A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has restricted the movement of a Springfield man convicted last month for his part in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
In a hearing Thursday, Judge Amit P. Mehta confined Thomas B. Adams Jr. of the 2800 block of Ridge Avenue to his home for 30 days after comments he made to The State Journal-Register about his part in the breach.
Two days after his conviction in a stipulated bench trial, Adams, 41, said he wouldn’t change anything he did that day. […]
According to Thursday’s order, Adams “will be restricted to his residence at all times except for employment; education; religious services; medical, substance abuse, or mental health treatment; attorney visits; court appearances; court-ordered obligations; or other activities approved in advance by the pretrial services office or supervising officer.”
* Press release…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 23 attorneys general, today welcomed a recent decision by CVS and Walgreens to offer mifepristone and misoprostol in their stores. Once certified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), CVS and Walgreens pharmacies can fill prescriptions for mifepristone and misoprostol, which are often referred to as medication abortion, consistent with federal and state law.
In a letter to the companies, Raoul and the attorneys general explained that availability of mifepristone and misoprostol at retail pharmacies would enable millions of individuals to easily access critical, and sometimes lifesaving, reproductive care. Mifepristone and misoprostol have been approved by the FDA for more than 20 years and are also prescribed to treat other common health issues such as miscarriages, life-threatening ectopic pregnancies and gastric ulcers.
“I applaud the decision of CVS and Walgreens to offer accessible reproductive care in their stores. I am proud to collaborate with my colleagues on this letter, not only to support access to medication abortion, but also to share accurate information on the legal availability and medical benefits of mifepristone and misoprostol,” Raoul said. “I will continue to stand up for the rights of women to access reproductive health care both in Illinois and across the country.”
After Walgreens and CVS said they would seek this approval, a group of 20 Republican attorneys general sent a joint letter to executives at both companies warning that they could face legal consequences if they decide to mail and distribute medication abortion in their states.
The Justice Department said earlier this year that abortion pills can be distributed through the mail, but different state laws limit how residents can access the drugs. Arizona, Texas and Arkansas, for example, all ban people from receiving the medication through the mail.
* We talked about the redboxing being done by Mayor Lightfoot’s campaign the other day. Crain’s used the Internet Archive to dig a little deeper…
For much of the campaign, the media section for Lightfoot For Chicago website featured an updated list of positive news stories about the first-term mayor. But after an independent expenditure committee was created — run by former campaign advisor Dave Mellet — to support Lightfoot, the section was updated to include language focused on advertising to “Black frequent municipal primary voters.”
First, the website called for voters to be made aware of Wilson’s past support of former President Donald Trump and donations to other Republicans as well as Johnson’s support of a measure to “redirect funds for policing.”
But as Lightfoot polling began to show Johnson rising in the field, and perhaps because Wilson voters have proven to stick by their man, any mention of Wilson was dropped in favor of directing a full assault on Johnson.
The 77 Committee has picked up the hints, spending $116,405 exactly as the Lightfoot campaign had signaled on their website: in mailers and tv ads opposed to Wilson and Johnson.
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker today signed HB0009 into law, authorizing an easier process for individuals seeking to change the gender listed on their birth certificate. Previously, amending a birth certificate’s gender marker required certification from a health care professional that the individual had undergone gender reassignment surgery or other clinical treatment. The updated law allows changes to the birth certificate providing the petitioner signs a statement affirming their gender identity or intersex condition, opening an easier path to legal recognition for transgender Illinoisans.
“Here in Illinois, we recognize that gender transition is a personal journey that doesn’t always follow a prescriptive medical path, but still deserves to be honored legally,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “In a time of increasing violence and hateful rhetoric against the trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming community, it is more important than ever to reaffirm our state’s commitment to recognizing the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ Illinoisans.”
Previously, transgender Illinoisans were required to receive documentation from a licensed physician to begin the gender change process. However, many trans individuals do not opt for surgery to address gender dysphoria for personal or financial reasons but would still benefit from legally changing their gender as they transition socially or with the aid of hormone therapy. This bill makes gender-affirming documentation more accessible and recognizes the distinction between biological sex and gender for many transgender individuals.
