* OK, kids, I have been struggling with multiple issues all morning and I am just done for a while. My keyboard isn’t working right, my computer is struggling, my Internet is out, I have a car repair issue that I need to attend to ASAP, and I have an HVAC service person on his way.
That’s the news and I am outta here. Be nice to each other.
Today State Representative Dan Brady is announcing his Campaign for Illinois Secretary of State with three stops across the state of Illinois—Chicago, Bloomington and Mt. Vernon. Highlighting his track record of cutting through government red tape, and working tirelessly for businesses, educational institutions, and individuals, all in the name of getting positive results. Brady unveiled his platform that is centered around creating a Secretary of State office that accelerates growth and helps us reach our full potential.
“I am running for Secretary of State to build the long-needed foundation our state needs to thrive. I will focus on partnering with the brightest innovators and technology experts this state has to offer, addressing not only service efficiency, but issues of cyber-security and identity protection,” said Brady. “The Secretary of State office serves as the backbone for our state, without it our economy and government would not function. But simply functioning shouldn’t be good enough.”
As State Representative since 2001, Brady has constantly worked across the aisle to pass legislation that has a positive impact on communities across the state. He has helped pass legislation that provided funding for infrastructure projects, schools, and included tax incentives that helped incentivized companies to invest in Illinois.
Brady also recently sponsored a law that provides older adults in Illinois better access to driver training programs and most recently he sponsored the Reimaging Electric Vehicle Act, which aims to increase investment into electric vehicles across the state and increase jobs and the growth of Illinois’ economy.
“When I looked back at everything I witnessed during my last three decades in public office to identify what, if anything, was holding our state back from achieving its biggest goals, I realized what Illinois needs most is a streamlined, modernized foundation.”
Endorsements for State Rep. Dan Brady
U.S. Representative Rodney Davis
U.S. Representative Darrin LaHood
U.S. Representative Mike Bost
Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin
Illinois State Senator Terri Bryant
* Video…
* GOP Rep. Caulkins will run in Brady’s district. A Hardee’s launch is a new one on me…
Republican state Rep. Seth Lewis is running for the Illinois Senate’s 24th District seat. Lewis currently represents the 45th House District. “I love being the voice in Springfield for the communities that I currently represent,” Lewis said in a statement. “After the implementation of the new legislative maps, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to continue serving our region on a greater scale by running for the state Senate. My goal as an elected official remains to make Illinois a place where people want to live, not to leave.”
* Press release…
Today, eight elected officials, including five members of the Chicago City Council, endorsed Alderman Gil Villegas for Congress in the newly drawn 3rd Congressional District of Illinois. Villegas announced his candidacy with the support of Congressman Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) and earned the support earlier this week of Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County Iris Martinez and State Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado.
Ald. and Committeeman Felix Cardona (31st Ward), Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th Ward), Ald. and Committeeman Ariel Reboyras (30th Ward), Ald. and Committeeman Chris Taliaferro (29th Ward), Ald. and Committeeman Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward), Elmwood Park Mayor Angelo “Skip” Saviano, Committeewoman Angee Gonzalez Rodriguez (26th Ward), and Former State Rep. John D’Amico (D-15th District) released the following joint statement::
“We’re thrilled to join the growing movement supporting Gilbert Villegas for Congress. He is ready to lead at a moment when working families need Congress to focus on what’s most important to them” said these officials in a joint statement. “Gil is a dedicated public servant with the experience, drive, and compassion necessary to hit the ground running on behalf of Illinois,” they concluded.
Villegas responded to the news of this endorsement with gratitude.
“I could not be more honored than to earn the trust and support of so many important leaders in our community. I’ll work every day to make them proud to be among this campaign’s first supporters and will never stop fighting for working families,” said Alderman Gilbert Villegas.
President Joe Biden signed the historic $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law Monday, passing to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot — at the White House for the ceremony — the massive job of spending the billions in new money flowing to the city and state in the next five years. […]
In terms of timing, Pritzker, in a Sun-Times interview, said “We won’t see those dollars until the first quarter of the calendar year. So sometime in January, February, March.”
Illinois is in “an unusually good position” to move ahead with projects, Pritzker said, because the federal money will piggyback on the $45 billion ReBuild Illinois program the Illinois General Assembly approved in 2019.
