While former Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore stands trial for her alleged role in the utility’s admitted bribery scheme, ComEd parent Exelon finally is getting around to imposing some financial consequence on her boss at the time, Chris Crane.
Crane, who retired as Exelon CEO at the end of last year due to health reasons, had his payout of performance shares reduced by more than $4.2 million for 2022 due to the $200 million fine ComEd paid in 2020 when it entered into a deferred-prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago. […]
As for Crane, the $4.2 million decline in his performance-share award doesn’t mean he wasn’t paid handsomely in his last year at the helm of Exelon. His compensation came to more than $30 million, although nearly $13 million of that was in the form of adjusted pension value. Even with the penalty, his stock awards totaled more than $11 million.
The number of shootings along Chicago-area expressways continues to fall this year after a record 310 in 2021, but within that nugget of good news is a worrying trend.
Shooting victims are increasingly reporting that road rage is the reason behind the gunfire, Illinois State Police say.
Road rage was reported in about 40% of the 189 expressway shootings in 2022, according to the state police. That was a 12% increase over 2021.
Unless “a miracle happens,” UpRising Bakery and Cafe in Lake in the Hills is set to close on March 31, owner Corinna Sac said.
The closure is the “direct result of the horrific attacks, endless harassment, and unrelenting negative misinformation about our establishment in the last eight months,” the business said in a news release Thursday afternoon.
“It is a pretty tough thing and a tough pill to swallow for myself, my family and my staff,” Sac said Thursday evening. […]
Sac’s business came under fire in July 2022 when Sac announced a ticketed, all-ages brunch drag show. Set for July 23, the show was postponed when the store was attacked by a vandal. An Alsip man was charged in the attack. […]
“We have been rebranded by misinformation as ‘gay only’ and ‘pedophiles,’” the business said in the release. “Local customers no longer come here because of the perceived threat that tarnished our good name and the fears of their license plates are photographed, and they are harassed.”
A school board candidate in Palatine Township Elementary School District 15 is being sued by two former campaign managers who claim they are owed more than $220,000 for their work on his 2022 bid for a seat in Congress.
John Kieken and Tanja Biebel say they helped Chris Dargis of Palatine win the Republican nomination for the 8th District seat but were not fully compensated for their work.
Dargis went on to lose to Democratic U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg in November’s general election. […]
“It’s a frivolous lawsuit from former employees,” said Dargis, noting that Biebel was suspended from his campaign last year after a rival in the GOP primary accused her of unethical behavior.
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), leaders in Illinois’ film industry, and state leaders today announced Illinois’ soaring film production expenditures with a record-breaking $691 million for 2022 - a $131 million increase from the pre-pandemic record in 2019. […]
One of the improvements adopted by the General Assembly is the creation of the Film Workforce Development Fund, which funds the Film & TV Workforce Training Program. The program is designed to increase diversity in the state’s film industry and build out a qualified talent pipeline. The pilot program served approximately 175 students at seven locations across the state in its inaugural class in 2022, and more than 70 percent students of color and 80 percent of the program’s participants obtained paid positions on productions after graduation. Illinois’ FY24 proposed budget allocates $1 million to expand the program, as outlined in statute. […]
These annual figures are now comparable with pre-pandemic levels and represent an increase of more than 55% from 2020, when the production year was severely impacted by Covid. 2021 was a banner year for the City’s film production as the pent-up demand from projects delayed by the pandemic shutdowns of 2020 brought the total permits issued to 1,771.
The state estimates non-extra hires at 15,400 last year.
* Press release…
The Illinois Finance Authority (IFA), in its role as the State Climate Bank, today announced a landmark year of deploying over $250 million in private capital to further clean and sustainable development projects. Additionally, the IFA Climate Bank is holding public hearings and stakeholder meetings as it crafts applications for up to $1.3 billion in federal funds to advance clean energy, climate, and equity goals as outlined by Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) through climate finance and program deployment.
During the first year of the IFA’s Climate Bank designation, the institution mobilized and deployed $256 million in private capital for clean energy projects across the state, including $233 million for public water quality infrastructure and $23 million for Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) projects. Sixty-five percent of these projects, funded by private capital, were made in or benefited disadvantaged communities. The IFA Climate Bank is further implementing clean energy goals through the development of new standardized financial tools to reduce the cost of decarbonization for all Illinoisans and ensuring that marginalized businesses are supported in fair and equitable manner.
* For a quick second I thought retiring Illinois Commerce Commission Chair Carrie Zalewski was going out with a bang…
ICC Issues Arrest Warrant For Putin Over Ukraine War Crimes
Different ICC, as it turns out. Heh.
* Press release…
On the final day of his Community College Tour, Governor JB Pritzker was joined by Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, state officials, and community leaders at Malcolm X College to highlight proposed investments in higher education. The Governor’s FY24 budget calls for the largest increase for community colleges in over two decades and historic investments in financial aid, putting Illinois on track to guarantee every student has access to the education and training they need to thrive.
“Since I took office in 2019, Illinois has increased our MAP grant program by 50%, creating over $200 million more for college scholarships every year,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “And when the General Assembly passes the FY24 budget proposal, every working-class resident of Illinois will be able to get a degree from any community college in our state – tuition free and fee free. That means people across our state can get a good education and graduate with no student loans.”
“There is nothing more powerful than to help someone learn and find their voice. I watched my late mother give her all to teach students at Malcolm X College and saw the joy it inspired in both her and her students,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “That’s why I am especially proud of the historic investments our state is making in community colleges and state universities. We know the struggle that many first-generation and working-class students face, and we are easing their financial burdens to help their dreams come true.”
The proposed FY24 investments in day-to-day operations and state financial aid would make attending a higher education institution easier and more affordable. The Governor’s proposed budget also calls for a $100 million investment in Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants, making it the highest in state history and a 75% increase in the program since he took office.
“Money and lack of resources should not be reasons why students are missing out on the opportunity to pursue a higher education,” said State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago). “It is imperative that we continue fighting to ensure that students in Illinois have a fair chance at succeeding in life with sustainable and affordable college options.”
At today’s event, Governor Pritzker stood alongside Community College President David Sanders to highlight the above proposed investments.
Malcolm X College was founded in 1911, making it the oldest City College in Chicago. Last fall, the institution served 7,312 students demonstrating an 11.5% increase since the 2021-2022 school year. Notably, year over year (21-22 vs 22-23) preliminary data shows that City Colleges saw an 8 percent increase in credit enrollment for Black students and a 6 percent increase in credit enrollment for Latino students. City Colleges’ enrollment has outperformed state and national averages.
Increased enrollment is due in part to a variety of programs the colleges offer, including:
• Future Ready, which offers students the opportunity to receive short-term credentials at no additional cost
• Fresh Start - a debt forgiveness program allowing students who left City Colleges with debt to return and continue their studies
• The Chicago Roadmap - an unprecedented partnership with Chicago Public Schools that creates a clear path for CPS students to attend and complete college
Malcolm X College has evolved over the years in response to student needs. Tuition at City Colleges has not increased since 2016, and the administration has ensured that every student has a pathway to career or to transfer to a four-year institution. The College has raised more than $20 million in grant funding to execute its equity plan and remove barriers for students, which would alleviate the cost of tuition, uniforms, transportation, food, housing, mental health services and personal hygiene.
These initiatives, alongside the proposed investments by Governor Pritzker’s administration, would allow all community college students at or below median income to attend school tuition and fee free.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Capitol News Illinois | Nuclear option: Illinois grapples with the future of nuclear power: While proponents are hopeful, the technology behind nuclear power’s potential resurgence hasn’t yet been deployed for power generation anywhere in the United States. A few examples of small next generation reactors exist across the world, but in the U.S. only one of these smaller nuclear reactor designs has been approved by regulators.
* WGN | Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois fined $600K, lawmakers say it’s not enough: That report laid out all of the problems the state found with their network, but Senator Steve McClure said that the fine on its own is not enough. He is calling for public hearings so patients have the chance to voice their issues with the company.
* Daily Southtown | Homer Township Library Board candidates debate guidelines, safeguards for what material is checked out: “I want to make this as clear and as blunt as possible: I do not believe in banning any books nor do I believe there will be anything like book burnings,” said Stephen J. Balich III, an employee of the Homer Township assessor’s office. “I think the parents should have ultimate control over what their children read. I believe our community has a set of values and standards that is important to maintain.”
* Crain’s | Rivian Automotive’s chief engineer returns to McLaren: Sanderson, who joined Rivian nearly five years ago to develop its R1 vehicle platform, returns to supercar maker McLaren in the role of chief technical officer, McLaren said earlier this week.
* Crain’s | U of I clean energy research gets $120 million boost from feds: The announcement extends funding for the Center for Advanced Bioenergy & Bioproducts Innovation, or CABBI, where U of I helps lead research, for five more years until 2027 and will now total more than $230 million across a decade of research. The first five-year commitment was announced in 2017.
* Crain’s | Chicago competing for another big biomedical hub: The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, a new federal agency armed with $2.5 billion to work on biomedical innovation, announced this week that it is starting its search for two cities to plant offices, and local lawmakers and economic development leaders say they’re throwing Chicago’s hat in the ring.
* WGN | Record betting expected in Illinois for ‘March Madness’: Sportsbooks are expecting record numbers of bets in Illinois during the tournament. While residents cannot bet on Illinois or Northwestern, them being in the tournament should boost betting numbers.
* Crain’s | University of Chicago grad students win union vote: The National Labor Relations Board on Thursday certified the tally of votes cast Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, and by mail up to March 14, confirming a landslide victory for the Graduate Students United, or GSU, union. Some 1,696 students voted for union representation while 155 voted against organizing, a 92% margin of victory.
