This was the gist of what Gov. Pritzker said on the call today:
I propose that you immediately form a reproductive healthcare strike force – pulling together the best experts, federal leaders, and the states on the frontline of this fight to find every single federal rule and regulation that can enhance our ability to provide reproductive health care. Eliminate the rules that are creating barriers and create new rules that expand access. Make sure the FTC takes a hard look at whether our existing privacy regulations are sufficient to protect individuals looking for abortion care.
That’s action we can take without Congress, without the Courts – right now – and save lives.
I believe there are four essential issues that need immediate focus.
ONE. Right off the bat, we can find a way for the federal government to support doctors in EVERY state providing telehealth and mail prescriptions to patients, as well as making facilities on federal land in EVERY state available for clinicians to practice.
TWO. Those mail prescriptions are going out through the United States Postal Service, not the postal service of Alabama or Missouri. So we need to get out in front of any attempts to criminalize use of the federal postal system to deliver medication, because they will try.
THREE. We also need a centralized hub connecting patients and providers across state lines. I’m getting calls from providers up and down Illinois who are getting double and triple booked by scared patients who are grabbing every appointment they can because they’re afraid of losing all of them. There needs to be an ultra-secure navigator system for providers to communicate with each other and with patients about their options. We don’t want any appointments going to waste.
FOUR. Most importantly of all: we need federal dollars. Illinois is going to have half the country relying on us to provide abortions and reproductive health care. We fund abortions with our Medicaid dollars. But our state funds alone can’t support the demand. We need the federal government to pay for clinic upkeep, medical transport, and other associated billable items up until the abortion itself. And the federal government can provide the state with additional funding elsewhere to support our Medicaid needs.
This is a crisis and we need to treat it like one. That means acting urgently as a collective in the way this moment demands. We need to put more decision makers in a room and figure out creative ways to get to yes. I’m asking that as soon as this call ends, we work with our teams to get a concrete meeting for the coalition on the calendar. Illinois is happy to convene federal and state leaders, but I’ll go wherever it takes to get this done.
Statement from Jordan Abudayyeh…
Governor Pritzker is gratified that President Biden embraced his suggestions, particularly moving forward with a concrete strike force that includes Democratic governors and federal leaders to protect access to safe, legal abortion and reproductive care.
In the pre-reversal world, multiple clinics opened up near [Illinois] state boundary lines of access, including near St. Louis. The Illinois Department of Public Health reports nearly 10,000 patients crossed state lines to have an abortion in Illinois in 2020 — that was 29% more patients traveling than in 2019.
Meanwhile, in states like Iowa, where it’s likely a revival of the six-week ban will take effect, access to abortion in adjacent Illinois has been virtually impossible, with four Quad Cities clinics having closed in the past five years and none at all sitting on the state’s border.
A run on state resources is inevitable.
“The state of Illinois is among a handful of U.S. states that continues to affirm the right to safe and accessible reproductive healthcare. Indeed, the state has seen growing numbers of persons coming from outside the state in recent years,” said Natalie Bennett, director of the Women’s Leadership and Resource Center at University of Illinois-Chicago. “Those numbers will continue to increase.”
Twenty-two percent of U.S. adults name abortion or women’s rights in an open-ended question as one of up to five problems they want the government to work on, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s more than doubled since December, when an AP-NORC poll found a notable uptick in mentions of abortion from years before, likely in anticipation of the Dobbs ruling on abortion.
The new poll, which included interviews conducted before and after the Supreme Court’s ruling, finds prioritization of the issues grew sharply following the decision. […]
And the new poll finds mentions of women’s rights are almost exclusively by those who think abortion should be legal.
According to the poll, the percentage of women prioritizing abortion or women’s rights was already higher in interviews conducted before the ruling than six months ago, 21% vs. 9% in December; it swelled to 37% in the days after. Mentions grew sharply among men, too, but the growth was concentrated in the wake of the ruling, from 6% in interviews conducted before to 21% after.
