* Gregory Pratt at the Tribune…
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot privately called an official a “dumb, dumb person of color.”
Ald. Jason Ervin, she texted, was “full of crap.” She told Ald. Brendan Reilly he was “bush league,” and referred to Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez as a “jackass” in a text to another council member.
Lightfoot’s brusque style is no secret. But a trove of text messages, recently obtained by the Tribune, further reveals the extent to which the mayor — who campaigned as a reformer aiming to unite the city — at times resorts to name-calling and shaming of her perceived enemies as she governs the city.
The Tribune obtained more than 2½ years of Lightfoot’s text messages with aldermen through a series of Freedom of Information Act requests with which her staff failed to comply until the state attorney general admonished them and the Tribune threatened a lawsuit.
Lots of stuff in there, so go read the rest.
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Fair hit or not?
Thursday, Dec 9, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* 2019…
Latest data show exhaust from cars, trucks and planes has overtaken coal plants as Illinois’ single-biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions, the largest contributing factor to climate change.
* With that in mind…
Thoughts?
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IRMA chief goes off on Lightfoot over crime
Thursday, Dec 9, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rob Karr, like his predecessor, is about the chillest person in this business. He’s got the skills and demeanor of a seasoned diplomat. So, seeing these quotes was a surprise and should be a wake-up call for everyone. Here’s Fran Spielman…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot was accused Thursday of abdicating responsibility for the retail crime wave sweeping Chicago and, instead, pressuring merchants to implement their own costly and unworkable security measures.
Twice in the last month — and as recently as this week — Lightfoot urged Magnificent Mile merchants victimized repeatedly by smash-and-grab robberies to follow the lead of their counterparts in Milan, London, Paris, Rome and along Hollywood’s Rodeo Drive.
She specifically mentioned security guards at the door, entrance cameras, merchandise “either chained and roped or put behind glass” and customers being “buzzed into” stores.
On Thursday, Illinois Retail Merchants Association President Rob Karr flatly rejected all of the mayor’s ideas.
He branded the suggestions “extraordinarily disheartening,” “misinformed” and “false”—yet another example of how Lightfoot “continues to point fingers and play the blame game.”
…Adding… Ken Griffin has been complaining loudly about the city’s crime…
The head of President Joe Biden’s security detail is retiring and taking a job with Citadel, billionaire Ken Griffin’s hedge fund.
David Cho has been with the United States Secret Service for more than 25 years and is the first Korean American to become special agent in charge of the service’s Presidential Protective Division. He’ll start at $43 billion Citadel on Jan. 3 as deputy head of security, according to a spokesman for the firm.
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* From Rep. Jonathan Carroll…
Due to the unintended divisive nature of HB4259, I’ve decided not to pursue this legislation. Based on feedback and further reflection, we need to heal as a country and work together on common-sense solutions to put the pandemic behind us. Since taking office, I’ve always tried to have civil discourse with those who’ve disagreed with me. However, violent threats made against me, my family and my staff are reprehensible. I hope we can return to a more positive discourse on public health, especially when it comes to this pandemic that has tired us all.
Carroll said they received “several” threats. As we have discussed before, the bill would’ve violated federal law.
…Adding… Rep. Carroll is saying now that he didn’t intend to be divisive, but here’s what he told the Sun-Times…
(I)t all boils down to frustration between those who have “been following the science and … trying to do the right thing” and those who are “choosing not to get vaccinated, who are able to, for whatever they choose.”
“I think it’s time that we say ‘You choose not to get vaccinated, then you’re also going to assume the risk that if you do catch COVID, and you get sick, the responsibility is on you,’” Carroll said.
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* We had nearly unanimous winners this year. The 2021 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best House Democratic Campaign Staffer goes to Jon Maxson…
He is a tireless worker and an excellent example of a legislative staffer. This year Jon not only was the leader for the House redistricting effort, but also was one of the people who helped transition the House Dem political operation to Speaker Welch. No matter what you think of redistricting, an honest person will admit that it is a difficult, complex process that involves high stakes and a lot of competing personalities and interests. Jon, with a calm but direct demeanor, managed the incredibly difficult task of getting not one, but two legislative maps passed in the midst of a pandemic in which the Census itself was mismanaged and delayed by the previous administration in Washington. Let’s not forget that this cycle is just the second time in the modern era that the legislature has passed a legislative redistricting map that has been enacted by a governor. That’s no small feat.
Prior to redistricting, Jon led the House Dem communications team, helping shape not only talking points and issue messaging, but also helping newer staffers develop and improve their writing skills and better understand the members they work with. On the campaign side, Jon has led opposition research and direct mail. Campaigns are zero sum and Jon is not afraid to throw the punches necessary for a point to make an impact with voters. He also worked with lots of candidates, many of them first time candidates, to develop their skills talking to the media and talking to voters.
* The 2021 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Senate Democratic Campaign Staffer goes to Magen Ryan…
Magen Ryan is the rockstar of the Senate’s campaign operation. She guided them through a very difficult redistricting and oversaw the efforts to begin preparations for 2022. Her year may not have been as traumatic as Mary’s, but a redistricting year is never easy for the campaign people who have to deal with the legislative side of the shop.
Congrats to both.
* On to today’s categories…
* Best House Republican Campaign Staffer
* Best Senate Republican Campaign Staffer
Make sure to explain your votes or they won’t count. And, please, do your best to nominate in both categories. Thanks.
Also, the good folks at Lutheran Social Services of Illinois told me that they’re trying to raise $60,000 to buy Christmas presents for foster kids plus gift cards for the urgent needs of foster families. We’re at about $19,000 right now, and I think it would be great if we could push that to $20K and account for a third of LSSI’s fundraising goal. So, if you haven’t yet, please click here and donate. Thanks!