“This money will help us accelerate some of those projects that are in our multiyear plan,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker cited as examples the road and bridge project on a 16-mile stretch of I -80 “in very bad shape” in Will County and the I-190 turnoff to get in and out of O’Hare. He said he backed rebuilding parts of the Eisenhower in Chicago and nearby suburbs.
Federal money for transit is available now, thanks to President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure plan and COVID-relief dollars. The RTA already is divvying up $1.5 billion among CTA, Metra and Pace.
Funds will go first to overdue maintenance and replacement of aged rolling stock, as they should. But billions more are available—the infrastructure bill authorizes $66 billion for passenger rail and $39 billion for public transit generally. We’d have to compete for the money, which in any case isn’t enough to fund all of our transit needs. But there’s enough to finance some projects that would improve service and demonstrate possibilities.
“It’s going to allow us to take a better look at our system and how we can better inject cash into a system that probably underserves those who need it the most,” [General Manager of MetroLink, Jeff Nelson] said.
According to Nelson, MetroLink hopes to receive funding which will help it continue to convert its mostly diesel fleet, in to an electric one.
It’s not just more electric buses, but officials hope the plan will allow better electric vehicle infrastructure. Since I-74 and I-80 run through the area, both Bustos and Nelson mentioned cities will be able to invest in charging ports in their public parking lots.
* And speaking of electric vehicles, here’s more from Crain’s on yesterday’s electric vehicle incentives bill signing event…
The move is aimed not only at wooing manufacturers and suppliers—Samsung has been eyeing a possible battery factory across the road from electric truck-maker Rivian’s plant in Normal—but also at keeping existing producers happy. That includes Rivian and Stellantis, which reportedly may shift production of Dodge Challenger and Charger muscle cars to Belvidere in 2024, and Ford, whose plant on Chicago’s South Side now produces only gasoline-fueled vehicles.
Much of the state’s attention lately has been focused on wooing a battery plant, which could employ several thousand people. Though the buzz about Samsung has died down, industry sources report that at least two other battery-makers are in serious conversations with Rivian about building a plant in Illinois, with an announcement possible later this year or in the first quarter of 2022.
Illinois is not considered a likely location for the second assembly plant that Rivian has indicated it wants to build, with the Atlanta area bidding for the facility. But some here are still pursuing that facility, too.
In comments at Pritzker’s event, James Chen, vice president of public policy at Rivian, sounded optimistic. “This bill will propel Illinois…bringing increased electric vehicle production and investment,” he said. The state and company now “will work together to attract new investment.”
Advocacy organizations across the state have received an “unprecedented” number of reports of bullying, harassment and discrimination against LGBTQ students, a coalition of groups said at a virtual news conference Tuesday.
“LGBTQ students must be treated with dignity and respect and must be supported and loved so that they can show up authentically as they are at schools, where they can be safe and learn and thrive,” said Mony Ruiz-Velasco, deputy director of Equality Illinois, which hosted the meeting. “This is not acceptable.”
Groups across the state are working together to hold schools accountable, offer training resources and make sure no LGBTQ students “fall through any cracks,” Ruiz-Velasco said.
Name calling, destruction of property and assault are just some of the incidents reported recently to LGBTQ support organizations. Though anti-harassment provisions have existed in schools for decades, advocates attribute the increase at least partly due to the pandemic, said Grecia Magdaleno, policy and advocacy manager with the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance.
Students took the time to “look inward,” resulting in more coming out — and then a backlash.
The group of LGBTQ advocacy groups around the state that reported the rise in harassment toward LGBTQ students on Tuesday said the climate is difficult for LGBTQ students this fall. They say harassment is coming from staff or fellow students. It’s also happening at the local level at school board meetings like in Downers Grove.
Grecia Magdaleno of Illinois Safe Schools Alliance says some students may have become more vocal about their identities since returning to in-person learning, which may result in an increase in discrimination.
“But there are many other factors for it as well,” Magdaleno said. “I think it’s because of the rise in anti-trans legislation that we’ve been seeing across the country.”