* March for Life Chicago…
As reports show Illinois’ economy is lagging behind the rest of the Midwest and the state’s drivers pay an average of $5.40 per gallon at the pump – radical abortion promoters Governor J.B Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot are pledging hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to abort babies from across state lines. March for Life Chicago believes that every Midwesterner should be outraged.
“The majority of Americans do not support taxpayer funding for abortion,” stated Anna Kinskey, Associate Director of the March for Life Chicago. “Yet, in the wake of the United States Supreme Court decision to uphold a state’s right to restrict abortion, Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot continue to ignore the people they represent to push their extreme abortion agenda at taxpayer expense.”
Pritzker was quoted by the Chicago Tribune as touting abortion as “another arrow in our quiver” to recruit businesses to Illinois and Pritzker has called for a special legislative session on reproductive health, during which it has been suggested that he will try to extend taxpayer funding of abortion to include out-of-state residents.
Following the Supreme Court’s June 24 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, Lightfoot pledged $500,000 of taxpayer money to abortion funds, including money to provide transportation and housing for women seeking out of state abortions in Chicago.
As the governor and mayor work to increase taxpayer funding of abortion, March for Life Chicago calls upon the people of the Midwest to rise up and speak out for the protection of women and children.
“Over 54 percent of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion,” detailed Kinskey, presenting numbers from a January 2022 Marist Poll of Americans’ Opinions on Abortion. “Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot are exasperated following the Supreme Court’s finding that the United States Constitution does not include a ‘right to abortion,’ and they’re using taxpayer funding to push their extreme abortion agenda.”
“Taxes are intended to maintain public infrastructure, including the roads we travel on, and fund public schools, emergency services, and food stamp programs,” explained Kinskey. “Illinois can’t pay all of its bills, but the governor and the mayor of its largest city want to invite women from out of state to come to Illinois to abort their babies – at our expense. Every taxpaying Illinoisan should be outraged.”
“Illinois permits late-term abortions on demand for any reason at taxpayer expense,” Kinskey continued. “Already, abortion clinics in Wisconsin are sending women to Illinois for abortions. This trend will increase as our neighboring states move to protect preborn life.”
March for Life Chicago is calling upon Illinois’ governor and Chicago’s mayor to quit forcing taxpayers to pay for abortion on demand – even on minor girls.
“Pritzker and Lightfoot are out of step with middle America. It’s time for Illinois to join the vast majority of the Midwest and return the right to life to preborn children and protect these most vulnerable members of the human family,” Kinskey added.
“And it’s not about choosing babies over women,” assured Kinskey. “The pro-life movement supports both mother and child. That’s why there are over 95 pregnancy resource centers right here in Illinois, meeting the needs of mothers and families, before and after birth. Women can easily find free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, prenatal care, diapers, cribs, parenting classes, and more. No woman should face an unexpected pregnancy alone, and if Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot truly cared about vulnerable women they would follow in the footsteps of states like Texas, and fund life affirming care for women and children.”
* Stories from women who chose to end a pregnancy: We also hear from [Becky Carroll] who’s been an abortion rights advocate since she was a teenager and how she navigated her own experience of getting an abortion.
The Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) is a construction advocacy and membership organization working on public and private sector projects. We are very concerned that the ongoing labor dispute at our region’s largest aggregate suppliers is now threatening the viability of our summer construction season.
We can’t build and repair roads without rock and if this strike continues, we are going to run out of that vital supply.
Shutting down projects will be devastating to our members who are not compensated for the lost work. Even a week’s worth of lost work during the construction season can put our members in the red for the year.
We call on all parties to resolve this dispute immediately so our members and their employees can continue to provide for their families.
Today’s negotiations concluded without an agreement. Local 150 made a comprehensive proposal yesterday with substantial movement on all remaining language as well as economics, and this morning, CAAPA presented a disappointing counterproposal that completely failed to address members’ primary concerns. This proposal does not recognize the hazardous working conditions that underground miners face on a daily basis and completely ignores the increased cost of living that workers are facing. Local 150 presented a counterproposal, after which the employers left negotiations without agreeing to any further dates. Our team is continuing to push employers to get back to the table this week and bargain in good faith.
