victimized. This is ineffective and unconstitutional.”

* The Center Square…

While supporting the measure, Joseph Saunders with Brave Youth Group said at the crux of the issue is the hearts of bad actors.

“They gonna go with bats, they’re gonna go with knives, anything that they can pick up, screwdrivers, like they do in the penitentiary,” Saunders said. “I’m talking about a heart and a mind change.” […]

Alongside other opponents speaking as individuals, Andrew Guadarrama laid out recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent that he said would block any kind of widespread gun and magazine ban.

“Most handguns are 10-plus [bullets in a magazine],” Guadarrama told the committee. “This severely restricts access to firearms, which has already been ruled unconstitutional.”

* WMBD…

Despite the name, the Protect Illinois Communities Act, some critics said it doesn’t provide much protection. […]

But a majority of those who testified, including advocacy groups, researchers, grassroots organizations, community outreach workers, parents and gun violence survivors, all embraced this proposal for possible change.

Maria Pike, a member of Moms Demand Action, lost her son to gun violence and said the contents of House Bill 5855 could have made a difference in recent mass shootings. […]

Supporters also said this bill is a step in the right direction, but it’s not an overall solution to the problem.

They said more resources and funding for community outreach groups and violence prevention are needed throughout the state.

Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly is expected to testify during next Tuesday’s hearing.

* More…

    * Patch | Duckworth Holds Video Call With Highland Park High School Students: The Illinois Democrat and combat veteran has long been a supporter of a ban on assault-style weapons like the AR-15 and similar semiautomatic rifles. “From their portability, accuracy, rate of fire ability to penetrate certain body armor and ease of reloading, both the military-issued M4 Carbine and the civilian AR-15, and its variants, are functionally similar and they are designed for combat. The lack of a three-round burst or full-auto mechanism does not meaningfully reduce the AR-15’s lethality compared to the M4,” Duckworth testified at a Senate hearing following the Highland Park massacre.

    * St Louis Dispatch | To combat gun violence, East St. Louis artist turns ammunition into art: Each year since he was 17, Ash has lost at least one friend or relative to gun violence. That includes his cousin Dashaun “Bookie” Gage, 28, who died in 2018 in a shooting in front of a gas station across the Mississippi River in St. Louis. Ash and Gage were close. Losing Gage left Ash so traumatized that he stopped going to that gas station. He turned to his art after the shooting, creating a portrait of Gage the same year. “My art saved my life,” Ash said. “There’s so much other stuff that I could have gotten off into.”

    * KFVS | Marion Jr. High students learn importance of mental health with help from ‘Pawfficer Gary’: A southern Illinois police department is using man’s best friend to help teach 7th graders the importance of understanding mental health and knowing that many of us sometimes have the blues. Marion Police Officer Jason Plichta and his four legged partner, Gary, are regular visitors at Marion Jr. High.

  19 Comments      


Question of the day: 2022 Golden Horseshoe Awards

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The 2022 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Association/Union Leader goes to Personal PAC’s Terry Cosgrove…

He’s one of those organizers who makes difficult wins seem inevitable in retrospect. Even as recently as a few years ago, a sizable number of Democratic legislators were wary of any expansions of abortion rights, including the House Speaker. Now the anti-abortion wing of the Democratic party has dwindled without sacrificing any of their majority, and Illinois is a beacon of abortion rights in the Midwest. He helped build a movement and a state that’s ready for the post-Roe world.

Runner-up is Local 150’s Jim Sweeney with a special shoutout to the IMA’s Mark Denzler, who was elected Speaker of the Third House this week and received a strong nomination yesterday.

* The 2022 Golden Horseshoe Award for Lifetime Achievement was a no-brainer. Secretary of State Jesse White…

For lifetime achievement, who else could it be but Jesse White? There will be people more qualified than I to talk about his record as Secretary of State, so I’ll instead dwell on his political accomplishments. He was an old-school city politician, some might even say a ward heeler. But through hard work, competent governing, and boundless charm, he appealed across party lines like maybe no other politician in the country. I can’t tell you how many doors I’ve knocked on where a voter said “I will never vote for Democrats,” and then remembered, “Oh except for Jesse White of course.” His popularity is worthy not just of praise, but academic study. Political scientists should be flocking to red Illinois counties to see how he did it. I’ve often wondered if anyone, up to and including Barack Obama, could beat Jesse White in an Illinois election. It’s laughably insufficient to say “they don’t make em like Jesse White anymore,” but they really don’t make em like Jesse White anymore.

I think only one other person received a nomination in this category (Cosgrove).

Congratulations!

* On to our final categories…

    Best Use of Social Media

    The Wordslinger Golden Horseshoe Award for Best CapitolFax.com Commenter.

As always, do your best to nominate in both categories and make sure to explain your answers. Also, keep in mind that these awards are for actions this year, not previous years. Thanks!

* One more thing: I want to thank you again for your generosity this year. LSSI sent me a box of tasty cookies today, and I wish I could share them with everyone who helped buy presents for foster kids. As Oprah might say, “You get a cookie! You get a cookie! You get a cookie!”

Seriously, thanks. We’ve so far raised $45,760. I truly do have the best job in Illinois.

  31 Comments      


Canceler complains after cancellation

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune in September…

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten said he won’t hold back from criticizing Awake Illinois, which espouses anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and rallied its supporters against a drag-themed library event in Downers Grove, after the group last week threatened to take legal action against him.

The Downers Grove Public Library on Monday said it was canceling the Drag Queen Bingo event for teens scheduled for Oct. 11 “due to threats that are under active investigation by law enforcement.”

Casten, a two-term Democrat from Downers Grove, has been an outspoken supporter of the event, while his Republican opponent in the Nov. 8 general election, Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau, joined Awake Illinois in calling for its cancellation. […]

“Let’s be clear. This event was canceled because, after my Republican opponent and his far-right allies at Awake Illinois publicly issued a call-to-action to their supporters, the library received severe threats that endangered our community,” the congressman said.

* Proft paper this week…

Shannon Adcock, founder and president of parents rights group Awake Illinois, is disappointed the Hilton Oak Brook capitulated to phoned in threats of a planned protest against of an event sponsored by the organization.

