* No blogging today, but here’s some interesting political news…
U.S. Representative Jesús “Chuy” García and the 22nd Ward Independent Political Organization (IPO) officially endorsed Democrat Alexi Giannoulias today as the party’s nominee for Illinois Secretary of State in 2022.
“Alexi represents a new generation of progressive leaders in the Democratic Party and has proven himself as someone who will stand up and fight for progressive values,” Congressman García said. “Having worked closely with Alexi on several issues that have been important to working families and our communities, I know he positions Democrats with the best chance to win this critical seat.”
In addition to García’s support, Giannoulias was also endorsed by 22nd Ward Alderperson and Committeeperson Michael D. Rodriguez, President of 22nd Ward IPO Vanessa Uribe and State Representative Edgar Gonzalez Jr. (D-21st District). In addition, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Commissioner Eira L. Corral Sepúlveda also announced her support.
* Comptroller Susana Mendoza spoke to the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute today…
[Mendoza] said her office is able to pay vendors and others within the 30-day timeframe required by law.
“The last time that we were this current on paying our bills was just before Sept. 11, 2001,” Mendoza added.
However, the Democrat from Chicago said she doesn’t believe Illinois will improve its financial standing without restructuring the state’s tax system with a graduated income tax, a plan defeated by voters in 2020.
“There is a structural deficit, which means that in any given year, I’m just trying to meet the core obligations of the state – things like K-12 spending, Medicaid, all of our health care payments, public safety, human resources – all of those basic things – even with all of that, we don’t have enough revenue coming in on a year-to-year basis to cover just the most basic expenses.”
I’ve written several times that Illinois has never really recovered from the 9/11 economic shock. It’s the starting point of our state’s long fiscal decline. It’d sure be nice if that was about to change. I suppose we’ll see.
Friday, Jun 4, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Tony “Chubby” Brown announced Friday morning he is retiring as Macon County Sheriff effective Monday, June 28.
This announcement comes a week after a judge ruled Jim Root won the 2018 Macon County Sheriff race by 16 votes. Tony Brown was originally the winner by one vote when he was sworn in as sheriff in 2018.
A full recount was done and the judge when through ballots.
The day after the announcement from the judge, Brown initially told WAND News he planned to appeal the ruling. But during a news conference Friday morning, Brown said he decided against appealing due to division that the court case has caused within the community and the sheriff’s office.
“I have stated previously that Macon County and the Macon County Sheriff’s Office is larger than one individual,” Brown said. “And I believe now is the time that our community must heal.”
Brown said he will do whatever it takes to help Root transition into the role of sheriff.
“We need to put this to an end,” he said. “We need to love one another a little bit more and stop the division.”
Illinois Republicans may have been shut out on the key issues this spring, but they did find a unifying theme as the party tries to make its case against Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who’s up for reelection next year.
“How can we trust him?” asked Senate Republican leader Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods at one of the many news conferences the out-of-power GOP held to deliver a litany of grievances about Pritzker and Democratic lawmakers.
Republicans offered a pair of examples from the recently concluded session in support of that “trust” concept: Pritzker agreed to Republican-backed business tax changes two years ago, then unsuccessfully tried to take them away to balance his new budget. And candidate Pritzker vowed to veto a new map of legislative districts if both parties didn’t have input, but is now poised to sign Democrat-drawn boundaries into law.
GOP leaders also cited two of Pritzker’s biggest stumbles since becoming governor: 36 COVID-19 deaths at the LaSalle Veterans Home on his watch, which factors into the top issue of how the governor handled the pandemic, and the sound rejection by voters last November of his push for a graduated-rate income tax for the state.
Questioning the trustworthiness of a politician is a tried-and-true opposition tactic aimed at seizing upon the public’s cynical views of government and elected officials. Whether Illinois Republicans can capitalize on that message against Pritzker is a question of its own, however.
* The Question: Can the trust issue be effectively used against Pritzker? Make sure to explain your answer, please. Thanks.