* WTTW | Lincoln Park Zoo Reveals Names of Lion Cubs, and They’re Unexpectedly Sweet: Lincoln Park Zoo has revealed the names of its new lion cubs: Meet Pesho, Sidai and Lomelok. The names were chosen by Maasai “lion guardians” (Ilchokuti) in Tanzania, who work with Lincoln Park Zoo’s conservation partner, KopeLion. Each name has a special meaning in the Maa language:
* The comptroller’s office issued a report in 2018 about the consequences of the 736-day state budget impasse. This is from their spokesperson at the time…
Hi Rich,
Wanted to make a pitch for 3,916 to be Today’s Number. As far as I know, this accounting of the drop in state contracts with nonprofits has not been out there before this report.
State contracting with non-profits declined due to the lack of state budgets. Grant contracts with non-profits decreased from 6,333 in fiscal year 2015 to 3,916 in fiscal year 2016—a drop of just over 38 percent. While it’s difficult to pinpoint the number of social service providers that closed as a direct result of the impasse, this drop in contracts shows the negative effect on the state’s provider network.
I found that email yesterday when I was looking for something else.
It’s just extraordinary when you look at it that way. Some non-profits, of course, had more than one state grant contract, but that’s still mind-boggling.
* I reached out to the comptroller’s spokesperson today to see if she could get me some updated numbers…
As of FY ’22, there were 6,957 state grant contracts with nonprofits.
That means state grant contracts with nonprofits increased 78 percent by last June over the number of contracts when the Rauner impasse finally ended. And were about 10 percent higher by last June than they were at the impasse’s beginning. I’m assuming the number is even higher this fiscal year. But it does take time to rebuild after wiping out the infrastructure.
Wisconsin residents are choosing to spend their hard-earned cash in Illinois, specifically on weed.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation estimates the state made $36.1 million in tax revenue last year from Wisconsinites traveling across state lines to buy marijuana. […]
“If we’re going to do medical marijuana, it has nothing to do with generating taxes for the state and it has nothing to do with creating a new industry,” [Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin] Vos said. “We do not need to become like Illinois or Michigan where anywhere you go, there’s the stench of marijuana.”
A recent Marquette Law Poll reports 61% of Wisconsin voters support cannabis legalization in Wisconsin.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has proposed legalizing marijuana three times but Republican lawmakers who control the state Legislature have rejected the idea. It appeared at the start of the new legislative session that began in January that GOP legislative leaders were changing course and moving closer to creating a medical marijuana program in Wisconsin after years of opposition to the idea but the effort quickly stalled.
Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, has also unsuccessfully proposed marijuana legalization for years and this week released revenue estimates from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, which show $36.1 million are estimated to be paid in Illinois taxes by marijuana customers in counties bordering the Badger State.
The analysis assumes that all sales to out-of-state residents in counties bordering Wisconsin were made to Wisconsin residents, according to the memo.
“It should upset every Wisconsinite that our hard earned tax dollars are going across the border to Illinois. This is revenue that could be going toward Wisconsin’s public schools, transportation infrastructure, and public safety,” she said in a statement. “Instead, Illinois is reaping the benefits of Republican obstructionism and their prohibitionist stance on marijuana legalization.”
There are four counties in Illinois that immediately border Wisconsin with dispensaries, the memo said, including Jo Daviess, Lake, McHenry and Winnebago. Of the sales made in those counties, just over $121 million, or 50.6 percent, were to people from out-of-state, the memo said citing data from Illinois. The overall analysis assumed that all out-of-state sales in the bordering counties were made to Wisconsinites, but the memo noted other out-of-state buyers may have come in such as from Iowa.
Altogether about 7.8 percent of Illinois’ cannabis sales revenue came from out-of-state buyers in the counties bordering Wisconsin, the memo said. Much of that is likely attributable to Wisconsinites.
* Forbes | Cannabis Brand Stiiizy Enters Illinois Recreational Marijuana Market: “We planted our flag in the Midwest with our Michigan launch. Now that we’ve established our brand and team there, it made perfect sense to expand to Illinois. The market had time to mature, which was essential to us since we are known for product consistency: always available, tastes the same and fairly priced,” Stiiizy managing partner Ryan Jundt said in a statement from the company on Thursday. “We also see a true cannabis culture in Illinois, one that’s underserved. We love markets like that, because when we go where there’s a genuine cannabis culture, we meet that demand.”
* Evanston Roundtable | Evanston may get marijuana dispensary, bakery on Howard: Scott Weiner, a co-owner of Chicago-based OKAY Cannabis Ltd., said his business plans to open an Evanston location at the 100 Chicago Ave. site., which is just across the street from Chicago. Weiner is also co-founder and president of the local Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, which includes the West Town Bakery brand that is teaming up with OKAY Cannabis.
* Daily Herald | Cannabis cultivation facility proposed for vacant Wheeling building: A Chicago-based limited liability company called Mae Lee Tinker has requested a special use permit from the village to operate a cannabis business at 160 W. Hintz Road, documents indicate. The site is a vacant, 59,446-square-foot industrial building.
Documents show the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund may have taken a multi-million dollar hit when Silicon Valley Bank recently collapsed.
The latest report of detailed investments available from the IMRF shows the fund had over $4.5 million invested in 12,621 shares of SVB Financial Group, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank. Those shares had a fair market value of $8.6 million at the end of 2021 when the stock had a value near $700 per share.
Incomplete data makes it difficult to say what the IMRF’s exposure was when SVB went belly up.
IMRF does hold some shares in Silicon Valley Bank Financial Group. As of a few days ago, these shares represented a market value of about $3 million. While we are always concerned about any losses, for context, IMRF holds about $49 billion in assets. So, these shares make up a very small part of our total portfolio - about 0.006% (a fraction of a percent). Any potential losses will have no impact on IMRF’s ability to pay benefits. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and adjust in accordance with our investment policies.
In your article, please consider adding the context that nearly every large institutional investor with index fund holdings has some exposure here. I think the recent coverage linking IMRF and SVB Financial Group is incomplete and confusing for readers. It’s almost as though IMRF’s name was “picked out of a hat” and linked with SVB. This connection is ironic considering we are widely considered the “gold standard” in the public pension industry. We are one of the best-funded pensions in America at 98%, and our local government contribution rates remain stable. We have even won a presidential award for performance excellence (The Baldrige National Quality Award).
So, in summary, IMRF’s SVB Financial Group losses are regrettable, and we take them seriously. But this is an industry-wide issue; it’s not unique to IMRF. And in our individual case, it’s having a de minimis impact on our overall portfolio and IMRF members, employers, and taxpayers should rest assured that the fund remains healthy and strong.
* As we discussed, freshman GOP Rep. Jed Davis had some harsh things to say about his Republican colleagues the other day. He doubled down in his latest constituent newsletter…
My hand was slapped for calling out republicans last week. I stand by my comments, we shouldn’t hold up committees no matter the excuses, which were basically the dems made us do it… Feels like I’m back in grade school at times.
* On to the topic at hand. Let’s go back to Rep. Davis’ newsletter…
The house moved legislation this week, mostly low hanging fruit, although I still voted no 12 times. Curious about my votes, just click What is Jed Doing below, everything is right there. Here’s a bill of interest…
HB1591: Illinois is already an out of state abortion haven. This bill paves the way on the marriage front by removing roadblocks for Illinois becoming an out of state marriage haven. You often hear republicans struggle with platform. Well, the votes here exemplify this statement. We’re all over the map with no votes, not voting votes, and yes votes. Hmm.
Amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act by repealing all of the following provisions: (i) no marriage shall be contracted in this State by a party residing and intending to continue to reside in another state or jurisdiction if the marriage would be void if contracted in the other state or jurisdiction, and every marriage celebrated in this State in violation of that provision is null and void; (ii) before issuing a license to marry a person who resides and intends to continue to reside in another state, the officer having authority to issue the license shall satisfy himself by requiring affidavits or otherwise that the person is not prohibited from intermarrying by the laws of the jurisdiction where the person resides; and (iii) an official issuing a marriage license with knowledge that the parties are prohibited from marrying and a person authorized to solemnize marriages who knowingly solemnizes such a marriage are guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.
* The bill is sponsored by Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago). From her own constituent newsletter…
I plan to advance HB1591, which cleans up outdated language in our marriage laws that could have unintended consequences in a post-Dobbs world if states start to prohibit certain marriages. The Dobbs decision specifically noted the two landmark decisions legalizing interracial marriage and same-sex marriage as being vulnerable, so it’s important that we take steps to protect people who could be impacted by the decision just as we did in the reproductive health space.
* It was indeed an odd roll call. Click here. The Republican “Yes” votes (7, including House Minority Leader McCombie) and non-voters (8) are highlighted for ease of use.
…Adding… Illinois Freedom Caucus…
It is not the place of Illinois state government to do an end run on the laws of other states just because the radical left might not like the laws the duly elected officials in these states enact and enforce. If Illinois denies someone a professional license, we expect other states to honor our standards of professional regulations. This is how we have been able to live in one country with different states and different state laws. Our state government is in effect becoming the 21-year-old being paid to buy alcohol for high school students. It is a disgrace and an embarrassment to state leaders in other states. We are basically thumbing our nose at other states and saying we will not respect their laws and if the circumstances surrounding this legislation were to actually happen – we would be creating tremendous legal issues. Our state needs thoughtful leadership and unfortunately all we are getting is more extremism and radicalism.
* Moving right along. C’mon, it’s just one bill among thousands. Also, Senator Turner lives in Springfield, not Decatur…
Because our legislative leaders do not have anything better to do, the State of Illinois is considering the design and adoption of a new state flag. It seems that some people in the state say our current banner – a picture of an eagle perched on a boulder with the word “Illinois” underneath is not symbolic enough.
“Illinois is a diverse state made up of rural, urban and suburban communities known for its agriculture, strong workforce, home of Abraham Lincoln and more,” State Representative Doris Turner, a Democrat from Decatur, said in a statement. “Our flag doesn’t show that. It’s time we have a flag that truly represents our state.” […]
I appreciate Representative Turner’s desire to reflect all of Illinois’ diversity on a new flag, but I doubt any new design will be able to make everyone happy. There just is no way to come up with a design to reflect farm and city; Chicago and Cobden, concrete and Cache River basin all at the same time.
