Testifying under a grant of immunity, [Vince Dublino] said he would visit each bar every week or so to count up the money and split the proceeds with the bar owners after paying off the winners under the table. He told the jury he then underreported the income on the machines on his taxes and on the tax forms he filled out for the taverns he serviced. On top of that, he told jurors he was still operating the so-called gray games at the time of his testimony, when video gambling in Illinois was still illegal.
Dublino testified that in summer 2002, an irate Sarno accosted him outside a Berwyn bar after learning the witness planned to install illegal video gambling machines in a Lyons diner that was on the mobster’s turf. […]
Dublino’s admissions of illegal gambling and tax fraud weren’t sufficient to bar him from receiving a handler’s license from the Gaming Board in 2013. The following year, the board granted him his first establishment license at his bar in Berwyn, Nonna D’s, which allows him to pocket 35 percent of the profits from each of the five machines he installed. This year, the board granted establishment licenses allowing him to install five machines each in Vinny’s Cafe and another bar he owns.
“The board’s investigation revealed no evidence that Dublino is a member of organized crime but did indicate that he cooperated with law enforcement by testifying against organized crime at the trial of Mike Sarno,” Gaming Board spokesman Paul Prezioso said in an email response to Tribune questions about Dublino’s licenses. “Mr. Dublino’s known record does not disqualify him from licensure.”
* Today…
Illinois State Police (ISP) and Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) officials announce the arrest of Vincenzo Dublino, a forty-five (45) year old man of Oak Brook, Illinois (DuPage County), who was arrested and charged with two counts of Felony Theft and one count of Forgery.
In 2017, Illinois Gaming Board Agents received information alleging Dublino was knowingly taking United States Currency from Accel Entertainment Gaming, LLC (Accel), an Illinois licensed video gaming terminal operator, by submitting fraudulent documentation for reimbursement. After receiving this information, a thorough investigation ensued. As a result of the investigation, on Tuesday, October 29, 2019, Illinois Gaming Board Agents arrested Dublino at his residence without incident. Dublino was arrested and charged with two counts of Felony Theft and one count of Forgery. Dublino was lodged at the DuPage County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
Dublino is a licensed video gaming terminal handler for Accel, and he is also an Accel sales agent. The Gaming Board voted on December 12, 2018, to order Accel to disassociate from Dublino and to issue a disciplinary complaint to revoke Dublino’s terminal handler license. These matters are currently pending.
“The IGB takes all allegations of wrongdoing by its licensees seriously,” said Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter. “The IGB works closely with all of its federal, state and local law enforcement partners to maintain the integrity and safety of gaming in Illinois.”
“These matters are currently pending” almost a year later? What?
Visiting Chicago for the first time as president, Donald Trump disparaged the city Monday as a haven for criminals that is “embarrassing to us as a nation.”
It’s embarrassing to us as a nation. All over the world, they’re talking about Chicago. Afghanistan is a safe place by comparison. (Laughter.) It’s true. […]
Last year alone, here in Illinois, local officials blocked ICE detainers for illegal aliens responsible for hundreds of offensive — including homicide, trafficking deadly drugs, trafficking humans, robbery, and sexual assault.
[US Sen. Richard Durbin] said that in Illinois, less than 20% of immigrants who are deported “have been charged with any serious crime.”
Limited federal backs that up, but it comes with a few caveats — most notably the fact that the available count includes all individuals who departed from Illinois at the time of their deportation. That means they may have resided and been arrested in a state other than Illinois before leaving the country.
If President @realDonaldTrump wants to know what’s ‘embarrassing to us as a nation,’ he should look in the mirror.
Offering no solutions to the real challenges facing cities across America – from poverty to gun violence – the President used his visit to Chicago to spew hateful rhetoric that has no place in that great city or our great state.
Comparing any Illinois city to war-torn Afghanistan is insulting & wrong. Chicago is the crown jewel of Illinois: the transportation & logistics hub of the nation, home to world-class universities & a thriving economy and a shining example of the values that make America special.
While we shouldn’t be surprised at the character deficit of someone who lied and cheated his way to the top, the American people should demand more from the man who holds the highest office in the land.
Having a President who visits a great American city only to slander our residents, our communities and our police officers is embarrassing to us as a nation.
Having a President who demeans immigrant families in a country built by immigrants is embarrassing to us as a nation.
Having a President who so thoroughly disregards the rule of law – putting foreign dictators over the American people and using the federal government to enrich himself – is embarrassing to us as a nation.
The President has committed impeachable acts, and @realDonaldTrump must be held accountable. No one is above the law.
Illinois state Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) argues that a new poll revealing that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s disapproval numbers have climbed to above 40 percent does not accurately represent the sentiment in the 110th District.
“I would say those numbers would be shockingly low among the people in my district,” Miller told the East Central Reporter. “It’s closer to 90 percent where I live, and it’s because he’s been part of passing legislation that is the most egregious ever. It’s killing babies, putting small business owners out of business and tyrannizing taxpayers and hardworking people everywhere.” […]
“All those things would be drivers of why people are starting to feel the way they do about him,” Miller said. “I think it’s going to get worse as he’s voted to get more kids hooked on dope with this recreational marijuana law and all the taxes. It’s just a downward spiral as we move toward a more addictive society.”
At a time when union leaders claim another $38 million could end the teachers strike, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2020 budget requires the Chicago Public Schools to reimburse the city for $60 million in pension contributions previously covered by City Hall. […]
[The mayor’s budget overview] states: “In 2020, an additional $60 million is expected from Chicago Public Schools to cover a portion of its share of the city’s annual contribution to the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund.”
For years, City Hall has covered the school system’s annual contribution to the largest of four city employee pension funds. […]
And, according to a Chicago Teachers Union official, Lightfoot also wants CPS to repay the city for $33 million in security costs, although the city says that’s not a new demand this year.
Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union met at the bargaining table for nearly 16 hours Monday with talks ending around 2:00 a.m. with no resolution.
At a City Hall press conference, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the union’s bargaining team “continues to move the goalposts and bring in more issues that do not belong in any collective bargaining contract” by introducing issues that don’t belong in a contract and demanding a reduction in class time for students.
The union wants her to support a bill for an elected school board in Springfield that she opposed and changes to the state law that restricts what issues CTU can strike over, Lightfoot said.
As a mayoral candidate, Lightfoot promised to support an elected school board but she has opposed a bill supported by the union that would create a board that’s too large.“
Are we really keeping our kids out of class unless I agree to support the CTU’s full political agenda wholesale?” Lightfoot said. “If the CTU wants a deal, there’s a deal to be had, right now, on the table.”
The Chicago Teachers Union has called in its House of Delegates for a key meeting Tuesday evening to discuss the state of negotiations with Chicago Public Schools.
The meeting will bring the union’s 800-plus school-level delegates up to date on the latest talks and could set the stage for either a vote on the school district’s current offer or another meeting in the next day or two for the governing body to end the now nine-day strike.
The delegates are set to meet at 6 p.m. at the CTU’s Near West Side headquarters.
* A few minutes ago…
BREAKING: Civil disobedience at the offices of Lincoln Yards developer Sterling Bay. pic.twitter.com/klUb8XvlwX
The NCAA Board of Governors has taken the first step toward allowing athletes to cash in on their fame. The board voted unanimously on Tuesday to clear the way for the amateur athletes to “benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness.”
The vote came during a meeting at Emory University in Atlanta.
In a news release, board chair Michael V. Drake said the board realized that it “must embrace change to provide the best possible experience for college athletes.”
…Adding… Earlier today…
University Athletic Departments from across Illinois sent this letter to lawmakers today opposing the Student Athlete Endorsement Act. #twillpic.twitter.com/5h9XPJCqrb
Nobody knows what "the opportunity to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness in a manner consistent with the collegiate model" actually means. That's the whole thing.
* Senate President John Cullerton was asked today about the Chicago casino negotiations and specifically about joint state/city ownership…
It’s not about the ownership, that’s not an issue any more. We’re talking about the rates. The tax rates that passed were apparently too high that Chicago may not even get a casino. If that happens, the state loses money.
I think we’re pretty close to a compromise on changing those rates that would result in us being able to pass a bill.
* He was also asked about SB1966, a bill to require fingerprinting of FOID card recipients (among other things) which passed the House in the spring and then stalled in the Senate…
We had a very positive meeting on that today with a number of members that are affected. That bill will be in a position to require 36 votes, which I don’t believe we have today.
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan released the following statement Tuesday:
“Today, I filed the necessary paperwork initiating the official process of removing Representative Luis Arroyo from office. At my request, Representatives Fred Crespo, Justin Slaughter and Barbara Hernandez will serve on an investigative committee as required under House rules. They will plan on meeting for the first time this Friday, Nov. 1, with a second meeting on Friday, Nov. 8.”
…Adding… From the House Republicans…
We will have our three announced later this afternoon
* In the wake of Rep. Luis Arroyo’s arrest, Senate President John Cullerton told reporters today that he wants to work with the House on rules and statutory changes. He said the two chambers worked together after Rod Blagojevich was impeached to put together an ethics package…
We are definitely going to deal with responses to the other incidences of ethics violations that have been alleged by working with the House and working with ethics changes.
I went back and looked at what we did when Blagojevich was impeached. We had a joint committee with the House and the Senate. So I’m going to talk to the speaker about urging us to do that again, have hearings to find responsible changes to our rules and our statutes to address it.
There are clearly some issues we’re dealing with, that were not addressed ten years ago with regard to lobbying, which is something we should look at for sure.
* A reporter pointed out to Cullerton today that the House will likely soon begin an investigative process into Rep. Arroyo. So what will he do about Sen. Tom Cullerton, who’s been indicted?…
That’s what we’re gonna talk about with regard to the House. It doesn’t do any good just to have one chamber dealing something. I think it’s important that we look and see if we have to have any statutes changed. So, we’re gonna talk to them and I’m gonna talk to the speaker today.
* Cullerton was then asked what it would take to possibly expel Tom Cullerton…
There’s a whole bunch of different issues with regard to that. There’s issues dealing with whether or not the activity alleged directly relates to the legislature, like taking a bribe to pass a bill, something like that. As opposed to something that’s not related. That’s an issue.
There’s issues dealing with due process for the people that are charged with a crime, allowing them to defend themselves while they’re also defending themselves in a different forum. It’s very complicated. So I think the best thing to do is set up a joint committee with the House and have testimony on the various ways in which we can change the rules to address them.
He said later than Sen. Tom Cullerton’s indicment doesn’t appear to involve the legislature and noted that Sen. Sandoval hasn’t yet been charged with anything.
* Cullerton also said he’s talked with Sen. Terry Link in the past 24 hours about a gaming bill for the city of Chicago. Cullerton said that Link is still his point person on gaming and since Link denies that he is the cooperating witness, “I don’t know what else you can say about that.”
Cullerton said he hadn’t talked to Link about the Arroyo case. He was asked how he deals with a caucus which includes someone who may be wearing a wire…
I just learned about it yesterday, I haven’t had a chance, we didn’t even talk about it in our own caucus yesterday. So I don’t know what people want to do. That’s why I want to see what the members want to do in response to it. That’s all I can say. We don’t even know who it is, you see.
Link: I said what’s their source? You answer me. You’re a reporter. I answered the question yesterday. I’m not going to continually answer this every day of my life. I’m down here to do a job that I was elected to do and that’s what I’m gonna do.