Adcock, who is also chairwoman of the DuPage chapter of Mothers for Liberty, said the Hilton manager returned the group’s deposit and canceled the contract after facing threats of protests.

“(The manager) basically said that although he agrees with our free speech and advocacy, unfortunately, cancel culture is a real thing in they are looking out for their assets and property in case somebody should show up and try and protest us,” Adcock told DuPage Policy Journal.

“I posed the question, ‘what message does that send to the anti free speech free marketplace mob?’ And he didn’t have an answer.”

  26 Comments      


Morning briefing

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* STAT | These 8 states are doing the worst job of treating hepatitis C in prisons: Illinois agreed in 2019 to revamp its entire prison medical program, as part of a civil rights settlement. But it’s still falling woefully short — and the Department of Corrections’ own documents indicate that people are still unnecessarily dying of hepatitis C. An independent review of one such death found that a 56-year-old man had been referred for hepatitis C treatment in 2017 but was never formally considered for the treatment until a few months before his death in November 2021.

* NYT | How a Sprawling Hospital Chain Ignited Its Own Staffing Crisis: At a hospital in a Chicago suburb last winter, there were so few nurses that psychiatric patients with Covid were left waiting a full day for beds, and a single aide was on hand to assist with 32 infected patients. Nurses were so distraught about the inadequate staffing that they banded together to file formal complaints every day for more than a month.

* Crain’s | Working parents are overwhelmed as kids get sick again and again: Parents are facing a triple avalanche of influenza, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), valiantly meeting work deadlines while struggling to fulfill return-to-office requirements. All three viruses are expected to keep doctor’s offices hopping for the coming months, alongside the spread of old standbys like strep throat and common colds.

* Sun-Times | Pritzker, unions herald adoption of Workers’ Rights Amendment: The celebration with union leaders included several references, veiled or explicit, to former Gov. Bruce Rauner, who tried to roll back union power by encouraging right-to-work laws. Right-to-work refers to allowing people to skip paying union dues as a condition of employment.

* Tribune | Secretary of State re-appoints Umair Qadeer to Niles Library Board: Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has reappointed Umair Qadeer as the seventh, tie-breaking trustee on the Niles-Maine District Library Board after a protracted legislative and legal process.

* WGLT | Bloomington’s new state Rep. Dan Caulkins talks about gun control, SAFE-T Act, and post-election resignations: Caulkins is part of the conservative Illinois Freedom Caucus, which touts itself as advocates for limited government, lower taxes and accountability and integrity in government. And after the election, Caulkins is now part of an even smaller Republican super-minority in Democrat-controlled Springfield. In this interview with WGLT, Caulkins talks about a range of policy issues, including recent tweaks to the SAFE-T Act, a proposed assault-style weapons ban, and ethics reform.

* WTTW | García Backs Proposal to Use $10M in Federal COVID-19 Relief to Help Homeowners Struggling With Property Tax Hikes: Officials should use $10 million in federal relief funds designed to help Chicagoans struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic to aid residents dealing with significant increases in their property tax bills, according to a proposal backed by mayoral candidate U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García.

* STL Today | Former Metro East power broker Tom Lakin dies at 82: Tom Lakin, a once-prominent Metro East trial lawyer and Democratic Party power broker later sentenced to prison on federal drug charges, died Monday at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He was 82. Lakin, who headed the influential Lakin Law Firm in Wood River, established himself by the 1990s as one of the top attorneys in the metro area, winning millions of dollars in class action and personal injury claims. … In 2011, he pleaded no contest to a state charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse related to the earlier case but was given no additional prison time beyond his six-year federal sentence.

* WBEZ | Chicago’s NASCAR deal: Fast, furious and full of unanswered questions: Critics want to know who will pay for security and physical damage to downtown. But the bigger question is: Is anyone clamoring for this?

* Vox | The most successful strategy for ending homelessness is under attack: Advocates and researchers have never had stronger evidence about the best way to most effectively house people who need it: a model known as “housing first.” As the name suggests, its focus is getting people into permanent housing and offering them support services, rather than requiring them to address mental health conditions, substance abuse, or job training first.

* Fortune | Sen. Tammy Duckworth introduces a bill to protect IVF in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade’s reversal: Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s journey to parenthood took a decade. After she returned wounded from her service in Iraq, she spoke to her OB/GYN at her Veterans Affairs hospital about trying to have a child. She was referred to a fertility specialist, who came to the waiting room rather than meet with then-39-year-old Duckworth for an appointment. “She told me, ‘You’re too old. There’s no way you could ever get pregnant through reproductive medicine. You just need to go home and enjoy your husband,’” Duckworth remembers.

* WTTW | Callery Pear on List of Species Illinois Assessing as Invasive. Here’s What That Means: Illinois is now conducting assessments of 10 plants to determine whether to recommend the addition of any or all of them to the state’s lists of “noxious” and/or “exotic” weeds, decisions that would make the purchase or sale of the plant illegal.

* Sun-Times | Chicago police officer faces dismissal in alleged beating, wrongful arrest of woman at George Floyd protest: The recommendation from Police Supt. David Brown comes four years after the officer, James Hunt, was suspended for yelling, “I kill motherf——,” an apparent reference to a 17-year-old boy Hunt fatally shot while on duty.

* Crain’s | Farmers say Deere’s repair restrictions violate Clean Air Act: Nonprofit organizations in the “right to repair” movement, including Illinois PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), Repair.org and iFixit, want the EPA to sanction Moline-based Deere for limiting repairs of its machines to authorized Deere dealerships. Farmers want access to software so they can diagnose and handle their own repairs or use an independent mechanic, thereby avoiding high costs and service delays at dealers.

  11 Comments      


Open thread

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* An eventful day on the bird app yesterday…


Anyway, what’s going on in your part of Illinois today?

  16 Comments      


Live coverage

Friday, Dec 16, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive…


  Comments Off      


Discovery Partners Institute teams up with U of I for cannabis research

Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I’ve said for decades that the U of I needs to turn loose its science and agriculture experts on cannabis research. Cannabis is a highly complex plant, and research might find all sorts of uses. Here’s Crain’s…

Discovery Partners Institute, the University of Illinois research center underway in the South Loop, has high hopes to launch a marijuana research facility.