Pretty sure that divide can be bridged (including the suburbs). That’s one reason why I personally think we should try to do this. It would be a good exercise in reuniting after years of people running us down and trying to divide us, in some cases literally so.
* The Illinois Opportunity Project has been ginning up electronic witness slips in opposition to this bill…
Grassroots engagement remains the most effective way to make policy changes. And we saw this again with your advocacy in the fight against ranked-choice voting (RCV).
This week, IOP Field Director, Andy Bakker, brought his expertise to the state capitol and testified against this confusing and disenfranchising voting system. Andy testified on behalf of the Coalition to Stop Ranked-Choice Voting, the over 3,000 Illinois residents who filed witness slips, and the thousands more who sent emails and called their legislators urging them to reject RCV in Illinois.
The “thousands more who sent emails,” is kind of a hoot, since many of those emails were received at the same exact time. Didn’t look at all like bots. Nope.
The bill (HB2807) would allow a pilot project for the presidential primary. The political parties can opt out. It’s most definitely not soup yet, regardless of the attacks.
Some state lawmakers are looking to hold rideshare companies in Illinois to the same standard as other common carriers like taxis.
State Rep. Jennifer-Gong Gershowitz, D-Glenview, introduced House Bill 2231, which would set up a new standard for companies like Uber and Lyft by getting rid of an exemption that says rideshare companies are not responsible for their drivers.
Gong-Gershowitz explained her measure on Thursday.
“House Bill 2231 puts rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft on the same playing field as taxis and other common carriers,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “The policy rationale for granting this statutory exemption nearly a decade ago no longer makes sense, and its extended use harms public safety.” […]
The bill passed the House 73-36 and now awaits to be sent to the Illinois Senate.
ABATE, the group which lobbies against motorcycle helmet mandates, supported the bill. I reached out and was told they got involved after two young motorcycle riders were killed by a rideshare driver while his app was on. Current law exempts rideshare companies from these sorts of suits.
From the Illinois State Bar Association…
Injured customers of the ridesharing companies are now statutorily limited in their efforts to be made whole for an injury that they had received because of the actions of the ridesharing companies. If they had been injured by the actions of any other common carrier who competes with the ridesharing companies, they would have an opportunity to be made whole. The injured customer should have a right to seek to be made whole.
The Illinois House and Senate Committees advanced more than 1600 bills last week, but missing were any significant reforms needed to address pensions, create new jobs, and provide tax relief to working families, according to State Representative Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City).
One bill left on the table at the Committee deadline is House Bill 2986, which prevents the rate of growth of general fund spending from exceeding the rate of growth of the Illinois median household income. Another measure not considered in a House Committee (HB 1640) creates the Efficient School District Commission to make recommendations on where reorganization and realignment of school districts into unit districts would be beneficial. Wilhour also introduced measures (HB 2136) to end the legislative pension system for new members and to implement some other basic pension reforms (HB 1644 and HB 1645), but none of these bills were considered in a legislative Committee.
“Every year Governor Pritzker has been in office, he has increased spending and there is no effort on the part of the leadership in the House and the Senate to provide any kind of financial restraint,” Wilhour said. “We continue to ignore the pension crisis and do nothing about it. We can’t even put together a commission to look at what reducing the number of school districts would look like. We keep creating new programs and creating new ways of spending money while our state continues to march toward insolvency. We will never improve our financial outlook as a state until we resolve the structural obstacles in Illinois government preventing real reform from taking place.”
Wilhour noted that instead of tackling the big issues, legislative leaders are prioritizing measures such as House Bill 1596 which strikes pronouns from state statutes involving children and Senate Bill 1818 which establishes a commission to study if Illinois needs a new flag.
Ah, yes, there’s the new flag proposal again. Rep. Wilhour co-sponsored the resolution to kick Chicago out of Illinois. Dividers don’t want a symbolic exercise that could help heal some wounds.
* Both former Reps. Scott Drury and Carol Sente, who testified for the prosecution yesterday, voted for ComEd’s bill in December of 2018. That bill is the basis for this corruption trial. Madigan didn’t vote either way. But this transcript from September of 2018 sure looks like Madigan was involved with details and Mike McClain was doing his bidding…
MADIGAN: What about the PLA at ComEd for one-fifty and the laborers?
McCLAIN: Right. So, I’m, I’m, I gotta call into Fidel uh, I, what is today, Friday? I called him on Wednesday to see what the status is, if Dick Gannon’s taking that around so, um, once, once Fidel gets back to me I’ll, I’ll call you right away.
This doesn’t prove bribery, of course, but it does show Madigan was involved.
…Adding… From an insider…
The unions typically go to the legislative leaders and ask them to help push companies that are slow to sign off on PLAs. I presume that’s what the call was. It’s not related to the ComEd bill.
* The federal government is trying to prove that McClain acted as Madigan’s agent on the ComEd bill, and they have recordings to back up their general argument about McClain’s duties. From Hannah Meisel’s story…
But McClain called Lang with some bad news: Another woman was threatening to come forward with harassment allegations if Lang was reinstated to a leadership position. What’s more, Madigan wanted Lang to resign from office to become a lobbyist.
“So this is no longer me talking,” McClain said in that Nov. 2018 call. “I’m an agent of somebody that cares deeply about you, who thinks that you really oughta move on.”
“Agent,” as used by McClain, is exactly how federal prosecutors want the jury to think of the defendant in the trial where he and three others stand accused of bribing Madigan with jobs and contracts for the speaker’s political allies in exchange for legislation favorable – and lucrative – to ComEd.
…Adding… The Lang thing does have that vibe…
This whole opening scene is like Tom Hagen telling Frank Pentangeli to cut his wrists in Godfather II. https://t.co/d0pJ6dJLbj
Asked about the call, Lang testified he knew McClain called him that day to deliver a message from Madigan. He said he knew that McClain often delivered messages for the speaker, and sometimes referred to Madigan as “our friend” or “‘Himself,’ as if it had a capital ‘H.’”
“It was very clear that there had been a decision made by the speaker that I was not going to move up in the ranks,” he told the jury. […]
On cross examination by McClain’s attorney, Lang acknowledged that in decades as a legislator, “Mike Madigan never ordered me to do anything.” He also says he remembers “nothing” about Madigan doing anything special to pass ComEd’s legislation.
Despite the gravity of the request McClain made in November 2018, Lang said he was not surprised to get the message from McClain — who was then a ComEd lobbyist — and not Madigan himself.
“Because Mr. McClain was the person who was often sent by the speaker to talk to members about various issues involving the workings and operations of the Illinois House of Representatives,” Lang told prosecutors.
In another call with then-Madigan staffer Craig Willert on February 20, 2019, [McClain] is heard saying: “My client is not ComED…My client is not Walgreens. My client is the Speaker.”
Full McClain quote…
My client is not ComEd, my client is not is not uh CBOE, my client is not Walgreens. My client is the Speaker. And once you come at, not you, but once a lobbyist comes to peace that that’s their client, it’s a lot easier. (Laughs)
“I would never embarrass him that way,” replied Lang, who continues to deny the allegations, but then asks, “Do you think he [Madigan] would be helpful to me in business procurements?”
“Yes,” McClain replied.
* Meanwhile, Madigan’s people monitored every channel, including comments on this website…
Drury said he had reached out to other reps to see if they'd consider not supporting Madigan, because it only took nine votes to deny him another term. Q: Did you find nine people who would vote against the speaker? A: (Smiling) No. Q: Did you find anyone? A; (Smiling) No.
Nobody followed Drury because Drury was not in any way collegial. When you spend most of your time at your job lecturing colleagues and grandstanding instead of working with them, you just don’t get too far in life, no matter what profession you’re in.
Drury said Madigan would determine House committees, who sat on them and who the chairmen would be. He had the power, Drury said, to control the flow and the schedule of legislation. […]
[Drury and former Rep. Carol Sente] described how Madigan would use the rules committee to either bless or kill litigation.
1) All chamber leaders in both parties have controlled the appointment of committee members and chairs/spokespersons for longer than I’ve been around, and still do to this day. And the majority chamber leaders still control the legislative flow and schedule.
2) After moving all bills out of Rules to standing committees for two years, the House has now reverted back to the old ways. More here.
* Isabel’s coverage roundup…
* Tribune: Despite nearly four decades at the helm of Illinois politics, ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan’s voice was rarely heard publicly, outside of an occasional news conference or speech on the House floor. But Madigan’s voice echoed through a Chicago federal courtroom on Thursday as prosecutors played a series of undercover recordings showing how the then-powerful speaker muscled out one of his longtime allies, Lou Lang, to stave off a potentially new sexual harassment scandal.
* Crain’s: A series of bombshell recordings, many of which were excerpts of intercepted conversations not disclosed in previous court filings, showed Madigan greatly concerned with getting Lang out of his caucus in 2018 following sexual harassment allegations leveled against Lang earlier that year.
* Hannah Meisel: Calls between Madigan and McClain mentioned they’d been informed of the harassment claims against Lang by the former top attorney in the speaker’s office at the time, Heather Wier Vaught. Wier Vaught on Thursday confirmed the existence of those 2018-era harassment claims surrounding Lang. “I don’t dispute that more than one person came forward with allegations against Lou,” she told Capitol News Illinois, noting those individuals whose claims never were made public had a right to privacy.
* WGEM: During cross-examination, McClain attorney Pat Cotter said it was understandable that Madigan wouldn’t want “someone in leadership who was at that point facing a second sexual harassment claim.” But Lang declined to acknowledge he was facing harassment claims at the time, employing the line “just because someone says there was an allegation does not make it true.” He especially chafed at Cotter’s later use of the word “charges.”
