The National Rifle Association (NRA) and other pro-Second Amendment organizations filed a lawsuit today challenging the Illinois law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker that bans commonly owned firearms and magazines.
“The Supreme Court already ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right to keep arms that are commonly used by the people,” said John Weber, NRA Illinois state director. “Gov. Pritzker’s decision to ignore the court and sign this bill demonstrates a blatant disregard for the rule of law and a willful ignorance of the nightmare he and his anti-gun allies in the statehouse have created with their soft-on-crime policies.”
Originally known as House Bill 5471, the law bans many semi-automatic firearms that law-abiding citizens commonly own for self-defense, competition, and recreation. It also bans certain spare parts for those firearms, handgun magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition, long gun magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, and a “combination[s] of parts” from which such magazines can be assembled. Additionally, the bill also expands the duration of “red flag” law restraining orders from six to 12 months.
“Instead of arresting, prosecuting, and punishing the criminals who break the law, Gov. Pritzker is focusing his attention on those who haven’t broken any laws. The people of Illinois deserve better,” Weber concluded.
That’s definitely one to watch.
*** UPDATE *** Another one…
Members of the Illinois Gun Rights Alliance (ILGRA) today filed a federal lawsuit challenging the recently adopted Protect Illinois Communities Act, alleging it to be an infringement on the constitutionally protected activity of Illinois sportsmen, firearms retailers, distributors, and manufacturers, and lawful users of firearms. Defendants are Governor Pritzker, Attorney General of Illinois Kwame Rauol, and Brendan F. Kelly, Director of the Illinois State Police.
Named plaintiffs in this action are:
• Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois, Inc – the FFL Dealers’ Association
• Guns Save Life – an Illinois-based, grass-roots gun rights organization
• Gun Owners of America - a national grass-roots gun rights organization
• Three private citizens
• One local dealer
“We are, or represent, members and supporters who are law-abiding Illinois residents who seek to purchase, sell, and protect themselves, and/or their homes and families with firearms owned and in common use by millions of Americans for self-defense,” the complaint begins.
“We began with the so-called ‘Assault Weapon’ ban,” said Mandi Sano, FFL-IL Spokesman. “As the Governor and General Assembly gleefully strip law-abiding Illinois retailers and gun-owners of their gun rights, property rights, and privacy, we will not stand by. We will act.”
“Our group has said all along that we will not help the State craft a ‘better bill,’ we will not provide subject matter expertise, and that if the State wishes to read our opinions, it may do so in the complaint,” added FFL-IL President Dan Eldridge.
John Boch, Executive Director of Guns Save Life, Inc. holds that, “the so-called Protect Illinois Communities Act does nothing to actually protect Illinois communities. Its only effect is to criminalize law-abiding gun owners. The General Assembly should instead be holding criminals accountable for violent crimes.”
The measure remains broadly unpopular, sparking a surge in purchases before the Act’s effective date and drawing the opposition of more than 80 of the State’s 102 Sheriffs.
“The Supreme Court has reset the table by striking down New York’s concealed carry ‘may-issue’ law and along with it magazine limits in California and New Jersey, and Maryland’s ’assault weapon’ ban. We seek immediate state-wide relief from enforcement of this unconstitutional law and look forward to prevailing in the Federal Court.” concluded Ms. Sano.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced a settlement agreement today with online used-car retailer Carvana, which admitted to violating Illinois law and agreed to abide by new restrictions aimed at protecting consumers. Illinois was the first state in the nation to suspend Carvana’s license in May 2022.
“The admission by Carvana demonstrates what we knew all along: that Carvana was violating the law in a manner that was harmful to Illinois consumers,” Giannoulias said. “Under my administration, I will do everything to ensure that proper safeguards are in place that protect Illinois consumers regardless of how they purchase a vehicle.”
Click here to watch a video statement from Secretary Giannoulias.
Illinois began investigating Carvana’s practices in February 2022 after customers alleged it was issuing out-of-state temporary registration permits and for failing to transfer titles in a timely manner as required by the state’s vehicle code.
The agreement also calls for Carvana to: adhere to Illinois law in the future; surrender its $250,000 bond; and allow for pre- and post-licensing Secretary of State Police inspections to ensure it remains in compliance. Most important, the settlement agreement allows the Illinois Secretary of State to summarily suspend and revoke Carvana’s dealership license once again if it fails to comply with either the agreement or the laws.
Secretary Giannoulias emphasized that Carvana’s actions of putting unregistered license plates on vehicles jeopardized Illinois consumers who were at risk of being ticketed by law enforcement for driving without proper title and registration.
Prior to the settlement agreement, Carvana was allowed to sell cars, but only under strict guidelines set forth by a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) granted by a DuPage County judge. Under these guidelines, Carvana was not allowed to issue temporary registration permits or license plates, but was required to register titles through Illinois remitters, which are third-party entities licensed in Illinois to process title transactions. This ensured titles would be processed expeditiously.
…Adding… From Carvana…
Carvana, a pioneer in the automotive industry, will continue selling and buying vehicles using the Company’s innovative e-commerce platform as well as its iconic car vending machine located in Oak Brook, Illinois under an agreement reached today with the Illinois Secretary of State.
Upon reaching this agreement, the Company issued the following statement:
“For the past eight years, we have been an economic engine in the state by providing Illinoisans with an unmatched e-commerce experience that includes great selection, home delivery and a 7-day money back guarantee and today’s agreement with the Secretary of State allows us to move forward in our journey to becoming the largest automotive retailer,” said Alan Hoffman, Carvana Head of Corporate Affairs. “We look forward to working with Secretary Giannoulias to ensure customers continue having access to the best car buying and selling experience possible.”
Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) today announced that $113.8 million has been awarded to downstate transit providers as part of the historic, bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program. The funding brings the total investment in downstate transit via competitive grants to $337.8 million, supporting the Governor’s mission to create economic opportunity by improving all modes of transportation while boosting safety and efficiency. […]
Today’s announcement, made in Decatur to celebrate three awards that will help expand the city’s transit campus, install solar panels on a bus barn, and replace older vehicles with hybrids, represents the third round of competitive grants in Rebuild Illinois funding to invest in transit outside the Chicago area. Awards are supporting projects that include the purchase of new vehicles as well as the construction of bus shelters, plus stations and maintenance facilities that expand and improve service. The projects provide more transportation options in downstate communities and promote an enhanced quality of life. […]
A total of 32 transit systems are receiving $113.8 million to advance 44 projects, including:
• St. Clair County Transit District, $10.8 million for the electrification of transit vehicles with supporting charging stations.
• Champaign–Urbana Mass Transit District, $7.2 million for hybrid bus replacement.
• Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District (MetroLINK), $6 million to replace six buses with zero emission buses.
• Sangamon Mass Transit District, $6.9 million for a secondary transfer center.
• Coles County, $70,000 for new bus passenger shelters.
• City of Macomb and McDonough County Public Transportation, $2 million for new buses.
* Something that’s been noted by many since last year’s campaign is the number of junk polls, mainly GOP in origin, flooding the discourse and skewing the average to make a “Red Wave” look much bigger than it turned out to be. As a result, some money shifted away from competitive races to shore up what had been presumed to be comfortable Democratic incumbents. An argument can be made that this may have cost Wisconsin Democrats a Senate seat, among others. And, right here in Illinois, junk polls were used to try to stir up money for and news media interest in Republican candidates who wound up being clobbered. Is this happening again in the city’s mayor’s race?
Here’s a Paul Vallas campaign press release. The first poll is from a GOP pollster and the second is not verifiable…
According to an independent poll by M3 Strategies, mayoral candidate Paul Vallas is now leading the field in the race for Chicago Mayor with 26% of the vote. Vallas is followed by Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, with Mayor Lori Lightfoot in fourth and businessman Willie Wilson in fifth place among the nine candidate field.