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* Dan Petrella has a long and quite good story about the new state law banning dark and out of state money from judicial campaigns…
While he isn’t aware of other states having attempted an outright ban on dark money contributions to judicial candidates, [Douglas Keith, counsel for the Brennan Center’s democracy program] said some recent court decisions have cast doubt on a state’s ability to limit campaign contributions from outside its borders.
For example, a federal appeals court earlier this year struck down a prohibition on candidates in Alaska accepting more than $3,000 in out-of-state contributions in a year.
But the U.S. Supreme Court appears to have left some room for states to treat those seeking a seat on the bench differently than candidates for other offices.
In 2015, the court upheld a Florida law prohibiting judges and judicial candidates from soliciting campaign contributions.
When dealing with campaign finance laws, the court generally weighs First Amendment rights against a state’s interest in combating corruption, Keith said.
As an example of that alleged corruption, the article points to the lawsuit charging State Farm with funneling money to Lloyd Karmeier’s Supreme Court bid ahead of the company’s appeal of a $1 billion judgment. It’s a good read.
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* Lynn Sweet…
Alexi Giannoulias, in a four-way Democratic primary for secretary of state, picked up the endorsement of Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., on Wednesday, the second member of the House delegation to support his bid. […]
Earlier, Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Ill., and former Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., announced endorsements for Giannoulias. […]
“This election is critically important as Republican Secretaries of States across the country are implementing extreme right-wing policies that amount to the worst voter suppression effort since Jim Crow,” Schakowsky said in a statement.
“These underhanded tactics are solely aimed at suppressing the vote, particularly among voters of color, and restricting access to the ballot box.”
The only connection the SoS has to voting is the motor voter program.
* A couple of more from Politico…
— Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) announced the endorsements of 40-plus Illinois elected officials and community leaders for his re-election campaign. This slate of endorsements includes state senators, state representatives, county elected officials, school board members, village trustees, mayors, and community activists. […]
— Anna Valencia has been endorsed by the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 1 in her bid for secretary of state.
Casten’s list is here.
* Subscribers were told about this the other day…
Cook County sheriff’s official Becky Levin plans to kick off her campaign to seek the Illinois House seat of outgoing Majority Leader Greg Harris on Thursday, calling herself “a crime fighter and a public health expert, who has a proven record of results.”
The first candidate to officially enter next year’s race to fill the North Side Democrat’s House seat, Levin grew up in northwest suburban Des Plaines and has lived in Uptown for the last 10 years, describing herself as a “proud” policy wonk and nerd.
After more than two decades in health care, she has served as the executive director of public policy for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart since January 2020. Levin pointed to her background and “breadth of experience” as the main reasons why she should succeed Harris.
This person as well…
* Press release…
Candidate for State Representative in Illinois’s 51st House District, Nabeela Syed, announced this morning she has been endorsed by State Representative Theresa Mah.
Rep. Mah shared the following statement with her endorsement: “Nabeela is a driven community organizer who has helped shape winning movements for progressive issues on local and national scales. She has a track record of mobilizing voters, especially young voters and voters of color, which will be critical for our party in 2022. I am proud to give her my endorsement.”
“Representative Mah is a tireless advocate for Illinois families in Springfield and has been a champion on issues including education, economic opportunity, and immigrant rights,” said Syed. “I’m proud and honored to have her support.”
Rep. Mah joins Sen. Ram Villivalam in endorsing Nabeela Syed’s campaign for State House.
*** UPDATE *** Not unexpected…
The Illinois AFL-CIO, representing nearly 900,000 workers and their families across the state, today has thrown its political support behind Nikki Budzinski for Congress in the 2022 election.
The AFL-CIO’s Executive Board voted today to strongly support Budzinski, who has announced her intention to run for the Democratic nomination for the 13th District seat in Congress stretching across central and southern Illinois earlier this summer.
Budzinski, a native of Peoria, has devoted her professional life to fighting for working families and the middle class since graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her grandfather was a union painter, and her grandmother was a public school teacher. She interned for former Congressman Dick Gephardt, former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, and for Planned Parenthood.
Budzinski has served as Political Representative for the International Association of Fire Fighters, Associate Director for Legislative and Political Action for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and as senior advisor to Gov. J.B. Pritzker on labor issues. She left her role as chief of staff to President Joe Biden’s budget office earlier this year to run for Congress.
She has lined up an impressive list of endorsements for the 13th District seat in short order, from unions representing electrical and communications workers, transit workers and firefighters to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, and a number of Illinois federal and state elected officials.
Budzinski promises to put working families first in Congress, through a $15 an hour federal minimum wage, a federal tax credit for families with children, and stronger health care, prescription drug and job training programs.
The new 13th District, reconstructed after the 2020 Census and recently approved by the state Legislature, is expected to stretch from the Metro East near St. Louis along Interstate 55 through parts of Springfield, then east through Decatur and to Champaign in central Illinois.
“This was an easy decision for our board because Nikki Budzinski is a true, proven champion for working families,” said Tim Drea, Illinois AFL-CIO President. “At a time when our nation’s politics are so polarized, we know Nikki will put working and middle-class families first and always be a voice for investing in the workforce that drives our country’s success. We look forward to supporting her candidacy in 2022 and working closely with her to put Illinois on the right track in Washington.”
Budzinski said the AFL-CIO endorsement is a major boost to her efforts to put working families first in Congress.
