With the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) 18 months ago, electric utilities were forced to accept additional consumer rate protections enforced by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), but unfortunately gas utilities were left untouched.
Now, the skyrocketing and unpredictable natural gas market will cause well-resourced consumers to install electric heat pumps or build electric heated homes. Those who make the switch will be protected by the regulatory authority of the ICC, which can require transparency and accountability when it comes to prices consumers pay for electricity.
But those who cannot afford to make the shift and remain reliant on natural gas — most of whom are lower-income Black and Brown people and rural residents in Illinois — will have almost no regulation on prices charged by their utilities. The cost to consumers will continue to rise if we leave unchecked the gas utilities’ desire to charge consumers an ever increasing amount for expansion of their natural gas infrastructure. […]
To hold gas utilities accountable and protect consumers, we should enact new laws requiring:
• An audit of the gas distribution infrastructure, so we know how our money has been spent in the last decade;
• Gas distribution planning, so the ICC can better rule on which expenses are necessary;
• Safety standards for gas pipes and distribution, so we can accurately determine what must be replaced and we don’t end up replacing infrastructure unnecessarily.
• An end to the qualified Infrastructure Plant (QIP) charge on consumer bills, which is costing customers as much as $40 per month even with little or no gas usage;
• Energy efficiency programs must be adopted for gas utilities, as they are on electric utilities;
• Require utilities to offer lower rates for low-income customers, so they can get additional relief;
• Allow the ICC to require gas companies to maximize federal funds, so we can minimize the burden on Illinois ratepayers;
• Have performance-based regulations for gas utilities, as we have for the electric utilities, so we can ensure the gas companies’ profits are as promised in the rate making process;
• Pay for the system using volumetric rates, not customer charges — so those who use more gas pay more;
• Improve compensation for intervenors (those who advocate on behalf of consumers in rate cases);
• Initiate new protections against shut-offs and additional payment plan mechanisms.
* After the Gannett/Gatehouse merger, the company got rid of 59 percent of its employees, according to Nieman Lab…
At the end of 2018 — the last full pre-merger year — the two companies had a total of 27,600 employees, according to a Gannett spokesperson. The merger closed in mid-November 2019, by which time it had about 25,000 and was diving headlong into a hunt for “inefficiencies.”
By December 31, 2019, the combined company was down to 21,255. By the end of 2020, that had dropped to 18,141. A year later: 13,800. And its most recent SEC filing reports that, as of the end of 2022, Gannett had just 11,200 employees remaining.
In other words, Gannett has eliminated 59% of its jobs in four years. It’s as if, instead of merging America’s two largest newspaper chains, one of them was simply wiped off the face of the earth.
* Whoever is running this Twitter account has better political investigatory skills than most if not all political reporters in Chicago. Their oppo is almost always the goods…
Perhaps one of our favorite Vallas quotes comes here, "If I have to break the law, I'll break the law."
Recently Mayor Lightfoot took fire for asking teachers to recruit students for political work. It seems Vallas also previously "used children as pawns" for politics. pic.twitter.com/1JH5W7J4bI
The diversity/equity/inclusion mandate remains in place at the University of Illinois. But it’s been repealed at the University of North Carolina system.
This week, the UNC system board removed the compelled speech requirement because it was advised that requiring salutes to the DEI ideology as a condition of hiring and admissions is at odds with free speech. […]
Colleges and universities across the country, including the UI, have embraced the DEI loyalty tests as a means of ensuring either complete political conformity or silence on controversial issues inside and outside the university.
I reached out to UIUC and heard back today from Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Sean Garrick…
Dear Rich,
I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what the “diversity/equity/inclusion mandate” to which Mr. Dey refers to in his column. At the University of Illinois we have no “loyalty tests” of any nature. As a university, we encourage open, robust and wide-ranging debate, discussion and exploration of ideas and concepts – some of which are certainly considered controversial.
The idea that our university encourages conformity whether through formal policies or through informal avenues is absolutely false. Academic freedom is fundamentally about guaranteeing faculty members the freedom to explore “dangerous” ideas and ask difficult questions – the exact opposite of conformity. Mr. Tripp’s statements speak to the actions by the University of North Carolina and it is not appropriate for me/us to comment on governance decisions of another university.
Sincerely,
Sean
* IDPH…
IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra warned that cases of group A strep throat leading to severe complications are on the rise in Illinois, with more cases reported in 2023 than in any of the past five years.
“As COVID-19 cases and community levels remain stable, I want to share my concern about the growing number of strep throat cases in Illinois that are leading to severe complications,” Director Vohra said. “These cases, known as invasive Group A strep, are the result of disease spreading from the throat to blood, muscle and lungs. I urge parents to contact their health providers when their children start showing early symptoms. These symptoms include sudden onset of sore throat, pain when swallowing and fever. Early detection is critical as strep can be diagnosed with a simple test and treated with antibiotics. If able, please make sure everyone in the house is up to date with flu and chickenpox vaccines. Having either the flu or chickenpox can increase your risk of contracting invasive Group A strep.”
Parents and others can get more information about Group A strep at this CDC resource page.
* Press release…
U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the decision by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to temporarily convert United States Penitentiary (USP) Thomson into a low-security prison and enhance training for the hundreds of Thomson staff who will all remain employed at the institution:
“Today’s announcement is good news for the Thomson facility—it remains part of the Federal prison system, with no elimination of staffing positions, and it will help relieve some of the current overpopulation pressures BOP is experiencing at low-security facilities nationwide.
“When Thomson was purchased by the Federal government more than ten years ago, one of our goals was to help address the urgent overcrowding problem at our nation’s Federal prisons, as well as make it the safest prison in the nation—for both incarcerated people and staff. As part of these reforms and improvements, Thomson staff will have the opportunity to participate in intensive training to promote a more positive culture and ensure that Thomson is a safe and secure facility with a focus on rehabilitation and reentry. I look forward to seeing Thomson reach its full potential with this temporary conversion.”
BOP moved all remaining individuals in the Special Management Unit (SMU) and Reintegration Unit (RU) from Thomson in February 2023. Thomson will now house approximately 1,178 low-security adults, which will relieve some of the current overpopulation pressures BOP is experiencing at low-security facilities nationwide. Thomson plans to begin receiving inmates the week of April 10, starting with one unit a month. The adjacent Minimum Security Satellite Camp will be unaffected throughout the transition of the institution.
Beginning in 2009, Durbin was instrumental in the acquisition and activation of Thomson Prison—converting it from a state correctional facility to a Federal prison.
…Adding… US Sen. Tammy Duckworth was interviewed by the Hollywood Reporter. Lots of talk about pop culture and then…
There’s been so much debate about identity politics and its role in defining our political discourse. What’s your take?
I wasn’t a mom when I was first elected to Congress, but I thought I was pretty progressive. Then I became a mom and I was traveling back and forth from Chicago to D.C. twice a week trying to express breastmilk to feed my baby and I was told, “Oh you want to pump breast milk, go do it in the handicap stall of the bathroom,” or worse, “Go plug your breast pump in at that outlet where everyone else is charging their cell phone.” So I passed legislation called the FAM Act (Friendly Airports for Mothers) which now means every airport in America has to have a lactation room. And I’m really proud that I wrote that law which I would never have had if I had not been a mom. I also wrote legislation to force airlines to report how many times they break medical-assisted devices because about every third time I get on an airplane some part of my wheelchair gets broken. Before I used a wheelchair it never occurred to me. So yeah, identity is important. Identity does matter. Lived experience matters. You have to look at it not as something that puts us in categories but that makes life better for all of us. So it’s important to have greater diversity and sometimes you’ve got to be conscious of that diversity which is why I fought so hard to have an Asian American nominated as a cabinet secretary. It’s important for the rest of the world to look and see and go, “Oh wow, that’s a really diverse cabinet. That’s America.”
* WAND | Pritzker announces personnel transitions at Illinois Commerce Commission: Governor JB Pritzker announced that Illinois Commerce Commission Chairman Carrie Zalewski is stepping down from her position in June. As the commission continues implementation of the Climate and Equitable Job Act and prepares for cases later this year, Pritzker also announced plans to nominate former ICC Chair Doug Scott to replace Zalewski.
* Crain’s | New York joins the Walgreens-abortion pill fray: New York state has stepped into the fray surrounding national retail pharmacies and abortion pills. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James are asking Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid to commit to dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone in their state.
* Chicago Tribune | Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas clash at latest forum: ‘Race is an issue’: The contentious exchanges happened during a 90-minute forum hosted by the My Community Plan Foundation at the DuSable Black History Museum. For the first hour, the session was largely cordial until the two contenders, who just last week made the April 4 runoff election, were asked if they support a third airport in the Chicago area. Both said yes.