“These polling results prove what our campaign already knew — that Paul Vallas is surging and establishing himself as a frontrunner in the race for Mayor,” said Vallas campaign chief strategist Joe Trippi. “Paul’s message of putting crime and Chicago’s safety first is clearly resonating with the voters and our campaign has the financial resources and support necessary to continue driving that message home over the next six weeks.”
SEIU Healthcare Illinois issued the following response to coverage by NBC 5 concerning a poll attributed to SEIU Healthcare:
NBC 5 recently reported on a poll “conducted by Celinda Lake with SEIU Healthcare” stating that NBC had reached out to SEIU Healthcare concerning the poll but had “not yet heard back” from us.
This is not our poll. Our only knowledge of this poll has come from media sources. We are not currently working with Celinda Lake on any polling projects.
We communicated this information to NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern on Sunday evening.
And yet the Vallas campaign still flung it out there.
* WTVO | New Illinois House Budgeteer first woman, African-American to hold position: The Illinois House of Representatives has a new Chief Budgeteer, and she is making history with the new title. Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth is now the first woman, and first African American lawmaker to run budget negotiations for the House.
* Chalkbeat | Illinois public school enrollment continues to drop, preliminary numbers show: Preliminary data released last week by the Illinois State Board of Education shows overall enrollment dropped by about 31,000 students — or 1.7% — between last school year and the current one, according to numbers as of Dec. 14. Chicago Public Schools accounts for at least a quarter of the decline. The district lost 9,000 students and its place as the third largest school district in the country.
* Tribune | Who are the candidates for mayor of Chicago?: Voters in Chicago will head to the polls on Feb. 28 to cast their ballot for mayor, 50 aldermanic seats, the city clerk and city treasurer. There are nine candidates running for Chicago mayor. Here’s what you need to know about each of them.
* Center Square | Illinois lawmaker demands change at embattled child services agency: State Rep. Dan Ugaste can’t see how Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker can remain silent about all the turmoil now going on at the Department of Children and Family Services. “We’ve been pressing the governor for over a year now about all the chaos at DCFS and he simply chooses not to respond,” Ugaste told The Center Square. “I’m again calling on him to do something about the situation that only seems to be getting worse by the day.”
* Tribune | Chicago is a key battleground as railroads struggle to figure out the future: The turbulent week stands as an apt metaphor for the state of the nation’s railroads, and the role of Chicago and its suburbs as the biggest freight hub. They’re key battlegrounds as the U.S. struggles to decide what sustainable growth means, and whether it’s possible.
* Sun-Times | Is ShotSpotter missing the mark?: We also see it as yet another flaw with the high-priced system. It was sold to the Chicago Police (and other departments more than 140 cities) as a law enforcement tool that is accurate and technologically-advanced — with heavy emphasis on the ‘technology’ part — but time and again, it has proven to be considerably less-than-advertised.
* Crain’s | City touts ’social bonds’ sale as success: According to the city, 8% of the bond offering, or $12 million, went to Chicago retail investors who were able to make investments from a minimum of $1,000 up to $1 million. Illinois residents made up 24%, or $38 million, of the purchases. And $88 million in orders came from “11 ESG-focused investors,” following outreach to the ESG market ahead of the offering to learn how to structure what services the city would fund with the bond proceeds.
* KFVS | Southern Illinois native appointed new IDNR director: SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (KFVS) - A former Illinois State Representative and southern Illinois native has been named the new director of Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Governor JB Pritzker appointed Natalie Phelps Finnie to lead IDNR on Monday, January 23.
* Crain’s | Rivian’s chief lobbyist is leaving the company: His departure comes after several top executives at the startup, including the vice president overseeing body engineering, its supply-chain chief and general counsel, have exited in recent months as the company seeks to implement cost-cutting measures.
* AP | EPA considers tougher regulation of livestock farm pollution: EPA has not revised its rules dealing with the nation’s largest animal operations — which hold thousands of hogs, chickens and cattle — since 2008. The agency said in 2021 it planned no changes but announced Friday it had reconsidered in response to an environmental group’s lawsuit.
* SJ-R | Here’s what you need to know about the snow headed to Springfield and central Illinois: A relatively quiet winter in central Illinois is about to get a bit busier this week, with nearly half-a-foot of snow expected for much of the area. The National Weather Service in Lincoln has issued a winter weather advisory for Sangamon County and areas north of Interstate 72, beginning at 9 p.m. and continuing through Wednesday. NWS says that 2-6 inches of snow are expected for areas in this band, with slick roads coming as a result of the blanketing.
* Sun-Times | Thousands of letters — some sent from Chicago nearly 2 centuries ago — up for auction: One piece of mail on the block features faded red fountain pen looping across an envelope mailed in 1833 from Chicago to Connecticut. Another is an envelope from the 1860s with the words “Death to Traitors” stamped in one corner — which showed support for the North during the Civil War.
* Gov. Pritzker was asked today why he hadn’t yet reappointed DCFS Director Marc Smith to a new term…
Q: Yesterday, your office announced a bunch of appointments to state agencies, reappointments. Obviously, last week,there was a lawsuit filed against DCFS, a class action lawsuit in Chicago. Do you intend on keeping Marc Smith the director of DCFS?
Pritzker: We haven’t made all of the announcements, as you know. We have I think 25 or 26 agencies that we need to announce the appointments or reappointments for and so he’ll be in a subsequent batch of those announcements.
Last week, sources confirmed in several reports that García is the unnamed congressman in the federal ComEd corruption case. Specifically, his name came up in connection with what federal prosecutors allege was a scheme by Madigan to get former Cook County Commissioner Juan Ochoa appointed to the ComEd board.
The Chicago Sun-Times has learned Garcia’s name is mentioned in a recorded phone conversation between Madigan and his longtime confidant, Michael McClain, one of four people set to go on trial for the alleged scheme revolving around ComEd.
The mayor also took swipes at Garcia after sources told ABC7 that Garcia was the unnamed member of Congress that was mentioned in court papers released last week in the Madigan corruption case.
The disclosure, which even the Tribune said only “superficially” involved Garcia, is that Garcia is the unnamed “member of Congress” referenced in a recent federal filing in the pending corruption case against Madigan associate Mike McClain and others. Garcia’s name got mentioned by McClain in connection with a planned meeting in early 2019 on another matter. But McClain feared that a third person, former Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority chief Juan Ochoa, might ask about the status of Madigan’s effort to coerce ComEd into putting Ochoa on its board.
In fact, I’m told the meeting never occurred. I’ve seen no proof Garcia did anything to advance the Ochoa appointment, just as his campaign told the Tribune. As per previous reports by the Tribune and Crain’s, it was another former congressman, Luis Gutierrez, who, starting in 2017, really got Madigan involved in the board matter, along with former Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The other matter was a political action campaign that Garcia and Ochoa were putting together. As Greg said, the meeting never happened. And I don’t think the PAC ever even came to fruition. [Actually, it did. Click here.]
* Some reporters may be going over the top here in order to mete out a bit of “street justice” on Chuy after failing to connect some dots earlier. Garcia years ago cut a strategic deal with Madigan. Garcia had free rein to run Latino candidates against any “regular” Democrats he wanted and Madigan wouldn’t make any major moves against his candidates, as long as Garcia steered clear of the 13th Ward and the 22nd House District.
A 28-year-old woman unsatisfied with the way in which House Speaker Michael Madigan handled her accusations of sexual harassment against a top aide is taking her complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“I firmly believe they thought that I was too loyal to ever come forward,” Alaina Hampton said Tuesday of Madigan and his allies.
Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, the one-time machine-fighting rebel who three years ago challenged Mayor Rahm Emanuel for re-election, but now is moving to Congress—assuming he defeats a Republican in November—endorsed state House Speaker Mike Madigan today for a new term as chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party.
“As a progressive Democrat, it is my intention to support a state party chair who will work with me to advance our most fundamental goals,” Garcia said in a statement
* There’s also the schadenfreude angle. One of Garcia’s top guys worked to defeat state Rep. Mike Zalewski in the Democratic primary last year in part by bashing Z’s connections to Madigan. But now, the Madigan spin is going the other way.
* If you go to attorney Tom DeVore’s website, you’ll see a link to sign up to be a plaintiff in his second lawsuit against the state’s assault weapons ban. Registration is now closed.
* Devore’s first lawsuit, filed in Effingham County, has 866 plaintiffs. The second lawsuit, filed in White County, has 1,690 plaintiffs.
This adds up to 2,556 plaintiffs - so far. At $200 a pop, that would be $511,200. He’s also taking donations.
All for filing copy and paste lawsuits over legislative procedural matters that were long ago settled by the Illinois Supreme Court and don’t look to be altered anytime soon, particularly with the new 5-2 Democratic dominance.
Some area Democratic members of Congress, state lawmakers and DuPage County Board members gathered Monday to call on DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick to retract his statement or resign after he said he will not enforce the state’s new assault weapons ban.
Mendrick, a Republican, issued a statement Jan. 13, saying he believes the new bill violates Second Amendment rights and that his office won’t be checking to ensure that lawful gun owners register their weapons with the state nor arresting or housing anyone charged solely with not complying with the act. […]
Lawmakers, including U.S. Reps. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove; Delia Ramirez, D-Chicago; Bill Foster, D-Naperville; and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Schaumburg, spoke at Monday’s news conference at Danada House in Wheaton, calling Mendrick’s statement irresponsible.
“I just want to say with one voice, we cannot wait another day, we cannot wait another hour, we cannot wait another minute for the sheriff to do his duty because lives depend on it,” Krishnamoorthi said.
The sheriff did not say what he would do about individuals and/or stores if they sell the newly banned assault-style weapons within his county.
In a news conference on Monday, Casten called Mendrick’s position “dangerous and unconstitutional.”
“His actions are going to make future mass shootings more likely,” Casten said. “They are going to compromise the safety not only of civilians who want to go out and celebrate their holidays, but he’s going to put the police officers who are there to protect them directly in the line of fire.”
DuPage County Board Chair Deb Conroy also has criticized Mendrick’s position, saying the sheriff “should not be playing politics with state laws.”
In a lengthy statement released on Monday, Mendrick again criticized the new law as “poorly written” and for having “no clear direction on who will be enforcing new gun laws.” He said he was contacted by Casten on Jan. 16 about enforcing the law.
“There is absolutely nothing that we are doing or not doing that would make a mass shooting more accessible in DuPage County,” Mendrick said in the statement. “In fact, I have asked on multiple occasions to increase penalties on all existing gun crimes, but it does not appear that they want to have that conversation. They seem more concerned with lawful gun owners than people illegally possessing guns.”
In a statement released Monday afternoon, Mendrick struck back at the lawmakers saying, “When elected officials are blatantly untruthful, maybe they are the ones who should consider resignation.”
“There is absolutely nothing that we are doing or not doing that would make a mass shooting more accessible in DuPage County,” he added. […]
All but a handful of Illinois’ county sheriffs have said they won’t enforce the ban. Many of them did so by posting letters almost identical to Mendrick’s.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said he is not one of them. Speaking at the City Club Monday Morning, Dart said sheriffs take and oath to uphold the law, “not our version of it.” He said it is “wildly premature” to make such pronouncements when the Illinois State Police have not given any clear guidance on how the law will be enforced.
Mendrick, who previously suggested he believed compliance checks would be tied to the law, also took note that lawmakers on Monday said they would not be asking officers to go door to door to ensure weapons were legally registered.
“That is a big win for our law-abiding citizens and for law enforcement,” he said.
In clarifying that house-to-house inspections were not expected, state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, a Naperville Democrat, said the weapons ban would come into play if the person was involved with another crime. Using an example of a domestic violence call where guns are involved, Stava-Murray questioned if Mendrick would follow the new law.
“Is he going to enforce our automatic weapons ban if that’s an unregistered weapon?” Stava-Murray said. “He said no, he’s not going to. That seems very dangerous.”
In his statement Monday, Mendrick, a Republican, said it was “disheartening” to hear Stava-Murray suggest he would not enforce the law when he has said he would enforce the weapons ban when it involves other illegal activity.
Again, no word on whether he’ll enforce the new law on people who buy and sell the banned weapons.
Casten challenged critics to lay out their constitutional arguments.
“By the way, your argument can’t be, ‘Well, there’s different people on the Supreme Court now.’ That’s not a constitutional argument,” he said.
Former State Senator Darren Bailey, the GOP nominee who lost his November bid to unseat Governor Pritzker, was among the downstate Republicans who filed a lawsuit in Effingham last week.
“Well, umm…I think…I don’t know that the FOID card has…the background checks…You know, with the federal background checks, I think we all agree,” he stammered [when asked why he believed the law was unconstitutional]. “I don’t think we have… yeah, we can look at that. There’s an…there’s an area of compromise. You know?
“We can say, alright, ‘Shall not be infringed,’ but yet we understand that sometimes these guns fall into the hands of the wrong person. So we have the federal, you know, firearm background check. That’s exactly what it does, and I don’t see anyone arguing that. But to come here into Illinois and to add the FOID card, and to continue to add these restrictions, that’s an infringement,” Bailey said.
During a nearly hourlong interview over the weekend on AM-560’s “Black and Right” radio program, Mendrick was critical of the weapons ban, claiming sheriffs were not consulted in drafting the new law.
Sheriff Mendrick: And you know, what’s going to happen when we send this three-man team to a citizen’s house and they’ve never committed any crime, but they really don’t want to give up their weapons and we get into some type of standoff, and then somebody gets shot or all these people are gonna back me then?
Host: No
Sheriff Mendrick: And I bet they’ll go and say I should’ve never been doin’…
Host: Especially if it’s a Black person.
Sheriff Mendrick: [Crosstalk] Yep.
Host: A white sheriff a black dude, they will…
Sheriff Mendrick: I’d be eaten alive.
Whew.
Also, if the sheriff thinks assault weapon owners are that mentally disordered that they would shoot at police, why is he defending them?
And wouldn’t it stand to reason that we would maybe increase the penalties for these 3-D-printed ghost guns? We could actually, if they would make that like child pornography make it illegal to possess a program. My digital forensics lab could do a keyword search algorithm and we could find all the illegally being made guns on the program. Nobody will enhance penalties, though. Nobody will increase crimes that could be charged with.
Governor JB Pritzker signed HB4383 into law, banning the sale and possession of so-called ‘ghost guns’ statewide. ‘Ghost guns’ refer to unserialized, privately made firearms that are often sold as a set of parts to be assembled at home, allowing prohibited purchasers to circumvent background checks. Ghost guns cannot be traced by conventional means and can be created on a 3-D printer, leaving no record of their ownership.
* Crain’s | Wealth tax plan pushed in Springfield: Under a proposal being introduced by Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, anyone with a net worth of at least $1 billion would have to pay 4.95% of it off the top to the state each year regardless of whether investment markets are rising or falling and notwithstanding underlying economic conditions.