“I am truly honored to be endorsed by the Illinois AFL-CIO in my campaign for Illinois’ 13th Congressional district. I am proud to have spent my career working on behalf of working people; fighting for a $15 minimum wage, paid sick time, safe working conditions and retirement security. The labor movement built the middle class and that is why in Congress I will proudly support the Pro Act, to strengthen a worker’s right to have a voice in the workplace. I look forward to partnering with the Illinois AFL-CIO to deliver results for working families when I am elected to Congress,” Budzinski said.
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* COGFA special pension report…
(A) significant drop in unfunded liability was recorded in FY 2021, largely thanks to exceptionally strong investment performances by all the five systems. This allowed the combined unfunded liability to decrease by $14.3 billion, a 9.9% decline from the previous year, to $130.0 billion. During the recent 15- year period, there were only three times that the unfunded liability decreased from the previous year: in FY 2011 (-2.9%), FY 2017 (-0.5%) and FY 2021.
* Chart…
* Crain’s with some caveats…
One, the COGFA figures are based on the market value of pension-fund assets. In other words, they’re not blended or otherwise averaged over five years, as often is the case with such reporting.
Caveat two is that, just like almost any other investor with half a brain, the state funds enjoyed “exceptional” returns on invested capital in fiscal 2021, earning 22.9% to 25.2%. That’s way, way above their assumed rate or return of 6.5% to 7%.
Beyond that, some years in the recent past had unusual bumps, making the new figures look relatively good in comparison. And even with the booming return on investment, the state still is contributing roughly $2 billion a year less than the amount it is actuarially required to reach its eventual full funding.
Ergo, concludes Civic Federation President Lauarence Msall, the new COGFA figures “are not a trend. It’s a data point in the market.”
He continues, “It’s not bad news. But it’s only one data point.”
It may not be a trend, it may be just one data point, it may be a complete fluke, but you gotta take what you can get in this world, so I’ll take it.
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More Jesse Sullivan oppo emerges
Thursday, Dec 9, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Publications like the Free Beacon are known for taking oppo that others probably don’t want. But considering the claims made by Darren Bailey this week more than just implying that Jesse Sullivan is a Democratic plant, well, it’s at least worth a look before it becomes a regular primary campaign talking point…
A venture capitalist running in Illinois’s Republican gubernatorial primary is a relative newcomer to the right. Fifteen years ago, Jesse Sullivan founded a self-described “social justice” magazine that has defended riots and abortion.
Sullivan, a political neophyte who ran a San Francisco-based nonprofit before launching his gubernatorial bid in early September, founded the magazine One World in 2006 while a student at St. Louis University. The publication had financial support from left-wing groups like the Center for American Progress, whose Goal Was To “counter the growing influence of right-wing groups on campus.” In the years that followed, One World published articles Dismissing riots in Ferguson, Mo., as the work of “a few troublemakers” amid “an entire crowd.” Four years later, in 2018, the magazine Expressed Support for the “legal right to choose” to have an abortion. […]
A Sullivan campaign spokesman told the Washington Free Beacon that the Illinois Republican founded the publication “when he was in college doing humanitarian work,” though Sullivan remained on One World‘s masthead as the magazine’s “visionary” long after his graduation. His campaign says that role came with “zero involvement or editorial oversight.” At the same time, Sullivan appears to have remained involved with the magazine, headlining its 10-year anniversary celebration in 2016. A campaign spokesman said he spoke at the event “as a courtesy.”
“The suggestion that Jesse agrees with the viewpoints of a magazine he has had nothing to do with, is laughable,” Sullivan’s campaign said in a statement. “Let’s get back to the issues at hand and leave the cancel culture to the liberals and political hacks.”
His problem is he’s an unknown quantity who kicked off his campaign by fudging his “military” background. I dunno what to believe now. Also, there’s this from Sullivan’s LinkedIn page…
So, he claims to have been the CEO for five years. Yeah, OK, but he was in college when he founded it and it’s been ten years since he left the group. I dunno.
* Jim Swift is quite dubious of the life change…
Who is Jesse Sullivan? A guy I went to college with wants to become Governor of Illinois. He’s got the look. He’s got money from the tech bros. But what he doesn’t have is a pedigree in being a Republican.
It’s like he was kidnapped and transformed into a GOP Manchurian candidate out of central casting in Ripon, Wisconsin.
Thankfully, those of us who knew him back when aren’t alone. Jesse Sullivan, social justice warrior king of St. Louis U. as a Republican? I would have known him if he were a Republican. I helped run the College Republicans on campus and in the state. This transformation is about as legitimate if Shoeless Joe Jackson walked out of a [expletive deleted] cornfield wearing a Red Sox uniform.
Maybe tech money does corrupt. Ask JD Vance.
Perhaps somebody in Illinois should ask him about his views on Donald Trump? Or Mitt Romney? Or John McCain?
Beware of posers. Jesse Sullivan is a poser.
…Adding… Gary Rabine…
Republican Governor candidate Jesse Sullivan needs to answer the growing number of questions about his Republican credentials as he seeks to be head of the Illinois Republican Party. In the last several days it has surfaced that until recently he has been aligned a with far-left publication, politically active in Democratic campaigns and has not voted or supported the Party’s presidential nominee since at least 2004. (voted for Obama, but not Trump). Crashing your parent’s car is something you can blame on youth–aligning with the socialist elements of the Democratic Party until right before you decide to run for the Republican nomination for Governor is something else. We don’t need a fake Republican as our nominee.
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*** LIVE COVERAGE ***
Thursday, Dec 9, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If you’ve contributed to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois during our December fundraising drive, thanks. If not, please click here. Follow along with ScribbleLive…
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Big casino/gaming roundup
Wednesday, Dec 8, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz…
As bidders for a proposed Chicago casino prepare to showcase their plans to the public next week, one is taking an argument by bidder Neil Bluhm and turning it against Bluhm himself.
