* Monday is Lincoln’s birthday, a state holiday. Enjoy. Here’s The White Stripes covering a song written by Hal David and the late, great Burt Bacharach…
Like a summer rose
Needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love
To feel all the way
It is tradition for the Governor to deliver his annual State of the State and Budget Address to a joint session in the House Chamber. However, for the past two years, a global pandemic and a dangerous snowstorm forced Governor JB Pritzker to relocate. House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch is excited to host the governor for the first time since he was elected to lead the chamber.
“In my first two years as Speaker, we faced unprecedented challenges and I’m thrilled that we are beginning to gain a sense of normalcy again,” said Speaker Welch. “I’m grateful we will be able to host Governor Pritzker and I look forward to hearing more about his priorities for this session.”
After three years of pandemic disruption that saw postponements, downsizing and a special outdoor summer edition, the Chicago Auto Show may be hitting on all cylinders for the 2023 edition.
The annual show, which opens Saturday, has expanded back into two halls at McCormick Place, with a full roster of brands, exhibits and test tracks, hoping to draw large crowds of EV-curious and old-school car enthusiasts.
* IDPH…
The department is reporting 10,234 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois in the week ending February 5, and 62 deaths. … As of last night, 834 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 100 patients were in the ICU and 34 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
* Scott is right (as usual). This isn’t a “loophole”…
I've seen this "loophole" comment several times now. A US supreme court ruling allowing for SuperPACs that can raise unlimited money, that cannot be limited or regulated by any state or local law, is not a loophole.https://t.co/inkLSk9s3M
The 77 Committee is run by Dave Mellet, a longtime top political adviser to Lightfoot, who said the committee operates independently of any campaign for mayor, as required by law.
“We do not communicate or coordinate with any of the campaigns for mayor and all decisions on strategy, fundraising and expenditures are made solely by the committee,” Mellet said in a statement to WTTW News.
They didn’t have to communicate with the Lightfoot campaign because the campaign, like most campaigns, has what is known as a “red box” on its website. They’re designed to let independent expenditure committees know what the campaign would like them to focus on, provide oppo, etc. Click the “Media” link on Lightfoot’s homepage and you’ll get this…
Voters on the go across Chicago, especially Black frequent municipal primary voters, need to know about Brandon Johnson’s extreme background contrasted with Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s progressive accomplishments.
Brandon Johnson wants to defund the police. Johnson introduced a resolution to “redirect funds from policing.”
Brandon Johnson’s tax plan would hit the middle class, drive jobs to the suburbs, and jeopardize Chicago’s tourism and the status of O’Hare.
Johnson wants to defund the police, putting our safety at risk; raise taxes on the middle class and drive jobs away from Chicago.
* Hard to disagree…
Beer. My nominee for coolest thing manufactured in Illinois is beer. Manufactured across Illinois. Distributed by a skilled Union workforce statewide. Sold in businesses huge & tiny and enjoyed in homes, bars, and at family gatherings across our fair state.
Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) released the following statement following the House passage of the Assault Weapons Ban, H.R. 1808:
“Assault weapons are weapons of war designed for one purpose and one purpose only: efficiently killing human beings. There is simply no reason for a civilian to own one of these firearms.”
And here’s Sam Royko on the right…
* Press release…
State Representative Wayne Rosenthal (R-Morrisonville) has been tapped by Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) to serve as the Minority Spokesperson for two House Committees. The committees he was chosen for include State Government Administration and Transportation: Vehicle Safety.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve as Spokesperson on these committees,” said Rosenthal. “My past experience leading the Department of Natural Resources and the men and women of the Illinois National Guard has given me valuable insight to address the issues that will come before these committees as we work to improve state government operations and transportation safety on our roadways.”
Since Rosenthal previously served in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015, it made him eligible to serve as a committee Spokesperson because House Rules require Spokespersons to be in at least their third term of office. In this role, Rosenthal will be responsible for leading the work of his fellow Republican members on the committee and promoting Republican initiatives and legislation.
As the former Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources from 2015 to 2019, Rosenthal brings the practical experience of having administered a state agency to the work of the legislature’s committee process. This makes Rosenthal uniquely and highly qualified for the Spokesperson role.