DPI has begun a search for an executive director and researchers, and it has support from the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois. But it doesn’t yet have funding commitments from either one for a project that likely will need tens of millions to become a reality.

The cannabis research institute is the first significant effort by the city and state to build on Chicago’s critical mass in the marijuana industry. The city is home to several of the largest U.S. marijuana companies—including Cresco Labs, Green Thumb Industries, Verano and PharmaCann—which employ thousands of workers. Since legalizing recreational marijuana three years ago, sales have grown to about $1.5 billion.

The University of Illinois sees opportunities to draw on its strengths in agriculture, genomics and medicine to study topics ranging from marijuana production to the health impacts of cannabis.

* Gov. Pritzker was asked about the proposal today…

This is truly the headquarters for most of the cannabis industry in North America, let alone you know, in the United States. And so, being able to do research, which the NIH hasn’t done much of, as you know, being able to foster new innovations for the industry, all of that should happen in the city of Chicago and in the state of Illinois. And so, yeah, having a research institute just makes all the sense in the world, and the industry itself believes that.

Your thoughts?

  17 Comments      


Afternoon news roundup

Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here if you need it. The governor was asked today about Stellantis’ decision to idle its Belvidere plant and the future of electric vehicle manufacturing in Illinois…

We’re aggressively talking to every EV manufacturer that we can talk to, and that’s most of them in the country and outside the country. And, as you know, the Jeep Cherokee is what was being built, is being built now at this plant, factory and although they intend to idle that factory, it’s in part because Jeep Cherokee has come down as a priority for Stellantis in terms of their sales.

And so they’re looking for repurposing, what are they going to do on that spot. So we’ve been working with them for quite some time to try to make sure that they have an opportunity to put back to work the people who are at the current Jeep Cherokee plant.

Fortunately, they have enough land there. EVs are not, it’s not something you can take an existing footprint of an [internal combustion vehicle] manufacturing plant and just convert it. That doesn’t happen for EV. EV is a much larger enterprise. Typically they’re co-locating and that’s something that Stellantis is especially focused on for batteries and other components. So they need a lot of land. Fortunately, Belvedere, there’s a lot of land and they own most of that surrounding land. So I think we’re in a good position to help them get to what is the next phase of manufacturing in Belvedere

Please pardon all transcription errors.

* Interesting stuff…


* Rep. Delia Ramirez has resigned her House seat now that she’s about to be sworn in as a US Rep. Lilian Jimenez won that district in November, so you gotta figure that she’ll be appointed early. As expected, Rep. Tim Butler submitted his resignation yesterday. Click here to read it.

* AFSCME Council 31 heads back to the negotiating table for a new contract for its 35,000 state employees. Some stated priorities…

“With this revenue, there are a lot of competing interests who want to be prioritized for funding,” said Council 31 Director of Research and Employee Benefits Martha Merrill. “Just because the state is in a more stable position doesn’t mean that it wants to spend more money on employees. We’re still going to have to demand what we deserve like we do at every bargaining table.”

There’s another reason that the state’s finances are exceeding expectations: the staffing crisis. With so many vacant positions in state government, the state’s payroll is smaller than it has budgeted for. […]

One key issue in bargaining will be safety and staffing levels at state agencies, particularly at 24/7 facilities. Staffing levels at state agencies have nosedived since the beginning of the pandemic, and staff assaults and injuries are on the rise everywhere. There are almost 7,000 funded vacancies across all departments of state government.

* Constituent email…

This week House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch joined Biden administration policy experts to discuss and collaborate on legislative priorities for the upcoming legislative session. Items for discussion included reproductive health, common-sense gun reform, paid family leave, and lifting up America’s working families.

“I truly enjoyed this thoughtful and insightful conversation with President Biden’s policy experts,” said Speaker Welch. “An overwhelming majority of Americans support these policy initiatives and, as Democrats, we need to ensure that we are better aligned on these issues so that we can deliver for people across this country.”

Speaker Welch met with Julie Chavez Rodriguez, senior advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Morgan Mohr, senior advisor for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

In addition to the policy discussion, Speaker Welch also attended Vice President Kamala Harris’ Holiday Reception at her residence. Speaker Welch was able to network and continue strengthening relationships with leaders from states across the country.

* Politico…

Secretary of State-elect Alexi Giannoulias is naming campaign manager Hanah Jubeh and political strategist Scott Burnham, as deputy secretaries of state in his new administration.

* Press release…

The Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local Union 130 UA has endorsed Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot for reelection. The Mayor has worked closely with the Plumbers Local 130 throughout her time in office, and also received their endorsement for her 2019 campaign.

“We at the Plumbers Local 130 consider Mayor Lori Lightfoot to be a dedicated ally to plumbers and technical engineers as well as for trade workers across our city,” said Jim Coyne, Business Manager of the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local Union 130 UA. “Since she was elected in 2019, even throughout a global pandemic, the Mayor has supported us with the resources our members need to feel respected at each worksite and to thrive on the job. Mayor Lightfoot has never wavered on her recognition and protection for working Chicagoans, so we are proud to back her in her bid for reelection as we all stand to benefit from four more years of the Lightfoot administration.”

* In other words, they are prone to taking reckless risks…


* Isabel’s roundup…

  12 Comments      


Jobs up, but state says unemployment rate rose a click as more people try to return to workforce

Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* IDES…

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate increased +0.1 percentage point to 4.7 percent, while nonfarm payrolls increased by +17,500 in November, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The change in the rate reflects an increase in the number of workers looking to return to the labor force. The October monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +3,600 to +7,200 jobs. The October unemployment rate was unchanged from the preliminary report, remaining at 4.6 percent. The November payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.

In November, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month gains in employment included: Leisure and Hospitality (+10,700), Professional and Business Services (+5,800), and Educational and Health Services (+3,500). The industry sectors with the largest monthly payroll declines included: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-4,300), Government (-1,700) and Manufacturing (-1,000). […]

Compared to a year ago, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +185,400 jobs, with gains across nearly all major industries. The industry groups with the largest jobs increases included: Leisure and Hospitality (+44,600), Professional and Business Services (+42,500), and Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+31,000). The industry groups with jobs decreases included: Government (-2,100) and Mining (-200). In November, total nonfarm payrolls were up +3.1 percent over-the-year in Illinois and up +3.3 percent in the nation.

