* From Madison County State’s Attorney Thomas Haine’s open letter to constituents…
The greatest jailbreak in Madison County history will occur on January 1, 2023. On that date, approximately half of our present jail population must be released under the terms of the new SAFE-T Act, and cash bail will be eliminated throughout Illinois. That translates to well over 100 criminal defendants walking free in Madison County alone without paying a dime as they await trial for alleged crimes including aggravated DUI, aggravated battery, failure to register as a sex offender, burglary, and aggravated fleeing and eluding from a police officer.
* The governor responded today. Excerpt…
States Attorney Haine,
I was disappointed to read your letter and watch your television interview defending a criminal justice status quo where accused murderers, domestic batterers, rapists, and other dangerous criminals can buy their way out of jail pending trial if they have enough money.
Unfortunately, you made clear in the KDSK interview that your real concern is not about the serious offenses you falsely claim are non-detainable, but to ensure that low level defendants face punishment before they are found guilty. Your approach – seeking to deter possible future crimes by punishing individuals accused of less serious offenses before they have the opportunity to defend themselves in court – is contrary to the foundation of our justice system and based on outdated research that has been debunked.
You also scoff at the notion that the cash bail system contributes to a criminal justice system that disproportionately punishes Black and Brown citizens, saying to KDSK that “there is no truth to the idea that cash bail has a racially disparate impact.” Contrary to your claim, the bipartisan, independent US Commission on Civil Rights, established by Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower, recently published a report casting light on “stark racial and gender disparities [in the administration of cash bail],” and noting higher pre-trial detention rates and financial conditions of release imposed on Black and Latinx individuals.
In your response to KDSK reporter Mark Maxwell, you admitted that you have seen instances where a defendant accused of a serious crime “[got out of jail], going on to intimidate a witness, going on to harm someone, going on to commit a repeat offense, while they’re out on bail that they paid.” Conversely, the aforementioned report by the bipartisan US Commission on Civil Rights found that 60% of defendants were in jail pre-trial simply because they couldn’t afford bail. That is the broken system that you are defending through fearmongering and unvarnished mistruths.
The SAFE-T Act ensures that those charged with domestic abuse, murder, rape, and other serious crimes cannot buy their way out of prison – as they can right now – because it bases detention on risk rather than wealth. That’s why domestic violence advocacy organizations support ending cash bail , including the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, who referred to it as reform that prioritizes the safety of survivors.
Furthermore, I was disheartened by your conclusion that you are powerless to keep dangerous people in prison beginning January 1. Your conclusion is not based on the law. Moreover, if your comments are intended to signal that you will refuse to take available steps to seek detention for individuals who present a danger to the community, that would be a dereliction of duty.
Your letter claims that certain offenses become non-detainable under the SAFE-T Act. But your reading of the law has been debunked by multiple non-partisan fact checkers, including the Associated Press, Snopes, and Politifact. Nevertheless, in the interest of justice and safety, I will explain the fallacy in your reading of the law, including your false assertion to Mark Maxwell that prosecutors will have to meet an “unbelievably high standard” to show that a defendant presents a risk of fleeing and must be detained. […]
I trust that your office will use all of the tools available under the law on January 1, and file motions to detain defendants you consider to be dangerous to the citizens of Madison County.
Sincerely,
Governor JB Pritzker
Links and footnotes are in the full original document.
...Adding… Today…
A Granite City man was indicted on firearm charges by Madison County officials on Thursday.
Detchauz Wray, 31, of Granite City, was indicted on charges of aggravated battery with a firearm, a Class X felony; aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony; and aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony.
According to court documents, on Sept. 4 Wray fired a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, intentionally causing injury to another person.
Bail was set at $150,000.
Emphasis added.
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Campaign notebook
Friday, Sep 23, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* ABC7 Chicago…
Vickie Ponciano feels like breaking her television every time she sees a video clip of her nephew’s murder being used in a Republican ad campaign that seeks to pin violence in Chicago on Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the city’s Democrats.