* ABC Chicago: today was about establishing former House Speaker Mike Madigan as the one person during his tenure who could make or break a piece of legislation, wrote the rules that ran the House and would substitute committee members if he knew a particular member was going to vote against his wishes. “I did not expect to lose my chairmanship because I was acting in the best interests of my district,” said Carol Sente, a former State Representative from Vernon Hills who believes she was punished for not supporting bills that were important to Madigan.
* NBC Chicago: Scott Drury, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who came to Springfield in hopes of passing legislation to address what he saw as large number of wrongful convictions in his native Lake County, testified that the Illinois House was run by what many called the “Speaker’s Rules.” […] Both former House members described how Madigan would use the rules committee to either bless or kill litigation.
* Sun-Times: Other revelations in the trial Thursday included details of the FBI’s approach to ComEd executive Fidel Marquez on Jan. 16, 2019. FBI special agent Ryan McDonald told jurors that he and another agent, dressed in suits, visited Marquez at a family member’s home around 6 a.m. that day. McDonald said they played tapes for Marquez. In one, the agent said Marquez had been caught discussing allies of Madigan who were being paid by ComEd through Doherty’s company. In another, Marquez was allegedly heard discussing efforts by Madigan to install former McPier boss Juan Ochoa on the ComEd board.
* From the toplines, Johnson’s favorable/unfavorable rating is 51-40, while Vallas’ is 47-47. Gov. Pritzker’s is 64-35, Chuy Garcia’s is 34-55 (see below), Bernie Sanders’ is 56-36.
Among institutions, the Chicago Teachers Union’s favorable/unfavorable rating is 48-46, while the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police’s rating is 38-50 and the Chicago Police Department’s is 57-40.
With leaders from various community organizations asking the questions, Johnson and Vallas first weighed in on the issue of public safety.
“What we’re going to do is train and promote 200 more detectives because we’re not solving crime in the city of Chicago, especially in Black and brown, poor communities,” Johnson said.
“New York has 6,000 detectives. That’s not smart policing. Smart policing is filling the vacancies and pushing the police officers down to the local beats, so they can respond within minutes of a 911 call,” said Vallas.
Johnson said Chicago would become safer with more investments in affordable housing, paid for in part by raising the real estate transfer tax on million dollar homes.
Johnson is not saying it anymore. But, he still won’t commit to fully funding the Chicago Police Department’s $1.94 billion budget. In fact, he’s vowed to cut the CPD budget by at least $150 million, in part, by reducing the number of supervisors.
“My opponent wants to defund the police. He doesn’t want to fill the 1,100 vacancies. He does not want to bring back retired officers or invite other officers who have left to return without any loss of seniority,” Vallas said. […]
Vallas also took aim at the cornerstone of Johnson’s anti-violence strategy: $800 million in tax increases to help bankroll $1 billion worth of “investments in people.”
“You’re not gonna promote businesses by re-imposing the head tax, which taxes small businesses. That is not a tax-the-rich tax. You’re not gonna help businesses in general by increasing the hotel-motel tax by 66% which, of course, is part of my opponent’s $800 million tax plan. Hotels and motels are already paying the highest taxes in the country and they have barely survived, if they’ve come close to recovering from COVID,” Vallas said.
Johnson said $1 billion in social service investments is “what it takes for a better, stronger city.” He argued that his tax plan is based on a “fundamental Democratic principle.”
“What has failed us is the politics of old,” Johnson said. “My opponent talks about school closures. Well, he set up the market for schools to be closed. He got so good at it, he went around the country doing it.”
Johnson then argued there is a link between violence and neighborhoods that faced school closures or privatization. To that, Vallas said his opponent is the one who should be to blame for any classroom shutdowns.
“The only one up here who has closed schools is my opponent,” Vallas said, before touting new schools built and rising CPS enrollment when he led the school district. “… Have you ever been to New Orleans? Have you ever seen New Orleans after Katrina? Eighty percent of the schools were destroyed.” […]
Johnson retorted that there was a “100-year pandemic” and said: “I have been to New Orleans. And I’m going to take a vacation there once I become mayor of the city of Chicago. … People from New Orleans actually came here to Chicago today, Paul, to talk about your failures,” a reference to a news conference Johnson held earlier Thursday with parents from school districts Vallas previously led.
* Another trade union weighs in for Vallas…
The Chicago Laborers’ District Council is endorsing Paul Vallas for Mayor and declaring that he is the candidate best equipped to create more jobs and economic opportunities for Chicagoans. Representing a diverse group of over 20,000 men and women across 15 Affiliated Local Unions in the construction, municipal, and industrial sectors, the Chicago Laborers’ District Council joins other major unions like Plumbers Local 130, Operating Engineers Local 150, IBEW Local 134 and IBEW Local 9.
“Paul prioritizes infrastructure and shares our view that the city must encourage development and invest in projects that will create jobs and opportunities to build a bigger, better and safer future for all Chicagoans,” said Chicago Laborers’ District Council Business Manager James P. Connolly. “On behalf of our membership, we are proud to support Paul Vallas because he will be a Mayor for all Chicagoans who will fight for the middle class.”
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Crain’s | Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia endorses Brandon Johnson: The Johnson campaign has teased an announcement for Friday morning at La Villita Community Church in the Little Village neighborhood, well-known as Garcia’s home base. The City Council’s Little Village rep, Ald. Mike Rodriguez, 22nd, will also be in attendance.
* CBS Chicago | Brandon Johnson, Paul Vallas go after each other for public safety, fiscal proposals at mayoral forum: Johnson called for hiring 200 more detectives, a greater effort to implement the federal consent decree mandating reforms in the Chicago Police Department, and ensuring the enforcement of laws now on the books such as red flag laws regarding gun possession. He also called for a long-term approach to addressing the root causes of crime – including youth employment and job creation. Vallas called for a return to “community-based policing,” rather than 911 calls that are answered in three hours instead of three minutes due to the lack of beat cars. He went on to accuse Johnson of “wanting to defund the police” as he claimed Johnson does not support his proposals for filling 1,100 vacancies in the CPD and bringing back retired officers and officers who have left the department.
* Crain’s | Johnson insists he won’t defund the Chicago Police Department at debate: Johnson has tried to walk a tightrope on the issue during the campaign, carefully avoiding using the phrase while saying he would become the “investor in chief” who invests in social policies that he says would lead to a “safer, stronger Chicago.”
* Sun-Times | A tale of two cities, told in Chicago’s mayoral election: When Harold Washington ran to become the first Black mayor in 1983, his white opponent Bernie Epton urged voters to elect him before “it’s too late,” a tacit racial plea. Washington battled hostile white City Council members and won reelection in 1987, besting more white candidates. Back then, the sheer audacity of a Black man as mayor rocked the city. So much so that columnist Mike Royko famously wrote, “Uncle Chester: Don’t worry, Harold Washington doesn’t want to marry your sister.”
* WBEZ | The 411 on the ‘ComEd Four’ bribery trial: Four people with connections to ComEd and the former speaker go on trial over an alleged bribery scheme to push the utility company’s legislative agenda in Springfield.
* Tribune | Mayoral candidates debate who would tax and spend responsibly: ‘You clearly don’t know about budgets’: Johnson, a Cook County commissioner, went first, asking Vallas to disavow a group of demonstrators who crashed one of his campaign events that morning. Vallas, a former Chicago Public Schools CEO, did not acknowledge the event and instead said “supporters on both sides” have caused a ruckus during a “rough-and-tumble campaign” in Chicago.
* RRStar | Rockford Casino generated near-record revenue in February: Rockford’s temporary casino, 610 N. Bell School Road, raked in $5.1 million in gross revenue in February after winnings were paid out to gamblers, according to data released by the Illinois Gaming Board. It was $1.5 million, or 42%, more than the $3.6 million in revenue it generated in February a year ago.
The unemployment rate decreased in all fourteen Illinois metropolitan areas in January according to preliminary data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). Jobs were up in all metro areas except one. […]
The metro areas which had the largest over-the-year percentage increases in total nonfarm jobs were the Peoria MSA (4.2%, +6,900), the Springfield MSA (+3.6%, +3,800) and the Rockford MSA (+3.5%, +4,900). Total nonfarm jobs in the Chicago Metropolitan Division were up +2.7% or +99,300. Total nonfarm jobs were down slightly in the Illinois section of the St. Louis MSA (-0.3%, -800). Industries that saw job growth in a majority of metro areas included: Leisure and Hospitality (fourteen areas); Mining and Construction and Education and Health Services (thirteen areas each); Other Services (twelve areas); Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade and Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities (eleven areas each); and Government (nine areas).
The metro areas with the largest unemployment rate decreases were in the Rockford MSA (-2.5 points to 5.8%), the Decatur MSA (-1.6 points to 5.4%), and the Carbondale-Marion MSA (-1.1 points to 4.3%). The Chicago Metropolitan Division unemployment rate decreased -0.5 point to 4.7%. The unemployment rate decreased over-the-year in 98 counties, increased in 3 and was unchanged in 1.
Officials with the state’s largest transit agencies met with lawmakers on Tuesday to sound the alarm for what Regional Transportation Authority Executive Director Leanne Redden called a “looming operational crisis.”
“By 2026, the region will face an annual budget deficit of nearly $730 million per year,” Redden told lawmakers. “That’s nearly 20 percent of our operating revenue.” […]
The number of passenger trips on the three Chicagoland transit systems was down last year to 50.5 percent of what it was in 2019, according to data from RTA. […]
State law requires that approximately half of the RTA’s revenues come from rider fares, but in recent years the agency has gotten statutory exemptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Redden told lawmakers that since 2020, fares have only made up “about 20 percent” of the needed revenue to operate the system.”
The RTA eventually will need a change in state law that stops the requirement that 50 percent of revenues come from fares,” RTA Board Chair Kirk Dillard said. “It’s an unsustainable funding model post-COVID.”