In 2019, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a law that requires public schools to include LGBTQ history in the curriculum. Magdaleno is helping to build that curriculum. They say the most common push back toward LGBTQ affirming material is that it isn’t age appropriate. Magdaleno says the curriculum is designed to reach students at the appropriate time in their development.
Josiah Poynter felt like an outsider when he transferred to Downers Grove North High School as a sophomore.
But his fellow football players filled the gap — providing a warm welcome and strong support. Poynter, who identifies as heterosexual and a Christian, cited that experience Monday night, when he told an audience of more than 100 at a Community High School District 99 board meeting that he strongly supports keeping the controversial LGBTQ graphic memoir “Gender Queer” on the shelves of the district’s high school libraries.
“Inclusion matters to young people,” said Poynter, 18. “Inclusion brings an opportunity to grow in a safe environment. It brings comfort to people who feel cast out.”
The local controversy over “Gender Queer,” which has drawn criticism at schools across the country, spilled into full view at the board meeting, with opponents characterizing images of oral sex and a sex toy as “pornographic,” and saying the book should be removed from library shelves. Supporters say that the book — about growing up asexual and nonbinary — sends a strong message of support and inclusion to LGBTQ teens at a vulnerable time.
About a dozen people spoke — among them students, parents and a former teacher. Most called on the district to keep the book on library shelves, while three speakers called for the book to be removed.
Members of the Proud Boys — a far-right neo-fascist group which has recently latched onto school board protests around the country — promoted the meeting on a messaging app commonly used by far-right activists and urged each other to attend, according to screenshots posted to social media. It’s unclear whether any members of the group showed up.
The school board did not plan to discuss or vote on any items regarding “Gender Queer” — the book was solely brought up during the public speaker portion of the meeting. Supt. Hank Thiele, addressing the topic before people shared their views, said “Gender Queer” met the district’s requirements for inclusion in its library, and it was not part of any class’ required reading. Only one copy of the book is available for check-out at each library at Downers North and Downers South high schools, which combined serve nearly 5,000 students. […]
Tabitha Irvin, a junior at Downers North, said she felt it was “ironic” that people wearing American flag masks, hats and shirts were at the meeting calling for a book to be banned when, in her view, the issue was about free speech.
Linda Schranz, a longtime Downers Grove resident who said her daughter graduated from District 99, said “despite the noise in the community” she believes it’s a small minority who disagree with the board’s policies.
Saying Illinois could become the epicenter of a “clean transportation revolution,” Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act during a visit to the Rockford region.
Pritzker signed the law championed by Illinois state Rep. Dave Vella and state Sen. Steve Stadelman during a visit to the future home of the Rock Valley College Advanced Technology Center in Belvidere. The facility focused on advanced manufacturing education is expected to open in 2022.
“With this bill, we intend to attract more EV manufacturers, charging station manufacturers and automotive parts manufacturers than ever before and help Illinois to become one of the leading EV hubs in the entire nation,” Pritzker said.
“With this new focus on electric vehicles, our state can also become a leader in the clean transportation revolution. Electric school buses, electric municipal buses, electric delivery trucks, electric 18-wheelers and so much more.”
After the presentation, the governor offered to take questions from the media. Nobody spoke up. “OK,” he said after a pause. “That was the easiest press conference I ever had.”
* We’ve seen time and time again on this blog that whenever I post a question having to do with the Illinois Senate, it gets almost no responses. So, I’m wondering, could the presence of this man behind Pritzker have somehow caused reporters to clam up?…
Yes, it’s the comment-killer himself, Don Harmon. And his trusty sidekick John Patterson (also a notorious comment killer) was at the event as well.
* The Question: Why don’t you like to answer questions about the Illinois Senate?
* First we find out that the US Census Bureau was drastically overestimating annual population losses for states like Illinois, and now this…
The government sharply underestimated job gains for most of 2021, including four months this summer in which it missed more job growth than at any other time on record.
In the most recent four months with revisions, June through September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported it underestimated job growth by a cumulative 626,000 jobs — that’s the largest underestimate of any other comparable period, going back to 1979. If those revisions were themselves a jobs report, they’d be an absolute blockbuster.
In an average month before the pandemic, estimates would be revised by a little over 30,000 jobs, or just 0.02 percent of all the jobs in the United States. The recent revisions to the jobs reports have been much larger.