* IDPH…
IDPH has recorded a total of 4,050,952 cases and 36,297 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic. The department is reporting 10,813 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois in the week ending February 12, and 68 deaths.
“We are happy to report no counties are at a high COVID-19 community level this week,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said. […]
As of last night, 979 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 131 patients were in the ICU and 39 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
* This is troubling…
Did you know only 39% of women received CPR from bystanders in public compared to 45% of men? To initiate better outcomes, I joined the Women’s Caucus for a CPR training earlier today and have continued to host free CPR training classes in the 21st Senate District. pic.twitter.com/f3kbt6Xlm9
While we’re on the topic, Illinois AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Pat Devaney was a firefighter for years and served as the firefighters’ union president as well. During the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation’s Black History Month Soirée Wednesday night, a guest collapsed. Another guest began giving the person CPR even though he was breathing regularly. Devaney stepped in, diplomatically stopped the unnecessary CPR and helped the man until an ambulance arrived.
The next time you see Pat, give him an attaboy.
* Press release…
State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. – the chief sponsor of the SAFE-T Act – will serve as chair of the newly established Senate Special Committee on Criminal Law and Public Safety.
“Our number one priority as a General Assembly is to center public safety by and for the people,” said Sims (D-Chicago). “Our collective efforts have allowed us to reimagine public safety and provide historically marginalized communities with access to the resources they need to address the challenges plaguing our communities. However, our work is not done. This committee will give us an opportunity to continue maintaining public safety for all, not just a few.”
Since first entering the legislature, Sims has served as a leading voice in the effort to reform our state’s criminal justice system. Sims most recently spearheaded efforts to pass a comprehensive criminal justice reform bill that changes current use of force policy, how courts impose bail and sentences people convicted of crimes, and advance rights to all Illinois citizens, including detainees and prisoners, to better improve interactions with law enforcement professionals.
The Senate Special Committee on Criminal Law and Public Safety will prioritize violence prevention, focusing on deterrence from the criminal justice system and approaching criminal justice reform through a community-based approach.
“Until systemic racism in our criminal justice system is fully eradicated, our work is not done,” said Sims. “The special committee will allow us to focus on ensuring all people – regardless of their ZIP code or the color of their skin – have the same fair and just chance at safety and success.”
Sims will serve as chair of the 10-person committee throughout the 103rd General Assembly.
* You really gotta wonder whether CTA President Dorval Carter wants Mayor Lightfoot to lose…
2/16/2023 had the lowest number of weekday blue line trains, just 90 arrivals per direction, since we started tracking it in Nov 2021 (excepting 12/23/22 & 12/26/22). If CTA claims "We’ve had no issues recruiting people for rail operations", how come service keeps getting worse? https://t.co/kZJoW8ZSY7
* INCS Action PAC, which is run by the charter school industry and often spars with the Chicago Teachers Union, is now spending some money in the mayor’s race, dumping $63K into digital ads attacking Brandon Johnson, a CTU staffer.
* Fox Chicago | Gov. Pritzker pitches education plan across Illinois: Over the next few days, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is visiting childcare facilities, learning centers, and schools across the state to promote his Smart Start Illinois program. The plan is to provide every child in Illinois with access to a pre-school program and give more money to providers to improve their programs and hire more staff.
* Forbes | Adult-Use Cannabis In Illinois Created 30,000 Jobs, Governor J.B. Pritzker Says: Last month on Jan. 19, the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) issued 33 additional Transporter licenses, closing the 2022 application pool. Those are added to the 88 Craft Grow licenses and 54 Infuser licenses already issued, bringing the total of licensed transporters in the state to 222.
* WBEZ | How admittedly corrupt ex-Illinois lawmakers get to keep their pensions: Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his indicted inner circle all have drawn hundreds of thousands of dollars in state pension payments while they await upcoming federal corruption trials. Madigan has pleaded not guilty.