“As I’ve said before, my top priority is providing the best possible service to constituents,” said Rosenthal. “I will bring that same focus to my committee work over the course of this term.”
In addition to serving as Spokesperson on the aforementioned committees, Rosenthal will also serve as a member of the following committees: Agriculture and Conservation, Energy and Environment, Higher Education, and Veterans’ Affairs.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Crain’s | Rivian’s challenges pile up as new rivals swarm into the EV market: Recent setbacks pummeled Rivian shares to a 52-week low of $15.28 last month. Price cuts by rivals Tesla and Ford weigh on the shares, which peaked at more than $170 following Rivian’s November 2021 IPO. Amid shrinking cash reserves and recession fears, the company announced it was laying off 6% of its workforce, although sparing its primary production facility in Normal. That follows a similar-sized layoff last summer.
* Sun-Times | Will Bridgeport bank failure trial reveal more secrets about clout bank linked to Patrick Daley Thompson?: This time, it will be centerstage when Robert M. Kowalski, a lawyer and developer — he has called himself “Bob the Builder” in court filings — who got millions of dollars in loans from the bank, goes on trial Monday. He’s the first to face trial of 14 people charged with having a role in what federal authorities have said was an embezzlement scheme that involved top executives of the bank.
* Beacon-News | City Council eyes $500 million data center project in Aurora: The proposed development at the southwest corner of Bilter and Eola roads would eventually feature three buildings, being developed by Seefried Properties to eventually be owned by Endeavour Edged, an international company known for data center development around the world using 100% renewable energy and a zero-water cooling system, officials said.
* Fox Chicago | Polar plunging raises funds for Special Olympics of Illinois: Polar plunging has been gaining attention with some research saying it’s good for your health. It can also help raise money for the Special Olympics of Illinois. One brave plunger demonstrates “cold exposure therapy” in Lake Michigan live on Good Day Chicago.
* Sun-Times | After taking a pass on mayor’s race, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley endorses Garcia: Earlier this week, he was endorsed by former Gov. Pat Quinn, who circulated nominating petitions for mayor before deciding not to join the crowded field. Quinn chose Garcia over Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whom he supported four years ago, and Paul Vallas, whom he chose in 2014 as his running mate for lieutenant governor.
* WBEZ | Right after landing a big deal with the CTA, businessman helps Lightfoot’s reelection effort: Less than a month ago, the Chicago Transit Authority — whose leaders are appointed by the mayor — announced a lucrative new contract with a company founded by prominent real-estate magnate Elzie Higginbottom. Just a few weeks later, another company tied to Higginbottom gave a $50,000 contribution to a new political fund created by a close ally of Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
* Chalkbeat | COVID prompted many Chicago principals to leave. What will it take to help them stay?: Before the pandemic, the district’s principal turnover was slowing, dipping to a rate below the national average. Still, about half of elementary school principals and more than two-thirds of high school principals were leaving their jobs within five years, according to a pair of new University of Chicago reports based on eight years of staffing data and interviews with local principals.
* WaPo | Rick Steves: Don’t skip Europe’s second cities: While lacking the popularity and the bucket-list sights, Europe’s second cities tend to enjoy a creative edge, a strong civic spirit, a Rust Belt toughness, fun-loving eateries with cutting-edge menus, entertaining street art … and far fewer tourists, which also means lower prices, a more authentic welcome and arguably a more honest cultural experience.
“After listening to Shannon Adcock’s speech, I think she should run for governor,” Vallas says in the video.
* As noted in the tweet, this was a different event than the June, 2022 conference Vallas did with the group which brought his association to light. His protestations last year that he knew little about the group before the conference are a little tough to believe.
So why today’s tweet? Well, the group got kinda bent out of shape after Vallas threw them under the bus. Stuff happens.
Citigroup Inc. has been dropped from the group of banks poised to handle the biggest-ever municipal-bond transaction from Texas after the state’s attorney general’s office determined the firm “discriminates” against the firearms industry, barring it from underwriting most government borrowings in the state.