“To hear the governor mention any tax cuts is an exciting prospect for families across our state. At the first meeting I had with Gov. Pritzker, we discussed the cumbersome franchise tax on small businesses and high estate taxes that unfairly target family farms,” [House Minority Leader Tony McCombie] said. “The governor recognizing conversations with Democrats and Republicans gives me hope that we will reinstitute the bipartisan budget working group with our budgeteers and appropriation teams leading the way.” […]
Senate Minority Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, referred to business-related tax incentives that Pritzker and lawmakers approved on bipartisan lines in 2019 but which Democrats froze in future budget years.
“Initial discussions on tax relief have been receptive,” Curran said in a statement. “We will continue to call for implementing the business incentives that the governor agreed to in the Blue Collar Jobs Act, along with additional tax relief for Illinois families and small businesses.”
He said the Senate GOP is hopeful Pritzker will “include Republicans at the table of substantive budget meetings,” and they are “willing to negotiate in good faith.”
A group of Illinois House Republicans say too many businesses are leaving the state. The House GOP members are now renewing calls for the General Assembly to discuss common sense business reforms.
Two representatives from the Rockford region explained Wednesday that people in their districts are struggling to get by after a Jeep assembly plant shut down indefinitely. That announcement came the same day Stellantis announced thousands of new jobs opening at a plant in Indiana. […]
Rep. John Cabello (R-Machesney Park) noted that the state should also have protections for workers who lose their job when a company like Akorn announces an immediate closure. Cabello said state lawmakers should act as a safety net for workers of any business that shuts down in order to help rebuild a strong business environment.
“We don’t have to be smart about this at all,” Cabello said. “We can just take what Indiana has done in the last 10 years, take all the bills that they have passed in Indiana, implement them here, and we’re going to be already in a different trajectory. The General Assembly is failing at their job.”
* More, please…
Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today that the state is launching a $29.6 million program to distribute more than 60,000 HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) purifiers to Illinois schools to help reduce the transmission of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.
IDPH is coordinating the program with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). The program is funded by the CDC through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and is targeted for school districts that serve lower income communities and counties that have elevated air pollution counts. IDPH estimates almost 3,000 schools will be eligible for the program, covering 68 percent of school districts in the state. It will cover schools throughout the state, including Cook County, with the exception of Chicago, which has received a separate federal grant.
We could use some of those in the Capitol Complex hearing rooms, too, btw.
* Pro-gunners win another battle. Here’s AG Raoul…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of attorneys general from across the nation, today condemned four of the world’s largest credit card companies – Visa, American Express, Mastercard and Discover – for walking back their commitment to implement a new merchant code for gun sales that would help prevent mass shootings and curb gun violence.
In October, Raoul expressed support after Visa, American Express and Mastercard publicly announced plans to add a new merchant code for gun retailers to the hundreds already used to categorize merchant sales. The creation of the new code had been approved in September by the Switzerland-based International Organization for Standardization to allow financial institutions to better detect and report suspicious activities related to the purchase of firearms and ammunition at standalone gun retail stores. In February 2023, Discover announced that it too would begin using the new code.
But in an abrupt about-face last week, all four companies announced they would not implement the code, citing legislation in several states seeking to bar or limit the use of the voluntary code as a supposed incursion on Second Amendment rights. In a letter sent to the chief executives of Visa, American Express, Mastercard and Discover today, Raoul and 14 attorneys general accused the companies of capitulating to political pressure cloaked in specious legal arguments and amorphous veiled threats from certain state attorneys general.
“As state attorneys general, we are committed to enhancing public safety, and we welcomed Visa, American Express, Mastercard and Discover to that effort when the companies announced plans to add a new merchant code for gun retailers. Doing so would have given law enforcement an important new tool in addressing gun violence,” Raoul said. “I am disappointed that these same companies are now caving to political pressure and reversing course. I urge them to follow through with a merchant category for gun stores – which already exist for numerous everyday items – to help law enforcement identify unlawful transactions.” […]
The letter points out that enabling financial institutions to detect and flag threatening patterns and potential criminal activity for law enforcement is nothing new, as they have been doing it for decades. For instance, federal law requires Suspicious Activity Reports when banks “detect a known or suspected violation of Federal law or a suspicious transaction related to a money laundering activity or a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act,” the letter states. The letter asserts that state and federal law enforcement agencies often request evidence relating to firearms or other investigations. However, the ability of financial institutions or law enforcement to take steps against criminal gun purchases is hampered by the lack of a dedicated code for firearm and ammunition retailers.
* The governor was in Joliet today…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, state officials, and community leaders at Joliet Community College (JCC) to highlight his proposed investments in higher education. The Governor’s FY24 budget calls for the largest increase for community colleges in over two decades and historic investments in financial aid, putting Illinois on track to guarantee every student has access to the education and training they need to thrive.
* WGLT | At Walgreens, a CEO caught in the Venn diagram of medicine, politics and profits: Walgreens has since adjusted its language surrounding its plans, now saying it will distribute this drug in states where it is legal to do so. But the pressure is still on the company and on its CEO — arguably more so because of her gender. Reproductive justice advocates have said that, as a woman, Brewer should be more of an activist-leader and fight for women’s choices.
* Tribune | Second former state lawmaker tells jury about Madigan’s power as testimony in ‘ComEd Four’ trial continues: A second former state representative testified at the “ComEd Four” trial Thursday that he never passed another bill after he refused to vote to reinstall House Speaker Michael Madigan at the beginning of a new term. Ex-Rep. Scott Drury, a Democrat from Highwood, said he also was denied a chance to be a committee chairman once he started his own third, two-year term, a practice that Madigan had generally followed for years.
* Center Square | Illinois legislators push for access to fentanyl testing strips, stricter punishments for dealers: “The first is [House Bill 3203], which allows pharmacies and retailers to sell potentially life-saving fentanyl testing strips,” McCombie said. “This bill will help save lives. Fentanyl is a deadly drug that is taking far too many lives, and as we continue to take steps to address the opioid epidemic affecting Illinois families, our priority with this legislation is to single out fentanyl.”
* Center Square | Illinois sportsbooks set record handle for January: The Illinois Gaming Board reports that Illinois sportsbooks set a record for handle in January and topped $1 billion for the fourth consecutive month. Illinois is just the fourth state to post four consecutive months of billion-dollar handle. The others are New York, New Jersey and Nevada.
* SJ-R | Springfield man charged with stealing winning lottery tickets: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said that Dean F. Derrick, 57, an employee of the lottery, was charged with four counts of theft of government property greater than $500 but less than $10,000, seven counts of official misconduct and three counts of wire fraud. His partner, Frazier R. Mack, 24, was charged with two counts of theft of government property.
State Senator Neil Anderson (R-Andalusia) filed Senate Bill 1232 which would allow outdoorsmen and women the ability to renew their hunting and fishing licenses every three years instead of every year.
Additionally, the legislation provides the ability to obtain one combined license for the two. […]
Currently, a person can only buy a one-year or lifetime license with no option in between.
The bill would also allow Gold Star Families the ability to obtain a free hunting or fishing license.
Illinois might go for “ranked choice voting” in the next presidential primaries – in which you can name follow-up choices if your favorite candidate drops out.
The Illinois House Ethics and Elections Committee brought in Fair Vote’s Terrance Carroll, who says this promotes issues, as candidates “tend to be more positive and tend to focus more on issues, because they know they want someone else to mark them as their second or third choice. It also helps promote more viable candidates, so it tends to mitigate against the most extreme candidates in both parties.” […]
An opponent’s argument was 180 degrees from McReynolds and Carroll’s.
“Ranked choice voting is a scheme to disconnect elections from issues and allows candidates with marginal support to win,” said Andy Bakker of the Illinois Opportunity Project.
The committee chair, State Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford), is sponsoring a bill for ranked choice voting in the 2024 Illinois presidential primary but said after the hearing he wants to learn more about it before deciding how hard to push it.
A bill being pushed by the National Fire Sprinkler Association would let homeowners who add a fire sprinkler to their house be reimbursed half of the cost of the system on their state income taxes, up to $10,000. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) and Sen. Rob Martwick (D-Chicago).
NSFA officials estimate the median cost for a home sprinkler system is $7,200, which would leave the state responsible for $3,600 per unit under the proposed bill.
Officials from the organization argue the fire sprinklers save lives. Since 2007, no one in the U.S. has died from a residential fire in a building with a sprinkler system, compared to 967 fatalities in homes without fire sprinklers. […]
According to Erik Hoffer, executive director of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, 110 municipalities in northern Illinois are required to include fire sprinklers in all new homes.
The legislation, HB 1616, would allow a pyrolysis or gasification facility “pilot project” to begin construction by June 2027 in in either Will County or Grundy County. It updates a previous bill, passed in 2019, that required the project to begin by June 2025. […]
The Illinois Environmental Council, the Alliance for the Great Lakes and the Ocean Conservancy spoke against the bill during a press call on Wednesday. The groups generally oppose the reclassification of chemical recycling as manufacturing, saying it’s a way for facilities to skirt certain environmental permitting requirements. They see the deadline extension as setting a bad precedent for companies if they are not able to meet existing requirements and timelines. Others opposing the bill include the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Law and Policy Center and various environmental groups. […]
Yet Biel said in an email that environmental groups want to take advantage of the facility’s business delays to “reverse the intent of Illinois’ elected officials” who voted for the 2019 bill. The project is an important way to “keep plastics in the economy and out of the environment,” he said. Other supporters include the Recyclers Coalition of Illinois, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and several unions.
The bill has passed through relevant House committees and is expected to come up for a full House vote soon. All House bills must meet a third reading deadline of March 24 to move forward.