* NBC Chicago | Chicago’s Immersive Van Gogh Experience To Close After 2 Year Run: According to organizers, Chicago in Feb. 2021 was the first city to debut the exhibit. Since then, “Immersive Van Gogh has launched an immersive art craze,” a press release says, “traveling to over 20 different U.S. cities and selling over 6 million tickets, making it one of the most popular entertainment attractions in the country.”
* The Onion | It Is Journalism’s Sacred Duty To Endanger The Lives Of As Many Trans People As Possible: Much of the recent debate concerns medical procedures, particularly in children, and whether things like hormone replacement therapy or gender-affirming surgeries are safe and appropriate. Indeed, there are critical questions to be asked about the social complexities of gender, as well as medical ethics in a profit-driven healthcare system. We are simply not interested in any of that. Instead, we will use flawed data and spurious logic to repeatedly write the same hand-wringing arguments asking whether there are suddenly too many trans people around. Journalistic integrity demands nothing less.
(T)he Lightfoot administration is planning to pump more than $400 million into its own community safety plan that targets 15 of the city’s most violent community areas.
The plan, “Our City, Our Safety,” was unveiled more than a year ago and has produced few results so far, according to crime data kept by the Sun-Times that shows many of those communities have gotten more dangerous.
It does take a while to set things like these in motion. I wrote about this topic last year. Governments have to make sure that the money is going to qualified contractors and groups and sometimes they even have to help stand up those recipients.
Faced with surging violence, Mayor Lori Lightfoot boasts about investing big money in big ideas — more than $400 million for social programs to battle crime at its roots.
But when it comes to the city’s actual spending and execution, there have been more promises than progress.
An Illinois Answers Project investigation found:
• The city had spent about 6% of the money — roughly $25 million, by a generous estimate — a year into the five-year plan to use a one-time federal windfall and borrowed money to reduce violence, city figures show.
• Many of the city’s programs took months to launch, while a few had yet to start by the end of the year, City Hall reported.
• While the city has marketed its initiatives as innovative, several programs involve traditional services recast as anti-crime efforts. The city, for instance, has earmarked tens of millions of dollars to create more pickleball courts, rehab and sell vacant lots and speed up its response to 311 calls.
• In some cases, the city failed to cite evidence that its programs could work — even when the federal government has asked for it. And the Lightfoot administration has shown few clear plans to evaluate the programs. Experts say city officials are missing a chance to collect valuable data that could help them decide what’s worth continuing.
• A key part of Lightfoot’s plan is funding an array of street outreach groups that specialize in interrupting violence. Some of those groups have little or no experience. In one instance, a group initially rejected for city funding still found ways to get cash. The group is run by a man subject to an order of protection for putting a gun to his ex-wife’s head and threatening to kill her, records show.
The city’s sluggish progress has come as its public safety leadership is in upheaval. The office tasked with coordinating anti-violence programs hasn’t had a permanent director since October; the prior one left without explanation after an Illinois Answers investigation found she had inflated her accomplishments. In four years, the city has had four deputy mayors for public safety.
Experts on anti-violence initiatives say Chicago is doing the right thing by funding a range of programs aimed at helping people in need and fixing neighborhoods instead of depending entirely on police and prisons. But they said the city must spend the money efficiently. During budget hearings and in interviews, aldermen complained the city has moved far too slowly. […]
The $25 million spending figure for 2022 is a generous estimate. The city has been opaque about some of its spending, provided at times inconsistent figures and failed to answer questions clearly about the money.
The city has promised increased spending in the coming years, but at the rate the city spent in 2022, it would take until 2038 to spend the $410 million.
Amends the Humane Care for Animals Act. Provides that no person may sell, offer for sale, barter, or give away as a pet or novelty any hermit crab or goldfish that has been dyed, colored, or otherwise treated to impart an artificial color. Provides that a violation is a Class B misdemeanor.
The bill has the look of being inspired by a constituent. Background on the topic is here.
* From my favorite group chat…
I prefer to imagine that Bob was visited in the middle of the night by the ghost of a crab that told him he had to do this, Jacob Marley-style.
