* Both the House Speaker and the Senate President have said they want a shortened and lighter spring session next year. Well, click here for the 2022 Senate calendar. They start spring session on January 4 and will adjourn on April 8. Expect them to come back for a brief period in May to do the budget.
I’ve been covering Illinois politics since 1990 and the earliest adjournment I’ve ever seen was April 15 when Pate Philip ran the Senate.
*** UPDATE *** As expected, the House has the same schedule…
Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) announced today that long-time state legislator and current Senate Republican Chief of Staff Dale Righter will be departing his role in the Senate Republican Caucus to focus on building a practice in his hometown of Mattoon, IL.
McConchie also announced the elevation of current Deputy Chief of Staff Jenna Mitchell to the Chief of Staff post, effective when Righter departs on Nov. 12. Mitchell will become the first-ever female Chief of Staff for the Illinois Senate Republicans.
“I am grateful for Dale’s work leading and managing a substantial modernization of our Caucus’ operational structure, and helping to craft our legislative agenda,” McConchie said. “He is a trusted friend and colleague and I wish him much success as he pursues his expanded private sector opportunities. I am confident in Jenna’s ability to build upon the foundation Dale has laid and look forward to working with her in her new role.
“To work with, and on behalf of, the Senate Republican Caucus has been a treasure and blessed opportunity,” Righter said. “While I will be leaving my everyday work at the State Capitol, I will always cherish the memories of my time here and in the years to come, look forward to continuing the many lifelong friendships I have built. The future of this organization is made brighter by the prism of energy and ideas that Jenna will bring to the Caucus in her new role.”
“I had the honor of working for Dale during his time as a Senator and then with him in my role as Deputy Chief of Staff,” Mitchell said. “His mentorship and friendship have had a profound and positive impact. My years as a member of the Senate Republican Staff have ingrained in me a strong sense of duty to Leader McConchie, the members of the Senate Republican Caucus, and our incredible staff. I look forward to our next chapter and expanding on that which we have achieved thus far.”
After earning her B.A. in Political Science from Eastern Illinois University, Mitchell began her career in Illinois government in 2013 where she spent five years on the Senate Republican Appropriations Staff with a focus on education funding and capital infrastructure projects. In 2018, she took on the role of Director of State Relations at Northern Illinois University, then returned to the Senate Republicans as Deputy Chief of Staff in 2021.
…Adding… That map was posted by the House. But I’m told the Senate will also post it on its website. Adding: The Senate copy has been posted.
…Adding… The bill language is here. It was introduced by Senate President Harmon.
*** UPDATE 1 *** In this version, US Reps. Chuy Garcia and Marie Newman are in the 4th CD together. That’s really bad news for Newman. Sean Casten is in the 6th CD.
Mary Miller and Mike Bost are still together in 12.
Adam Kinzinger and Darin LaHood are still mapped together in the 16th.
Here is the past electoral performance for the 4th newly proposed congressional district map released by the ILGA. If you'd like to compare them to the current map you can find that here:https://t.co/D8IGJjgQIhpic.twitter.com/GhVjFoRkS4
For the past month, hundreds of diverse community members from Chicago’s Southwest Side and suburbs have attended and overwhelmingly voiced their opinion at every single public input opportunity held by the Illinois General Assembly on the proposed congressional maps. Even after attending every single hearing in large numbers and delivering hundreds of testimonies, letters, calls and witness slips from voices in the district, the most recently proposed map is a clear attempt to appease one person and a small handful of affluent insiders at the expense of workers and working families on Chicago’s Southwest Side and suburbs. Illinois residents deserve fair representation and a fair map that includes public input — not one that turns a blind eye to it. This map undoubtedly does not live up to what Illinois residents deserve.
The “one person” is Sean Casten.
…Adding… Perhaps not coincidentally, Speaker Welch’s mobile phone is being bombarded with angry calls and texts about the new map.
*** UPDATE 4 *** The Senate floor vote was strictly along partisan lines 41-18.
…Adding… Press release…
The Illinois Senate approved a new map of congressional boundaries that will ensure communities across Illinois receive fair and equal representation in Washington.
The boundaries are designed to comply with federal and state law and incorporate suggestions gathered during several public hearings, including the creation of a new district designed to give the state’s growing Latino population greater say at the ballot box.
“I want to thank those who participated in our hearings for their constructive input. This is a fairer map for it,” said Senate President Don Harmon, who sponsored the map legislation. “This map reflects the wonderful diversity of the people of the great state of Illinois.”
Population shifts over the last decade meant the number of residents in previous congressional districts were unbalanced, with major population differences from one district to another. In addition, the loss of a congressional district meant that each district also had to incorporate approximately 50,000 additional people. This map creates districts with nearly identical population counts in each district so that every community in Illinois has an equal say in Congress.
The proposed boundaries can be viewed at www.ilsenateredistricting.com. The measure now heads to the House for approval.
Under the leadership of Senate Democrats, this year’s redistricting process focused on gathering as much public input as possible, allowing for the diversity of Illinois to be reflected at every level of government. In addition to gathering feedback during public hearings, Democrats established the state’s first online map making portal so residents could draw and submit proposed boundaries for lawmakers to consider. Proposed maps drafted using other methods were also accepted via email at redistrictingcommittee@senatedem.ilga.gov.
During a meeting of the Senate Redistricting Committee on Thursday morning, Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said he expected the latest draft to be put into bill form later in the day. But he also said he expected that bill to be introduced first in the House, and as of midafternoon Thursday the House Redistricting Committee had not scheduled a meeting.
Just before 5 p.m. Thursday, House Redistricting Committee Chair Lisa Hernandez, D-Cicero, declined an interview request with Capitol News Illinois, noting she was working with fellow lawmakers.
“I don’t know yet,” she responded when asked if the maps would pass Thursday night or be delayed until January.
Part of the problem lawmakers face is the fact that, under the Illinois Constitution, any bill passed after May 31 cannot take effect until June 1 of the following year, unless it receives a three-fifths majority in both chambers. That’s 71 votes in the 118-member House, and 36 votes in the 59-member Senate.
And if three House Democratic members object, the bill can’t pass.
* But…
Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) says, “The map is dead. Over.” He says there’s a “99.999 thousand percent chance” that Dems won’t pass a map today. (Big statistics guy.) Five minutes later, he walks over and says maybe, just maybe, the map just got revived.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey gained instant notoriety after video of them waving and pointing guns at Black Lives Matter demonstrators from the front yard of their St Louis mansion spread across the internet.
Republican Missouri Senate candidate Mark McCloskey told an audience last week he believes 13-year-old rape and incest victims should not be allowed to have abortions, stating he had a client who was raped at 13 but who gave birth to a child who now has a master’s degree.
State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy), in her role as Chairwoman of the Legislative Ethics Commission, called a meeting this morning to select a new Legislative Inspector General, but a vote was stalled by several Democrat members.
Current Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope has indicated she will resign that post as of Dec. 15, 2021.
Despite much effort, debate, and encouragement from the Republican members of the Commission, several Democrat members in attendance left the meeting before a vote was taken, and said they did not want to “rush the process.” Tracy said there are no legislative days left to confirm a replacement before the LIG’s resignation date.
Chairwoman Tracy released the following statement after the Legislative Ethics Commission missed its last opportunity to confirm a new LIG before the current LIG’s resignation takes effect.
“Confirming a candidate before the approaching deadline is my top priority for this Commission to ensure that Illinois will continue to have a Legislative Inspector General. Unfortunately, that priority was not shared by some of the members of the opposition.
Our search committee met expectations, interviewed multiple candidates and complied with the reasonable timeline that was outlined. We had ample opportunity to make a selection and I am disappointed that several of the Democrat members of the Commission did not commit to seeing this process through.
Now, we are in a situation where in just six weeks, we could have complaints coming into the Commission and not have without a Legislative Inspector General in place to address them. Allowing this position to go unfilled is a major disservice to the people of Illinois who deserve an accountable and transparent government.”
Chairwoman Tracy said she intends to take all possible action, including asking the current LIG to extend her resignation date, to ensure that Illinois is not left without a Legislative Inspector General.
In provisions concerning limitations on campaign contributions for a candidate political committee for a candidate seeking nomination to the Supreme Court, Appellate Court, or Circuit Court, provides that the political committee may not accept contributions from any group that is not required by law to disclose the identity of its contributors or accept contributions from any out-of-state source.
Provides that “contribution” includes expenditures made by any person in concert or cooperation with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, his or her designated committee, or their agents and the financing by any person of the dissemination, distribution, or republication, in whole or in part, of any broadcast or any written, graphic, or other form of campaign materials prepared by the candidate, his or her campaign committee, or their designated agents. Prohibits the making and accepting of anonymous contributions.
This is an obvious dig at Ken Griffin and folks like him as we prepare for the Supreme Court races. But those dark money groups and out-of-staters could still do independent expenditures.
The proposed developer of One Central Chicago, the megaproject planned for the Metra property west of Soldier Field, seems to be papering the town as of late with new renderings of the planned initial phase of the $20 billion effort.
The images are impressive, depicting a transit and entertainment hub featuring a series of sleek indoor and outdoor spaces devoted to restaurants, gatherings and other assorted happenings — all teeming with people and built on a 32-acre rail yard between the stadium and the Central Station development.
We like the images. But here’s one thing we don’t like: The project’s developer, Landmark Development, wants state taxpayers to ultimately buy the transit portion of the facility for $6.5 billion in 20 years.
Given the state’s perpetual shaky fiscal climate, the notion of forking over that kind of cash should’ve been run out of town on one of those nearby Metra rails when the One Chicago proposal started making the rounds two years ago.
* And then this happened…
A good old fashioned “Springfield Surprise” greeted me this morning. I found language slipped into an amendment on a large bill that deals with the proposed #onecentral project. It essentially weakens the parameters and accountability for this $6.5B in state funding.
Amends the Public-Private Partnership for Civic and Transit Infrastructure Project Act. Changes the definition of “public agency” to mean the Illinois Finance Authority (rather than the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget). Provides that the public agency, in consultation with the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, shall have the authority and shall take all necessary steps to enter into a public-private agreement with a private entity to develop, finance, construct, operate, and manage Civic and Transit Infrastructure Projects; provided that the final public-private agreement must be approved by the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget prior to execution. Requires the public agency to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the public-private agreement is promptly negotiated with the private entity and that the public-private agreement is in substantially final form within 120 days following the effective date of the amendatory Act and to submit a report on the status of the public-private agreement to the General Assembly no later than 120 days following the effective date of the amendatory Act.
* Since Rep. Buckner’s tweet was sent, a brand new Senate Amendment 4 was filed. It’s identical to Senate Amendment 3, but without the One Central stuff.
A spokeswoman for Lightford said the clause was part of a larger omnibus bill that she agreed to carry but which was not the senator’s idea. The spokeswoman referred further calls to a spokesman for Senate President Don Harmon, who had no immediate comment.
* Landmark Development…
The original legislation contemplated that the P3 agreement would be handled by Governor’s office or Management and Budget or an agency designated by the State. The amendment does nothing more than assign the IFA as the agency to administer the development of the P3 Agreement and report to the legislature on the status in 120 days. The P3 Agreement will require approval of Governor’s Office of Management and Budget so if anything this heightens “transparency” by having a second agency working on the development of the agreement
* Center Square has a story entitled “Pritzker calls concerns about changes to Right of Conscience Act ‘Facebook fakery’”…
Pritzker Wednesday called some concerns “Facebook fakery.”
“It’s a very, very narrow adjustment that is focused only on COVID-19 and getting through this pandemic,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker said the HCRCA is being “misinterpreted and used in court cases to try to allow people who just don’t want to get vaccinated, the anti-vaxxers, the anti-maksers, to avoid the rules.”
* The governor used the “Facebook fakery” response to this rather odd question from a mainstream media reporter…
Governor, the Healthcare Right of Conscience Act. How is that not the proverbial camel’s nose under the tent? How many people are actually using the act to avoid vaccination? Is it really a problem? And are you just emasculating the Right of Consciousness [sic] Act by making these carve-outs?
[cross-talk] The fact is that the law that we’re talking about, the Healthcare Right of Conscience Act, it kind of was never intended to cover a pandemic where we’re trying to keep people alive. This is a law that was passed decades ago that was intended, I think with good intention, to allow healthcare providers and people who work for healthcare providers to by virtue of their conscience, not provide services that they don’t want to.
That’s very different than someone refusing to get tested when they’re walking into a school. That’s not a health care provider. That’s just an individual just yelling out ‘Conscience!’ and saying, ‘I don’t want to do it!’ isn’t good enough. We have to keep people healthy and safe. That’s the whole purpose of the mitigations that we’ve put in place. The Healthcare Right of Conscience Act is being misinterpreted and used in court cases, to try to allow people who just don’t want to get vaccinated, or anti vaxxers, the anti maskers to avoid the rules.
