Congressional Republicans voted to remove Rep. Liz Cheney from leadership Wednesday morning over her criticisms of former President Donald Trump, though only one member of Congress from southern Illinois has shared how she voted.
A tweet from U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, said Cheney “is seriously out of step with Republicans and is no longer capable of effectively leading the party.” […]
Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville echoed Bost’s statement that Republicans need to come together on more pressing issues.
“Liz is a good friend, and I thought she did a good job as conference chair. I’d like to thank her for her leadership. Our country has real problems that are going unaddressed,” Davis said in an emailed statement, “a crisis at the southern border, cyber attack on a major pipeline, gas shortages, inflation and rising food and gas prices, lackluster jobs report, an economy hampered by government, kids still not in school, Israel under attack by Hamas terrorists, the list goes on. Democrats are in total control of Washington, yet they refuse to work on real solutions to these problems we face. I’m 100% focused on policy solutions that will improve the lives of the families and taxpayers I represent, and that’s exactly what Congress should be focused on.”
Miller: All eyes today are on Rep Liz Cheney. Will US House Republicans dump her as their number three leader? What’s your prediction?
Davis: You know I don’t know if there’s even going to be a vote to be honest with you, I was one who… And Liz is a friend of mine and I think, Lis is doing a good job in a very tough situation. Helped Liz during the last attempt when she was able to get 70% of the vote. And from my perspective, I don’t know how she’s gonna fight, she hasn’t talked to me since this new, this new possibility a vote has come up. So we’ll see what happens in about an hour.
Miller: During a speech yesterday on the House floor she said ‘I am a conservative Republican, and the most conservative of conservative principles is reverence for the rule of law, the election is over. That is the rule of law, that is our constitutional process. Those who refuse to accept the rulings of our courts are at war with the Constitution.’ What’s your opinion on where she stands?
Speaking with WJBC’s Scott Miller, Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) said he’s received his vaccine and encourages others to do the same.
“Ca’mon, get the vaccine. If you’ve gone through the first one, go get your second vaccine. All three vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson) are 100 percent effective against hospitalizations. And that to me shows, that gives us a .0047 percent chance if you get a vaccine to get reinfected and to have that reinfection hospitalize you. You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning.
“If you want our economy and our facilities to reopen again as we used to know them prior to March 2020, stop giving politicians excuses to keep our communities locked down. Go get the vaccine; I did it. I can tell you I don’t have a computer chip in me.”
Folks… I think he’s running.
…Adding… From Rodney Davis’ campaign committee at 4:01 this afternoon…
Friend,
Governor Pritzker has been a disgrace to Illinois.
He’s committed to protecting corrupt Democrats over serving the people of our great state — and it’s time for him to GO.
Chip in just $10 in the next few hours and receive your own FIRE PRITZKER sticker today!
FIRE PRITZKER
Thank you,
Team Davis
Paid for by Rodney for Congress
…Adding… From Democratic Party of Illinois Executive Director Abby Witt (on her first day on the job) in response to the Rodney Davis fundraising email…
“Congressman Rodney Davis has consistently chosen party politics over the people of Illinois by endorsing Donald Trump’s re-election and voting against the American Rescue Plan, denying Illinoisans critical support when they needed it most. Today in Washington, he cemented his place in history as a Trump-loving extremist, while in Illinois he sent a fundraising email attacking Gov. Pritzker and his successful efforts to protect our state in one of its darkest and most unpredictable times. Congressman Davis hasn’t been there for Illinoisans, and they won’t be there for him.”
Plaintiff has not filed responses to the motions, and the time for doing so has passed.
Collectively, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint should be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction as it fails to allege sufficient facts to establish standing by demonstrating an injury caused by the defendants. The State Defendants also argue that Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint fails to state a claim because (1) the Governor’s Executive Orders pass constitutional scrutiny in a public health crisis and are valid time, place, and manner restrictions; (2) Plaintiff fails to allege sufficient personal involvement by the State Defendants and rest upon a right that does not extend to the Plaintiff’s social associations; (3) Plaintiff fails to sufficiently allege discrimination against a secular entity in favor of a religious one; (4) Plaintiff’s state law claims are barred by the Eleventh Amendment; and (5) the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act does not limit the State Defendants’ authority to enforce the Governor’s executive orders. […]
The Court may, in its discretion, construe a party’s failure to file a timely response as an admission of the merits of the motion. … Here, having fully considered Defendants’ arguments, the Court deems Plaintiff’s failure to respond as an admission of the merits of the motions. Accordingly, Defendants’ motions to dismiss are GRANTED; Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint is DISMISSED without prejudice.
The Chicago Police Department started a secretive drone program using off-budget cash to pay for the new technology, the Sun-Times has learned.
Details of the police department’s drone program were included in an email sent last summer by Karen Conway, director of police research and development. In the email, Conway told other high-ranking police officials that the department’s counter-terrorism bureau “utilized 1505 funds for a pilot Drone program that operates within the parameters of current laws.” […]
The department’s “1505” fund is made up of forfeiture proceeds — money and other assets seized in connection to criminal investigations. The money isn’t included in the department’s official budget and has reportedly been used in the past to purchase other controversial technology, like Stingrays, which mimic cell towers and send out signals to trick phones into transmitting their locations and other information.
A state law that went into effect in July 2018 requires law enforcement agencies to report seizure and forfeiture information to the Illinois State Police.
* The Question: Should local police departments be required to transfer proceeds from the sale of seized assets to their municipalities’ general funds? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
• A study by former Illinois Power Agency (IPA) director employing the Aurora XMP grid and load modeling program shows that consumers save more than $1.2 billion over ten years by fully funding Illinois’ renewable energy program to 40% by 2031
• A study led by an Illinois State University Professor using the Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (JEDI) Model developed by NREL found that Path to 100 would create 53,000 new construction jobs
The state inspector general who headed an investigation into the November COVID-19 outbreak that killed 36 residents at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home told lawmakers Tuesday that communication issues pinpointed as a root cause of the crisis predated the pandemic.
“There are folks at LaSalle home who were expressing frustrations about communication prior to COVID, prior to 2020…multiple people expressing these concerns,” Department of Human Services Inspector General Peter Neumer said.
Neumer appeared in front of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Tuesday, answering questions about the process behind his investigation. The committee’s hearing on the LaSalle home outbreak will continue Thursday, when the panel will grill representatives from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Department of Public Health and Gov. JB Pritzker’s office.
The Acting Inspector General for the Department of Human Services spoke with Illinois Representatives Tuesday about his recent report regarding the deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home.
Peter Neumer explained Gov. Pritzker called for the investigation to figure out what led to the deaths of 36 veterans. Rep. David Welter (R-Morris) asked if the Governor’s Office put any pressure on the Inspector General’s Office during the investigation.
However, Neumer stressed the Pritzker administration didn’t have any direct influence on the investigation.
“Again, I know you are hired or technically hired by the Governor,” said Welter. “I’m sure he didn’t want any negative light on his actual administration. But, quite frankly, I think it’s unacceptable that they weren’t looked at as well.”