The Texas Natural Gas Securitization Finance Corp. board met on Thursday and took action to “reconstitute” the syndicate on the $3.4 billion deal, according to Lee Deviney, executive director of the Texas Public Finance Authority, the state agency overseeing the borrowing. Citigroup had been listed in the original iteration of the underwriting firms approved by the board in May and is no longer included in the final group. […]
Citi’s removal from the deal isn’t a surprise after Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office last month said that they would no longer “approve any public security issued on or after today’s date in which Citigroup purchases or underwrites the public security,” according to a Jan. 18 letter to bond counsels written by Leslie Brock, assistant attorney general chief of the public finance division. […]
Citigroup is the second bank to be removed from the transaction. UBS Group AG was kicked off the deal in October after the state listed them among firms it considers to “boycott” the fossil fuel industry.
The Mississippi House passed a controversial bill that would form a court system of unelected judges and prosecutors to preside over part of the majority-Black city of Jackson.
Black residents make up 82.8% of the city’s population, according to the U.S. Census.
The bill would expand the city’s capitol complex improvement district, which “was created by the Mississippi Legislature to establish regular funding and administration of infrastructure projects within a defined area of the city of Jackson,” according to city documents.
Instead of giving the city’s majority-Black residents an opportunity to vote for judges and prosecutors in the court, the Republican-backed bill would require government officials to choose who fills those positions.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Biden administration over their guidance to pharmacies about not discriminating against people when dispensing medication. Essentially, the guidance was a reminder to pharmacists that they can’t discriminate against someone based on their ability or perceived ability to get pregnant. So, for example, they can’t withhold arthritis medication from a woman just because the medication could induce abortion.
Again, this guidance didn’t say that Texas or anywhere else had to prescribe abortion medication. Yet Paxton is suing, saying that the Biden administration “has no legal authority to institute this radical abortion agenda.” (You also may remember Paxton as the AG who sued the Biden administration over the state’s right to refuse emergency life-saving abortions.) What’s doubly upsetting about this is that the media coverage is getting it all wrong, with headlines mirroring Paxton’s claim that the lawsuit is about abortion.
The Texas Tribune’s headline, for example, reads, “Texas sues to block Biden’s abortion medication guidance”—language that’s repeated in multiple other news outlets. I think the least we can ask from mainstream media is that they get the basic facts right.
The organizers of the annual Knoxville Pride Festival said the event will be cancelled if a bill restricting where drag shows can take place becomes law.
If passed, drag performances on public property or where they can be seen by someone who is not an adult would be banned effective April 1. A first offense for a performer would be a Class A misdemeanor, but a second or subsequent violation would be a Class E felony.
The bill passed the Tennessee Senate on Thursday and now must be approved by the house to become law. […]
The festival is the largest fundraiser of the year for the 501c3 organization that helps fund the Knox Pride Resource Center, which provides a food pantry, a thrift store to provide low and no-cost clothing to houseless and precariously housed individuals, life skills classes, and more, Knox Pride said.
According to Camp, the 2022 festival had 75,000 attendees and 125 performers, 100 who were drag artists, in Downtown Knoxville.
Mr. DeSantis is the latest figure, and among the most influential, to join a growing list of Republicans calling on the court to revisit the 1964 ruling, known as The New York Times Company v. Sullivan.
The decision set a higher bar for defamation lawsuits involving public figures, and for years it was viewed as sacrosanct. That standard has empowered journalists to investigate and criticize public figures without fear that an unintentional error will result in crippling financial penalties.
But emboldened by the Supreme Court’s recent willingness to overturn longstanding precedent, conservative lawyers, judges, legal scholars and politicians have been leading a charge to review the decision and either narrow it or overturn it entirely. […]
During the panel discussion on Tuesday, Mr. DeSantis accused the press of using Sullivan as a shield to intentionally “smear” politicians and said the precedent discouraged people from running for office. Would the current Supreme Court, he asked the panelists, be “receptive” to revisiting the case?
State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, and state Sen. Mary Edly-Allen, D-Libertyville, recently introduced legislation, House Bill 2123 and Senate Bill 1392, to crack down on abusive and harmful use of digital forgeries known as “deepfakes” and create a path for victims experiencing physical, emotional, reputational or economic harm to seek justice.