Reporter: But how are you going to do that job if everyone suspects…
Link: Real easy! Real easy. Because you’re the only ones that are bothering me. The public’s not bothering me. I’m getting emails from all of my constituents very happy with me. ‘Stick in there.’ ‘Fight.’ And so they’re not mad at me. I don’t represent you, I represent them.
Reporter: So you’re saying you are not, you did not wear a wire.
Link: Why don’t you ask them where they got their source? [Cross talk] Hey, you know I’ve been around a long time. I know how people like to twist my words. I’m not gonna twist, I’m not gonna twist my words.
The House Energy and Environment Committee diverged Monday on a pair of highly-publicized bills aiming to better regulate ethylene oxide gas emissions in the state, passing one while letting another remain in committee.
The opposing votes represented a largely partisan split in a months-long effort from lawmakers to impose stricter regulations on, and create greater local authority to regulate, a known cancer-causing gas used in medical supply sterilization and manufacturing processes.
House Bill 3885, sponsored by House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, a Western Springs Republican, failed to pass with 11 voting in favor and 17, all Democrats, voting present. That bill would have given home rule municipalities the authority to ban ethylene oxide emissions from sterilization facilities within their communities.
Democrats voted present on the bill after Durkin would not commit to any Republican support for House Bill 3888, a stronger ethylene oxide regulatory bill sponsored by Waukegan Democratic Rep. Rita Mayfield, which was to be heard later in the committee hearing.
* Leader Durkin’s response…
The actions taken today by the House Democrats to block my legislation that would allow local municipalities to ban the use of ethylene oxide just proves they put partisan politics ahead of the health and safety of Illinois residents, including their own constituents.
The trouble some have with the Durkin bill is that some believe that Waukegan will not act on its own to shut down the EtO-using company Medline because it employs so many people there. Local activists want the plant gone.
Durkin filed a bill to allow [home rule] municipalities to ban the use of ethylene oxide in their towns. But State Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan), facing a primary challenge over ethylene oxide issues, filed a bill that would completely phase out the use of ethylene oxide in the state. Business interests, which had mostly stayed out of the fight in the spring, have now jumped on board to oppose that bill.
Durkin’s bill, HB 3885, failed in committee Monday, with Democrats voting no. The lone “present” vote was from State Rep. Mary Edly-Allen (D-Libertyville), who was still listed as a sponsor on the bill. State Rep. Joyce Mason (D-Gurnee) withdrew her sponsorship of Durkin’s bill prior to Monday’s committee.
Edly-Allen told The Daily Line after the vote that she still wanted Durkin’s bill to be heard, but said Durkin’s “bill didn’t have as much teeth as Rita’s.”
“And it really just comes down to keeping people safe,” she said. “Hers is much more aggressive. I think that’s what the people want.” […]
During the committee roll call, both State Rep. Will Davis (D-Homewood) and State Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) said they were voting yes “to get the bill out of committee.” Gabel added that she thought there “may be a compromise here.”
Mayfield’s Democratic primary opponent is an organizer against local EtO use.
* Related…
* Health Department: ‘Extended air monitoring’ for ethylene oxide underway outside Gurnee and Waukegan plants
* ‘I’ve never gotten sick’: Employees from Medline stage protest in Waukegan against ethylene oxide regulations
* Medline Quality Division president: Illinois shouldn’t ban ethylene oxide, which ensures the state’s supply of sterile medical products
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wouldn’t say Monday if Michael Madigan should step down as House Speaker, or even as chairman of the state’s Democratic Party, despite Madigan being named in a sweeping federal corruption probe. […]
Earlier this month, Chicago public radio WBEZ reported Madigan’s name was included in a subpoena sent to the City Club of Chicago. Federal agents also raided the offices of several people associated with Madigan, including a former campaign worker and a former ComEd lobbyist. The FBI also recorded a conversation between Madigan, then-Chicago Ald. Danny Solis, and a businessman and a developer. Madigan was pitching his private law firm’s tax appeal services to the businessman, according to media reports. Madigan has not been charged with a crime.
Asked if Madigan should step down from his leadership positions, Pritzker said he wouldn’t tolerate corruption or deception.
“The kinds of things that we’ve seen that apparently have been now called out and even raids have taken place,” the governor said.
Pritzker said his position on Madigan was different than Sandoval. After the Sandoval raid, Pritzker asked the senator to step down from his committee leadership position.
“[The federal investigators] seem to be directly about transportation,” Pritzker said. “[Sandoval] was chairman of the Transportation Committee. I didn’t ask him to step down from his position as senator, but he should have and did step down as chairman of the transportation committee while we find out the rest of the story.”
Also this summer, prosecutors filed charges against State Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, for allegedly embezzling money from the Teamsters union. Cullerton has pleaded not guilty.
Pritzker also talked about how Cullerton was transferred from heading the Labor Committee to the Veterans Affairs Committee after the indictment. That move allowed Cullerton to keep an extra stipend.
“I’ve been very clear that when there is direct action taken, very specifically, then that is the time in which I’ve been willing to come forward and will always be to call out the kind of corruption that we’re hearing about,” the governor said.
* The Question: What should Gov. Pritzker say about Speaker Madigan?
As the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition prepares to bus hundreds of activists to Springfield for a lobbying day [today], it confirmed that coalition members voted a week ago no longer to negotiate with any utilities on their bill to promote more energy sources in Illinois that don’t emit heat-trapping carbon.
The decision was made following news of federal subpoenas of Exelon and its Chicago utility Commonwealth Edison, tied to a grand-jury probe of corruption in the state capital and elsewhere.
“The utilities oppose the Clean Energy Jobs Act. Period. They have made that clear to us, and have made that clear to lawmakers,” a spokeswoman for the coalition said in an email. “We were asked by legislators to work with all stakeholders to find areas of agreement, and we have been diligently doing that, including with the utilities, among others. However, the steady revelation of news is troubling. While we continue to meet and talk with other stakeholders, last Monday, our coalition voted to suspend talks with the utilities indefinitely.” […]
To say that Exelon opposes the Clean Energy Jobs Act may be true technically. But Exelon executives have spoken out repeatedly in favor of the centerpiece of the legislation, which is a state takeover from a federally chartered regional organization of the responsibility of determining the mix of power plants paid each month by ratepayers to promise to deliver when demand is highest and resources are most needed.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker claims only 3% of Illinois taxpayers will see their tax bills go up under his progressive income tax ballot measure.
But that picture changes significantly at the community level.
In Wilmette, for example, nearly a quarter of all taxpayers, 22%, will see higher income taxes if voters approve Pritzker’s progressive income tax amendment at the ballot box in November 2020. Springfield would take an additional $75 million from those taxpayers, in total.
A staggering 39% of joint filers in Wilmette would be hit with a tax increase, according to IRS data:
1,446 fall into the $250,001 to $500,000 tax bracket
729 fall into the $500,001 to $1 million bracket
426 fall into the more than $1 million bracket
Additionally, 165 Wilmette single filers would experience a tax increase:
76 fall into the $250,001 to $350,000 tax bracket
76 fall into the $350,001 to $750,000 bracket
43 fall into the $750,001 or more bracket
Several Ricketts family members reside in Wilmette. So, yeah, that’s the whole idea of this thing.
For years, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been staunchly opposed to allowing video gambling machines at bars and restaurants in the city, hoping instead to land approval for one big downtown casino.
But unregulated devices that look and work almost exactly like video poker machines are popping up in places all over Chicago.
Thanks to these machines — often referred to as “sweepstakes” — the city has become studded with what effectively are mini-casinos in gas stations, convenience stores, and even a laundromat.
Unlike the video poker machines that the state has regulated and taxed since 2012, the other machines don’t pay state or local government. And the state does not conduct background checks of sweepstakes machine operators or the businesses that install them, as is required for video poker licenses.
According to the charges unveiled Monday, CW-1 told the FBI that [Rep. Luis Arroyo, D-Chicago] had approached him about “the passage of sweepstakes-related legislation” during the House’s spring session.
Arroyo is a manager of a lobbying firm called Spartacus 3 LLC, which includes as a client the owner of a company involved in video gambling sweepstakes machines, according to the complaint.
Sweepstakes machines, sometimes called “gray machines,” allow customers to put in money, receive a coupon to redeem for merchandise online and then play electronic games like slot machines. Critics contend the largely unregulated devices, which operate in cities like Chicago that have banned video gambling, are designed to skirt the law.
In that Mihalopoulos story from last year, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, who sponsored a bill to outlaw the machines, said he played a sweepstakes machine and was paid a cash prize, not a coupon.
The case against Arroyo revolves around his lobbying work in Chicago as manager of Spartacus 3 LLC. Arroyo signed a deal between Spartacus 3 and V.S.S. Inc. in August 2018 that promised $2,500 in monthly payments from V.S.S. to Spartacus. V.S.S. had hired Arroyo’s company to lobby the Chicago City Council for a sweepstakes ordinance, according to the feds.
Sweepstakes machines are not regulated by the Illinois Gaming Board but look like regular slot machines.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) said he introduced an ordinance in 2018 to legalize sweepstakes machines in the city and tax them after being approached by Arroyo on behalf of two firms “that wanted to come out of the shadows” to end questions about whether they were operating lawfully.
Also contacting Villegas in support of the ordinance was James Weiss, son-in-law of former Cook County assessor and Democratic chairman Joe Berrios, the alderman said. Villegas said Weiss is an owner-operator of sweepstakes machines. Weiss is married to Berrios’ daughter, former state Rep. Toni Berrios.
[Former Gaming Board lawyer William Bogot], who is now in private practice, told lawmakers that “every published case in the country that has looked at a sweepstakes vending machine has held them to be illegal.”
At that point, Arroyo interrupted Bogot.
“I’m just concerned with Illinois,” Arroyo said. “Not New York, none of the other states. I don’t care what goes on in any of those other states. I want to know what’s happening here.”
Arroyo said a lobbyist for the sweepstakes companies had testified that there were court cases in their favor.
“He says it’s not illegal, you’re saying it’s illegal,” Arroyo told Bogot. “Somebody here is lying. Why are you up here saying it’s illegal? Either you’re lying or the gentleman in the back [of the] room is lying.”
* This is the same basic playbook Madigan used during the #MeToo scandals. Eject the accused, promise a change in state laws and conduct a review of what went wrong…
After a closed-door House Democrats caucus meeting Monday afternoon, Madigan handed out a written statement saying Arroyo had agreed to step down from his committee chairmanship, but he said he agreed with Durkin that Arroyo should resign immediately or face disciplinary proceedings.
“I urge Representative Arroyo to resign from the House of Representatives, effective immediately,” Madigan said in the statement. “If he refuses, I will take the necessary steps to begin the process to remove him from office.”
Madigan, who has served as speaker for all but two years since 1983, also said he plans to call in “stakeholders and experts” to re-examine the state’s ethics and lobbying laws, but he said he didn’t know why it isn’t already illegal in Illinois for the owner of a lobbying firm to serve as a lawmaker.
“I don’t know the answer to that question. That’s the type of thing that should be addressed by this group that we’re going to convene,” he said to a group of reporters Monday in the Capitol.
Legislators shouldn’t be lobbying local governments. They also shouldn’t be selling red light cams to local governments. And, a case could very well be made that they shouldn’t be involved in local zoning matters or even property tax appeals.
Amid an ongoing flurry of federal investigative activity pertaining to state government, a bipartisan group of lawmakers called during a Statehouse news conference Monday for the creation of a task force to recommend greater ethical safeguards.