Neumer explained his team interviewed employees from the LaSalle facility as well as administration within the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Department of Public Health.
* Rep. Welter…
Governor Pritzker gave false hope to the families who lost loved ones when he promised a thorough and independent investigation into what went wrong at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home. It’s not a comprehensive investigation when you exempt key participants in the state’s response as Governor Pritzker did. He owes these families an explanation on why the decisions made by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Governor’s Office were not worth looking into. This investigation – called by the governor – was not about finding answers; it was about hiding the truth.
Partisan accusations aside, it would be helpful if folks in the governor’s office with responsibity over IDVA testified in a legislative committee about their own involvement.
*** UPDATE *** Deputy Gov. Sol Flores and IDPH Director Dr. Ezike are both testifying tomorrow.
* To claim the administration is lying about security concerns is basically to believe in a conspiracy theory that Pritzker doesn’t want unemployed people to obtain benefits. Tribune editorial…
So why, at a time when thousands of Illinoisans have struggled to receive the unemployment benefits to which they’re entitled, have Illinois Department of Employment Security offices remained closed? Doors locked to the public? […]
Pritzker this week cited security concerns and threats as the reason for the still-closed offices. He said the agency is working with state police to figure out a safe reopening plan.
But that doesn’t quite add up. The agency’s website says: “In order to protect everyone through social distancing, IDES offices are closed to the public until further notice.” And plenty of other state offices with public-facing services — and probably a frustrated public — have managed to open their doors.
Doesn’t add up? Riots last year, spiking violent crime, rampant unemployment, general anger. Yeah, what could possibly go wrong?
The National Federation of Independent Business says a record 44% of all small-business owners have job openings they cannot fill. And according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, in some states workers can collect unemployment for up to 46 weeks.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to end those extra government payouts because they’re enticing people to stay home.
Representatives of the hotel, restaurant and retail industry told aldermen on Tuesday businesses they represent are facing roadblocks to filling jobs as the city reopens. At the same time, a lack of childcare options is keeping some Chicagoans from returning to work, they said.
Amid rising attacks against a line of academic debate called “critical race theory,” I was surprised to see a Black state lawmaker from Chicago’s West Side, La Shawn Ford, introduce a bill calling for its inclusion in police officer training.
As a practical matter, I’d rather see, for example, more violence de-escalation training to help officers avoid shooting unarmed suspects. Just a thought.
“Critical race theory,” or CRT, has become a trigger term for politicians, activists and media voices, particularly on the right wing where it’s competing with “cancel culture” on the hit parade of things we are all supposed to be angry about or afraid of — or both.
But the political allure of the term is understandable, considering how often it has been appearing in the fevered narratives of conservative media and Red State politicians. Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Idaho, Arkansas and Arizona have either passed or are working on bills that would drop CRT or anything that looks like it from public schools curricula.
That’s a lot of agitation over an esoteric school of thought found mostly in graduate schools and law schools.
The bill was introduced a few days before the House’s Third Reading deadline and hasn’t moved an inch.
State Sen. Mike Simmons knows what it’s like to be “humiliated” in front of other kids because of a lack of understanding or acceptance of his hairstyle.
The North Side Democrat made history as the first Black person to represent his North Side area in the state Senate. Decades earlier, his family was one of the first Black families to move into the Lincoln Square neighborhood.
Now the rookie state senator has introduced a bill to address “hair discrimination,” racism related to a person’s hair.
“I understand what this feels like personally, to be made to be humiliated in front of your classmates. To have authority figures belittle you and humiliate you in front of other people because of something that is God-given is entirely unacceptable,” Simmons said.
The bill’s deadline was extended until May 21 - a month after the original deadline.
Dozens of homeowners living near O’Hare International Airport tell us they’re living in limbo, not wanting to spend money to fix up their homes.
The reason? They fear a bill moving through Springfield is a scheme to allow Elk Grove Village to take their property. […]
The 36-acre community may be independent of any municipality, but residents fear they’ll lose their freedom if Elk Grove Village annexes their land. […]
“Senate Bill 658 does not relax the guidelines local governments currently have to adhere to when annexing properties. Recent court rulings have thrown existing statutory requirements into confusion, making it harder not only for municipalities to follow these requirements, but also for residents to know whether their government’s annexation decision is legal. Senate Bill 658 would clarify the laws already in place, providing straightforward language for governments seeking annexation and for residents keeping a check on their local governments,” said [Sen. Laura Murphy] in an emailed statement to CBS 2.
Looks like a story based on a Facebook post. The bill unanimously passed the Senate.
The Senate Education Committee advanced several bills Tuesday, including measures addressing special education, hairstyle discrimination and teaching Asian American history in public schools.
Those were among more than a dozen bills to pass the committee, the majority of which passed unanimously without debate or discussion.
Springfield Democrat Sen. Doris Turner’s House Bill 41 would add a new responsibility for the state when placing children in special education facilities. Under the proposal, before a child could be placed in an out-of-state residential facility, the entity behind that decision – whether it is a school district, Illinois agency or court – must refer the child’s guardians to a comparable in-state facility to consider.
The provision would also require the entity behind an out-of-state placement of a special education student to review that placement annually, and each year refer an in-state facility to the child’s guardians.
House Bill 40, sponsored by Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, would change how students using special education services age out of the program. Under current Illinois law, special needs students lose their eligibility and are removed from school the day before they turn 22.
Free menstrual products might become available to college students in Illinois under a plan moving through the Senate.
The proposal that passed out of the House last month would require public universities and community colleges to provide the products in bathrooms of buildings they own and lease.
Sen. Karina Villa says period poverty is real. The West Chicago Democrat says her legislation could truly help students in need. […]
The proposal passed out of the Senate Higher Education Committee on a partisan 9-4 vote. It now heads to the Senate floor for consideration. The plan would head to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk if approved by the Senate.
State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville) began her first campaign in 2018 as a mother of two small children, got pregnant with her third, and then took on three more kids because of her campaign manager’s illness. The result, she said, was a debt that was only paid off this past year.
She’s now sponsoring a bill which would make child care a legitimate campaign expense.
“We shouldn’t be limiting people’s opportunities to be government representatives because we’re not allowing for simple expenses that are incurred because of running for office,” Stava-Murray told a committee. “Prior to that, I had been a stay-at-home parent, so these child care expenses. 100 percent due to me running for office for my election.”
* Hospitalizations continue to drop. Vaccinations are looking better. Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,795 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 26 additional deaths.
- Cook County: 1 female 30s, 1 female 40s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
- Henry County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 80s
- Kane County: 1 male 70s
- Kankakee County: 1 male 90s
- Lake County: 1 male 80s
- Logan County: 1 male 70s
- Macoupin County: 1 male 90s
- Madison County: 1 female 60s
- Montgomery County: 1 male 80s
- Peoria County: 1 female 80s
- Rock Island County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
- Schuyler County: 1 male 60s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 60s
- Tazewell County: 1 female 70s
- Winnebago County: 1 male 70s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,359,748 cases, including 22,285 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 70,216 specimens for a total of 23,505,414. As of last night, 1,899 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 466 patients were in the ICU and 246 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from May 5-11, 2021 is 2.7%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from May 5-11, 2021 is 3.3%.