The missing jobs surfaced through revisions to the widely watched non-farm payrolls number that BLS releases each month. The data is considered preliminary until it has been revised twice. The fixes are typically minor, but recent revisions have been big enough to turn a substantial slump into a surprising surge.
Riverside Healthcare has terminated 40 employees for noncompliance with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
On Nov. 1, the hospital placed 62 employees on a two-week unpaid suspension for failing to become vaccinated by a Oct. 31 deadline. Kyle Benoît, Riverside’s chief operating officer, said of those, 35 percent (or 22 employees) became vaccinated and will remain in their positions. When the suspension period concluded on Monday, the 40 employees who still had not complied with the requirement were informed they were no longer employed.
“We were happy to see more employees become vaccinated,” Benoit said. “We wish it would have been 100 percent of them.”
Not included in Monday’s terminations are the 57 employees who gained a court-issued restraining order from a Kankakee County judge that protects them from being either fired or suspended until a Jan. 11 hearing on an injunction seeking to bar the hospital from firing unvaccinated employees.
Springfield District 186’s board of education voted Monday to fire a teacher for opting not to follow the state and district mandates about testing and vaccinations.
Franklin Middle School band teacher, Kingsley Keys, is now a former teacher after the board unanimously voted to dismiss him Monday.
The rules are that teachers and faculty must prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or get weekly testing. Keys decided to not do this so the board dismissed him.
[Springfield school teacher Kadence Koen] recently caved to the pressure of being on unpaid leave and provided a photo of her vaccination card to district officials. News reports state the dates on her card showed she got two shots on June 29 and July 19, well before the mandate she protested so publicly was put in place.
So what was all the fuss about?
Koen contends that being “anti-mandate does not mean anti-vaccination” and that what she was really protesting was the district’s requirement that she show a vaccination card or submit to regular testing.
Few, however, will take that explanation credible because Koen could have been more forthcoming about her motivation. After all, Koen could have revealed that she was vaccinated, but did not.
Why? Who knows? Call it the coronavirus effect.
Call it a lot of things, I suppose. I cannot understand these odd ducks and I’ve mostly given up trying.
* Ms. Koen appeared on Jim Leach’s radio show a few days ago and showed a remarkable lack of understanding about vaccines and COVID-19 and masking and numerous other things. For instance, here’s a direct quote…
I am no less likely to contract COVID because I’m vaccinated.
Koen also said she was still planning to pursue legal action against the district, but the suit wasn’t yet filed and she wouldn’t name her attorney.
* But while the weird people get a lot of headlines, there is still hope. From The Atlantic…
It’s possible COVID could become endemic in some countries in the coming months. That is, a disease that’s present and unshakable, but totally manageable without massive disruptions to work, education and travel. […]
There’s a cumulative effect from the mandates, a drop in hesitancy and the recent decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize boosters for many Americans, as well as first doses for children over five years old. From a recent low of just half a million doses a day back in July, the vaccination rate has climbed to a healthy 1.2 million doses a day.
“The combination of vaccinating children, continuing to get vaccination rates up in older individuals and natural immunity from the substantial numbers of people who have already been infected now puts the long elusive herd immunity within reach,” Alberg said.
Today, 59 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated. And that percentage has been increasing by a point roughly every two weeks.
A vocal and sometimes violent minority might make it seem like the United States has an insurmountable anti-vax problem. It doesn’t. And as COVID surges in its third winter, vaccines are likely to keep a lot of people out of hospitals and morgues in the U.S. and other countries with high case counts. The SARS-CoV-2 virus isn’t endemic yet, but it’s getting closer, Alberg said. “We can confidently say that endemicity is now within reach.”
The CDC reports 98.5% of adults 65 and older [nationwide] have received at least a first vaccine dose as of Wednesday, while 85.8% are fully vaccinated.
Illinois’ rates are 89 percent and 84 percent, respectively. Those folks are the most vulnerable by far.
* And this announcement will also help those folks, since they are also the most vulnerable to harmful breakthrough infections…
The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that it is purchasing 10 million courses of Pfizer’s covid pill, a multibillion-dollar investment in a medication that officials hope will help change the trajectory of the pandemic by staving off many hospitalizations and deaths, according to two people with knowledge of the transaction.