“We’re not here to be the judge and the jury at all, we are here to start a conversation,” Rep. Tony McCombie, a Savanna Republican, said. ”… We need the people who put us in office to be able to rely on us and trust us, and today, they can’t do that.”
McCombie is sponsoring House Joint Resolution 87, which would create a bipartisan task force to examine state ethics laws and how to better improve and enforce them. […]
Maurice West, a Rockford Democrat who has been in office since January, agreed with his Republican colleagues.
“This issue should not be a partisan issue. Matter of fact, it should not even be a bipartisan issue, this should be a moral issue,” West said.
With Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot already facing formidable odds in her quest to convince the Illinois Legislature to approve an increase in the city’s Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT), nine state lawmakers said Tuesday they’re not prepared to vote for the measure unless it includes funds dedicated to alleviating homelessness.
In a letter submitted to Lightfoot, members of the Illinois House of Representatives wrote, “It is our intention to support your proposed Real Estate Transfer Tax increase only if a significant amount is statutorily dedicated to homelessness, and we believe that at least 60% should go toward that purpose.”
The letter is signed by State Reps. Kambium Buckner (D-26th); Will Guzzardi (D-39th); Aaron Ortiz (D-1st); Elizabeth Hernandez (D-24th); Thaddeus Jones (D-29th); Theresa Mah (D-2nd); Delia Ramirez (D-14th); Anne Stava-Murray (D-81st); and Celina Villanueva (D-21st).
Their announcement threatens to place another hurdle in Lightfoot’s path, unless the Mayor is willing to revisit a proposal to allocate some of the tax funds to reducing homelessness – a concept that she repeatedly promised to support during her campaign for office.
While soliciting support on the campaign trail, Lightfoot touted a proposal to increase the RETT on higher-priced property sales to pay for programs that reduce homelessness and expand affordable housing. But in the wake of her election, she gutted those provisions from her plan and now is seeking legislative authorization to funnel all revenues from the tax increase into the city’s coffers to defray Chicago’s budget deficit.
On Tuesday, several of the lawmakers who signed the letter joined members of the Bring Chicago Home coalition – which has championed a measure akin to the one Lightfoot promoted in her campaign – at a news conference to say that they share the Mayor’s commitment to resolving the budget deficit, but also believe the 86,000 Chicago residents currently afflicted by with homelessness shouldn’t be a casualty to that effort.
“Chicagoans experiencing homelessness are already struggling on the margins, so we shouldn’t exacerbate their woes by leaving them stranded from the legislative support they were promised,” Rep. Ramirez said. “The proposed RETT increase is one mechanism in Mayor Lightfoot’s arsenal to rectify the budget deficit, and I would certainly favor using it for that purpose, in part. But we should do that in concert with, rather than at the expense of, Chicago’s homeless population. In fact, funding aid for the homeless is the one justification for the proposed RETT increase that has already garnered public support.”
In a 2018 public opinion poll, two-thirds of Chicago’s likely voters said they supported the proposal to increase the RETT on properties sold for more than $1 million if the money was legally dedicated to programs that relief homelessness.
This doesn’t necessarily kill the mayor’s RETT plan, but it sure isn’t a good sign. Their letter to Lightfoot is here. Lightfoot has justified her change of position by pointing to the city’s large budget deficit.
*** UPDATE ***
Rich, just an update: The number of signatures on the letter — the latest editions of it is attached — has expanded to 13. The names:
Buckner
Evans
Gabel
Guzzardi
Hernandez
T. Jones
Mah
Ortiz
Ramirez
Slaughter
Stava-Murray
Villanueva
West
There’s a difference of opinion in our caucus on the real estate transfer tax, we’ll see. It’s just something we need to address. […]
There’s concerns that [progressives in his caucus] raised about how the money would be spent. So we talked about the fact that our state legislation would not spend the money. We would only authorize the city to spend the money. So that’s maybe something that the progressive members of the House were not aware of.
Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), who announced this summer he won’t run for reelection in 2020, said Monday night he has been asked to reconsider his decision.
In a brief interview with The Hill outside the Capitol, the 23-year veteran lawmaker declined to say whether House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) or Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the House GOP campaign arm’s chief, had asked him to run again.
Shimkus, 61, also declined to say whether he was seriously entertaining the idea.
But his remarks come at an interesting time. Earlier Monday, longtime Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, the top Republican on the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced that he would retire at the end of this term, even though he could have served in the top job through January 2023.
Walden had defeated both Shimkus and then-Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) for the Energy and Commerce gavel in a hotly contested 2016 race. Barton had previously served as chairman, and Shimkus had more seniority than Walden on the committee.
*** UPDATE *** Politico reporter…
NEWS: @RepShimkus tells reporters he is reconsidering his retirement decision now that the top GOP spot on the Energy and Commerce Committee is opening up.
* I asked Sen. Link earlier today if he was the unidentifed Senator in the Arroyo complaint and he said he wasn’t. But both the Sun-Times and the Tribune say he is. Tribune…
JUST IN: The Tribune has confirmed that longtime state Sen. Terry Link of Vernon Hills wore a wire on Rep. Luis Arroyo in hopes of leniency for income tax fraud. Link denied it when asked earlier today. “Anybody can tell you anything,” he said. https://t.co/r1phBgkyEXpic.twitter.com/VXE8gC44Rs
Link, who is an assistant majority leader in the Senate, is not named in the criminal complaint, but referred to as a cooperating witness or CW-1.
Link started cooperating with the feds in 2016 but was initially closed as a source on Nov. 3, 2016, after he allegedly submitted false income tax returns, the complaint states. Link expects to be charged in relation to his taxes, according to the feds, and is working with them now in hopes of getting a break on any sentence he may receive.
In one secretly recorded conversation, Link asks Arroyo what’s in it for him if he helps sponsor Arroyo’s legislation.
The first Arroyo sitdown was in Highland Park. The Senator said he was in the “twilight” of his career. And it was a gaming issue. Again, he denies it. Keep that in mind.
*** UPDATE *** Strongest denial yet…
Link says he has not dealt with the feds in their corruption probe, didn’t wear a wire, wasn’t offered kickbacks and didn’t have tax problems as the Arroyo complaint alluded to: “The answer is no. Just leave it at that. I really don’t know what to say. I am not witness No. 1.”
And for good measure, Link wanted to make this point loud and clear after the day he had today in Springfield: “I wouldn’t know why anybody would want to cooperate with any law enforcement if this is the abuse you’re going to take if you are cooperating.”
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan released the following statement Monday:
“The charges filed against Representative Arroyo are very serious. We have already contacted Representative Arroyo’s counsel to determine whether he will resign as state representative. I urge Representative Arroyo to resign from the House of Representatives, effective immediately. If he refuses, I will take the necessary steps to begin the process to remove him from office.
“Additionally, I have instructed my staff to begin bringing together stakeholders and experts to closely examine our ethics and lobbying laws and find ways to strengthen existing law.”
* More…
Speaker Madigan says Arroyo’s attorney has said he will step down from chairing the Appropriations-Capital committee but is urging Arroyo to resign from the House or else he’ll “begin the process to remove him from office.” pic.twitter.com/TSSUVWWHvL
The Illinois House expelled one of its members Friday, but state Rep. Derrick Smith remains on the November ballot and still could be re-elected. […]
The Illinois Constitution prohibits either house of the General Assembly from expelling a member more than once for the same offense. So, Smith could reclaim his seat by winning the election.
That’s what happened the last time the House kicked out a member, in 1905. Rep. Frank Comerford, D-Chicago, was ejected after accusing his colleagues of corruption and besmirching their “good name and reputation.” But Comerford won the special election called to fill his seat.
Smith was, indeed, reelected. And then he was convicted and had to resign.
It's official: Illinois Supreme Court's Chief Justice is Anne Burke –>
(Meanwhile her husband, Chicago Ald. Ed Burke, is fighting federal bribery and racketeering charges. Next court hearing is set for Jan. 23) https://t.co/7ingw89IWm
Illinois State Rep. LUIS ARROYO has been charged in federal court with offering a bribe to a fellow state lawmaker in an effort to influence and reward the lawmaker for supporting legislation that would benefit Arroyo’s private lobbying client.
Arroyo, 65, of Chicago, is charged with one count of federal program bribery, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Arroyo made an initial court appearance this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez and was ordered released on a personal recognizance bond. The next court date was not immediately set.
The complaint was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI; and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Stetler and James Durkin.
Arroyo has represented the 3rd District in the Illinois House of Representatives since 2006. He has also managed Spartacus 3 LLC, a private lobbying firm in Chicago.
According to the complaint, on Aug. 2, 2019, Arroyo offered to pay $2,500 per month to an Illinois state senator in return for the senator’s support of sweepstakes-related legislation that would benefit one of Arroyo’s lobbying clients. On Aug. 22, 2019, Arroyo met with the senator at a restaurant in Skokie and provided him a check for $2,500 as an initial payment, with the expectation that additional payments would be made for the next six to 12 months, the complaint states. The check was made payable to a nominee of the senator for the purpose of concealing the illicit payment, the complaint states.
Federal program bribery is punishable by up to ten years in prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
* More…
Interesting insight into "CW-1," who is an unnamed state senator in the Luis Arroyo case. The person has been an FBI source since 2016 but filed a false income tax return and expects to be charged. pic.twitter.com/eM6zZ5Kjzp
Luis Arroyo: "I cannot work as a legislator with somebody if it's illegal … That's just like being part of the mob or being part of a gang that's selling drugs. I can't be part of that." pic.twitter.com/sF6XOwJmRx
*** UPDATE 2 *** House Republican Leader Jim Durkin just called on Rep. Arroyo to resign by the end of the day or he would be filing paperwork to invoke House Rule 91, which reads in part…
Disciplinary proceedings may be commenced by filing with the Speaker and theMinority Leader a petition, signed by 3 or more members of the House, for a special investigating committee. The petition shall contain the alleged charge or charges that, if true, may subject the member named in the petition to disciplinary action by the House and may include any other factual information that supports the charge or charges.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From the governor…
These are extremely troubling charges. Corruption, deception and self-dealing have no place in our government, and public officials who betray the public trust have forfeited the privilege of serving. While this investigation and court case continue, Rep. Luis Arroyo must immediately step down from his committee chairmanship, or be removed.
City records maintained by the Board of Ethics show Arroyo lobbied aldermen on “sweepstakes” legislation on behalf of a firm, V.S.S. Inc. Arroyo and his wife, Maribel, operate Spartacus 3.
Aldermen twice considered legislation to change the city code to ban “free play option” or “sweepstakes” machines that might look like poker, bingo, craps, keno, eight-liner or other similar gaming machines, but don’t require money to play. The City Council changes came amid increased scrutiny of the machines from WBEZ, but neither measure managed to pass.
The complaint suggests Arroyo was planning to pursue legislation in this veto session regarding sweepstakes gaming.
State Rep. Luis Arroyo, a Chicago Democrat, has been hit with a federal charge alleging he agreed to pay a state senator $2,500 a month in bribes in exchange for the senator’s support on legislation involving video gambling sweepstakes games that would benefit one of Arroyo’s lobbying clients.
The 13-page criminal complaint, made public Monday when Arroyo appeared in U.S. District Court, revealed that the undisclosed state senator whom Arroyo allegedly agreed to pay has been cooperating with the FBI since 2016 when he was confronted with evidence that he had filed false income tax returns.
Arroyo delivered the first of the promised $2,500 checks to the senator at a restaurant in Skokie on Aug. 22 as the state senator secretly recorded the conversation, according to the complaint.