Accompanying AI pics with the command: “An oil painting of an Illinois state Representative being visited in the middle of the night by the ghost of a tie-dyed hermit crab”…
ChatGPT…
Please write a short story about Illinois state Representative Bob Rita being visited in the middle of the night by the ghost of a tie-dyed hermit crab who wants him to introduce legislation banning the sale of dyed hermit crabs and goldfish.
Illinois State Representative Bob Rita had just settled into bed after a long day of legislative meetings when he heard a strange noise coming from his living room.
He sat up in bed, straining to listen, and heard a faint rustling sound. He quickly grabbed his phone and turned on the flashlight app, tiptoeing his way out of the bedroom and into the living room.
There, he saw a strange sight: a small, tie-dyed hermit crab was shuffling around on his coffee table. The crab looked up at Bob with beady eyes and began to speak.
“Representative Rita,” said the crab, “I am the ghost of a hermit crab who was dyed in unnatural colors by a pet store. I died a slow and painful death because of the dye. I have come to you to ask for your help.”
Bob Rita was understandably shocked at this unexpected visitor. “How can I help you?” he asked.
“I want you to introduce legislation that would ban the sale of dyed hermit crabs and goldfish in Illinois,” said the hermit crab. “These practices are cruel and inhumane, and they cause countless animals to suffer and die needlessly. Please, will you help me?”
Bob Rita thought for a moment. He was known for his advocacy for animal rights, but this was a unique request. Nevertheless, he knew it was the right thing to do. “I will do everything in my power to make this happen,” he said.
With those words, the hermit crab vanished, leaving Bob Rita alone in his living room. The representative knew that this was a sign that he needed to take action. Over the coming weeks and months, he worked tirelessly to draft and pass legislation that would prohibit the sale of dyed hermit crabs and goldfish in Illinois.
The law passed with overwhelming support, and soon pet stores across the state stopped selling these animals. Bob Rita was hailed as a hero by animal rights activists, and he knew that he had made a real difference in the lives of countless creatures. He never forgot the strange encounter with the tie-dyed hermit crab, and he felt a sense of gratitude for the ghost that had inspired him to take action.
That was fun.
* The rest of this post was compiled by Isabel. Press release…
Legislation introduced today in the Illinois General Assembly by State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-17) will give victims of doxing the ability to seek civil recourse from their attacker, something doxing victims are unable to currently do in Illinois. Doxing is the act of sharing an individual’s personal information with the intent to cause the individual harm. Senator Julie Morrison (D-29) will carry the legislation in the Illinois State Senate.
Supported by a diverse coalition of civil rights, domestic violence and anti-hate groups, the legislation creates an important deterrent to doxing and gives victims a voice in the aftermath of immense harm. Similar civil anti-doxing bills were recently signed into law in Maryland, Nevada, and Oregon, and the Washington State Legislature recently advanced a similar bill during its current legislative session.
“Doxing is a form of harassment used to threaten and intimidate vulnerable people by maliciously broadcasting their personal information, often including home and work address. Doxing can have a devastating impact on victims, exemplified by a tragic case in which a Jewish woman was subjected to months of harassment and abuse by Neo-Nazis after being doxed on a white supremacist publication,” said Representative Gong-Gershowitz. “This legislation is an important step toward ensuring our laws and regulations are keeping up with new and changing technologies to preserve the safety and privacy of everyone in Illinois – especially marginalized and vulnerable people that are all-too-frequently victims of doxing.”
ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Midwest has been working with Representative Gong-Gershowitz and coalition members on the bill for the last six months in response to a dramatic increase in online hate in recent years. The effort is part of ADL’s Backspace HateTM initiative supporting victims and targets of online hate and harassment by raising awareness and passing legislation to better hold perpetrators accountable for their actions online. […]
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that a public body may require (rather than may not require) that a request be submitted on a standard form or require the requester to specify the purpose for a request. Provides that a person making a request may not make a request for any other individual, but may make a request for an organization if the person discloses the organization for whom the request is being made.
* Press release…
The Illinois State Dental Society joined House and Senate legislators to announce support for key, consumer-centered legislation that will help protect patients by increasing transparency and accountability for dental insurers while ensuring more patient dollars go to patient care.