* WCIA | EIU faculty and staff vote ‘yes’ to authorize strike: In a news release, EIU UPI President Jennifer Stringfellow said: “This vote sends a clear message to EIU administration that we’re all in. Our members resoundingly reject what they are offering at the table. We don’t want to strike, but we’re willing to do this to ensure EIU students get the high-quality education they deserve and that our members get a fair contract.”
* Crain’s | In rebuilding Ryan Field, Northwestern needs to protect local businesses: Northwestern’s slick public relations campaign claims the new Ryan Field will “build generational wealth for Black and Brown families.” As the owner of one Central Street’s few black-owned businesses, I have my doubts. What I see, instead, is a university that wants to run a for-profit concert business at the expense of one of the country’s nicest business districts. I see powerful Evanstonians coalescing behind the plan and cynically using artificial promises of Black wealth as cover.
* Center Square | Illinois again takes top spot in pumpkin production: It’s been many years since any other pumpkin growing state has beaten Illinois in pumpkin production. Raghela Scavuzzo, executive director of Illinois Specialty Growers, said Illinois produced 651.9 million pounds of pumpkins in 2021, 39% of all the pumpkins produced in the U.S.
* Sun-Times | How and why Chicago dyes the Chicago River emerald green: In the last 61 years, dyeing the river has become a world-renowned tradition, despite some pushback from environmental groups . And it’s happening again this weekend, a few hours before the start of the downtown Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade, sponsored by Chicago Plumbers Local 130.
OK, take aside the bill in question. South Dakota governors can literally veto a bill using a branding iron that's shaped like the word "VETO?" https://t.co/diNcJo0DN0
Governor Kristi Noem is issuing her first veto of this legislative session. Noem rejected a measure yesterday that would have allowed municipalities to charge a higher tax on people staying at lodging places. The governor announced the veto with a picture of her using a branding iron to stamp her rejection onto the measure. The original House and Senate votes fell short of short the two-thirds majority that will be needed to override the veto.
Last month, [Rep.] Hernandez introduced legislation that would allow DACA recipients to be considered for law enforcement positions statewide. […]
With a vote of 9 to 4 Thursday, the bill moves out of committee to the full House floor. […]
Representative John Cabello is a police officer who voted against the bill for several reasons, chiefly the concern for officers’ safety as a DACA officer could not legally have firearm when not on duty.
[From Rich: The Chicago FOP slipped in favor of this bill, believe it or not. The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police slipped in opposition. Blue Island’s police recently hired a DACA recipient.]
A proposal at the Illinois Statehouse would legalize and regulate “natural organic reduction,” a process in which human remains are rapidly decomposed into compost. The process is also known as human composting or terramation.
That process turns human remains into dirt over the course of several weeks. Companies that offer this service place a person’s remains in a vessel with wood chips, straw and other organic material and heat it to accelerate the growth of microbes that break down the body. This is distinct from “natural burial,” in which a body is buried with no casket or in a biodegradable container.
The measure, House Bill 3158, passed in the House Energy and Environment Committee on Tuesday on a 16-10 vote. It now goes to the House for consideration, although its sponsor, Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, said an amendment to the bill is likely. […]
“Turning the mortal remains of a human person into compost for the purpose of fertilization, as one would with vegetable trimmings or eggshells, degrades the human person and dishonors the life that was lived by that person,” [Daniel Welter, the recently retired chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago] said during the committee hearing.
A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is trying to help more Illinoisans get access to fentanyl testing strips.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported more than 3,717 drug overdoses involving fentanyl during 2021. IDPH explained that is equivalent to losing 10 Illinoisans each day.
House Republican Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) told the House Public Health Committee Thursday that her bill could allow pharmacists and retail stores to sell fentanyl test strips over the counter. County health departments could also distribute the test strips to the public for free. […]
House Bill 3203 passed unanimously out of the House Public Health Committee. All committee members signed on as co-sponsors with McCombie.
Rep. Curtis Tarver II (D-Chicago) said Wednesday that the state should separate soda from liquor that looks like soda. His proposal could prohibit retailers from displaying alcopop drinks next to soft drinks, juice, bottled water, or snacks catered to young customers.
Rep. Natalie Manley (D-Joliet) said this could also be helpful for adults who don’t realize what they’re buying or drinking because they think it is carbonated water. […]
The Illinois Retail Merchants Association is working with Tarver to ensure the plan can be properly implemented at stores of all sizes. Members of the House Executive Committee unanimously approved the plan and it now heads to the House floor for second reading.
* Change IL…
In an effort to strengthen Illinois’ ethics laws and take on corruption, Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid and the CHANGE Illinois Action Fund call on Illinoisans to support and lawmakers to advance legislation that would fully empower the Legislative Inspector General who investigates allegations of wrongdoing in the state’s legislative branch.
HB 2892, introduced by Rashid, would build on previous ethics successes by the Illinois General Assembly that allowed the Legislative Inspector General to start investigations without approval by strengthening the tools available to the Office of Legislative Inspector General to fully investigate claims of corruption, harassment and other wrongdoing in the legislative branch, making it as empowered and independent as other inspectors general in government. […]
The office of the Legislative Inspector General should be given the full, independent authority it needs to conduct investigations and to publish all results of founded investigations without roadblocks. The following, specific changes in HB2892 would bring the Legislative Inspector General’s authority more in line with the authorities of other investigative offices, such as the Offices of the Executive Inspectors General.
A measure that would make it easier for Chicago’s first responders to acquire full disability benefits if they were sickened by COVID-19 gained traction Thursday when it passed through a state legislative committee.
State Rep. Jay Hoffman, the chief House sponsor of the bill, said under the measure it would automatically be assumed that working conditions for Chicago police officers and firefighters directly led to them contracting COVID-19 that led to a disability. […]
The bill was inspired by the brother of Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, whose brother, Chicago police Sgt. Joaquin Mendoza, was infected with COVID-19 and fell badly ill, but was denied full disability benefits by the Policemen’s Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago.
For months, we have been exposing how in Illinois, a dangerous criminal record may not stop people from becoming licensed massage therapists. […]
Two bills have been introduced in the Illinois state House of Representatives. The possible changes to state law are now being discussed by lawmakers – following our months of reporting, exposing issues with how massage therapy licenses, and more, are handled in Illinois. […]
One bill, HB3584, would ensure the state’s licensing office has all records of felony convictions, and make sure a crime victim knows they have a right to file a formal complaint with the state against someone licensed by them.
The other, HB3583, would require a worker such as a state licensed massage therapist to undergo the same checks and reviews as other health care workers - like a certified nursing assistant.
Paul Vallas’ Facebook account liked a series of comments that attacked Democrats, referred to Chicago as a “hell hole” and “S—cago” and labeled Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker “the king of full term abortion,” a Tribune review of his social media found.
How long before he changes his tune and claims this account, like his Twitter account, was hacked?
Vallas’ account also criticized a state law that establishes health and sex education standards starting from kindergarten and is condemned by some conservative and anti-LGBTQ groups — including Awake Illinois, a suburban group that has taken extreme positions and called Pritzker a “groomer.”
A couple months before the governor’s signed that measure into law, a June 2021 post on Vallas’ Facebook account opened with “THE BEGINNINGS OF A PARENT LED REVOLUTION?” and praised his fellow critics of teachers unions in the fight over in-person schooling during the pandemic.
“Despite those successes, SB 818, which clearly transforms sex education into sexuality education beginning at a very young age, sits on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature,” Vallas’ post wrote. “Parents should tell the Governor to veto that legislation.”
That “sexuality education” phrase sounds very similar to what the Awake Illinois types are saying. If he was running for a Palos school board seat, Gov. Pritzker might be targeting him for defeat. /s
* Last night’s mayoral debate wasn’t televised, but you can click here for some live coverage.
Both mayoral candidates are calling on the City Council to wait for the new administration and council before acting on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposed franchise agreement with Commonwealth Edison.
Paul Vallas had a suggestion on how to improve the deal, which Lightfoot unveiled last month in hopes of a quick vote before the election that took place Feb. 28. In a brief interview, he said a new deal with ComEd “has to deal with the outstanding bills people have.”
Echoing former Gov. Pat Quinn, with whom Vallas ran alongside as lieutenant governor nominee in his unsuccessful re-election bid, Vallas said a new franchise agreement with the scandal-tarred utility should have provisions to provide relief to customers behind on their bills in the form of amnesty or something similar.
Johnson essentially punted the question.
* The Chicago Teachers Union just transferred $500,000 in union dues to one of its political action committees. Since the day after the election, their mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson has reported raising almost $1.8 million, while Paul Vallas has reported raising a bit over $2.2 million. That CTU money could bring at least some temporary parity between the candidates.