“Every time I see that freaking commercial I just start cursing in front of my kids. And I don’t know how to control it,” Ponciano said Thursday while standing alongside the Rev. Michael Pfleger during a rally at 875 N. Michigan Ave., the building formerly known as the Hancock Center.
Her nephew, Gyovanni Arzuaga, and his wife, Yasmin Perez, were killed following Puerto Rican Day festivities last summer and video of the incident went viral.
“I don’t need to see my nephew getting murdered every day on TV. The pain starts all over again,” said Ponciano, who called for the ad to be pulled. “Stop using our pain and suffering for votes.”
Fox 32
“Stop running and condoning comments and commercials that continue racist stereotyping of the Black and brown communities. We are divided enough in Chicago. There’s enough racism in Chicago. We don’t need you to stereotype Black and brown folk with the violence in Chicago running your commercials,” said Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Church.
The Bailey campaign released the following statement in response:
“We have no communication with or control over this pac, but Pritzker and his pal Lightfoot have control over the skyrocketing crime in Chicago, but sadly they don’t care about the more than 500 people murdered this year in Chicago or the fact they’re creating new victims everyday with their soft-on-crime policies. Pritzker has turned his back on law enforcement and left these communities behind. Darren Bailey’s focus is making Illinois safe and affordable for everyone.”
Sun-Times…
The St. Sabina Church pastor criticized the ads as playing off racist stereotypes of Black and Latino communities.
Proft didn’t return messages Thursday.
The ad is intended to criticize the SAFE-T Act, a criminal justice reform package that Pritzker signed into law in an attempt to address longstanding public safety issues and police distrust. Panned by Republicans for its provision to end cash bail, it goes into effect next year.
* Politico…
Also Thursday, WGN and NBC news stations pulled a political ad by the conservative People Who Play By The Rules PAC, which also is run by Proft.
The ad featured Beverly Miles, a little-known candidate in the Democratic primary for governor, claiming Pritzker fired her from a government job.
Pritzker’s legal team wrote the stations saying the ad was “false and defamatory” and demanded the stations remove it “immediately.” Failing to do “is actionable under Illinois defamation law,” according to a letter from the Elias Law Group.
* Capitol News Illinois…
Demmer would prefer not to talk about Bailey. There’s been no endorsement either way, although in a news conference earlier this year, Demmer said he believed Bailey would make a good governor.
“We’ve tried to build a plan that’s very focused on issues of taxes and spending of dollars and cents,” Demmer said. “And so, you know, trying to cut through some of the rest of the clutter that comes out there, just by having a very straightforward message.”
Democratic Party of Illinois pounced…
After endorsing far-right extremist Darren Bailey, Tom Demmer, GOP candidate for State Treasurer, is now flip-flopping on his support — trying desperately to rewrite history to score cheap political points.
Demmer endorsed Bailey earlier in the race, saying he thinks Bailey would make a good governor. Even after Bailey’s horrific comparison of abortion to the Holocaust, Demmer stood by his support of the far-right extremist, saying: “We have this choice between reelecting Pritzker, or making a change going in a new direction. I think we need to go [in] a new direction.”
That “new direction? Darren Bailey, who besides his Holocaust/abortion comparison is best known for his opposition to abortion without exception, his comments encouraging Illinoisans to “move on” from the Highland Park mass shooting, and his record of campaigning with insurrectionists.
Now, Tom Demmer’s trying desperately to walk back his endorsement of the far-right extremist — and hoping voters don’t notice. In an interview with Crain’s, Demmer dodged: “Demmer would prefer not to talk about Bailey. There’s been no endorsement either way, although in a news conference earlier this year, Demmer said he believed Bailey would make a good governor.”
Does Tom Demmer want to take Illinois in a “new direction” with Darren Bailey or not? Voters know the truth — and they’ll remember it at the ballot box in November.
* Patch…
A number of Elmhurst politicians, including the local state representative, are not taking part in candidates forums on Sunday, a local group says.