* Capitol News Illinois | State preparing further defense of assault weapons ban: Raoul’s office filed the petition in the 5th District Appellate Court in southern Illinois, arguing that Effingham County Judge Joshua Morrison had abused his discretion and the plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed in their lawsuit, thus the restraining order was granted incorrectly.
* Tribune | Lawmakers call on DuPage sheriff to enforce assault weapons ban: Lawmakers, including U.S. Reps. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove; Delia Ramirez, D-Chicago; Bill Foster, D-Naperville; and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Schaumburg, spoke at Monday’s news conference at Danada House in Wheaton, calling Mendrick’s statement irresponsible.
* 25 News Now | Pritzker rival Darren Bailey tops list of new plaintiffs in second assault weapon ban suit: This time the suit is based in White County, Illinois, which is near the southern Illinois border. The law offices of Tom DeVore, a Bailey ally and former Attorney General candidate, say around 1,500 residents have signed on to the second suit. The same three state leaders are listed as defendants: Gov. JB Pritzker, Speaker of the House Emanuel “Chris” Welch, and Senate President Don Harmon.
* WGN | Lightfoot takes aim at García over Madigan association, ComEd scheme: ‘Come clean’: Emerging from a session with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board on Monday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot unloaded on mayoral challenger Congressman Jesus “Chuy” García.“Congressman García has got to come clean with the voters of the city about what his connection is, not only to the now-disgraced, indicted, former [Michael Madigan] but also what his connection is to this evolving, deep ComEd scandal,” she said.
* WTTW | Chicago Police Face Renewed Questions About Extremist Cops as Lightfoot Dismisses Concerns: And twice in the past three months, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has declined to answer questions from WTTW News about whether the continued presence of an officer who admitted belonging to the Oath Keepers and another officer with ties to the Proud Boys will complicate efforts to reform the beleaguered Chicago Police Department and rebuild Chicagoans’ trust in the department.
* WTTW | Ethics Board Asks City, CPS Inspector Generals to Probe Lightfoot Campaign Emails Sent to Teachers, College Instructors: The call comes after the Lightfoot campaign sent emails to CPS teachers and City Colleges of Chicago faculty seeking student volunteers to help her win reelection in return for credit. The discussion that led to the vote by the members of the Chicago Board of Ethics took place in closed session and the board’s action did not name Lightfoot, in keeping with the board’s rules.
* The New Republic | Who Is Brandon Johnson? More on the Chicago Mayoral Challenger With a History in Organizing: Johnson, a teacher and organizer, has emerged among the top candidates in a race that requires the winner to cross a simple majority threshold. If no candidate reaches at least 50 percent in next month’s election, which is the likely case, the top two vote-getters will proceed to an April runoff. Johnson, whose candidacy garnered no opinion from more than 70 percent of voters as recently as last month, is already putting up a formidable fight.
* Block Club | South Side Aldermanic Candidate Knocked Off Ballot After Officials Say She Lives In Wrong Ward: City Council candidates generally are required to have lived in their ward for at least a year prior to the election. Because the ward boundaries were redrawn in 2022, candidates can run for office in any ward that includes a part of the ward they lived in before redistricting, the elections board announced in October. But 8th Ward residents are only eligible to run in the 6th, 7th and 8th wards under those rules. The 5th and 8th Ward boundaries never overlapped, so Irmer can’t be elected as 5th Ward alderperson, commissioners said.
* WTTW | Trans Former Bus Driver Sues CTA, Union for Discrimination and Wrongful Termination: In 2019, WTTW News covered his successful push for the transit agency to add gender affirming care to its health insurance policy. That includes a range of health care designed to support transgender people, whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Since that breakthrough, Brown has been fired from his job as a driver. He’s now suing the CTA and the union representing bus operators alleging discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination.
On Monday, former Republican nominee for Attorney General Tom DeVore and former Illinois State Senator and Republican nominee for governor Darren Bailey filed a lawsuit in White County, challenging Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s assault weapons ban, after an Effingham County Judge issued a temporary restraining order late Friday night while the lawsuit proceeds.
The lawsuit raises the same claims as the one filed last week in Effingham County and names Gov. JB Pritzker, State Senate President Don Harmon, D, Illinois House Speaker Christopher Welch, D, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul, D, as defendants.
The lawsuit names over 1,600 plaintiffs, including Bailey; 68 federal firearms dealers and 92 counties, and is based on alleged violations of the Illinois Constitution. One alleged violation is of the Equal Protection Clause, because the Assault Weapons Ban provides exemptions for certain groups – for instance, active and retired law enforcement are exempted from the ban, as well as active military and private security guards.
Retired military, however, much like the general population, are not exempted from the ban. DeVore argues that these exemptions create unconstitutional classes of citizens where legislators have decided who is subject to the ban and who is not.
A hearing is scheduled for this Wednesday at 9:00 am at the White County Courthouse.
* Meanwhile, from the appeal filed today by the attorney general’s office of that aforementioned Effingham ruling…
The circuit court’s determination that plaintiffs had a clear right in need of protection and were likely to succeed on the merits was based on an incorrect view of the law. Accordingly, the court necessarily abused its discretion.
First, the court incorrectly held that the Act likely violates the single-subject rule. That rule prevents “the combination of unrelated subjects in one bill to obtain support for the package as a whole, when the separate parts could not succeed on their individual merits.” Kane Cnty. v. Carlson, 116 Ill. 2d 186, 214 (1987). It “does not impose an onerous restriction on the legislature’s actions” but “leaves the legislature with wide latitude in determining the content of bills.” Johnson v. Edgar, 176 Ill. 2d 499, 515 (1997). Indeed, the legislature must “go very far to cross the line to a violation of the single subject rule.” Id. at 515-16. […]
Rather than examine the provisions of the Act, it looked primarily to the Act’s title and concluded that because the title did not explicitly mention firearms, the Act violated the single-subject rule. SR2010. As support, the court relied on People v. Boclair, 202 Ill. 2d 89 (2002). But in Boclair, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected the circuit court’s approach: the Court explained that “an act’s title is not necessarily dispositive of its content or its relationship to a single subject,” and on this basis “reject[ed]” the “heavy reliance on [the act’s] title to support [the single- subject] claim.” Id. at 109. The circuit court also incorrectly suggested that the Act violates the single-subject rule because it references human and illegal drug trafficking alongside illegal firearms trafficking. SR2010. On the contrary, the trafficking provision relates to the regulation of firearms because all of the crimes identified are frequently perpetrated with firearms. […]
Second, the circuit court wrongly held that plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the Act violates the three-readings requirement in Article IV, section 8(d) of the Illinois Constitution. But section 8(d) further provides: “The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate shall sign each bill that passes both houses to certify that the procedural requirements for passage have been met.” Ill. Const. art. IV, § 8(d). This is known as the “enrolled bill doctrine”; it “mean[s] that, upon certification by the Speaker and the Senate President, a bill is conclusively presumed to have met all procedural requirements for passage,” including the three-readings requirement.
The Illinois Supreme Court has consistently held that the enrolled bill doctrine precludes litigation challenging certified legislation for failure to comply with the three-readings requirement. E.g., Friends of Parks v. Chi. Park Dist., 203 Ill. 2d 312, 328-29 (2003) (collecting cases). The circuit court recognized that the enrolled bill doctrine foreclosed this claim, but declared it was “time to revisit this practice,” and concluded plaintiffs were likely to succeed on this claim based on the Illinois Supreme Court’s decades-old remark that it “‘reserve[d] the right to revisit this issue.’” SR2011 (quoting Geja’s Cafe, 153 Ill. 2d at 260). But while the Illinois Supreme Court reserved its right to revisit this issue, circuit courts cannot declare “precedent a dead letter.” Yakich v. Aulds, 2019 IL 123667, ¶ 13. Because the enrolled bill doctrine unambiguously remains good law, “the [circuit] court committed serious error by not applying it.”