“This is, this is the jackpot,” the complaint quoted Arroyo as telling the senator.
The feds secretly also recorded some of Arroyo’s conversations over the phone as well as conversations with the state senator, according to court records.
In one secretly recorded conversation, the state senator asks Arroyo what’s in it for him if he helps sponsor Arroyo’s legislation.
Arroyo allegedly responded: “I’m a paid consultant, okay? . . . If you put a price on it, I mean, if you want to get paid, you want somebody else to get a check monthly, a monthly stipend, we could put them on a contract. You tell me what it is. Tell me what you need.”
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin said if Arroyo doesn’t step down by the end of the day, Durkin will file a motion via House rules to begin a special investigation that could lead to Arroyo’s removal.
Durkin said the motion would have to be approved by House Democrats, but he couldn’t say how long the process would take. Durkin said he’s been told nothing by Democratic leadership about Arroyo’s arrest.
“It’s as fast as the Democratic leadership wants it to go,” Durkin said. “I will ask that we move expeditiously and we’ll move accordingly. We can do this in the nest few months. It has to go through the rules committee and has to be approved by the Speaker.”
*** UPDATE 5 *** Stay tuned…
Speaker Madigan will address the media after a caucus meeting with House Democrats.
At restaurant meeting, Rep. Luis Arroyo and the state senator left the table to talk privately, the charges allege. Senator: "This is you and I talkin' now. Nobody else." Arroyo: "Whatever you tell me stays between you and me. That's my word." The senator was wearing a wire.
* Rep. Arroyo (D-Chicago) chairs the House Appropriations-Capital Committee. He worked with Sen. Martin Sandoval, the former chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, on the infrastructure bill…
///BREAKING/// Illinois State Rep. Luis Arroyo of Chicago was arrested Friday on public corruption charges and is appearing in a federal courtroom now. He’s sitting in court with lawyer waiting for the hearing to begin. Details to come.
…Adding… Rep. Arroyo gave up a spot in leadership to take over the chairmanship of that approp committee.
Arroyo’s recent contributions include $5,000 on September 24th from Rick Heidner’s Gold Rush Amusements, Inc. He received $2,500 that same day from ComEd.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Wow…
Hearing for state Rep. Luis Arroyo starting now. He’s charged in a criminal complaint with bribery of a state official. Maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Arroyo has already negotiated the terms of bond and will be released. He’s been ordered to have no contact with “Individual A” in the charges, who is another state elected official.
Arroyo's son, Cook County Commissioner Luis Arroyo Jr, was here in the county building for budget hearings earlier this morning. He ducked out before this news came out and hasn't returned. https://t.co/mThWXWY8gk
His attorney is Terence Gillespie. The Sun-Times reports he’d negotiated a $10,000 unsecured bond.
…Adding… Arroyo has a side business called Spartacus 3…
Spartacus 3 offers the most comprehensive Municipal and County business advocacy services. The combined experience of over 20 years in government operations paired with the unparalleled individual skills of our team offer you focus, leadership and reliability for a successful partnership. We will assess the need, identify a strategy with you, procure the necessary documentation and advocate for your business through legislative and regulatory processes until your objective is accomplished. […]
The Spartacus 3 team excels at every dimension of winning political campaigns and has penned many victories in it’s score card. Winning a political or government campaign requires a sharp message. It also requires a sharp field and targeting plan, rapid response, political outreach, press strategy and direct voter contact, all executed without mistakes. Your path to victory starts with us.
*** UPDATE 2 *** One of the items listed to be seized on the Sandoval warrant was anything related to “sweepstakes” businesses and/or anything “any issues supported by any of those individuals or businesses.” I do not know if this is related, but Arroyo and his company registered to lobby the Chicago City Council this year on a “Sweepstakes Ordinance.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Yep. It’s related…
Govt’s bribery case against Rep Luis Arroyo involves effort to pay an unnamed Illinois state senator on behalf of a lobbying client to advance gambling sweepstakes legislation, US Atty spox says. The spokesman would not say whether that unnamed senator is Marty Sandoval.
Arroyo’s office released a statement Monday, saying that he “would politely decline to answer any questions concerning today’s events. Suffice it to say that Rep. Arroyo entered a plea of not guilty and believes that he will eventually be completely vindicated of the charges against him.”
I’m told the governor will be issuing a statement soonish.
Many Chicago politicians have gotten the itch through the years to try their hand at the restaurant and bar business in hopes of having a place of their own to eat and drink with friends and play the big shot.
What distinguishes Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski from the others is that he used taxpayers’ money to get his own place.
As the mayor of McCook, the least populous town in Cook County, Tobolski led an expensive renovation of a village-owned “pub” into what its website describes as an “upscale dining establishment mixed with a classic social club.” […]
“It’s like a boys club. They treat this place like their basement,” said Autumn Pippenburg, who worked as food and beverage director for the McCook Athletic & Exposition Center, known as “The MAX,” and its adjoining restaurant, Alta Grill.
By Pippenburg’s account, Tobolski used the taxpayer-subsidized dining spot as his private hangout, often staying past closing time to drink with pals while running up tabs he sometimes didn’t pay. Tobolski regularly went behind the bar to pour himself a drink or wandered into the kitchen to order up items not on the menu — and insisted the restaurant always be prepared to serve him his favorite dish: grilled octopus, she said.
Prior to her job at The MAX, Pippenburg ran a staffing agency that supplied women to sell and cut cigars at Casa de Montecristo, a Countryside cigar lounge which has been mentioned in federal search warrants and was a Tobolksi hangout.
There’s also Rick Heidner’s Gold Rush Gaming, which supplies the video gaming equipment to The Max. Both Heidner and his company were featured in Sen. Martin Sandoval’s indictment. Sebastian Jachymiak and his Technicraft Inc. auto body shop make an appearance, as does Simo “Sam” Krneta, who was found guilty of battery in an alleged sexual assault of Pippenburg. Omar Maani of SafeSpeed LLC was a regular, Brown tells us. And he gives us a couple of tantalizing previews of what might be to come.
Mark is invaluable because he’s the rare newspaper columnist who thinks like a reporter. He did it again with this piece.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has won plaudits lately from even conservative opinion-makers for making the right moves on corruption. But I am going to register an objection in a bit.
When Senate President John Cullerton dithered about what to do with Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) after the powerful Transportation Committee’s Statehouse and district offices and home were raided by federal agents, Pritzker called on Sandoval to quit the chairmanship or be removed.
“Let me be clear,” Pritzker said, “While Sen. Sandoval is under investigation, it’s in the best interest of the state that he no longer serve as chairman of the Transportation Committee. If he doesn’t step aside, he should be removed.”
When the Senate Democrats finally released an unredacted version of the Sandoval Statehouse search warrant and Cesar Santoy’s name was on it, Pritzker quickly pulled Santoy’s nomination to the Illinois Toll Highway Authority, saying he wanted to “make sure no cloud is carried over to any work done by the tollway.”
After word got out that the City Club of Chicago’s office was raided and that its longtime president Jay Doherty was reported to be under federal investigation, Pritzker ordered people in his administration to cancel their speeches to the group.
Just about everybody who is anybody has spoken at City Club events, including presidential candidate Donald Trump (and even me, once a year for several years around Christmastime).
“While questions remain about the City Club’s involvement in the ongoing federal investigation, the administration is recommending state agencies pursue alternative forums to communicate with the public,” Pritzker’s communications director Emily Bittner said, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
Pritzker decreed early on that no bill would move during the fall veto session that benefits Exelon and ComEd, which have received two federal subpoenas, one relating to Sandoval and the other relating to their lobbying activities.
Doherty, by the way, is a ComEd lobbyist. That stance has caused Pritzker to take some heat from environmental activists, who have been pushing a clean energy bill that would benefit Exelon’s nuclear power plants, but the governor would not budge.
Pritzker, the Champaign News-Gazette recently editorialized, has “made it clear that anyone who is compromised for whatever reason will be shunted aside at least until clouds of impropriety have dissipated.”
You won’t see much positive stuff published about liberal Democratic governors in that paper’s editorial page, but the editorial board appears to be impressed, even claiming on another occasion that the “comity” Pritzker brought to his dealings with the Illinois General Assembly “is a far cry from the relentless struggle in which former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner engaged with Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan from 2015 to 2019.”
So, I was a little surprised to read this headline from the governor’s press office last week about the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget: “GOMB Releases Five-Year Forecast Showing Significant Long-Term Challenges Without Fair Tax.”
As you know, the governor was able to convince the Legislature to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot next year to enact a graduated income tax, which he markets as the “Fair Tax.”
When asked, the governor’s office insisted the press release was within the law, even though it can be read as a taxpayer-funded entity openly favoring a question that is in front of voters, which could be seen as a no-no.
State law defines a campaign contribution as “a gift, subscription, donation, dues, loan, advance, deposit of money, or anything of value, knowingly received in connection with the nomination for election, election, or retention of any candidate or person to or in public office or in connection with any question of public policy.”
A “question of public policy” is later explained as a question “to be submitted to the voters” or “electors.” And “anything of value” is defined as “any item, thing, service, or good, regardless of whether it may be valued in monetary terms according to ascertainable market value.”
The governor obviously cannot issue a state government press release saying: “GOMB Releases Five-Year Forecast Showing Significant Long-Term Challenges Without Sen. Harriet Jones” before her reelection.
And school boards get in trouble for using taxpayer resources to promote property tax referendums. The governor’s office indicates that since they’re not coming right out and saying “Vote for the Fair Tax” they’re within the law.
Meh.
Pritzker shouldn’t be openly campaigning on behalf of a ballot issue on state time, even if it has been blessed by his highly capable lawyers. It can be both legal and unseemly, after all.
“Without structural changes like the Fair Tax, Illinois will continue to struggle to make ends meet, pay our bills on time and deliver vital services, like public education and public safety,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “While years of mismanagement has created these issues, we have a strong path forward and solution with the Fair Tax, which will ask the wealthiest 3 percent to pay more while 97 percent of Illinoisans will pay the same or less.
* As I told subscribers this morning, House Speaker Madigan’s chief eithics officer Justin Cox sent this memo to House Democrats late Friday afternoon…
With session starting back up and the Fair Tax constitutional amendment now set to be on the ballot, I want to remind you that the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act prohibits you (as well as State staff) from using State resources and State time to advocate for or against the constitutional amendment. Treat it as you would any other political activity. I have attached ethics guidance explaining the what you can and can’t do in relation to the amendment.
* Explain how you or your member voted on SJCRA 1 and the reasons for that vote.
* Provide a purely objective, factual statement regarding what the amendment does (i.e., “The proposed amendment eliminates the requirement that the income tax be at a non-graduated rate.”), rather than a statement meant to persuade (i.e., “The amendment allows Illinois to make the rich pay their fair share.”)
Following 14 hours of negotiations on Saturday, leaders from the Chicago Teachers Union said its most recent proposal asks for an additional $38 million in funds over the city’s latest offer. But Arnie Rivera, CPS’ chief operating officer, said that divide is actually much larger during Sunday’s news conference.
“On an annualized basis, the proposals that we discussed with CTU yesterday were closer to $100 million,” Rivera said, adding that the proposal is “just not anything that we can consider financially.”
“Lincoln Yards and the 78 got billions of public dollars to bankroll their new neighborhoods for rich people—dollars that should have gone to our schools,” Sharkey said in the statement.
I tend not to believe any dollar numbers floated by the CTU.