The number of unemployed workers rose from the prior month, a +1.7 percent increase to 303,300 and was down -6.7 percent over the same month one year ago. The labor force was down slightly (-0.2 percent) over-the-month and up +1.3 percent over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.

More…

  2 Comments      


Social justice advocates wary of criminal penalties in new gun bill

Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This is how gun control debates are usually covered in the news media…

In the ongoing debate around proposed gun control legislation at the Illinois statehouse, advocacy groups on both sides are working to advance their positions.

Several Illinois state representatives on the working group that crafted the proposed prohibition of certain semi-automatic firearms and magazines in House Bill 5855 were on the advocacy side of the gun control debate before becoming lawmakers, like state Rep. Maura Hirschauer. […]

On the other side, there are several groups promoting the rights of gun owners, including Guns Save Life, Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois representing gun stores and the Illinois State Rifle Association.

The hard reality is that the Democrats’ huge super-majorities mean the pro-gun folks have precious few allies. They likely can’t stop a bill on their own.

* To the bill…

Among other things, HB5855 would make it illegal to manufacture, sell or purchase an assault-style weapon, assault weapon attachment, .50-caliber rifle, or .50-caliber cartridge. And starting 300 days after the bill takes effect, it would make it illegal to possess such a weapon or ammunition unless it is registered with the Illinois State Police.

Large capacity ammunition feeding devices also would be prohibited under the bill.

The bill would also repeal a provision of current law that allows people between the ages of 18 and 21 to obtain a Firearm Owners Identification Card with parental consent, unless the applicant is a member of the U.S. armed forces or the Illinois National Guard.

And who would most likely be arrested? Black and Brown youth, say social justice advocates.

* So, this is the coming legislative reality in Illinois…


Kollman is the policy director for the Children and Family Justice Center, but I have talked to others like her who have expressed the same sentiments.

* A similar argument was used against this Chicago proposal, which ultimately passed…


These are the same groups who are fresh off their SAFE-T Act victory. They would view the legislation as a setback.

Anyway, it’s something to be aware of as we move forward. And it’s likely the bill’s proponents included an oversampling of Black and Brown voters in their recent poll to help buttress their case against just this sort of argument.

  29 Comments      


Question of the day: 2022 Golden Horseshoe Awards

Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The 2022 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best US Representative goes to Adam Kinzinger…

As someone mentioned above, given that there are 435 members, it is difficult for 1 congress-critter to make a big difference. But Adam stood up for the entire country when he called out Trump and his insurrectionists for what they are. He was 1 of 2 republicans on the January 6th Committee, thus giving the committee some bipartisan legitimacy. Illinois has some really good representatives in Congress, but not one of them can come close to what Adam did, not just for Illinois, but the entire country.

Runner-up is Lauren Underwood.

* The 2022 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Statewide Officeholder goes to JB Pritzker…

He’s the first Governor to be elected to two terms since 2006, he has a list of accomplishments as long as your arm, and he has an excellent sense of the long game. During COVID, he made sure that he moved fast…but never first. During his re-election campaign, he recognized that he’d have to prime the pump for people to believe the good news about the state after decades of misery.

Runner-up is Susana Mendoza.

Congrats to all!

* On to today’s categories…

    Best Association/Union Leader

    Lifetime Achievement Award

Please do your best to nominate in both categories and make sure to explain your nominations or they won’t count. The “Association/Union Leader” category is new this year, so we’ll see how this works out. House Majority Leader Greg Harris won the Lifetime Achievement Award last year, so he’s ineligible this year.

* And now I have some very good news to share…


Y’all are amazing! Give yourself a big round of applause! My (White Sox) hat is off to you. Thanks!!!

  30 Comments      


Local legislators not thrilled by new Bears tax plan

Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here if you need it. Daily Herald…

“I have not seen (PILOT) for a for-profit, and frankly, I’m not sure that’s a box we want to open,” said state Sen. Ann Gillespie, an Arlington Heights Democrat whose district includes the racetrack site. […]

State Rep. Mark Walker, a fellow Arlington Heights Democrat, said he was skeptical about the payments-in-lieu proposal, calling it a “long shot” in Springfield.

“This is an entirely new kind of deal, if it were to be done, and I don’t know what the likelihood is,” Walker said.

Both local legislators — as well as Republican state Rep. Tom Morrison of Palatine, whose district includes Arlington Park — said they personally haven’t been lobbied by the Bears on the proposal yet.

Nobody has talked to Rep. Morrison? Mrs. McCaskey has made five contributions to Morrison over the years. She’s given more actual money to others (including $10K to Jeanne Ives), but no other candidates have received more checks than him, although she has written 19 checks to Paul Caprio’s Family PAC.

  32 Comments      


More victimhood

Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From St. Louis Public Radio’s story about a person who runs a Facebook group with 1,400 followers who wants to secede from Illinois…

“We in Podunk, Illinois — southern Illinois — are looked down upon by people in Chicago,” she said. “I’ve just had some really ugly things said to me by people that live in Chicago, and there’s that sense of superiority.”

Apparently, her feelings are hurt. But if you look at that little page, you see stuff like this…


MIKE: "You're not from Chicago, Cook County, the crazy place in Illinois. And there are sane people that live there…"…

Posted by Illinois Separation Referendum on Sunday, December 11, 2022

Everything is projection with these people. I mean, avowed former secessionist Darren Bailey loudly called Chicago a “hell hole” for months on the campaign trail, but you didn’t hear any candidates blasting Downstaters for being inferior.

* Chicago Tribune op-ed by some Eastern Bloc members…

The arrogance and condescension displayed at the recent State Central Committee meeting is illustrative of how far we need to go to unify our party. People who gave their time to knock on doors, attend rallies and put up signs to get Republican candidates elected were treated with disdain when they drove hundreds of miles to attend this meeting and express their points of view. This is unacceptable.

The base of our party is tired of being ignored.

Sixty people were given four hours to vent their rage at that meeting, including people like this…

Also attending were party activists that included a man wearing a Donald Trump dummy on his shoulders, and Peggy Hubbard of Belleville, an internet provocateur who spreads conspiracy theories and who has twice been an unsuccessful GOP primary candidate for the U.S. Senate nomination. […]

“Republicans come in many flavors,” Porter said, prompting a man to reply, “No. One-flavor Republicans,” while a woman yelled, “You guys quashed good candidates.”