A total of 10,110,969 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 80,591 doses. Yesterday, 73,345 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 real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for deaths previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been updated. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
*** UPDATE *** Press release excerpt…
In an effort to ensure in-person learning can fully resume as quickly and safely as possible, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced a $235 million investment to expand access to covidSHIELD testing to middle and high schools across the state at low or no cost. The covidSHIELD test, which was developed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), is a saliva-based test that quickly detects the virus that causes COVID-19, including in people who aren’t exhibiting symptoms. […]
Testing will help quickly identify individuals who are positive for COVID-19 so that people who are close contacts of that individual can be quarantined to prevent further spread. This could include exposure in school, sports, or other extra-curricular activities. The more quickly a case can be identified, the number of potential exposures to other people can be reduced, as well as the number of people needing to quarantine.
Governor JB Pritzker today joined the Illinois Office of Tourism and industry leaders to kick off “Time for Me to Drive,” a new campaign to promote the return of travel across the state. In its first new campaign for tourism since the onset of COVID-19 last year, the State of Illinois is encouraging residents and visitors to get out and enjoy Illinois’ diverse communities and scenic landscapes safely.
To view and download media assets for “Time for Me to Drive” click here.
A multi-state ad campaign set to launch later this week will encourage travel to a broad range of destinations throughout Illinois, while positioning the state to seize on pent up demand. As consumer trends reveal an increased desire to travel by car, the new campaign is timed to highlight Illinois as a top choice for travel ahead of the summer season.
“The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is one of our state’s greatest attractions having welcomed millions of people from around the world. That’s why I chose it as the place to announce Illinois’ new tourism campaign – one designed especially to meet this moment in our history,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “After an incredibly difficult year in which the pandemic kept us all close to home and staying apart, lifesaving vaccines are bringing us back to life and heading toward a summer of fun and venturing out. Today I’m proud to launch the Time for Me to Drive Campaign – inviting people to see all of Illinois, showing off adventures of all kinds: Historic sites and winery tours, state parks and rock climbing, hiking, and zip-lining, hundreds of craft breweries and thousands of excellent restaurants across the state.”
“Time for Me to Drive” highlights the state’s seven national scenic byways and highways as more travelers seek to pack their cars and hit the road, a trend seen increasingly across the country. Featured trips span the state’s iconic museums, world-class architecture, and natural wonders, including Matthiessen State Park in Oglesby, Mississippi Palisades State Park in Savanna, the Shawnee National Forest, and the Garden of the Gods in Herod. Road trip itineraries also promote the discovery of destinations in and around Chicago, including award-winning restaurants, small businesses offering Illinois-made products and unforgettable locations like Chicago’s Navy Pier, the Riverwalk and of course the city’s diverse neighborhoods.
Overall, the Illinois Tourism Office, housed within the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), has created over 60 original itineraries to help visitors navigate Illinois’ unique communities and natural resources.
The campaign will run on television, radio, digital and print media, and highway billboards spanning 18 markets, and with ads also available in Spanish. “Time for Me to Drive” represents the first phase of the State’s strategy to revitalize tourism in Illinois focusing on summer trips and regional overnight stays. Future tourism promotion efforts will be launched as indoor tourism activities, large festivals and mainstay attractions resume as public health guidelines allow. This gradual approach to tourism promotion will play an important role in supporting a safe return of the industry and its workers, while also boosting tourism revenues.
* US Attorney’s office in Nashville, TN yesterday…
Three Fort Campbell soldiers were charged today with conspiracy and offenses relating to the illegal purchase and transfer of dozens of firearms to the streets of Chicago, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Mary Jane Stewart for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Demarcus Adams, 21; Jarius Brunson, 22; and Brandon Miller, 22, all enlisted members of the U.S. Army and stationed at the Fort Campbell military installation in Clarksville, Tennessee, were arrested this morning by ATF agents and agents of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division. A criminal complaint obtained late yesterday charged each defendant with transferring a firearm to an out-of-state resident; making false statements during the purchase of a firearm; engaging in the business without a firearms license; wire fraud; money laundering; and conspiracy to commit Title 18 offenses.
According to the criminal complaint, this investigation began on March 26, 2021, when Chicago police responded to a mass shooting incident. During this incident, multiple people were shot and one person was pronounced dead at the scene. During the resulting investigation, multiple firearms were recovered from the shooting scene and five of the firearms were found to have been recently purchased from Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealers in the Clarksville, Tennessee area. Further investigation identified Adams, Brunson and Miller as the majority purchasers of these firearms.
A broader investigation into firearms transaction records from FFLs in the Clarksville region determined that since September 2019, the trio had purchased 91 firearms from multiple FFLs in Clarksville; Oak Grove, Kentucky; Hopkinsville, Kentucky; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and Paducah, Kentucky. The majority of the firearms were purchased during the last five months. The criminal complaint also alleges that after the firearms were purchased, Miller would provide them to individuals he was associated with in Chicago.
On April 28, 2021, a federal search warrant was executed at the home of Miller and Adams in Clarksville, where 49 empty firearms cases were recovered. Many of these empty cases were matched to firearms recovered by the Chicago Police Department at the scene of recent shootings and homicides.
Wednesday, May 12, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
With just weeks remaining in the legislative session, time is running out to pass a comprehensive clean energy bill like the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) that will hold utilities accountable.
Despite federal prosecutors fining ComEd a record $200 million in a bribery scandal, ComEd continues to profit off their wrongdoing and avoid refunding customers for their corruption.
Meanwhile, Ameren didn’t even show up to an April 27th House Energy and Environment Committee hearing on utility accountability. Instead, they’ve spent more than $80,000 in the last two months on misleading digital ads - outspending every other political advertiser in the state.
In the midst of all of this, both ComEd and Ameren are requesting millions in rate hikes from the state, hurting working families who pay more for their insider deals.
Legislation like CEJA will hold these utility companies accountable, placing an independent monitor in the headquarters of ComEd and Ameren and providing restitution for ComEd customers.
Illinois lawmakers must pass a comprehensive energy bill that will address the climate crisis, create equitable jobs, and advance the strongest utility ethics measures in state history. But we have less than 20 days left to get it done. CEJA can’t wait.
Wednesday, May 12, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
We can’t have fair maps if those maps aren’t drawn using the full set of detailed Census data. But, due to census delays, Illinois politicians are planning to use outdated, estimated numbers to draw election maps that will last for a decade.
We know those estimates missed tens of thousands of us. We need the next set of election district maps to fully reflect our communities, and the only way that can happen is if those maps are drawn with current, complete Census data to give all our communities accurate and fair representation.