The Illinois Legislature is planning movement on legislation that would address the supposed monopoly power of app store giants Apple and Google. The legislation — HB 3098 — would nominally limit these companies’ ability to require use of their own payment processing systems. What it would actually do is inhibit Apple, Google and other software store providers from honoring commitments to customers and safeguarding digital financial transactions. It is based on flawed assumptions and would have consequences for the state’s economy.
HB 3098 — as well as similar bills at the state and federal level — rests on the assumption that app developers are unfairly disadvantaged because they do not have sufficient options beyond the big two app store providers. However, this entirely misunderstands the space. Politicians at all levels of government have been defining the market to include only mobile, hand-held devices like smartphones. […]
HB 3098 would weaken this trust unnecessarily. Currently, consumers on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store do not have to worry about whether or not their purchase is protected. These businesses have created a carefully curated system to market third-party software to its users and have become a trusted source for said purchases. Creating a digital Wild West of payment systems would erode trust and damage the profitability of so many third-party app developers in the process.
Weakening these safeguards would lead to a host of other issues that are already on the minds of many users. For example, the Federal Trade Commission is looking into certain app developers and the prevalence of accidental and reckless purchases by children. There have been over 1 million complaints to Visa and Mastercard about such purchases.
Hundreds of bills sailed out of committee last week. Here’s a small sampling of some interesting, important and silly bills working their way through the Illinois General Assembly: […]
- Senate Bill 1470, filed by state Sen. Tom Bennett, R-Gibson City, would allow a school district to use remote learning days instead of emergency days for up to five days per school year. It would also allow schools to utilize remote learning if selected as a polling place. It passed unanimously. […]
- Senate Bill 1907, sponsored by state Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, would require all public colleges, universities and community colleges to offer emergency contraceptives at a reduced price via at least one vending machine-type kiosk on campus. It passed committee 9-3. […]
- House Bill 2840, sponsored by state Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, would designate the black walnut as the official state nut of Illinois.
- House Bill 3817, filed by state Rep. Matt Hanson, D-Aurora, would designate the soybean as the official state bean of Illinois.
The legislation, House Bill 3768, passed the State Government Administration Committee. It will go to the House floor for a vote, and then the Senate for a final vote.
If passed into law, the bill would add a category called Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) to the Uniform Racial Classification Act. Whenever a state agency is required by law to compile or report statistical data using racial or ethnic classification, the amended law says they must use MENA in addition to white, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. […]
There are 243 proponents of the bill, which include community organizations and coalitions. No one opposed it. The legislation moved on to the next step with a unanimous 9-0 vote.
A long-discussed proposal for a new Chicago-area airport in the south suburbs is again gaining traction, now with a focus on air cargo as e-commerce warehouses and logistics facilities have flourished in the area.
Proponents envision an airport that could take advantage of demand for quick delivery and the proliferation of Amazon warehouses, train facilities and highways in Will County. At least one developer is already interested in building out the airport and nearby warehouses, a project that would mark the culmination of the decadeslong effort to get an airport built near Peotone. […]
A bill pending in the Illinois legislature intends to get the ball rolling on the project by directing the state to start the process of soliciting proposals from developers. The goal is to determine the viability to build the airport, state Rep. Will Davis, a Democrat from Homewood who sponsored the bill, said during a hearing on the concept Wednesday. […]
The concept has also garnered support from both Chicago mayoral candidates. Brandon Johnson said during a candidate forum Thursday that transportation could serve as an anchor for an economic hub for the South Side of the city and the south suburbs, and Paul Vallas said it should be paired with expanded transit and connected to the central business district.
Defines cargo-oriented development as the development of places that are both multimodal nodes of freight transportation and centers of employment in logistics and manufacturing businesses. Provides that the Department of Transportation shall (instead of may) establish a process for prequalification of offerors. Requires the Department to commence the prequalification process within 6 months after the effective date of the amendatory Act
Decades ago, planners pitched Peotone as a passenger facility and Chicago fought the plan to preserve interests at O’Hare and Midway.
In recent years, however, Amazon and others have driven demand for a cargo airport. O’Hare and Midway lack airspace capacity to handle additional flights, proponents say, and Rockford is too far away. Gary, Indiana, poses the biggest competitive threat to the South Suburban Airport.
[Reggie Greenwood, executive director of the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation] and other boosters have publicly said investors are seriously interested in building runways and other improvements on state-owned land. The Davis bill seeks to force the state to solicit development proposals.
“Let’s see who has the capacity do it,” State Rep. Will Davis (D-30th District, East Hazel Crest) said of the intent of his bill. “If no one responds then no one responds.” […]
“We think there are some developers out there that do have the capacity and they’re ready to put pen to paper to show they have the capacity, the wherewithal and the financing to do it,” Davis said.
* Gov. Pritzker was asked about this earlier in the month…
What you don’t want is ‘if you build it, they will come.’ Right, just building the thing and hoping that people will show up to essentially pay for the airport having been built. You need to make sure that you’re building it because you have interests from cargo carriers who aren’t committing to make that a cargo airport. So if we can get that all put together, and I’ve said that from the beginning, and by the way, there’s about 10% of the property that still needs to be acquired. There’s not enough property that the state owns.
But all of that is part of a plan. But you’ve got to do the plan. That can’t be like, we’re going to just open an airport and then hope that Amazon or somebody else is going to make that a center. We have a terrific airport also in Rockford. I do not believe these things are competitive with one another. There are committed cargo carriers that are at Rockford, which is the fastest growing cargo airport in the world. And it means that cargo can be managed in another area that’s outside of that zone in the south suburbs of Chicago. And we’ll be able to sustain those companies but they have to make the commitments and the people who are putting the airport project together need to go obtain those commitments.
* The Question: Do you agree with Rep. Davis’ bill requiring the state to solicit development proposals on the proposed third airport? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* This is from Paul Vallas’ speech at a March 14, 2021 campaign rally for some suburban school district candidates demanding that schools be reopened. It’s the rally where he says Awake Illinois’ Shannon Adcock should run for governor. We ran the Facebook video through Otter and then cleaned it up the best we could, but please pardon all transcription errors. Anyway, if you thought Mayor Lightfoot could be bluntly confrontational, check this out..
First of all, it’s such an honor to have been invited to this event and to see this great turn out so give yourselves a round of applause. After listening to Shannon Adcock’s speech, I think she should run for governor.
The only way your children stop becoming hostages is if you have a voice on the school board. The April 6th election is critical. You got to get representatives. Even if you don’t get control of a board, if you have a voice on that board, they can force it or have transparency. They can force that board to answer questions. And it’s important that you all support yourself and close ranks around social media because they will attack you and they will demagogue you.
This is not about bashing teachers. There have been four teachers in my household. There have been six first responders, there have been six veterans. This is not about attacking teachers. They want you to think about attacking teachers. This is about attacking the union leaders.
On the other hand if you’re a teacher, and you are silent, then you are complicit by your silence.
At the end of the day, if you are silent then you’re part of the problem. […]
The only way we free the hostages is by getting people elected to the school board, or we advocate for kids. It’s as simple as that. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Close ranks get individuals elected because this will happen again. We know this.
When you can literally say, we don’t want to test this year. When you literally can say, no more accountability. When you can literally short the school day or short even the remote structure. Actually, the unions forced them to go full remote and then complained that a four-hour remote learning day was too long and they needed another hour off. If you do that, and get away and still get paid and still keep bonuses, and still get your pay increases, and still get vacations days, and still get your time off, what’s to prevent you from doing it again?
This is not only about reopening the schools or fully reopening the schools. But this is about making sure that this never happens again.
The city council should not be sitting idle while those things are going on in the schools. 75% of your property taxes are going to schools. What are the council people doing? What are the local mayors doing?
So, repeat after me, Never again! [Crowd chants] Never again! Never again! Never again!
Wirepoints: Yeah, Paul, I often wonder if you’re a Black kid, why wouldn’t you become a criminal if you’re hearing this stuff in school? It’s everybody with white skin is an oppressor, if you have black skin, you’re the oppressed. That makes it pretty easy to justify pretty bad conduct in my opinion.
Vallas: You’re absolutely right. But what you’re also doing, you know, you’re giving people an excuse for bad behavior.
* Meanwhile…
Bernie Sanders endorses Brandon Johnson for Mayor. This is likely to give some energy to Johnson’s campaign — but also encompasses a big part of what is already his base.
Rep. Jim Clyburn (S.C.), the assistant House Democratic leader, announced Thursday that he is endorsing Brandon Johnson for mayor of Chicago.
Clyburn’s blessing is a major coup for Johnson, a Black and progressive Cook County commissioner, running against Paul Vallas, a white centrist and former CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Specifically, the nod from Clyburn, a staunch moderate with a national profile, stands to help Johnson consolidate the support of Black voters, including those older Black voters who might otherwise be skeptical of Johnson’s left-wing views on policing and taxation.
As we’ve already discussed, Johnson sharply criticized Clyburn over Clyburn’s opposition to defunding the police.
* Isabel’s Chicago roundup…
* Crain’s | More endorsements and big cash roll in to mayoral runoff: Among the contributions reported by Johnson’s campaign Wednesday is $25,000 from SNC Consulting & Management. On the other side of the race, Vallas’ campaign reported a big collection of contributions on Wednesday, totaling over $270,000. That includes $100,000 from Brian Miller, co-founder and managing partner of health care-focused private-equity firm Linden Capital Partners. Miller previously donated $50,000 to the Vallas campaign in February ahead of the first round of voting.
* ABC Chicago | 25th Ward alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez’s press conference crashed by defeated opponent: A supporter of Aida Flores pulled the microphone away and handed it over to Flores, who then made unfounded claims of voter suppression. Election results show that Sigcho-Lopez defeated Flores with 53% of the vote. Immigrant rights activist Elvira Arellano tried to shout down Flores, eventually grabbing the microphone back.