* Former US Rep. Dan Lipinski’s new Tribune op-ed…
For 16 years, I had the privilege of representing the people of Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District until I was narrowly defeated in the 2020 Democratic primary. I lost that race because I dared to not always follow in lockstep with my party in an era in which extreme partisanship and polarization rule. In a number of primary elections on Tuesday, both parties continued to reject candidates willing to ever deviate from the party line, including Illinois’ 15th District in which Rep. Rodney Davis lost the Republican primary. This trend is causing more extremity, more intransigence and more gridlock in Washington. Both parties are failing our country and hurting the American people.
Last year, some Republican Party officials asked me to run for Congress as a Republican, but I declined. A few months later, some of my supporters from previous campaigns asked me to run in the Democratic primary in the 6th Congressional District because their analysis indicated I could win in a three-way race against the two incumbents vying for the nomination. When I responded that I was fed up with both parties and would only consider a run as an independent, they told me they would start a “Draft Dan Lipinski” campaign to get my name on the November ballot.
It is difficult for an unfunded grassroots effort to gather the 5,000 signatures needed to qualify as an independent for Congress — more than 12 times the 400 needed by a Democrat or Republican — but I understand that goal is within reach.
As I weigh my decision on whether to run now, or in two years, or find other ways to contribute to the fight to set our country on a better path, I want to explain the importance of running as an independent. The partisan gerrymandering of districts, the outsize influence of interest groups on elections and the concentrated power of congressional party leaders have created a situation in which most members of Congress no longer represent their approximately 800,000 constituents. Instead, they represent the small, often ideologically extreme minority of voters who cast ballots in their party’s primary.
Lipinski would be up against Democratic US Rep. Sean Casten.
* CD13…
This morning, Nikki Budzinski, the Democratic nominee in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, announced that her campaign is entering the general election with over $1 million cash on hand. Just 4 months from the general election, this puts Budzinski in a strong position to communicate with voters and run a strong campaign.
Budzinski made the following statement: “In my campaign, I am laser focused on finding solutions to fight inflation, tackle the rising costs of gas and energy, and help working families keep more of what they earn. My campaign has the resources to communicate that message to voters in Central and Southern Illinois.”
* Republican Attorney General nominee Tom DeVore is hosting a gun raffle fundraiser…
With Bailey’s primary win and the victory by downstate attorney Thomas DeVore in the attorney general primary — a lawyer who helped Bailey wage a legal fight against state public-health mandates during the pandemic — Pritzker said the Republican Party in Illinois has veered hard to the right. It’s a zone that general election voters will reject and a sign the state GOP has no room for moderate Republicans, the governor said.
“They’re going to continue to be a minority party if they’re going to continue to move farther and farther to the right. There’s an enormous schism within the Republican Party. They’re going to have to work that out on their own. But they’ve now nominated some completely extremist, Trumpy, MAGA Republicans to represent them for the governor’s race [and] the attorney general’s race.
“I mean, we’re going to have to fight to make sure that these people never see statewide office in the state,” the governor said.
Q: You and your wife are the founders of Full Armor Christian Academy. Is there a sign at the door of that school that reads: ‘Staff heavily armed and trained in any attempt to harm children will be met with deadly force’?
A: Well, you’ve done your research. There actually is, yes. We believe that the children are our most precious asset. And it’s interesting, when you go into a Target, or certainly a high-end fashion or jewelry store, you’ll usually see an armed guard there protecting that and in this day and age and climate, we believe that we need to do everything possible to protect our children.
Q: So you have guns throughout the school. Would you advocate that Chicago schools have guns easily available for teachers or others to use?
A: Well, I would certainly advocate under the current climate that is a plausible solution if the local school so chose. Obviously, lots of training, you know, handling the the gun itself, and then that training with local law enforcement agencies of which we do at Full Armor would be obviously mandatory. And I believe that that would, yeah, I believe that would certainly help be a step if a school so chose to use it to make schools and safer and protect our children. […]
Q: I think most working families in Illinois are right dab in the middle. I mean, the loudest people are in the left, and on the far right. Where do you see yourself on that spectrum?