The League of Women Voters of Elmhurst aimed to hold forums for state representative, state senator, DuPage County Board and DuPage County Forest Preserve board. […]
According to the league, Mazzochi, who is vying for the District 45 seat, did not respond to its invitation. Her Democratic opponent, Jenn Ladisch Douglass, who agreed to take part, has been invited to make a two-minute statement. Mazzochi’s campaign did not return Patch’s message for comment.
Sen. Suzy Glowiak-Hilton, an Elmhurst Democrat running in District 23, said she would take part in the forum, according to the league.
However, the league said her Republican opponent, Dennis Reboletti of Elmhurst, failed to respond to the invitation. Glowiak-Hilton will be given two minutes to speak, the league said.
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Caption contest!
Friday, Sep 23, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Dan Proft’s People Who Play by the Rules PAC is now sending books to voters. The author is fellow Florida resident Dennis Byrne…
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* As we discussed earlier this week, Rep. Mark Batinick has a pension funding proposal. Here’s Crain’s…
Batinick would dedicate a chunk toward property tax relief. Specifically, in any year in which required pension spending drops below 25% of total general funds spending, an amount equal to a quarter of the drop would automatically be used to reduce property taxes. […]
Batinick’s proposal drew a mixed reaction from Laurence Msall, head of the watchdog Civic Federation.
“What happens if the state’s pension contribution increases to above 25% of the budget?” if, for instance, stock market returns go down as they are this year, Msall asked. “We see some significant potential positives in the proposal, but also have questions about whether it will work as indicated if the state economy slows or slips into recession in the coming years.”
* I asked Rep. Batinick to respond to Msall…
I very much appreciate the Civic Federation and specifically Laurence Msall for taking the time to review my proposal. A couple of important points. I’ve been working on this and thinking about scenarios for at least 6 months. The Civic Federation and others have had less than a day to digest the proposal. While the plan is a simple concept, implementation is more complicated. I understand the questions and thoughts many have had and have had those same questions. I’ve had the time to think them through. I recall much blowback when I first introduced the pension buyout proposal years ago. This summer Governor Pritzker signed an extension of the program because it is working well.
Laurence Msall’s concern is what happens if the state’s pension contribution needs to go back to 25%. It is a legitimate concern although an unlikely scenario. But my plan would actually help that situation. By designating 25% of the budget to go towards pensions first with the remainder going to property tax relief you are creating a buffer zone. If we don’t create that buffer zone, future politicians will not make the tough choices to keep spending in check. The savings opened up in the budget will be spent on new or expanded programs. Under Msall’s scenario something would have to be cut from the General Revenue Fund. Under my scenario the property tax relief would simply be less than expected or delayed.
Several others have commented that the local school districts would just continue to spend the money and no relief would reach taxpayers. Any proposal needs to include language that requires the levy to be reset dollar for dollar. Simply put they won’t have the opportunity to do that.
There certainly will be ideas others will have to improve the plan. As always I welcome the collaboration. But since I have been involved in politics people have talked about fixing our high property taxes. It’s a regressive tax that hurts the poor the most. If the Civic Federation anyone else has a better idea I’m all ears.
Thoughts?
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* Background is here. From the Illinois Constitution…
SECTION 11. COMPENSATION AND ALLOWANCES
A member shall receive a salary and allowances as provided by law, but changes in the salary of a member shall not take effect during the term for which he has been elected.
So, when the General Assembly voted to forgo scheduled cost of living pay increases after they were sworn into a new term, that clearly violated the constitution.
* But the Illinois Supreme Court completely sidestepped that question when it struck down a lawsuit filed by two former legislators who had voted to cut their pay. Here’s Capitol News Illinois…
But in a 6-0 decision, the court declined to rule on the constitutionality aspect, saying the former lawmakers undercut their own case by voting in favor of the measures, touting them to the public and waiting too long to file their claims.
“We conclude that under the facts here, where plaintiffs, former legislators, agreed to, acquiesced in, and voted for the Salary Reduction Laws, plaintiffs cannot now be allowed to challenge the reductions in their salaries during their previous terms in office,” Justice P. Scott Neville wrote for the court. […]
During oral arguments, Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office, representing Mendoza, did not challenge the finding that the legislative acts were unconstitutional, but argued that the former senators had effectively waived their right to any relief by voting in favor of the pay reduction bills.