Bally’s, which has proposed to open a casino either on truck marshaling yards west of McCormick Place or on the Tribune printing plant property at Halsted and Chicago, is arguing it is the only bidder without a conflict of interest that could drive down gambling revenue and the tax take at the Chicago facility.
That’s a reference to the fact that Bluhm’s Rush Street Gaming operates the Rivers Casino just west of Chicago in suburban Des Plaines, and that bidder Hard Rock has a casino just over the border in Indiana. […]
One prominent gaming consultant Bally’s referred me to, Matt Landry, the principal in New Hampshire-based Strategic Market Advisors, said that with tax rates in Chicago, Des Plaines and Indiana all at different levels, it will be tempting for a company to use marketing, incentive programs and the like to drive customers to where the tax rate is lowest.
Makes some sense.
* Mitchell Armentrout…
State regulators on Wednesday named their chosen developers to break ground on a new casino in Waukegan and another straddling the border of south suburban Homewood and East Hazel Crest, ending a selection process that dragged on for more than two years due to COVID-19 shutdowns and other delays.
While the location of the north suburban gambling emporium was never in doubt, the Illinois Gaming Board picked Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts Inc. to set up its high-stakes shop at the shuttered Fountain Square shopping center in Waukegan — though a legal challenge from a spurned competitor could still be looming.
The field was much wider for the south suburban casino license. The state gambling law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2019 that paved the way for the new casinos pitted a handful of suburbs against each other to bid for what is expected to be a cash cow for south suburban communities that have been economically neglected for generations.
Homewood/East Hazel Crest beat out Matteson with a proposal to build the casino just off Interstate 80 near 175th and Halsted streets. Calumet City and Lynwood were culled from the bidding process in October.
* Fran Spielman…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to lift the Chicago ban on sports betting — and impose a 2% tax on gross revenues from it — got stuck in a joint City Council committee Tuesday after a surprise buzz-saw of opposition from mayoral allies.
The trouble started when Connor Brashear, chief of staff to Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang-Bennett, pegged the city’s annual take from a 2% tax on sports betting in and around Chicago stadiums at $400,000 to $500,000.
That’s based on an estimated $25 million in annual revenue from sports betting in Chicago.
“I just think $400,000-to-$500,000-a-year to the city of Chicago is really paltry—even when you add in the licensing fee that these guys are gonna have to pay. It seems like peanuts for an industry that is growing,” said Budget Committee Chairwoman Pat Dowell (3rd). […]
Even Ald. George Cardenas (12th), Lightfoot’s deputy floor leader, complained 2% was “not enough” and the city was “rushing” a sports betting ordinance with no minority participation — one that threatens to undermine the casino revenue needed to shore up police and fire pensions.
* A related media advisory…
A group of Black Economic Development Activists led by retired State Senator Rickey Hendon fight for Minority Ownership in Sports Betting. They are seeking a change in State Law which is needed to help the effort which failed yesterday to bring Sports Betting to Chicago. “Our hope is to help Mayor Lightfoot in her efforts and to give people of color a chance to get minority participation within ten blocks of the stadiums”, Hendon said. The Senator was Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Gaming and a Member of the Gaming Committee when he served in the Illinois Senate.
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker today joined elected officials, stakeholders, and labor leaders to break ground on the new Walker’s Bluff Resort and Casino. Made possible after the Illinois Gaming Board’s June 9, 2021 determination that Walker’s Bluff is preliminarily suitable for licensure, the new resort is slated to include a 116-room hotel along with a gaming floor, event center, and multiple restaurants, among other attractions.
“I was proud to work with the General Assembly to expand gaming and bring jobs and economic opportunity to Southern Illinois. Walker’s Bluff was already a popular attraction, bringing in tourists and business meetings from across the region. Now with the addition of hundreds of slot machines and game tables, and an on-site hotel, this expansion will bring in even more visitors to take advantage of the beauty and hospitality of Southern Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “That also means more opportunity for working families across the region – creating 1,100 construction jobs and 330 permanent roles at the resort.”
Since 2008, Walker’s Bluff has served as an entertainment and tourist destination for Southern Illinois, offering jobs and opportunities to hundreds of local residents and bringing thousands of visitors face to face with Southern Illinois’ natural beauty. Thanks to the gaming bill that Governor Pritzker signed during his first year in office, the Walker’s Bluff Resort and Casino will open the door to even more economic development.
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* The 2021 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Legislative Assistant/District Office Manager - Senate Democrats goes to Mavilen Silva, the clear crowd favorite…
Mavilen has jumped into her new role as the Chief of Staff for Senator Cristina Castro after working for the House Dems for 9 years. Mavilen had big shoes to fill but she stepped into her new role without missing a beat. She’s diligently worked at addressing every constituent need, working with various organizations on issues related to legislation, budget, etc. that the senator is working on. She’s hard working, very organized and is great at follow-up, and straight forward like her boss, which I really appreciate. After her 10 years of service, Mavilen is very deserving of the recognition here.
Honorable mention to Katie Holmes in Sen. Bush’s office. I freely admit to being partial to Sen. Bush’s entire team, so I was happy to see one of her peeps supported here.
* The 2021 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Legislative Assistant/District Office Manager - Senate Republicans goes to Tracy Weiters, another crowd favorite…
Tracy is one of the few people who hasn’t let the activities under the dome or her job change who she is. Just Sayin is correct: “She has always been kind (to everyone including the janitors), passionate and a perfectionist. She always gives credit to everyone else before herself.”