They probably should’ve been ignored, but they weren’t.

* Back to the op-ed…

Devoid of evidence or data, they are declaring that conservatives are to blame for the GOP’s losses in November. They claim our party needs fiscally conservative and socially liberal candidates to win, but they forget we have already been down this road. As much as Republicans would like to forget, there was a gubernatorial candidate named Bruce Rauner on the ballot in Illinois in 2018. […]

What Illinois needs is leadership. Politicians who won’t defend their values are uninspiring, and we should not be surprised when they lose elections. The solution is not to abandon Republican values and principles but to defend them. Show the voters how our values and policies translate into more opportunity and a higher quality of life for every citizen. If our leaders don’t defend our values or articulate a vision — why should voters care?

1) Rauner won in 2014 then proceeded to wreck the state government and was clobbered for it in 2018; 2) Bailey didn’t defend their values? Kinda revisionist, don’t you think?

  61 Comments      


Morning briefing

Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Here’s your morning roundup…

  8 Comments      


Open thread

Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* All yours, but keep it Illinois-centric.

  2 Comments      


Live coverage

Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive…


  Comments Off      


Bears float new tax subsidy for suburban stadium

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Greg Hinz…

The Chicago Bears are floating in Springfield the possibility of creating new form of tax subsidy for their pending redevelopment of Arlington Park, one which would give them financial help but not penalize local school districts as harshly as conventional tax increment financing district.

Under the plan, which has not yet been submitted in writing but has been raised with key legislative players, the Bears would be able to utilize something known as payment in lieu of taxes, or PILT.

PILT originally was developed by the federal government as a means to compensate local units of government for the loss of property taxes due to the existence of tax-exempt federally-owned property within their borders. The concept since has spread to payments for state-owned property in some parts of the country and to some private developments, such as solar-energy generation, that are not feasible with normal property taxes.

The Bears’ pitch is in the preliminary stage and is receiving a mixed reception from Springfield officials. But because PILT payments can be negotiated rather than being set at a predetermined rate, and because they can be shared with schools rather than stay with municipalities, they offer more flexibility than a conventional TIF district.

There’s more.

Discuss.

  44 Comments      


Labor news

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Washington Post…

Companies that illegally fire or demote unionizing workers can now be held responsible for workers’ financial demise — including credit card late fees, lost housing or cars and health-care costs — in a move that could help some workers who have been fired from Starbucks and Amazon, labor activists say.

In a big win for labor unions, the National Labor Relations Board ruled on Tuesday to expand the fees and penalties the agency can collect from employers that illegally terminate workers for labor activism, both union and nonunion, in a move long sought after by the labor movement.

“Employees are not made whole until they are fully compensated for financial harms that they suffered as a result of unlawful conduct,” said labor board chair Lauren McFerran in a statement.

For decades, employers that fired workers for their involvement in labor organizing — a legally protected activity — have only had to pay for the employee’s reinstatement and lost wages. But labor advocates say that has amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist, especially for major employers with deep pockets such as Amazon and Starbucks.

* Daily Herald…

Employees at the Starbucks coffee shop at 2760 Willow Road in Glenview on Dec. 6 voted 18-0 in favor of forming a union.

“It was honestly my pipe dream of a best-case scenario, so our entire organizing committee is incredibly proud and excited, beyond words,” said [Melissa] Lee-Litowitz, who heads the organizing committee for Starbucks Store No. 247 with fellow shift supervisor Tianna Lavalle.

Full- and part-time baristas, and shift supervisors were allowed to vote, according to the National Labor Relations Board. The Willow and Pfingsten Starbucks has 22 eligible employees, but not all were present to vote in either the morning or afternoon voting slots on Dec. 6. […]

It’s been a busy year for employees seeking to organize as entities of Starbucks Workers United within the Service Employees International Union.

* Interesting insight from the New York Times…

In 2021, as in 2007, Mr. Schultz was no longer chief executive when the company took a turn that clashed with his idea of what Starbucks should be: Its workers began to unionize. Between last December and April, when Mr. Schultz abruptly replaced Kevin Johnson as chief executive, workers at dozens of company-owned stores filed paperwork for union elections.

Mr. Schultz, 69, appears intent on defusing interest in a union before he leaves the company next spring for the third — and, dare one say, final — time. He has thrown himself into providing new benefits and wage increases, but withheld them from employees in the union, which represents about 2 percent of the company’s U.S. work force of more than 250,000. When asked in an interview in June if he could ever imagine embracing the union, Mr. Schultz responded with a single immovable word: No.

He has alluded to a downside for customers, and some labor experts argue that a union could seek to limit the number of syrups, powders and foams that can be added to drinks, as a way to ease the burden on baristas. Such “modifiers” brought in about $1 billion during the last fiscal year and have helped drive record revenues.

But friends and longtime colleagues say Mr. Schultz’s opposition to the union isn’t primarily about the bottom line. It’s emotional. A union clashes with his image of Starbucks as a model employer. “It’s a sore for him, I guarantee you,” said Willard Hay, a former senior vice president at the company. (Mr. Schultz declined to comment for this article.)

The stakes extend far beyond Starbucks. The union campaign has helped give rise to labor organizing at a variety of other companies, including Apple, Trader Joe’s and REI. If the union manages to wring significant concessions from Starbucks, it could accelerate organizing elsewhere and help change the relationship between management and labor across the country.

* School of the Art Institute adjunct professors and lecturers have joined the union wave, the Sun-Times reports…

Adjunct professors and lecturers at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago have voted overwhelmingly to unionize with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The non-tenure-track faculty at the school will join the union’s Council 31, which has had a string of organizing wins here. It already represents staff at the Art Institute itself and its school.

The faculty’s mailed-in ballots were counted Tuesday in the Chicago offices of the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that supervises union votes. AFSCME said the result was 377-33 to unionize.

AFSCME said more than 600 faculty members will join the other unionized workers at the museum and the school. They call themselves Art Institute of Chicago Workers United.