Following weeks of steady decreases in new positive COVID-19 cases and with over 67% of residents age 18 and older receiving their first vaccine dose, Governor JB Pritzker is releasing guidelines for Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois plan, which will go into effect on June 11th and marks a full reopening of all businesses and activities. This guidance will mean businesses, large-scale events, conventions, amusement parks, and seated-spectator venues, among others, will be able to operate at full capacity for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The State is also lifting the outdoor mask requirement in schools in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
This guidance comes as Illinois has recently reached a test positivity rate of less than 2 percent, more than half of the population has been fully vaccinated, and key hospitalization metrics have been declining since early May.
“After a tremendously challenging year, Illinois has now reached a defining moment in our efforts to defeat COVID-19,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Thanks to the hard work of residents across the state, Illinois will soon resume life as we knew it before – returning to events, gatherings, and a fully reopened economy, with some of the safety guidelines we’ve adopted still in place. As we fully reopen, this administration remains laser focused on ensuring a strong recovery for our small businesses and communities. Our FY22 budget invests $1.5 billion in small business relief, tourism, job-creating capital projects and more and we look forward to getting these dollars to communities across our state as quickly as possible.”
Upon entering Phase 5, fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. The State will continue to recommend masking for unvaccinated persons, and require it for all people while traveling on public transportation, in congregate settings, in health care settings, as well as in schools, day cares, and educational institutions pursuant to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and CDC guidance. Businesses and local municipalities can put in place additional mitigations as they deem appropriate.
Under Phase 5, all sectors of the economy can resume at regular capacity. Phase 5 also marks the return of traditional conventions, festivals, and large events without capacity restrictions. Large gatherings of all sizes can resume across all industry settings, and Phase 5 removes requirements that businesses institute mandatory social distancing in seated venues as well as daily health screenings of employees and visitors. Businesses and venues should continue to allow for social distancing to the extent possible, especially indoors. Businesses and venues may also continue to put in place additional public health mitigations as they deem appropriate, including requiring face coverings.
“This pandemic has robbed us of many of our freedoms such as going to ball games and concerts, celebrating graduations, weddings, and birthdays, going to dinner with friends, and even sharing a hug with loved ones we don’t live with,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “The vaccine is giving us our freedoms back and allowing us to move to Phase 5. Let’s keep the vaccination momentum going so we can put this pandemic in the rearview mirror and not look back.”
While the entry to Phase 5 signals an end to business and activity specific guidance requiring social distancing, health screening and other required operational shifts, Illinois will continue to recommend face coverings for unvaccinated persons, as well as all individuals while (1) on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation and in transportation hubs, such as airports and train and bus stations; (2) in congregate facilities such as correctional facilities, veterans’ homes, and long-term care facilities, group homes, and residential facilities; and (3) in healthcare settings.
In addition, the guidance for schools is updated to align with the CDC guidelines, including lifting the requirement for individuals to mask outdoors in most situations.
The State’s advancement to Phase 5 builds on last month’s announcement of the return of conventions and leisure travel to the state. Just last week McCormick Place announced its plans to re-open, bringing 122 events, 1,000 workers and an expected 1.9 million convention goers to their halls. Additionally, the State has recently launched a new tourism campaign to welcome out of state visitors back into communities, helping support a return to leisure activity as well as the important economic activity stimulated by Illinois’ iconic attractions, hotels and tourism businesses.
“The State’s move to Phase 5 next week marks a significant milestone in our efforts to bring businesses and workers back safely and will play a key role in getting the economy back on track,” said DCEO Acting Director Sylvia Garcia. “Under Governor Pritzker’s leadership, we are making steady progress in stabilizing our businesses and communities hit hardest during the course of the pandemic. New investments in the Governor’s budget will ensure that the state continues to play a vital role in aiding in the emergency response, while laying the groundwork for a sustained economic recovery.”