*** UPDATE *** Vallas just reported receiving about $960K in contributions. So much for parity. IBEW Illinois gave him $100K.
To: Interested Parties
From: Celinda Lake, Daniel Gotoff and McCauley Pugh, Lake Research Partners
RE: New Poll in Chicago Shows Brandon Johnson Leading Paul Vallas in Mayoral Runoff
Date: March 9th, 2023
A recently conducted survey of 800 likely mayoral runoff voters in Chicago reveals public school teacher and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson leading Paul Vallas in the race for mayor with less than four weeks till election day. As long as he has the resources to mount robust communications and field efforts over the coming days, Brandon Johnson begins the runoff sprint well-positioned for victory.
● Brandon Johnson takes 45% of the vote to Vallas’ 40%, while 14% of voters are undecided and 1% support someone else. Johnson not only starts out with an 5-point overall lead Vallas, in a survey with a margin of error of +/-3.46%, but he boasts an even larger lead in strong support, as 37% of voters are strong Johnson supporters compared to just 30% who feel similarly about their support for Vallas.
In sum, the race for Mayor of Chicago is highly competitive. Brandon Johnson has a notable lead, but it is small enough that he could fall behind if he is substantially out-communicated. Brandon will need to launch vigorous media and voter contact campaigns to expand on his early lead—especially in the face of such a well-heeled opponent.
—————-
Lake Research Partners designed and administered this survey via phone using professional interviewers. The survey reached 800 likely 2023 runoff voters in Chicago. The survey was conducted March 2-7, 2023. The margin of error for the base sample is +/-3.46% and larger for subgroups.
That “he could fall behind” bit is basically the pollster’s way of pleading with supporters to pony up harder for their client.
* We’ve talked more than once about how Brandon Johnson’s radio show produced a treasure trove of oppo. It’s now Vallas’ turn in the barrel…
A year before he became one of two Democrats left standing in the race for Chicago mayor, Paul Vallas went on a conservative radio show and mocked the last two Democratic presidents.
Appearing on Chicago’s Morning Answer (AM 560) program, Vallas rolled his eyes at former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as they spoke about their new library in Hyde Park and laughed about them living in Martha’s Vineyard. Vallas, in a separate appearance a few months later, questioned whether President Joe Biden actually was the one running the White House. […]
On the Morning Answer program, Vallas was a regular substitute for co-host Dan Proft, a conservative political activist who lives in Florida but is a former Illinois resident. Proft ran a political action committee that spent more than $14.5 million last year trying to elect Trump-allied Republican Darren Bailey against Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
At least he didn’t claim he was hacked or that somebody else impersonated him.
Also, setting aside what he said on the show, people who regularly substitute for Dan Proft are not generally considered liberals or moderates.
Keith Thornton was apparently a protester. More on him here. The Northwest Side has some weird political groups, and they’re all-in for Vallas.
* Isabel’s Chicago roundup…
* Block Club | Elizabeth Warren Endorses Brandon Johnson For Chicago Mayor: “Commissioner Brandon Johnson and I are both former public school teachers, and I can tell you that he understands what it takes to build a stronger Chicago for everyone. From education to public safety to housing, Brandon has a bold, forward-looking, progressive plan to move Chicago forward, and he has the experience to make those plans real,” Warren said in a statement.
* Streets Blog Chicago | Asked about CTA at debate, Johnson focuses on reliability, Vallas calls for more cops: Johnson’s response mostly focused on strategies to make transit operate more efficiently and keep CTA staffing at full strength so as to avoid service gaps. “Right now our public transit system is unreliable and it’s unsafe,” he said. “This is why I’m committed to making sure we’re making critical investments, particularly for working people who overwhelmingly rely on public transportation. So we’re going to increase the number of bus-only lanes… We’re going to make sure that there are traffic signals that give preference to [buses.]” […] In contrast, Vallas’s answer focused on addressing crime through more policing. “The CTA is on the verge of financial crisis,” he accurately noted. Vallas cited a stat (apparently solely reported by the conservative website Wirepoints, in an article that called for cutting CTA service) that CTA farebox revenue is only currently accounting for 18 percent of the operating budget when, under state law, it’s normally supposed to account for 50 percent.
* Block Club | Paul Vallas’ Facebook Page ‘Liked’ Comments Calling Chicago A ‘Hell Hole’ And ‘S—cago’ : The page also liked controversial comments about education, including one from Aug. 15 that said, “Shame on the ctu they don’t care about the kids lets get rid of all teachers and start from scratch.” In that same post, Vallas’ page also liked a comment in which a person wrote that “a parochial education is far superior to a public education.”
* ABC Chicago | Chicago alderman candidate for 21st ward claims opponent was untruthful on resume: Dantzler, who is a Navy veteran and retired Chicago firefighter, said while cleaning up the ward is his priority, his biggest concern is his opponent’s resume. “He told some lies about graduating from Morehouse College a lie that didn’t need to be told and when you tell lies what else are you going to lie about,” he said.
* Tribune | Fires continue to kill people in unsafe buildings as Chicago ignores problems with its inspection system: Chicago’s deeply flawed system for identifying and responding to life-threatening safety issues in residential buildings was exposed in a 2021 investigation by the Better Government Association and the Chicago Tribune. Reporters documented dozens of fire deaths in buildings where city regulators had been warned of potential fire hazards but failed to crack down on property owners in time.
* Adam Selzer | Conspiracy theories have long been part of Chicago politics. Consider the 1899 mayoral election: That spring, the incumbent Carter Henry Harrison Jr. squared off against Sanitary Board member Zina Carter, with former Gov. John Altgeld as a third-party spoiler. The Chicago Daily Inter Ocean’s coverage made Harrison sound like a regular Batman villain, with daily stories accusing him of fraud, blackmail, kidnapping and even murder, all aided by men with names like Nobby Clark, Cocoanut Morrisey, and Tommy the Clock. For a week, their pages were dominated by headlines that screamed “Murder For Harrison,” “Mayor’s Thugs Riot,” “Vice and Crime Reign” and “Shall the Scum Triumph?”
Former Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore and three others set to stand trial starting next week for their alleged roles in the ComEd bribery scheme today won a few victories in advance of the proceedings.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber, ruling on a raft of motions before the trial begins on Tuesday, agreed that the deferred prosecution agreement ComEd struck with the U.S. attorney’s office in 2020 — containing ComEd’s admissions to the feds — shouldn’t be part of the government’s case. […]
Another win for the defense was Leinenweber’s denial of prosecutors’ attempt to bar defense lawyers from arguing that the conduct in evidence represented “politics as usual” and wasn’t illegal. That argument is one that’s central not just to this case, but to the trial scheduled for next year of Madigan in connection with the ComEd bribery scheme and other acts.
As a former Illinois state legislator himself, Leinenweber saw “politics as usual” up close. From the defense motion against barring that argument…
(T)he Government seeks to preclude evidence “regarding similar ‘political’ acts engaged in by others or suggesting that defendants’ conduct was simply part of politics or ‘politics as usual.’” But what counts as a similar political act? The Government does not say. If the motion is granted, the parties will undoubtedly have further disputes concerning whether certain acts are “similar” or “political.” Granting the Government’s motions to exclude these vague categories of information would thus replace the clear guidance of the Federal Rules of Evidence with murky boundaries, which is the exact opposite of what motions in limine are intended to do.
(T)he judge presiding over the upcoming trial of the four has ruled that secret recordings forming the backbone of the federal government’s case will not be widely released to the public once they are admitted at trial. Such release is standard practice in Chicago’s federal court. […]
The judge said transcripts of the recordings could be released — though much of what is said in the recordings has previously been divulged. […]
Leinenweber also ruled on several motions during Thursday’s hearing that will govern the trial. And he told attorneys that roughly half of jurors who have already filled out questionnaires could be ruled out of the case based primarily on their answers to three questions.
The questions centered on whether the jurors had already heard anything about the case, and whether they had any preconceived notions about lobbying, the state legislature, ComEd — or Madigan.
All that money spent ruining Madigan’s political brand is apparently getting some jurors booted.