* WGN | Chicago’s top cop checks out early: WGN Investigates has learned Chicago’s top cop checked-out earlier than his announced exit, originally scheduled for Thursday. Sources say Brown cleaned-out his corner office and is leaving town without the usual pomp and circumstance usually afforded a police leader. He declined all interview requests.
* WTTW | What Will Policing, Public Safety Look Like Under Chicago’s Next Mayor?: “The bottom line is — I’ve talked about it over and over again in columns, etc. — is to restore proactive policing and proactive policing that is consistent with the consent decree, and I’ve said that over and over and over again,” Vallas said. It’s a sentiment that one former officer agrees with. Peter Koconis is a retired police sergeant who served as a special assistant to Chicago police Superintendent Jody Weiss. “When I came out and I worked on the tactical team, we were proactive,” Koconis said. “Now, when I had a tactical team and a gang team in my last assignment, we were more reactive, and I think that hurts you in a way.”
* Fox News | As crime ravages Chicago, pastor puts faith in pro-police candidate to turn it around: “Paul Vallas will be better for the city of Chicago,” Pastor Corey Brooks told Fox News. “We need someone who’s going to focus not just on the crime on the South Side and West Side, but also someone who can build back the relationships with businesses on the Magnificent Mile and on State Street.”
* Fox Chicago | Tensions flare at Chicago City Council meeting over Lightfoot’s handling of migrant crisis: “The administration dropped the ball with telling folks where these camps will be. And so now that they’re closing, we’re getting more people in the community. So the one in Maria Hadden’s community closed, and those migrants were sent to of course Wadsworth which is a closed school. So with all due respect, there should have been a conversation with us. As a matter of fact, this was a conversation I asked for back in October and I’m confused how we’re here again trying to pass something without having a conversation,” said 20th Ward Alderwoman Jeannette Taylor.
* WGN | Little Village discount mall vendors plan caravan to avoid eviction: The 25th alderman plans to lead a group of vendors to Novak Construction, demanding a new agreement is made to avoid them from being evicted from the discount mall. Sources told WGN there will be 70 vehicles apart of the caravan and it will include street vendors as well as those who rent from the discount mall in Little Village.
* WGN | Is decision day finally near for third Chicago airport?: “You never say never,” Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant told WGN Investigates. “I think the numbers and the interest should play a role. We don’t want to start along this road and realize there’s no need for it.”
Defense attorneys for the four defendants painted a consistent picture: the defendants were doing their jobs. They were very good at their jobs and never crossed any legal lines.
Attorneys said the evidence will show the government’s focus on taking down Madigan led them to pick and choose the evidence that fits their theories.
The defense stressed to jurors that lobbying isn’t illegal and all defendants were engaged in what’s considered standard practice in Springfield.
Cotter, representing McClain, called the case the product of an “exceptionally focused, goal-driven investigation” aimed at the former speaker.
“I didn’t count how many times Mr. Madigan — who isn’t here — was mentioned during the government’s opening,” Cotter said. “I didn’t count. But it was a lot.”
Cotter insisted to the jury that they will “hear no words” linking a job recommendation from Madigan with any piece of legislation. Nor, he said, will jurors hear any discussion of Madigan helping pass a piece of ComEd legislation.
“No connection to legislation, no bribe,” Cotter said.
Cotter explained that ComEd — despite allegedly bribing Madigan — invested in a massive lobbying effort to try to get the legislation passed, and that Madigan’s staff still forced the utility into concessions worth millions. […]
[Gabrielle Sansonetti, Jay Doherty’s attorney] also told jurors that there is little evidence to prove the government’s argument that those subcontracted lobbyists did little to no work, arguing that some lobbyists are hired so they’re not snatched up by a competing firm, or just in case an issue pops up. Others are paid on a retainer. And lobbyists frequently attend dinners, charity events and political events that aren’t necessarily tracked by their employers, she told jurors.
Cotter said that it was clear that federal prosecutors and the FBI developed an “exceptionally focused, goal-driven investigation” that was targeting Madigan from the beginning. In their overzealousness, he said, the government “began to see what they wanted to see.”
“When you’re too focused on getting the big target, everything begins to look like a crime,” he said.
Pramaggiore’s lawyer, Scott Lassar, described his client as a “wonderful woman,” a “Girl Scout” who rescued ComEd from tumultuous times.
He said she “knew that Mike Madigan was only concerned with one thing, and that was staying in power, staying speaker of the House,” and that he ”never lifted a finger” to help pass any legislation on the company’s behalf.
“He was never a friend to ComEd, never was and never would be,” Lassar said. “And she was right.”
After federal agents approached Marquez in early 2019 with some preliminary evidence they had found when looking into lobbying subcontracts under Doherty, Marquez agreed to cooperate and wear a wire, which continued for months. But Jacobson said Marquez took the government’s deal after learning he could face years in prison “even though he didn’t think he’d done anything illegal.”
“Marquez took the sure thing, the get-out-of-jail-free card,” Jacobson said. “Marquez is a man who lies to benefit himself.”
Doherty’s attorney, Gabrielle Sansonetti, took that theory further, acknowledging to the jury that “there should’ve been more oversight” on the lobbying subcontracts – not from Doherty himself, but ComEd.
“The one guy responsible for all this oversight? You might have already guessed: Fidel Marquez,” Sansonetti said, claiming that when the feds discovered Marquez failed to do his oversight job, “he passed the buck, he became an informant.”
Scott Lassar, Pramaggiore’s defense attorney, told the jury that his client was well aware that Madigan was only concerned with his political well-being.
“Anne knew, and others knew at ComEd, that Mike Madigan was only concerned with one thing, and that was staying in power, staying the Speaker of the House, staying has head of the Democratic Party,” Lassar said. “Anne knew that Mike Madigan was not a friend of ComEd, never was and never would be. And she was right.”
Jacqueline Jacobson, Hooker’s attorney, told jurors: “John never conspired or agreed with anyone to bribe Madigan in connection with ComEd legislation or to falsify the internal books and records of ComEd. Because John never, never had any corrupt intent.”
Sansonetti said Doherty hired four subcontractors — which prosecutors have said was a bribe to please Madigan — at the direction of Fidel Marquez, a former ComEd executive who wore a wire and is cooperating with the government.
McClain’s defense attorney Patrick Cotter framed his client’s actions as nothing more than legal lobbying.
“When you have a problem that you need to resolve with your elected representative, … it might make sense, if you can, to hire somebody to help you do that,” Cotter said. “It’s not a crime, and it’s not a conspiracy, and you know what, it’s not even suspicious.” […]
Cotter accused prosecutors of zeroing in their investigation on Madigan — who is not charged in this case, but faces a separate racketeering and bribery trial next year — and claimed they began to “see what they wanted to see” — that the defendants “somehow were part of some nefarious conspiracy.”
“The government’s theory is wrong,” Cotter said. “It’s too simple.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker began Wednesday with commentary that lasted roughly 90 minutes. She started with McClain’s own words, caught on one of the many recordings jurors will hear: “We had to hire these guys because Mike Madigan came to us.”
“In short, Madigan wanted, the defendants gave, and the defendants got,” Streicker told the jury. “It’s that simple.” […]
She described McClain’s close relationship with Madigan to jurors. And she said job recommendations made by Madigan — typically through McClain — were treated as demands. By way of example, she described a recorded conversation McClain had with a senior ComEd employee.
“He told this employee that ComEd must immediately handle requests from Madigan, and that ComEd must understand that, when McClain sends over a resume, it’s not a request. It’s a demand to hire someone,” Streicker said.
Streicker alleged ComEd poured $1.3 million into payments funneled to ghost “subcontractors” who were actually Madigan’s cronies, put a Madigan-backed person on the ComEd board, and gave coveted internships to families in his 13th Ward, all part of an elaborate scheme to keep the speaker happy.
And, it worked, Streicker said, because over the eight years of the scheme, Madigan helped ComEd win three lucrative pieces of legislation, including the “Smart Grid” bill in 2011 and another bill in 2016 that held a rate structure in place and extended the life of two of the company’s nuclear plants.
“Mike Madigan was the most powerful person in the Illinois General Assembly,” Streicker said. “He (could) wield that power to make or break a piece of legislation. The defendants bribed him, and they did so by paying Madigan’s associates through jobs and contracts at ComEd.” […]
“Madigan exercised enormous power,” she said, saying his “power and control made him critical to ComEd’s success” because he could help or hurt ComEd’s agenda in Springfield.
“This is why defendants sought to corruptly influence Madigan,” Streicker said.
But the government’s opening arguments – and their initial questioning of former State Rep. Carol Sente, D-Vernon Hills – sought to illustrate for the jury the amount of power Madigan wielded, not just as speaker of the Illinois House, but also as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois and a prolific fundraiser for Democrats.
“In short, if Madigan wanted to stop a piece of legislation, he could kill it in any number of ways,” Streicker said. “At the same time…he controlled the purse strings for Democrats. They needed him to get elected and get re-elected…He held enormous power over the other legislators.”
As for McClain, Streicker called him a “double agent” on behalf of both ComEd and Madigan, who infamously did not own a cell phone or use email.
“When you heard something from McClain, you know it came from Madigan,” Streicker said.
According to prosecutors, Madigan did not own a cellphone and didn’t use email, but instead used McClain as a mouthpiece to make his demands known. For instance, when an intern’s resume was presented to ComEd by McClain for consideration, it wasn’t a request, “it’s a demand,” Streicker said.
“These were not mere recommendations,” she said. “The evidence will prove that these were demands and the defendants acted on them.”
“The defendants sought to bribe Mike Madigan in order to influence his actions in the General Assembly, to ensure that he didn’t take action to hurt the company in the General Assembly and to reward past beneficial conduct to ComEd in the general assembly with legislation that was worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” Streicker told jurors. […]
The prosecution’s first witness, former north suburban State Rep. Carol Sente, was called to testify at the end of the day, and the first questions posed to her concerned the legislative process in the Illinois state capitol.