Tracy is KIND, HUMBLE, and has the historical knowledge/relationships to address constituent issues. She doesn’t have a personal agenda and isn’t here for the popularity contest. You’ll never (sigh) when working with Tracy. In this crazy cut throat world under the dome & the negativity in the world fueled by the pandemic.. the world needs us to be a little more like Tracy.
Congrats to everyone!
* On to our next category…
* Best House Democratic Campaign Staffer
* Best Senate Democratic Campaign Staffer
Please try your best to nominate in both categories and make sure to explain your votes or they won’t count.
Also, don’t forget to contribute to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois to help buy Christmas presents for foster kids. Click here. Thanks! After a slow and worrisome start, we’re now outpacing last year and part of the reason is a very generous $5,000 contribution from former state Sen. Susan Garrett. Wow. But you can give any amount you want. Again, please click here. Every little bit helps.
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COVID-19 roundup
Wednesday, Dec 8, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* IIS Radio…
Gov. JB Pritzker says he’s not planning to institute a new COVID-19 vaccine mandate like the one in New York City.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is enacting a mandate for private sector workers. Pritzker was asked if that’s something we could see in Illinois.
“That again is not something that we’ve been looking at,” said Pritzker. “We have people that are getting vaccinated every day in Illinois. We want more people to get vaccinated. I think you can see as more people get sick and go into the hospital nearly all of them are unvaccinated and that is causing a real problem.”
Mayor Lightfoot is also not interested in doing that.
* Center Square…
Pritzker was asked about Carroll’s bill [to deny COVID-19-related health insurance coverage for the unvaxed] on Tuesday. The governor didn’t sound enthusiastic about it.
“From my perspective, we want everybody to get vaccinated,” Pritzker said. “We certainly don’t want to penalize people.”
Not to mention that it violates federal law.
* Also from that story, Rep. David Friess (R-Red Bud) made his feelings known about the Carroll bill…
“It is not the role of the State to interject itself between its citizens and their health care providers.”
The lengths to which the right has gone to co-opt pro-choice rhetoric never ceases to amaze me.
* WBBM Radio…
Denying someone their job because of their vaccination status is discrimination, according to State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) and the “Freedom Act” that he is pushing for would outlaw this practice. […]
When asked if people should have the peace of mind to go to work with the assurance everyone around them is vaccinated, Niemerg responded by saying “Well, shouldn’t everybody that has the right to go to work understand that they are not going to be discriminated upon as a condition of employment?”
He only appears to care about people who are willing and even eager to spread disease.
* Rep. Niemerg represents part of Clay County…
Within Illinois, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Calhoun County with 1,203 cases per 100,000 per week; Vermilion County with 994; and Clay County with 925. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Is it time to start calling these people pro-covid legislators?
* Sun-Times…
Public health officials on Tuesday announced 78 more COVID-19 deaths across Illinois, the state’s highest one-day toll in 10 months.
That’s almost four times as high as Illinois’ daily coronavirus death rate over the past month, and it’s the most fatalities reported in a day since 102 lives were lost statewide Feb. 11, at the tail end of the state’s worst surge of the pandemic.
The state is now averaging 41 deaths per day over the past week, up from about 23 per day during the first week of November, according to figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
One day can be an anomaly, but yikes. Tuesday’s numbers haven’t been released as of this writing.
…Adding… It may have been an anomaly. The daily death toll dropped to 14 on Tuesday.
* It’s off the charts in Michigan…
As of Monday, 4,404 people were admitted to Michigan hospitals with confirmed cases of the virus. Of them, 40 were children, according to Michigan Medicine, which supplies the state health department with hospitalization data.
That breaks a pandemic record set on April 8, 2020, when 4,365 people were hospitalized with the virus during an initial surge that had the nation reeling as so little was known about the virus, how it spread and how to treat it.
Get your shots, people.
…Adding… Hannah Meisel…
According to IDPH data, only 0.05% of fully vaccinated Illinoisans have ended up hospitalized for a COVID infection, and even fewer — 0.014% — have died from the virus.
Again, get your shots.
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* CNI..
To Illinois prisoners, commissary is more than candy bars, shaving cream and socks. It represents normalcy and choice.
“It’s everything to them,” said Melly Rios, whose husband is in Stateville Correctional Center serving 45 years for murder.
A recent report from the John Howard Association, a prison watchdog group, detailed widespread supply shortages at Illinois Department of Corrections prison commissaries around the state. Soap, deodorant, detergent, writing materials, thermal shirts, socks, underwear and canned meat and noodles are all in short supply.
“It’s not like luxury items like candy bars or the hot new Christmas gift. These commissaries provide items that are basic necessities,” said Alan Mills, Executive Director of the Uptown People’s Law Center. Mills has litigated prisoner civil rights cases for more than 40 years.
* WUIS…
A decade after Illinois Department of Corrections inmate Anthony Rodesky began developing the blisters that would eventually lead to a below-the-knee leg amputation, a federal jury in Peoria last week awarded him $400,000, finding the state violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in its treatment of Rodesky’s type 1 diabetes.
The jury did not, however, side with Rodesky in his Eighth Amendment claims of “deliberate indifference to serious medical need” — a long-held interpretation of constitutionally prohibited “cruel and unusual punishment — against the warden of Pontiac Correctional Center, where Rodesky’s condition deteriorated, culminating in his 2015 leg amputation.
Alan Mills of the Uptown People’s Law Center, which represented Rodeksy in the case, called the jury award “extraordinarily satisfying…quite the vindication of what he’s been through for really a decade.”
But Mills said Rodesky’s path to a $400,000 jury award is emblematic of longstanding issues in the Department of Corrections, which is under a three-year-old consent decree for inadequate medical treatment for prisoners — a consent decree for which a federal monitor has repeatedly said isn’t being followed — along with a handful of settlements in other massive suits requiring institutional change within the department.