Third, the circuit court’s conclusion that plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their procedural due process claim represents another misapplication of the law. A plaintiff may not base a due process claim on the alleged violation of a different constitutional provision. See People v. Patterson, 2014 IL 115102, ¶ 97; In re A.C., 2016 IL App (1st) 153047, ¶ 60. But that is precisely what plaintiffs are doing here: their due process claim rests entirely on the legislature’s alleged failure to comply with the single-subject and three-readings clauses of the Illinois Constitution.
Furthermore, plaintiffs have failed to identify an individual property interest, which is a necessary element of a procedural due process claim. Vill. of Vernon Hills v. Heelan, 2015 IL 118170, ¶ 31. Plaintiffs have no such interest in the single-subject or three-readings clauses. Not only that, Illinois courts have recognized that the legislative process itself affords any process due. […]
The circuit court recognized these obstacles, yet declined to apply them based on its conclusion that the enrolled bill doctrine should be eliminated. SR2012. But as explained, only the Illinois Supreme Court may overrule its own interpretation of the Illinois Constitution, and the enrolled bill doctrine’s place within it.
There’s lots more. But that appellate court is gonna be a very hostile environment, to say the least.
…Adding… With a hat tip to a commenter, you gotta check this out. It’s like he didn’t prepare for the assignment and was called to the front of the class to explain the topic…
Here’s what Darren Bailey said when reporters asked him to explain why a legal requirement to register assault weapons was unconstitutional and different from other forms of background checks: pic.twitter.com/LD32StHuVG
Immediately after receiving word that Governor Pritzker had signed the budget bill (SB 2801) authorizing repayment of the remainder of the COVID-19 unemployment insurance Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza Monday began making the transfers of $1.37 billion so that IDES could pay the federal government.
The payoff saves Illinois $20 million in interest costs that would have been due in September had the loan not been paid off. Other states such as California, New York and Connecticut have yet to pay off their COVID-19 unemployment insurance loans.
In preparation for this day coming, Comptroller Mendoza had directed staff to begin setting money aside so the check could be sent the moment Governor Pritzker signed the bill passed by the General Assembly in recent days and save on interest.
“We have been preparing for this day to pay back the remainder of the COVID-19 unemployment insurance loan and stop the interest-meter running for taxpayers,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “This is one more sign Illinois is earning the upgrades from the bond-rating agencies who see the work we have done to fix Illinois’ finances.”
The agreement announced by Governor Pritzker in November between business and labor negotiators, bipartisan members of the General Assembly and the administration to use $1.37 billion in better-than-expected state revenues to pay off the remainder of the $4.5 billion loan eliminated the need to ask state businesses to pay more into the fund or to cut unemployment benefits for state workers.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused unprecedented unemployment claims as businesses shut down, patrons stayed home from restaurants and theaters and business owners had to lay off workers. Illinois, like other states, exhausted its reserves of funding for unemployment claims and needed advances from the federal government.
The agreement will contribute more than $1.8 billion in state funds to the unemployment insurance trust fund. In addition to paying off the $1.37 billion to the federal government, an additional $450 million will be placed into the trust fund from state funds as an interest-free loan to help strengthen the fund. As the loan is repaid over the next 10 years, funds will be deposited directly into the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
“Any chance the state has to contribute more money to the Rainy Day Fund, we should take,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “Catching up to other states’ Rainy Day reserves signals to the bond-rating agencies how serious Illinois is about fixing our finances. That leads to credit upgrades, which means lower costs for taxpayers.”
That tweet was shared on a groupchat I’m in and, since I don’t use ChatGPT, I asked the others what I could use the AI site to do. One participant suggested this…
Explain why the Illinois Freedom Caucus is not an effective political force within the Illinois General Assembly.
The Illinois Freedom Caucus is a group of conservative and libertarian lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly who advocate for limited government and fiscal responsibility.
While the group may have some influence on the legislative agenda, it is not considered to be an effective political force within the Assembly for several reasons:
• Lack of numbers: The Freedom Caucus is a relatively small group within the General Assembly, and therefore lacks the numbers to effectively push their agenda or control the outcome of votes.
• Limited influence within their own party: Even among Republicans, the Freedom Caucus’ conservative and libertarian views may not align with the majority of the party, making it harder for them to gain support for their initiatives.
• Limited resources: Without significant financial resources, the Freedom Caucus may struggle to effectively advocate for their positions and influence the legislative process.
• Political climate: In Illinois, the Democratic party holds a large majority in both chambers of the General Assembly, making it difficult for the minority Republican party to advance their agenda.
It’s important to note that the political landscape and situation of Illinois Freedom Caucus may change over time and it may gain more influence and numbers in the future.
* Natalie Finnie will be the new Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director. From a press release…
Finnie has served as Deputy Director of DNR since August of 2021 where she oversaw the Office of Land Management, Legislative Department, Office of Oil & Gas Management, and Office of Mines and Mineral. Prior to this, she was the State Representative of the 118th District from 2017 to 2019. She has experience as an Advanced Practice Nurse and Family Nurse Practitioner. Finnie received her Associate of Science and Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Southern Indiana. She received her Master of Science in Nursing at Vanderbilt University
Former Director Colleen Callahan was asked to leave, according to her…
“I am not angry nor am I ticked off.”
That’s because she understands whether a presidential appointment, which she had earlier in her career, or the state-level, you serve at the pleasure of the leader. She admitted to being disappointed and hurt by the request.
Finnie is from the Phelps family.
According to the same release, the directors of the departments of Human Rights, Human Services, Veterans’ Affairs, Military Affairs, Agriculture, Aging, Financial and Professional Regulation, Public Health and Revenue will all be sticking around, as will the State Police Director, IEMA’s director and the Assistant Adjutant Generals of Army and Air. No word yet on embattled DCFS Director Marc Smith.
Illinois ranked 19 out of 51, including DC, for total energy cost per household. Our annual household energy spending was $1,795 in 2020, compared to the US average of $1,911.
Illinois ranked 13th on energy reliability and performance in 2022, down from 5th in 2021. We were one notch below the national average for restoring power when factoring in “major event days” at 358 minutes in 2020. Without major event days factored in, we were 5th in the nation, at 85 minutes.
Illinois was 12th in the nation on environmental rankings in 2020, up eight notches. The state of Washington was first, West Virginia was dead last. And Illinois was 10th in the nation in renewable electric generation in 2021. As far as “clean” generation goes, we ranked 2nd.
In 2019, Durkin received a “regal invitation” to a private reception for Great Britain’s Princess Anne in Chicago.
“I was stunned,” he said. “Well, well, I’ve certainly come a long way from the small house I shared with my brothers Tom, Kevin, Terry, Mike, Pat, Bob and Bill in our middle-class neighborhood, where I always sat at the little kids table. I had arrived!
“So I followed all the protocols, even curtsied … bowed my head … although Princess Anne seemed to roll her eyes when I told her I was head of the Illinois Republican House.
“But, at the end of the reception, I found out my invitation was a mistake. I had been confused with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin!”
* From Rep. Ann Williams’ constituent newsletter…
Just two years ago, in January 2021, we began the 102nd General Assembly meeting in the cavernous Bank of Springfield Convention Center, with our desks six feet apart amid an ongoing pandemic. Along with 18 of my colleagues, I pushed for new leadership in the Illinois House and welcomed Emanuel “Chris” Welch as the first black Speaker to guide us through a challenging time of transition - and accomplishment. We established Illinois as a global leader in clean energy through passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) and passed a sweeping criminal justice reform package. We supported small businesses and our healthcare system through unprecedented times, balanced our budget and earned six credit rating boosts as a state. It was a whirlwind few years.