A: Oh, gosh, I still say, I’d like to think that I’m in the middle. Because I believe the silent majority resides, we just want to be left alone, we want government out of our hair, we don’t want to be told what to do. We don’t want to be mandated, we want to be able to live, to keep most of our money, we want to make sure that we provide a future for our children and our grandchildren. We want to be able to send our children to school knowing that they’re taught how to live and thrive and work and get a job and, and then we want to be able to send our kids to you know, could be able to walk down the street to the store to go to that ball game or whatever it is down the street and to be safe.
* Let’s move on to the Brenden Moore interview with Gov. Pritzker…
Q: Here in Central Illinois, we saw far-right Rep. Mary Miller defeat Rep. Rodney Davis in the Republican primary on Tuesday. It’s a district that was drawn to pack in as many Republicans as possible — the map passed the legislature, you signed it. Is there any responsibility that you and Democratic legislators have for the increasing partisanship given how gerrymandered this district was where somebody like Mary Miller could win pretty convincingly?
A: “Look, if I had asked you a year ago and if I had asked most pundits and people who understand politics a year ago who was going to win the race in that district, almost everybody would have said Rodney Davis. So let’s be clear, an area where there are more Republicans than there are Democrats shouldn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to end up with the most right-wing, most extreme person getting elected. That is what happened. I think that’s evidence of what’s happened to the Republican Party.
“Look, Darren Bailey is evidence to what’s happened to the Republican Party. He’s too extreme for Illinois. He’s somebody that stood at the outer edge of politics (and) does not understand what average working people in the state really need and want. And he’s worked against those things. He says that he wants to help people, but then he doesn’t vote for the things that help people.
“So, again, I just want to say this extremism, you’re talking about Mary Miller beating Rodney Davis, I think the responsibility there is about Donald Trump MAGA Republicans and people like Darren Bailey who are driving the Illinois Republican Party off a cliff.”
In the race to fill the vacancy of State Senator Jacqui Collins on Chicago’s South Side, Willie Preston has emerged victorious - defeating his opponent by a margin of 54% to 46% (with a few precincts still left to be counted).
Despite being outspent by massive margins, Willie put together a winning coalition on the ground that helped carry him over the finish line on Election Day.
“This was a hard-fought campaign and at the end of the day I am just so proud of the work my team put in to help me pull this out,” said Preston, “we focused our campaign intently on the issues that plague our community the most: rising violence, the gun epidemic, and a lack of working-class jobs. I’m so thankful to the voters and supporters who made this victory possible. Now it’s time to go to Springfield and fight like hell for my constituents.”
Willie Preston is a community organizer and small business owner who was born and raised in the Englewood neighborhood (which is included within the 16th Senate District) and currently lives with his wife and Campaign Manager Brittany Preston and their six amazing children in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.
Throughout the entire cycle, Preston remained focused on the basics and executed perfectly on a thorough campaign plan including knocking on thousands of doors and running an aggressive Early Vote campaign. This plan ultimately resulted in his victory on Tuesday night despite tremendous resources and obstacles sent against the Willie Preston team.
Preston defeated Lamont Williams.
* More…
* Gay Weatherman Could Be First Out Congressman From Illinois: Illinois may get its first out member of Congress this year now that Eric Sorensen, a gay man, has won the Democratic nomination in the 17th Congressional District. Sorensen bested five other candidates in the Democratic primary, finishing with about 38 percent of the vote by the latest count. The district covers portions of central, western, and northwestern Illinois.
* How candidates aligned with Donald Trump did in the suburbs: Although all three downstate Illinois Republicans endorsed by former President Donald Trump won their primary races Tuesday, outspoken Trump supporters seeking nomination for statewide or federal seats saw mixed results in the suburbs. Such candidates were defeated in the 6th, 8th and 14th congressional districts’ GOP primaries, as well as in the U.S. Senate race. But they won nominations in the 5th and 11th districts.