“The outcome [in Rodesky’s case] was particularly egregious but…unfortunately, the care is also typical,” Mills said. “People shouldn’t lose their legs because of a blister. And that’s what happened here. And it shows not only, I think, the poverty of medical care that’s being provided, but also it shows just how little the Department of Corrections does to deal with people who have a disability.”
* Meanwhile, from the AP…
Illinois courts are taking steps toward better understanding mental illness and its growing impact on the judicial system, which state Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke said Tuesday too often lacks compassion, treats mental disorders as a crime and skirts alternatives to jail.
Burke told reporters that her “call to action” came in response to a report her committee issued last year after months of study. It’s part of a national effort to review courts’ interactions with defendants or litigants who deal with mental health issues and so-called co-occurring disorders such as substance abuse.
“The prevalence of mental illness and co-occurring disorders has been greatly impacting our nation, our states and our communities and has had a disproportionate effect on our courts,” said Burke, adding that the courtroom’s approach to mental illness should be one of “compassion and hope.”
Research by the National Center for State Courts-led initiative found that defendants with a serious mental illness remain longer in jail than others facing similar charges, that access to appropriate health care is rare or often unavailable, and that courts rely too heavily on competency to stand trial, which leaves too many defendants waiting in jail for “restoration.”
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* Gov. Pritzker is making several stops in southern Illinois today…
Daily Public Schedule: Wednesday, December 8, 2021
What: Gov. Pritzker to announce the widening of Interstate 57 through Southern Illinois, funded by the historic Rebuild Illinois capital plan.
Where: Benton Municipal Airport, 1 Airport Road, Benton
When: 9:30 a.m.
Watch live: https://www.Illinois.gov/LiveVideo
Note: Parking is available in the lot south of the Benton Municipal Airport Terminal at the end of Airport Road. See map below.*
What: Gov. Pritzker to announce funding for new wastewater infrastructure in the Village of Alto Pass.
Where: Alto Pass Community Center and Village Hall, 23 Elm Street, Alto Pass
When: 11:30 a.m.
Watch live: https://www.Illinois.gov/LiveVideo
What: Gov. Pritzker to join labor leaders to tour the Carbondale Warming Center and help unload donations ahead of the holidays.
Where: Carbondale Warming Center, 608 East College Street, Carbondale
When: 12:30 p.m.
Note: No additional media availability.
What: Gov. Pritzker to attend the groundbreaking of the new Walker’s Bluff Resort and gaming expansion in Southern Illinois.
Where: Lot southeast of Tasting Room at Walker’s Bluff, 14250 Meridian Road, Carterville
When: 1:45 p.m.
Watch live: https://www.Illinois.gov/LiveVideo
Not a single question was asked by reporters at the first event. Not one. And the same thing happened at the second event.
…Adding… Some reporters showed up to the last event of the day and asked a few questions. None were particularly newsworthy for us, though.
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Unclear on the concept
Wednesday, Dec 8, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
The Rev. Michael Pfleger on Tuesday called on Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to make several changes to combat violent crime.
Pfleger called for residents who are scared to testify in gun cases to be able to do so anonymously.
Scroll down…
The Sixth Amendment allows a defendant a constitutional right to confront a witness testifying against them.
The crime problem is too serious to be spouting nonsense like this.
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* Darren Bailey was asked recently how he would counter Jesse Sullivan’s huge campaign finance advantage in the GOP primary…
I’m not a bit worried about that because every bit of his $10 million is Democrat-controlled money. If people will check Jesse Sullivan out they’ll see that his number one supporter that dumped in $5 million. All these people are from the Silicon Valley, from California and Colorado. Chris Larsen, his number one supporter, $5 million. He was on Joe Biden shortlist for vice president March of 2020. February of 2021, he donated $250,000 to Nancy Pelosi. This is nonsense. Go to Illinoissunshine.org. Look at all of his donors, click on his donors and you will see who else they have been donating money to. This is a Democrat ploy to put someone to make them look like a Republican and it’s nonsense. So the more people get educated about this, the more that they will see this, the more that they will understand this. Yes, that is, so that’s what’s going on. There is no doubt about this.
We’ve got almost 15,000 individual donors from $5 all the way to $200,000. Money is not going to win this election. Anyone in the state of Illinois from the primary all the way to Pritzker that’s going to sit here and tell us that money is going to win they are wrong. Grass roots is going to win the day. We’ve got people who have never been involved in the political process. Every one of these events that we’ve put on, people are showing up they’ve never been to a political meeting before. They’re getting engaged. They’re learning. That’s what we’re doing. That’s how we’re going to get Illinois back on track.
The most dangerous thing for Illinois to do is to elect the wrong Republican for the wrong reasons.
Wait’ll he finds out Sullivan’s spouse was a field officer for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. And, of course, the only campaign Sullivan is known to have volunteered on prior to this run was Democrat Colleen Callahan’s unsuccessful congressional bid..
I’m not saying, I’m just sayin’ this is a line of attack that could prove to be successful. Make him deny it. “I am not a plant!” The Republican Party’s conspiracy theorist wing is Bailey’s core constituency, after all. If they can believe there’s a microchip in every vaccine, or that you can “de-vaccinate,” they’ll probably buy into this.
* Moving right along, a press release…
Today, the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC endorsed Congresswoman Marie Newman for re-election in Illinois’ 6th congressional district.
Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC Co-Chairs Mark Pocan, Pramila Jayapal, and Jamie Raskin released the following statement:
“The Progressive Caucus has delivered for working families this year thanks to dedicated champions like Congresswoman Marie Newman who consistently put the needs of their community before corporations and special interests. Since the moment she came to Congress, Representative Newman has been delivering for her constituents, fighting to close the gender pay gap by making it easier for women to access capital, tackling the climate crisis, and creating good paying jobs by supporting investments in the future of our transportation systems. Her leadership has helped pass legislation that will strengthen organized labor and move America one important step closer to finally establishing health care as a human right. We are proud to endorse Congresswoman Newman for re-election.”
Congresswoman Marie Newman released the following statement:
“We are at a pivotal moment in this country and the Progressive Caucus is leading the charge to create an economy that works for all of us, championing policies that will uplift every single American. I’m honored to receive an endorsement from the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC and I look forward to the opportunity to continue working with my colleagues in the caucus to rebuild our economy so that it is stronger, more equitable, and rooted in worker and climate justice.”
In 2020, the PAC raised $4.4 million and launched its first-ever independent expenditure arm, helping elect eight new candidates to Congress.
* And Rachel Hinton…
Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia on Wednesday garnered the backing of the Illinois Nurses Association in her bid to succeed Jesse White as Illinois secretary of state.
Tori Dameron, the president of the union, said in a statement nurses “need the support of strong union allies in office now more than ever” as the pandemic continues to “strain” frontline workers and others in health care.
“Anna Valencia understands that more than any other candidate in this race,” Dameron said. “We know she will always fight for us the same way we fight for our patients every day. The INA is proud to endorse her.”
Valencia wrote that she is “committed to using the Secretary of State’s Office to advocate for all working families and make sure that our nurses, who are a critical part of the community, are supported in every effort.”
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL) is touting Republican victories in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that authorizes military spending and enacts Department of Defense policies for FY22. Rep. Davis proudly voted in support of the FY22 NDAA last night.
The legislation passed the House last night by a vote of 363-70. Republicans were crucial to bringing the bill across the finish line, providing a majority of the Yes votes. 51 Democrats and 19 Republicans voted against the legislation. You can find the roll call of the House NDAA vote here.
“We must never allow our military to be defunded, which is what voting No on the NDAA would have done.”
US Rep. Mary Miller, who may challenge Davis in a primary, voted “No,” along with Danny Davis, Chuy Garcia, Jan Schakowsky and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
…Adding… From Miller’s statement…
The NDAA still creates a federal vaccine mandate that allows President Biden to discharge healthy active duty service members from my district. The bill also includes leftist Critical Race Theory “equity” training requirements for the military that my constituents strongly oppose.
I am proud that as a result of hard work by conservatives, the gun confiscation and draft for teenage girls provisions were removed from the bill. I will always oppose radical leftwing policies being rammed through Congress by President Biden, and I will never vote for policies opposed so strongly by the constituents I represent.
It was so radical and left-wing that AOC and Jan Schakowsky voted against it. Right. She’s caught on this one.
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* Recent Daily Herald editorial…
“What’s going on at the tollway?” seems to be a perennial concern in Illinois politics. Perhaps a Senate hearing scheduled for Dec. 7 will help provide some new insights into management of the agency.
It was natural to hope in 2019 that a sweeping shakeup of the tollway Board of Directors following years of questionable spending and contracts would produce a settling of affairs at the agency. But we have not exactly seen anything like what one might call “a new era” in tollway management.
Although the then-new board quickly went to work revising the tollway’s ethics rules, things got off to a rocky start when it was discovered that freshly appointed Chairman Will Evans voted on a proposed contract involving a previous employer. Evans called the lapse an “inadvertent” mistake and promised to do better in the future.
Certainly, no similar controversies have erupted as his tenure continued, but there have been opportunities to question leadership at the tollway. The most recent, and the one prompting the Dec. 7 hearing, is an Oct. 21 management directive in which the tollway board gave Evans authority to reorganize the agency’s leadership structure. Evans promptly brought the chief financial officer directly under his wing, instead of reporting solely to Executive Director Jose Alvarez, and he shifted supervision of two key offices from Alvarez to the CFO.
* Marni Pyke has two stories today. Here’s part of one…
Illinois tollway Chairman Will Evans’ assertion during a Senate hearing Tuesday that he’s the top dog at the agency has some lawmakers wondering if that aligns with state law and where it leaves Executive Director José Alvarez. […]
The executive director is paid more than $220,000 a year to run the day-to-day operations of the agency, but Evans made the chief financial officer report to him as well as Alvarez. Evans also shifted the procurement department from Alvarez to the CFO and fired two of Alvarez’s top executives, giving rise to concerns about a power struggle.
As chairman, “my responsibility is to have general supervision over all power, duties, obligations and functions of the authority,” Evans testified, referring to the Tollway Highway Act.
He also said tollway bylaws state the chairman shall be the chief executive officer, allowing him to combine both roles. Such combinations aren’t that unusual in corporate America, Evans said, referencing his credentials as a former president of People’s Gas.
Democratic Sen. Celina Villanueva of Chicago disagreed. She said the situation “has left some of us scratching our heads to understand exactly what happened.”
* The other one…
A letter from two former tollway executives warns of what they describe as a power grab at the agency by Chairman Will Evans that is undermining Executive Director José Alvarez and raising concerns about conflicts of interest.
The letter obtained by the Daily Herald Monday was sent to tollway board directors from former Chief Administrative Officer Kimberly Ross and former Chief Procurement Compliance Officer Dee Brookens in November after they were dismissed in late October. It describes “continuous inappropriate conduct, overreaching authority and abuse of power” by Evans.