Earlier this week the Governor announced another $1.5 billion in funds to be made available through the FY 22 budget to support business grants, tourism recovery, workforce recovery, affordable housing, violence prevention, capital projects, and other investments throughout Illinois communities. This builds on the State’s record $580 million investment last year to deliver thousands of business grants through the Business Interruption Grants program, which provided emergency relief dollars to business grants and childcare providers in over 98 counties statewide.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 626 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 15 additional deaths. In addition, more than 67% of Illinois adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and nearly 51% of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Champaign County: 1 male 80s
- Christian County: 1 female 60s
- Cook County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
- DuPage County: 1 female 70s
- Henry County; 1 male 60s
- Kane County: 1 male 50s
- LaSalle County: 1 male 60s
- McHenry County: 1 male 70s
- Vermilion County: 1 male 90s
- Whiteside County: 1 female 70s
- Will County: 1 female 80s
- Winnebago County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,384,365 cases, including 22,880 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 65,300 specimens for a total of 24,796,789. As of last night, 901 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 247 patients were in the ICU and 140 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from May 28-June 3, 2021 is 1.3%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from May 28-June 3, 2021 is 1.6%.
A total of 11,427,833 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 36,025 doses. Yesterday, 53,156 doses were reported administered in Illinois.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
After reviewing the General Assembly’s proposed maps to ensure they align with the landmark Voting Rights Act, Governor JB Pritzker signed three new maps that reflect Illinois’ diversity. The maps outline new districts for the General Assembly, Illinois Supreme Court and Cook County Board of Review and preserve minority representation in Illinois’ government in accordance with the federal Voting Rights Act.
“Illinois’ strength is in our diversity, and these maps help to ensure that communities that have been left out and left behind have fair representation in our government,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “These district boundaries align with both the federal and state Voting Rights Acts, which help to ensure our diverse communities have electoral power and fair representation.”
A landmark achievement of the civil rights movement, the Voting Rights Act prohibits practices and procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color or membership in a protected language minority group. Building on and strengthening that consequential law, the Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2011 ensures redistricting plans are crafted in a way that preserves clusters of minority voters if they are of size or cohesion to exert collective electoral power. The maps signed into law today meet those requirements to adequately preserve minority representation and reflect the diversity of our state.
The district boundaries also account for population changes in the state, particularly in the regions that saw the most population loss as recorded by U.S. Census’ American Community Survey. In addition, the General Assembly held more than 50 public hearings statewide.
Detailed summaries of each individual House and Senate district, including communities of interest, geographic descriptions, and demographic data were adopted by both the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate and are contained in House Resolution 359 and Senate Resolution 326 respectively.
The General Assembly Redistricting Act of 2021 (HB 2777), the Judicial Districts Act of 2021 (SB 642) and the Cook County Board of Review Redistricting Act of 2021 (SB 2661) take effect immediately.
Pretty certain this post will be updated.
…Adding… Speaker Welch…
“Today was a win for the people of this great state. With Governor Pritzker’s signature, people of Illinois can be confident in a legislative map that is reflective of the diversity that we see in every corner of our state. Not only does this map adhere to state and federal laws, but it is a product of more than 50 public hearings where citizens came to tell us what their communities look like to them. We also have new Illinois Supreme Court boundaries for the first time in more than half a century that accounts for population change and demographic shifts, as well as a new map for the Cook County Board of Review ensuring more equal representation for taxpayers in those districts. I am so proud of Leader Lisa Hernandez, D-Cicero, and the rest of the Redistricting Committee, who worked tirelessly to make sure that Illinois remains a model for the nation for minority representation.”
* Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington)…
“When JB Pritzker was a candidate for Governor, he made a lot of promises. He told us he was different, that he was a reformer, and that he would veto any map drawn by lawmakers. Today he broke his promise to voters and joins the all-too-long list of Illinois politicians who promise one thing and then do another.”
“The people of Illinois deserve a fair, transparent process that allows them to choose their representatives in Government. Pritzker turned his back on them and chose instead to use his signature to further enshrine the broken status quo of politicians picking their voters.”
I’m told by a source close to him that Pritzker advanced his timetable because the maps had become entangled in another hot issue: the terms of an energy deal that will satisfy green groups while keeping open Exelon nuclear plants without socking taxpayers with the costs of excessive subsidies.