* Winnebago County Clerk looks into whether error affected Illinois primary election results: The error “has to do with the font and format in which the referendum questions were laid out in the ballots, which could have had an impact on the outcome. The election office is in the process of reviewing ballots and we expect to learn more in the coming days,” her email said.
* Voting rights advocates say it’s time to give convicted inmates the chance to vote: “While the people of Illinois are being subjected to heinous crimes, Democratic legislators are trying to ensure that the very perpetrators of those crimes will still have the opportunity to vote while incarcerated. This is another example of how out of touch the super majority party is with the issues facing the families of Illinois. They seem to be more concerned with securing votes for their party than protecting victims,” said Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield.
* So, according to this odd little graph, Republican US Senate candidate Kathy Salvi was leading then continued her same basic proportional lead when lots more votes were counted. So, yeah, it is normal. Salvi is currently winning by about 37,000 votes…
— Bobby Piton, 2022 US Senate Candidate -State of IL (@UAmerica333) July 1, 2022
I spoke with Jimmy Lee… Matt Dubiel and will be speaking with Peggy this evening. I will go where the data takes me. On the surface it appears to be a rigged US Senate race. If the data proves Peggy or someone else won, than the Will of the People of Illinois should
— Bobby Piton, 2022 US Senate Candidate -State of IL (@UAmerica333) July 1, 2022
The lack of intelligence is astounding. By not conceding, I am publicly stating the results need to be investigated. No where did I say I thought I won. you freakin idiots. Peggy Hubbard, Matt Dubiel and Jimmy Lee Tilman also agree something is massively wrong. We want answers. https://t.co/fPhe77IfS4
— Bobby Piton, 2022 US Senate Candidate -State of IL (@UAmerica333) July 1, 2022
Jimmy Lee and Matt Dubiel are also failed Republican US Senate candidates…
Illinois Republican Senate candidate, Matt Dubiel, said one of the reasons he is running for office is because Costco told him to wear a mask and it made him “feel wrong.” pic.twitter.com/6seKl4R2Le
Matt Dubiel currently has 64,755 Republican primary votes. Total all those up and the four have so far received 365,351 total Republican votes, which is 152,840 more votes than Salvi got.
That party sure appears to be seriously off track, man.
* As we discussed a few months ago, the Illinois Policy Institute has calculated the new tax cut savings at $556 per household on average, not including the six-month suspension of the increase in the Motor Fuel Tax.
But despite often referring to the institute’s numbers and analysis on the budget, or taxes, or pensions, or the Census or whatever, we have hardly seen that number mentioned in stories about this particular topic. For just one example, here’s Capitol News Illinois…
Illinoisans will receive some modest tax relief starting Friday when the state’s new fiscal year begins. […]
[Republicans] also criticized some of the tax breaks as too small or for not being permanent
$556+ ain’t chump change. And for those eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, that relief is permanent.
* When I interviewed Gov. Pritzker yesterday, I asked whether he agreed with the IPI’s numbers…
I haven’t looked at their estimate. With doubling of the potential property tax rebate and a couple hundred, few hundred dollars that some families will get directly. And you know, the elimination of the grocery tax and the freezing of the gas tax. I haven’t done a calculation of what it would save each person. So I can’t answer that question. But, being able to send hundreds of dollars back to people at a time when they’re suffering from higher prices, is an obligation of government.
And by the way, we’re limited in doing that to what we can afford in the surpluses that we ran. And we gotta keep running those surpluses in order to be able to continue to cut people’s taxes, which is not possible unless you do what I’ve done, which is balance the budget and pay off the bills.
On the one hand, pointing to an official estimate could help dispel the widespread belief that these are barely negligible savings. On the other hand, if people don’t actually see those touted savings, they might get angry. And using IPI’s analysis might legitimatize a frequent critic.