As for the teacher talks, the most remarkable thing to me is that the Chicago Teachers Union continues to insist on its own set of facts, using math in, what, base 6?
The first example is its continuing instance that CPS got $1 billion in new money from the state for classroom needs. Wrong. It got some money, but a good two-thirds of that money was to pay old pension debt, and most of it came from a Chicago property tax hike—the very levy that was too toxic for Lightfoot to touch.
Example two is CTU’s continuing instance that tax-increment financing pots, notably the $1.2 billion in subsidies allotted for the proposed Lincoln Yards megaplex, can be raided for school usage. Wrong—and for a simple reason: The money doesn’t exist yet. It won’t exist until Lincoln Yards is up and running and produces $1.2 billion in new property taxes, years and years from now.
Sixteen months ago, prominent organizer and minister Leon Finney Jr. decided to ring in his seventy-fifth birthday bash with some big news: the Woodlawn Community Development Corporation was launching an initiative to give South Side black communities a multimedia production center. Just a few doors down from his Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church, Finney packed a historic Bronzeville mansion with the fruits of his networks and resources, creating Urban Broadcast Media (UBM). His vision: to “allow people of color to have a voice.”
Since then, donors such as PNC Bank, ComEd, and Community Trust Credit Union have invested about $700,000 to renovate the brightly colored house on King Drive for UBM, which is now filled with state-of-the-art acoustic equipment, rentable recording studios, and production rooms. Finney sees UBM as a black-owned media enterprise in the same vein as The Chicago Defender, Negro Digest, or any other historical black media institution in the U.S., and as a means of regaining control over the way black Chicagoans’ stories are told. In a world where a few large corporations control the vast majority of media outlets, the efforts of local broadcasting centers, especially those for black media, are often overshadowed.
Federal authorities have launched a wide-ranging criminal investigation of the Rev. Leon Finney Jr. amid allegations from a federal bankruptcy judge that he engaged in fraud, self-dealing and mismanagement while running a nonprofit that managed a quarter of all public housing units in Chicago.
The revelation of the criminal investigation comes less than a week after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Finney had stepped down from the nonprofit Woodlawn Community Development Corporation shortly after the firm filed for bankruptcy in October, pulling the curtains back on its finances.
The campaigns of two of Chicago’s most powerful politicos paid Rev. Leon Finney Jr.’s struggling media nonprofit more than $100,000 last election cycle to help bring out voters to the polls despite the company never holding a business license, records show.
Most of the money came from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s campaign, which paid Urban Broadcast Media $93,540 in five installments between March and October of last year, according to campaign finance records.
The JB for Governor campaign fund recorded those payments as “media buys” in their financial report to the Illinois State Board of Elections, but deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks acknowledged the money actually paid for field canvassing.
“The work was mistakenly listed as media buys instead of strategic field consulting on the committee’s campaign finance report and is being amended,” Fulks wrote in a statement to the Sun-Times.
Um, they paid a not-for-profit media company almost a hundred grand to do “field consulting”?
With less than a handful of vetoes to deal with, the whole tenor of the session will be determined by how much other stuff lawmakers decide to tackle. And there’s a pretty long list of stuff they could do if they are inclined.
Bills to ban flavored vaping products and to cap out-of-pocket costs for insulin are definitely on the agenda. Both proposals have some intense opposition, so it’s not necessarily a slam-dunk for either one. (Then again, opposition to the insulin bill comes from pharmaceutical and other business interests, which don’t always engender a lot of sympathy in these here parts).
Gov. J.B. PRITZKER said he’s still going to push his idea to consolidate hundreds of downstate police and fire pension systems. But more and more lawmakers seem to not want to rush this idea.
There are other possibilities, but lawmakers may be inclined to basically just rest on the laurels of what was a pretty productive spring session.
It’s hard to say for sure at this point on anything. But I will just remind you that a whole lot of folks were predicting that very little would be accomplished in May, and then everything passed.
* Some really good session previews have been published since Friday. Hannah Meisel begins with the elephant in the room…
Lawmakers will return to Springfield Monday nearly five months after a momentous spring legislative session that saw the passage of massive bills from recreational marijuana legalization to a $45 billion infrastructure plan.
But the political climate has shifted significantly since early June, since the existence of widespread federal corruption probes was revealed over the summer and fall. The inquires appear targeted at Democrats and their allies, but the investigations have also shaken Republicans and longtime Springfield lobbyists who work for bipartisan interests across industries.
Federal agents raided the home, Springfield and district offices of State Sen. Marty Sandoval (D-Chicago) in late September. Since then, search warrants released by the state Senate and other local government bodies revealed federal agents are searching for information about dozens of individuals and businesses. […]
State Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) was indicted in August on 45 counts of embezzlement for allegedly keeping a ghost payroll job with the Teamsters Joint Council 25 in the early years of his time in the Senate.
Neither senator is expected to participate in Veto Session.
The feds also appear to be circling closer to House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago).
Lightfoot has a lot riding on the veto session, which will serve as a major test of her influence in Springfield. When she unveiled her budget plan at a special City Council meeting Wednesday, Lightfoot said the math only works if state lawmakers and Pritzker give Chicago permission to implement a graduated tax on real estate transactions. She also called on the General Assembly to rework the tax structure for a proposed city casino to make it more attractive to potential investors and to “develop a statewide pension reform package.”
But Lightfoot’s $11.65 billion 2020 budget plan doesn’t count on any revenue from the casino or any savings from pension changes at the state level, which could allow the mayor’s office to focus its lobbying efforts on pushing through the real estate transfer tax before the legislature adjourns for the year in mid-November. Her plan calls for raising the tax on the sale of residential and commercial properties worth more than $1 million.
Lightfoot had been saying for months that her spending plan would rely on help from Springfield, but she long left many key people in the dark on the specifics. Her office didn’t brief Pritzker’s staff on the details until a week before she publicly unveiled her budget and four days after she laid out her proposals for rank-and-file lawmakers who represent the city. After her Wednesday budget address, Republican leaders said they were still waiting for details.
Pritzker and legislative leaders have put the onus on Lightfoot to marshal support for her proposals. The mayor’s office declined to comment on its legislative strategy. […]
“Everyone knows that they have a difficult mountain to climb,” [House Majority Leader Greg Harris] said.
In recent days, a task force formed by Pritzker recommended the state consolidate 649 suburban and downstate police and firefighter pension funds into just two, saying the move would generate billions of dollars in additional earnings and cut administrative costs over the next 20 years.
The funds would be consolidated into one each for firefighters and police. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council “expressed strong concerns about the recommendations” of the task force in a statement, while the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois said it supports the recommendations.
Pritzker said this week language for the bill “is being put together now.”
“There are many people who understand that if we want to keep property taxes down, we want to bring them down, that we want to stop the hikes that are occurring everywhere, we’ve got to attack property taxes everywhere we can,” he said. “One of them is to attack it by making sure that our police and fire pensions are reasonably well funded.”
The bill would not, however, address the more than $130 billion in unfunded pension liabilities facing state government, as the funds that would be consolidated are funded by local municipalities, not the state.
Make sure to click on all the links above. There’s just too much content to excerpt here.
…Adding… This is the city’s chief financial officer…
CFO on state prospects for real estate transfer tax and casino changes….We continue to have productive conversations…we feel optimistic about our ability to secure those two revenue sources for our budget and for the outyears.
What: Gov. Pritzker to announce his support for legislation requiring that Illinois college athletes be compensated for their likenesses.
Where: Illinois State Capitol, Governor’s Office, Springfield
When: 9 a.m.
“Student athletes are the backbone of the college sports industry, and they deserve the same opportunity as everyone else to earn compensation based on the use of their name and their image and likeness,” Pritzker said on WGN AM-720. […]
The California law allows college athletes to hire agents and make money from endorsement deals with sponsors, despite objections from the NCAA. The move would take effect in 2023, the same time frame in the Illinois legislation. […]
“I just have this problem with the commercialization of undergraduate and collegiate sports. I still believe in the concept, even though it seems to be waning, of the scholar athlete,” [House Republican Leader Jim Durkin] said.
* The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Chris Welch, responded to Leader Durkin via a press release…
Leader Durkin either hasn’t read the bill or confused over the reality of NCAA, a heavily “commercialized” multi-billion dollar business that has benefited nearly everyone except for the student athletes. He is clearly out of step with Republicans across the country like Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Congressman Mark Walker (R-NC) demanding Congressional action to get College athletes paid.
* He also provided a list of dot points…
* The bill does NOT require schools to pay players or give them a cut of ticket sales. Rather, it allows then to earn money by selling the rights to their own name, image and likeness - same rights and opportunities that every American should have in a free-market economy.
* Student athletes would NOT be able to sign endorsement deals that conflict with their team’s sponsors.
HB3904 brings equity to student-athletes whose talent and labor generates significant revenue for the colleges and universities that they serve. This legislation won’t cost the NCAA or our schools a single dollar while creating a strong recruitment practice for Illinois schools. While colleges have been quick to create support systems to help tech titans like Michael Dell and Mark Zuckerberg turn their ideas into multi-billion dollar money making businesses, young men and women who stimulate the economics of the NCAA should also be able to secure their own economic well-being. I am proud to be the chief sponsor of this legislation to advance educational and financial equity for student athletes.
Welch also noted on Rick’s program that music students at universities like Northwestern can earn money by playing music when they’re not studying. Athletes should be given the same sort of right.
Today, The Cook Political Report announced their ratings change of Betsy’s race in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District from Lean Republican to Toss Up. In their write up of the report, Cook cited Betsy’s record of strong fundraising and multiple recent missteps by incumbent Republican Rodney Davis.
This ratings change reflects the continuing momentum behind Betsy’s candidacy. Betsy has received endorsements from EMILY’s List, End Citizens United, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, JStreet PAC, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association, and many other local and national organizations.
Cook Political Report IL-13 Write Up:
Londrigan impressed Democratic strategists by coming within 2,058 votes (less than one point) of knocking off GOP Rep. Rodney Davis in 2018. The race wasn’t initially in Democrats’ top tier of targets but the professional non-profit fundraiser raised $4.2 million and outspent the self-styled moderate incumbent. She barely stopped running and had $721,000 in the bank to the incumbent’s $905,000 at the end of September.
Londrigan comes across more crisply and seasoned than she did as a first-time candidate in 2018. She partially blames her narrow loss on unexpectedly long lines to vote at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign she says were caused by a GOP election administrator who has since left office. Driving out a large student vote in this college-heavy district is the key to Londrigan’s chances in 2020.
This race is already engaged: Democrats are hammering Davis for accepting an upgrade to fly first class during the government shutdown, taking corporate PAC checks and telling a Washington Post reporter “I don’t see what the big deal is, frankly” regarding President Trump’s proposed G-7 summit at Doral (Trump carried this seat by just five points in 2016). Davis hopes to be able to tie Londrigan to a more liberal nominee. It’s a Toss Up.
* Mark compares this ranking to the one Cook issued two years ago…
* From an email sent by Speaker Michael Madigan’s chief of staff Jessica Basham to all House Democrats…
There will be a House Democratic Caucus on Monday, October 28, 2019, immediately following session, in Room 114. The topic for caucus will be an overview of items up for potential consideration during the Veto Session.
* The Question: Your predictions for this caucus meeting?