Somebody tried to play games, so he signed the map bill to get that off the table.
* SGOP Leader McConchie…
“Today, Gov. Pritzker affirmed to all Illinois families why they can’t trust him to run the state,” said Illinois Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods).
“By signing this map, created using flawed data and drawn by political insiders, the governor broke the promise he made to the people of Illinois. He also proved that he cares more about keeping power for his political friends than fair elections where the people of Illinois can pick their elected officials, instead of politicians picking their voters. He proved today that he’s just another old-school, tax-raising politician who cannot be trusted.”
* Rep. Ryan Spain…
“As a member of the House Redistricting Committee, we repeatedly heard from government reform advocates to use US census data and that they would require two weeks to provide adequate public review of the new map to see if it meets Voting Rights Act compliance. This is why Governor Pritzker broke his promise after only one week; before Democrats’ lies could be exposed as the deception Democrats intended to perpetrate all along. Through bad data, fake transparency and false urgency, Pritzker, Welch, and other Democrats pulled the wool over voter eyes. They assume they can get away with it because this is Illinois. The next election must be a referendum on whether voters will openly permit their own politicians to lie to them.”
* ILGOP Chair Don Tracy…
Governor Pritzker lied to the people of Illinois when he pledged to veto a politician-drawn map. Governor Pritzker promised to take politicians out of the mapmaking process and hand it over to an independent commission that would be required to follow the Voting Rights Act and protect minority representation. Instead, he let politicians pick their own voters, split up numerous communities of interest, and use faulty data all in an effort to rig the system for those already in power. Pritzker didn’t keep his word and cannot be trusted.
• Half (49%) of Americans who lost their job during the pandemic report they are not active at all or not very active in searching for new employment. Less than a third (32%) report that they are strongly active in their job search.
• Six in 10 respondents (61%) say they are in no hurry to return to work. Three in 10 (30%) say they do not expect to return to work this year, with more than half of those (13% of the total) saying they never plan to return to work.
• One in eight (13%) who became unemployed during the pandemic and remain unemployed have turned down at least one job offer in the past year.
• One in six (16%) not actively seeking work say the amount of money they are receiving from unemployment benefits and government programs makes it “not worth looking” for jobs. Even more—28 percent of all respondents—agree that “there are a lot of people who are not looking for work because they can do almost or just as well collecting unemployment benefits.”
• Other common factors contributing to unemployed Americans not looking for work include childcare and other family care needs (24%), a lack of available jobs due in sectors that are still suffering (28%), and COVID-19 concerns (26%).
• One in four survey respondents (23%) say they lack the skills or experience necessary for most of the jobs available right now.
I’d ignore the 28 percent who are speculating about why others aren’t returning to work and focus on what they actually said about themselves. It’s pretty clear that this Chamber poll shows the vast majority of unemployed people aren’t staying home because they can make more money by doing so. There are far more important factors involved.
And if you look at the Chamber’s own analysis, you’ll see that 55 percent of people 45+ are not actively seeking a new job, with 42 percent saying they aren’t at all actively looking - by far the highest number in that category.
Yet, some people insist on punishing families with children and younger workers by cutting off their UI benefits.
* Methodology…
The poll of 506 Americans who lost jobs during the pandemic and have not returned to full-time employment was taken May 17-20. The poll has an overall survey margin of error +/-4.4 at the 95% confidence level, with stable and projectable bases across age, prior total compensation, ethnicity, incidence of children at home, industry sector and educational attainment.
Disagreements between the House and Senate prevented legislation reforming the state’s Firearm Owner Identification card renewal system from moving forward.
The House barely passed a version that would have mandated applicants and those renewing to provide fingerprints. The Senate passed a version that made fingerprinting optional. Though some were trying to whip votes in the House for the Senate proposal, it did not come to fruition.
Another flop was gaming legislation, which would have allowed in-person betting on Illinois college teams and permitted a sportsbook at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
It easily passed the House but was not taken up in the Senate due to lack of coordination between the point persons for gaming in each chamber.