“Illinois dentists care about their patients and understand the critical role the mouth-body connection plays in their overall physical health. Today, more than half of Americans delay getting medical care — or avoid it altogether — because of burdensome costs, and the most frequently skipped is dental care. This legislation is a significant and necessary step to ensure more access to care, more transparency and more value for dental care in Illinois,” said Eric Larson, Executive Director Illinois State Dental Society.
Sponsored by Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview) and Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview), the More for Your Smile legislative package would require dental insurance companies to spend 80 percent of premiums on dental benefits and quality improvement instead of administrative expenses. Other dental reform bills being introduced include regulations related to virtual credit cards, and network leasing.
The More for Your Smile legislative package accomplishes the following:
- Ensures Patient Dollars Directed to Patient Care: Protects patient dollars by requiring dental insurance carriers to spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on patient care rather than administrative costs, salaries, and profits. Carriers that do not meet this minimum standard would have to refund the difference to covered individuals and groups. Carriers would be required to disclose administrative costs and other financial information annually to the Department of Insurance. This policy has demonstrated broad public support. In 2022, 72 percent of Massachusetts voters approved a similar language at the ballot box. HB 2070/SB 1287.
- Requires Safeguards for Network Leasing: Establishes safeguards for patients and dentists by requiring dental plans to be more transparent when leasing their dental networks and gives dentists certain negotiating capabilities while ensuring no provider is canceled for declining to participate in the new leased network. HB 2072/ SB 1288.
- Bans Fees from “Virtual Credit Cards”: Protects dentists from incurring increased costs associated with Virtual Credit Card transaction fees. Currently, these transaction fees make reimbursement amounts lower than the negotiated rate and can be implemented without a dentist’s consent. HB 2071/SB 1289.
Democratic state lawmakers are mobilizing against a tidal wave of proposed legislation to heavily restrict access to gender-affirming health care, combating stringent measures that can carry prison sentences as long as a decade with bills that plan to establish sanctuary states to shield doctors, transgender youth and their families in all 50 states from potential legal retribution. […]
In January, nearby Illinois became the first midwestern state to enact a law explicitly protecting access to gender-affirming health care and abortion, promising that “the treatment of gender dysphoria or the affirmation of an individual’s gender identity or gender expression” is lawful health care in Illinois, “whether such activity may constitute a violation of another state’s law.”
A second Illinois bill introduced by Sen. Mike Simmons (D), who in 2021 became the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the state Senate, would build on that law by establishing the Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act that would similarly protect doctors and individuals seeking gender-affirming care in Illinois from being charged or subpoenaed based on the laws of another state.
It would also prohibit the governor from complying with extradition requests from other states for individuals in Illinois that have administered, authorized or “otherwise allowed” a child to receive gender-affirming health care, regardless of the state where care was provided.
* Press release…
State Senator Celina Villanueva championed a measure that prohibits students from changing their guardianship in efforts to qualify for need-based financial aid for college.
“Students that are experiencing financial hardships should not feel pressured to change their guardianship in order to receive need-based financial aid,” said Villanueva (D-Chicago). “It is imperative that legislation is put in place to ensure that students who are seeking need-based financial receive the resources they need without being penalized due to of their financial hardships.”
Senate Bill 195 is a direct response to previous public reports that Illinois students became eligible for need-based education financial assistance through the practice of “Opportunity Hoarding.” Opportunity hoarding is the practice of exploiting a loophole in the Probate Act by transferring legal guardianship from a parent to a relative or friend in lower income brackets or by declaring financial independence.
According to ProPublica Illinois, the cost of tuition, fees and housing for full-time students at public universities in Illinois has doubled within the past 15 years. […]
Senate Bill 195 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and moves to the Senate floor for full consideration.
Amends the Tobacco Products Tax Act of 1995. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2024, the tax per cigar sold or otherwise disposed of shall not exceed $0.50 per cigar, excluding little cigars. Provides that distributors are allowed a discount in the amount of 2% of the distributor’s tax liability but not more than $2,000 per return.