On Tuesday, the Illinois Senate Transportation Committee met to ask Evans about his reorganization of tollway leadership that removed certain responsibilities from Alvarez, including the procurement department. The changes were approved by the tollway board.
The shift creates conflicts of interest because Evans “gave himself the authority to direct procurements, then vote on and approve those same procurements as the chairman of the board,” Ross and Brookens wrote.
Evans, when asked by senators about the letter, testified that there were no conflicts of interest and that state law gives him supervisory authority over “all powers, duties, obligations and functions” of the tollway authority.
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* Tribune…
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by McHenry and Kankakee county officials, clearing the way to end detention of federal immigration detainees at their county jails.
McHenry County officials said they would appeal the ruling and continue in their efforts to overturn the Illinois Way Forward Act, which prohibits county jails from being used to detain those accused of being in the country illegally.
On average, about 180 federal detainees had been held at the McHenry jail in Woodstock this year. In the past, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement paid the county about $8 million a year to imprison the detainees while they waited for court hearings on their immigration cases.
Likewise, Kankakee made about $4 million a year from jailing about 120 immigrants.
* Injustice Watch…
“States are sovereigns. Counties are not,” Reinhard wrote in his decision granting the state’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. “The State of Illinois, by legislative act, has decided that its political subdivisions may not enter or remain in such agreements.”
McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally said in a statement Tuesday that the counties intend to appeal Reinhard’s ruling to the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The Illinois Way Forward Act is another example of how the current legislative assembly is likely one of the most partisan and dogmatically rigid in Illinois history,” said Kenneally, a Republican who was first elected in 2016. “As such and when legally tenable, we at the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office will continue to push back against the obscurity and futility that the Chicago bulwark in Springfield wishes to consign us to.” […]
“This ruling is a victory for the state of Illinois and for immigrant communities and anyone else across the country who cares about fairness and dignity for immigrants,” said Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
* The decision is here…
“[B]oth the Federal Government and the States wield sovereign powers, and that is why our system of government is said to be one of ‘dual sovereignty’”. In contrast, “[p]olitical subdivisions of States—counties, cities, or whatever—never were and never have been considered as sovereign entities. They are instead subordinate governmental instrumentalities created by the State to assist in the carrying out of state governmental functions.” States are sovereigns. Counties are not.
As plaintiffs concede, generally the “Illinois legislature is vested with the power to make laws prohibiting intergovernmental cooperation by units of local government,”
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* As I’ve been telling you, this argument is at the core of the Democratic defense of its state legislative redistricting law and it was prominently featured during oral arguments yesterday. From the Capitol News Illinois report…
“Illinois in 2020 is not your grandfather’s Illinois,” Sean Berkowitz, an attorney defending the maps passed by the General Assembly in August and signed by Pritzker in September, told the judges.
Berkowitz pointed to the fact that there are a number of Black lawmakers in the Statehouse who do not come from predominantly Black communities. He also pointed to the fact that even though whites make up the largest racial group in Illinois, the current lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state are all Black while one U.S. senator, Tammy Duckworth, is Asian American.
“Crossover voting in Illinois is the norm, not the exception,” he said, adding that Illinois today “is not Mississippi in 1965 or Illinois in 1980.” […]
[Plaintiffs] attorneys spent the morning trying to convince the judges that racially polarized voting does continue to exist in Illinois and that if the maps approved by the legislature are allowed to stand, Latino and Black voters will lose political influence in state government.
In particular, they argued that many of the minority members of the General Assembly were first appointed to their seats after their predecessors stepped down in the middle of their. That gave the appointed lawmakers a significant advantage by allowing them to run as incumbents.
There was also a dispute about how any problems should be remedied, either through court action or sending it back to the GA, so click here to read the rest.
*** UPDATE *** Related press release…
The Illinois Supreme Court today announced the lifting of the pause order regarding the judicial redistricting in Public Act 102-0011 (Act), which will change the judicial district boundaries for the first time since they were established in 1964. Effective January 1, 2022, the Court’s order pausing the implementation of redistricting pursuant to the Act will be vacated.
The new order is available on the court website by clicking here.
On June 7, 2021, the Court entered the order which paused the transition to a new judicial redistricting statute. That order directed that appeals and other matters shall continue to be filed in the judicial districts as they existed on June 3, 2021, the day before Gov. Pritzker signed the Act into law on June 4, 2021. The Act was paused to give the courts sufficient time to plan and implement the significant changes it required.
Beginning on January 1, a notice of appeal initiating an appeal to the appellate court or a direct appeal to the Supreme Court pursuant to Rule 302(b) shall be transmitted by the clerk of the circuit court to the appropriate appellate district as established by the Act. Additionally, a petition or application or motion under Rule 303(d), Rule 303A, Rule 306, Rule 307(d), Rule 308, Rule 335, Rule 604(c), or Rule 606(c) will be filed in the appropriate appellate district as established by the Act. These provisions will apply regardless of the date of the judgment appealed or sought to be appealed.
Circuit courts will remain subject to the rule that states that when conflicts arise among the districts the circuit court is bound by the decisions of the appellate court of the district in which it sits. In a redistricted circuit, the appropriate appellate district will be the district in which the circuit was located at the time that the circuit court action was initiated.
If a case is heard by one appellate district on appeal and if a subsequent appeal in that case is heard by a new appellate district pursuant to this order, the new district will treat the decision of the prior district as the law of the case. That the decision of the prior district applied the law of the prior district that is contrary to the law of the new district will not be a basis for departing from the decision of the prior district.
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*** LIVE COVERAGE ***
Wednesday, Dec 8, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If you’ve contributed to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois during our December fundraising drive, thanks. If not, please click here. Follow along with ScribbleLive…
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