* Labor strikes are serious business, but it’s important that striking workers try to keep morale as high as they can. Most strikers just shout chants on the picket lines, but the CTU has taken this to a whole other level. My personal favorite…
An instant-classic strike cover song from striking teachers in Chicago ♥️🔥♥️ @carlyraejepsen can you show your support for Chicago educators and share this? pic.twitter.com/Du7FoNb4Ny
* But not all of the strike videos are about fun. Some contain serious messages…
From the line: last year, @CTULocal1 social worker Alexandra was responsible for 4 different south side schools. Now, she is the lone social worker for 1500 students in Marquette Park. pic.twitter.com/tmZiXywHwV
A group of 30 Chicago Public Schools athletes and students arrived at City Hall to speak with Mayor Lori Lightfoot shortly after noon on Friday.
The group, led by Simeon football players, announced its intention to show up on Wednesday. They wanted to voice their frustration over the impact the Chicago Teachers Union strike is having on CPS students and athletes.
Lightfoot left City Hall just minutes before they arrived.
“I think she’s afraid,” Simeon senior Khalyl Warren said. “She is showing fear. But it is ok. We assumed she would be here to say a couple words, say something that we wanted to hear. Something for our teachers, something for us. But if she walked away, she walked away.”
A Cook County judge will rule later Friday about whether Jones College Prep cross country teams can participate in a state regional event this weekend.
The case has broad implications for other Chicago Public Schools students who also want to compete in state meets while their teachers and coaches are on strike.
About 100 students attended the hearing at the Daley Center on a complaint filed Thursday by 14 parents of the cross country students against the Illinois High School Association and the Chicago Board of Education that seeks a temporary restraining order to allow the athletes to compete in the state playoff events during the strike, including Saturday morning’s cross country regionals.
Judge Eve M. Reilly said she would issue her decision by 5 p.m.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has put a hold on appearances by state officials at the City Club of Chicago, directing subordinates and agencies that report to him them not to participate in panels sponsored by the prominent public affairs group.
The order went out in recent days after news broke that federal agents last May had seized computer and paper records at the club’s downtown headquarters, including records of club President Jay Doherty, a lobbyist whose clients include Commonwealth Edison. The U.S. attorney’s office has issued two subpoenas to ComEd in actions linked to a federal probe of state Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Cicero, as well as other individuals close to House Speaker Michael Madigan. Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd CEO and most recently head of all utility operations for ComEd parent Exelon, retired suddenly earlier this month without explanation.
The first hint that Pritzker wanted to freeze relations with the club—a bipartisan group whose luncheon forums have included presidents, governors, mayors and other dignitaries—came earlier this week, when an appearance by Illinois Tollway Executive Director Jose Alvarez was abruptly cancelled.
The tollway declined to explain the move, but since then, a series of other state officials also have scrubbed upcoming appearances, including leaders of the Illinois State Police, Department of Transportation and Illinois State Board of Education and a top tech adviser to Pritzker.
*** UPDATE *** Treasurer Michael Frerichs is scheduled to speak at the City Club next month. His spokesperson told me this afternoon that he plans to keep the engagement.
As the first Asian American elected to the Illinois State Senate and the first Indian American elected to the Illinois General Assembly, I am unfortunately surprised by the accusation that Senator Durbin is anyone short of a champion for ALL immigrant families.
This “Divide and Conquer” strategy, as it relates to the different immigrant communities. by Donald Trump has been a longstanding, deep concern of mine. The notion that the Trump administration and Senate Republicans are pro-immigrant is absurd. They are cynically using this issue to appeal to immigrants, who are rightfully frustrated and who have faced severe injustices, with a flawed solution.
I would ask the immigrant communities who are behind this particular legislation consider the following:
1) Today it is other immigrant communities that Donald Trump and Republicans want to target. Tomorrow it could be you. Wouldn’t you want people to stand together in a way where every community can thrive and prosper?
2) Let’s set the record straight. Senator Durbin has been a staunch supporter of comprehensive immigration reform and ALL immigrant communities throughout his career.
He LED the bipartisan effort for comprehensive immigration reform in 2013, which included lifting the per-country caps and clearing the backlogs for ALL immigrants waiting in line for green cards.
It passed with 68 votes. President Obama made it clear he would sign this legislation. Republican House Speaker John Boehner wouldn’t call it for a vote. Where was Donald Trump at that time? What did Senator Mike Lee do that time (HINT: He voted NO)?
To question Senator Durbin’s record on immigration is to not know the facts.
3) If you are serious about achieving a resolution, let’s sit down and try to work it out. Don’t smear the record of someone who has fought for our communities for decades.
The President and his apologists in Congress have stopped all immigration measures in the Senate. No committee action, and no meaningful floor debate. Join me in calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold a hearing.
The Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act, which would eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based visas, was once again stalled in the Senate Sept. 26.
The authors of S386, Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Kamala Harris, D-California, have asked for unanimous consent on the measure, which has received support from numerous Indian American advocacy groups, including Immigration Voice. Unanimous consent allows a bill to come to the floor on an expedited track, but cannot be used if a single senator objects.
Currently, Indians who have approved green card applications are stuck in a queue with an average wait time of 75 years before they receive a green card, due to per-country caps which state that no country can receive more than 7 percent of all employment-based green cards available that year. S386 — and HR 1044, which passed the House in July — would eliminate the per country cap. In the first of three phases, Indian Americans would be eligible for 85 percent of all green cards available that year, and 90 percent the following year.
“Let’s be clear — lifting green card country caps alone without increasing green cards … will not eliminate the backlog for Indian immigrants,” Durbin said in a Senate session last week.
“And it will dramatically increase backlogs for the rest of the world,” he said.
Durbin’s competing legislation, the Relief Act, vows to clear the entire backlog over a five-year time frame and is endorsed by such organizations as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
But the Cato Institute’s Bier told the Nikkei Asian Review that a proposal to issue more green cards has little chance of being enacted by the Trump administration, which has an antagonistic stance on immigration.
* A group called Immigration Voice placed an ad in the Chicago Tribune slamming Durbin…
The group has also raised about $160,000 online so far to run more ads…
Senator Dick Durbin is trying to trick immigrants into believing that he is not anti-immigrant. However, now everyone knows that Senator Durbin is not at all sincere about the parody bill he is using to attack the Fairness Bill. […]
Senator Durbin falsely claimed that this is a “Republican” bill. In reality, this bill was written by the Democratic Immigration Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren and passed with 224 Democratic votes in the House, including the entire Illinois House Delegation. The companion bill in the Senate has 15 Democratic Cosponsors.
Though Senator Durbin gets furious and red-faced whenever anyone tries to add our kids, who are in danger of losing their legal status once they age out in the backlog, to his Dream act so that they too have legal protection once they age out—he has no trouble or shame sabotaging this bill because he resents the people who it will help, which includes children like Manhitha, Uma Shreya, and Ankitnoor.
The conservative Club for Growth has launched digital advertisements in four key Congressional Districts, including Illinois’ 14th CD. They point is to encourage voters to tell their 2018-elected representatives to “stop supporting the phony impeachment process and instead start solving problems. Part of the reason they picked IL’s 14th CD is it is among four districts nationwide whose seats were flipped from Republican to Democratic in 2018.
Lawmakers will be back at work for veto session on Monday. One of the first things they plan to look into are proposals to ban flavored e-cigarettes and tobacco products.
Several Republicans, Democrats and the governor have all voiced support behind the idea.
Owners of vaping stores from around the state came to the capitol to remind lawmakers of the devastating impact a ban would have on their business. Managers said if a flavor e-cig ban passes, they will not be able to sell more than 90 percent of the items in their stores.
While convenience stores would not be hit as hard, because they have other items to sell, leaders in their industry say a ban is not the answer to keep the products away from children.
In a hearing set for Monday, lawmakers will discuss House Bill 3883, which would ban flavored products for vaping.
Dan Reinke, owner of 3D Vapor, which has shops in the Metro East area, said that will affect adults who use flavored e-cigarettes to kick tobacco.
“What we have that got into the situation that we’re in today is a black market problem and banning flavored vaping products is only going to create a worse black market problem,” Reinke said.
The proposed flavor ban won’t just impact e-cigarettes. Josh Sharp, executive vice president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association and the Illinois Association of Convenience Stores, said it would also ban flavored tobacco products such as menthol. That will affect gas stations in border communities he said.
“All you’re going to do is disperse these consumers,” Sharp said. “They’re still going to get the product. So this bill doesn’t at all solved the problem that it’s intended to, or that it seeks to.”
The original bill excluded menthol, the current amended version removed the exclusion. That is creating quite a bit of controversy. The sponsor, Rep. Deb Conroy, told me today they are currently “working through” that aspect of the legislation. Without a tobacco menthol ban, she said, “we are sending people back to cigarettes” with the favored vaping ban.
* The Illinois Association of Convenience Stores claims that flavored tobacco cigarette products, including menthol, make up 38 percent of all sales. Last fiscal year, the tobacco tax on cigarettes brought in $739 million, so menthol and other flavored products brought in about $282.5 million. Other tobacco product revenues totaled $36.7 million last year, opponents say and 79 percent of those products are flavored, they claim, for a total of $28.9 million. Vaping brought in $13 million last year. 82 percent of that is supposedly flavored, so that’s $10.7 million for a grand total of about $322 million.
Now, all menthol smokers and flavored vapers are not gonna go total cold turkey. Nor will all of them head out of state or to the black market. Many will start smoking regular cigarettes or tobacco flavored vapes. All of that state revenue will not disappear, but a chunk of it will.
About $160 million a year is expected from new taxes on cigarettes and e-cigs to fund the state’s vertical infrastructure program. Using the same formula from above, that works out to about $65 million in revenue from favored products. Again, all that revenue won’t disappear, but some will.
* Whenever a government completely completely bans something addictive or habit-forming or, in the case of cannabis, pleasurable, it risks creating or enlarging an underground market. And those markets are often run by not so nice people. Just sayin…
In 2016, Kim Foxx unseated an incumbent in Cook County, Illinois, vowing to transform the nation’s second-largest local prosecutor’s office and to bring more accountability to shootings by police while also reducing unnecessary prosecutions for low-level, non-violent crimes.
One year into her term, Foxx did something no other state’s attorney had ever done: she released six years of data outlining what happened in every felony brought to her office, offering an unprecedented view into the decision-making of prosecutors and its impact.
Our analysis of this data provides the first detailed look at the more than 35,000 cases that flow through Foxx’s office every year. We found that since she took office she turned away more than 5,000 cases that would have been pursued by previous State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, mostly by declining to prosecute low-level shoplifting and drug offenses and by diverting more cases to alternative treatment programs. Foxx has not finished her term, so these trends could yet change.
Foxx declined to pursue criminal charges in 2,850 potential felony cases, many of them involving shoplifting. Before Foxx took office, about 300 felony shoplifting cases were filed each month. Under Foxx, that number has fallen to 70 cases.
Foxx’s office dismissed 2,300 drug cases that Alvarez likely would have pursued. Often, the accused individual was sent to treatment and counseling instead of court. […]
Violent crime in Chicago and Cook County is on the decline. Murders and shootings in Chicago are at their lowest level in four years. Robberies, burglaries and vehicle thefts in the city are at 20-year lows. Crime in Cook County has been trending down for longer than that.
The Marshall Project study emphasizes that it’s impossible to credit Foxx’s approach to prosecutions for any of this. We just don’t know. Crime rates go up and down for all kinds of complicated and interrelated reasons.
But it is equally true that Foxx’s critics can’t point to a single piece of empirical evidence, other than the random anecdote, to make the case that her policies have made the people of Cook County any less safe.