Deepfake technology is used to create extremely realistic digital forgeries, which are increasingly being used to falsely portray people participating in pornographic activity without their consent. Victims are routinely humiliated, abused and blackmailed as the result of the creation and dissemination of pornographic deepfake videos.
Deepfakes are also being used to falsely portray public figures making offensive or harmful statements, including elected officials and world leaders. These false depictions have the potential to undermine public trust, obfuscate the truth, and spread dangerous misinformation. In a particularly dangerous example, Vice reported a video forgery that used deepfake technology to falsely depict Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy surrendering to Russian forces. This type of malicious misinformation has the potential to create mass confusion and provoke violence if not addressed.
“This ‘deepfake’ technology presents a very real threat to privacy and to the truth,” said Gong-Gershowitz. “Deepfakes can falsely and convincingly portray anyone saying anything, creating confusion and eroding public trust. This raises serious implications in a world already struggling with rampant misinformation and social media manipulation. Our laws and regulations must keep up with this rapidly-evolving technology to protect individual privacy and public trust.”
* It’s that time of the year…
It's my favorite time of year: seeing witness slips on a staggering array of bills from David Schwartz and Matthew Slade, the two most opinionated people in Illinois. pic.twitter.com/glyU4hrB36
Today, Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-IL) reintroduced the Safety & Opportunity for Girls Act.
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order to interpret Title IX as requiring schools to allow access to sex-segregated spaces and activities based on gender identity. The Safety & Opportunity for Girls Act, sponsored by Rep. Mary Miller, adds a clear definition of sex to Title IX to clarify that “sex” means biological sex, not gender identity.
Rep. Mary Miller says that she is sponsoring the Safety and Opportunity for Girls Act to protect spaces for women and girls in school.
“Democrats continue to push radical gender ideology on our children, and we must draw the line to protect women and girls,” Miller said. “Title IX was created to enhance opportunities for our daughters, not threaten their safety. No girl should be robbed of athletic opportunities by being forced to compete with biological males in school sports. The Safety and Opportunity for Girls Act would make it clear that the definition of sex in Title IX means biological sex, not gender identity.
My goal is to protect spaces like bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams for women like my five daughters, and so many others across the country.
The Northwest Suburban High School District 214 and Palatine Township Elementary District 15 school boards plan to retain a still-to-be-named lobbyist to oppose — or at least get amended — recently filed state legislation that would take a cut of their future property tax revenues and give the Chicago Bears a massive tax break at Arlington Park.
The District 214 board unanimously supported hiring a lobbyist Thursday night, which followed the District 15 board’s similar vote Wednesday night. The districts want to present a united front before legislators in Springfield and hope to get Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 on board as well. The District 211 board next meets Feb. 16.
“We would like to have a seat at the table so our voice is not lost as we move through this large, complex and certainly rapid-moving and high-stakes issue,” said District 15 Superintendent Laurie Heinz. “The board has always and will support everything that has to do with the economic development within District 15 boundaries. But the economic development must make sense and fully address any impact on District 15 and residents within our communities.” […]
The legislation, filed Monday by Democratic state Sen. Ann Gillespie of Arlington Heights, would allow developers of “mega projects” — those worth at least $500 million — to make payments to local taxing bodies like schools while also getting an assessment freeze of up to 40 years. Under the proposal, the Bears’ payments would be negotiated, but it’s the village of Arlington Heights — not the school districts — that would be doing the negotiating.
Gillespie, an admitted skeptic of her own bill, said she filed it so that it could be part of a larger conversation about her long-sought reforms to tax-increment financing.
Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin reintroduced legislation to designate the sites of the 1908 Race Riot in Springfield, Illinois, as a national monument.
According to a press release, both senators have been longtime supporters of turning the site into a national monument, originally introducing the legislation in 2019 and 2021.
It has the support of the NAACP, Sierra Club, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum.
If a Democratic lawmaker has her way, non-citizens will be able to vote in school board elections in Illinois.
State Sen. Celina Villanueva has introduced legislation to allow “non-citizens of the United States” to register to vote in school board elections. The measure is headed to the Assignments Committee, where it will be reviewed. School board elections will take place this year on April 4.