* The Question: Should the governor run the numbers to come up with his own tax savings estimate, point to IPI’s numbers or just stay the course? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Bailey opposes abortion including in cases of rape or incest. However, “I have no problem when it comes to the point of saving the life of the mother … I don’t consider that an abortion.”
Bailey would seek to end taxpayer funding of abortion and try to repeal a new law that ended required parental notification when minors get abortions.
But he supports the idea of making “abortion unnecessary. Let’s empower churches and civic groups and religious organizations to offer real help and hope to pregnant women.” […]
Democrats have warned the Supreme Court will next act to reduce access to contraceptives or restrict same-sex marriages.
“I believe in biblical marriage between a man and a woman,” Bailey said. But in Illinois, “currently with same-sex marriage, it’s the law. Illinois decided to make it a law, I understand the reasons. I will not be seeking to mess with that; we have bigger problems to deal with.”
I’m so old I remember when the Democrats nominated a southern Illinois gubernatorial candidate with those very same beliefs (Glenn Poshard, 1998).
* Pritzker campaign…
As Pride month comes to an end, Darren Bailey wasted no time reminding voters that he cannot and will not be a governor for all of Illinois. In an interview Thursday, Bailey said that he “believe[d] in biblical marriage between a man and a woman.”
In his concurring opinion on the Roe decision, Justice Clarence Thomas signaled the Supreme Court may revisit marriage equality. At a time of great uncertainty for LGBTQ+ and marginalized communities, Illinoisans need a leader who will proudly fight for their rights––not one who doesn’t even recognize they exist.
“Every day Darren Bailey shows us just how extreme he really is,” said JB for Governor Spokeswoman Natalie Edelstein. “Marriage equality is the law of the land and all Americans, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, can exercise their right to marry. Illinois deserves a governor who will not just “say gay,” but who will march alongside them at Pride, protest with them for Black Trans Lives, support queer-owned small businesses, and above all else ensure their rights are protected.
Meanwhile, Governor Pritzker expanded the Illinois Human Rights Act to include LGBTQ+ residents as a protected class and expanded infertility insurance to cover LGBTQ+ families. From inclusive LGBTQ+ curriculums in schools, to expanded Medicaid coverage for gender affirming surgery, to requiring single occupancy restrooms be designated as gender neutral––Governor Pritzker has made great strides in affirming that Illinois is a place where everyone can feel supported.
Q: There’s an ad against you on TV right now that says you would support an abortion ban, including when it comes to incest or rape. Is that true or not true?
A: No, that’s not true…
Q: But they show you agreeing with it? Did they edit it? Or what?
A: I said ‘at this time,’ and that was early on in my candidacy and the laws of Illinois have changed since then abortion has been codified into a law as a medical procedure.
Q: So, what would you support as governor, the state of Illinois when it comes to abortion?
A: I’ve been very clear about that during this entire campaign. And since then, I’ve said that, number one, we must end taxpayer funded abortion, there’s people residents of Illinois have no stomach or desire to be paying for abortions, let alone this increase that Governor Pritzker wants to bring in. We need to restore parental notification. And because parents need to have they need to be able to make choices for their young children, 12 year old girls that this is ridiculous. And then finally, an idea that was picked up in some of the churches on the Southside of Chicago that I’ve been presented with and I’ve been working on is this idea to make abortion unnecessary. And we do that by making adoption easier. We will do that by partnering with churches, civic groups and religious organization to make sure that pregnant women get the true care and opportunities that they deserve. I’m having to make a choice. Do I get an abortion or not?
Q: If the legislature would have passionate abortion ban, would you sign it?
A: Well, that’s not going to happen.
Q: We just, [crosstalk] I want to know what, but I just want to, Senator I want to zero in on where you stand in your position on it. If they were, and I agree with you it’s very unlikely, would you sign it?
A: Right now, my stance is that I have said that banning abortion is not a solution. We have got to work together. So hopefully, hopefully, I can work together with many groups in the Chicago area, to come to some terms and present some real options where government can partner with organizations to offer true hope and choice to pregnant women. That is the goal, so there’s, that’s your answer.