According to the Marshall Project, the Chicago police have increased arrests for unlawful use of a weapon by 40 percent. And, despite all the garment-rending by a certain class of pundits, lots of offenders are still being charged.
In May of this year, for example, the CPD made 487 UUW arrests and Foxx’s office filed felony charges against 442 of the alleged offenders, or about 91 percent.
In May of 2016, Anita Alvarez’s last full year in office, the CPD made 321 UUW arrests and Alvarez’s office filed felony charges against 288 of them, or about 90 percent.
* Rush Darwish hasn’t received much publicity in his Democratic primary bid against Congressman Dan Lipinski and second-time challenger Marie Newman. Until today, that is…
At a campaign kick-off event in June, Darwish in a speech incorrectly said Lipinski got $15,000 from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel influential lobbying group. However, AIPAC is not a political action committee, does not endorse and does not donate to campaigns. AIPAC members and allies, like anyone, can contribute as individuals and use their personal networks to raise money for candidates.
Darwish provided no details to back up his $15,000 assertion when the Sun-Times asked him about it, saying “what I can do at this stage” is “take a closer look. … So if I technically said it wrong, then, I would have to look into that.”
Also at that kick-off event, Darwish turned to Newman, who ran for the seat in 2018.
Darwish said Newman “flipped” her position on the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement targeting Israel and “opposes the right of return, opposes equal rights for all and supports a two-state solution,” which Darwish said no longer “works.”
Darwish then said that Newman, when “asked by key members in the community, our community, ‘Marie, why the change of heart?’ she admitted, ‘I want to attract more Jewish donors.’”
Newman told the Sun-Times the Darwish tale is “an absolute lie.” Go read the rest because there’s more from Lynn Sweet.
Several southwest suburbs that federal agents recently visited as part of a wide-ranging corruption investigation have been using an insurance company that employs Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s son.
Alliant/Mesirow Insurance Services and company executive Andrew Madigan — neither of which has been accused of any crime — add an intriguing link to people federal authorities appear to be interested in.
Among them: Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski, who doubles as the mayor of McCook and whose office was raided Sept. 26. McCook village records show Tobolski invited Andrew Madigan in 2011 “to submit a proposal” to help secure liability coverage.
“Due to the sensitive nature of insurance, I have been very cautious about switching our program in the past,” Tobolski wrote. “However, I trust that you will be direct with the Village regarding our insurance options and potential cost savings and would like you to assist the Village.”
A year later, Tobolski wrote to the underwriting branch of another insurance firm to say the village had hired Alliant/Mesirow — then called Mesirow — as its “exclusive insurance brokers” for property, general liability and auto insurance, records show.
The search warrant served on McCook contains no references to insurance and Alliant/Mesirow does a lot of business in the suburbs. So, it could be an intriguing coincidence.
But, I mean, who really knows for sure about anything with this probe?
A wide-ranging federal corruption investigation has apparently not yet reached the Illinois House of Representatives.
WGN Investigates sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the clerk of the Illinois house. The request was for copies of law enforcement subpoenas sent since January 1. But the clerk said the Illinois House has not been subpoenaed.
Today I am announcing that I will not seek a 6th term in the November 2020 election. I plan to complete my current 2-year term which ends in January 2021.
I am eternally grateful to the people of the 91st District for the opportunity to serve as their State Representative for the past 9 years. It has been a special experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. By far, the most rewarding part of my position has been the ability to make positive differences in the lives of many throughout the district.
In spite of serving in the super minority, my work in Springfield has been very productive. I am proud to say that I have been among the most active legislators in the Illinois House, passing many pieces of impactful legislation into law. From helping those with special needs, to advocating for fairness for seniors in downstate long term care facilities, to providing protections for children who have been sexually abused, to supporting our veterans who have given the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom, I have taken your voice with me to Springfield to fight with passion for the betterment of our area and our state.
I have given this job the very best that I have every day, and that will continue as I complete my final term. I can proudly say that I have done so without changing who I am and what I believe in. I am a better person because of the work I have been able to do and the people that I have worked alongside. I am also very proud to have poured my heart into constituent service work over the past decade.
Above all, I am thankful to have a loving family that has been my rock through the ups and downs. Right now, I’m excited to spend more time supporting them as they have supported me.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank the many thousands of supporters that have given me the opportunity to represent the 91st District in Springfield. I will forever cherish the opportunity that has been lent to me. I wish for many blessings for you and our great State well into the future.
This could be a competitive district for the Democrats, but it wasn’t with Unes in the seat.
Rep. Unes voted for the 2017 tax hike and then lost his leadership slot at the start of this year. His East Peoria riverboat was given permission to move to Peoria in the gaming bill.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reporting the death of a second Illinois individual who had recently vaped and been hospitalized with a severe lung injury. At this time, a total of 153 people in Illinois, ranging in age from 13 to 66 years old, with a median age of 22, have experienced lung injuries after using e-cigarettes or vaping.
IDPH is working with local health departments to investigate another 41 possible cases. Affected individuals have experienced respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath, and fatigue. Many have also experienced gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms worsened over a period of days or weeks before admission to the hospital. […]
More than 80% of the cases in Illinois report recent use of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing products, primarily obtaining them from informal sources such as friends or on the street. Additionally, almost half have also used nicotine-based products. IDPH has submitted 54 products and devices to the FDA for testing since August and has received preliminary results for 17 samples. Initial results from the FDA for Illinois are similar to information previously reported nationwide. Of the samples submitted, vitamin E acetate was found in two of the samples with THC. The FDA continues to perform additional testing. […]
At this time, health officials have not identified the cause or causes of the lung injuries with the only commonality among all cases being patients report the use of vaping products, including e-cigarettes. No one device, compound, or ingredient has emerged as the cause of these illnesses to date; and it may be that there is more than one cause of this lung injury.
With Illinois’ financial future looking grim, more organizations are advocating for a tax on retirement income.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office released its five-year plan, claiming that even with what his office described as “modest growth,” the state will need billions of dollars more than what it currently brings in.
Marie Dillon, director of policy with the Better Government Association, said Illinois’ budget mess was largely due to its pension debt that was caused by many who have retired and won’t pay taxes on their income.
“Illinois doesn’t tax your pension, it doesn’t tax your 401(k), it doesn’t tax your Social Security, and yet the state is broke,” she said. “The generation that is about to age out from state income taxes is responsible for the pension debt and would be leaving it to this younger generation.”
Illinois is one of three states that has an income tax that excludes retirement or pension income.
The BGA joins the Civic Federation, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and others in calling for a tax on retirement income.
The BGA has supported a tax on retirement income since 2016. This isn’t some growing movement.
Also, the Civic Committee only came out in favor of the retirement tax as a way to stave off the governor’s graduated income tax. It obviously didn’t work. And the CTBA loves them some taxes, so of course they’re for it.
But do they really leave over taxes? That’s hard to prove or disprove. Florida is 60 degrees in February and has no income tax, period, so if you don’t already live there it’s probably not because Illinois isn’t taxing your pension checks. Maybe it’s because Florida is steamy from April to October and the cockroaches can fly. Maybe Illinois is home.
Florida used to be mine. But I wouldn’t move back to avoid paying income taxes, because I have too many reasons to stay in Illinois. Reason No. 1 is my son, a first-year public school teacher. Illinois should be more worried about keeping him than me.
Four Central Illinois coal plants and a southern Illinois coal mine are slated to close by year’s end.
Environmental advocates say the Clean Energy Jobs Act would create new programs to help workers and communities impacted by the coal facility closures. And they say movement on the legislation is needed now.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said earlier this month he does not expect action on the legislation during this year’s veto session.
But State Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) says that is unacceptable.
“We cannot hold this bill up while ComEd and Exelon work out their legal troubles. That is not fair to the citizens of the state of Illinois,” she said.
Exelon has pinned its hopes on the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, an organization made up of environmental and consumer groups that often opposed the big power company but became allies in pushing for the 2016 Future Energy Jobs Act. That law bailed out two Exelon nuclear plants while setting higher targets and providing more ratepayer money for renewable energy in Illinois.
That coalition now backs a bill that would have the state take over power-market functions in northern Illinois now performed by PJM Interconnection, which oversees markets in a multistate region from Chicago to Washington, D.C. Customers would pay more for power from carbon-free sources like nuclear plants and windmills, while buying less electricity in total than PJM does today. The measure would largely sideline the remaining coal-fired plants here and channel more money to Exelon’s nukes. Advocates say the bill wouldn’t raise overall rates.
If a bill benefits Exelon, it’s a no-go for the foreseeable future in Springfield.
In 2016, Illinois passed the Future Energy Jobs Act, requiring Illinois ratepayers to pay Exelon, a profitable company projected to make nearly $1 billion in Illinois over the next three years, to support two of its nuclear facilities. Because of these unnecessary subsidies, the capacity auction process has been distorted and federal energy regulators must now rethink the process in order to support competitive electricity costs and ensure state policy goals are respected.
There is a false narrative being promoted by the nuclear community and environmental advocates that uses a set of figures presented by an independent energy market monitor during this regulatory proceeding as the basis for saying electricity prices in Illinois will increase significantly. Those numbers are wildly mischaracterized and being used as fear-mongering to scare legislators and the public into rash decisions that will have costly consequences.
Proponents are not just conveniently ignoring the fact that, if either of the two proposed bills passes, electricity rates are guaranteed to increase, but they are actively saying the opposite.
Capacity charges account for 21 percent of your electricity bill. The capacity market reforms championed by Exelon would ultimately make Illinois acquire its own capacity, increasing those charges. As seen in other states, capacity charges would be double or more compared to what is acquired through the competitive market.
Take 21 percent of your bill and double it. That’s the size of the impact you can expect.
The enviros say rates will almost surely go up without their bill and they’ve pushed back hard against the Chamber’s analysis, claiming their bill would lower costs.
* The Clean Energy Jobs Act folks also say their bill would greatly benefit the solar and wind energy sector. But the actual alt-energy companies, particularly those involved with solar energy production, have their own bill. Let’s go back to Steve Daniels…
The nascent solar-energy industry says inaction could halt further development of solar farms in Illinois. Under the 2016 law, Illinois won’t have money to buy solar power next year, advocates say. Their proposals to free up cash for such purchases include limited fixes that wouldn’t raise rates for consumers and bigger changes that would.
So, maybe the solution here is for the clean energy activists to craft a new package with the clean energy businesses without involving the nuclear-fueled and political hot potato Exelon.
If they don’t, then the governor isn’t going anywhere near their bill and I kinda doubt that Speaker Madigan will do something benefiting Exelon in these trying times. 60-30-1, folks.
Some Florida Republicans are nudging state Sen. Jim Oberweis to run for the congressional seat in the Sunshine state now held by Rep. Francis Rooney, who announced his retirement over the weekend.
Oberweis has a home in Florida, so while far-fetched, the idea isn’t totally impossible.
“There’s a push from Republicans in that district. All he’d have to do is move down there and he’d win,” Oberweis’ spokesman Travis Akin said.
But Oberweis is focused on the Republican nomination for Illinois’ 14th Congressional District, the seat now held by Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood.
Rooney lives in Naples. Oberweis has a place in Bonita Springs.
Florida law requires congressional candidates to be a “resident of the state when elected.”
And even though an Oberweis congressional bid in Florida is apparently not gonna happen, we can still have some fun with it.
* The Question: Your suggested Jim Oberweis in Florida campaign slogans?