House Bill 3401 would allow certified professional midwives to obtain official state licensing. […] The bill passed with bipartisan support in the House, by a vote of 105-2, but was never taken up for a vote by the full Senate. […]
House Bill 3447 would reclassify small amounts of drug possession, including heroin and cocaine, from a low-level felony to a misdemeanor. […] HB 3447 passed narrowly out of the House, by a 61-49 vote, with just one vote more than needed. The Senate did not take up the bill for a full vote.
There’s much more to both of those stories, so click the links.
Paul Schimpf, Republican candidate for Governor, retired Marine announced an Illinois Parents’ Bill of Rights in a press conference by Zoom today. He made the following comment during this press conference:
“Over the past several years, Illinois parents have seen governments infringe upon their ability to raise their children in the manner of their choosing. Too often, the Illinois House and the Illinois Senate act as if they are 118 and 59 member school boards, making curriculum decisions for school districts and passing unfunded mandates. The time has come to reset and readjust the relationship between the parents of Illinois and their government. That is why I am unveiling this Illinois Parents Bill of Rights this morning.”
Parents, not the government, have the authority and responsibility to raise their children to the best of their ability in accordance with their values. The following rights shall be given to Illinois parents who are raising minor children.
1. Parents, acting through locally elected school boards, have the right to control public schools in their respective districts. Local school boards will make curriculum, safety, and closure decisions. Children have the right to a public education free from political indoctrination of any kind.
2. The ability of parents to educate their children through homeschooling or enrollment in private schools shall not be infringed by the state of Illinois. No official representing the state of Illinois shall have the authority to order the closure of private schools.
3. Parents with daughters shall have the right to see their daughters flourish by having a fair chance to compete in sporting activities where they are not at a biological disadvantage due to their sex.
4. The parent, not the state, has primary responsibility and authority for the physical and mental wellness of their children. Parents will have knowledge and control over of any medical procedures and medicine that a child may be provided. Furthermore, schools will not provide non-emergency medical treatment or medical referrals to a child without the consent of a parent or a court order.
5. A parent shall be present during (or consulted prior to) the custodial questioning of their child by law enforcement personnel.
6. Parents have the right to review video footage (including footage from body cameras) and social media content of their child that is in the possession of law enforcement personnel or school administrators.
7. Parents, not the state, will control the transition from childhood to adulthood of their children. Parents have the right to “opt out” of subjects taught in public and private schools in which they choose not to have their children participate.
8. Parents have the right to have the taxes for schools go to either the public school or the private school of their choice.
Lotta hot buttons in there. But it’s not too difficult to poke holes in some of them. Forbidding the state to close any private school for any reason? What could possibly go wrong there? And we’re gonna divert local and state tax dollars to the Latin School?
* Maybe it’s me, but I tend to assume somebody is running for reelection unless I start seeing real evidence to the contrary. In this case, Gov. Pritzker has plunked down a decent chunk of cash, which seems to be evidence that he’s running again.
Also, do you know how furious super-competitive reporters like Mary Ann Ahern would be if the governor chose to give an exclusive scoop on his reelection bid to a rival TV station more than a year before the primary? Ha! I pity the fool.
Governor JB Pritzker hinted Thursday that he may not run for a second term, breaking the news even as Illinois is poised to come out of the pandemic and make his job a bit easier starting next week.
So, the question is: Is the governor serious, or just being coy about his plans?
If Pritzker decides not to run again, it would send shockwaves across the political landscape in Illinois and open the floodgates for candidates on both sides of the aisle.
In a one-on-one interview Thursday, he left open the possibility that maybe he only wants to serve one term.
“You know, again, I haven’t talked to my family completely about this and I need to spend time with them had to have that conversation. So I’ll get back to you shortly. I promise,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker seemed to kick start his re-election bid with a whopping $35 million personal donation to his campaign coffers on March 12. The donation came right around the first anniversary of when he had to shut the state down due to the pandemic.