Creates the If This Is Such A Good Idea, Let’s Start With You Act. Provides that the following actions must be completed no later than June 30, 2024: (1) the City of Chicago must convert Millennium Park into a solar energy park by building solar energy facilities on all open space and by mounting solar energy facilities on structures, except that no solar energy facility is required on Cloud Gate; (2) the City of Chicago must mount one wind energy turbine on Cloud Gate (The Bean exhibit) in Millennium Park; and (3) the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District must place at least one wind energy facility in each public park operated by the City or Park District. Also requires each forest preserve district in Cook County to place at least one wind energy facility in each forest preserve operated by the forest preserve district. Requires reports to the General Assembly on the progress of complying with the requirements and the benefits that the wind and solar energy requirements have conferred upon the City of Chicago and Cook County. Limits concurrent exercise of home rule powers. Defines terms. Effective immediately.
Some Democratic lawmakers are proposing pushing back high school start times across Maine.
They say it’s a serious issue involving teenage health.
The bill, An Act to Provide for a Later Starting Time for High Schools, is very simple. If approved, high schools in Maine wouldn’t be allowed to start before 8:30 a.m.
“I’ve been having kids all over the state actually write me saying how much they really want to see this pass,” said State Sen. Mattie Daughtry, (D) Brunswick.
“If you look at teens and development, their circadian rhythms are actually different than the rest of us,” Daughtry said. “So waking a teen up at 6 a.m. is the equivalent of you and I getting shaken awake at 3 a.m.”
The Illinois Craft Brewers Guild filed bill with the state Legislature that would allow craft breweries to ship beer directly to consumers.
Allowing brewers in the state to sell beer online and ship to customers’ homes would serve as a lifeline to the craft beer industry, which continues to face economic fallout from the pandemic, said Ray Stout, executive director of the trade organization. It would also bring the industry up to speed in a world where people are accustomed to buying almost everything with the click of a mouse. […]
The bill, which has been introduced in the Illinois Senate and is expected to be introduced to the Illinois House of Representatives in the coming days, marks the guild’s second attempt in as many years to try to codify direct-to-consumer beer shipping into law.
The newest bill puts a cap on how much beer a consumer can order online — 12 cases, which contain 24 beers each — per year. Stout said he thinks that cap makes the bill more likely to pass. He does expect push back from distributors, however.
Newly released reports from the Illinois Department of Human Services’ watchdog office reveal shocking instances of cruelty, abuse and poor care of patients who have mental illnesses and developmental disabilities at a state-run facility in rural southern Illinois.
The eight reports, obtained last month under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, provide new evidence of an ongoing crisis at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center, which has been the subject of numerous investigative articles by Lee Enterprises Midwest, Capitol News Illinois and ProPublica.
In one report from November, the IDHS inspector general wrote that two Choate employees who had broken a patient’s arm in October 2017 bragged about how staff got away with abusing patients by providing scant details on reports and blaming resulting injuries on accidental patient falls. The staffers also boasted about intimidating and bullying other employees to keep them from reporting abuse and bragged that they retaliated against those who spoke up.
In another report, the inspector pointed to years of concerns about the care provided to patients who have pica, a disorder in which people feel compelled to swallow inedible objects such as coins and zippers.
Several nurses told an investigator that it was common practice to force patients with pica to dig through their own excrement with gloved hands or a spatula to determine whether objects they swallowed had passed, the inspector general found. The investigation was triggered by a complaint to the agency’s abuse hotline made last spring by a facility monitor who observed a patient walk out of the bathroom with a bag of feces. Patients questioned by investigators said they felt disgusted by the practice and viewed it as punitive. […]
Further, an incident in November 2021 extended beyond neglect. A mental health technician was found to have also mentally abused and retaliated against a patient who wet himself after the tech rejected his request to use the bathroom. The worker made the man mop up the mess and tossed his personal letters in the bucket of dirty water, according to the inspector’s report. When questioned by an investigator, one of the patients who witnessed the incident and corroborated the account began to cry and said he “was tired of being abused.”
Blue state Illinois stands out as a “blue wall,” Pritzker said, a place where the policies of the Biden administration can be highlighted at a convention, with the Biden and Pritzker agendas closely aligned.