It also argued that the former lawmakers waited an unreasonable length of time before filing their claims and that their claims should be barred by the statute of limitations, which is generally five years.
And the Supremes agreed.
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* Center Square…
A consensus is forming that there needs to be clarifications to the SAFE-T Act set to take effect in Illinois in the new year, but whether any changes will be substantive is still up in the air. […]
During a Springfield City Council meeting this week, city officials heard from lobbyist Art Turner about expectations that lawmakers will return in the fall session as early as the week after the Nov. 8 election to address various issues.
“It’s a lot around implementation, there’s just no real clarity around that and all parties on both sides are able to agree to that point,” Turner said. “I believe that that will be one of the top priorities for the veto session in November or scheduled early December. Then, we’re going to have to work really fast to bring our local clerks and courts and counties up to speed on the adjustments that I anticipate to be made behind it.” […]
State Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago, who advocates for the law, acknowledged some changes are needed to clarify its implementation. But, he said all parties need to come together in good faith.
“The Democrats are working every day with advocates, with law enforcement to make sure that if there needs to be tweaks, we will tweak them before January,” Ford said. “But we will not roll back the entire SAFE-T Act.”
Former Rep. Art Turner was a major proponent of criminal justice reforms when he was in the House.
* Meanwhile, click here for the background if you need it. From Sen. Don Dewitte…
Rich,
I read your column on the blog [yesterday]. Needless to say, I’m disappointed in your characterization of my intentions regarding my petition effort. Had you called, I would have gladly referred you back to, and explained in detail, my press release from 2 weeks ago that spelled out my intentions with this petition effort. I’m guessing you chose not to refer back to it for more accurate background, or just never read it to begin with.
My only response at this point would be the following;
1. When given the opportunity, I ALWAYS negotiate in good faith. I challenge you to find anyone in the Capitol (except perhaps Sen. Peters who thinks we’re all a lynch mob) who would suggest otherwise.
2. The comment made to Alice Fabbre at the Daily Herald, was made responding to her reference to a current House bill that calls for a complete repeal of the entire SafeT Act.
My repeal petition is an effort to continue discussions on the problematic aspect of its implementation, based on input received from Police Chiefs, States Attorneys, and the Judiciary, with only Police Chiefs and Sheriffs asked to provide input during the Act’s creation, but were never seriously or responsibly included in negotiations with the Act’s authors.
[Pleasant personal aside redacted.]
Thanks,
Don DeWitte
I stand by the post.
* Didn’t Will County State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow tell us that eliminating cash bail would bring the “end of days”? From the AP…
More than two dozen people have been charged in Illinois with fraudulently obtaining pandemic relief money, with authorities alleging that some of them were behind bars when they used their relief money to post bond and free themselves from jail.
Joliet Police Chief William Evans said Wednesday that 25 people were part of the alleged fraud scheme to get Paycheck Protection Program checks while not operating actual businesses.
Fifteen of the defendants had been arrested by Wednesday, and arrest warrants were pending for 10 other people. They all face charges including wire fraud, theft and loan fraud, officials said.
Evans said each fraudulently obtained loan was for between $19,000 and $20,000, with the fraud costing taxpayers upwards of $500,000.
Investigators found that some of the defendants were inmates at the Will County Jail in Joliet, a Chicago suburb, when they applied for and received loans through the pandemic program, and then used the money to bond out of jail on their felony cases.
* From a Fox News interview with retired Chicago Police Department Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy…
“Anybody can just make a complaint against an officer. The department or the investigating body does not have to tell the officer who it is, which hinders their ability to respond to the complaint accurately and honestly. It has a bad effect on morale.”
The police routinely and actively solicit and encourage anonymous tips, including paying cash rewards. I mean, have they never heard of Crimestoppers?