* I’m told this is basically to give the feds an option to have someone officially confirm the authenticity of documents…
Not every day you see the custodian of records for the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives subpoenaed to testify at a Chicago political corruption trial. Yes, the “ComEd Four” trial starts in 17 days folks. h/t @PetrellaReportspic.twitter.com/YTAqZCdm4A
* A preview from earlier this morning in anticipation of an Illinois Supreme Court ruling on Cothron v. White Castle, a Biometric Information Privacy Act case. This was prepared by Locke Lord senior counsel Ken Suh…
• This will be the second major Illinois Supreme Court decision in this month to define the scope of BIPA liability and damages.
• Earlier this month, the Court decided in Tims v. Black Horse Motor Carriers that BIPA claims were subject to a five-year statute of limitations.
• At issue in the case is when a claim under BIPA accrues. The Court’s answer will determine whether a violation of BIPA occurs every time a person’s biometric data is scanned without the proper consent or disclosure, or a violation of BIPA occurs once per individual regardless of the number of times that person’s biometric data is scanned without the proper consent or disclosure.
• The decision will have huge consequences because BIPA provides for statutory damages per violation.
o A victory for the plaintiff, could mean that businesses are liable for a statutory damages amount every time an employee’s biometric data was scanned without the proper consent or disclosure for the preceding five years.
o In contrast, a victory for defendant White Castle, will establish that every employee whose biometric data was scanned without consent or disclosure, would be entitled to a single statutory damages award regardless of the number of times their biometric data was scanned.
* Four of the seven Supreme Court justices handed down their majority opinion at about 9 this morning…
We hold that a separate claim accrues under the Act each time a private entity scans or transmits an individual’s biometric identifier or information in violation of section 15(b) or 15(d).
According to her complaint, plaintiff is a manager of a White Castle restaurant in Illinois, where she has been employed since 2004. Shortly after her employment began, White Castle introduced a system that required its employees to scan their fingerprints to access their pay stubs and computers. A third-party vendor then verified each scan and authorized the employee’s access. […]
In relevant part, White Castle moved for judgment on the pleadings, arguing that plaintiff’s action was untimely because her claim accrued in 2008, when White Castle first obtained her biometric data after the Act’s effective date. Plaintiff responded that a new claim accrued each time she scanned her fingerprints and White Castle sent her biometric data to its third-party authenticator, rendering her action timely with respect to the unlawful scans and transmissions that occurred within the applicable limitations period.
As with section 15(b), we conclude that the plain language of section 15(d) applies to every transmission to a third party. White Castle argues that a disclosure is something that can happen only once. The Seventh Circuit asserted that the plain meaning of “disclose” connotes a new revelation. […]
This court has repeatedly recognized the potential for significant damages awards under the Act. This court explained that the legislature intended to subject private entities who fail to follow the statute’s requirements to substantial potential liability. The purpose in doing so was to give private entities “the strongest possible incentive to conform to the law and prevent problems before they occur.” As the Seventh Circuit noted, private entities would have “little incentive to course correct and comply if subsequent violations carry no legal consequences.” […]
While we explained in Rosenbach that “subjecting private entities who fail to follow the statute’s requirements to substantial potential liability, including liquidated damages, injunctions, attorney fees, and litigation expenses ‘for each violation’ of the law” is one of the principal means that the Illinois legislature adopted to achieve the Act’s objectives of protecting biometric information, there is no language in the Act suggesting legislative intent to authorize a damages award that would result in the financial destruction of a business.
Ultimately, however, we continue to believe that policy-based concerns about potentially excessive damage awards under the Act are best addressed by the legislature. See McDonald, 2022 IL 126511, ¶¶ 48-49 (observing that violations of the Act have the potential for “substantial consequences” and large damage awards but concluding that “whether a different balance should be struck *** is a question more appropriately addressed to the legislature”). We respectfully suggest that the legislature review these policy concerns and make clear its intent regarding the assessment of damages under the Act.