Call Governor Pritzker’s office today to ask that he push lawmakers to seek court permission to delay the process so that the next set of election maps are drawn with COMPLETE Census data, NOT old estimates.
COVID-19 vaccine providers throughout Illinois are again averaging more than 80,000 shots a day after spending all of last week below that threshold.
Illinois Department of Public Health figures show providers averaged 81,265 shots a day over the past week. Four days ago, the state was averaging fewer than 66,000 shots a day as part of a two-week decline in shots administered. At its peak just under a month ago, the state was averaging more than 132,000 shots a day.
Declines in average daily new cases and hospitalizations keep Illinois on track to reach the Bridge Phase on Friday, with loosened capacities for businesses and social gatherings, state health officials say.
Sayer Ji is a 48-year-old proponent of what he calls natural medicine.
“My parents didn’t know about natural medicine, so it really wasn’t until I was 17 that I learned some basic principles of nutrition and self care,” he told attendees at a recent virtual conference. “I was liberated from needing pharmaceutical medicines.”
Ji was also there promoting his website, full of natural remedies and reams of anti-vaccine misinformation. He sells subscriptions for anywhere from $75 to $850 a year.
He is one of many anti-vaccine advocates with a business on the side. They promote false claims about the dangers vaccines pose, while selling treatments, supplementals or other services. Their potential market is the roughly 20% of Americans say they do not want to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to recent polling.
While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine Monday for anyone 12 and older, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention immunization panel still has to authorize its use for 12- to 15-year-olds. That move is expected Wednesday. […]
“We are now seeing the highest rates of COVID-19 infections in younger people,” said Dr. Gregory Huhn, infectious disease physician and Cook County Health’s COVID-19 vaccine coordinator. “If we want kids to return to school, sports and friends as safely as possible, they should be vaccinated. It is our best chance at giving them some sense of normalcy back.”
Health experts acknowledge many parents are hesitant or opposed to vaccinating their children.
Some parents cite the fact the vaccine has been authorized only for “emergency use” by the FDA. Pfizer is in the process of seeking licensed authorization from the FDA for full use of the vaccine to assuage such concerns.
Cook County data shows more than 55% of north suburban residents having so far received at least their initial dose compared with 46% of those living in the west suburbs, 43% of southwest suburban residents and 36% of south suburban residents.
County health officials in late March rolled out an initiative to boost vaccination rates in 32 suburbs including several south suburban communities, such as Blue Island, Chicago Heights, Dixmoor, Harvey, Riverdale and Robbins.
Medicare will now require nursing homes to report COVID-19 vaccination rates for residents and staff.
That’s as government officials hope to nudge the long-term care facilities to keep giving shots as the worst ravages of the coronavirus pandemic ease but the danger of a rebound still lurks.
A man who was found guilty for acting as the lookout in a double homicide nearly three decades ago is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to find his mandatory life sentence without parole unconstitutional.
A lawyer for Antonio House argued before Supreme Court Tuesday that his life sentence for a crime committed when he was 19 violates the so-called proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution.
This clause in the constitution states: “All penalties shall be determined both according to the seriousness of the offense and with the objective of restoring the offender to useful citizenship.”
Lauren Bauser, an assistant appellate defender who represents House, said the court should allow House to be resentenced because “the record in this case demonstrates that Antonio’s mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole for a crime he committed as a teenager, as a teenage lookout, who wasn’t present at the time of the killing, shocks the conscience.”
Although five Democrats are already jockeying to replace Secretary of State Jesse White, Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) told WTTW News that he will not run to replace his political godfather.
Burnett, elected to the City Council in 1995, said he decided that he could not continue to serve as alderman for the West Loop — where the COVID-19 pandemic has only slightly cooled the red-hot pace of development — while running for a statewide office amid the pandemic. […]
Burnett said he would have accepted an appointment from Gov. J.B. Pritzker to replace the 86-year-old White, who was first elected secretary of state in 1998. White won his last term in office with 68% of the vote in 2018, smashing his Republican challenger.
But Burnett said he could never get a commitment from the governor that he would get the nod to replace White as part of a maneuver perfected by Chicago’s Democratic machine during the past several decades to hang onto power by giving the party’s favorite a head start in office via an appointment.
Emily Bittner, a spokesperson for Pritzker, told WTTW News “the governor doesn’t contemplate filling hypothetical vacancies.”
…Adding… Back to hating on RRB…
"Emily Bittner, a spokesperson for Pritzker, told WTTW News 'the governor doesn’t contemplate filling hypothetical vacancies.'"
“The debts that we racked up during the COVID year of 2020, we had to do some federal borrowing in order to cover our bills,” Pritzker said. “We also racked up a bunch of bills, a bill backlog, that needs to be paid back. We need to act responsibly with these dollars.”
Among other things, Illinois owes the Federal Reserve about $3.6 billion from last year. The expectation was that the state could use what now looks like $8 billion to pay that off.
* From the US Treasury Department’s “interim final rule” on the state and local use of American Rescue Plan funds…
Question 17: In the Interim Final Rule, paying interest or principal on government debt is not considered provision of a government service. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, including circumstances in which paying interest or principal on government debt could be considered provision of a government service. […]
Sections 602(c)(1)(C) and 603(c)(1)(C) of the Act provide recipients with broad latitude to use the Fiscal Recovery Funds for the provision of government services. Government services can include, but are not limited to, maintenance or pay-go funded building of infrastructure, including roads; modernization of cybersecurity, including hardware, software, and protection of critical infrastructure; health services; environmental remediation; school or educational services; and the provision of police, fire, and other public safety services.
However, expenses associated with obligations under instruments evidencing financial indebtedness for borrowed money would not be considered the provision of government services, as these financing expenses do not directly provide services or aid to citizens. Specifically, government services would not include interest or principal on any outstanding debt instrument, including, for example, short-term revenue or tax anticipation notes, or fees or issuance costs associated with the issuance of new debt.
The Illinois Comptroller’s office said they continue to review the interim guidance for what’s allowed and plan to provide comment.
“[Governor’s Office of Management and Budget] and our office will be seeking to clarify with the Treasury that guidance against using these funds to pay debts unrelated to COVID-19 does not prevent their use for paying debts accrued for spending related to COVID expenses,” a spokesperson for Comptroller Susana Mendoza said in a statement.
That’s basically our only hope.
* As House Revenue Committee Chair Mike Zalewski implied, unless the General Assembly decides to push budget passage beyond the scheduled May 31 adjournment (or Mendoza somehow succeeds), this won’t really help the state…
So some caution in folks jumping to conclusion that Treasury guidance barring use of ARP funds to pay off bonds is done deal….this is an "interim final rule" and so chicago and illinois have 60 days to make their case.
— yvette.shields@arizent.com (@Yvette_BB) May 11, 2021
*** UPDATE 1 *** Gov. Pritzker was asked about this today…
The Senate president, the speaker and I have committed that we’re going to be paying back the borrowing that we took out over the last year to cover our Coronavirus expenses.