* More…
* Truth Test: Will ending cash bail in Illinois cause a rise in crime?: The Illinois GOP added that in New York “as a direct result of the new bail law, 20.1% of ‘felony arraignments’ were rearrested in 2021, with 16.1% failing to appear at arraignment.”’ However, [Insha Rahman, Vice President of Advocacy and Partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonpartisan, pro-bail reform group in New York City] said the Illinois GOP statement is “inaccurate” and lacks context. She sees it as an attempt to score “cheap points” by “fear-mongering.” “They (the Illinois GOP) didn’t actually name what the appearance rates and rearrest rates were before bail reform, and they didn’t name from what period or how they are picking that data,” Rahman said. “Failing to appear at arraignments is not a measure anyone tracks in NYS (New York state) courts. Arraignment is the first court appearance following an arrest.”
* State’s Attorneys Representing 3 Illinois Counties File Lawsuits Against SAFE-T Act: [ McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally’s] lawsuit also alleges that the SAFE-T Act undermines a constitutional amendment that requires judges to consider a victims’ safety and wellbeing when setting bail. [Sen. Elgie Sims], however, said the SAFE-T Act will make a “marked” difference for victims as some victims’ rights groups have attested to. For example, by ensuring that someone convicted of domestic violence isn’t released just because they’ve got the cash to get out of jail. Sims says these lawsuits are a waste of taxpayer money.
* Jersey County files suit over cash bail change: “We have been working on diplomatic solutions with key legislators to try and fix some of the most dangerous aspects of this act,” he said. “Lawmakers need to understand we prefer to work together on a legislative fix.”
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* WGEM…
Illinois state lawmakers continue to discuss the best strategies to address rising gun violence across the state. The House Public Safety and Violence Prevention Task Force heard more ideas from gun control advocates and supporters of the Second Amendment Thursday. […]
Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) told the task force that it is also important to think about gun violence caused by people who are licensed. Ford said he was disappointed that several people told lawmakers Thursday that FOID holders and a right to carry don’t commit crimes.
“I wouldn’t say that,” NRA lobbyist Todd Vandermyde interjected. “I would say that they’re on the lower end of the percentages where that occurs.” […]
“I think that’s our goal and it should be all our goals to make sure that we protect people and protect our communities,” Ford said. “Hopefully, we can continue to have these dialogues and conversations about ways to do that and not have a stonewall against finding common ground.”
* Meanwhile, here’s the Daily Herald…
In the wake of this summer’s mass shooting in downtown Highland Park, Democratic state Rep. Martin Moylan of Des Plaines and his Republican challenger, Michael M. Lupo of Park Ridge, shared differing views on what the state might be able to do to curb gun violence, including whether a ban on assault weapons should be a part of a solution. […]
Lupo said Illinois and Chicago already have some of the nation’s strictest gun laws. But stepped-up scrutiny of the validity status of firearm owners’ ID cards could be one way to make improvements, he added. […]
“As far as the mass shootings, I believe we need to come up with a comprehensive plan,” he said. “Maybe with a committee or a council in Springfield — bipartisan with some mental health experts as well. And to be honest with you, I wouldn’t be opposed to temporarily halting the sale of high-powered and high-capacity rifles while that’s getting done. … It’s something that we need to take seriously and we need to take the mental health aspects seriously as well.”
Moylan said he supports the proposed statewide ban on assault weapons.
“That’s a first step,” he said. “But there’s more than just the ban on weapons. Individuals like this person (in Highland Park) will find some type of device to inflict harm on as many people as possible. So besides the ban on assault rifles, we have to get back to the mental health issue.”
* The Center Square…
Republican lawmakers who say they are fed up with Democratic efforts to lessen the penalties for drug dealers in Illinois have introduced new legislation.
Last April, the House narrowly passed a measure that lowered the criminal penalties for what they call low-level possession of drugs like fentanyl and heroin. Misdemeanors under the bill include possession of less than five grams of cocaine, less than five pills of most scheduled III substances such as Xanax and Valium, and less than 40 pills of oxycodone and similar painkillers. […]
Republicans have introduced legislation designed to allow state attorneys to prosecute fentanyl dealers. […]
The measure also provides that, “in addition to any other penalties imposed for the manufacture or delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, not less than 6 years and not more than 30 years shall be imposed for any amount of carfentanil in excess of 150 milligrams that is stored or transmitted as a powder, blotter paper, tablet, patch, or spray if the product fails to include a warning label and an accompanying rescue level of naloxone.”