We’ve got to get through this pandemic. So the Attorney General came to me and said that, you know, he believes that we should try to get a change in the law or, you know, adjustment to the law. It’s a very, very narrow adjustment that is focused only on COVID-19 and getting through this pandemic.
The Senate Redistricting Committee has scheduled a 9 a.m. hearing Thursday on proposed congressional redistricting maps. The full House and Senate could vote Thursday to finalize a new congressional map in legislation and send a bill to Pritzker’s desk.
* There’s a whole lot going on behind the scenes. Subscribers know more and I’ll hopefully have an update soonish, but this is the basic gist of some of it…
But it’s far from clear this latest version of the map has the votes to pass. According to Springfield insiders, a problem has arisen, concentrated in the Latino caucus.
Details were not available, but multiple sources in Springfield and Washington report the split is severe enough that House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch may well be short of the 71 votes needed to approve the map now.
That in turn raises a real possibility the remap will be kicked over until the Legislature’s January session, when only 60 and not 71 votes will be needed.
Right now, it’s looking like January, which could be a very dangerous thing for the Democrats if the federal judiciary takes control.
…Adding… Not that the majority party cares, but…
Illinois Democrats have released their third (and likely final) draft Congressional map.
After unveiling their third version of a state congressional map, Illinois Democrats were back at work Thursday to try to deal with concerns from suburban and Latino lawmakers.
Within hours of latest map’s release by Democrats late Wednesday night, internal criticism surfaced over how two Democratic incumbents were put into a single suburban district, and how some parts of the state’s lone Latino district were shifted into what could become a second Latino district. […]
Though creation of the district was applauded by the Latino Caucus of the Chicago City Council, some Latino lawmakers want a map that gives Garcia greater influence on the Southwest Side and nearby suburbs.
The Illinois House voted 64-52 on Wednesday night to alter the Health Care Right of Conscience Act to shield employers from civil suits if they enforce Coronavirus vaccine or testing mandates.
The Senate could send the measure to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk on Thursday. Attorney General Kwame Raoul (D-Illinois), who represents school districts and state agencies against lawsuits in court, was seen speaking with representatives moments before the debate began.
Several Republicans opposed the changes, arguing individuals should have rights to make health care decisions for themselves without being coerced by their employers.
The bill won’t take effect until June 1, 2022, but could still influence pending court cases.
In floor debate, Gabel said the HCRC Act was initially passed “to preserve the ability of health care providers, including pharmacists, to refuse to perform or provide health services related to abortion and reproductive health care that violate their conscience.”
The reason for her bill was to clarify that existing law, she said, because it should not be applicable to mitigation measures aimed at slowing a deadly pandemic. Those with health care or religious concerns regarding mandate compliance can still access federal exemptions, she said.
“Contrary to rampant misinformation campaigns, this bill is not a vaccine mandate,” she said. “In fact, it does not require anyone to do anything. As the bill itself says, this is simply a declaration of existing law and shall not be construed as a new enactment.”
The only thing this bill really does is delete treble civil damages including for pain and suffering if an employee is disciplined for not following COVID-19 mitigations. It’s basically a tort reform bill.
Republicans blasted the effort as a continuation of Pritzker’s “unilateral authority” during the pandemic, a “backdoor” vaccination mandate and “an end run around the judicial branch.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is absolutely atrocious,” said Rep. Adam Niemerg, a Republican from Dieterich. “This is unbelievable we’re considering this on the House floor. This is not about the Health Care Right of Conscience. This is about the last 18 months and unilateral authority from the governor.” […]
“I want you to know that people have come into my office and said they get the flu shot every year,” said Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, a Republican from Jacksonville. “But they are concerned about this vaccine because it hasn’t been around for very long.”
Gabel often answered questions from Republicans opposed to the amendment by repeating her same talking points: The new measure was merely inserted into the right of conscience act to clarify the law, not change it. And the new measure “doesn’t affect any of their other rights under any other laws, particularly under federal law.”
Still, seven Democrats broke ranks on the measure to vote no, and another two Democrats voted present.
The proposed amendment to that law, sponsored by state Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, is intended to make clear that public officials and private companies can impose COVID-19 requirements as part of conditions of employment.
Previous language in her amendment said those who don’t comply with the requirements could be fired, but that language was eliminated in a new amendment filed Wednesday — though officials and companies would still be able to “enforce” the COVID-19 measures or requirements and would not be considered in violation of the act.
Gabel said the removal of that language came from “feedback in committee.”
State Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, said the change will cause those who are hesitant or scared about getting vaccinated to dig in their heels.
He said the legislature is to blame because the General Assembly has avoided passing laws to fight COVID-19, relying instead on Pritzker to use his executive authority.
“We haven’t done our job for 20 months debating these nuances,” Batinick said.
The House voted 62-51 to repeal a quarter-century-old law requiring parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion. The measure, approved Tuesday in the Senate, now heads to the desk of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has expressed his support. […]
Those pushing for repeal of the 1995 abortion notification law say it does nothing to protect the most vulnerable young people — those living in unsafe and unstable households. Opponents of the repeal argue that parents shouldn’t be kept in the dark about their children’s well-being, particularly when they decide to have an abortion, though they also tied it to larger concerns about parental rights.
Supporters also are seeking to secure Illinois’ place as a stronghold for abortion rights that are being restricted in other states.
“Illinois is different,” said state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who supported repeal. “In Illinois, we trust women to make decisions about their bodies. We trust people to control their reproductive health.”
Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin), the lead sponsor of the proposal, described the Parental Notification Act as “the last anti-abortion law that we have on the books in Illinois.” Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), who sponsored the Reproductive Health Act in 2019, described the current notification law as a “gaping hole” in the state’s “firewall to protect reproductive health.”
Illinois Democrats have sought to respond to the recent abortion restrictions enacted in Texas. That law, which is being challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court, bans abortion after a heartbeat is detected, which is around six weeks into the pregnancy and before most women know they are pregnant.
“Anti-abortion politicians all across the country are seeking to curb our access to abortion for anyone and everyone,” Cassidy said during floor debate. “They literally want to just force us all to keep every pregnancy to term regardless of what’s happening, regardless of the risks to our lives.” […]
“This is no easy, minor bureaucratic process,” Moeller said on the House floor. “This involves a young woman hiring an attorney on her own setting up a court date; finding a way to get to court standing in front of a judge in a courtroom that’s generally a venue for criminal activities; explaining why she’s pregnant; explaining why she needs to have an abortion, and why she can’t go to her parents to let them know about that.”
“I have reviewed and I know the medical evidence, and I know that forced parental involvement laws serve no valid purpose and can hurt young people and delay care,” said Dr. Erin King, executive director of the Hope Clinic for Women.
State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, said the legislation will allow some kids to bypass their parents.
“I think you are opening this up where supportive families will not be involved in these incredibly difficult decisions, and that is a major, major problem,” Davidsmeyer said.
With the law in place, minors are allowed to go through judicial bypass proceedings if a girl fears her family situation, where telling her parents could result in her harm. A judge then decides whether she is mature enough to decide for herself.
Retired Judge Susan Gillis presided over numerous judicial bypass proceedings as permitted by the current law.
“That law in my experience as a judge tasked with deciding these waivers is unnecessary, overly punitive and places burdens on young women seeking health care,” Gillis said.
In an impassioned speech opposing the bill, state Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, said a vote for the repeal is not just “failing girls — it’s failing good parents.”
“We’re not talking about 17-year-olds exclusively who are months away from being 18, we’re talking about middle schoolers — potentially parents of middle schoolers — not having the right to know that their daughter is going through this and not having the foreknowledge to know what happens afterwards,” Bourne said.
The Legislature passed the Parental Notice of Abortion Act in 1995, but it didn’t go into effect until 2013 due to legal challenges. It requires a doctor providing care to a young person under age 18 who is seeking an abortion to notify a designated adult family member at least 48 hours before the procedure.
Cassidy said the notification requirement treats minors differently if they want an abortion rather than other forms of health and reproductive care.
“You can get pregnant. You can stay pregnant. You can give birth, you can have a C-section, you can give a child up for adoption, all without ever having anybody call your parent. To say that this is not about abortion, that this is about some high-minded protection for you all is a flat out lie,” Cassidy said.
Opponents of the bill, however, argued that the issue is not about a pregnant minor’s right to seek an abortion but rather the right of parents to be involved in their child’s health care decisions.
“No abortion clinic should be able to perform irreversible surgery on either of my daughters without telling me,” Mary Hallan FioRito, an attorney with the Catholic Women’s Forum, told the committee. “At a time when there is so much division in our state, in our country, the Parental Notice of Abortion Act is a popular and broadly supported and reasonable safeguard that allows parents to properly exercise responsibility for the care of their children.”
Planned Parenthood Illinois is one group supporting the repeal and said this is an especially important step at a time when reproductive rights are under severe attack across the country.
“By passing the Youth Health and Safety Act, Illinois has ensured that young people can choose to involve the people they trust in their health care decisions and are protected from harmful domestic situations and unnecessary judicial interactions. In short, all Illinoisans, regardless of age, now have the full legal autonomy to make decisions about what’s best for their bodies. We look forward to Governor Pritzker upholding his promise to sign this bill when it crosses his desk,” the organization said.
On the other side, Catholic Conference of Illinois was disappointed by the decision. They said in part that Wednesday’s “vote is and will be a tragedy for many families, young girls and so many unborn children. We pray for the day when every human life may be cherished from conception to natural death.”
At a time when abortion laws are getting tighter nationwide, Illinois is now one step closer to doing the opposite with this now headed to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk. The governor has previously said he supports it.
“As more states consider and adopt increasingly draconian bans on access to abortion service, Illinois stands out for recognizing that everyone should have the power to make decisions about their reproductive health without government interference. We encourage Governor Pritzker to sign this measure as soon as possible,” the ACLU said in a statement.
Illinois State Senator Darren Bailey says minors shouldn’t be able to get an abortion without talking with their parents first.
“I’m going to call it what it is…other than just an absolute godless mindset. What’s driving this — to allow a 12-year-old girl to make her own decision without the consent of her parents,” Bailey said.
“I simply cannot fathom the recklessness of a bill like this.”
It’s notification, not consent, but proponents of the legislation say the two are actually one in the same.
Thursday, Oct 28, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois families will soon be losing their opportunity to purchase dogs and cats from safe, highly-regulated local pet retailers, such as Petland, who offer their customers the choice of a pet that best fits their needs and provide health warranties. This change is coming because the state’s Animal Welfare Act has been updated through HB 1711 which bans the retail sales of dogs and cats obtained from licensed and regulated professional breeders.
But HB 1711 needs fixing, because while singularly blocking retail pet sales, it fails to strengthen any animal standards or protections at unregulated puppy mills across the state. Consumers looking for particular breeds will have no choice but to purchase dogs from unregulated breeders or dog auctions – thus perpetuating puppy mills. Responsible breeders and retailers will be heavily penalized while HB 1711 does nothing to address the issue of substandard breeders across the state.
Petland is dedicated to improving animal welfare and we have publicly demonstrated this commitment; in fact, we support the Humane Society’s petition effort to improve standards of care. Petland’s breeder pledge is a commitment to provide more space, more exercise, and more socialization for their pets plus numerous other improvements to standards of care.
* I’ve been telling subscribers about the glitches in the electric vehicle industry bill for a while now. As of last night, things were looking much better. It’s not completely there yet, however, and a formal deal has not been struck. But it does appear to be on track at least for now. Here’s Greg Hinz…
In better shape at the moment is the [electric-vehicle manufacturing incentive] package, which would offer potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives aimed at luring electric vehicle makers and suppliers here to follow downstate’s Rivian—and at helping Ford’s South Side plant and the Stellantis facility near Rockford to make the transition from producing gas-powered cars to vehicles of the future.
After a long day of bargaining, insiders tell me a deal has been struck between the industry and labor groups that appears satisfactory to both sides.
The terms were not available, and nothing is done until it’s done. But I’m told that it looks good.
Unions have been asking for a “labor peace” agreement at any new EV facility, essentially clearing the way for unionization of plant workers. The industry had very, very strongly objected, and sent signals that such a clause would be a deal-killer.