You know that the rules are still being worked on in Washington and we are in daily communication with the offices of the Treasury Department that are deciding about those rules. They put out a preliminary rule, and they know as we do, and this happened, by the way under the last administration when they had rules around the Cares Act, that there would be adjustments that would need to be made. And so we’re following that trail to make sure that we get everything done that we need to, so we can use those. Look the federal government’s sending US dollars and then telling us that we can’t then send those dollars back to the federal government to pay for the borrowing that we took out last year, clearly doesn’t make a lot of sense. And so we’ve talked to the Treasury Department about that.
Abudayyeh said the borrowed money wasn’t for old debts but to make the state whole for COVID-related spending, and therefore ought to be a justified use.
“Right now, I don’t think this is a particularly huge issue,” she said. “These are interim rules. This isn’t a panic moment.”
Msall said the state clearly “needs to get clarification.” But even if Treasury holds to its position, the state may be able to use the ARP infusion to pay for things such as aid to public grade and high schools, normal pension costs, and some capital expenditures that would easily exceed what the Fed is owed. That would free up cash to repay the Federal Reserve debt. The question is “how much fungibility” is allowed.
Illinois House Revenue Committee Chairman Mike Zalewski, who earlier had described the Treasury guidance as a “bombshell,” today was milder in his comments.
Switching money around as Msall suggested wouldn’t be easy, he said, but overall the situation is “problematic, but not insurmountable.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Comptroller Mendoza…
Honorable Janet Yellen
Secretary of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20220
Re: Interim Final Rule – Question 17 Response
Dear Secretary Yellen:
Thank you for your recent release of the Interim Final Rule providing guidance on the authorized uses of the Fiscal Recovery Funds provided under the American Rescue Plan Act. As offered in the Interim Final Rule, comments are welcomed in response to specific questions presented in the Rule. As the Chief Fiscal Officer for the State of Illinois, this letter is my response to Question 17.
It is my understanding the Interim Final Rule, as worded, would not allow the State of Illinois to use its federal funds for debt payments directly related to some $3.8 billion in short-term borrowing necessary for medical payments to the Illinois healthcare industry at crucial points during the 2020 pandemic.
This short-term borrowing by the State of Illinois in 2020 includes:
April 2020 - $200 million from other state funds allowing the state to purchase urgently needed PPE supplies and equipment;
June 2020 - $1.2 billion in Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF) funds from the Federal Reserve allowing payment to Illinois Medicaid providers since the state was experiencing a $3.1 billion revenue shortfall in the two months prior;
November 2020 - $400 million from other state funds for Illinois Medicaid providers as a cash-flow bridge to the larger loan in December; and
December 2020 - $2 billion in MLF funds from the Federal Reserve for Medicaid and other medical providers.
This borrowing was essential for the continued performance of government services during the most fiscally challenging times for the state’s cash flow during the pandemic, all directly related to the COVID-19 crisis. It was critical to get state payments out during these periods, as our Illinois healthcare industry was fighting back the adverse impact of COVID-19.
Illinois could not wait for additional federal relief funds to help mitigate the state’s response, and without this short-term borrowing, the state’s recovery would have been imperiled.
Illinois is the only state that utilized short-term borrowing in order to provide essential government services during the pandemic, allowed under prior federal Covid-19 relief programs. These debts would not have been incurred except as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. We want to promptly repay federal taxpayers for the crucial help they provided us during the pandemic. This is entirely consistent with the spirit of the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress and signed by President Biden. My specific request is for the Department of the Treasury to clarify this Rule to accommodate this unique circumstance; allowing Fiscal Recovery Funds to be used to directly repay Covid-19-necessitated short-term borrowing.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues while the Governor and the legislature work to balance Illinois’ budget for fiscal year 2022 and beyond. The Department of the Treasury’s timely approval of this request is critical for Illinois’ path toward fiscal recovery.
Thank you for considering this important clarification.
Tomorrow’s showdown vote on whether U.S. House Republicans will dump Rep. Liz Cheney as their No. 3 leader may well tell us a lot about the future of Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, and whether he’s seriously eyeing a race against Gov. J.B. Pritzker next year.
A vote to remove the Wyoming Republican will be taken as a sign that Davis, who has been rising fast in the GOP ranks and is considered a close ally of House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, wants to stay in the House, where some consider him a committee chairman-in-waiting if the GOP takes control of that chamber next year. […]
(W)hat might be popular downstate or in pro-Trump areas tends to be the opposite in the rest of now- heavily blue Illinois. Says one top state Republican, speaking privately, “If he’s going to run for governor, he can’t vote to get rid of Cheney.”
Davis has a long voting history, so I doubt it’ll come down to that one vote in an actual gubernatorial election. But it will be watched closely by people who follow this sort of thing - a sort of “pundit moment” for Davis.
* The vote will take place behind closed doors, however. So there’s no guarantee we’ll know for sure what happened with individual members. From the DCCC…
Just days after GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney did the bare minimum and refused to promote the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, House Republicans shamelessly began their effort to replace her as the Number 3 Republican in the caucus. In her place, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has propped up Elise Stefanik, a Trump loyalist who peddles dangerous conspiracies about the results of the election.
Evidently, McCarthy’s concern about the silencing of conservative voices doesn’t apply if it’s a woman in his caucus who refuses to lie. If Republicans believe this vote is fair, why are they choosing to hide behind a secret ballot? Rep. Rodney Davis has refused to tell the Chicago Sun Times and Illinois Playbook where he stands — voters deserve to know whether he will punish Rep. Cheney for voicing the truth.
It’s clear that in order to succeed in the House GOP, members must promote dangerous conspiracies like the ones that caused the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
“It’s increasingly obvious that there’s only room in the House Republican caucus for people who will continue to promote Trump’s Big Lie and put our democracy at risk. This vote tells the American people that McCarthy and Republicans would rather punish Rep. Cheney for telling the truth about our elections than denounce Marjorie Taylor Greene’s racist white supremacist caucus or Matt Gaetz’s credibly alleged sex trafficking crimes. Rep. Rodney Davis owes it to his voters to let them know which side he stands on,” said DCCC Spokesperson Elena Kuhn.
* Too bad the chamber’s deadline for Third Reading passage of House bills was April 23rd. It’ll get some nice play, though. And, who knows, maybe it’ll wind up being attached to another bill …
Folks, we have a new bill alert. Illinois could soon allow bars to reward people who got the vaccine with a free beer.
Rep. Mike Zalewski filed the “Shot and a Beer” bill in the House this morning. pic.twitter.com/okxyEAjm8r
backroom gambling deal is being worked out behind closed doors, as the General Assembly nears the May 31 deadline. Three gambling issues under consideration:
Internet Scratch-off lottery tickets. Scratch-off tickets account for 2/3 of lottery sales. Instant scratch-offs are like playing games on phones, with a “Play Again” button that pops up after purchase. Anyone 18 and older could “scratch” tickets for hours on end and lose a great deal of money.