McClain’s Agreed Motion by all defendants jointly to bar evidence or argument concerning an alleged rape in Champaign and the ATT Illinois [Deferred Prosecution Agreement] is GRANTED. […]
McClain’s Sealed Motion 1 in which Defendants McClain and Hooker seek to prohibit the Government from arguing that, as part of the conspiracy and to conceal the nature and purpose of their conduct, the Defendants often referred to Madigan as “our friend” or “a friend of ours,” rather than using Madigan’s true name is DENIED. While this evidence has less relevance in light of Defendant McClain’s prior cooperation with law enforcement, is still relevant as a desire of secrecy. […]
Pramaggiore’s Motion 5 in which Defendants Pramaggiore & Hooker jointly move to exclude any evidence, testimony, or argument concerning the draft introductory remarks written by Keisha Parker about Madigan for Pramaggiore to present at a fundraiser is DENIED. It is allowed for limited purpose of context regarding Madigan’s perceived value to ComEd. […]
Pramaggiore’s Motion 7 in which Defendants Pramaggiore, McClain, & Hooker jointly move to exclude evidence or argument concerning campaign contributions from ComEd, Exelon, or personnel of ComEd or Exelon to Michael J. Madigan, Friends of Michael J. Madigan, or the Democratic Party of Illinois is DENIED. While campaign contributions may be protected by the First Amendment, they may constitute illegal conduct under certain circumstances. It is illegal, for example, to tie a campaign contribution to a promise to vote in a certain way. […]
Doherty’s Motion 3-B to bar references or parallels between this case and gang cases or organized crime cases that use coded language to accomplish its criminal objectives and avoid detection by law enforcement is GRANTED.
Doherty’s Motion 3-C to bar argument that the JDDA contract was paid from the CEO budget as suspicious or a means to conceal the alleged crime is DENIED. The evidence is relevant for intent. […]
The Government’s Motion 3 to exclude argument or evidence designed to elicit jury nullification is GRANTED IN PART.
• 3-A: “Politics as Usual” is DENIED. Defendants may argue that their actions were lawful, constitutionally- protected activity.
• 3-B: Penalties Faced by the Defendants if Convicted is GRANTED.
• 3-C: Allegations of Outrageous Government Conduct is GRANTED.
• 3-D: “Golden Rule” Arguments is GRANTED.
The Government’s Motion 4 to exclude opinion evidence regarding legality is GRANTED There may be instances on cross-examination where such opinions may be relevant, but permission should be sought from the Court.
The Government’s Motion 5 to preclude evidence of, or making reference to, lawfulness, non-corrupt conduct, and prior good acts, except reputation or opinion evidence offered by character witnesses strictly in accord with Rule 405(a) is DENIED IN PART. Defendants may argue that their specific acts were lawful, but the motion is GRANTED as to conduct not alleged as corrupt (e.g., contributions to charitable organizations). […]
The Government’s uncontested Sealed Motion to preclude questioning of a witness concerning a sealed 1991 conviction, etc. is GRANTED.
* We used to have a regular feature at the dawn of this blog called “Friday Topinka blogging.” I’d post an image of our then-state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka and the far-right trolls would come out of the woodwork to fight with the normies. The far-right hated her because she was a pro-choice woman who favored gay rights and they lost their ever-loving minds when she took over the Illinois Republican Party.
Good times.
But the game got old after the trolls scurried elsewhere and I literally ran out of online photos to post (the Internet wasn’t as all-encompassing back then). The cameras loved her and she always obliged…
* I bring this up because Rep. Jackie Haas delivered a speech on the House floor this week to commemorate International Women’s Day and honor Judy Baar. It’s worth a watch, even for you newbies who never had the opportunity to meet JBT…
* Gov. Pritzker | Make natural gas utilities more accountable to customers and the state: It’s unfair and costly to consumers to allow gas companies to get away with not providing basic transparency and safety information to consumers and regulators. During this legislative session we need to adopt a number of measures that will protect gas customers.
* Crain’s | Score a few for the defense as the ‘ComEd Four’ trial looms: Former Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore and three others set to stand trial starting next week for their alleged roles in the ComEd bribery scheme today won a few victories in advance of the proceedings. U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber, ruling on a raft of motions before the trial begins on Tuesday, agreed that the deferred prosecution agreement ComEd struck with the U.S. attorney’s office in 2020 — containing ComEd’s admissions to the feds — shouldn’t be part of the government’s case.
* Chalkbeat | Illinois school funding formula is closing funding gaps for students of color, says report: That formula calculates a target funding level for every district based on the characteristics of the students they serve. For example, districts get additional money for English language learners, which can be used to hire bilingual teachers. The goal was to get each district “adequately funded” by 2027.
* My favorite passage from the Commission on Government Forecasting & Accountability’s latest revenue projections…
FY 2023 began the year able to absorb a $4.6 billion falloff in revenues to reach the Enacted Budget. Given FYTD growth of $2.5 billion, revenues could fall around $7.1 billion over the remaining months of FY 2023 and still reach budgetary level. This level of falloff is not likely.
Hilarious.
* New ad…
Last night, Paul Vallas lied on the debate stage about his record opposing abortion.
We have the receipts, Paul. 🧾
Just like your Republican backers, you said you fundamentally oppose abortion. We can’t let Republicans run Chicago.
On Thursday morning, ICIRR Action announced its endorsement of Brandon Johnson for mayor of Chicago, as well as a partnership with Mijente to get out the vote on his behalf.
“ICIRR Action is making its first ever mayoral election endorsement because there’s a candidate that values and supports immigrant communities: Brandon Johnson,” said Lawrence Benito. “Brandon Johnson has worked alongside communities for years, and is an ally in our struggle. He presents hope for the future of Chicago, while his opponent has a track record of harming Black and brown communities across the country and has the financial backing of Trump supporters. ICIRR Action is excited to partner with Mijente to mobilize immigrant voters across the city to share that Brandon Johnson is the candidate of working families, of our neighborhoods, and of a Chicago that works for everyone.”
“Paul Vallas is a right-wing conservative, and gladly accepts donations from the same MAGA Republicans who view Latinos as a threat,” said Tania Unzueta, Mijente’s political director. “Chicagoans are learning who the true Paul Vallas is — a man who does not respect people of color, has betrayed our public schools, and associates with political extremists. Paul Vallas will never represent our interests. Brandon Johnson has built a multi-racial, intergenerational, and movement-based coalition that will chart a path out of austerity politics and into a Chicago where everyone, no matter their zip code, race and age can thrive. It’s time to elect a mayor who works for us.”
* A recent National Journal story asked what the Democratic Party could learn from Dems who “flipped” three congressional seats. One of those Democrats profiled was Nikki Budzinski. Yeah, she ran a very good campaign. Textbook, even. And she has a real feel for this business. But her district was primarily flipped by mapmakers, who redrew the +3 Republican presidential district into a +11 Democratic presidential district…
Budzinski is one of three Democratic freshmen who flipped red districts in the midterms who spoke to National Journal about how their experience can help Democrats in 2024.
Again, heckuva campaigner who should do well in Congress. And she’s worth listening to because she’s good at what she does. But the big lesson for Democrats out of her race is to draw much more partisan maps.
It is a mad scramble at the Illinois Capitol as lawmakers try to push through nearly 7,000 bills by Friday.
A bill first goes to the “Legislative Review Board,” where a team of lawyers make sure that the proposal is accurate and legal. With so many bills, however, it has taken them a long time to send them out.
Yes, there’s a mad scramble, but most of those bills are shell bills. And I never heard of the Legislative Review Board. Also, the Senate took last week off, so it has only itself to blame.
Dick Simpson, a former Chicago alderman and political science professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Chicago, won’t be giving jurors in the upcoming “ComEd four” trial a lesson in Chicago machine politics after all.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber today agreed to defendants’ motion to bar Simpson from testifying. They had argued it would be prejudicial to their clients — former Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore and former ComEd lobbyists Michael McClain, John Hooker and Jay Doherty.
According to the Government, Professor Simpson will explain to the jury why political workers, such as precinct committeemen and precinct captains respond to incentives to work to get out the vote and that those incentives are the expectation of material benefits. The Court does not find that the subject of this proposed testimony is so enigmatic to require expert testimony. […]
Nor does it convince the Court that Professor Simpson’s testimony is the product of reliable principles or methods. An extensive publishing record is not enough. Although methods vary across fields of expertise, from no field can an expert “waltz into the courtroom and render opinions” not based upon a recognized method. […]
A map of the City of Chicago, and the statutory description of a committeeman and precinct captain can be made by stipulation or judicial notice.
* And here’s your feel-good story of the day, from WGLT…
Electric automaker Rivian has a big order to fill for Amazon — to the tune of 125,000 delivery vans. So when the assembly of one component began to create a chokepoint in the entire production process, the electric vehicle manufacturer with a plant in Normal outsourced the job to a Peoria not-for-profit.
Peoria Production Solutions (formerly known as Peoria Production Shop) was founded in 1941 to provide jobs for people recovering from tuberculosis. Since incorporating in 1951, the mission shifted to providing job opportunities for people with disabilities.
“We have about 309 employees. 60% of those have some form of disability,” said Dan LaTurno, president of Peoria Production Solutions. He said that includes people with vision impairments, mobility challenges, and people with autism.