Q: Representative, are you going to support the LGBTQ community?
A: Well, I believe that, you know, in biblical marriage, that marriage is between a man and a woman. But I can tell you this, I don’t, law has been created. I embrace and love everyone as Jesus loves them. I don’t intend to hinder and get in their way at all. So, as a matter of fact, one of my best friends in the House that I consider a friend that I’ve been able to work with is a Representative Greg Harris, we’ve had an amazing the two years that I served in the Senate and in the House and now in the Senate, I’ve been able to refer to him to help get things done and to bring some ideas to him and to partner with him on some bills. So, so no, this whole, Governor Pritzker twisting all this nonsense trying to make this election about to abortion, this, is a problem. And this us going to be on Governor Pritzker’s head and that’s why we’re going to win in November because the true problems in Illinois encompass everyone, and that is crime, high taxes and unsafe schools. We’re going to get those six, we’re going to bring opportunity up to Illinois. That’s what people are worried about.
Following the Illinois primary election results, U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois Senator Ram Villivalam, and Illinois Representative Theresa Mah issued the following joint statement:
“Tuesday, June 28th, was a historic night for the hundreds of thousands of individuals who identify as Asian American or Pacific Islander (AAPI) in the great state of Illinois,” they said. “Several immensely qualified AAPI candidates won in contested elections for U.S. Congress, the Illinois State Senate, the Illinois General Assembly, and other key local positions in Cook County Government and across the state. While the Illinois Republican Party continues to elect candidates who promote the sanctity of ‘white life,’ Illinois Democrats continue to promote inclusivity, unity, and prosperity for all.”
“But make no mistake: racial, cultural, and religious minorities are not elected to public office by accident,” they added. “These candidates and their supporters have worked tirelessly to earn a proverbial seat at the table. We look forward to continuing our support of these candidates to ensure they are victorious in November.”
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi won his primary election decisively on Tuesday night, receiving 71% of the vote. Congressman Raja is one of only four Indian-Americans in the U.S. Congress, and is the first ever South Asian to serve as Chair of a Committee or Subcommittee in Congress.
State Senator Ram Villivalam also won his reelection. He is the first Asian American elected to the Illinois Senate.
State Representative Theresa Mah also won her re-election for Illinois District 24. She is the first Asian American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly.
Additional key primary victories for U.S. Congress, the IL General Assembly include, and Cook County Government include:
• U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth
• State Representative Gong-Gershowitz, IL-17 (incumbent)
• State Representative Janet Yang Rohr, IL-41 (incumbent)
• Hoan Huynh, IL-13
• Kevin Olickal, IL-16
• Azam Nizamuddin, IL-48
• Nabeela Syed, IL-51
• Sharon Chung, IL-91
• Josina Morita, Cook County Commissioner
• Judge Rena Mare Van Tine, Circuit Court of Cook County
• Judge Sanjay Tailor, Circuit Court of Cook County
…Adding… My curiosity got the best of me and I had to look up Azam Nizamuddin. He lives in Bloomingdale and ran unopposed in the primary. He will face Hanover Park resident Jennifer Sanalitro in the 48th House District. It’s a swingy kinda-Dem district in presidential years, but has leaned Republican in off years.
Also, I’ve told subscribers this, but all of you should know that Sharon Chung is one hard-working candidate. Keep an eye on her.
The GOP turned out to not only look confused and shortsighted, but also outfoxed. By running millions of dollars in ads that not only blasted Irvin but spurred on the far right by labeling Bailey “too conservative for Illinois,” Pritzker, and the Democratic Governors Association, took out the competition before there was even a main event. How the Dems so effectively meddled in this campaign, one Irvin supporter told me, will be discussed and written about for years to come.
“Democrats are like pickpockets,” he said. “And Republicans are like confused tourists asking for directions while they get their pockets picked.”
At last check, Bailey was getting 57.7 percent of the Republican vote. Man, if that’s how top Repubs feel about their own voters, it’s no wonder there was such a revolt on Tuesday.