The Lottery simplified online registration during the pandemic, added Apple and Google Pay, and used web-push notifications/nudges on phones to lure gamblers. Having a gambling app in your pocket is a constant temptation to gamble.
Betting on Illinois College Sports. Threats against student athletes are real, especially when people are gambling on college teams. The 2019 gambling bill banned bets on Illinois college sports to protect college players, many of whom are under the age of 21.
The Illinois House has voted to “fire a shot across the bow” of the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund, the massive retirement system that’s been riddled with internal tension and has tapped its board chairman to double as its interim executive director.
In a near-unanimous action, the House voted 114-0 to approve a bill sponsored by Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, that would impose a 12-month ban on any board member of a public pension system going to work for that system or any of its vendors. Four representatives did not vote.
Batinick said the measure would not apply to an earlier move by CTPF to make its board president, Jeffery Blackwell, the interim executive director, the fund’s top staff job. But the move is intended as a warning —”a shot across the bow”—to the $11 billion fund because there “seems to be a clear conflict of interest” in Blackwell supervising his own performance as both a board member and the executive director, Batinick told me.
Blackwell got the job in February, succeeding Mary Cavallaro. She resigned after just a few months in the job, saying in a statement that “I can no longer tolerate the chaos and toxicity of the boardroom, along with the vile disrespect and insults directed toward me, the leadership team and the hard-working staff of the fund by certain misinformed trustees.”
Members from both sides of the aisle at the Illinois statehouse say they’re taking small steps to save taxpayers on the $140-plus billion unfunded liability of public sector pensions.
State Sen. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, said after the legislature changed the pension plans a decade ago from Tier I to a plan with fewer benefits, Tier II may not cut it for some retirees. He passed Senate Bill 1675 requiring more state employees to save more on their own through a deferred compensation plan.
“So it doesn’t cost the government anything,” Martwick said. “It costs the pension systems a small amount of money in administration compared to their larger pot.”
Passions are pouring out on both sides of the issue of a measure to regulate retail pet stores.
House Bill 1711 would change state law to allow the sale of dogs and cats only if they come from an animal control facility or shelter. It passed the House with bipartisan support last month.
Illinois State Director for The Humane Society, Marc Ayers, advocates for the measure.
“And to change that source to shelters and rescues and animal controls so for one we can stop the proliferation of these puppy mills that they’re often coming from but also we can increase life-saving by adopting animals out that need a loving home,” Ayers told WMAY.
Jonathan Berning, co-owner of Happiness Is Pets with several locations in Illinois, said the measure would essentially shut down his business.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says she’ll seat a grand jury sometime this month to see if anyone broke any laws in how Governor Rauner’s administration handled the Legionnaires outbreak at the Quincy veterans home. Madigan announced her investigation yesterday. The Quincy outbreak began nearly four years ago and 14 people died from Legionnaires and 70 others became sick. Republicans say the investigation is little more than a last minute election year ploy to smear the governor.
Illinois Republican Party press release in the same time period…
“During her 16 years in office, Attorney General Lisa Madigan has done absolutely nothing to address the corruption from Speaker Mike Madigan and Illinois Democrats that has plagued our state for decades. But now that an independent investigation has found her party’s candidate for governor to be a tax fraud, Madigan has launched a clearly partisan investigation into a serious public health crisis that Governor Rauner took swift action on and has been transparent with the General Assembly and the media. This is nothing more than the politicization of the devastating deaths of Illinois veterans to distract from JB Pritzker’s scheme to defraud Illinois taxpayers hours before a debate.”
Newly disclosed records from the office of Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner document a pattern by the state of slow-walking and soft-pedaling bad news about deadly outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease at a state-run home for war veterans in downstate Quincy. […]
Some of the details that broke through the black ink are drawing new criticism from a nationally recognized infectious disease expert and prompting one Democratic lawmaker instrumental in establishing a state disease notification law to call for a criminal investigation.
“All aspects of this need to be looked at through the criminal process, whether it be manslaughter, neglect, you name it,” said state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, an Aurora Democrat and chief House sponsor of the disease notification bill.
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego), who chairs the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee set to interrogate Pritzker administration officials about the LaSalle outbreak Tuesday told NPR Illinois she didn’t believe it was appropriate for lawmakers to pressure Raoul’s office to open a criminal investigation.
“I think the Attorney General has to decide for themselves,” Kifowit said. “That’s not the role of the legislature to tell a separate constitutional officer [to investigate]. “We’re going do all we can to investigate the situation and it’s up to the Attorney General to decide what path they’re going to take.”
Lots more in Meisel’s story, so click here and discuss below.
The Illinois Constitution says lawmakers have until June 30 to pass new legislative maps. If they don’t, map-making goes to a commission of eight people, four from each party. This group must agree on maps by Aug. 10. If five members don’t approve the maps, the name of either a Republican or Democrat is drawn from a hat to choose a ninth member to break the tie by Oct. 5.
“It is not my belief that the people of Illinois would rather us have our redistricting on whose name, Republican or Democrat, is pulled out of a top hat,” said state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, arguing he believes Illinoisans would rather lawmakers use the best data they have now than leave map-making up to a random drawing. […]
Democrats say they have to draw a map by June 30 per the constitution. Republicans say they can wait for the Census. The constitution says lawmakers “shall” handle the redistricting process, but does not mandate maps to be complete by June 30 and creates a process for lawmakers to handle redistricting after June 30.
There’s really no need for this he-said/she-said stuff.
The Democrats want to avoid that October lottery, which gives the Republican Party a 50/50 chance of controlling the remap process. Republicans want to delay the process for the same reason. That’s it.
Congressional earmarks — specific projects advanced by individual members of Congress for their districts through the appropriations process — once led to prison terms for congressmen and lobbyists, the rise of the tea-party movement and an earmark moratorium that has existed since 2010.
Well, guess what’s back.
They have a new name — community-project funding and member-designated projects — but earmarks have been revived by the Democrats who run the House and Senate. And Republicans have joined the revival — although not all of them are on board.
Freshman U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, is the only member of Congress from Illinois who didn’t submit any requests. Miller’s district includes Charleston-Mattoon, Danville, Paris, Rantoul, Tuscola and areas south.
According to Kacich, Rodney Davis requested $37.5 million, Adam Kinzinger requested about $81.8 million and Darin LaHood asked for $91.8 million. These are requests. Final amounts are to be determined.
* Meanwhile, US Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi announced $1.27 billion in higher education funding from the American Rescue Plan, split almost evenly between student aid and institutional awards. The list is long, so click here to see it.
* Just about everything is trending well, except for deaths among younger people, of course…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,562 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 26 additional deaths.
- Cook County: 1 female 30s, 1 male 30s, 1 female 40s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 4 females 60s, 2 males 60s, 1 female 70s, 3 males 70s, 2 females 80s, 1 male 80s
- DuPage County: 1 female 80s
- Knox County: 1 male 80s
- Lake County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 80s
- Moultrie County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 90s
- Rock Island County: 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,357,953 cases, including 22,261 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 46,334 specimens for a total of 23,435,198. As of last night, 1,930 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 489 patients were in the ICU and 261 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from May 4-10, 2021 is 2.8%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from May 4-10, 2021 is 3.3%.