One political insider said First Lady MK Pritzker is not very happy with the lifestyle created by the demands of her husband’s job.
I ran into the First Lady last week at a Springfield restaurant. She told me how she’d taken the staff rollerskating at a local rink and said she wanted to host a legislative rollerskating night during next spring’s session. Does that sound like someone who isn’t “happy with the lifestyle”? Pre-pandemic, she regularly attended plays put on by women prisoners at Logan Correctional Center and actively supports the prison’s culinary program. She’s about to host a big reception for the new executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, a Black woman.
Yes, her teen daughter has been maliciously and falsely targeted by a right-wing media outlet for just being a kid. And, yes, her husband received multiple and regular death threats during the pandemic. What mother and spouse wouldn’t hate that? But from all I can tell, MK is a trouper. She’s also from a political family.
Here’s Gov. Pritzker’s comms director, who almost never tweets…
If the First Lady had any concerns about her husband running again, let’s remember the death threats and vitriol leveled at their family. https://t.co/Ww5OP5UjqV
Saying she doesn’t like the “lifestyle” based on an unnamed “insider” is a gross, sexist trope that needs to end. Let’s stop treating political wives like they’re vapid and vacuous nags. Shame on anyone who falls for such tired tricks.
But, you know, campaign season is right around the corner and I’m sure the Democratic Party would like to know definitively what his plans are sooner rather than later.
Again, the primary is almost 13 months away. And, like the party could do anything about it anyway.
In his interview on Chicago Tonight, Pritzker also defended his actions following a government watchdog’s report that found a lack of preparation and of communication at the LaSalle Veteran Home contributed to a COVID-19 outbreak.
The inspector general’s audit found that the team at LaSalle requested asymptomatic employees show up for shifts even after they’d tested positive for COVID-19, lax masking by staff, and lacked a formal response plan even in October ‘20 when risks of transmission were well known.
At least 36 residents died in the final three months of last year.
“Let me start by reminding you that we’ve been in a global pandemic that has had no mercy, particularly on those who are elderly, those who are in nursing homes,” Pritzker said.
The governor said residents of the nearby community who weren’t wearing masks led to a high local rate of COVID-19 infections, which were brought into the LaSalle home.
This is really challenging. People in the community where that veterans’ home resides aren’t wearing masks and when they’ve got a very high rate of infection, case positivity, test positivity in that area. People who live there and work at the home, unfortunately, were bringing that into the home.
He’s not wrong about the problems in that community, of course. There was a lot of Downstate resistance to mitigations as the state experienced its devastating second wave, and that attitude infected, hospitalized and killed a whole lot of people. Period. But, that doesn’t even begin to excuse the fact that the state had no adequate protocols in place and local and state management was horrid. That would be on the governor.
* Meanwhile, the governor made this claim about Rep. Butler to more than one reporter yesterday, but Hannah Meisel went back to check the actual record…
The governor also pointed to comments from State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) earlier this spring at a press conference with U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, who said a fair map would elect more Republicans.
“Does that sound fair to you?” Pritzker asked Thursday. “Does that sound like Republicans are really fighting for fair maps? That’s not what they’re fighting for…What they want to draw is a partisan map in their favor. So at this point I don’t believe anything that they say about this.”
The governor was referring to an April 12th appearance at the Capitol where Butler said he’d heard testimony from communities both in Chicago and rural areas of Illinois. He also drew upon his experience representing a slice of Springfield in the House.
“If you stop dividing up these communities for political reasons, you are going to see more competitive elections and probably you’re going to see more Republicans in the legislature,” Butler said. “I don’t know what the right number is but I guarantee if the lines are more fair, you’re going to see more Republicans in the legislature.”
Butler was being disingenuous about his definition of community. Towns that aren’t landlocked gerrymander their own boundaries quite often when they annex turf.