* From Justice Overstreet’s dissent, joined by Justices Thiess and Holder White…
The majority’s interpretation cannot be reconciled with the plain language of the statute, the purposes behind the Biometric Information Privacy Act (Act) (740 ILCS 14/1 et seq. (West 2018)), or this court’s case law, and it will lead to consequences that the legislature could not have intended. Moreover, the majority’s interpretation renders compliance with the Act especially burdensome for employers. This court should answer the certified question by saying that a claim accrues under section 15(b) or 15(d) of the Act (id. § 15(b), (d)) only upon the first scan or transmission.
In a statement, White Castle said it was “deeply disappointed with the court’s decision and the significant business disruption that will be caused to Illinois businesses, which now face potentially huge damages.” The company said it was reviewing its options to seek further judicial review, pointing to the dissent in the ruling.
Matthew Kugler, a professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law whose research includes biometric privacy issues, said the ruling sends a clear to signal to lower courts that companies should not be required to pay out such massive damages in privacy cases.
“We will continue to see a large damages awards, but the court is signaling to the lower courts that those awards should not be larger than they were previously,” Kugler said.
*** UPDATE *** I didn’t see this my first time through, but wow…
White Castle estimates that if plaintiff is successful and allowed to bring her claims on behalf of as many as 9500 current and former White Castle employees, class- wide damages in her action may exceed $17 billion. We have found, however, that the statutory language clearly supports plaintiff’s position.
The majority acknowledges White Castle’s estimate that, if plaintiff is successful in her claims on behalf of as many as 9500 current and former White Castle employees, damages in this action may exceed $17 billion. Supra 40. Nevertheless, the majority brushes this concern aside by stating that “policy-based concerns about potentially excessive damage awards under the Act are best addressed by the legislature.”
Pritzker campaigned on freezing gas tax hikes and cutting grocery taxes. If those tax cuts were good enough to campaign on, why weren’t they good enough to make it into his budget? I asked him: pic.twitter.com/7XTgvzE29s
Well, let’s start with we did cut taxes last year when we had a surplus that we could put toward temporary tax break for everybody when inflation was going up. We did that. And I’ll continue to look for ways to put money back into peoples’ pockets with tax breaks. I also want to point out we’ve underfunded our education system, we’ve underfunded early childhood education. And so we’re trying to do things simultaneously as resources are made available. But remember, none of this can be done, I want to point this out and make sure everybody pays attention, can’t be done if you don’t balance the budget and make sure you’re allocating if you have surplus resources, allocate them properly when we thought those were one time funds over the last couple of years because some of it came in from the federal government. We said we’re only going to put them toward one time expenditures. And that meant for example, paying down debt for the state, we paid down almost $11 billion of debt for the state as a result of those excess revenues or surpluses that we saw, because we weren’t sure about whether we were going to see continued increases in our state sources of revenue. We now are looking at the state sources, we’re not seeing any federal revenue to augment that and yet we’re still running surpluses. That’s why we have surpluses here in FY23. It’s allowed us to pay down more debt. But and some of it will go to, for example, the pensions. We’re seeing that as a stable level of revenue. We dropped the revenue estimate by about one and a half billion dollars for next year. Because again, being prudent, I’ve been very conservative about revenue estimates. And so going into the next year, we’re actually proposing less revenue and lower spending overall than we had in FY23. And we’re dedicating that to trying to uplift our children across the state.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
* And here’s his response to the second question…
Oh, believe me, I want to make any tax cuts that we could propose permanent. Let’s start with that. I would like to lower everybody’s taxes. That’s number one. I’d love to do that. We also as you know, have deficits that have been run. I’m talking about infrastructure, investment deficits, deficits and investing in education that we need to work on simultaneously with trying to get more money back into people’s pockets. We’ve not raised taxes. In fact, we’ve held taxes the same. What we’ve seen is a level of economic activity in the state and our GDP rising, and that has brought in more dollars in our regular you know three big sources of revenue and that sales tax, individual income tax and corporate income tax, and we’re trying to put those in the right places. We’re getting to where we want to be in Illinois, again, rising in the rankings. And one thing to point out to you is that today, we’re number six in the country in K-12 education according to US News and World Report. And we’re number one among the most populous states in the country, the 10 most populous states we’re number one. I want us to maintain that I want us to make sure we’re investing in the right things. I have to say early childhood is absolutely the best place.