A total of 10,037,624 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 83,887 doses. Yesterday, 58,709 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 real-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.
Overall, the AP-NORC poll found about 1 in 5 American adults say they probably or definitely won’t get vaccinated, compared to about a third in January, when the shots were just rolling out. […]
Black Americans likewise are becoming more open to the shots, with 26% now saying they definitely or probably won’t get vaccinated compared with 41% in January. […]
32% of Republicans now say they probably or definitely won’t get vaccinated, down from 44% in January.
Other polls have been finding the same thing for months. There are gonna be hardcore holdouts, but what the government needs to be focusing on the most is making it easier to get the shot (24/7 vaccination sites, mobile vax centers at churches, schools, events, etc.) and using market research to reach out to people whose opinion can be most readily changed. The loudmouths on social media and cable TV will either eventually come around or they won’t. They should be at the bottom of the priority list, except to make sure their arguments are effectively and aggressively countered so that more people aren’t infected with a communications virus.
* Gov. Pritzker was asked about the hesitancy issue today…
There are people who come from communities that have been hesitant for many years about the health care system in general, because it hasn’t treated them properly, that equity hasn’t been brought to them in the health care system. And so I can understand why people choose to maybe step back and wait a little while.
There are others who maybe don’t fully understand the science behind the vaccinations and therefore are hesitant because they haven’t learned enough about it, which I understand. We want to do a good job of educating everybody.
But I would just remind you that literally hundreds of millions of people around the world have been vaccinated. And here in the United States, there’s not a single instance of a vaccination, other than those three that were related, three people, out of tens of millions, I think we’re now past 100 million people that are vaccinated in the United States, three people that had what’s identified maybe as a pre-existing condition, but certainly in a category that it’s now identified. And so I just say it’s safe, you know, talk to your doctor. But talk to your neighbors, talk to your friends, your family, and I think you’ll find that it’s safe. For those of us who’ve been vaccinated, it’s a lot more comfortable to be able to be outside in a small group of people not wearing a mask. It’s a lot more comfortable to be able to go into a restaurant, and just know that you’re highly unlikely to get infected.
* Sun-Times story on Chicago Ald. David Moore’s campaign announcement for secretary of state…
In his announcement speech, Moore said he’d expand the use of technology in the office for access to libraries to help younger state residents “explore their skills” and establish youth engagement offices named for White at the state’s driving facilities as well as place advertisements on license plates in order to bring in revenue.
* The Question: Advertisements on license plates? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
Tuesday, May 11, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Jack Crowe felt a little something in his neck. When symptoms of a chest cold followed, Crowe and his wife left their cabin in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and started driving home to Chicago.
Was it COVID-19? Crowe made a telehealth appointment with Rush University Medical Center to find out. Still far from home, Crowe told an ABC News affiliate, he was connected to a virtual care provider in five minutes.
That provider, nurse practitioner Nicole Marks, told the ABC affiliate that Crowe’s chest pain and shortness of breath were “red flags.” Crowe needed to be seen by a doctor immediately. Taking Marks’ advice, Crowe sought emergency care at a Wisconsin hospital. There, he was diagnosed with aortic dissection, a rare and serious condition of a tear in the main artery that carries blood from the heart.
“I went against my own instincts, which was to keep driving to Chicago another four hours. And if I had done that, I would have died,” said Crowe, who underwent emergency open-heart surgery.
The lifesaving care Crowe received is just one example of the urgent need to pass House Bill 3498in the Senate and make telehealth coverage and payment permanent. Visit https://protectillinoistelehealth.org/ to learn more.
We wanted to share some exciting news. With the passage of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), states have been provided an additional 10% in federal Medicaid matching funds (FMAP) for Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services. The DDD has developed a plan to incorporate the additional FMAP funds, estimated at $45 million, for an increase in the proposed FY22 budget. This funding, when added to the funding proposed in the Governor’s FY22 budget, will allow for a total investment of $122 million in the I/DD system in FY22.
* While that’s in line with recent state spending, it’s a fraction of what a state study says it should be…
Three years after a federal judge found Illinois had failed to meet the standards of a consent decree mandating sufficient services to residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed budget falls far short of a state-funded study’s recommendation to address the problem.
The study’s five-year spending plan includes a first year increase of $329 million to the roughly $1.1 billion allocated to community providers who work with people with disabilities such as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism.
Those organizations say the money would go a long way toward addressing the major issues they face: staffing shortages, a lack of day programs such as job coaching and a waiting list of more than 5,000 adults for services including housing. […]
Released in December, the five-year spending plan is the result of a 2018 federal court ruling that found Illinois was not in compliance with a 2011 consent decree requiring the state to make community services more accessible to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ruled the state had failed “to provide the resources of sufficient quality, scope, and variety.”
[John Pingo, President and CEO of the Goldie B. Floberg Center in Rockton] said this is what Illinois gets when the state underinvested in the system far too long.
“It cannot handle a giant system shock. And that’s exactly what the pandemic has done,” Pingo added. “It took a system that was just barely getting by and added a tremendous amount of stress.”
Pingo and [Mark Schmitz, the Transitions of Western Illinois Executive Director] appreciate that the Pritzker administration understands their concerns and continues to work on solutions. However, Schmitz said it could take years of concerted effort to get to where providers need to be.
“The increase in the governor’s budget is just barely keeping up with the increase in the minimum wage in the state. So, it’s not really getting us ahead in terms of fixing the parts of this that are broken,” Schmitz said. “Those keep coming in front of the court monitors to say Illinois has a broken developmental disabilities system.”
A McLean County Board member says his party has been plotting behind closed doors for months to create new district board maps that would make it harder for Democrats to get elected.
Republican Josh Barnett of Bloomington said County Board chair John McIntyre rejected his call for a bipartisan advisory panel to help draw the maps.
“They are trying to dump Republican voters from the rural areas into Bloomington-Normal in an attempt to keep control of the County Board for the next decade,” Barnett said. “They are not being open about that. They are not being honest about it and it’s time that it stops and is brought to light.”
Republicans currently hold an 11-9 majority on the board, but the GOP majority has been trimmed in recent elections.
Barnett said McIntyre responded that Democrats posed a “growing threat” on the board and said he was trying to “contain them.”
A second Republican is having doubts about a GOP-backed plan to dramatically change the way county board districts are drawn in McLean County.
The county board’s executive committee voted 5-3 Monday in favor of a plan dividing the county into five large districts instead of the current structure of 10 smaller districts. However, the outcome of a full board vote, expected at a special meeting Tuesday, is very much in doubt. […]
[Republican board member Randy Martin] did not explain his concerns during Monday’s meeting, but told 25 News he’s worried the redistricting debate is creating an unhealthy rivalry between residents living in the country and those in the Twin-Cities. […]
As a result of what he said was a “shady” process, [Republican board member Josh Barnett] believes funding is at risk for the county-owned nursing home, the county’s behavioral health initiatives, and the McLean County Museum of History.