Asked to characterize Madigan’s control over the Illinois House of Representatives, Sente said it was “extremely firm.”
Much of the evidence is expected to come from ComEd’s former vice president of external communications, Fidel Marquez. He will be testifying in an attempt to reduce his own sentence.
Marquez took over for defendant John Hooker. His phone was among those tapped by federal authorities.
The prosecution said he will deliver an “insider’s view” of the crimes. In particular, he is expected to testify about the company’s use of sub-contractors, people who did little if any work, but were paid upwards of $4,500 dollars a month allegedly at the request of Madigan intermediaries. The jobs, prosecutors say, were used as political rewards.
The money was allegedly funneled through Dougherty’s lobbying firm. At one point, the government said, payments totalled more than $37,000 dollars a month.
*** UPDATE *** As noted above, former Democratic Rep. Carol Sente is the federal government’s first witness. She’s supposed to give jurors a look at how the legislative process operates. The part about Madigan controlling the Rules Committee is true, but as Hannah then points out, the part about the committee meeting in private is just plain false. Not sure how the heck the feds allowed that to happen…
Sente is telling jurors about one of the sources of Madgain's control: The Rules Committee. "If you wanted a bill to move or not move the rules commitee would take that into serious account," she says. Their meetings are in private, and Madigan controlled everything there.
Former Rep. Sente just testified that members of the public can't attend meetings of the House Rules Committee, and that Rules Cmte meetings are held in private, but that’s not true; though these meetings are quick and rote (resulting from prior decisions), I’ve attended many.
Attorney for Mike McClain is trying to block release of recordings featuring McClain talking to Rep. Bob Rita about gaming legislation. Rita will testify early next week for the government, which they think will show McClain was acting as an agent of Madigan.
* Illinois Board of Higher Education Chair John Atkinson delivered some extraordinary remarks to the board yesterday. Whether you agree with him or not, I thought his speech was worth sharing in full because it was so unusual…
When attacks on diversity and equity are ramping up in various states across the country, we should all be relieved and proud that, in Illinois, everyday we’re taking steps toward a more diverse and equitable state.
In no other state are these attacks more blatant and destructive than in Florida. Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has resorted to implementing a hateful agenda across the state’s education system.
DeSantis’ Stop WOKE Act prohibits diversity initiatives in the workplace and limits school curriculum that celebrates Black culture. This racist Act is forcing educators to remove books from classroom and library bookshelves for fear of facing retaliation.
DeSantis has also forced the College Board to whitewash its Advanced Placement Black Studies curriculum — removing books by contemporary thought leaders like Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ta-Nehisi Coates and topics like the Black Lives Matter movement. The updated curriculum does not prohibit teaching about slavery, so the apparent message to students is that it is okay to study racism if we pretend it no longer exists.
DeSantis is bent on taking us backwards. It is not too long ago when segregation in schools in this country was allowed. It is not too long ago when Black and white people couldn’t drink from the same water fountains. At a time when all leaders should be making a serious and concerted effort to foster a more just country for everyone, DeSantis is leaning into racist practices of the past, stoking fears, and division for political purposes.
But, we can’t pretend that racism is a thing of the past. Not only is it a lie, but it’s also just wrong to tell people who experience discrimination because of the color of their skin that what they’re experiencing isn’t real.
What’s more disappointing and frightening is that DeSantis isn’t acting alone. He has the support of many Florida state legislators. A few weeks ago, Florida State Rep. Robert Alexander Andrade introduced House Bill 999.
This bill would place the public higher education system under extraordinary state control and out of the hands of educators. In fact, he just appointed a majority board of trustees to Florida’s New College, and according to the conservative magazine the National Review, Desantis’ Chief of Staff said that they hoped, and I quote “New College would become the Hillsdale of the South”, a reference to a fundamentalist Christian School in Michigan.
This is simply outrageous and in fact highlights the hateful and intolerant views that are seeping into the mainstream of our culture. Our higher education system should serve as a buffer against, rather than a catalyst for this throwback agenda.
HB 999 would prohibit public colleges from funding any projects that “espouse diversity, equity, and inclusion or Critical Race Theory rhetoric” no matter the funding source and put faculty hiring into the hands of trustees. This is an egregious attack on academic freedom and the long held principle of shared governance.
The bill also directs trustees to remove from their institutions majors and minors “in Critical Race Theory, Gender Studies, or Intersectionality, or any derivative major or minor of these belief systems.”
In the land of the free and home of the brave, DeSantis has made his state less free for teachers, for women, people of color and LGBTQ people. It appears Florida is home of the brave but not land of the free.
Florida is not alone on this attack on higher education and academic freedom: Oklahoma Governor, Kevin Stitt singled out the state’s two largest public universities: “Because when we send our kids to college, we expect our tuition to pay for their education, not their indoctrination,” Stitt said. “I want our universities to have less DEI officers and more career placement counselors.”
Well I have news for both Governors, career success, business success and DEI are not mutually exclusive, and in fact business leaders know, that the opposite is true. Diverse teams produce better outcomes. Numerous studies show this to be fact. A recent study by McKinsey of over 1000 companies found that organizations in the top quartile outperformed those in the fourth by 36% in 2017 and these trends are similar when considering both gender and multi-cultural diversity.
A diverse, equitable Illinois is a thriving Illinois. Diverse, inclusive teams make faster, better decisions and those decisions yield better results for employers. Diversity and equity are good for companies and our economy. But above all else – it is a moral imperative.
We all benefit from a diverse workforce. And to ensure a diverse workforce, we must deliver equitable educational experiences to all students.
We know that inclusive curriculums and classrooms make for better student outcomes, and successful students make our state and our nation flourish.
In Illinois, we understand the value of diversity. We understand the importance of an equitable system of higher education. That’s why our higher education strategic plan explicitly promotes equity in education, and Governor Pritzker has not only made historical investments in this work year after year, but his charge to myself and this board when we were appointed in 2019 was to be focused on equity so that every student in our state can Thrive.
And guess what? It’s working!
We’ve seen Black and Latino student enrollment increase at record levels in Illinois when it has decreased nationwide. The governor has increased MAP funding in the FY24 budget to make college more affordable, especially for students from low-income households. The governor also increased funding for the MTI scholarship to recruit and retain teachers of color. All of these are deliberate investments to make progress toward equity.
Inviting students to wrestle with colonialism and slavery in American history is important for the development and advancement of our society. Our students must learn the reality of systemic racism in our society so they can be equipped to extinguish it forever.
We cannot and will not allow the evils of the past to reign again. We have a responsibility for producing educated citizens that are so vital to a healthy democratic society.
We are standing at a dangerous precipice as a nation as certain kinds of political dogma steeped in racism, homophobia and sexism continue to infiltrate all forms of public education systems across the country.
We cannot, and will not, as a state or here at the IBHE tolerate any attempt to strip anyone of their identity or to erase the complicated and sometimes inconvenient history of our great nation.
* Center Square | Prosecutors object to proposed defense expert on lobbying in ComEd bribery case: “The focus of Drutman’s proposed testimony – the basics of lobbying – resembles the principles taught in a high school civics class,” prosecutors argued in a motion that seeks to exclude or limit the testimony. “The jury will be familiar with the general notion of how a bill becomes a law and how various political and non-political actors influence that process based on the government’s fact witnesses, which will include current and former legislators and lobbyists.”
* Sun-Times | Railroad merger OK blasted by suburban mayors, Illinois lawmakers: The merger could further tie up commuters using Metra’s Milwaukee District-West Line as regulators expect the number of daily freight trains to increase from three to 11. “To say we’re disappointed is a gross understatement,” said Frank DeSimone, village president of Bensenville. “They approved a 400% increase in freight traffic in our community.”
* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker: Tax cuts on the table if state revenues continue to exceed expectations: The governor did not say whether tax cuts would be permanent or which taxes he and lawmakers are considering cutting. And tax cuts were one of several potential uses of excess revenues the governor said he would like to consider. Others include contributions to the state’s “rainy day” fund and added payments beyond required amounts to the state’s pension system.
* WAND | Illinois House Republicans demand reforms to attract businesses: Two representatives from the Rockford region explained Wednesday that people in their districts are struggling to get by after a Jeep assembly plant shut down indefinitely. That announcement came the same day Stellantis announced thousands of new jobs opening at a plant in Indiana.
* AP | Warnock’s campaign chief sees lessons from Dems in Georgia: Fulks, who has also worked for Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and is now on a politics fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School, deflected questions about a possible Biden gig. But allies tout him as more than ready for a national campaign.
* Tribune | Goats found wandering on South Side brought to Chicago Animal Care and Control: The three beauties were brought in as strays by a worker to the animal control facility at 2741 S. Western Ave. They were found near 6000 S. Wood St., and officials said they were very friendly and eating normally. One of the agency’s partners supplied goat feed for them during their short stay.
* Tribune | Rev. Wheeler Parker was there in the bedroom when Emmett Till was abducted. His memoir recounts the 70-year push for federal charges: There’s a haunting moment in Parker’s new memoir, “A Few Days Full of Trouble: Revelations on the Journey to Justice for My Cousin and Best Friend, Emmett Till” (written with Northwestern University journalism professor Christopher Benson), in which he wonders what Till was thinking as he was led to his death. The story has been told often: In 1955, Bryant alleged that Emmett Till, a Black teenager from Chicago visiting his relatives, wolf-whistled at her in a grocery store. Four days later, in the middle of the night, there was a knock on the door of the home where Till slept. Two men, J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, Carolyn’s husband, carrying guns and flashlights, ordered Till to dress and drove off with him. Till was tortured, lynched and shot in the head. His death served as a catalyst for the nascent civil rights movement.
* AP | TikTok dismisses calls for Chinese owners to sell stakes: The company was responding to a report in The Wall Street Journal that said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., part of the Treasury Department, was threatening a U.S. ban on the app unless its owners, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., divested.