A faculty committee issued a statement hailing the vote, calling it “an AICWU three-peat that sends a crystal-clear message to our president, provost and board: We know our worth, we know how critical our labor is to our institution, and we know it’s time to put it in writing.”

* The Register-Mail…

Members and supporters of local chapters of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers union (SMART) gathered in the rain Tuesday afternoon for a rally in Galesburg’s central park.

The group of about 30 people included many rail workers who assembled to raise awareness and show support for several quality-of-life measures that have been left out of their new labor agreement with BNSF, particularly paid sick leave and a change to the company’s attendance policy. […]

According to the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, the new agreement will include a “24 percent wage increase, maintain platinum-level health care, add an additional day of paid time off, and address several craft-specific issues, including issues relating to quality of life.”

But for many at the rally on Tuesday, the new agreement lacks critical measures and the 24 percent wage increase only meets the rising cost of living.

* More…

  10 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Addendum to today’s edition

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Afternoon news roundup

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* First, an explainer…

Illinois eliminated parole (except for those people who were sentenced long enough ago that parole was a possibility when they were sentenced) and replaced it with supervised release, a different system entirely. […]

Illinois statute requires a program known as mandatory supervised release. […]

Under a supervised release system, the person serves his or her sentence in prison, and after it is served there is an additional term of supervised release on top of that sentence. The supervised release term is usually two or three years.

Despite what Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown claimed yesterday and pretty much all Chicago news media repeated, Samuel Parsons-Salas wasn’t released early on parole in September. Parsons-Salas did his time and the state wasn’t allowed to hold him any longer.

Parsons-Salas is currently charged with the brutal murder of three people and with kidnapping. The video is here, but I cannot recommend watching it. The shooter fired off 13 rounds in quick succession. Within half a minute, three people were killed and another was shot in the head.

* Senate President Harmon told me he believes candidates are already required to list their sponsoring entities on their “paid for” messaging. The Board of Elections disagrees, so legislation is likely needed…


* Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) told WJPF that he’s heading to Taiwan today with a trade delegation. That Cairo port is still in the works, but it’s apparently generating some real buzz overseas.

* Crypto bro fallout bites another candidate. Rep. Buckner press release…

U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García isn’t the only candidate in the race for Mayor who welcomed support from corrupt crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried.

Lori Lightfoot literally cut the ribbon this past spring to launch Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange headquarters in Chicago. Bankman-Fried was arrested earlier this week and charged with allegedly defrauding his FTX customers out of billions of dollars to prop up his other ventures.

“Mayor Lightfoot owes this entire city an explanation about her relationship with Bankman-Fried,” said Kam Buckner, candidate for mayor. “It’s been four years since Mayor Lightfoot campaigned on a false promise to ‘bring in the light’ – maybe she can start by explaining her connection to Bankman-Fried and his involvement in the city’s guaranteed basic income program.”

Standing in the FTX office during the ribbon cutting, Lightfoot was quoted as saying, “this is a mechanism and a tool to bring traditionally underrepresented and ignored populations into the world of crypto so they can take ownership and control of their financial destiny.”

“In addition to collaborating with a highly corrupt individual whose firm is under investigation by the SEC, this shows that Mayor Lightfoot is highly out of touch with Chicago’s underrepresented communities and what we actually need to thrive,” said Buckner, who in his role as state representative successfully helped pass legislation to help close the racial wealth gap.

In addition to his collaborating with the Mayor, Bankman-Fried contributed to a PAC that spent nearly $200,000 on political mailers for García – a member of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee – during his unopposed congressional campaign, ultimately doing García the favor of “introducing” him to his new voters after his district boundaries changed during the remap and before he launched his mayoral campaign.

Just yesterday the Lightfoot campaign released a statement asking García what “Bankman-Fried’s motives were…and what did García promise in return…” The statement also said, “Voters deserve to know the facts when making important decisions about who they can trust. Unfortunately it seems that Chuy García will bring back the old way of doing Chicago-style politics – and we can’t afford that in City Hall.”

“The Mayor’s own campaign statement can be turned back onto Lightfoot,” Buckner said. “Surely she isn’t afraid to answer the very questions she’s asking of García.”

U.S. Prosecutors had Bankman-Fried arrested on Monday, the day before he was slated to testify before García’s House Committee, and allegedly charged him with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and money laundering, according to The New York Times.

But even before these new criminal charges and despite multiple media reports, Garcia has long been silent on the issue, ignoring public concern that this clear conflict of interest can influence the decisions he makes in Congress.

* Isabel’s roundup…

    * New York Times | New Suit Uses Data to Back Racial Bias Claims Against State Farm: The suit, which is seeking class-action status, also focuses on how State Farm’s fraud detection methods discriminate against Black customers when paying out those claims. Filed in Illinois federal court on Wednesday, it includes Ms. Huskey and hundreds of other as yet unnamed plaintiffs, and represents the insurer’s Black customers in six Midwestern states. All the plaintiffs had a harder time getting homeowners’ insurance claims paid out compared with white customers, according to the lawsuit, which may seek hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

    * Press Release | Gov. Pritzker Celebrates Historic Completion of Jane Byrne Interchange in Chicago: Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) joined local officials and community leaders today to celebrate the completion of the Jane Byrne Interchange reconstruction, a multiyear effort to modernize a key gateway into downtown Chicago and a critical transportation hub for the region and entire Midwest. One of the biggest projects in state history, the new-and-improved Jane Byrne Interchange eliminates a notorious national bottleneck and improves safety, efficiency, and mobility across multiple modes of transportation while better connecting people and jobs throughout the Chicago area.

    * Tribune | United to add 2,600 jobs in Chicago as part of plan to replace its aging fleet : The Boeing order alone will create 2,600 new jobs next year in the Chicago area, as United staffs up to handle the increased capacity the refreshed fleet will enable, the airline said.

    * CBS | Fed hikes interest rates for seventh time this year: The Fed’s rate-setting committee hiked its benchmark rate by 0.5 percentage point on Wednesday, lifting its target rate into a range between 4.25% and 4.5% — the highest level in 15 years. The federal funds rate affects the cost of borrowing for consumers and businesses throughout the economy. The half-percentage-point increase marks a step-down from a string of bigger interest rate hikes this summer, when the Fed made four consecutive 0.75% jumps in an effort to curb the most ferocious bout of inflation in four decades.