Meanwhile at the Statehouse, not a single solitary Democratic legislator has publicly threatened to vote against the upcoming remap legislation.
As summer construction season ramps up, Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) today announced the fourth round of $250 million in Rebuild Illinois funded grants is available to advance municipal, township, and county projects across the state. With the latest round of grants, $1 billion in funding has now been distributed to address local transportation needs. The funding ensures that local governments can continue to invest in projects that sustain good-paying jobs and enhance quality of life for Illinois residents.
“In a sign that Illinois is overcoming years of dysfunction, we put together a bipartisan-backed Rebuild Illinois plan to build new roads and bridges and ports and airports and to fix existing ones. It’s the largest infrastructure investment in Illinois’ history. While other Midwestern states struggle to modernize, Illinois is passing them by. Already, our Rebuild Illinois plan has improved over 3,000 miles of highways, completed over 180 bridges, and launched hundreds more projects,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “But Rebuild Illinois isn’t just about building gleaming new state roads and bridges. It’s also about fixing local roads and bridges that make a big difference in people’s daily lives. Government ought to be all about making life better for our families and our communities right where we live. That’s why I’m so excited to be here in Champaign to announce $250 million in new grants for counties, municipalities, and townships – bringing our total funding for these grants through Rebuild Illinois to $1 billion.”
A total of $1.5 billion spread out in six installments is being invested over three years to advance municipal, township and county projects across the state. Projects include road and bridge improvements, traffic signal upgrades, new storm sewers and bike paths, sidewalk replacements and other long-term maintenance needs, with financial oversight from IDOT.
“At IDOT, there is no such thing as a federal road, a state road, a county road or a township road. They are all Illinois roads that the public depends on each day,” said Acting Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “Because of the vision of Gov. Pritzker, Rebuild Illinois is making historic investments in our local transportation system. Working together with our partners, we are strengthening all modes of transportation across all jurisdictions.”
The funding is in addition to the regular contributions through the state’s motor fuel tax formula, which have increased due to Rebuild Illinois and already account for $706.5 million to local governments in this fiscal year alone.
Passed in 2019, Rebuild Illinois is investing $33.2 billion into the state’s aging transportation system, creating jobs, and promoting economic growth. The landmark capital program is not only the largest capital program in state history, but also the first one that touches all modes of transportation: roads and bridges, transit, waterways, freight and passenger rail, aviation, and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.
“This significant investment in new and improved infrastructure will allow our residents to travel safely and draw visitors to our area, helloing our whole community move forward from the pandemic,” said State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign). “Continued commitment to our state’s transportation and infrastructure system is critical to jump-starting the economy and putting us back on track.”
As part of its current FY2021-26 Proposed Highway Improvement Program, IDOT is investing a total of $21.3 billion to improve roads and bridges. Of that, $4.7 billion is identified for the local transportation system.
Arguing that the controversial Loop structure is Helmut Jahn’s definitive achievement, preservation advocates said Monday that the untimely death of the German architect “really does cement the argument that the Thompson Center should be preserved.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who put the building up for sale last week, on Monday said the state lost “a great artistic genius,” but the James R. Thompson Center doesn’t fall under the category of great, artistic work. […]
“I think it really does define his career,” [Ward Miller, the executive director of Preservation Chicago] said of the Thompson Center. “There may still be projects by Jahn in process, but we are never, ever going to see another design by Helmut Jahn be constructed other than what’s already planned, and I think that it really does cement the argument that the Thompson Center should be preserved.” […]
“The James R. Thompson Center was a building that never lived up to his creative genius,” Pritzker said. “We’ve obviously put out [a Request for Proposals] that allows people who are thinking about buying the property to preserve the building or choose something else.”
* Good point…
Not talking about the replaceable units, more the layout, with its many bottlenecks & inherent slowness (which is also a good symbol of proper government, like the open atrium). Seriously: find one person who works there every day who defends it _as a great building to work in_. https://t.co/d8SjKfJMKH
* A bit of harmless silliness, but I laughed about this a lot yesterday so I figured I’d post it. NBC 5…
Speaking at an event alongside Gov. J.B. Pritzker Monday, Lightfoot said she certainly hopes Chicago can fully reopen by June 11, which is when Illinois plans to enter Phase 5, however she didn’t commit to a specific date.
“We’re headed in the right direction,” the mayor said. “But everything about this pandemic has to have an asteroid of caution, because of the twists and turns, and as the governor and doctor said, we’ve got to get people vaccinated, so that we can get ahead of these variants.”
Tuesday, May 11, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Employers in Illinois provide prescription drug coverage for nearly 6.7 million Illinoisans. In order to help keep care more affordable, employers work with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who deploy a variety of tools to reduce prescription drug costs and help improve health outcomes. In addition to helping employers, PBMs also work with the Illinois Medicaid program in the same way to help control costs. Over the last five years, PBMs have saved the state and taxpayers nearly $340 million.
Today, Illinois faces a multibillion budget shortfall as more Illinoisans are relying on Medicaid to help meet their health care coverage needs. As legislators work to address these challenges, one way to help ensure continued cost savings is by strengthening the PBM tools that the State and employers use, which are poised to save employers, consumers and the State $39 billion over the next 10 years. These are meaningful savings that will help continue to contain costs, ensure consumer access to medicines and drive savings in public health programs.
Amid a pandemic and economic challenges, now is the time to strengthen, not limit, the tools that employers, consumers and the State rely on to manage costs and ensure consumers can access the medicines they need.
The shift to the pandemic’s vaccination phase has prompted many people to dwell at the micro level: When will I be fully vaccinated? When will my family and friends get their shots? When can we all revert to something resembling normal life? But that has lent a false sense of security to the vaccinated and obscured the perils lurking at the macro level, as devastating new waves of COVID-19 crash over countries such as India and Brazil and spread more transmissible variants of the virus beyond their shores.
“The United States may be advancing remarkably [with] the pace of vaccination, but so long as you have uncontrolled pandemics throughout the world, every contagion increases the likelihood of an ‘escape variant’ that eventually, with the level of interconnectedness we have, will find its way even [to] populations that have been vaccinated,” Julio Frenk, a former Mexican health minister and World Health Organization official, told me. “No one is safe until everyone is safe.” [..]
“The more contagion you have, the higher the likelihood that you will have a mutation and that that mutation will lead to a more contagious variant. And that’s exactly what’s happened,” said Frenk, now the president of the University of Miami. […]
Pedro Hallal, the lead investigator for EPICOVID-19, the largest epidemiological study of COVID-19 in Brazil, told me that he’s concerned about new variants popping up in Brazil that could, for example, be more dangerous for children or undermine the effectiveness of existing vaccines. Brazil, he said, has become a “variants factory.” […]
At its current sluggish pace, Brazil will take another 12 months to vaccinate 75 percent of its population.