Illinois has an assault weapons ban; abortion rights locked in; workers rights laws; and, when it comes to infrastructure projects, Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois capital plan has been boosted with massive federal funding from Biden’s signature infrastructure bill. […]
“Is [Georgia] really that purple? [Pritzker asked.] Well, it’s got a Republican governor, a Republican legislature, it’s got a majority of its congressional delegation is Republican. […]
Then there is the matter of hotels. A major Atlanta vulnerability is its lack of union hotels. Atlanta has only two union hotels, compared with 45 in the Chicago area.
Vallas explained by saying that he and his wife, Sharon, have “lived apart” for decades.
“When I left Philadelphia to go to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, my wife did not want to go with me. She wanted to move back to where she was most comfortable. She bought a home right next to her aged parents in the same house where she grew up….My kids were still relatively young, and she thought that’s where she could be most easily supported,” Vallas said.
“Sometimes, people stay married because they make certain arrangements…I’ve always lived where I’ve worked. This has been our understanding. I wanted my wife to be in her most comfortable setting with her friends and family…while she allowed me to do what I do: rescues, turnaround projects, crisis management.”
Vallas said he listed Palos Heights as his home address when he contributed to Giannoulias because his wife, who cares for her parents and his 94-year-old mother, “pays the bills and handles the finances.” They have one credit card between them that’s in her name.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* The Paul Vallas residency story has been floating around Twitter for a bit now…
How did they miss the fact that his “residence” is a 600 sq ft 1 bedroom and he’s still taking the homeowners exemption in the burbs?
Paul Vallas’ wife, Sharon, can’t even vote for her husband because she is registered to vote in Palos Heights
Why should we elect someone that shows absolutely no commitment to being a part of our community, other than wanting to be mayor? pic.twitter.com/mpVKuNkOxq
Once again, Vallas used a Palos Heights address in his role as the firm’s President (renewed in August, 2022.)
Do we have any actual evidence Vallas even lives in Chicago? Even Vallas seems confused on where he lives as he used 2 addresses on the same document 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/E9DKrgONy5
If Paul Vallas is a Chicago resident, why did he make a $250 contribution to Alexi Giannoulias using a Palos Heights address in Sept, 2022? pic.twitter.com/e95Ke7TKNQ
It looks like @royalpratt@ad_quig have copies of Vallas’ federal tax returns going back till 2018
That would show if Vallas took the mortgage interest dedication for the full years of 2018 & 2019, while Vallas was allegedly a Chicago residenthttps://t.co/OW2MokWDRa
Vallas, who has been registered to vote in Chicago at an apartment in Bridgeport for less than a year, declined to answer questions about his residency directly from WTTW News. Instead, a spokesperson for his campaign issued a statement saying he lives in Chicago while his wife, Sharon, lives in Palos Heights to care for her elderly parents and 93-year-old mother-in-law.
“The couple has made this sacrifice so that their elderly parents can be cared for in their residences,” according to the campaign, which said Vallas visits the Palos Heights home “when his schedule permits.”
However, when Vallas contributed $250 to Democrat Alexi Giannoulias’ successful campaign for secretary of state in September, Vallas listed his address as his Palos Heights home, according to records filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections. A spokesperson for Vallas said that was an error and would be corrected.
Vallas also uses the address of his home in Palos Heights for his consulting business, according to documents on file with state officials. A spokesperson for Vallas said that was done when Vallas was living in New Orleans more than a decade ago.
Vallas has been registered to vote in Chicago since 2018. These candidate residency requirements are not difficult to skirt. But he has some more explaining to do.
Also, I’m told Vallas flatly denies owning any property in Monee.
*** UPDATE 3 ***
NEW: the Cook County Assessor is out with a new statement, saying it has concluded its investigation and determined the Vallas’ did NOT improperly claim a homeowners exemption on its Palos Heights property.
Because Ms. Vallas applied for the exemptions and the documents provided by her representative established that the Palos Heights property is properly receiving an exemption, and neither she nor Paul Vallas are receiving homeowners exemptions elsewhere, the investigation is concluded with no violation.