    * WGLT | Bill Hauter focuses on constituent services given the Illinois GOP superminority: An incoming freshman lawmaker says it will be hard to pass or hold up legislation in Springfield, given his party’s disappointing election results. Republican Bill Hauter of Morton said he plans to focus on constituent services. “What I can do and what I have been doing as an emergency physician is I’ve been helping people,” Hauter said. “What you can do in the super minority is you can be a voice for your district and you can also help people. You can help constituents.”

    * NPR Illinois | Republicans are making plans for Rep. Butler’s replacement: Republican county chairs from that district are seeking applications to serve until the new general assembly is sworn in next month. That would include being installed for what is often called the “lame duck” legislature the first week of January. Butler was elected in November in the newly drawn 95th House District, which includes parts of Sangamon, Macon and Christian counties. Chairs from those counties will select someone to fill the new year term starting January 11.

    * NBC Chicago | 10 New Illinois Laws Taking Effect in 2023: Passed in May, the Student Confidential Reporting Act, establishes a program where officials from schools, the state and Illinois State Police can receive reports and other information regarding the potential harm or self-harm of students or school employees. The Safe2Help helpline will involve a toll-free telephone number and other means of communication allowing messages and information to be given to operators.

    * Pluribus | Marijuana delivery gains traction as legalization spreads: “I think that as long as it is regulated, as long as we make sure that the person who is ordering it gets it, and that they’re legally allowed to, then it would seem to me like the same as somebody coming into a store,” Pritzker said at an event to celebrate the opening of his state’s first “social equity” marijuana dispensary. Recreational marijuana is now legal in 21 states, two territories and the District of Columbia. Thirty-seven states, three territories and D.C. allow medical use. An estimated 23 states allow the delivery of recreational marijuana or medical marijuana or both, according to tracking by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

    * Tribune | Aurora nominating petition challenge hearing continued to next week: A challenge to the nominating petitions of Aurora Ald. Patty Smith was continued Tuesday to next week. Members of the Municipal Officers Electoral Board are expected to make a decision then on whether the complaints about the petitions are enough to keep Smith off the ballot for the April 4, 2023, municipal election.

    * Illinois Newsroom | Students say Champaign schools fail to provide menstrual products: Loreal Allen was not surprised when she went into a bathroom at Central High School in Champaign in late November. Everything was as expected. She found soap, paper towels and a white dispenser that was supposed to contain menstrual products. As usual, she said, it was empty.

    * Crain’s | Illinois board approves sale of downstate hospitals: The Illinois Health Facilities & Services Review Board approved Quorum Health’s sale of four southern Illinois hospitals to Deaconess Health System. Evansville, Indiana-based Deaconess, a nonprofit 12-hospital system with facilities in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, plans to acquire Crossroads Community Hospital in Mt. Vernon, Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Union County Hospital in Anna and Red Bud Regional Hospital.

    * Crain’s | Red Line extension TIF earns full City Council approval: The City Council on Wednesday approved the creation of a new tax-increment financing district to create $950 million over three decades to help pay for the $3.6 billion extension of the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line from 95th Street south to 130th Street.

    * Press Release | Department of Human Services Launches Campaign to Help Those with Gambling Problems : The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) launched “Are You Really Winning?” - a campaign to build awareness of problem gambling and to promote helpline services for people experiencing gambling problems. According to research by Health Resources in Action (HRiA), four percent, or nearly 400,000, of Illinois residents have a gambling disorder, and another seven percent, or 700,000, are at risk of developing a gambling disorder.

    * Illinois Answers Project | Cook County Office Looks to Shed Anti-Patronage Monitor as Watchdog Raises Alarm: Since it was first brought by attorney and onetime political candidate Michael Shakman in 1969, the lawsuit Shakman v. Cook County Democratic Organization has spurred wave after wave of federal interventions designed to prevent public officials at the city, county and state level from doling out government jobs as rewards to political allies. Shakman, now 80, still oversees the litigation.

    * The American Prospect | The Easiest Criminal Indictment Ever : But embarrassingly bad criminals can help speed things along. As current FTX CEO John Ray, a restructuring specialist installed to manage the crypto exchange’s bankruptcy, told a House committee on Tuesday, crimes at Enron, another famously bankrupt company he stepped in to manage, “were highly orchestrated financial machinations by highly sophisticated people to keep transactions off balance sheets.” Enron declared bankruptcy in December 2001, but its former CEO Jeff Skilling wasn’t convicted of conspiracy, securities fraud, and other charges until May 2006. The group home in the Bahamas housing FTX executives, by contrast, “isn’t sophisticated whatsoever, this is just plain old embezzlement,” Ray said.

    * FOX 32 | Mother sues Flossmoor school after daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted in class: The alleged attack came months after hundreds of students staged a walkout at the same school over more allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

    * Tribune | No charges against students involved in apparent ‘wrestling incident’ at York Community High School: Parents of a special needs student seen pushed to the ground in a video posted on social media have declined a formal police investigation, Elmhurst police announced Tuesday. The Dec. 8 incident in a York Community High School restroom involved five students, including a boy with special needs. Police determined the students engaged in “willful physical contact,” while other students watched. The boy with special needs is on the wrestling team, and two of the boys involved are his teammates, police said.

    * Tribune | HIV/AIDS advocate and her family work to promote testing and fight stigma. ‘I feel like I’m not just existing, that I’m living.’: Four years later, the power of going public was on full display Saturday when friends, family and people hoping to learn more gathered at Lawndale’s Jesus Word Center to talk about how the deeply stigmatized disease has touched their lives. Openly sharing about the disease has changed their lives, those gathered said.

    * CBS Chicago | Biden signs Respect for Marriage Act, recognizing marriage equality in federal law: Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic and Republican lawmakers and more than 5,000 guests marked the occasion on a frigid White House South Lawn. The signing comes a decade after Mr. Biden as vice president put former President Barack Obama in an awkward position by getting ahead of the then-president and endorsing same-sex marriage on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

    * The Center Square | Black carp spreading through the Midwest threatens Illinois waterways: Illinois waterways are being invaded by another invasive species that could threaten the ecosystem. Black carp, which are native to east Asia, were first imported into the U.S. to control snails in fish farms where fish are bred. How they escaped is unknown.