More than half of the organization’s business is with earthmoving giant Caterpillar. That pipeline of projects is steady, but LaTurno said he also wants to build out other business relationships.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* WBEZ | Few hospitals are willing to bear the cost of providing psychiatric care for kids: The chair in the colorful hallway is weighed down with sand, so heavy it barely budges — and can’t be used as a weapon. Even walls in a patient’s room need to be softer, to cushion the blow of a banging head. In fact, each patient room can cost around $1 million, a steep price tag many hospitals can’t afford, or don’t want to spend. … About a quarter of children in Lurie’s unit are waiting for a bed at a residential facility (there’s a shortage of these beds, too). Some have been waiting for more than three months — and that’s another bed not available for a child referred through SASS.
* Press Release | Reps. Mary Miller, Babin, and Harshbarger Launch the Congressional Family Caucus: For years, we have witnessed a concerted effort by activists on the Left to abolish the natural family. The natural family, a man and a woman committed for life to each other and to their children, was ordained by God as the foundation of our society. The natural family is essential for a nation to prosper because the family is the root of self-government, service, community, and personal responsibility.
* Center Square | Illinois fire officials speak out against bill to allow ground sparklers: Tom Stryczynski, vice president of the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, said the ground sparklers in question contain 500 grams of pyrotechnic materials. “That is the highest level of potency right before you need a professional pyrotechnic’s license to handle them and use them,” Stryczynski said. “That is what you see in the professional shows that are out there.”
* WGN | Northwestern professor is the new Federal Reserve vice chair frontrunner: Northwestern University Professor Janice Eberly has emerged as a frontrunner to become the new vice chair of the Federal Reserve. That’s according to a report by Bloomberg News. Eberly previously served as chief economist for the Treasury Department under President Obama. If selected, she’d replace Lael Brainard. Eberly has been interviewed by the White House Chief of Staff and has met with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Brainard. A final decision hasn’t been made and Eberly would still have to meet with President Biden.
* Bloomberg | How ‘excuseflation’ is keeping prices — and corporate profits — high: And over the last few years, businesses have been able to point to a smorgasbord of “once-in-a-lifetime” emergencies stemming from the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which together have effectively roiled everything from semiconductor production to commodities markets and shipping.
* AP | Maine motorists appeal to keep naughty vanity license plates: Maine had for several years allowed people to put just about any combination of letters and numbers on their vehicle plates, including words and phrases that other states would ban. But the state decided to change course and this year recalled 274 plates it deemed inappropriate.
* WTTW | Chicago Artist Gives Barrettes New Life in Colorful Mosaic Portraits: “Barrettes speak to childhood joys; I hear them,” Strong said. “Edge control, rollers. Every accessory used holds a memory, and it’s comforting. I don’t think I appreciated it as much before. But turning it into art has given me greater appreciation because I didn’t realize how important barrettes were to my childhood.”
Rita Burke, whose 53-year-old son has lived at Choate for more than 30 years, said Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Grace Hou and two other senior state officials called her on Saturday evening to inform her of their plans.
Burke said she was shocked because Ryan Croke, a senior official in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office who was on the call, had previously given her assurances that Choate would not close, and never suggested that large numbers of residents would be forced to leave, she said.
“We are devastated and so disappointed. It seems to us that DHS and the governor’s office are pushing our loved ones out of their homes of many, many years,” said Burke, who is also president of the Friends of Choate parents association. (Asked about Croke’s prior characterization of the administration’s plans, a spokesperson for the governor’s office reiterated that Choate is “not closing” and said it expects to continue a “productive relationship” with families and guardians during the transition.) […]
For people like her son, changes in routine can be extremely disruptive and affect their ability to function, she said. “They can’t be moved like puzzle pieces,” she said. “They’re human beings. I think we need to put the ‘human’ back into the Department of Human Services.”
Burke, a former chair of an IDHS board that reviews internal abuse and neglect investigative reports, said she visits the facility often and maintains that it is safe.
Lutrice Williams, who lived at Choate for about four years until her discharge in 2020, said she was abused during her time there and didn’t get the level of care she needed. In February, an employee pleaded guilty to whipping her repeatedly with a belt in 2020.
There’s more, including the local county board chair blaming, without evidence, outsiders for the problems. Go read the whole thing.
* As I told subscribers earlier, Equip for Equality supports the governor’s move…
Equip for Equality’s Independent Monitoring Unit first documented the troubled-facility’s failures in a 2005 report that called for Choate’s closure. Nearly two decades later, enhanced monitoring activities show little has changed.
* Individuals continue to be segregated from their communities without receiving the necessary services to actually address why they ended up there, leading to needless and harmful lengthy stays.
* Individuals continue to report feeling unsafe where they live, stating that they are afraid of staff and peers, and afraid of retaliation if they report staff abuse.
* Neglect impacts every aspect of individual safety and well-being, from too frequent incidents of peer-to-peer abuse and self-harm to unaddressed health needs.
Choate has simply failed to meet its obligations to the people living there and, as recent Office of Inspector General Reports made clear, these problems are entrenched. “Many of the recent news stories are about incidents that happened a year or more ago. Based on our recent monitoring, we can say without a doubt that these continue to be ongoing issues,” said Stacey Aschemann, Equip for Equality’s Vice President for the Independent Monitoring Unit responsible for monitoring conditions at Choate.
* Isabel’s coverage roundup…
* SJ-R: Gov. JB Pritzker unveiled a behavioral health workforce initiative in Springfield Wednesday intended to improve mental health and developmental disability treatment across Illinois. […] The Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center partners the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine with several other groups … to train mental health professionals and provide better access to services statewide.
* Illinois Senate Democrats: “As the Chair of the Behavioral and Mental Health Committee in the Senate, I understand the incredible input behavioral health specialists have on improving the mental health and well-being of so many Illinoisans,” said State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview). “The BHWEC will be a tremendous support to individuals working towards a career in behavioral and mental health. This will, in turn, address the needs of residents in our state. I look forward to working with the BHWEC and other state organizations to support behavioral health care providers and increase our mental health workforce.”
* Capitol News Illinois: In an exclusive interview before an expected Wednesday announcement, IDHS Secretary Grace Hou outlined a “repurposing and restructuring” of Choate, located in rural Anna, about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis. That process will start with the relocation of 123 residents with developmental disabilities who entered the facility voluntarily — roughly half the current population. In a separate interview with reporters, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said that IDHS has been working on improvements at Choate since he first took office in January 2019. But he said “it became clear, I would say certainly over the last year — and, in part, because of your reporting — that there were more significant changes that needed to be made.”
*KFVS: Gov. Pritzker’s office stated IDHS is taking additional, immediate action to protect resident safety. A Family Liaison Team will be formed to help to support families, guardians and residents with questions and concerns about the change.
* NBC Chicago: The remaining 112, some of whom were ordered by criminal courts to Choate because of their disabilities, will remain while authorities determine the best placement for them and while they redesign Choate’s campus and program for safer and better care. […] Pritzker said he blames the troubles on his predecessors who left centers such as Choate “underfunded and neglected.” He contended his administration knew of the problems when it took over in 2019 and has been making changes while trying to eliminate state debt to ensure there is money to follow through.
* Capitol News Illinois: Terri Bryant, a Republican from Murphysboro whose district neighbors Choate, said she believed the Pritzker administration’s plan is shortsighted and lacking in concrete details. In a call with reporters on Wednesday, she accused the governor of taking the “lazy-man’s route” to fixing safety and workforce issues raised in news reports.
* WPSD: “The real thing that’s getting lost in all of the mix in the press releases that I’ve seen from some legislators and the governor’s office is 123 people who call Choate home, and most of them were not able to settle in any other environment,” said Bryant.
* Tribune: “It’s not like we’ve sat around,” Pritzker said. “All along we have been trying to make the changes that are necessary, and obviously some of them have been ineffective. “And so we’re making transformational change now and this is a big change from the past and it’s taken us four years to build up the funding.”
* A proponent claims the Pritzker administration is quietly opposed to this bill. WCIA…
A bill to create a two-year pilot program for some counties to distribute higher doses of naloxone nasal spray heads to the Senate floor for a second reading.
Under the proposal, the Department of Human Services would provide eight-milligram naloxone nasal spray kits to public health departments and other providers helping people struggling with substance abuse in Sangamon, DuPage, Cook, St. Clair, and Winnebago counties. […]
The Illinois Association for Behavioral Health supports the bill. The association’s CEO, Jud Deloss, said while they are focused on preventing people from reaching the point of an overdose, they believe the proposal is important. […]
The proposal would also require Human Services to put together a data collection program on the number of kits people use for every overdose within the two-year period. They also have to collect data on the number of people who survive an overdose after receiving the spray as well as the number of people who died after using it.