The end of the 102nd GA - the remaining few days in January referred to as the ‘lame duck’ session - was no different. We wrapped up the session by passing an assault weapons ban, increasing access to reproductive healthcare and gender affirming care, ramping up renewable development as a follow-up to CEJA, providing for greater investment in the revenue-generating tourism and hospitality industries, and more.
A new poll released today by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s campaign indicates that while her support has softened a bit in the last month as she’s come under strong attacks from rivals, she’s still ahead a tad.
But the poll also indicates that former Chicago Public Schools chief Paul Vallas is surging and now is in a statistical tie with Lightfoot for the lead. […]
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Lightfoot 25%
Vallas 22%
Garcia 18%
Wilson 11%
Johnson 9%
Unsolicited advice: Garcia needs to get himself on the teevee and stop talking about Congress. Almost everybody hates Congress.
* Friendly reminder…
Ok. IL lobsters. Don’t forget your 2023 ID badges. 8-4 M-F. Get it done before the rush. Besides, you don’t want to miss the 19th century paint. pic.twitter.com/UN4o1ij458
We received numerous communications from people who believe the Sangamo Club is closing following the SJR article dated January 19, 2023.
We are not closing. Whether we sell the building or not, we intend to remain open. We have a new chef who has greatly improved our menu, our kitchen, and our service. We hope to be in business for another 133 years.
…Adding… Press release…
Today, Congressman Jesús “Chuy'’ García, candidate for Mayor of Chicago, received the endorsement of State Senator Ram Villivalam, 40th Ward Alderperson Andre Vasquez, the 39th Ward Democratic Organization, and Vote Assyrian.
“Chuy is my choice for Mayor. As a state legislator, I know that we will have a strategic partner in Chuy to work together in a collaborative manner and best serve our constituents,” said Villivalam. “I’ve seen how Chuy works with communities across our city and brings their voices to the halls of Congress. I am thankful for his invaluable work to deliver billions of federal dollars and investments during the pandemic that saved our city and paved the way for historic improvements in transit and infrastructure across Chicagoland.”
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup…
* Crain’s | Durbin leads Democrats critical of Biden over documents mess: Biden should be “embarrassed by the situation,” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said the crisis meant Biden no longer held the moral high ground on an issue that had hurt Donald Trump, the former president and Biden’s 2024 rival. An FBI search last year of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence revealed he had taken boxes of classified material with him to Florida.
* Talking Points Memo | Certainly Illinois Can Do Better Than Dick Durbin: I’ve been hearing from people in and out of the political world saying things like this: folks like Dick Durbin really need to retire. Yes, I’m talking about his Sunday show appearance yesterday and his commenting on the Biden classified documents. What I’m describing here isn’t only about Dick Durbin. But he is one of the prime offenders.
* Pro Publica | Pressure Mounts for Hospice Reform: Industry leaders are not the only bloc pressuring CMS for greater hospice oversight. Senators and government watchdog agencies are also pushing the agency for concrete changes. Last week, the Government Accountability Office released a report asking that hospices be required to report observations of abuse and neglect, regardless of whether the alleged perpetrator works at the hospice. MedPAC, the congressional advisory panel on Medicare spending, has again endorsed modifying the hospice payment structure to reduce part of the financial incentive for enrolling ineligible patients. And in late December, the inspector general’s office at the Department of Health and Human Services announced that curbing the abuse of hospice patients was among its top unimplemented recommendations.
* NPR | Changes appear to be coming for how wind and solar arrays are sited in Illinois: Wind arrays in particular have created controversy, usually from landowners of properties neighboring those participating in the projects. The state law would create a setback requirement of 1.1 times the maximum blade tip height of the wind tower to the nearest point on the property line of nonparticipating properties, or 2.1 times for nonparticipating residences. The law also requires occupied community buildings or nonparticipating residences not experience more than 30 hours of shadow flicker per year. Those are the moving
* Tribune | Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 Superintendent Olson resigns: At a December Board meeting, an organized group of district parents called on the board to fire Olson over an attempt to move the traditional Holiday Sing to a Spring Sing. Some parents also questioned the district’s hiring of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consultant.
* Crain’s Editorial Board | The Loop crisis merits a higher priority on the mayoral campaign trail: Crain’s and Bloomberg News report, almost $175 billion of real estate credit around the world is distressed—about four times more than the next biggest industry. As the toll from higher interest rates and the end of easy money mounts, many global real estate markets are almost frozen. Weak demand and a surge of sublease offerings from companies trying to shed unneeded workspace are forcing landlords to shell out huge amounts of cash and other perks to get deals done, while pushing some to surrender their properties to their lenders rather than face foreclosure battles.
* Beacon News | North Aurora police say new comfort dog will help them reach out to community: A 26-year veteran, Patrolman David Parr, 47, is now the handler for a new police comfort dog dubbed “Indy” - a 2-year-old black Labrador that joined the North Aurora Police Department last month. Already a dog owner himself, Parr said the new “officer” remains a work in progress but is convinced his new partner – whose full name is Indiana Jones - will deliver in the clutch whenever called upon.
* Journal Courier | State police plan enforcement campaigns in Sangamon: Officers will look for motorists driving in an unsafe manner, driving with a suspended or revoked license, transporting open alcoholic beverages or violating one of the “fatal four” laws — driving under the influence, speeding, driving while distracted, or not using safety belts and child restraints. They are called the fatal four because they are involved in the majority of traffic crashes and deaths.
* WGN | GoFundMe created for man with special needs critically wounded in Back of the Yards shooting: “He has a long road to recovery, so you can imagine how this will forever impact his and his family’s life. We are hoping his vision is not too affected by this as he uses vision boards to communicate,” the fundraiser reads. Police said Rega was waiting for a school bus along with his father and 15-year-old brother, who also has special needs, on Jan. 18 in the 4700 block of South Wolcott.
* WaPo | Even after New Mexico shootings, little GOP reckoning over election denialism: After Peña’s arrest, Republican leaders condemned the attacks, which included a spray of bullets into a 10-year-old’s bedroom, and acknowledged that the former candidate’s criminal history should have been a red flag. There was far less apparent interest in a reckoning over Peña’s beliefs in widespread voter fraud, a false theory pushed relentlessly by former president Donald Trump and his supporters.
* Crain’s | How abortion pills could be advertised after retail pharmacy ruling: Walgreens and CVS intend to become certified to sell the pill, according to brand spokespeople. CVS does not plan to advertise mifepristone or misoprostol, a representative said. Walgreens declined to say if it will advertise the pills.
* Herald-Whig | United Alloy picks Quincy for third manufacturing facility: “We’re going to start out in a 24,000 square foot space we’re leasing on Commercial Drive,” Lodahl said. “Somewhere down the road, we’d like to either find a larger space to get into, or find some dirt that we can build up on.”
* Crain’s | Choose Chicago gets $5.5 million in COVID relief funds: The three-year grant is part of the city’s Chicago Recovery Plan to “amplify once-in-a-generation federal funding to create an equity-based investment strategy to catalyze a sustainable economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
* Vox | Your segregated town might finally be in trouble: The Biden administration’s housing department proposed a new rule last week that would require virtually all communities across the US to create plans to address local housing discrimination or face a penalty, including the potential loss of billions of dollars in federal funding. Essentially, any city or county that accepts HUD grant money — large and small, rural, urban, and suburban — would have to comply.