On a related note, the folks at Rivian took me for a ride in their new truck yesterday. It’s pretty darned nifty. And, wow, is it ever fast. It accelerates from 0-60 in 3 seconds and that heavy torque makes it feel like riding in a space ship.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Looks like ABATE is getting its wish. From the synopsis to Senate Floor Amendment 2 to HB1769…
In the definition provisions of the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act, removes electric motorcycles from an exclusion to the definition of “electric vehicle”.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The legislation is being teed up in the Senate for passage.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From ABATE…
Senate Amendment 2 was withdrawn in committee due to auto dealers objections.
Senate Amendment 1 was adopted with a promise to get Amendment 3 on the floor. Unfortunately amendment 3 doesn’t have motorcycle language in it, so we believe motorcycles are once again excluded.
Going to be an interesting evening
*** UPDATE 4 *** ABATE misread Amendment 3…
They ditched amendment 2 in committee because of objections from the auto dealers. So the language regarding manufacturing incentives and getting motorcycles included is right at the top of amendment 3. As well as the requested language from auto dealers.
*** UPDATE 5 *** ABATE…
ABATE of Illinois Congratulates Illinois General Assembly on Passage of Reimagining Electric Vehicles Act
Legislators show the path to growing electric vehicle industry is including all electric vehicles
ABATE of Illinois would like to congratulate the members of the Illinois General Assembly for passing the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act. This Act provides manufacturing incentives for electric vehicle companies and component manufacturers who choose to build their businesses in Illinois. It also makes changes to the procurement code, incentivizing government adoption of EVs. More importantly, this Act recognizes electric motorcycles as part of the electric vehicle industry.
ABATE thanks the many Senators and Representatives who realize the best path forward in growing the electric vehicle industry is to include all electric vehicles.
We would like to thank Senator Steve Stadelman for working on amendments to make sure motorcycles were a part of this future for Illinois, along with Senator Jason Barickman who advocated for motorcyclists during committee hearings on the bill.
ABATE would also like to thank Representative Dave Vella for talking with us and Rivian representatives about this legislation along with Representatives Stephanie Kifowit & Kelly Cassidy for their advocacy on the House floor.
With the passage of this Act, ABATE hopes to see electric motorcycles placed on equal footing as their four wheeled counterparts in Illinois transportation planning and incentives. ABATE will work with legislative partners and other advocacy groups to remove language contained in the recently passed Energy Transition Act that excluded electric motorcycles from participating in infrastructure planning and incentives. Senate Bill 2940 has bipartisan support and would treat motorcycles as equal. ABATE looks forward to continuing work with Illinois legislators on developing the future of Illinois transportation.
Thursday, Oct 28, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Many patients in Illinois rely on copay assistance to access and afford their prescription medications, often in instances when no generic option exists. Recognizing the important role copay assistance plays for patients, Illinois took legislative action to prohibit health plans from instituting “copay accumulator” policies that don’t apply copay assistance towards patient out-of-pocket costs.
Illinois stood with patients then – and must do so again.
Illinois can show leadership by ensuring patients are protected from these policies and have the guarantee that their copay assistance will count. At a time when Illinoisans are struggling financially from COVID-19, the state should protect the broadest set of patients to help them access critical medications for conditions like cancer and HIV.
Patient advocates are calling for our leaders in Springfield to stand with patients. We hope they answer that call. Tell Congress to count all copays. Stand with patients and support HR 516.
Here is the past electoral performance for the 3rd newly proposed congressional district map released by the ILGA. If you'd like to compare them to the current map you can find that here:https://t.co/D8IGJjgQIhpic.twitter.com/wEZxik2PA6
The House Redistricting Committee on Wednesday released an updated version of the proposed congressional map that accounts for public feedback while improving minority influence.
“I am extraordinarily proud of the passion and dedication that has been present throughout this redistricting process,” said Rep. Lisa Hernandez, Chair of the House Redistricting Committee. “I want to thank my colleagues on the bipartisan redistricting committee, as well as the members of the public, advocacy groups and grassroots organizations that have helped provide the crucial testimony needed to ensure we have diverse representation in Washington. I am confident these proposed congressional boundaries will maintain our status as a leader in the nation for minority representation.”
With MLBplayoffs underway, the college footballand NFL seasons in full swing and NBA and NHL action just getting started, people across Illinois will have plenty of opportunities to cash in over the next few months.
The state’s sports betting handle — the amount of money wagered — has ranked in the top three with New Jersey and Nevada in each of the last seven monthly reports released by the Illinois Gaming Board.
* The Question: Have you bet on sports since it was legalized? Tell us about it, or tell us why not.
* The governor was asked today for his thoughts on the deliberations over the new congressional map. Pritzker said he wants to wait to see what the final drawing looks like before commenting. When pressed a bit, he said…
But to be clear, I do want to say one thing, which is, as you know, the basic principle here is making sure that we end up with representation that is truly diverse, that represents the diversity of the state of Illinois. And so that’s something that I look strongly at whenever I’m looking at any of these maps. And, you know, I think it’s moving in the right direction, but I know that the legislature will be making adjustments or at least, I think they may be and so again, we’ll wait until the final version.
A map approved by the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. J.B. Pritzker in September carves out a chunk of state House District 114 represented by Democratic Rep. LaToya Greenwood, who is Black. The map takes thousands of Black voters from the East St. Louis area and puts them into District 113, pushing another chunk of Black voters into District 112. White Democrats represent both.
A fifth of Black voters were moved out of East St. Louis, and thousands of white voters were moved in, a lawsuit challenging the map alleges. In the current map, Black residents of voting age represent 37.1% of the population, but only 33.4% in the new map, according to the suit. […]
“I thought that Texas was passing a racist law on voter suppression,” [Frank Smith, chair of the East St. Louis Democratic Central Committee] said, referencing a recent voting restrictions law in the state, “but when I looked here at home, I saw the same thing in just a different way.” […]
“There has been a lot of misinformation about the intent and impact of the recent redistricting on the 114th District,” [Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis] said in a prepared statement. “For the past forty years, persons of all racial and ethnic backgrounds have come together to elect an African-American legislator in this district, despite the fact that the district was not a majority African-American district. Under the new map, I believe the 114th District will remain a strong district for African-American representation in Springfield, and I would not have supported the map if I believed otherwise.”
The latest draft of a new congressional district map for Illinois met with much of the same criticism as the first draft during a House committee hearing Tuesday.
The latest proposal from legislative Democratic leaders was released Saturday. It divides the state into 17 congressional districts, one fewer than the state currently has due to its population loss since the 2010 U.S. Census. […]
During the hearing, Republican Rep. Tom Demmer, of Dixon, asked Democratic committee Chairwoman Lisa Hernandez, of Cicero, directly whether the maps were drawn to increase Democrats’ partisan advantage.
“I would say politics plays a part,” Hernandez said.
* This practice is as old as the republic itself, but it’s a fair hit…
State Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, chairman of the Senate Redistricting Committee, told WBEZ he hasn’t ruled out running for a second Latino-leaning congressional seat that would be created in the Democrats’ map.
That situation, [Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield] said, is an example of the ethical conflicts that can occur when politicians draw maps.
A spokeswoman for Senate Democrats didn’t respond to a request for comment on Butler’s statement.
* On to campaigns. A Republican declares for Supreme Court…
Judge Daniel B. Shanes today announced his candidacy for the open Illinois Supreme Court Second District seat. He was joined by current and former public officials who emphasised Judge Shanes’s fair and impartial record, his experience as a judge and prosecutor, and his commitment to the Constitution as key reasons for their support for his candidacy. Quotes from each of these officials endorsing Judge Shanes can be found below and photos and video from today’s event are available upon request.
Endorsements of Judge Shanes
Fred Foreman, former United States Attorney & Chief Judge for Lake County - “Judge Dan Shanes is an ideal candidate for the Illinois Supreme Court. His commitment to our Constitution and the Rule of Law is exactly what we should expect from someone on the highest court in our state. Through his service as an assistant State’s Attorney coupled with over 14 years as a judge, he has the necessary experience, knowledge, and commitment to the law, and I’m proud to support Judge Shanes.”
Joe McMahon, former Kane County State’s Attorney - “When I consider the importance of our Supreme Court, I think that someone like Judge Dan Shanes is exactly who we need to set our state on the right path. A fierce defender of the law, an unerring commitment to the rights of the individual, and a fair and impartial record of rulings make him the right person for the job of Supreme Court justice. Judge Shanes will be a judge to make all of Illinois proud, and I encourage everyone in the Second District to support him.”
Patrick Kenneally, McHenry County State’s Attorney - “Judge Shanes is an upstanding judge and someone who will rule with integrity on the Supreme Court bench. His record speaks for itself, displaying a years-long commitment to the rule of law and balance in his rulings that will benefit our state from the Supreme Court. Judge Shanes has always shown great deference to our Constitution and the rights imbued in it, and it will benefit all Illinoisans knowing they have someone as committed to their rights as Judge Shanes on the Supreme Court.”
Judge Daniel B. Shanes announced his candidacy for the Illinois Supreme Court Second District seat today in Lake County. Judge Shanes has more than 14 years of experience as a judge, first as an Associate Judge and for the last 11 years as a full Circuit Judge, having been appointed in 2010, then elected in 2012, and retained by the voters for another full term in 2018. He currently serves as the Chair of the Illinois Judicial College Board of Trustees by Illinois Supreme Court appointment, teaching judges to better serve people across Illinois. Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Shanes served as an Assistant State’s Attorney and Division Chief in Lake County, leading some of the County’s most challenging cases and spearheading reform efforts such as establishing Lake County’s Drug Court, a program of comprehensive treatment for non-violent repeat felony offenders driven by substance addiction.
* Something to consider when thinking about the upcoming Republican primaries. Here are the “Yes, definitely” responses from a Morning Consult poll taken October 22-October 24 of 1,999 registered voters, with “Yes, probably” results added to the final total in parentheses…
Do you think the results of the 2020 presidential election should be overturned?
New cases of COVID-19 among Illinois children ages 5 to 11 reached 277 Tuesday, the same day a federal panel of experts recommended use of Pfizer’s vaccine for that age group.
New infections in children age 4 and younger came to 73, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported. Combined, the tally of 350 represents 15.8% of the 2,213 total new COVID-19 cases announced Tuesday.
* Press release excerpt…
Governor JB Pritzker today announced that $505 million of the initial tranche of Illinois’ 2021 emergency rental assistance from the federal government has been distributed, as Illinois leads the nation in getting this funding out the door faster than any other state. More than 57,000 households have now received assistance through the Illinois Rental Payment Program (ILRPP). With Illinois’ initial 2021 allocation of rental relief funds fully paid out, IHDA will open a new round of assistance funded by a separate federal bill on Monday, November 8, 2021.
According to the latest report from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Illinois is a national leader in providing critical emergency rental assistance to vulnerable households. Illinois leads all other states in disbursing this initial emergency rental assistance with 84 percent of all funds allocated to the State as well as directly to other municipalities, and now in the hands of eligible renters and landlords as they regain their financial footing. This compares to the national rate of just 23 percent of federal dollars making it into the hands of renters and landlords in September. The deadline for states to disburse 65 percent of the money they received under the first batch of funding was September 30. […]
ILRPP builds on the state’s comprehensive rental assistance programs launched by the Pritzker administration in 2020. The current statewide program provides up to $25,000 in emergency rental assistance to cover up to 15 months of past due rent and up to three months of future rent payments for tenants suffering a financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant payments were made directly to the landlord on behalf of the tenant as long as the landlord agreed to forgo an eviction.
* Last I checked, Chicago was still within the boundaries of the state of Illinois, which has a mask mandate…
Chicago’s top doctor said Tuesday that she hopes Chicago’s mask mandate will end “soon” and provided a metric for when the city could remove the requirement.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a Facebook Live event that, per U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, the city would need to be below 200 cases per day to remove the mask mandate.
“Our numbers are going down,” Arwady said. “When we get below 200 per day with good testing, per the CDC, moving out of that ’substantial transmission’ risk, that’s what [the mask mandate] would be coming off.”
* I told subscribers about this yesterday morning and then Crain’s ran its own little blurb later in the day without attribution…
"Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, alleging at one point that the same “synthetic" ingredients used to produce crack cocaine are used in making COVID vaccinations." https://t.co/T23CYSLGM8
Rep. Flowers’ claim sent me on a hunt today for how crack and the the vaccine are made. Yeah, OK, I was a little bored.
Basically, cocaine and baking soda or ammonia are heated with water to make crack. The only active ingredient in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is messenger ribonucleic acid. Lipids give it a “greasy” exterior, salts balance the acidity and table sugar keeps it stable when frozen.
So, I’m not quite sure where that conspiracy theory came from (I even Googled it several different ways to no avail), but it’s definitely quite weird.
While five employees were granted a court-issued extension in regard to receiving the COVID-19 vaccination to continue working for Riverside Healthcare, that same extension does not cover any other employee.