U.S. officials see this antiviral pill, and another by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, as potential game-changers to help restore a broader sense of normalcy and are eager to add them to a small arsenal of treatments for Americans who contract the coronavirus. With breakthrough cases rising and 30 percent of American adults not fully vaccinated, health officials believe the pills will help tame the pandemic because of their ability to thwart the virus’s most pernicious effects.
* More…
* COVID-19 update: 1,627 hospitalized, 20 more deaths, 3,005 new cases: Hospitalizations have increased by 16.8% from a week ago, IDPH figures show. … The state’s seven-day case positivity rate is at 2.8%. … A week ago, the state’s seven-day case positivity rate was at 2.2%.
* Why Health-Care Workers Are Quitting in Droves: About one in five health-care workers has left medicine since the pandemic started. This is their story—and the story of those left behind.
* Pfizer agrees to let other companies make its COVID-19 pill
18th District Congressman Darin LaHood said he was pleased with the recent bi-partisan compromise struck by the Biden Administration with Senators last week: “I’m optimistic that the Senate will take up action this week and next week. They are going to be the drivers of this initially. I give the Biden Administration and the bi-partisan group of Senators a lot of credit. They keep working at this and working on it, and they have made a lot of progress. It’s about a trillion dollar bill – doesn’t raise significant taxes. It has some user fees on airports and the rail system. It gives back a lot of COVID money to help pay for infrastructure, but it’s a significant amount of money. It would be about a trillion dollars that would fund roads and bridges, and our locks and dams, and traditional infrastructure. We’ll see if it passes the Senate next week. If it does, I think it’ll pick up some momentum and it’ll come over to the House. I’m going to give it strong consideration if that happens. I’m looking forward to seeing this new progress that’s being made.”
The Senate voted 69-30 Tuesday to approve a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, a historic piece of legislation that could reshape American lives for decades.
The measure fulfills a call from President Biden for the two major parties to work together to deliver one of his top priorities, but it faces an uncertain fate in the House of Representatives as progressive Democrats press for even greater spending. […]
The 19 Republicans who voted for the bill, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., did so despite pressure from former President Donald Trump to deny Democrats a victory. Trump released a statement that called the bill “the beginning of the Green New Deal.”
Republican negotiators, including Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, dismissed that criticism and promoted the agreement as a huge breakthrough for the Senate.
The House passed a more than $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill late Friday, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk in a critical step toward enacting sprawling Democratic economic plans.
The Senate approved the revamp of transportation, utilities and broadband in August.
Congressman Darin LaHood (IL-18) released the following statement on his vote against the infrastructure bill:
“I voted no on the infrastructure package which enables the Democrats to ram through their reckless tax and spending agenda using reconciliation. Given the reconciliation process initiated by President Biden and Speaker Pelosi at the behest of Senator Sanders and the radical progressive wing of the Democrat party, the reality remains that the infrastructure bill and reconciliation package are linked and cannot be viewed separately. A vote for the infrastructure bill is a vote that paves the way for an extreme reconciliation spending bill that includes crippling tax hikes that will kill American jobs and send them overseas, hammer small businesses as they struggle to recover from COVID-19, and worsen the labor shortage while driving up inflation on working families.”
So, he’s now the process police.
* This News-Gazette editorial on November 10th was about Rodney Davis’ argument, which was the same as LaHood’s…
Equally disappointing was the response of Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville — the ranking Republican on the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee — who voted no on the legislation and falsely claimed that it was paired with another infrastructure bill.
“I’m beyond disappointed that President Biden and Democrats in Congress paired bipartisan infrastructure investment to their reckless, multi-trillion-dollar, tax-and-spending proposal,” said Davis.
Davis could have voted for the physical infrastructure bill — as other Republicans did — without voting for the separate social-safety-net and climate-change bill that Democrats hope to pass later this month. Further, Davis last summer asked that about $23 million in “member-directed spending” or earmarks for his district be included in the infrastructure bill.
Congress’ history is full of hypocrisy, and last week’s voting on the infrastructure bill is another example.
One caller instructed Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois to slit his wrists and “rot in hell.” Another hoped Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska would slip and fall down a staircase. The office of Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York has been inundated with angry messages tagging her as a “traitor.”