Despite being in the minority party, Illinois House Republicans are getting more infrastructure money for roads and bridges than majority Democrats, according to an analysis of the newly released multi-year $23.5 billion plan.
The district of Elwood Democratic state Rep. Larry Walsh Jr. is set to get the most capital money of all House members, at $1.52 billion. The second most, $1.1 billion, is headed for the district of Morris Republican state Rep. David Welter.
House Democrats will get $9.9 billion combined while House Republicans, who are in the super minority, will get a combined $12.1 billion.
Welter said a likely reason was that Republicans have larger districts with more miles of road. He said the spending breakdown was a good sign the spending plan was fair.
“I think when you have a large capital bill like this there are going to be things in it that were probably put in it due to political influence, obviously, but I think that’s a good sign at least that hopefully it’s been diverted to where the largest needs were,” Welter said.
The one district not getting any money is represented by Naperville Democratic state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray. The page for her district spending doesn’t have any breakdown. Instead, it says: “No projects were planned for this legislative district for the current Proposed Six Year Highway Improvement Program.”
Stava-Murray didn’t return messages seeking comment. IDOT said road construction projects in that district were already underway.
“The only interstates are under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Tollway, which is separate from IDOT and not part of our agency’s multi-year planning process,” Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Guy Tridgell said. “There are just two IDOT routes in House District 81 and pretty small stretches at that: Illinois 53 and U.S. 34. Both of these are currently under construction. U.S. 34 from Ivanhoe Avenue to Kingery Avenue is being resurfaced this year and next. Illinois 53 from south of I-88 to 59th Street also is being resurfaced, with work wrapping up later this fall.”
* OK, so the House Democrats are receiving $9.9 billion, which works out to an average of $133.7 million per district (including Stava-Murray’s district, which actually receives nothing). Republicans are receiving $12.1 billion for 44 districts, which is an average of $275 million per district.
Discuss.
…Adding… From comments…
I’d really like to hear from Eastern bloc members to get their take on this.
To those who criticize lawmakers who voted against the tax increases to pay for infrastructure with their districts set to get more than a billion dollars, state Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, said even those who vote “no” have to pay increased taxes.
“The bill passed, I voted no, but we still have citizens that are paying the gas tax,” Hallbrooke said. “They should be the recipients of these improvement projects.”
Halbrook’s legislative districts gets $208.7 million, according to an individual district breakout for House Dist. 102.
CTU in its latest statement on the strike: "We will learn from the tactics that ended Jim Crow and stopped the Vietnam War." pic.twitter.com/Vi9PLnxIyw
The Chicago Teachers Union and city negotiators have reached more than 80 tentative agreements on various issues as of Wednesday night, according to CPS Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade. But the district is still waiting on counter proposals from the union on “top priorities” like class sizes, staffing and prep time. […]
Already the school district has postponed PSAT and SAT assessments until next week. If students aren’t able to take the PSAT before Nov. 1, they may miss out on applying for National Merit Scholarships, McDade said. […]
Speaking at a separate event Thursday morning, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she’s concerned about students planning to apply for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) before the end of this month. […]
But the union says the two sides have gotten “nowhere” on enforcement language for capping class sizes or setting staffing levels.”
[CPS Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade] said the district is waiting for counterproposals from the CTU team on class size and staffing levels — two major sticking points. If those are favorable, McDade said, “We can get some real strong movement.”
As the days without pay add up for striking teachers, security guards and other school workers, many say they are starting to feel the pinch in their pocketbooks. […]
What’s more, Chicago Public Schools could stop contributing to teachers’ health insurance premiums as early as next week when the month ends.
* The CTU and SEIU represent more than 30,000 CPS employees, so 400 crossing the picket lines would be 1.3 percent…
CPS CEO says nearly 400 CTU and SEIU members have crossed picket lines and reported to work, frustrations high #CTUstrikehttps://t.co/JPRSFp3YGr
This breaks my heart. As a Chicago Public League student who was only able to attain a college degree based on getting an athletic scholarship, it sucks to see these student-athletes lose these once in a lifetime opportunities https://t.co/PgKpBEzVhT
* Several Chicago legislators including House Majority Leader Greg Harris are openly supporting the striking workers, which could be problematic for CPS and the city if this strike lasts until veto session…
Click here for a longish thread on the contract negotiations by Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago).
*** UPDATE *** Hmm…
NOW: Law firm files emergency injunction on behalf of CPS student-athletes against @IHSA_IL for not letting them play state games during @CTULocal1 strike. CPS says IHSA rule is to blame. Student-athletes gathering NOW speak to us. IHSA statement response below: @nbcchicagopic.twitter.com/Upak2Mp2dU
In the Chicago area, O’Hare is adding 915,000 feet of cargo capacity, and Rockford’s airport is establishing itself as freight nexus. The fastest-growing cargo airport anywhere, Chicago Rockford International recently expanded to 200,000 square feet of cargo space. Amazon has designated Rockford as a gateway for its Prime Air logistics network.
What’s left for Peotone? Not much. Yet Pritzker wants to spend $200 million on a persistent folly.
Illinois taxpayers deserve better fiscal stewardship, especially with Pritzker digging deep into their pockets. He doubled the state’s gasoline tax to fund his infrastructure construction campaign, and wants voters to approve a constitutional amendment authorizing income tax hikes.
If he’s going to squeeze taxpayers so hard, the least he can do is spend their money wisely. Only essential projects with clear demand deserve taxpayer funding. That doesn’t include an airport nobody needs.
The Environmental Law & Policy Center’s Howard Learner told [Greg Hinz], “Illinois has a huge backlog of vital transit, rail, highway and bridge projects that improve community mobility. . . .Unfortunately, IDOT is allocating even more public funds than the Legislature appropriated in order to support the Peotone airport project that is opposed by the leading commercial airlines and doesn’t have a viable financial plan. Illinois has higher priorities.”
Indeed, why is the state planning to burn almost a quarter of a billion dollars on this boondoggle, other than to score some political points? Think of how much good that money could do if applied to relatively affordable sustainable transportation, such as creating rapid bus corridors. Heck, that cash would have been more than enough than the $160 million needed to build the first 5.6 miles of the proposed Ashland Avenue bus rapid transit corridor, including the purchase of new buses.
* Daily Southtown columnist Ted Slowik has long been a staunch opponent of the “boondoggle” project until recently, when he looked at an old chart about regional job concentration that he said airport supporters have used for years…
In 1960, shortly after the opening of O’Hare, jobs were fairly evenly distributed among the northern, western and southern suburbs surrounding Chicago. By 1980, however, there was a surplus of tens of thousands of jobs around O’Hare.
Within 20 years of O’Hare’s opening, the south suburbs lost more than 100,000 jobs and the northern and western suburbs gained more than 100,000 jobs. […]
With the commercial tax base decimated [in the southern suburbs], residential property tax rates skyrocketed. The tax rate in Park Forest is 34%. A cascading series of events has made it nearly impossible for businesses or homeowners to relocate to or remain in the south suburbs. […]
Amazon has declined comment on whether it would use the proposed South Suburban Airport. Again, there are no guarantees with the airport, only risk.
Yet, the risk of spending public funds for airport infrastructure is likely to pay huge dividends in future private investment.
Illinois doctors were ecstatic in July when Gov. JB Pritzker made it easier for some low-income children to get vaccinated.
Pritzker reversed a state rule that required physicians to pay up front for expensive vaccines for their patients who are part of the state-run Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. Doctors had sounded the alarm for years that shouldering that financial burden forced them to turn away patients on CHIP, leaving those kids potentially unvaccinated. […]
But now that CHIP vaccinations are free to doctors again, the state is running out of them. On the cusp of flu season, doctors are worried about flu shots in particular.
“I have no flu vaccine for CHIP,” said Dr. Jihad Shoshara, president of west suburban Pediatric Health Associates, a large provider in DuPage County for low-income children. “Flu season is coming and we have a subset of our pediatric population that we can’t vaccinate.”
Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said $30 million of that amount is expected to come from increasing ambulance fees for patients with private health insurance.
The remaining $133 million will come from reimbursements administered by the state for ambulance transports for low-income patients on Medicaid, Msall said.
According to the city, Chicago now provides about 260,000 ambulance rides a year for low-income patients, but gets only about 8% to 36% of those costs reimbursed. Going forward, that amount is expected to grow to about 50%.
“It sounds like they have an agreement with the state to get $133 million for previously un-reimbursed ambulance service for Medicaid patients taken to hospitals,” Msall said.
“It doesn’t sound risky. They’re saying they have an agreement. The risk is whether or not the state will approve the graduated real estate transfer tax and the casino [gambling] fix.”
“There isn’t a great appetite for (the real estate transfer tax) during the fall veto session,” said downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, but he added, “The mayor’s team hasn’t really gone down there and started advocating in force. It’s not too late, but time is running out.”
“I just don’t know if there’s the political will heading into primary season to ‘do Chicago a favor,’” Reilly continued. “If the transfer tax is rejected by Springfield, that leaves another $50 million hole in the mayor’s budget that would need to be filled. . . .If the Legislature doesn’t allow it in the next year, that does the city a great disservice in years two, three and four of the budget,” when the city would miss out on $100 million in annual revenue. […]
Northwest Side Ald. Nick Sposato, 38th, was more optimistic. “All the Chicago state reps and senators are on board,” he said, “but those aren’t the people we need to talk to.” The trick will be convincing downstaters. Lightfoot expects aldermen to lobby their local Springfield representatives in the days leading up to the veto session, which begins Oct. 28.
Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, who has become one of the mayor’s chief antagonists, said he’s hearing a different story: that legislators on the city’s South Side “haven’t had any communication whatsoever” from the mayor’s team. “I do not have a high confidence level in Springfield,” he said, rating the mayor’s chances of success at 30 percent.
“I think that’s an unknown right now,” [Ald. Roderick Sawyer] said. “I want to make sure we can balance a budget on our own accord and not have to rely too much on Springfield because I’m not sure that’s going to come, especially in the form of a transfer tax or the casino assist.” […]
“We have not received any contact or any information from the mayor’s office, but we would look at whatever they send,” said Jason Gerwig, a spokesman for Senate GOP leader Bill Brady of Bloomington. […]
[House Republican leader Jim Durkin’s] spokeswoman Eleni Demertzis said it’s unlikely the transfer tax will have support from House Republicans.
Amanda Kass, associate director of the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said one of the budget’s risks is that it requires action from Springfield to balance.
*** UPDATE *** Text from Sen. Cristina Castro (D-Elgin)…
Mayor Lightfoot needs to understand that there are 59 members of the Senate plus 118 in the House. We all DO NOT live in Chicago and some of us have casinos and others are about to get one. They had a chance to negotiate during session, they could have asked for what they needed. If they open the bill for Chicago, there should be a discussion on other parts of the bill as well. I will not vote for a bill that is solely set up on helping just Chicago.
Elgin’s Grand Victoria Casino is one of her city’s largest employers.
Emanuel during his two terms experienced uneven success at getting the legislature to approve his initiatives. Lawmakers reluctantly approved his speed camera program in 2011, for example, but he struggled to get help with pension relief and Chicago Public Schools funding.
Why? State lawmakers think big city mayors should figure out how to solve their own problems.
Lawmakers do often believe that Chicago should solve its own problems, but that wasn’t the case for the police and fire pension “relief” plan (basically just helping him kick the can into the future which is now) and CPS funding. The pushback there was mainly from Gov. Bruce Rauner. Remember all those vetoes and his claims of a “Chicago bailout”? The Trib apparently does not.