(A)round 95% of all General Fund spending on services goes to the four core areas of Education (Pre-K, K-12, and Higher Education), Healthcare, Human Services, and Public Safety. For too long, the state’s structural fiscal problems have forced decision-makers to cut Illinois’ real, inflation-adjusted investment in those core services. Just last year, Illinois’ funding for those services was collectively 16% less in real terms than it was in FY 2000, resulting in inadequate funding for schools, and inadequate capacity to meet the health, safety, and human service needs of everyone from senior citizens to individuals with disabilities, mental health concerns, or who have suffered from domestic violence. [Emphasis added.]
There’s more in Ralph’s report, but I went over it with subscribers earlier today, so I’ll just leave it at that.
* Pritzker statement: “Ron DeSantis’s dangerous and hateful agenda has no place in Illinois. Banning books, playing politics with people’s lives, and censoring history are antithetical to who we are. Every candidate hoping to hold public office in the land of Lincoln should condemn this event.”
* ADDED: Paul Vallas statement: “I wholeheartedly agree with Governor Pritzker that there is simply no place in Chicago for a right-wing extremist like Ron DeSantis, and I am disappointed in FOP leadership for inviting him to speak to officers. DeSantis’ record of trying to erase the LGBTQ community, banning books on Black history and much more is not in line with my values, the values of our community, or the values of the rank and file police officers who I believe have no interest in getting swept up in culture wars and national Republican Party politics. I want to build trust between all of Chicago’s communities and the police by holding everyone accountable, because that is the only way we can make our city safer. This decision by the FOP leadership makes that job harder.”
* WAND | Illinois House committee discusses accuracy of American history taught in colleges: Young people in Illinois start to learn about American history during elementary school and get more in-depth courses in high school. Many of their teachers studied history at Illinois universities, but state lawmakers want to ensure every college is keeping a standard of teaching history from all American perspectives.
* WBBM | Consumer groups make more arguments against utility’s $400M rate hike request: Consumer groups are urging the Illinois Commerce Commission to reject the request by Peoples Gas for a record $400 million rate hike without major changes. Abe Scarr with the Public Interest Research Group says a major driver of the rate hike request is the utility’s pipe-replacement program, but they’re falling behind every year.
* Tribune | ‘I had no choice’: For many homeless people, O’Hare has become a nighttime refuge: And while sheltering at the airport isn’t new, said Jessica Dubuar, director of health and specialty services of Haymarket Center, which has conducted outreach operations out of O’Hare to address homelessness in public transportation since 1990, the steadily increasing number of people doing it is.
* Sun-Times | Mayor vows to remove unhoused people from O’Hare as more seek shelter at airport: Lightfoot said Thursday that it’s a security risk to allow homeless people to stay at O’Hare. But a law enforcement source said that starting this week, additional police has been dedicated to offering services to homeless people — and removing those who don’t accept the help.
* Daily Southtown | Park Forest Mayor Jon Vanderbilt drops bid for reelection: “I love Park Forest and the people that live here, it’s a special place”” he wrote in a Facebook post Thursday evening. “I’ve given the residents 110 percent for the past 6 years. In that time I’ve lost a lot of relatives. After my father passing about a year ago my boys need more of my time and not less. Once re-elected I would have less not more time with my family.”
* The Southern | Jackson Growth Alliance economic group is looking for a new leader: “We’re looking for someone with deep roots in the area and who understands business development and retention,” explained Joni Bailey, chair of the JGA board of directors. “To use an anachronistic word, they also need a deep Rolodex, meaning they need to be able to pick up the phone and call a lot of people; they need to have a good network of people.”
* Farm Week | Get to Know House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch: Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, has served as Illinois House Speaker since Jan. 13, 2021. He has served in the General Assembly since January 2013 and represents a western Chicago suburb. An attorney, Welch also served 12 years on the Proviso Township High School Board of Education, the last 10 as president. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, Evanston, and a law degree from John Marshall Law School, Chicago. He and his wife, ShawnTe, have two children, Tyler and Marley.