…Adding… A valid point from the comment section…
Was Pritzker supposed to let Irvin run $50 million in ads attacking him for four months without any response? That would’ve been political malpractice and apparently, they learned to get out of the gate quickly after the fair tax debacle
Marking an end to Fiscal Year 2022 on June 30, Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza is pleased to report good news on Illinois’ fiscal recovery since fighting through a state budget impasse and a global pandemic.
The state fiscal year ended with a General Funds accounts payable balance of $1.8 billion for the first time in more than a decade – and a General Revenue Funds payment cycle of ZERO days for the first time in decades. This means the office is caught up on all bills related to Medicaid, the state’s Group Health Insurance program, K-12 schools, higher education and other government operations and programs.
With the payment cycle down to ZERO days, it means the office was able to pay the Mandated Categorical Grants (MCAT) for K-12 schools on the very day they were due at the end of the fourth quarter. This is a far cry from when Comptroller Mendoza first took office in 2016, inheriting a General Revenue Funds average payment delay of 210 business days and an MCAT delay of more than six months. Today, K-12 schools don’t even wait one day.
On July 1, the first day of the new fiscal year, the Illinois Office of Comptroller (IOC) is paying the remaining $200 million of the $500 million in additional funds earmarked for the five state pension funds to lower long-term pension liabilities by $1.8 billion.
Over the past year, the IOC paid off the $2 billion owed to the Federal Reserve two years early, saving $82 million in interest, paid off $928 million owed to other state funds and paid off $900 million owed to Group Health Insurance bills.
After decades of consecutive downgrades, Illinois earned six credit rating upgrades in the past year, and delivered stability and predictability to our state vendors and providers that they hadn’t seen in years. This action has been most meaningful to our health-care industry partners, educators and small businesses who bore the brunt of the ongoing pandemic and the effects of the 2015-2017 budget impasse.
Most importantly, the state’s bill backlog was eliminated, paid down to $3 billion a year ago, without using any American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal stimulus dollars, and is now an accounts payable of $1.8 billion today with a payment cycle of ZERO days.
Yesterday, the Comptroller joined Governor J.B. Pritzker and legislative leaders showcasing Illinois’ recovery and returning $1.8 billion in relief to taxpayers to help them as they face record levels of inflation and rising gas prices.
“This tax relief is possible because we’ve balanced our state budgets, eliminated our bill backlog and are paying our bills on time. We are saving money for a rainy day and working to better stabilize our pension liability. We’ve worked very hard to put Illinois on much stronger financial footing, allowing us to provide this tax relief to Illinois working families and individuals when they need it most,” Comptroller Mendoza said.
Later this year, Comptroller Mendoza’s office is prepared to process the $1.1 billion in property tax and income tax rebates administered by the Department of Revenue beginning the week of September 12.
Today’s fiscal report means that Illinois is better poised to face upcoming challenges to state finances as the nation experiences record levels of inflation.
The Comptroller and her office faced great uncertainty when she came into office in 2016 during the worst budget impasse in the state’s history, with a bill backlog nearing $17 billion, followed by a global pandemic impacting state revenues throughout the country two years later.
“I’m battle-tested and have proven my ability to successfully navigate us through these fiscal crises, and I have worked hard to prepare and get us to this level of financial stability so we can better address challenges that may come our way,” said Comptroller Mendoza.
“The fact that we’ll have a billion dollars saved in our Rainy Day Fund to help us during adverse downturns certainly helps, but Illinois must save more when we are able to with stronger-than-expected revenue receipts so that we strengthen our ability to weather through these unexpected crises.”
Comptroller Mendoza has proposed legislation, HB 4118, sponsored by State Representative Michael Halpin, to lessen this uncertainty by fortifying the state’s Rainy Day Fund and the state’s Pension Stabilization Fund, implementing automatic triggers for future deposits into both funds. With additional savings, the state will be able to better prepare to weather the uncertainty of potential fiscal downturns.