But Butler isn’t out of line to speculate that, without Democrats putting their fingers on the scale, a fair map could wind up with some districts being more winnable for Republicans. And while I agree that the Republicans would stick it to the Democrats if they were given the right to draw the maps, I don’t think there’s any evidence of that intent within Butler’s remarks.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker in March sunk $35 million into his campaign fund – not a huge expense given his personal fortune but assumed as a sign that he’s gearing up to campaign for a second term.
But the Chicago Democrat Thursday said he hasn’t decided whether he’s running.
Even so, Pritzker said the Republicans who’ve already lined up to run against him aren’t fit for the office.
“Many of them have fought against the [COVID-19] mitigations, have sued on the side of Donald Trump and all of his lies. These are folks who really shouldn’t run the state of Illinois because they don’t seem to care about the working families of Illinois — they haven’t over the last year as a result of their failure to push mitigations forward, to stand up for those mitigations. A couple of ‘em not wearing masks and telling other people not to,” Pritzker said. “I just think that they’re not qualified to be governor as a result of how they reacted to the pandemic.”
Republicans who have thus far declared their candidacy for governor are State Sen. Darren Bailey of Xenia; suburban business owner Gary Rabine, the founder of exterior facilities management company Rabine Group; and former state Sen. and ex-Marine Paul Schimpf of Waterloo.
Bailey and Rabine held mask-less indoor campaign events during the height of the pandemic, and Bailey sued the governor in a failed attempt to void Pritzker’s executive orders mandating COVID mitigations.
Other names are floated by political prognosticators as potential contenders include Congressmen Rodney Davis and Adam Kinzinger.
Republicans in the General Assembly have repeatedly called on Pritzker to veto the maps Democrats passed last week. The GOP considers the proposed boundaries unfair, and object to the maps being drawn by Democratic lawmakers, rather than an independent commission.
During his 2018 campaign, Pritzker had vowed to reject any new maps drawn by politicians.
On Thursday, Pritzker told the Sun-Times what’s most important to him is “fairness.”
“That starts with the Voting Rights Act of Illinois, the Voting Rights Act in the United States, the Supreme Court decisions that have been made around making sure that we have majority minority districts, and then looking at the overall diversity of the state to see whether there are plurality districts that minorities might be representing in the future,” Pritzker said.
“So, we’ll look at the population trends, things like that, so that we continue to have representation, with a diverse set of people in our legislature — and then of course in the Supreme Court and the [Cook County] Board of Review. And ultimately, I guess later, the same thing will be true of a congressional map when it gets submitted.”
It’s more than what the governor said on the matter at his post legislative session news conference earlier this week when asked about the maps.
But it still doesn’t answer the question of whether Pritzker will OK the Democrats’ version of fairness or heed Republicans calls for him to reject it.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Thursday that he feels good about the direction in which the state is heading, on many levels.
He sat down Thursday with CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov, and they covered as much ground as they could in 15 minutes.
One of the first topics Kozlov brought up was the state’s – and specifically an Illinois House resolution demanding that Pritzker reopen unemployment offices.
Pritzker: “You’ll see IDES reopening over the next month or two.”
Kozlov: “Month or two, but noting more firm than that?”
Pritzker: “No. They’re still working out the security concerns at all of our offices.”
Well, let me start by saying that I want people to be able to get the service that they need from our Department of Employment Security, and so we’re going to open as soon as we possibly can. As you know we’ve had a significant challenge with security, for people who work in those offices. They’ve been there, but the threats that have been leveled are continuing. We’ve had ISP pursuing the people who are threatening. But I will also say that many of our government offices have been closed over the course of the pandemic. We’ve been gradually reopening all of those. So you’ll see IBS reopening over the next month or two.
I’ll have more later this morning because some stories haven’t been posted as I write this. I’ll also get to these goofy “Pritzker won’t say if he’ll run again” clickbait stories later today. For now, I’ll just caution you to not buy into the silliness.
ITEP’s newest edition of Who Pays? helps to reveal that many states traditionally considered to be “low-tax states” are actually high-tax for their poorest residents. The “low tax” label is typically assigned to states that either lack a personal income tax or that collect a comparatively low amount of tax revenue overall. But a focus on these measures can cause lawmakers to overlook the fact that state tax systems impact different taxpayers in very different ways, and that low-income taxpayers in particular often do not experience these states as being even remotely “low tax.”