* Center Square | Feeding deer does more harm than good, forest preserve officials say: “The state has banned the feeding of deer in Illinois because they do not want chronic wasting disease to spread,” she said. Cain said CWD is a cruel disease that causes a long slow death for infected deer. It is impossible to tell by looking at a deer if it has been infected with CWD. It takes at least 18 months for a deer that is infected to show symptoms. The only way to contain the spread of CWD is to keep deer from intermingling.
* WaPo | FDA proposes switching to annual coronavirus vaccine, mimicking flu model: The proposed change is designed to reduce the complexity of the vaccine regimen for the public, doctors and manufacturers. It also reflects a view that “chasing variants” with ever-changing booster formulations is ultimately futile, in part because the public has little interest in getting repeated injections, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about it.
* AP | Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes: Some fed-up consumers are posting rants on social media complaining about tip requests at drive-thrus, while others say they’re tired of being asked to leave a gratuity for a muffin or a simple cup of coffee at their neighborhood bakery. What’s next, they wonder — are we going to be tipping our mail carriers and dentists, too?
* Sun-Times | Bob Dylan’s expanded 1997 masterpiece ‘Time Out of Mind’ reveals new layers: The 17th volume of Dylan’s bootleg series archival release series, reveals even more layers to the record that reset the trajectory of Dylan’s career. It also proves, yet again, that Dylan’s discards are as good or better than most people’s official catalogue.
* AP | Elon Musk testifies in second day of Tesla tweet trial: Musk, who said he “had trouble sleeping last night and unfortunately I am not at my best,” testified that it was important for jurors to know that he “felt that funding was secured” due to his ownership of “SpaceX stock alone.”
Analysis by the Pew Research Center shows that viewership for local news stations has outpaced cable and network TV, especially in the time slots of evening and late-night news.
Though local news is beating out its counterparts, the move also comes at a time when TV viewership is shrinking overall. Pew Research also shared that “more than eight-in-ten U.S. adults (86%) say they get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet ‘often’ or ’sometimes.’” […]
[Jay Smith, WTTW news director and “Chicago Tonight” executive producer] believes there is enough room for everyone to succeed in the time slot. “I think there are some people that will be happy to have an alternative and happy to have a different type of newscast. Certainly, there are the newscasts that everyone is doing at 10 o’clock (that) serves an audience as well. But I do think there’s an appetite for some kind of deeper reporting, analysis and sort of thoughtful looks into stories that we will be providing at 10 o’clock.” […]
Recently retired media columnist Robert Feder said that the move matters less today than it would have 20 years ago, stating that it’s less about getting a bigger audience and more about their online platform.
* I think this has more to do with negativity vs. positivity. Nobody would ever call DeSantis a happy warrior…
No two governors seem to exemplify nationwide partisan divide more than Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida … especially when you see them side by side. https://t.co/alq2wZD5cWpic.twitter.com/1oGP7c2wTZ
DeSantis: We said we would ensure that Florida tax lightly, regulated reasonably and spent conservatively, and we delivered.
Pritzker: We balanced the budget and got credit upgrades. We raised the minimum wage. We legalized cannabis. [Applause] Oh, I see all of you. Yeah.
DeSantis: We said we would end judicial activism by appointing jurists who understand the proper role of a judge is to apply the laws written, not legislate from the bench.
Pritzker: We took nation-leading climate action that’s growing our energy production. We protected reproductive freedom in our laws.
DeSantis: Many of the cities and states have embraced faddish ideology at the expense of enduring principles. We reject this woke ideology. We will never surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die.
Pritzker: Amid a rise in intolerance and fascism throughout the United States, Illinois has decisively moved to protect civil rights, human rights and voting rights.
DeSantis: We will enact more family-friendly policies and we will defend our children against those who seek to rob them of their innocence.
Pritzker: That’s why I propose we go all in for our children and make preschool available to every family throughout the state.
DeSantis: And we must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth, not the imposition of trendy ideologies.
Pritzker: Racism, anti semitism, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia have existed in some form or another throughout our entire history, amplified by elected officials or political grifters who look to harness the tremendous power of hate for their own ambition.
DeSantis: We will always remain a law and order state. We will always support law enforcement and we will always reject soft on crime policies that put our communities at risk.
Pritzker: When I campaigned for re-election and promised to pass an assault weapons ban, eight states already had one. Very soon, Illinois must be the ninth.
DeSantis: Florida’s success has been made more difficult by the floundering federal establishment in Washington, DC. This has caused many to be pessimistic about the country’s future, some even say that failure is inevitable.
Pritzker: Hate needs two things to thrive. The sense of helplessness that fertilizes hopelessness and the willingness of powerful people to cower in front of a lie.
DeSantis: Florida is proof positive that we the people are not destined for failure, and we thank God and are proud to be citizens of the great free state of Florida.
Pritzker: I’m honored to stand alongside you as we face the battles ahead, as one Illinois
Judges award those certificates, and if anyone is worried that they’ll be treated like Jon Burge, of all people, then why do you want them on the force?
* If they have a room they rent out to the general public, that’s one thing. But they still probably shouldn’t be doing it…
UPDATE: A community member contacted the Fire Dept. to ask whether they are endorsing these candidates.
The Fire Dept. was unaware of the nature of the Stamp Act PAC. They didn’t understand this marketing material was being posted.
A Danville man trying to get his name on the April 4 ballot for mayor got a third no Friday, this time from a Vermilion County judge.
“It didn’t go the way we wanted,” Jacob Lane said.
Lane had petitioned the Fifth Judicial Court to have his name reinstated after the Danville Election Commission ruled last month that he could not appear on the ballot due to insufficient signatures from registered voters. The ruling was the result of an objection filed by incumbent Mayor Rickey Williams Jr.
A minimum of 225 valid signatures from registered voters were required. Lane’s nominating petition contained 231 signatures, but the election commission ruled 22 of those were invalid for various reasons.
When the Feb. 28 primary election rolls around, Kankakee County Clerk Dan Hendrickson’s day will not be as hectic.
There are no contested primary races, thus he can focus on early voting for the April 4 general election.
“It’s the first time in 25 years, I think, that we will not have a contested primary,” Hendrickson said. He has been with the county clerk’s office for 29 years.
* From comments on Friday following ruling by a judge in Effingham County on the state’s assault weapons ban…
This presents an issue. One of [Tom DeVore’s] clients is an FFL [Federal Firearms License-holder]. The ban on sales no longer applies to them. So 2 things.
A. Are they only permitted to sell to the other plaintiffs?
B. Either way on A. those would be legally purchased firearms that were purchased after the effective date. Now if it survives the real challenge the State has to decide how to handle that. Are they grandfathered?
“All they are saying,” claimed Illinois Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director Jim Kaitschuk about dozens of his members, is, ‘we’re not going to knock on people’s doors to ask whether they have registered their firearms. And if they’re arrested solely on that charge, we will not house them in our jails until ordered to do so by a competent authority.”
Springfield’s WICS TV reported that Kaitschuk also believes the reaction to what those sheriffs have said about refusing to enforce the state’s new assault weapons ban because of their constitutional objections has been “overblown.”
Well, when you put it that way, maybe so. But if that’s the case, then why even facilitate the release of a nearly identical statement by as many as 90 (according to Kaitschuk) county sheriffs saying they won’t enforce a law?
Kaitschuk admitted to Chicago’s ABC 7 that there’s nothing in the law mandating local compliance checks. “That is not a charge that is provided to us or mandated to us in the bill that passed and was signed by the governor.”
What the sheriffs have basically done is to deliberately inflame the public for no good reason, and then tossed in an empty threat to not house violators in their jails unless they have an order from a judge.