The hospital, in a Tuesday email message to its staff, noted the Oct. 31 deadline regarding being vaccinated remains in effect.
“The court ruling does not apply to any other Riverside employees,” the statement read.
Of the organization’s 2,913 employees, 90 percent have been vaccinated. Employees not vaccinated by Oct. 31 face a two-week unpaid suspension. If they are not vaccinated following the suspension, they will be terminated.
* Related…
* CPS enrollment continues to plummet: ‘I would have never imagined seeing this steep of a decline’: Enrollment is down 3% compared to the 340,658 students counted in the last school year — when the COVID-19 pandemic was well underway — and 7% versus the 355,156 students in the 2019-20 year. The figures cover more than 600 schools, which include district-run, charter, contract and SAFE schools.
Governor JB Pritzker will travel to London and Glasgow to tout Illinois’ climate leadership and economic development opportunities from November 2 to November 9, 2021.
“Illinois is leading the Midwest on climate action and building a green energy economy and I am eager to tout our success abroad,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Our historic clean energy legislation, talented workforce, and role as a transportation hub for the nation makes our state a top destination for international companies looking to do business in the U.S. I look forward to visiting London and Glasgow to encourage companies to come to Illinois and promote the international action needed to combat the climate crisis.”
The Governor and top staff will arrive in London, England on Nov. 2 and spend two days meeting with business leaders, discussing Illinois’ economic development opportunities and prospects for investment within our burgeoning green economy.
On Nov. 5, the Illinois mission led by Gov. Pritzker will attend the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. The Governor will share how Illinois is becoming the leading state in the Midwest on climate action and clean energy. He’ll also urge other governments, business leaders, and organizations to take further action to combat the climate crisis.
More information on specific events will follow.
I’m told the two Democratic legislative leaders have been invited, but no decisions have been made as of today.
Wednesday, Oct 27, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Dear members of the Illinois General Assembly:
As organizations, we support the repeal of Illinois’ Parental Notice of Abortion Act, and urge the General Assembly to take up legislation to get rid of this dangerous law during the current veto session.
Decades of research and experience demonstrate that such forced parental involvement laws hurt young people and serve no valid purpose. Most young people will involve a parent or other adult family member in their decision about having an abortion voluntarily regardless of what the law says. The minority of young people who do not talk to their parents in this situation have grave concerns such as: fear of physical or emotional abuse, loss of financial support, or homelessness; fear of being forced to give birth against their will; or serious family problems such as a parent who is sick or imprisoned.
This law has been in effect and putting young people in our state in harm’s way for over eight years, and the time for the General Assembly to protect youth and repeal this law is now. The urgency of eliminating this dangerous barrier to abortion access is all the more apparent with a case to overturn Roe v. Wade pending in the U.S. Supreme Court, and a new radical law in Texas that authorizes individual bounty hunters to enforce a ban on abortion.
Violations related to COVID-19 requirements. It is not a violation of this Act for any person or public official, or for any public or private association, agency, corporation, entity, institution, or employer, to take any measures or impose any requirements, including, but not limited to, any measures or requirements that involve provision of services by a physician or health care personnel, intended to prevent contraction or transmission of COVID-19 or any pathogens that result in COVID-19 or any of its subsequent iterations.
It is not a violation of this Act to enforce such measures or requirements. This Section is a declaration of existing law and shall not be construed as a new enactment. Accordingly, this Section shall apply to all actions commenced or pending on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. Nothing in this Section is intended to affect any right or remedy under federal law.
The Health Care Right of Conscience Act is amended by adding Section 13.5 as follows:
Violations related to COVID-19 requirements. It is not a violation of this Act for any person or public official, or for any public or private association, agency, corporation, entity, institution, or employer, to take any measures or impose any requirements, including, but not limited to, any measures or requirements that involve provision of services by a physician or health care personnel, intended to prevent contraction or transmission of COVID-19 or any pathogens that result in COVID-19 or any of its subsequent iterations.
It is not a violation of this Act to enforce such measures or requirements, including by terminating employment or excluding individuals from a school, a place of employment, or public or private premises in response to noncompliance. This Section is a declaration of existing law and shall not be construed as a new enactment. Accordingly, this Section shall apply to all actions commenced or pending on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. Nothing in this Section is intended to affect any right or remedy under federal law.
The highlighted words were removed from the newly revised version.
Thoughts?
…Adding… Very good point from a commenter…
Also deleted was the immediate effective date.
That means it’ll only need 60 votes. Subscribers know what the next option could be.
So far, employing Illinois’ HCRCA has proven an effective legal strategy for a small group of nurses at a Kankakee hospital, who this week won temporary protection from getting fired over their refusal to get their COVID shots. It’s also worked for employees at a trio of medical groups in Quincy, who were spared from terminations over their workplaces’ vaccine mandates earlier this month.
Other lawsuits, including those filed on behalf of teachers, go even further in trying to use the law to get out of regular COVID testing — offered as an alternative to getting vaccinated — and mask wearing at school. […]
It’s unclear how many lawsuits have been filed in Illinois so far using the HCRCA as a legal rationale to beat employers’ vaccine mandates; litigation has been initiated in many of Illinois’ 102 county circuit courts, in addition to federal courts. But since Pritzker is often named as a defendant in the suits, the eight cases the Attorney General’s office is defending the governor in is a decent gauge for the trend.
And Ashley Wright, chief of legislative affairs at the Attorney General’s office, said there’s reason to believe the spigot of litigation is just getting started. Wright told lawmakers Tuesday afternoon that the only way to stem the wave of lawsuits is to approve an amendment to the HCRCA this week, and warned that failure to do so could mean the functional collapse of Pritzker’s many COVID mitigation orders.
“To be clear, if we leave Springfield doing nothing on this issue, we’ll be walking back from all the progress that we’ve made so far…on all the mitigation efforts that we’ve made,” Wright said. “And that includes masks and testing. Not passing this bill ultimately means that the state cannot keep people safe.”
Catholic bishops opposed weakening the law, criticizing government desire for “expediency,” but Bishop Thomas John Paprocki from the Springfield Diocese said employers who mandate Coronavirus tests as an alternative to vaccines are “reasonable.”
“The Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act was not intended to cover things like testing or taking precautions like wearing a mask,” Paprocki said. “I think that’s just common sense.”
Several Facebook groups that have rallied supporters to oppose vaccine mandates recruited their followers to fill out witness slips on the General Assembly’s website. Within 24 hours, nearly 50,000 witness slips appeared online from people claiming they opposed the House amendment to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act.
“It’s an organized effort of misinformation, and it’s very concerning to me,” Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) said on Tuesday night after the committee approved her bill.
Some of the critics who opposed vaccine mandates also sent menacing threats to her office. In a Facebook message Gabel’s office sent to law enforcement, one man from the Rockford area referred to her bill as “rape by needle,” and threatened to force a medical procedure on Gabel against her consent. Others leveled vile, sexist insults, or referred to her as “Satan,” or a “witch.”
“I think it’s unfair,” she said. “I think it’s unreasonable, and it’s scary.”
Legal experts say federal law and established case law protect an employer’s right to enforce vaccine mandates. Gabel argues her proposal wouldn’t change the existing power to enforce mandates, it would simply remove an illegitimate excuse people have used to try and skirt the vaccine or testing requirements.
Democratic state Rep. LaShawn Ford said the amendment isn’t ready and may be the wrong approach to encourage vaccination.
“We have to make sure that we convince people that taking the vaccine is the right thing to do and make sure that they still have that option to have their doctor give the exemption and to make sure they get the religious exemption,” Ford said. “So those are important for me that we maintain the right to.”
Operators of licensed day cares in Illinois say the governor’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on the industry will make a staffing crisis even more acute. […]
Sarah Stoliker with Illinois Directors and Owners of Childcare Centers agreed.
“We’re not opposed to public health measures that will help bring this pandemic to an end, but there has to be a balance,” Stoliker said in an interview.
Yeah, very reasonable person…
I asked her group’s spokesperson for a comment on that post yesterday and it has since apparently been removed.
* Related…
* Editorial: Illinois should end moral, religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccination and testing: “In multiple cases, ostensibly religious reasons to decline immunization actually reflected concerns about vaccine safety or personal beliefs among a social network of people organized around a faith community, rather than theologically based objections per se,” the report states.
* Judge ‘Puzzled’ by Chicago Firefighters’ Vaccine Lawsuit: During Tuesday’s 45-minute hearing, which was held by videoconference, Lee asked several pointed questions to plaintiffs’ attorney Jonathan Lubin, including why forcing employees to disclose their vaccination status was even a constitutional issue at all. “I look puzzled because I am puzzled,” Lee said. “Because don’t we have to disclose medical information for all sorts of different jobs? Why is this any different?” In his response, Lubin started to argue that the “political nature” of the vaccine debate with COVID-19 could not be divorced from the legal issues — but the judge cut him off. “I don’t care about the political,” Lee said. “This is a court of law.”
* ABATE Illinois brought the Zero SR/S motorcycle to the Statehouse yesterday and parked it next to the R1T, which was brought to town by the Rivian folks…
* ABATE is trying to get language on electric motorcycles into the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act. From a press release…
The newly introduced act continues to share the exact same language that was contained in the Illinois Energy Transition Act which excludes motorcycles from Illinois’ plans to electrify the transportation grid.
We were especially disappointed to see this language continue to be used after Governor Pritzker’s press conference at heartland college last Thursday. When the Governor was asked about the exclusion of motorcycles from the Illinois Energy Transition Act and of the potential of being excluded from this Act as well, the Governor stated “There’s no intentionality to exclude”.
ABATE of Illinois is calling on Governor Pritzker to stand behind those comments and work with ABATE to remove this exclusionary language from both the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act & the recently passed Energy Transition Act.
Simply put, if the goal of this legislation is to encourage the manufacturing and adoption of electric transportation in Illinois, it must include all transportation in Illinois, not just certain sectors. Many Illinoisans use motorcycles as their primary mode of transportation, racking up thousands more miles on two wheels vs four wheels. For the last few weeks a beta of Illinois members have been posting pictures online with the hashtag #motorcyclesareprimary to bring awareness to this fact.
ABATE encourages members of the General Assembly and the Governor’s staff to work together on making the future of transportation equal to all modes of transportation.
The nation needs to know that Rivian’s first electric truck is being made not in Detroit, not in Silicon Valley—but in Normal, Ill.
The nation needs to know that MotorTrend has described that truck, which hits 60 miles per hour in about 3 seconds, as “the most remarkable pickup we’ve ever driven.”
The nation needs to know that Gov. J.B. Pritzker has introduced a sweeping piece of legislation—a set of policies to encourage the burgeoning electric vehicle industry to invest more here.
The nation needs to know that the state has awarded $7.5 million to Normal’s Heartland Community College to launch a program to train electric vehicle technicians, so that Rivian and its suppliers have the skilled labor they need.
And it goes on like that. But, they gotta pass a bill first. And that’s not yet a guarantee.
Illinois moved closer on Tuesday to no longer requiring a parent or other adult family member to be notified before a minor child receives an abortion, as the state Senate approved overturning a 26-year-old law that took nearly two decades to go into effect.
State Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, said the repeal of the Parental Notice of Abortion Act and the creation of the youth health and safety working group is a “necessary proposal to move our state forward to protect our young people — often those who cannot protect themselves.”
But one downstate Republican called the measure a slap in the face to families, arguing “this body is being used to take away the rights of parents.”
Along with repealing the parental notice law, the measure Sims sponsored also creates the Youth Health and Safety Act, which establishes the working group to ensure “full and equitable access to reproductive health care for all persons” statewide regardless of such factors as race or ethnicity, immigration status, age, education level or economic means.
The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 32-22 to repeal the parental notification requirement, with four members of the majority party joining Republicans in opposition. Five other Democrats did not vote.
The proposal, which has the support of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, now goes to the Democratic-controlled House, where its prospects remain uncertain. […]
“This is a necessary proposal to move our state forward to protect our young people, often those who cannot protect themselves,” said Democratic state Sen. Elgie Sims of Chicago, the measure’s sponsor.
Opponents of repeal — largely Republican lawmakers, religious leaders and anti-abortion groups — have sought to frame the debate as one about parental rights rather than about abortion access.
But with a 32-22 tally in favor of repeal, the count fell short of approval of all who make up the Democrats’ 41-18 advantage, showing the reticence among moderate Democrats on a law whose proposed repeal now moves to the House with two days left in the General Assembly’s fall session.
Republicans repeatedly point out that notification has the support of nearly three-quarters of Illinoisans responding to a poll conducted last spring. And they publicized the nearly 50,000 notices of opposition to the legislation that were filed electronically before the vote.