Investing in the nation’s roads and bridges was once considered one of the last realms of bipartisanship in Congress, and President Biden’s infrastructure bill drew ample support over the summer from Republicans in the Senate. But in the days since 13 House Republicans broke with their party leaders and voted for the $1 trillion legislation last week, they have been flooded by menacing messages from voters — and even some of their own colleagues — who regard their votes as a betrayal.
[US Rep. Darin LaHood’s] Illinois district includes the heart of the nation’s heavy construction equipment manufacturing industry, where Caterpillar, Komatsu America and their suppliers are mainstays of the Peoria economy. The upstart electric truck maker Rivian in Normal, Ill., has much to gain from the bill’s funds to electrify the nation’s highways and boost its power grid. […]
But while the new 16th District may have infrastructure needs, it also has Republicans — lots of them — with a heavy conservative tilt. The new district will almost certainly be represented by the Republican Party in 2023. […]
Eli Nicolosi, the Republican chairman in Winnebago County, which includes Rockford, had the misimpression that the bill was full of social policies that had nothing to do with infrastructure, some of which are in the reconciliation bill. He said he understood and accepted Mr. LaHood’s vote, even though he noted that the local airport could use some help and that aerospace manufacturing would most likely benefit from a cash infusion. […]
Connie Beard, the chairwoman of the McLean County Republicans, brought up Rivian as a company of the future, but she worried aloud that the infrastructure measure would mean “tremendous amounts of tax increases.” Told that there were none in the bill, which is dominated by old-fashioned public works programs, Ms. Beard pivoted.
“It’s hard for the legislators themselves to understand what was left in the bill and what was on the cutting room floor,” she said, adding, “I understand why Congressman LaHood wanted to take more time.”
Extreme partisanship combined with newly drawn districts and a whole new crop of voters will make politicians skittish as heck about breaking party ranks and drawing primary challengers. That’s not an excuse, but it’s clearly why they did what they did.
Campaign contributions from out-of-staters and so-called dark money groups will be banned in Illinois judicial campaigns beginning in January under legislation Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law Monday. […]
But making Illinois the first state to outright ban certain political contributions to judicial candidates is the biggest change contained in the law, which comes a year after an Illinois Supreme Court justice first elected as a Democrat became the first sitting high court member in state history to lose his retention bid — an expensive race fueled in part by dark money.
Republicans voted against Stuart’s legislation last month, with several members arguing during the House debate that the majority party was making another adjustment in state elections law to benefit their party.
“This is another effort for the majority [party] to change the rules of the game because they don’t like the outcome,” State Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) said before voting no on the bill. “And the voters of the state of Illinois are noticing that the policies and practices and elected officials that they’ve put in power have not served them well.”
I mean, I get it, but I’m still not sure how you can claim with a straight face that a bill to ban dark money contributions is a scary bad thing.
The law also makes adjustments in deadlines and other technical requirements for candidates in next year’s primary election because it’s later. Pritzker signed a law in June moving the primary from March 15 to June 28 because late-arriving 2020 Census numbers delayed the drawing of new congressional district boundaries.
Under the law, which takes effect immediately, any polling place that is accessible to voters with disabilities and elderly voters shall include at least one voting booth that is wheelchair accessible. […]
Another change allows voters to designate sex on voter registration forms as “male,” “female” or “non-binary.”
…Adding… Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul Schimpf…
Out of all of the items included in SB 536, improving and increasing election integrity safeguards was not one of them.
If the Democrats are going to make voting vastly more accessible, they need to increase voting safeguards. Yet, they are so focused on their one-party control that they don’t even consider what the voters want—and Illinoisans want to know their vote will be counted fairly and securely. But Democrats couldn’t even reach across the aisle to make election integrity a pillar of our voting process. Good government and governance starts at the top and under JB Pritzker’s leadership deficit, Illinois voters will experience another election with a lack of safeguards that promote integrity in the system.
I would have VETOED SB 536 because of the lack of election integrity safeguards. Integrity and trust must be restored in our elections.
I’ve asked what specific safeguards he was talking about, since he didn’t mention any. I’ll let you know.