Had a great discussion with my Transportation Advisory Coalition this morning at @RCCDecaturIL. Wanted to get their input as we consider surface transportation legislation and a potential broader infrastructure bill in Congress. I'm hoping we can do these on a bipartisan basis. pic.twitter.com/rUnL5bPCoI
* From comments on a post about the elected Chicago school board bill yesterday…
It’s fascinating to me that folks (like editorial writers) who regularly complain about the speaker and senate president having too much power over their chambers now want them to exercise that power to stop something a super-majority of their members are in favor of.
The Illinois House must still approve the bill, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker would have to sign it before it becomes law. It could be a moment for the new House speaker, Emanuel “Chris” Welch, to step up and say no, he won’t call the bill for now, even though it’s an issue he supports.
It could be a moment for Pritzker to say no, he won’t sign it as is, even though it’s an issue he supports.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot doesn’t want it; it would be bad for taxpayers and students; and the reasons it flew through the Senate were heavily political — jabs at Lightfoot from Martwick, with whom she has battled, and Senate President Don Harmon, with whom she has a strained relationship. Throw kids under the bus to assert your own power? You bet, they said.
Welch and Pritzker should put a brick on it. Don’t call the House back to Springfield.
A third former state legislator has filed a lawsuit to argue he is entitled to pay raises from years past — even though he voted against them while he was in office.
Mike Fortner, a former Republican state representative and NIU physics professor from West Chicago, had a reputation for paying close attention to the state’s many fiscal headaches.
Fortner filed the new lawsuit on Tuesday seeking backpay for himself and all current or former state lawmakers. His lawyers argue Fortner’s previous votes to block his own pay raises were unconstitutional because it changed his salary during the middle of his term.
“Fortner is entitled to receive his full COLA salary adjustments for the period from July 2009 to January 2019 — spanning all of fiscal years 2010 through 2018 and the first six months of fiscal year 2019,” the suit argues.
Fortner’s attorneys later filed a motion for class action certification on Wednesday, which would extend to all current and former members of the General Assembly — even those who don’t publicly put their names on the lawsuit.
* Comptroller Mendoza…
I am disheartened to hear that former State Representative Mike Fortner, R-West Chicago, has filed an ill-advised class(less) action lawsuit seeking to retroactively take from taxpayers money for raises he voted not to take through legislation he co-sponsored. This reckless lawsuit exposes taxpayers to millions of dollars in additional liability.
I respectfully suggest that this Professor of Particle Physics has sued the wrong person – he should sue himself. HE is the one who voted to deny himself a pay raise – not the Comptroller’s office.
It’s not rocket science, Professor. You should know better.
I have been fighting a similar shameless lawsuit brought by former State Senators Michael Noland, D-Elgin, and James Clayborne, D-Belleville, for four years and will continue fighting in hopes the state Supreme Court sees that legislators who voted to decline their raises should not be entitled to claim them years later.
If the court orders the state to take up to $10 million or more of taxpayers’ money to pay all former legislators raises they voted not to take, I will send legislators the forms state employees can already use to distribute a portion of their salaries to charity. As a former legislator who voted against these pay raises, I will lead by example, donating any back pay I get to charity and will encourage others to do the same.
it’s not rocket science, but it is constitutional law. Legislators’ compensation cannot be altered during their terms of office. The comptroller is running for reelection, and this is a great issue for her, but it doesn’t change the facts.
* Meanwhile…
Fun fact: Mike Fortner is already making money on state payroll. House Republicans have paid him $53k+ since December of 2019 out of their redistricting fund. State records show they sent payments to "M.F." through a consultant named Rebecca C. Hall.
Dan Hampton and his Chicago 6 bandmates are stepping on stage Saturday to help former Bears teammate Steve “Mongo” McMichael’s battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. https://t.co/LEo7IDc8Xa