“It’s the most basic human relationship that we know and it is a precious bond for a lifetime, most critical during a young girl’s, a minor’s, formative years….” said Republican Sen. Jil Tracy of Quincy. “We have enough problems in the state without creating more wedges between children and their parents.”
Pro-notice advocates note that the 48-hour alert to a parent or guardian the law requires involves only notification, not consent. According to the Guttmacher Institute, of 38 states requiring parental involvement in a minor’s abortion decision, 21 require parental consent — in three of those, both parents must consent.
The repeal’s sponsor, Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago said young people make up less than 10% of abortions in Illinois.
He said there is no legal obligation for parents know of other medical decisions surrounding a pregnancy, such as having the child or getting a C-section.
“The only decision when it relates to pregnancy, the only decision that a parent has to be involved in, is required to be involved in, is if the child choses to have an abortion,” Sims said.
He called the notion raised by critics that repealing the notification law is a slap in the face to parents “offensive.”
* ACLU Illinois…
Tonight’s action by the Illinois Senate to pass the Youth Health and Safety Act HB 370 moves Illinois a step closer to ending enforcement of the dangerous Parental Notice of Abortion Act. The measure approved tonight also helps identify resources for pregnant and parenting youth.
Over the last eight years, we have represented more than 575 young people who have been forced by this law to go to court seeking a judicial bypass because they knew they could not share their abortion decision with any of the designated family members. Ending this barrier for young people in Illinois is critical.
We are especially pleased that a majority of senators saw through the argument that PNA is not about abortion, only about parental “rights.” This is a fallacy. After all, the law only requires that young people share their decision about an abortion, not the decision to parent or place a baby for adoption. This has always been about deterring young people from access to abortion care, and nothing else.
We look forward to this bill moving through the Illinois House and being signed into law by the Governor. Many thanks to chief sponsor Senator Elgie Sims, chief-co-sponsor, Senator Melinda Bush, and all those who voted for the measure. Your leadership will help protect the wellbeing of young people in our state for years to come. This is public policy-making at its best.
* Sen. Rezin…
Senate Republican Deputy Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris) issued the following statement after the Senate passed House Bill 370, which repeals the Parental Notice of Abortion (PNA) Act of 1995 with a 32-22 vote:
“Today’s vote is yet another attack on the rights of parents by the Democrat majority that will deny parents the opportunity to provide their daughters with the help and support that they need during one of the most difficult times in their life.
“By repealing the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle sent a clear message to the parents across the state that they believe parents have no right to know about their child’s health or health care decisions.”
Paprocki predicted Illinois would see “drastically” more abortions if the law is repealed. He joined with other pastors from the Chicago region who traveled to Springfield on a bus to rally against the push to repeal the law.
“The number of minors getting an abortion has gone down since the notification law went into effect,” he said. “Now, isn’t that a good thing?”
Many of the pastors support further restrictions on abortions. Pastor Calvin Lindstrom of Christian Liberty in Arlington Heights said he supports the recent abortion restrictions passed in Texas, and would like to see Illinois move in that direction. “I support it,” Lindstrom said. “I think it could go further to be honest with you.” He said he supports banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest.
Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, blamed Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, for the repeal.
“Time and time again, this governor has spit in the faces of families in this state,” she said. “He has shown his total and complete disregard for the rights of the family unit, and now he’s at it again, but he’s using this body.”
Emily Werth, a staff attorney at ACLU of Illinois, responded that in Illinois, a minor who is pregnant no longer has to receive parental consent for any medical care. The pregnant minor could undergo a caesarian section, receive a vaccine or get any other medical care without parental notice or consent.
“And that is because the General Assembly has made the policy decision that when a young person is pregnant, it is in their best interests and all of our best interest that they have access to whatever medical care they need, without delay, without being put in harm’s way,” Werth said. “Abortion is one kind of medical care that they may need when they are pregnant. And it should be treated the same as any other kind of medical care.”
Q: Why do you think the governor is pushing so hard for this vaccination mandate and doing away or at least amending the right of conscience act?
Bailey: I’ve said from day one, follow the money. I think it has a lot to do with the money. Big pharma money. I can’t prove that. But all the actions lead to that when we see each and every day the proof of even of even, you know, vaccinated people still dying from COVID, still catching it again. We’re not seeing the numbers and proof and the data and the facts that they say that they have.
Q: I’m thinking that money is a big part of this, probably the biggest part of this. But isn’t there a sense of we have the power to do this and this is a way we can control you?
Bailey: Again, we said it earlier. Marxism. Just how do you destroy a constitutional republic? This seems to be a pretty plausible roadmap to do that.
Whew. The drama is strong in that one.
* I’m assuming he wants his unvaccinated members to be paid in full by the city if they catch the virus and have to quarantine for 14 days…
Police union President John Catanzara said Tuesday his union members would agree to testing every day, but he’s still encouraging members to defy the city’s vaccine mandate.
“We will be OK with our members getting a rapid test every day they report to work, before they walk into roll call so they know if you’re contagious or not. Your vaccine status shouldn’t matter at that point,” Catanzara said.
Catanzara said officers who test negative would go to work.
“If you’re positive, you go home, go onto medical (leave) and quarantine for 14 days. It’s the simplest solution to stop the spread, if that’s what they really wanted to do,” he said.
Paying the unvaxed to stay home doesn’t seem fiscally prudent. If they take the risk, they should pay for the consequences.
Fourteen employees of NorthShore University HealthSystem are suing the hospital system, alleging that NorthShore won’t let them keep their jobs because of their religious objections to getting COVID-19 vaccines.
Liberty Counsel, which describes itself as a Christian ministry that advocates for religious freedom, is representing the 14 NorthShore employees in the lawsuit, which it filed on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The lawsuit seeks class-action status.
Liberty Counsel—an evangelical nonprofit legal foundation—has been offering pro bono representation for clients in pursuit of religious exemption. The group previously focused on more traditional culture-war issues like anti-abortion suits and cases seeking to deny LGBTQ Americans their rights but Liberty’s founder, Mathew Staver, shares many of his clients conspiratorial views about vaccines and likes to air them in public. In speeches, he’s called COVID-19 shots part of a “depopulation” conspiracy to force the world to “have a tracking mechanism to determine whether or not you’ve had one of these particular injections.”
Just recently, one of Liberty Counsel’s most prominent cases involved health-care workers in Maine with a suit aimed at overturning the state’s vaccine mandate for hospital and nursing home employees. Last week, the Supreme Court declined to grant an emergency injunction as the case plays out in lower courts.
* More…
* COVID-19 update: 2,213 new cases, 34 more deaths, 1,230 hospitalizations: The state’s positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 1.9% based on a seven-day average.
* Four Measures That Are Helping Germany Beat COVID: Ensure That Mass Events Don’t Facilitate Mass Transmission; Make Testing Cheap and Easy; Throw Out Those Cloth Masks (in favor of KN95 masks); Figure Out Contact Tracing
Aside from brief language at the very bottom repealing the Parental Notification of Abortion law, the amendment creates the Youth Health and Safety Act…
The Youth Health and Safety Act seeks to restate Illinois’ commitment to full and equitable access to reproductive health care for all persons across the State, without barriers based on race or ethnicity, immigration status, age, geographic location, economic means, education level, or other categories of identity. The Act confirms that Illinois will not move backwards and will continue to assure that reproductive rights are protected and recognized.
It also creates the Youth Health and Safety Advisory Working Group and specifies duties and responsibilities, including…
The Youth Health and Safety Advisory Working Group is created for the purpose of identifying and reviewing laws and regulations that impact pregnant and parenting youth and youth that may become pregnant or a parent. The working group shall identify existing and needed resources for pregnant and parenting youth, and youth seeking reproductive healthcare. In this Act, “youth” means an individual under 18 years of age. The working group shall prepare and make public a report that details available information and makes recommendations as necessary.
The act would sunset in 2024.
Discuss.
…Adding… Very small rally today opposing the bill…
It’s different for the new 3rd — with only a 43.75% Hispanic voting age population, it is barely a minority district. One estimate from a Democratic political operative — discounting for folks who can’t vote and youths who don’t vote — put the number of Hispanics who will actually vote in the new 3rd at 37%.
A Democratic primary with multiple Hispanics will divide the Hispanic vote, leaving the door wide open for a non-Hispanic candidate to claim the seat.
Three candidates are already mulling bids.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas, (36th) told Sun-Times City Hall reporter Fran Spielman on Monday he is “seriously considering” a bid.
Sun-Times politics writer Rachel Hinton reports that Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Chicago, said in a statement she’s “carefully” considering a run for Congress. State Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, the chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee, is also expected to look at a run.
More are expected to jump in once the map is finalized. This could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois families will soon be losing their opportunity to purchase dogs and cats from safe, highly-regulated local pet retailers, such as Petland, who offer their customers the choice of a pet that best fits their needs and provide health warranties. This change is coming because the state’s Animal Welfare Act has been updated through HB 1711 which bans the retail sales of dogs and cats obtained from licensed and regulated professional breeders.
But HB 1711 needs fixing, because while singularly blocking retail pet sales, it fails to strengthen any animal standards or protections at unregulated puppy mills across the state. Consumers looking for particular breeds will have no choice but to purchase dogs from unregulated breeders or dog auctions – thus perpetuating puppy mills. Responsible breeders and retailers will be heavily penalized while HB 1711 does nothing to address the issue of substandard breeders across the state.
Petland is dedicated to improving animal welfare and we have publicly demonstrated this commitment; in fact, we support the Humane Society’s petition effort to improve standards of care. Petland’s breeder pledge is a commitment to provide more space, more exercise, and more socialization for their pets plus numerous other improvements to standards of care.
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Many patients in Illinois rely on copay assistance to access and afford their prescription medications, often in instances when no generic option exists. Recognizing the important role copay assistance plays for patients, Illinois took legislative action to prohibit health plans from instituting “copay accumulator” policies that don’t apply copay assistance towards patient out-of-pocket costs.
Illinois stood with patients then – and must do so again.
Illinois can show leadership by ensuring patients are protected from these policies and have the guarantee that their copay assistance will count. At a time when Illinoisans are struggling financially from COVID-19, the state should protect the broadest set of patients to help them access critical medications for conditions like cancer and HIV.
Patient advocates are calling for our leaders in Springfield to stand with patients. We hope they answer that call. Tell Congress to count all copays. Stand with patients and support HR 516.
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Dear members of the Illinois General Assembly:
As organizations, we support the repeal of Illinois’ Parental Notice of Abortion Act, and urge the General Assembly to take up legislation to get rid of this dangerous law during the current veto session.
Decades of research and experience demonstrate that such forced parental involvement laws hurt young people and serve no valid purpose. Most young people will involve a parent or other adult family member in their decision about having an abortion voluntarily regardless of what the law says. The minority of young people who do not talk to their parents in this situation have grave concerns such as: fear of physical or emotional abuse, loss of financial support, or homelessness; fear of being forced to give birth against their will; or serious family problems such as a parent who is sick or imprisoned.
This law has been in effect and putting young people in our state in harm’s way for over eight years, and the time for the General Assembly to protect youth and repeal this law is now. The urgency of eliminating this dangerous barrier to abortion access is all the more apparent with a case to overturn Roe v. Wade pending in the U.S. Supreme Court, and a new radical law in Texas that authorizes individual bounty hunters to enforce a ban on abortion.
Here's how it often plays out: a young person is shot and killed, and a year later a birthday or event anniversary pops up on Facebook. A rival group may do something disrespectful with the post, and the deceased's friends take action.
We understand the roles that social media played in the capitol attack and on vaccine misinformation. Why do we not frame conflicts that lead to gun violence with the same lens?
A St. Louis-to-Chicago gun trafficking network began with a relationship that was kindled on an online sneaker marketplace, federal authorities say.
Two men who met on a Facebook specialty sneaker group started trading guns for marijuana about a year ago, authorities say.
Over the past week, Chicago police and ATF agents arrested those men and their supplier, a 71-year-old Missouri retiree who’d traveled the country to buy weapons at gun shows, according to affidavits filed in federal court by an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Behind the scenes, Facebook programmed the algorithm that decides what people see in their news feeds to use the reaction emoji as signals to push more emotional and provocative content — including content likely to make them angry. Starting in 2017, Facebook’s ranking algorithm treated emoji reactions as five times more valuable than “likes,” internal documents reveal. The theory was simple: Posts that prompted lots of reaction emoji tended to keep users more engaged, and keeping users engaged was the key to Facebook’s business.