    * Illinois News Bureau | Book examines tallgrass prairies’ ecological history, effects on Indigenous cultures: History professor Robert Morrissey wrote the first comprehensive environmental history of the tallgrass prairies and how they shaped tribal cultures in his recently published book, “People of the Ecotone.” The book also examines how those transformations contributed to the Fox Wars

    * Crain’s | Walgreens bets its future on an unprecedented reinvention: Walgreens Boots Alliance is betting its future on an unprecedented effort to reinvent itself as a health care company, a venture of immense scale and complexity. There’s no playbook for what the Deerfield-based company hopes to achieve. Never before has a retail pharmacy chain transformed into a full-fledged provider of medical care. Walgreens’ ambitions threaten to disrupt long-standing U.S. health care delivery structures, a status quo guarded by powerful entrenched interests.

  11 Comments      


Pritzker says federal government should “step up” and stave off mass transit’s upcoming “fiscal cliff”

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As we’ve already discussed, the RTA put federal into its operating base and now faces a “fiscal cliff” of $730 million a year in 2026 when the money dries up. That’s about 20 percent of the RTA’s operating base. The governor was asked about this today. His response…

Well, let’s back up and recognize that there have been a significant investments by the federal government during this period of COVID-19 that have been designed to assist RTA and CTA through this very difficult time. So our expectation is that many of those dollars will be extraordinarily helpful.

We also have increased because the sales tax dollars that have been coming into the state, we increasec the sales tax base when I became governor, and they are receiving $100 million more per year than they have ever before.

And so the combination of those increased dollars should be helpful in helping to deal with this fiscal cliff, as it’s been called. But I also think the federal government is going to look at, this is happening all over the country. And so I do think the federal government needs to step up and look at how we can get past this in a combined effort.

  23 Comments      


Another move to beef up the state’s EV incentive programs

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Stellantis North America COO Mark Stewart talked earlier this week about the company’s plans for its Jeep facility in Belvidere, which is scheduled to be idled in February. The company, he said, is “continuing to look at what we can do to repurpose that facility — but it’s idle, not closed.”

And now all of a sudden, a new electric vehicle bill is being floated. Here’s Greg Hinz…

And this time, other types of businesses would be in line for more help, too, including firms in the clean energy business and those seeking Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE, payroll tax credits.

Under the measure, expected to be put to a vote in the General Assembly’s January lame-duck session, Gov. J.B. Pritzker would get the huge “deal-closing fund” that other governors have. Insiders say the lack of such a fund recently cost the state a battery plant which, instead, was won by Michigan. […]

Beyond that, according to a fact sheet and a draft bill shared with legislative leaders, those seeking EDGE grants would no longer have to meet a “but for” requirement showing that they would not have created jobs here without assistance.

Illinois Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Maisch told Hinz that other states have used the “but for” provision against Illinois. “They say if you come here, we can guarantee you these benefits” without attaching any strings.

* From the governor’s office…

The administration has worked closely with the business community to support legislation aimed at expanding economic development throughout the state. A closing fund would make Illinois more competitive in efforts to recruit new business investments in Illinois and would allow us to compete with our neighbors in the Midwest that have closing funds available.

Updating the language used in the EDGE program is a longstanding ask from the business community and this administration is committed to working with stakeholders to reduce red tape and attract even more jobs to the state. The Governor looks forward to discussing these priorities with the General Assembly and moving them forward.

Pritzker has floated the possibility of a $1 billion closing fund.

* The state has approved several incentives already. This bill, for instance, ended up zipping through both chambers during veto session…

Legislation introduced in Springfield today that quickly passed a Senate committee would both widen and extend to up to 30 years payroll tax credits for those who work here under the existing Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois law, known as the Rev Illinois Act.

Other provisions would loosen the definition of an EV worker and appear aimed at existing automakers in Illinois, especially Stellantis and Ford. They have huge conventional auto assembly plants in Illinois that could be converted to EV production, but likely only after years of preparation and work.

Aides to Gov. J.B. Pritzker were not immediately available to answer questions such as whether Rev Illinois has failed to produce the influx the state wanted, as a steady stream of new battery makers, suppliers and assembly plants alike have gone to Michigan, Ohio, Georgia and other states, not Illinois.

  49 Comments      


Question of the day: 2022 Golden Horseshoe Awards

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The 2022 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Statewide Staffer goes to the crowd favorite Anne Caprara…

No disrespect to the other nominees, there are quite a few good ones here, but part of this conversation has to be the difficulty of the job. Caprara is too often times written off. She is constantly underestimated. Too many people root for her to fail. She rarely fails and has made her boss one of the most successful Governor’s in the country and one of the most successful in state history (in the first term). Whether you like her or not is immaterial to this question. She is a leader through and through.

* The 2022 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best State Agency Director goes to GOMB’s Alexis Sturm…

I’ll 4th the nomination for Alexis Sturm at GOMB, who deserves more credit than she gets for crafting these ever-improving budgets that could bog down and start losing votes if she did not skillfully put all the pieces together.

Congrats to both!

* Today’s categories…

    Best US Representative

    Best Statewide Officeholder

As always, do your best to nominate in both categories and make sure to explain your nominations or they won’t count. The statewide officeholder can be a federal or state constitutional official. [I deleted “spokesperson” because I forgot that I already did that one. Oops!]

* And after you cast your votes, please click here and donate to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois to help buy presents for foster kids. More about what LSSI does…

We care for children who have been removed from their home by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) due to abuse and/or neglect. We place these children with caring foster families who receive training, licensing, and support from LSSI. The children in our care, and their biological parents, also receive support. In addition to its traditional foster care program, LSSI offers a Therapeutic Foster Care Program for children with histories of severe trauma and emotional/behavioral needs.

Working with LSSI’s child welfare staff, foster parents are part of a team offering loving, safe homes for children. Foster parents support each child’s connection to their family by helping with visits between siblings and biological parents.

Thanks!

  47 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Morning briefing

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Thank you to all who have donated!…


* Now to your morning briefing…

  8 Comments      


Open thread

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

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Live coverage

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive…


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