Obtaining official transcripts can be a roadblock for college and university students across Illinois if they owe a past-due debt to the institution. This can hamper their efforts to pursue post-graduate opportunities. State Senator Laura Fine introduced legislation to address this issue, making transcripts more accessible to students, as well as requiring universities to make the process of withholding transcripts more transparent. […]
Senate Bill 49 would expand on this legislation by requiring institutions to provide official transcripts to current or former students if the student requires the transcript to transfer to a different institution, to apply for financial aid, to join the U.S. Armed Forces or to pursue other post-secondary opportunities. The measure also would require higher education institutions to outline the process a current or former student must go through to obtain a transcript or diploma that has been withheld due to debt to the university — making sure students have a clear path to receive their transcripts if they are being withheld. […]
Senate Bill 49 passed the Higher Education committee on Tuesday, March 7. It now goes to the Senate floor for debate.
State Rep. Dagmara “Dee” Avelar, D-Bolingbrook, is working to improve healthcare for diverse populations by introducing legislation to train medical providers to work compassionately with multicultural patients.
“Healthcare professionals must be equipped with the necessary tools to provide people of all backgrounds and identities with high-quality healthcare,” Avelar said. “In the language, they understand regardless of their citizenship status.”
Avelar introduced House Bill 2280, which would require healthcare professionals to complete cultural competency training to ensure effective and affirming care is given to communities of color, people with disabilities, immigrants with or without status, people living with HIV, people who are intersex, and people of diverse faiths, sexual orientations, gender identities, and backgrounds. The training will also provide guidance for practice surrounding language barriers.
Prior to securing his spot in the Chicago mayoral run-off, the campaign for Paul Vallas became a victim of a growing digital deception known as a “deepfake.”
A video, now removed from Twitter, depicted a voice resembling Vallas’ saying erroneous statements regarding police shootings. Current state law is inadequate in providing a legal resource to victims of similar scams, according to proponents of new legislation filed in the Illinois General Assembly.
Senate Bill 1392 and House Bill 2123 would allow the campaign and other victims of digital forgeries to seek legal action against perpetrators who create and share inauthentic media. Both bills advanced out of committee this week as part of a frenzied effort by lawmakers to move proposed legislation out of committees before a Friday deadline.
* SEIU Healthcare Illinois…
On Thursday, March 9, child care center workers will testify in front of the Illinois Child Care Accessibility and Early Childhood Education Committee about the urgent need to address the growing workforce shortage that threatens child care access for working families.
Parents, workers, and the governor all agree that we need to invest in the child care workforce. Illinois faces a child care crisis: providers are leaving the field due to low pay while working families struggle to access affordable, high-quality care. Governor JB Pritzker’s proposed Smart Start initiative represents a key step toward addressing the needs of parents and providers, and would provide much-needed investment in the child care workforce that powers our state.
In order to build on the governor’s plans, the state legislature must take action and invest in the pay, training, and accountability that child care workers and early educators deserve. House Bill 2310/Senate Bill 2053 will address the workforce crisis by improving quality of care in early care and education through responsible contracting, investment in training, and a focus on equity and racial justice.
As the governor’s administration has begun to move toward stable funding through contracts, HB 2310/SB 2053 will put publicly-funded centers on the path to establishing a wage floor of $25/hour, the wage needed to afford a 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the state of Illinois. “We are very much in support of the governor’s goals around stabilizing the child care workforce, said Brynn Seibert, SEIU Healthcare IL Director of Child Care and Early Learning. “And in order to support and grow the child care workforce, we must ensure that every worker makes a living wage, and that every working parent can access affordable early care for their kids.”
An Illinois Senate bill could help Chicago firefighters get promotions more easily and frequently by standardizing the process.
Unlike other departments statewide, Chicago’s force is exempted from the Fire Department Promotion Act, which oversees the process to ensure that is fair and free of bias.
The Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 is in support of Democratic senator Willie Preston’s bill and says the promotional exam is held irregularly, and sometimes happens only once a decade. […]
Senate Bill 1707 passed the Senate Labor Committee Wednesday and now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
* Sen. Julie Morrison…
A steadfast champion of Illinois laws to keep harmful tobacco products away from young people, State Senator Julie Morrison is expanding upon her work by leading a measure to ban e-cigarettes inside public places. […]
In recent years, the use of e-cigarettes – like vapes – has increased tremendously, leading Morrison to work to add such products to the Smoke Free Illinois Act through Senate Bill 1561. […]
“We applaud Senator Morrison for her leadership in strengthening our state’s smoke-free law by passing SB1561 to protect people from harmful secondhand exposure to e-cigarettes in virtually all indoor public places,” said Kristina Hamilton, Illinois advocacy director, American Lung Association. “On behalf of patient advocacy organizations across the state, we look forward to our continued work together to pass this measure in the full Senate and ultimately in the Illinois General Assembly.”
Senate Bill 1561 passed the Senate Executive Committee Wednesday. It now heads to the full Senate for further consideration.
To help support families grieving the loss of a child, State Senator Karina Villa advanced legislation from the Senate Labor Committee that will create the Zachary’s Parent Protection Act.
“No family should have to endure the loss of a child, and my heart goes out to all of those who have ever grieved over the unthinkable happening,” said Villa (D-West Chicago). “This legislation attempts to offer support to families who are grieving by allowing them the proper time to themselves after a loss.”
This bill was inspired when mother Laura Kane lost her son to suicide, yet she was expected to return to work merely three days later. Kane was let go due to not being able to perform her job while grieving the loss of her child. She started a non-profit, Marshmallow’s Hope, in honor of her son and to help children struggling with depression and families struggling with the loss of a child due to suicide.
Senate Bill 2034 provides extended bereavement leave to employees who have lost a child to suicide or homicide: up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for larger businesses with at least 250 workers and six weeks unpaid leave for smaller businesses with fewer than 250.
A bill that would ensure those who identify as Middle Eastern or North African are counted in state data progressed Wednesday.
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.
The bill was introduced in February after a years-long CBS 2 investigation that revealed the devastating impact of data not being collected on this group by federal or local governments. For instance, during the height of the pandemic, Arabs were among those dying at high rates, but CBS 2 found city and state agencies did not have a separate category tracking this information like they do for other groups. Therefore, organizations struggled to obtain funding for resources.
* SB1709 was passed out committee on Wednesday and now heads to the Senate floor…
State Senator Mike Simmons presented legislation to the Senate Behavioral and Mental Health Committee on Wednesday that would increase the availability and accessibility of mental health resources for students.
“Young people today are faced with unprecedented mental health challenges exacerbated by social media, toxic stress, and underlying trauma,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “This legislation will help guide schools in initiating and establishing mental health infrastructure within schools that currently lack it. This also destigmatizes mental health support for youth, and provides access to mental health care and resources for students in a way that is practical and accessible - at their school, during the school day.”
Senate Bill 1709 would require the Illinois Department of Human Services and the State Board of Education to provide technical assistance for mental health care during school days to help increase the access students have to mental health services and information.
A bill that would create a clear legal avenue for victims of “doxing” to seek damages and protections against their perpetrators passed unanimously out of a House committee Wednesday.
Doxing, as defined by House Bill 2954, occurs when an individual intentionally publishes another person’s private information, such as their social security number or home address, without their consent.
Additionally, for a doxing claim to be successful, the individual would have had to publish that information with the intent of harming the other person. In order for a claim to be justified, the victim would have to prove they faced a “substantial life disruption.”.
Fifty-six percent of those surveyed [in a new USA TODAY/Ipsos poll] say [the term “woke”] means “to be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices.” That includes not only three-fourths of Democrats but also more than a third of Republicans.
Overall, 39% say instead that the word reflects what has become the GOP political definition, “to be overly politically correct and police others’ words.” That’s the view of 56% of Republicans.
I’m not sure that’s the Republican definition because I don’t know if anyone has actually described it that way. When the Eastern Bloc accused Gov. Pritzker of trying to turn Illinois into a “woke utopia,” or when they complained about the “far-left woke ideology that is bankrupting our state,” I don’t think they were talking about policing word usage. But whatevs.
The poll, which is here, found that 71 percent of respondents said they’d heard of the term.
40 percent (60 percent of Republicans) said being called “woke” was an insult, while 32 percent (46 percent of Democrats) said it was a compliment. 26 percent didn’t know what it meant.
A strong 76 percent said they opposed “State governments passing laws that ban certain books from school classrooms and libraries,” while 21 percent supported it.
And 66 percent opposed the idea of “Banning corporations from requiring their employees to complete trainings around diversity, equity, and inclusion,” while 30 supported the ban on corporate DEI.