Facebook’s own researchers were quick to suspect a critical flaw. Favoring “controversial” posts — including those that make users angry — could open “the door to more spam/abuse/clickbait inadvertently,” a staffer, whose name was redacted, wrote in one of the internal documents. A colleague responded, “It’s possible.”
The warning proved prescient. The company’s data scientists confirmed in 2019 that posts that sparked angry reaction emoji were disproportionately likely to include misinformation, toxicity and low-quality news.
That means Facebook for three years systematically amped up some of the worst of its platform, making it more prominent in users’ feeds and spreading it to a much wider audience. The power of the algorithmic promotion undermined the efforts of Facebook’s content moderators and integrity teams, who were fighting an uphill battle against toxic and harmful content. […]
When Facebook finally set the weight on the angry reaction to zero, users began to get less misinformation, less “disturbing” content and less “graphic violence,” company data scientists found. As it turned out, after years of advocacy and pushback, there wasn’t a trade-off after all. According to one of the documents, users’ level of activity on Facebook was unaffected.
Former state representative and Breakthrough Ideas’ CEO Jeanne Ives presented evidence today that 1,343 DuPage County registered voters no longer lived at their registered DuPage County address when they voted on Nov. 3, 2020.
Watch the full press conference here.
By law, these votes are fraudulent and invalid, as one cannot vote from an address where one does not reside.
Ives said the 1,343 voters were identified by comparing county voter records to the National Change of Address database; they each filled out forms attesting to the federal government that they had moved prior to September 1, 2020, so the Post Office would forward their mail.
Ives was joined by lead analyst John Morrissey of Elmhurst (?), who explained the process by which his team produced the analysis. […]
Here is an example:
State Voter ID 2J7HR72Y changed addresses in March 2020 from Hinsdale to Naples Florida according to the NCOA. We verified through the County Treasurer’s office that property owned by that individual for which the individual was registered to vote from, was sold in March 2020. We have a match with the NCOA that the voter moved and a match from the Treasurer’s office that the voter sold the home. Voter records show that the voter, though, voted by mail using the Hinsdale address in November 2020. This voter remains on the latest voter list.
Morrissey is the Vice-Chair of the York Township Republican Party.
Adam Johnson, spokesman for DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek, said in a statement the office follows federal law in maintaining its voter rolls, using everything from death certificates to undeliverable mail to biannual change of address notifications to keep the list up to date.
He said the one voter Ives highlighted at her news conference — a person who allegedly moved to Florida from Hinsdale but still listed the old address while voting by mail — notified the clerk’s office months before the election that they had moved elsewhere within DuPage County and cast the proper ballot.
* This was a compromise with the mayor’s office that would also allow for an immediate moratorium on school closures…
Another measure that could be considered is a change to a legislation that passed this spring and was subsequently signed into law by Pritzker that would put a fully elected school board in place in Chicago in January 2027.
Under a proposed amendment to the law, Chicago’s mayor would be able to make 10 appointments to the board and choose its president without having to seek City Council approval. Previously, the bill required her appointments to be approved by aldermen, which Lightfoot opposed.
The Pritzker administration also is seeking approval of a package of tax credits and incentives to encourage more manufacturing of electric vehicles and their components in the state, following in the wake of the interest in vehicles being produced by Rivian in the former Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal.
The proposed Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act, or the “REV” act, would provide for tax credits for large business development and allow businesses to claim some if not all of income tax withholdings attributable to new employees. It also would provide for construction job credits for building facilities, create a streamlined permitting process and establishes a state government procurement price preference for electric vehicles built in Illinois.
Two years ago, state Rep. Carol Ammons pushed — and came close to passing — legislation opening the way for electing more Democratic judges in downstate counties like Champaign.
Now Ammons’ bill has been re-cast in a plan to create judicial sub-circuits in counties with populations over 150,000. And Champaign County Chief Judge Randy Rosenbaum isn’t happy about it.
Meanwhile, the progress toward getting more of the state workforce vaccinated came as legislation surfaced to tighten a decades-old state law so that it can’t be used to evade state and local vaccination mandates.
The measure sponsored by state Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, would amend the state Health Care Right of Conscience Act, which offers liability protections for medical practitioners unwilling to perform abortions or offer contraception on moral grounds.
The law has been cited increasingly by educators and police officers trying to defend against potential job losses over their philosophical objections to being forced to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by their government employers.
Gabel’s amendment would explicitly note that the law does not offer protections for those wanting to invoke it to sidestep mandated COVID-19 vaccinations and empower governments to terminate workers who don’t comply with vaccination orders.
Despite Pritzker’s backing, its prospects this week are hazy, and Gabel did not immediately respond to WBEZ for comment.
A spokeswoman for House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, stopped short of predicting passage Monday but said he “supports getting it done” and is “ready to listen and compromise.”
* Subscribers know much more about this caucus and what happened afterward, but here’s Politico…
If the fireworks that erupted in yesterday’s House Democratic Caucus meeting are any indication, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s amendment to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act is in trouble. […]
During caucus meeting Monday, Rep. Mary Flowers spoke passionately about how the amendment would target the state’s poorest residents.
Flowers said amending the law would primarily affect working-class residents who have to get up and go out every day to their jobs. Employees working in the corporate world or who have office jobs that allow them to work at home aren’t likely to be affected by Pritzker’s amendment, Flowers told caucus members, according to folks in the room.
Lawmakers are also frustrated that they haven’t heard from Pritzker or his “well-paid deputy governors” to better explain why they should vote for the amendment.
Because the measure would take effect immediately, it needs 71 votes to pass, and the buzz is that those votes just aren’t there.
How we’ll know: The bill will only be called if the numbers add up.
This isn’t really about deputy governors. This is about people believing some very weird stuff or being unclear on what the bill is intended to do.
* The opposition is very small, but very well organized and intense…
I’ve never seen this before. Nearly 30k people went online and filled out a witness slip to oppose stronger vaccine mandate powers, and they did it in less than 24 hours. Several anti-vax groups are organizing on Facebook and directing people to fill out witness slips. pic.twitter.com/rgpwy6YkSI
Still haven’t heard anyone articulate a serious religious objection to spitting into a tube to make sure you’re not infecting your coworkers with Coronavirus. The bill would still allow employers to provide a testing alternative to the vaccine. pic.twitter.com/gxxolvebsC
A suburban judge granted a temporary restraining order to a group of nurses who sued Riverside Healthcare over the hospital system’s vaccine mandate.
Kankakee County Judge Nancy Nicholson granted the temporary restraining order until Nov. 19. She will then hold a hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction requested by the nurses.
Liberty Justice Center Managing Attorney Daniel Suhr said the ruling was a win.
“Today’s ruling marks an important step toward victory for these nurses – and it sends a signal to all Americans about the importance of fighting for your rights,” he said. “Employers and government officials should take note that forcing people to violate their conscience not only is wrong, it’s illegal. No one should be forced to choose between keeping their job and sacrificing their beliefs.”
The nurses sued Riverside Healthcare on Oct. 13 claiming the state’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act gives them the right to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine. The nurses said their religious beliefs conflict with getting the vaccine.
The blow-up occurred in a caucus of House Democrats when several Black lawmakers came out against the bill, with Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, alleging at one point that the same “synthetic” ingredients used to produce crack cocaine are used in making COVID vaccinations.
The Black members later met with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who tried to convince them the intent of the freedom of conscious act is being abused. I hear different things about whether Raoul’s pitch worked. We’ll find out when and if the bill is called for a vote before the veto session’s scheduled end on Thursday.
“When he ran for office, Governor Pritzker pledged to veto any congressional map that wasn’t drawn by a fair and independent commission. But now he’s changed his tune in a desperate ploy to help Nancy Pelosi keep the majority in Congress,” Republican Illinois Rep. Mike Bost told Fox News.
This requires only a simple yes or no response: Will you pledge as governor to veto any state legislative redistricting map proposal that is in any way drafted or created by legislators, political party leaders and/or their staffs or allies? The exception, of course, would be the final official draft by LRB.
Emphasis added.
* I suggested that this FiveThirtyEight writer delete this tweet and hilarity ensued…
The map puts GOP Rep. Rodney Davis in a Dem-leaning seat & sets up a likely GOP incumbent-vs-GOP incumbent primary. It also creates a new majority-Hispanic #IL03 at the expense of Marie Newman, who's thrown in with Sean Casten. https://t.co/6bnNFbCTL9pic.twitter.com/GLwnL9T4T1
* While we’re on the topic, here’s some more remap stuff…
* Democrats propose revised congressional map as last week of veto session approaches: U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood no longer would represent parts of Springfield and Sangamon County under the latest proposal for new congressional district boundaries released over the weekend by General Assembly Democrats who control the map-making process.
* Give him credit, Sen. Bailey is always on-brand…
Though the gubernatorial primary isn’t until June 2022, Republican candidates vying for their party’s nomination are already looking for who will be their lieutenant governor. […]
State Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, said he’s closing in on a selection. His goal, he said, is to return the base of power back to Springfield. To do that, he’s looking for a lieutenant governor to oversee Chicago.
“You know, the ambassador role for the urban areas so they can help hold the Chicago mayor and Chicago politics accountable,” Bailey said.
Dixmoor and Cook County officials said Saturday that a boil order was still in effect in the south suburban village that has gone without running water for a week — but they maintained progress was being made.
No one could give a timeframe on when the problem attributed to the water main in Harvey, which supplies water to Dixmoor, would be diagnosed and fixed. That means for the time being, more than 3,000 residents will have to make do with bottled water.
“I can’t tell you how long it’s going to take, but there is light at the end of the tunnel,” said Bill Barnes, executive director at the Cook County Emergency Management and Regional Security, said a news conference. […]
However, there was recent ground gained in upping the system’s water pressure. Roberts said as of Saturday, the village was at 17 pounds of pressure after temporarily rerouting water from Blue Island. That isn’t enough to reach the ideal 35 pounds of pressure, but Roberts said, “the issue at hand is being resolved as I speak.”
While the boil water order remains in effect, residents are now able to take showers and resume some normal use of water as pressure returns to Dixmoor, according to Village President Fitzgerald Roberts.
The Village is back feeding water from Blue Island in their reservoir and there is also some increased water pressure coming from Harvey.
The reservoir is also now filling up and businesses are able to open, but schools will likely still be learning virtually on Monday.
Jeff Maxey said that means figuring out schedules for his six kids that range from five to 14-years-old.
* Dixmoor Mayor Fitzgerald Roberts was on WGN Radio today to talk about the situation. They’re still waiting on the special cameras to locate the problem, he said. He said he hoped that by the end of this week or “sometime next week” the water will be drinkable. But volunteers have donated “plenty of water,” including a truckload on its way from Texas.
Today, State Representative Ann Williams (D-Chicago) introduced House Bill 4192, the “Community Oversight of Vaccination Deception Act,” or the “COViD Act.” This initiative would allow any citizen, employer, business, academic institution, or entertainment venue to bring a civil action against a person who utilizes a fake vaccine document to gain entry or admission into a location or entity which requires proof of vaccination.
Modeled after the law recently passed in Texas that allows any citizen to sue someone who performs or aids an abortion, the COViD Act – in contrast to the Texas law – is actually designed to promote public health and safety by ensuring those who falsely represent their vaccine status can be held accountable.
“The Supreme Court ruling on the Texas law allows citizens to take civil action to enforce the State’s draconian abortion law. Here, we follow that approach, but rather than allowing a citizen to bring a civil action to enforce a law which doesn’t impact them, the COViD Act allows citizens to protect their own health and the health of others by holding those who falsify their vaccine status accountable,” said Williams. “The science shows vaccines have the ability to impact transmission of the virus by preventing infection altogether and by reducing the amount of infectious virus should a vaccinated individual become infected.”
The legislation provides for injunctive relief and allows plaintiffs to recover no less than $10,000 in statutory damages, as well as costs and attorney’s fees.
“Choosing to patronize an event, attend a meeting or gather with people who you believe to be vaccinated is one way a person can choose to mitigate risk,” said Williams. “A person who claims to be vaccinated but is not presents a threat to the health of community members who may be relying on the fact they are associating with or in the physical presence of only vaccinated individuals.”
“Falsifying your vaccination status is simply wrong and those who do it should be held accountable,” she added.
* The Question: Should people who use a fake vax card be subjected to civil suits? Make sure to explain your answer in comments.
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch is pleased to welcome the WNBA Champion Chicago Sky basketball team to the House of Representatives on Tuesday October, 26.
Members of the team in attendance will be recognized on the House floor at the commencement of session at noon. Face coverings must be worn and House members will be asked to follow additional protocols to encourage social distancing and avoid crowding. In keeping with current practice to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the House gallery will remain closed to members of the public.