And while there has been much rejoicing in some Downstate areas over their local sheriffs’ performative “virtue signaling,” there has been some strong pushback in the suburbs where, for instance, DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick released one of those boiler plate statements vowing not to enforce the new registration law because he believed the statute was unconstitutional.
In response, DuPage County’s 15 Democratic state legislators released a statement saying they were “dismayed and angered by the recent pronouncement by the DuPage County Sheriff to unilaterally direct his office to flout and disregard the duly passed and signed Protect Illinois Communities Act. The sheriff has no authority to determine the constitutionality of a law — that is up to the courts.”
“The sheriff’s words send a clear message that lawbreakers are welcome here,” the statement read.
One of the signatories was Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, who introduced an assault weapons ban and worked her bill for months before it was taken over by more experienced hands.
Mendrick barely won election in 2018, but the Democrats didn’t field a candidate against him in 2022, which turned out to be an even stronger year for the local party.
Elections obviously have consequences.
But the sheriffs currently have significant powers in state statutes, and legislative elections can have consequences, too. Some legislators are obviously starting to get pretty fired up over the sheriffs’ behavior of late.
During the 2019 cannabis legalization debate, for instance, sheriffs disseminated tons of disinformation (one even claimed that sheriffs would be forced to euthanize all their drug-sniffing dogs). Several sheriffs sided with the far right during the COVID-19 mitigation period and refused to enforce executive orders, and many eagerly contributed to the hysteria over the SAFE-T Act. And now this.
Many legislators are former local government officials, so they’ve traditionally been reluctant to take up issues like consolidation, the limits of local authority, etc. I do not know if this latest blowup will change anything. But, at the same time, I don’t recall ever seeing a reaction quite like the one issued by those 15 state legislators today.
Lake County’s sheriff issued a statement in favor of the law, and one of the principal sponsors who helped drag the bill across the finish line, Lake County-based state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, had this to say on the radio the other day about the other sheriffs’ statements: “I keep coming back to the fact that I think it’s embarrassing for them. They really literally only have one job. Their job is to follow the law and enforce the law. And they’re saying, ‘We’re not going to do that.’ And so, I think they should be pretty embarrassed.”
State statute requires sheriffs, acting as their counties’ supervisors of safety, to enforce all state traffic laws. But there is no requirement to enforce other laws. And their state-mandated oaths of office require them to support the U.S. and Illinois constitutions, but not individual laws.
Law enforcement discretion is a long-accepted policy. But sheriffs issuing written statements flatly declaring they will not enforce a state law no matter what sure does appear to go well beyond that.
Crafting a law to deal with the problem, though, could be difficult.
But that leads me to wonder what these sheriffs, including the DuPage County Sheriff, will do if firearms dealers in their counties continue selling the currently banned weapons, and devices like “switches” [as pointed out in comments, switches are illegal under federal law, so that bit would apply to the other 800 or so plaintiffs and not to FFLs] to anyone not on the above list.
* Good morning! It’s Monday and here’s your roundup…
* Tribune | Chicago radio’s Lin Brehmer, a longtime WXRT DJ, has died at 68: Sunday morning came with snow, and with sorrow, in the form of the news of the death of Lin Brehmer, the hugely popular, buoyant and beloved host on Chicago radio’s WXRT-FM 93.1. The 68-year-old had previously spoken publicly about his treatment for prostate cancer. Sunday morning, fellow WXRT host and friend Terri Hemmert informed listeners of his death and said in part in a statement, “We must inform you that we all lost our best friend. Lin Brehmer fought cancer as long as he could. He passed early this morning, peacefully, with his wife (Sara) and son (Wilson) by his side.”
* Jim Dey | Filing indicates appeasing Madigan was often complicated: The rule at ComEd, the filing asserts, was to do whatever it took to keep the powerful Chicago Democrat happy. In return, ComEd knew from experience, Madigan wouldn’t block ComEd-favored initiatives in the legislature. But what happened if ComEd couldn’t make Madigan happy?
* Daily Herald | Too naughty to drive: Why Illinois rejected nearly 400 license plate requests in 2022: There are nearly 1 million vehicles on the road with vanity or personalized license plates issued by the Illinois secretary of state’s office. But there are 7,387 alphanumeric combinations requested for such license plates over the years that will never make it to a vehicle’s bumper, including 383 rejected in 2022 alone.
* Michael Sneed | Jim Durkin’s shining career had its share of comical miscues : “I worked hard to ensure my identity when I entered the Legislature,” said Durkin, one of eight brothers raised by an Irish Catholic labor union Democrat father in Westchester. “Then… during the last days of my first session…. a senior Republican approached me on the floor and asked me to get her a cup of coffee! In a second, I was mistaken for a House page. My big splash had evaporated.”
* The Atlantic | What the Tech and Media Layoffs Are Really Telling Us About the Economy: Google’s parent company, Alphabet, today announced that it plans to cut 12,000 jobs, joining a tech-and-media layoff list that already includes Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Salesforce, Snap, Twitter, and Warner Bros. Discovery. According to one estimate, roughly 130,000 people have been dismissed from their jobs at large tech and media companies in the past 12 months. That’s roughly equivalent to the total number of people who worked at Apple before COVID hit.
* Bloomberg | Citadel’s $16 Billion Win Tops Paulson’s Greatest Trade Ever: Ken Griffin’s Citadel churned out a record $16 billion in profit for clients last year, outperforming the rest of the industry and eclipsing one of history’s most successful financial plays. The top 20 hedge fund firms collectively generated $22.4 billion in profit after fees, according to estimates by LCH Investments, a fund of hedge funds. Citadel’s gain was the largest annual return for a hedge fund manager, surpassing the $15 billion that John Paulson generated in 2007 on his bet against subprime mortgages. This was described as the “greatest trade ever” in a subsequent book of the same name by Gregory Zuckerman.
* Triibe | 2023 before the polls: Meet Chicago’s black mayoral candidates: Mayor Lori Lightfoot is running for a second term. But there are eight other candidates vying for her seat. In our profile series, Before the Polls, we sat down with each Black mayoral candidate to see if they have what it takes to lead Chicago into an equitable future.
* WMBD | Illinois lawmaker introduces psychedelic therapy legislation: State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) has introduced legislation to create a state-regulated psychedelic therapy program. The Compassionate Use and Research of Entheogens Act (CURE) Act would legalize psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms, in licensed medical settings.
* AP | Lawmakers seek to bar insurrectionists from holding office: New York, Connecticut and Virginia are among states where proposed legislation would prohibit anyone convicted of participating in an insurrection from holding public office or a position of public trust, such as becoming a police officer.
* SJ-R | Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, director of Illinois State Museum, passes away: Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, who headed the Illinois State Museum since 2019, died Saturday, according to a statement from the Illinois Museum Association Board. She was 50. Catlin-Legutko recently had been appointed by President Joe Biden to the Route 66 Centennial Commission. The centennial of the Mother Road is in 2026.
* Tribune | $5.5 million grant aims to expand tourism in 12 more underrepresented neighborhoods: This year, Choose Chicago was awarded $5.5 million more by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events to strengthen and expand the program, adding 12 new community areas, making a total of 30 neighborhoods that will benefit from the efforts to promote tourism.
* Sun-Times | Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic can make Illinois healthier than ever: The numbers have left us numb. We have started to shut COVID-19 out of our lives. But the threat remains. COVID-19 took the lives of more than 200 Illinoisans in December, more deaths than from Ebola in the entire world last year. Many of those deaths were preventable. It is time to remind ourselves that in 2023, we have effective tools we didn’t have in 2020. And we have something even more powerful: knowledge and experience. We know now what can protect us: a vaccine, a timely test, a pill, a mask, a portable air filter, an open window or just staying home if sick.