Also, when asked if they supported or opposed “Allowing people to identify as something other than man or woman on government documents, such as birth certificates, passports, or drivers licenses,” 36 percent of respondents supported it and 61 percent opposed it.
* Keep in mind, though, that the way issues are framed can often determine the result. For instance, when respondents were split into two, 72 percent of the first half supported and 26 percent opposed “Teaching the ongoing effects of slavery and racism in the United States in public schools,” while just 41 percent of the second half supported and 53 percent opposed “Teaching critical race theory in public schools.”
Republicans, by the way, opposed teaching kids about the ongoing effects of slavery and racism 53-46. Democrats supported teaching kids CRT 68-27.
When asked if they supported “Using gender-neutral pronouns to describe someone, meaning not he/him or she/her,” the pollster could have explained what gender-neutral pronouns are (they/them, for instance), but for whatever reason didn’t. Anyway, 61 percent opposed the use and 36 percent supported it.
Moderator: But first, let’s get to Mr. Vallas. Last year, you did participate in an event held by Awake Illinois. It is a far right group and it uses rhetoric that you later admitted was hateful. Also in 2009, you said in an interview, you thought of yourself as more of a Republican. [..] What do you say to Chicago voters who question your party affiliation?
Paul Vallas: Let me point out that I’m a lifelong Democrat. I worked for Dawn Clark Netsch and Phil Rock in the Senate. I actually ran for office as a Democrat in the Democratic primary against Rod Blagojevich. And of course, Pat Quinn’s running mate in 2014, which was five years after that interview. And of course, when I ran for mayor, I’ve always declared, and I’ve always registered in the Democratic primary. So my history has always been that of a Democrat.
Moderator: Mr. Johnson, you attended an event in 2020. It was called ‘We Don’t Call Police.’ And that same year, you said it was a political goal to defund the police. […] So, Mr. Johnson, what do you say to Chicagoans who do want more officers in their neighborhoods?
Brandon Johnson: Well, my public safety plan does just that. It’s why my public safety plan, we’re going to promote, train and hire 200 more detectives so that we can actually solve crime in the city of Chicago. You know, it’s going to cost me roughly $50 million to make sure that we are actually administering the consent decree. Right now, we’re not administering the consent decree and we’re not solving violence in the city of Chicago. By promoting and hiring 200 more detectives, we actually can solve crime because it
Moderator: What happens to those officers who are promoted? What happens to refilling those?
Johnson: Look, the way you recruit officers, you’ve got to make sure, people are working on the front line, you can’t ask police officers to do their job and someone’s else. The fact of the matter is, almost 40 percent of the 911 calls are coming through are mental health crises. I know what it’s like to wake up and serve the frontline, right, as a public school teacher, and you don’t ask people to do their job and someone else’s. We have to make sure that we’re providing the support on the front line so that we can alleviate the pressure from police officers so that they can deal with the more violent, serious crimes.
In 2009, Vallas geared up to run for county board president as a Republican, then backed away. And his former running mate Pat Quinn endorsed Chuy Garcia in the first round.
Vallas: Brandon was in part responsible for the shutting down of one of the poorest school systems in the country, with devastating consequences, for 15 consecutive months, and three times threatening to strike to force the mayor to keep schools closed. And if you look at the crime statistics, and you look at the violence and you look at the dislocation and declining test scores, you can see the results.
Johnson: A 100-year pandemic was responsible for everything being shut down. But when you’re supported by someone like Ken Griffin, who loves DeSantis, right-wing extremists who deny the fact that we actually had a pandemic, that’s a problem that we have when you are part of the Republican Party, and that’s why the city of Chicago cannot afford Republicans like Paul Vallas.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
…Adding… Politico says today that US Rep. James Clyburn is endorsing Brandon Johnson. But Johnson once accused Clyborn of “making excuses” for “White supremacy.” Here’s a December of 2020 Johnson comment on Clyburn from an opposition research file…
I am deeply concerned about just the presentation that the former President of the United States made around the movement to defund the police and I talked about it last week for those of you who got up with me every single morning last week as I filled in for Santita Jackson. Thank you so much, that was quite the lift there. But you know what President Obama said, what James Clyburn said, Congressman from South Carolina who played an intricate part in delivering the state of South Carolina for the current president-elect, Joe Biden. You also had even here, right here in Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, that took a shot. You know, really, really low blow at the movement. And so former President Barack Obama believes that the effort to essentially end and eradicate racism from a system that was designed to ultimately capture and to torture Black people, and that system, of course, has been protected over the years. That our work, to move away from this carceral racist system that continues to brutalize and terrorize unarmed Black men especially, but it certainly has had its role in killing Brown folks and women. And we’ve seen case after case after case, that he seemed to have a stronger critique of the movement. And it’s, you know, so-called hashtag, which is a conversation in and of itself, than the folks who are actually causing the harm. But he’s not alone, James Clyburn made this very clear too, that he thought that that was the reason why Democrats were losing. Lori Lightfoot, who the mayor of Chicago who retreated hard to this very conservative approach towards more policing, and calling for more arrests and more incarceration, even though we’ve seen over the course of 40 years that that is just not the right pathway. President Obama caught it, I think he called ‘catchy.’ I think the mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, again, very dismissive of this work. I am interested in your thoughts around just the effort of just organizing to get people to understand how evil the system is, as well as your response to the critique, particularly that’s coming from Black elected leadership, which I’m not opposed to criticizing, and it’s not like racism doesn’t exist. But you can see how White supremacy moves its way into the, to the, essentially to the veins, into the blood, into the pulse of Black electeds, where they’re making excuses quite frankly, for White supremacy
Please pardon all transcription errors.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Fox Chicago: After the forum, both candidates took jabs at one another. Johnson slammed Vallas for his 2021 comments against teaching Critical Race Theory. Vallas has since said he advocates for teaching African American history year-round. “This book was highlighting and lifting up the fact that Blackness in the city of Chicago has value, Paul Vallas banned that book,” Johnson said. Vallas was asked why he didn’t give a response to Johnson when he was accused of being associated with right-wing extremists. “I didn’t want to turn it into a free for all, and this is what Johnson is going to do. He doesn’t want to run on his record, or lack of record,” Vallas said.
* CBS Chicago: Johnson repeatedly attacked Vallas on the grounds that his “budgetary scheme” in previous roles in the 1990s was at least partially to blame for the city’s current financial trouble. He said Vallas worked with the Republican Party in the 1990s to take the dollars that were supposed to go toward pensions – and decades later, the city was left on the hook for $2.5 billion in property taxes that had to be raised to make up the money. Vallas rebutted that as city budget director under Mayor Richard M. Daley, he passed balanced budgets without raising property taxes once. He added that under his watch chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools, property tax hikes averaged only 1.5 percent.
* WBEZ: Vallas dismissed the financial broadside as “nonsense” and a fictionalized account of his six-year tenure as CEO at CPS. “When I took over the Chicago Public Schools, the pensions were 80% funded. When I left, they were over 100% funded. That’s a fact,” Vallas said. “It was not until the pension holiday that was enacted in 2009 or 2010 when they basically stopped making contributions … that the pensions went south. … Actuarially based funding mandates was a very good idea because it allowed us to use money for like teacher pay raises, after-school and extended day programs.”
* WGN: “We’re in this predicament because of the bad accounting measures of Mr. Vallas,” Johnson said. “The truth of the matter is he has not put forth a budget plan because when he put forth a budget plan four years ago, he came in ninth place.”
* ABC Chicago: Vallas and Johnson both agreed public safety is the city’s top problem, impacting neighborhoods, public transportation and downtown business viability, but they offered different solutions. “You make the type of leadership changes and changes in scheduling and changes in management and personnel that do not cause 1,000 police officers to leave every year,” Vallas sad.”We’re gonna promote, train and hire 200 more detectives so we can actually solve crime in the city of Chicago,” said Johnson.
* Sun-Times: Both candidates accused each other of trying to, as Vallas put it, “make race the issue” in the campaign between Black and white candidates where the African-American vote is likely to be decisive. Johnson appeared to fan those flames when he accused Vallas of “hanging out with right-wing extremists who have attacked women” on the issue of abortion and of opposing the teaching of Black history in Chicago Public Schools.
* The Hill: “Paul Vallas, on the other hand, doesn’t believe that children of the city of Chicago should learn Black history. So if we eliminate the type of history that Paul Vallas is trying to promote, they wouldn’t know that the first Black mayor of the city of Chicago was Harold Washington,” Johnson said. […] “Just nonsense again,” Vallas responded at one point. “I actually integrated Black history and all the curriculum in it, and then moved beyond just Black history month in February. I also incorporated African studies into the world history curriculum.”
* Politico: The Chicago Teachers Union is raising members’ dues $8 per month to go toward its political action committee paying for Johnson’s mayoral campaign. CTU’s executive board announced the hike here.