* Meanwhile…
Protesters right now outside Union League Club calling out Paul Vallas’ involvement with Awake Illinois. pic.twitter.com/4YI4dMfqdI
*** UPDATE 1 *** Another Vallas hit from the Kam Buckner campaign…
During his time at CPS, Paul Vallas censored students by banning a coming of age novel that depicted the life of a young woman on Chicago’s South Side after protests from religious and conservative leaders. If Vallas had actually read Coffee Will Make You Black, he may have realized that the book is about having pride in your heritage, love for your family and hope for a brighter future.
“Republican politicians ban books because they are cowards,” said Kam Buckner. “Paul Vallas’s history of book banning, specifically a book with a strong young Black female protagonist, demonstrates how little he values representation, free thought, and a holistic public education.”
“This is yet another example of how Vallas failed CPS’s students. Instead of broadening and challenging their perspectives, Vallas chose to stand on the side of the establishment that has historically chosen to disregard Black authors,” Buckner said.
The Vallas for Mayor campaign is responding to a malicious, untrue story that ran last night on WTTW News that made false assertions about the candidate’s residency.
Here are the facts:
• Paul Vallas has lived in his current home in an apartment on S. Normal Avenue in the City of Chicago since January of 2022, meaning that he clearly, unequivocally meets the one year residency requirement to run for Mayor and serve in the office.
• Vallas was born and raised in Chicago and has unquestionably deep roots in the city. He has lived outside the city due to various positions in other cities over the years, but has always maintained his close connection to the community.
• The allegation raised by WTTW and the Cook County Assessor’s Office with respect to a duplicate homeowner’s exemption is FALSE. Vallas and his wife own a home in Palos Heights where his wife resides in order to care for their elderly parents. Vallas has NO CONNECTION to a second property in Monee, and this was clearly communicated to WTTW and to the Cook County Assessor’s Office prior to publication of their story.
The following is a statement from Vallas campaign counsel Steven Laduzinsky:
“As the frontrunner in this race, we expect criticism from our opponents and scrutiny from the press. However, this false attack on Paul’s residency is absolutely baseless and he clearly, unequivocally meets the legal requirements to run for Mayor. It is truly disappointing to see that WTTW pushed forward with this false narrative, apparently buoyed by the Cook County Assessor who failed to contact our campaign or even conduct any type of due diligence before releasing false information. Based on the facts, we have demanded that the Assessor’s Office publicly retract its statement and close its investigation immediately.
This kind of unprofessional reporting misleads voters and spreads disinformation. Our campaign is focused on communicating Paul’s message of putting crime reduction and public safety first and we will not be distracted by baseless allegations and rumor mongering.”
That still doesn’t explain the Giannoulias contribution.
* Here’s a Toddlin’ Town roundup from Isabel…
* Tribune | Donors to political committee supporting Paul Vallas are secret, but leadership has ties to current campaign: Like all so-called independent expenditure committees, the new Chicago Leadership Committee is not allowed under state law to coordinate with any candidate or campaign it supports, which in this case is Vallas’ mayoral bid. But recently disclosed campaign finance reports show the Chicago Leadership Committee paid $165,000 to Mad River Communications, a Maryland-based firm registered under the name of Vallas campaign adviser Joe Trippi.
* Chicago Reader | Police brutality survivors and former cops are running in Chicago’s police district council races: Of the 112 candidates running in the newly-created Police District Council races, 63 used resources provided by CAARPR to file election paperwork. These 63 candidates support police accountability: overwhelmingly, they want Chicago Police Department funding to be redirected to violence prevention and transformative justice programs, for care workers to accompany police to mental health crises, and for their churches, block clubs, and community organizations to be included in public safety. Despite what they have personally endured at the hands of police, only a few want to totally defund or abolish CPD.
* WTTW | Political Fund Created by Lightfoot’s Allies Used Cash from City Contractors to Attack Johnson: Those contributions exploit what campaign finance experts told WTTW News is a loophole in laws governing the role of money in Chicago’s elections opened up by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to lift most limits on campaign spending. Former Inspector General Joseph Ferguson, a harsh critic of Lightfoot, said that while the political activity by The 77 Committee is legal, it is “unethical.” “Any Chicagoan will tell you: ‘Well, jeez, that’s a quid pro quo,’” Ferguson said. “It doesn’t pass the smell test.”