* WAND…
The Illinois State Police is awarding $1 million in grants to 32 local law enforcement agencies across Illinois.
The grant money will be used to conduct firearm enforcement efforts to help keep guns out of the hand of people who pose a significant threat to themselves or others.
“While the Illinois State Police has had great success in reducing expressway shootings in the Chicago area compared to this time last year, we continue to face a gun violence epidemic in this country and we need every possible resource at our disposal to combat it,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “These grants to local law enforcement agencies can help prevent a potential tragedy in our communities and I want to thank agencies across the state who have signed up to help with enforcement efforts.”
In July, ISP offered grants to law enforcement agencies to conduct enforcement operations for individuals whose Firearm Owner Identification Card have been revoked or suspended as a result of being prohibited by state or federal law.
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* Press release…
Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) released the following statement on Governor JB Pritzker’s hypocrisy on ethics reform and the price that is being paid by his inaction:
“The Governor’s recent comments on ethics reform are nothing more than an attempt to paper over his poor record on public corruption as he seeks re-election. The truth of the matter is, he has sat silently by as Democratic legislators failed to even discuss, let alone allow a vote on many anti-corruption measures that have been filed in the General Assembly this legislative session. The hypocrisy is rich. If he really believes that work needs to be done on new ethics legislation, where has he been?”
Senate Republicans have proposed several measures to address the systemic corruption issue within the Democratic Party, yet the Senate Ethics Committee did not meet a single time this year. Additionally, not a single piece of ethics legislation was heard in the entire General Assembly this session.
“The Governor wants to talk big on integrity and ethics within our government, but his record has shown little desire to put action where his mouth is. His silence and failure to lead on this issue continues to enable the corruption in his own party that is so toxic to us all.”
Following a watered-down ethics package that passed in 2021, and after Democrats promised “their work wasn’t done,” Senate Republicans reintroduced their preferred measures in Senate Bill 3636, Senate Bill 3030, and SJRCA 16 this spring legislative session, only to be met with silence and inaction.
Senate Bill 3636 would:
• Prohibit a General Assembly member, their spouse, or any immediate family member from lobbying as long as the individual is a member of the General Assembly.
• Prohibits a legislator during their term of office from negotiating employment with a lobbying firm (such as a job after their term of office), if that firm lobbies the General Assembly.
• Strengthens the revolving door for General Assembly members to prohibit them from lobbying for 12 months after leaving office (currently 6 months with a major loophole allowing GA members to lobby a day after their term ends).
• Limit a lobbyist’s political activity so that anyone who is a lobbyist cannot be an officer for a candidate’s political committee or be a candidate supported by a political action committee.
• Expand the authority of a statewide grand jury to investigate and indict offenses involving the corruption of a public official, to include theft, fraud, extortion, or a violation of the official misconduct and public contracts articles of the criminal code of 2012.
• Expand Illinois’ R.I.C.O. law to include bribery, official misconduct, solicitation of misconduct, and legislative misconduct.
Senate Bill 3030 would:
• Give the Legislative Inspector General (LIG) the ability to issue subpoenas without prior consent of the Legislative Ethics Commission (LEC).
• Require Legislative Ethics Commission meetings to be open to the public and meetings must be publicly posted.
SJRCA 16 would:
• Amend the Illinois Constitution to allow voters to recall more elected officials, including members of the General Assembly and local government officials.
“There is a high societal cost to corruption when people don’t have faith in their government. That cost is a weakening of democracy, where no longer are elected officials looking out for the public’s best interests, but their own instead.”
In the last several years, four members of the Senate Democratic Caucus have been indicted and/or convicted on federal corruption charges.
That prohibition against negotiating employment with a lobbying firm is needed. Your thoughts?
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Open thread
Friday, Sep 23, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Happy Friday! What’s on your mind today?
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Live coverage
Friday, Sep 23, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
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