* Tribune: During the debate, Johnson also attempted to tamp down concerns that he is too close with the powerful Chicago Teachers Union, which endorsed and has funded him, but he declined to name an issue on which he disagreed with the organization. “I have a fiduciary responsibility to the people of the city of Chicago, and once I’m mayor of the city of Chicago, I will no longer be a member of the Chicago Teachers Union,” Johnson said.
* Streetsblog: Johnson’s response mostly focused on strategies to make transit operate more efficiently and keep CTA staffing at full strength so as to avoid service gaps. “Right now our public transit system is unreliable and it’s unsafe,” he said. “This is why I’m committed to making sure we’re making critical investments, particularly for working people who overwhelmingly rely on public transportation. So we’re going to increase the number of bus-only lanes… We’re going to make sure that there are traffic signals that give preference to [buses.]” […] In contrast, Vallas’s answer focused on addressing crime through more policing. “The CTA is on the verge of financial crisis,” he accurately noted. Vallas cited a stat (apparently solely reported by the conservative website Wirepoints, in an article that called for cutting CTA service) that CTA farebox revenue is only currently accounting for 18 percent of the operating budget when, under state law, it’s normally supposed to account for 50 percent.
* Bloomberg: Griffin, 54, said in an interview this week in Palm Beach, Florida, that he was done with Chicago politics but wants a Vallas victory. “I’ve had enough of Illinois,” Griffin said. “I will tell you, I really admire my colleagues who have supported Paul Vallas publicly with their voice and with their money. I hope that Paul Vallas becomes the mayor of Chicago.”
* Crain’s: Johnson also repeatedly brought up Chicago’s former wealthiest citizen Ken Griffin’s endorsement of Vallas, using Griffin’s monumental financial support of Republicans and current backing for controversial Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to tie Vallas to the GOP. Vallas, who has received six-figure sums from execs at Griffin’s Citadel, didn’t directly address Griffin’s endorsement, but said the wealthy donors lining up behind his campaign are attracted to him “because they know the city is in crisis and they need someone who can manage the city” and “pull together a leadership team that can run every department.”
* NBC Sports: “I don’t support billion-dollar subsidies for sports teams and I certainly don’t support putting billions of dollars into renovations at Soldier Field,” Vallas said. Johnson drew on his emotional connection to the franchise, invoking memories of growing up with the Super Bowl Shuffle before iterating his desire to negotiate with the franchise while brushing off the idea of subsidizing any potential project.
* The Accuracy Firearms case was brought by attorney Tom DeVore. Darren Bailey is a plaintiff. As I told you last month, DeVore was outmaneuvered by Rep. Caulkins’ attorney and now he’s being left in the dust. Here’s Capitol News Illinois…
The Illinois Supreme Court agreed this week to fast-track the state’s appeal of a Macon County judge’s ruling against parts of a recently passed state ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. […]
Although the Accuracy Firearms case went through an appellate court before reaching the Supreme Court, Attorney General Kwame Raoul appealed the Caulkins case directly to the high court.
In both cases, Raoul filed motions for an expedited hearing schedule. But on Tuesday, the court chose to take only one, accepting the Caulkins case and denying the motion in the Accuracy Firearms case.
According to the court’s order, oral arguments in the Caulkins case are scheduled to be heard sometime in May.
* Anyway, on to the topic at hand. The Center Square has been trying hard to make this an issue…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker doesn’t just appear at the top as a defendant in the Macon County gun-ban challenge in front of the Illinois Supreme Court. He’s also the top donor for two supreme court justices’ campaigns.
Pritzker donated a total of $2 million to then-Illinois Supreme Court candidates Mary O’Brien and Elizabeth Rochford, $1 million each.
According to the Illinois Sunshine database, Justice Mary K. O’Brien reported raising $16.9 million and Justice Elizabeth Rochford reported raising $54.8 million. So, Pritzker’s contributions made up 5.9 percent and 1.8 percent of their respective hauls.
…Adding… I thought this morning that those Illinois Sunshine numbers looked weird, but I got busy and then decided to circle back this afternoon to do my own search. O’Brien raised $3.964 million and Rochford raised $3.916 million. Pritzker’s percentages, therefore, were 25.2 and 25.5 respectively. Sorry about that.
House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon also helped both candidates. Darren Bailey contributed a small amount to sitting Republican Justice David Overstreet, but his case didn’t make the cut, even though it makes nearly identical arguments.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that despite his million-dollar donations to two Illinois Supreme Court justices last year, they are independent and should not have to recuse themselves from two high-profile cases before them in which the governor is a defendant. […]
“If you’re suggesting that the fact that I gave money to let’s say the Democratic Party or the committees that supported candidates means that everybody who’s received any money has to recuse themselves from anything to do with the state of Illinois, that’s ridiculous,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event in Springfield. “And I’ve certainly never asked anybody to vote a certain way or decide on a case a certain way. I would never do that. I never have and I never will.”
Independent observers say judges should recuse themselves where there is any hint of conflict of interest. Chris Forsyth with the nonpartisan Judicial Integrity Project in Colorado told The Center Square that trust in the judicial system is crucial in American society.
* The Question: Should Justices O’Brien and Rochford recuse themselves from any and all cases involving the governor and the legislative leaders? If so, for how long? Make sure to explain your answer.
…Adding… Some context from the comment section…
Is it worth repeating that the judicial canons forbid judges from ever raising money? They can authorize others to raise money on their behalf during a campaign but they aren’t supposed to be directly involved in the ask. They can greet supporters at events, they can mingle with voters, they can go grocery shopping and interact with folks there, but they have more-than-plausible-deniability that they know or care where the money came from.
* Center Square | Pritzker acknowledges some changes at troubled facility haven’t worked: “As we made changes, some of them were ineffective, we have changed them, we have moved them, we added more regulation or oversight,” Pritzker said. “We’re at a point today where it’s clear all of those things weren’t working to the degree that we wanted them to.”
* The Southern | SIU School of Medicine to lead Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center: The new center, which will be housed at the School of Medicine’s Springfield campus, was created in partnership with the Jane Adams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois Chicago, the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Department of Human Services.
* Center Square | Pritzker says it’s ‘ridiculous’ to expect justices to recuse themselves after $2M donations: “If you’re suggesting that the fact that I gave money to let’s say the Democratic Party or the committees that supported candidates means that everybody who’s received any money has to recuse themselves from anything to do with the state of Illinois, that’s ridiculous,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event in Springfield. “And I’ve certainly never asked anybody to vote a certain way or decide on a case a certain way. I would never do that. I never have and I never will.”
* Sun-Times | Bid to block Illinois’ new assault weapons ban now before federal appeals court: Bevis’ lawsuit is one of several challenges filed in state and federal courts since Pritzker signed the law. Four federal challenges have been consolidated in southern Illinois’ federal court, where state lawyers recently argued the weapons restricted by the new law aren’t commonly used for self-defense.
* Tribune | At first debate of mayoral runoff, Johnson attacks Vallas’ record as rival tries to stay above the fray: Over the course of an hour, Johnson repeatedly accused Vallas of wanting to raise property taxes, enacting policies in the 1990s that cause lasting harm to the city and school district’s financial position, and working with Republicans to damage the pension system. Johnson also said Vallas doesn’t want to teach Black history and claimed he does not support women’s abortion rights.
* Tribune | Two former Cook County prosecutors hit with charges in Burge-connected Jackie Wilson case: Two former Cook County prosecutors have been indicted by a grand jury on charges of perjury and official misconduct in connection with a complicated, decades-old case of a man who alleged torture after he was accused in the killing of two cops in 1982, according to a special prosecutor who was assigned to investigate the matter.
* Northwest Herald | Union solidarity bypassed for mayoral runoff candidates: That leads to the second thing worth noting: this election is a perfect example of the rift between the two most powerful labor unions – teachers and cops – while shedding light on how that schism resonates throughout the political and commentary spectrum.
* WaPo | California suspends $54M Walgreens contract over abortion pills policy: “California will not stand by as corporations cave to extremists and cut off critical access to reproductive care and freedom,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a statement. Noting that the state has one of the largest economies in the world, he added that “we will leverage our market power to defend the right to choose.”
* Tribune | UIC students plan to protest far-right speakers Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens at Thursday event: “Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens’ past use of hate speech and discriminatory language against marginalized groups indicates that these figures are in search of furthering divisions and ‘triggering’ people rather than engaging in meaningful discussion,” said a member of UIC Against Hatred who asked to remain anonymous. “The main goal of our rally is to create a space for UIC students to feel free to express their concerns regarding the TPUSA event, the university’s failure to act, and the need for more solidarity and community among students.”