* Sun-Times | Democratic Party’s 2024 convention: The choices are down to Chicago, Atlanta: Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker, here for National Governors Association meetings running through Saturday, said in an interview with the Sun-Times that he would pitch the president — again— when he sees him in the coming days. Pritzker, a billionaire, said as part of promoting the city’s bid, he was among those making upfront guarantees to the DNC that the party would lose no money if Chicago snagged the convention. That’s important because “almost all” Democratic conventions since 1996 —when it was last in Chicago — “have lost money for the DNC,” Pritzker said.
* Capitol News Illinois | On Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, advocates spotlight ongoing racial disparities: Simmons and other members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus were joined by members of the Black Leadership Advocacy Coalition for Healthcare Equity, or BLACHE, a coalition of Black-led organizations that work to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS in the Black community. The lawmakers and advocates called for the state to invest more money in organizations treating the disease in communities of color.
* Herald-Whig | Former Adams County sheriff faces charges alleging he issued improper certification while at state agency: Former Adams Sheriff Brent Fischer faces multiple felonies in Macon County alleging he improperly provided a law enforcement officer certification while he served as executive director of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. Fischer faces three counts of forgery, a Class 3 felony, and one count of official misconduct, also a Class 3 felony. It was first reported by Isabel Miller of Capitol Fax.
* CBS Chicago | Illinois hopes to increase Black and brown-owned recreational pot businesses: Since clearing legal hurdles from multiple lawsuits last summer, the state’s cannabis regulation oversight office assures this trickle of social equity ownership will soon turn into a waterfall. “This is the first (program) that’s in America,” said Erin Johnson, the state’s cannabis regulation oversight officer. “So we are proud of that, but with that comes the fact that we don’t have a blueprint.”
* Capitol News Illinois | Advocacy groups push for expansive paid family, medical leave in Illinois: After a quick rebrand to the Illinois Time To Care Coalition, advocates are pushing for a more ambitious leave policy, which would make Illinois the 12th state with mandatory paid family and medical leave. The United States is the only industrialized nation without a national paid parental leave law, while dozens of developing countries also have such policies.
* WCIA | Illinois state senators announce bipartisan Senate committees: Joining the Senate Higher Education Committee with Sen. Michael Halpin (D-Rock Island) is Sen. Dale Fowler (R- Harrisburg). Sen. Sally Turner (R-Beason) will also be the co-chair of the Senate State Government Committee along with Sen. Patrick Joyce (D-Kankakee).
* Scott Holland | Pritzker agrees counties can’t set own limits on wind, solar projects: We believe in local control. Until we don’t. That’s the unspoken message from Gov. JB Pritzker’s Jan. 27 signature on House Bill 4412, which neutralizes existing and future county ordinances restricting wind and solar farms. Democrats passed the plan in lame duck session, forcing Pritzker to contradict a position established on the 2022 campaign trail.
* WTAX | Fifteen years smoke free: It’s been fifteen years or more since any business in Illinois asked you, “Smoking or non-smoking?” Advocates who helped get Smoke Free Illinois passed fifteen years ago celebrated Wednesday at a reception in Springfield.
* Tribune | Postal carriers ‘traumatized’ after recent armed robberies and other crimes, says head of union: “It’s a traumatizing experience to have a gun pulled at you in the performance of your duties while servicing the public,” said Elise M. Foster, the president of the union’s Branch 11, who says she represents the local carriers who recently have been victims of assaults. “They’re scared and some don’t even want to return back to work.”
* NPR | At least 9 GOP-led state legislatures want to restrict or criminalize drag shows: The Tennessee House’s Criminal Justice Subcommittee recently heard testimony on a proposed bill that would categorize drag shows, or “male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest,” as “adult cabaret performance.” It would make it a criminal offense for a drag artist to perform on public property or in a location where the show could be seen by a minor. Further, it prevents local ordinances from superseding this if it were to become state law.
* Tribune | Chicago Bulls stand pat at the NBA trade deadline, reaffirming faith in their Big Three: “There were so many buyers, so there were a lot of teams that didn’t want to take a step back, including us,” Karnišovas said. “We tried to improve our team, but at what cost? That price was not OK with us. The next stage for us now that we’ve passed the trade deadline is to evaluate this group over the next 28 games.”