“This Chicago Sky championship win is historic and we are honored to celebrate their achievements here in the State Capitol,” said Speaker Welch. “Of course, I am incredibly proud of this team for their performance on the court, but I am even more inspired by the values they exemplify off the court. These women are the role models our communities deserve and they make our state exceptionally proud.”
* I don’t usually do such things, but this Adidas ad about Candace Parker is just so good…
Nobody knows for sure yet which players will be in attendance tomorrow.
Continuing Illinois’ progress as the vaccination leader of the Midwest, Governor JB Pritzker announced the largest union agreement regarding vaccines for 7,800 state employees who are represented by AFSCME. Nearly 10,000 state workers are now covered under union vaccine agreements.
This agreement will ensure employees in 24/7 congregate facilities within the Illinois Departments of Human Services, and Veterans’ Affairs are protected with the COVID-19 vaccines. Employees under all union vaccine agreements are required to get their first shot by October 26 and second shot by November 30.
“I’m proud to announce our sixth and largest union agreement that will protect nearly 10,000 state workers and the people under their care,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “We’ve overcome tremendous challenges during the pandemic, and I want to thank our partners in the labor movement for being a part of the solution. Each person that gets vaccinated is protecting themselves, the people around them and our state as a whole. We will continue to work through the established legal process to ensure all state employees who work with the vulnerable and incarcerated are vaccinated.”
In addition to the announced agreements, the State and AFSCME have reached an impasse at the bargaining table for employees at the Departments of Corrections and Juvenile Justice. The next steps for those bargaining units are as follows:
• For roughly 10,300 security employees at the Departments of Corrections and Juvenile Justice, the State and the union will submit to interest arbitration.
• For an additional 1,900 non-security employees at those two departments, the State has informed AFSCME that it will implement the following terms: employees must get their first shot by October 26 and their second shot by November 30. This is in accordance with state law.
State employees who remain unvaccinated pose a significant risk to individuals in Illinois’ congregate facilities. Therefore, if employees do not receive the vaccine or an exemption by the dates identified, progressive disciplinary measures will be implemented. The agreement includes a process whereby employees can seek an exemption based on medical contraindications or sincerely held religious beliefs.
Following Gov. Pritzker’s announcement that all state workers who work in state-run congregate facilities would be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the agreements covering 2,090 workers have been made:
• VR-704: 260 supervisory employees at the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). Agreement announced on September 20, 2021.
• Illinois Nurses Association: approximately 1,100 nurses working in 24/7 facilities like McFarland Mental Health Facility, Quincy Veterans’ Home and Jacksonville Correctional Center. Agreement announced on October 7, 2021.
• Illinois Federation of Public Employees: approximately 160 employees working in Human Services and Veterans’ Affairs. Agreement announced on October 7, 2021.
• Illinois Trade Unions: approximately 470 employees working in 24/7 facilities such as Menard Corrections Center, Shapiro Developmental Center and Quincy Veteran’s Home. Agreement announced on October 18, 2021.
• Teamsters: approximately 100 maintenance equipment operators and maintenance workers at the Illinois Department of Human Services and Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Agreement announced on October 20, 2021.
• AFSCME: approximately 7,800 employees in 24/7 congregate facilities within the Illinois Departments of Human Services, and Veterans’ Affairs.
To further encourage vaccinations under the agreements with the unions, employees will receive an additional personal day. If the vaccine administration is not available during an employee’s regularly scheduled shift, the employee may be compensated at their regular pay for the time taken to receive the vaccine. In addition, vaccinated employees will receive paid “COVID time,” so that if a vaccinated employee gets COVID-19 they will receive a period of paid time off without using their benefit time.
The administration has taken extensive measures to make the COVID-19 vaccine equitable and accessible. The Pritzker administration established 25 mass vaccination sites. The Illinois National Guard supported more than 800 mobile vaccination clinics on top of an additional 1,705 state-supported mobile sites that focused on communities hardest hit by the pandemic, young residents, and rural communities. The COVID-19 vaccine has been available for healthcare and nursing home workers since December 15, 2020, and open to teachers since January 25, 2021.
Vaccination is the key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic and returning to normal life. All Illinois residents over the age of 12 are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost and proof of immigration status is not required to receive the vaccine. To find a vaccination center near you, visit vaccines.gov.
*** UPDATE *** From Council 31…
AFSCME represents some 39,000 Illinois state employees. Some 20,000 of these work in 24/7 congregate facilities—such as veterans homes, psychiatric hospitals, residential programs for people with developmental disabilities, prisons and juvenile justice centers—that are affected by the state’s vaccine requirements.
While employers have the right to require vaccination, they must negotiate how such requirements are implemented. Since August we have engaged in negotiations over the implementation of those requirements.
Human Services and Veterans Affairs
The parties have now reached an agreement on terms affecting more than 7,000 employees in the departments of Human Services and Veterans Affairs. Employees are required to have their first shot by Tuesday, Oct. 26, or may file for a religious or medical exemption by the same date. Failure to do so will result not in discharge but progressive discipline culminating in either unpaid leave or layoff.
Importantly, the union secured paid time off for employees who contract the virus, must quarantine due to exposure, or have to care for a dependent who is sick or quarantined, as well as an added personal day off for employees who are fully vaccinated.
In addition, a special Labor-Management COVID Safety Committee will be established in each impacted agency to fight the spread of the virus on all fronts.
Corrections and Juvenile Justice—security employees
The parties have been unable to reach agreement on terms for employees in the Departments of Corrections and Juvenile Justice. The more than 10,000 employees who work in security positions (such as correctional officers) have the right to submit unresolved issues to a neutral third-party arbitrator. We have filed the necessary paperwork with the state labor board to initiate this process. The vaccine requirement cannot be implemented until interest arbitration is concluded.
Corrections and Juvenile Justice—non-security employees
The parties also have not reached agreement on terms for the more than 2,000 non-security employees (e.g. clerical and other support workers) in prisons and youth centers. These employees do not have the right to interest arbitration. Arguing that the parties are at impasse in negotiations, the administration is planning to impose the terms of the DHS/DVA agreement on these workers. The union does not agree that the parties are at impasse and will bring the matter before the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
AFSCME is continuing our efforts to share authoritative information with union members about the benefits of getting vaccinated. Safe and effective, vaccines are the best way to protect ourselves, our families, our coworkers and communities, to defeat the pandemic and return to normal.
Local school superintendents are asking the Illinois State Board of Education to give them greater control over their affairs in light of state mandates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Superintendents from Teutopolis and Altamont addressed the board prior to Tuesday’s meeting, spotlighting their districts’ efforts to keep classes in session and criticizing the board and state leaders for forcing them to implement measures without their input. […]
The tug-of-war between the state and area school districts is best exemplified through the state’s mask mandate for anyone on school property, initially implemented in August. Many area districts chafed at this idea, with large groups of parents coming into meetings to voice their displeasure with the state’s actions.
Some school districts – such as Teutopolis, Dieterich, Altamont and Beecher City – initially deadlocked or decided not to pass a mandate. The consequences were severe for districts that didn’t go along: potential loss of recognition, inability to compete in state competitions at the junior high or high school level, diplomas being invalid for entry into any college or institution of higher education.
Some hugely important context was left out of that story. Hospitalizations more than doubled from the beginning of August through mid-September, but those superintendents were pushing back against the state mandate throughout. And now they demand to be trusted to handle things on their own?
Nope.
Also, the UK’s summer surge started a couple of months before ours did. They’re now surging again. Hard. 79 percent of UK residents 12 and above have received two doses compared to 66 percent in Illinois. And it’s less than that in Effingham County. People keep spiking the football before they’re even in the red zone.
* Press release sent yesterday from Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge President Chris Southwood…
“The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police remains strongly opposed to any changes to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act that would diminish any individual’s right to their religious liberties.
“In America, one group can’t force another to have certain beliefs or dictate how they should feel. The U.S. Constitution guarantees that the government cannot impose the beliefs of one segment of the population onto another, no matter how well-intentioned the government claims its actions to be.
“We are confident that any attempt to usurp these religious freedom rights will be found unconstitutional by the courts. And we fully intend to make every Illinois legislator’s constituents aware of how they voted on this basic right we all have as Americans.”
I followed up at 7 this morning to ask what specific “religious freedom rights” the ILFOP was talking about. I was promised a response at 8:25 this morning. I have not yet heard back.
The 700+ parents who have brought legal action against their local school districts, as well as the Governor, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education, by and through, Thomas De Vore, Attorney at Law, provide the following statement: […]
Parents will no longer sit idly by while Governor J.B. Pritzker rules by executive fiat, to say nothing of the simple fact that lawful requests for the executive to share the ‘facts and science’ on which his edicts are based go unanswered.
Pretty sure the science has been explained all along. Also, the General Assembly has been free from the beginning to step in whenever a majority of their members decided to do so. The GA has so far decided to mostly stay out of it (although that may change this week). The super-majority of legislators made a conscious decision to stand aside.
Republicans wanted to have a bill heard to limit the governor’s emergency powers to 30 days. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has issued more than 90 such orders over the past 20 months unchecked by the legislature.
In the majority, state Rep. William Davis, D-Hazel Crest, said the governor is doing just fine.
“I would argue the governor is trying to keep us safe and healthy,” Davis said. “The science suggests that that’s what he’s trying to do so I’m okay with executive orders.”
* This appears to be quite common. Vaccinated person earns nice living in part by urging others to resist the vax mandate…
Cumulus Media, owner of news/talk WLS 890-AM and more than 400 other radio stations nationwide, is on a collision course with some of its biggest personalities over the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all employees.
Dan Bongino, who took over Rush Limbaugh’s coveted midday slot (11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays) in May, is threatening to quit — even though he already was vaccinated on the advice of his doctors because he has Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Bongino addressed his “Cumulus struggle” and “protesting their vaccine mandate” during his October 20 show, saying he “wouldn’t be letting it go.” He went on to encourage his audience to join his protest, saying, “I’m one spoke in an enormous wheel of people who are fighting back. Don’t let them break you. Don’t let them break you. They want to break you. There’s a cabal of idiots, little mini-tyrants and totalitarians who need subjugation, and they want you to kneel, get on your knees, sit in the corner, and shut your mouth.”
…Adding… Press release excerpt…
With nearly 6.2 million children nationwide testing positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, Governor JB Pritzker today outlined the coordinated statewide efforts to prepare for the anticipated approval of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5-11. Joined by Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike and other pediatric healthcare professionals, the governor announced the administration is partnering with pediatricians, local health departments, schools, and other organizations ahead of the expected emergency-use authorization from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).
Once the Pfizer vaccine is authorized for use in children ages 5-11, more than 2,200 locations and providers statewide, including Chicago, are already enrolled to provide the vaccine. Illinois is expected to receive an initial allotment of approximately 306,000 doses for the state’s youngest residents, with an additional 73,000 doses for the City of Chicago, and well over 100,000 additional doses headed to the federal government’s pharmacy partners in Illinois. Overall, the initial allocation will amount to approximately 500,000 doses available to children in Illinois.
* Other stuff…
* Matt Nagy tests positive for COVID-19: He announced the diagnosis on Zoom call Monday morning. He will not be allowed inside Halas Hall until he can pass two tests within 48 hours. Nagy received the call Monday morning from head trainer Andre Tucker.
With the backing of the legislature’s Democratic majority, Illinois has been at the forefront of expanding abortion access in recent years, even enshrining a “fundamental right” to the procedure in state statute.
Legislative efforts backed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to repeal a quarter-century-old Republican-sponsored law requiring parents to be notified when a minor seeks an abortion, however, have not been an easy sell. Even some Democrats question whether such a move goes too far in pitting abortion rights against parental rights. […]
Another complicating factor is that all 177 seats in the legislature will be up for election next year under new boundaries drawn during the once-a-decade redistricting process. That leaves some incumbents potentially wary of taking on a highly polarizing issue before having to court voters in unfamiliar territory, especially in suburban areas where Democrats have picked up seats from the GOP in recent elections. […]
Several Democratic lawmakers either declined to discuss the issue during the first half of the legislature’s two-week fall session, didn’t return calls seeking comment or said they were undecided on how they’d vote if the matter is taken up.
One undecided legislator was state Rep. Lawrence Walsh Jr., an Elwood Democrat who voted against the 2019 Reproductive Health Act, which codified into state law the “fundamental right” to an abortion. He questioned whether a vote to repeal parental notification was ready for consideration.
State Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) argues the effort to repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act (PNA) of 1995 is taking away parental rights. […]
Bryant said nothing about repealing the PNA stands to make the situation better for any those involved.