The board just voted 7-0 to dismiss the case, finding Mautino did not *knowingly* violate campaign finance law when his campaign committee’s account was used to fill up gas tanks and paid for repairs on personal vehicles instead of paying mileage reimbursements.
* I told subscribers about this press release earlier today. Despite a retraction sent yesterday, Moylan said only one word needed to be changed because it misidentified somebody…
State Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, has stated that he is convening a press conference with other state legislators and police chiefs to discuss proposed legislation regarding the increasing crime rate around Chicago and surging violence against police officers.
“The situation is getting out of control. FBI data this year shows that violent, fatal attacks against police officers are up 31%. Just this month, Officer Stephen Kotlewski of Bensenville was shot and hospitalized during a domestic violence call. It’s reaching into every community,” said Moylan.
Moylan is sponsoring two pieces of legislation to combat the alarming rise in fatal attacks. House Bill 4159, the Police Protection Act filed by Moylan, increases penalties for offenses when the act is taken against a police officer. House Bill 4125, proposed by State Representative Fran Hurley, creates the Police “Hate Crime” Act, which would label any offense where an individual attacks, harms or stalks a police officer as “hate crime” and increases penalties for those offenses.
Moylan is also asking for up to $100,000,000 to increase protections for officers on duty.
The conference will reportedly be attended by colleagues from both houses of the General Assembly including State Representatives Jaime Andrade, Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar, Eva Dina Delgado, and State Senators Laura Murphy and John Connor. Additionally, Des Plaines Police Chief David Anderson and Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminski have announced their attendance, along with Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow and DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin.
“The brave men and women who put their lives on the line each day to protect our communities deserve to know they, too, are protected.” Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) said. “Law enforcement officers are facing an increase in dangerous and stressful situations. Together, we must build mutual trust between our officers and the community to reduce violence on our streets.”
“We must address this issue immediately. We are not at war with our police departments. Too many lives are being lost and too many people are being made victims,” said Moylan.
The press conference will be held at Des Plaines City Hall on Thursday, November 18th, at 10:15 AM.
An Illinois police union on Wednesday ousted from its membership an officer facing criminal charges for exposing a squad car video that showed his fellow officers slapping and cursing a man dying of a drug overdose.
The case of Sgt. Javier Esqueda, a 27-year veteran of the Joliet Police Department, was featured in September as the first installment of the USA TODAY series “Behind the Blue Wall,” an investigation involving more than 300 cases of police officers over the past decade who have spoken out against alleged misconduct in their departments. […]
Esqueda told USA TODAY that he’s become a pariah among his coworkers since July 2020, when he shared with a television reporter footage from January of that year showing how officers treated a handcuffed Black man in medical distress. Officers slapped Eric Lurry, restricted his airway and shoved a baton in his mouth hours before his death. Esqueda faces up to 20 years in prison after department officials opened a criminal investigation into his actions and prosecutors charged him with four counts of official misconduct.
Members of the Joliet Police Officer’s Association on Wednesday voted 35-1 to expel Esqueda, a move first reported by The Herald-Ledger newspaper in Joliet. In a letter informing him of the impending vote last month, union leaders described his conduct as “reprehensible.” The letter did not offer specifics on what actions from Esqueda prompted the vote.
The controversial head of Chicago’s largest police union said Monday he will retire from the Chicago Police Department — an announcement that came just after he took the stand in a disciplinary hearing that could have ended with his firing.
John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, also declared that he will run for mayor in 2023, alluding multiple times to his combative relationship with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and said he felt the outcome of the proceedings against him was predetermined.
“It was pretty evident very early on that this cake was already baked,” Catanzara said, “I am going to be at human resources first thing in the morning, and I am going to be retiring. I will no longer be a Chicago police officer. … No one will be able to touch me.”
“This has all been a farce from the get-go,” he added, later saying to reporters: “There was never a possibility under God’s green earth that I was ever going to give this mayor the ability to utter the words, ‘I fired him.’ ”
* Oh, man, what a weird morning I had. Got up really early, but it’s just been one thing after another seemingly conspiring to prevent me from finishing my subscriber work. Oy.
Anyway, what’s on your mind?
*** UPDATE *** I just realized that this is our 400th open thread. Not sure what it means or if anyone cares, but it’s kinda boring today.