“This will not fix child abuse,” she said. “It will only leave young girls with mental health issues that could last a lifetime if they don’t receive the proper support and care that they need. We must take a stand to protect parental rights and safeguard the system in place already that allows a parent to be there for their child at an unimaginably vulnerable time.”
Bryant is joined by several other Republican lawmakers in speaking out, with Senate Republican deputy leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris) arguing that the assertion that this legislation is needed in light of a recently passed Texas law that sets up more legal barricades for a woman seeking an abortion.
“They know that what is happening in Texas has no effect on what’s happening in our state,” she said.
The number of patients from Texas visiting an abortion clinic in Granite City hasn’t changed much, even since the state effectively banned abortions in September.
The reason?
“We’ve always seen those patients,” said Alison Dreith, the clinic’s deputy director.
Illinois has long been a destination for those seeking care, predating Texas’ Senate Bill 8 and its drastic new legal precedent. Even since the Supreme Court found abortion constitutional in 1973, it has been easier to drive hours or fly to Illinois.
As Illinois has increased abortion rights while other states whittled away at them, out-of-state patients have increasingly sought services here. In 2015, they accounted for 8% of all abortions in the state. In 2016, that number increased to 12%, and it has risen every year since.
* Background is here and here if you need it. Rep. Robyn Gabel’s House Amendment 2 to SB1169…
The Health Care Right of Conscience Act is amended by adding Section 13.5 as follows:
Violations related to COVID-19 requirements. It is not a violation of this Act for any person or public official, or for any public or private association, agency, corporation, entity, institution, or employer, to take any measures or impose any requirements, including, but not limited to, any measures or requirements that involve provision of services by a physician or health care personnel, intended to prevent contraction or transmission of COVID-19 or any pathogens that result in COVID-19 or any of its subsequent iterations.
It is not a violation of this Act to enforce such measures or requirements, including by terminating employment or excluding individuals from a school, a place of employment, or public or private premises in response to noncompliance. This Section is a declaration of existing law and shall not be construed as a new enactment. Accordingly, this Section shall apply to all actions commenced or pending on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. Nothing in this Section is intended to affect any right or remedy under federal law.
…Adding… The Catholic Conference of Illinois issued this today before the amendment surfaced. I’ve asked for further comment…
There is an attempt during this Fall Veto Session in Springfield to amend the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act in order to remove the ability of someone to make a conscience objection to COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Illinois. The bishops of Illinois oppose any amendment to this important Act. A letter from the Illinois bishops has been sent to the Governor and legislative leaders on this; a copy of the letter has also been sent to all members of the Illinois General Assembly.
*** UPDATE *** A spokesperson for the Illinois Hospital Association tells me that his group is supporting the bill and “urging legislators to vote Yes.”
Illinois Democrats have unveiled a revised congressional map that sets up the potential for a second Latino district, two primary matchups featuring Republican incumbents and, surprisingly, a one-on-one primary battle between suburban Democratic incumbents. […]
Reflecting a growing Latino population in the state, the new map would create an opportunity for a second Latino district in Illinois along with the 4th District now held by U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
Garcia’s current district would see much of its Northwest Side Latino population moved into a redrawn open 3rd District seat that stretches into the western suburbs and is designed to capture growth in the Latino community in Cook and DuPage county suburbs.
One prominent resident of the proposed 3rd District is Chicago Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, who chairs the City Council Latino Caucus. On Sunday, Villegas and the 13-member Latino Caucus issued a statement urging Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign the revised map. The caucus is also seeking greater representation in the redrawing of aldermanic boundaries.
A new east-west district currently lacking an incumbent connects Latino populations in Logan Square on Chicago’s Northwest Side and West Chicago in the western suburbs. That proposed district is nearly 44% Latino compared to 43% white, according to legislative data showing voting-age constituents. Only the 4th Congressional District now held by U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Chicago, has a higher concentration of Latino voters, standing at 62% on the new map.
“The changes made in this updated congressional map will help ensure the diversity of Illinois is reflected in Washington,” said state Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee. “We appreciate the many advocacy groups and individuals that continue to guide our work with passion and dedication, as we remain focused on the creation of a fair map that will provide equal representation for all.”
Aquino, who lists his residence in the new 3rd Congressional District, said he has not ruled out a potential bid for that seat assuming this latest map isn’t revised a third time before a possible vote. “It’s a serious conversation I’d need to have with my family,” he said.
The draft map, which was released late Saturday afternoon, isn’t final. Sources close to the process say they expect a few more revisions, though the new Latino district will stand. The Democratic-led General Assembly votes on it this week during the scheduled veto session.
NEWMAN/CASTEN — State Democratic legislative mapmakers didn’t care if they sparked an intra-party fight by throwing Newman, a progressive from LaGrange, and Casten, a centrist from Downers Grove, in the same district since it will not impact the Democratic bottom line.
Casten represents the current 6th District. The new 6th, anchored in the western suburbs, takes away Newman’s Southwest Side Chicago and southwest suburban political base.
President Joe Biden won the new 6th by about 12 points, according to an analysis by Scott Kennedy’s Illinois Election Data operation. Casten had $1,049,641 cash-on-hand as of Sept. 30, according to the Federal Election Commission, compared to $437,873 for Newman. […]
UNDERWOOD SAFER: Democrat Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville is one of the few Black members of Congress who won in a majority white district. She only won by a point in 2020. This second map is improved for her because it gets rid of Republican McHenry County.
BLACK DISTRICTS: The loss of Black population in Illinois means fewer Black residents in the three districts — all Democratic — created to yield Black lawmakers. Voting-age population is 50.13% in Rep. Bobby Rush’s 1st; 43.75% in Rep. Robin Kelly’s 2nd and only 40.05 % in Rep. Danny Davis’ 7th.
* There might possibly be more than two Democratic primary candidates in that new 6th District…
According to Calabrese, it is “hard to say what” this latest proposed map would mean for former Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), a conservative Democrat who was ousted by Newman in the 2020 primary. Lipinski is reportedly considering a primary bid to reclaim his seat.
“He could do well in a three-way Democratic primary,” Calabrese said. “Split the liberal vote [between Newman and Casten] and he can win the moderate vote. Still lots of moderate Democrats in the district.”
* Depending on the intensity of the national mood, a Newman primary victory might also draw a serious GOP challenger…
Here is the past electoral performance for the 2nd newly proposed congressional districts released by the ILGA. If you'd like to compare them to the current map you can find that here:https://t.co/D8IGJjgQIhpic.twitter.com/6i74xMolYF
Republican incumbents Darin LaHood and Adam Kinzinger would be shoved into the same congressional district under an updated version of the redistricting map released Saturday.
The map, drawn by Illinois Democrats, is different than the one released Aug. 15. That first draft was skewered by Republicans who called it the “Nancy Pelosi protection plan” and even by some Democrats, who wanted their party to protect their House majority more aggressively. […]
Saturday’s map also makes it likely U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis would no longer represent any portion of Bloomington-Normal in the House. Davis, a Republican from Taylorville, would be placed into the new 15th Congressional District.
It’s unclear if Davis will seek re-election to that seat or possibly run for governor.
Illinois GOP spokesman Joe Hackler on Sunday called the latest maps an “even more aggressive” plan to protect Democrats.
“As we said for the last version of the map, Illinois Democrats, led by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, have made it clear that they are willing to disenfranchise Illinois voters and break repeated campaign promises to do the bidding of (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi and (Washington) D.C. power brokers,” Hackler said in an email.
(O)n Saturday, the Democrats brought out a new map, this one placing [US Rep. Mary Miller] in the same district as another Republican: Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro, who has been in Congress since 2015 and in the Legislature for 10 years before that. […]
In Saturday’s proposed remap, Miller goes into a mammoth district that includes almost all of Illinois south of Interstate 70. It appears to include all or parts of 34 of Illinois’ 102 counties, the largest of them in the Metro East area across the river from St. Louis, where Bost is well known and she isn’t.
Miller would lose Danville and Charleston-Mattoon, two of the larger urban areas in her current district.
She’s not a big campaign fundraiser. For the quarter recently ended, she brought in about $250,000, a good haul for her but a modest sum for others. LaHood, for example, raised $490,000 in that period. Davis collected $477,000 and Kinzinger brought in $393,000. Only Bost brought in less, about $177,000.
Unlike most veteran members of Congress, Miller received the majority of her campaign contributions from individuals ($204,458) rather than political action committees ($46,084).
As for local representatives in this current iteration of the maps, Darin LaHood’s 18th District goes away. He is now drawn into a proposed 16th District that treks him northward into the same district with Adam Kinzinger.
Current 13th District Congressman Rodney Davis would take over the entire listening area in the proposed 15th District. The new 15th district stretches from Illinois’ western and eastern borders. Davis’ district would have over 20 counties and stretch from the Metro East in the south to just south of the Quad Cities in the north.
He would be drawn out of the 13th District, which would encompass every major city in Central Illinois from Alton to Champaign. The 13th would be vacant next year and likely go to Democratic Challenger Nikki Budzinski.
* We’ve already been over much of this on the blog, but here’s my weekly syndicated newspaper column…
It has been a foregone conclusion since the official U.S. Census numbers were released in August that the first state legislative redistricting plan passed back in May would be ruled unconstitutional. And the inevitable happened last week when a federal court tossed out the General Assembly’s spring plan.
The official population data showed that the May version of the remap, drawn using the less-accurate American Community Survey data, violated longstanding federal judicial precedent that state legislative maps as a whole can have a “maximum population deviation” between districts of no more than 10 percent to meet the “one person, one vote” constitutional requirement for districts. Illinois’ deviation was about 30 percent in the House and almost 20 percent in the Senate.
Oops.
So, the super-majority Democrats in the General Assembly had to redraw the maps in August because the Census data made it abundantly clear that there was no way the plan which was then on the books would ever withstand judicial scrutiny.
The Democrats decided to move forward in May without Census data because waiting until after June 30 would’ve triggered first a constitutionally mandated bipartisan redistricting commission and then when that commission deadlocked (as it has in most all previous attempts) a lottery would be held to choose a partisan tiebreaker, giving the Republicans a 50-50 chance at taking complete control of the legislative map-making process.
There were some risks to the Democrats’ strategy, though. The greatest risk (although never very likely) was that a federal judge could rule that the unconstitutionality of the initial map plan somehow triggered the bipartisan commission, which could ultimately have a chance of leading to a Republican-drawn map. That didn’t happen. Far from it. The federal judges opined last week that the demand by the Republican plaintiffs to start the bipartisan commission process was “far-fetched” and the proposed remedy was legally “implausible.”
Instead, the federal court decided that the revised remap plan passed in August and signed into law in September would henceforth be used as a “starting point” in the process for approving a new redistricting plan.
The court also “invited” the plaintiffs (Republicans and the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund) to submit their own alternative maps accompanied by statements explaining “the constitutional or statutory defects” in the Democrats’ revised map and an explanation of how their revisions or alternatives “cure” the alleged defects. The Democrats will then be provided an opportunity to respond.
So far, it’s not a horrible outcome for the Democrats, who feel confident that their revised remap plan will withstand judicial scrutiny, and which has so far not been changed one iota. And, despite what you might have read elsewhere, the court did not yet declare that the revised remap plan is in need of being changed. All it said was that the revised remap is basically now up for debate. Since petition circulation doesn’t begin until January, there is quite a bit of time left to wrap this up. And if it can’t be wrapped up quickly, the General Assembly (or perhaps a federal judge) could change the circulation, filing and voting timelines.
This also means, of course, that the Republicans and the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund are still very much in the game. They have an opportunity now to present and prove their cases. And if they fail, a federal lawsuit was filed this month by the NAACP claiming Black voting strength in the East St. Louis-based House district was diluted to help neighboring white legislative Democrats hold onto their seats.
One other item of interest. The court noted last week that the plaintiffs allege the newly revised maps were approved “a single day after publicly releasing any version of its amended map and within hours of releasing the version that it enacted into law.”
The judges then went on to say, “Defendants may well disagree with those characterizations, and we need not (and do not) do more than to note them at this time.”
So, maybe the super-majority could take a hint from that oblique warning and not jam through the congressional remap plan in a day this week.
Instead, what’s happened is painfully predictable. Citizens and voters talking to officials about the maps complain about what they don’t have in common with others in their districts as drawn. Race is a key factor, as is the rural-urban mixtures.
One of the largest issues is more wide-reaching. When voters see that their areas of representation are being divvied up in a partisan debate, they’re bound to lose identity. They can feel disenfranchised. Not in a literal sense – they’re still able to vote. But imagining their vote counts for anything is difficult.
That ultimately winds up with the worst result possible in a dem0cracy – apathy. If we don’t care what happens, we’re leaving open the door for the worst to happen.
