Don Corydon volunteers six mornings a week, six months a year at the Crete Lions Club Recycling Center, rising before dawn most days to operate the loading dock doors and help out as needed on the sorting floor.
During the warmer half of the year you can find him on the golf course instead, except on Saturdays and rainy days when he’s back on duty at the recycling center.
Corydon’s fellow Lions Club members can forgive him for slacking off a little during the summer. After all, he’s 90.
This is National Volunteer Week, when we’re supposed to honor the people who step up to donate their time and effort to making our communities better.
* The Question: Do you volunteer for any charities? Explain.
Labor coalition Climate Jobs Illinois today announced that it will expand the accountability, ethics and transparency reforms in the Climate Union Jobs Act by adding amendments from Rep. Larry Walsh Jr. and Sen. Michael Hastings. The action makes the Climate Union Jobs Act the most comprehensive legislation before the General Assembly this spring to move Illinois toward a clean energy economy.
Among the reforms being added to the Climate Union Jobs Act are:
• Establishing an independent Electric Utility Monitor to oversee ComEd during the deferred prosecution period. ComEd would be required to pay the state for the cost of the monitor. That cost cannot be passed on to customers. The monitor will:
o Conduct annual ethics audits and
o Document any violations and ensure disciplinary action is taken.
• Costs associated with state and federal investigations cannot be passed on to customers.
• Audit of whether the projects authorized under the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act were prudent and reasonable. Any costs associated with compliance could not be passed on to customers.
• Require that ComEd pay customers an amount equal to the fines paid as a result of its deferred prosecution agreement.
* So I reached out to Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago), the chair of the House Energy & Environment Committee ans sponsor of the CEJA bill…
As Chief Sponsor of the Clean Energy Jobs Act, I remain focused on holding utilities accountable and ensuring a robust set of ethics and transparency provisions are the foundation of any clean energy package. I look forward to partnering with my friends in organized labor to make that happen as we work to create equitable jobs. All utilities should be held to the highest ethical standards and adhere to best practices in terms of accountability.
Exempting some utilities from oversight is not in the best interest of Illinois consumers, and returning to a self-policing model after only 2 years is insufficient. The proposals in CEJA would place independent monitors at every utility, require each utility to track interactions with public officials, prevent subcontracting of lobbyists, and provide standards to ensure every contract is on the up-and-up.
* Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello was on Tom Miller’s radio show yesterday and talked up ongoing events at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, which is booked solid almost every weekend until mid-November…
Costello: So, there’s a lot going on, and we’re just extremely, extremely excited to get back into some sense of normalcy.
And saying that, I do have to give a plug here. I ask anybody, obviously getting vaccinated is a personal decision, but the more people that are vaccinated in the state and the more people in Southern Illinois, the more likelihood that all of these events are going to look more like they used to than maybe what people are expecting right now. So really, from a personal aspect, I’m just hoping that as many people as possible are getting vaccinated.
Miller: You were one of the first people to say ‘We’re doing this’ while everybody else was still kind of huddled up and sucking their thumbs, you were saying, ‘No, we’re going to get back out and we’re gonna get this thing going.’ You were one of the first.
Costello: You know, Tom, a lot, in my opinion, has to do with a positive mental attitude. And if we get things going in the right direction, and we’re talking to people about what we need to do to make things happen… And look, the fairgrounds is a huge place. Car Craft Street Machine Nationals for instance. There’s no reason we can’t spread it out a little more and have it be a safe environment, but still get people outside and bring them to Du Quoin. I mean, these are situations where you could have 45-50,000 people over a three-day period of time. That is a huge economic boost to Southern Illinois, not just Du Quoin, but to Marion, to Carbondale. I mean, the whole area, Christopher. These are major, major events that just bring a ton of revenue into southern Illinois.
Please, go get your shots. And wear a mask indoors and when in crowds to protect others who may not be able to get their shots (people with cancer, for instance, or kids) or haven’t yet been fully vaxed. Hopefully, we can all have a fun summer and I can go see Jamey Johnson at the Du Quoin State Fair.
* I told subscribers some time ago that multiple sources say Ald. Ed Burke has a very bad habit of using racist language in private conversations and that, among a whole lot of other things, could be a real problem for him as his case moves forward…
Ald. Ed Burke on FBI tape, discussing problems with the Old Main Post Office project: “[W]ell, you know as well as I do, Jews are Jews and they’ll deal with Jews to the exclusion of everybody else unless…unless there’s a reason for them to use a Christian.”
Prosecutors call the recordings of Ed Burke's calls "powerful evidence of Burke's involvement in unlawful activity." They say he's trying to keep them from a jury. pic.twitter.com/h6aqAM2IwT
The following is a statement from Illinois State Senators Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) and Laura Fine (D-Glenview)–the only two Jewish members of the State Senate–in response to Ald. Ed Burke’s antisemetic comments revealed today:
“When he thought no one was listening Ed Burke revealed his true self. Simply said, Alderman Burke’s remarks smack of blatant anti-semitism and are both ignorant and repugnant.
“For starters, he owes an apology to the Jewish community.”
* Jim Meadows interview with Rep. Darren Bailey last October…
JM: Speaking as a legislator yourself, if this emergency comes before the General Assembly, how do you want the state to address the COVID-19 outbreak?
DB: Well, I’ve been arguing that since day one. Many states never closed. Just about every state around us seems to be open right now. It seems to me that as we keep closing, as we keep restricting people, in every case: this is a virus. It’s not going to disappear. So it’s much like the flu. So we have flu season, every fall, we know this comes around. This is probably something that, from the information that I’m hearing from the doctors that I talked to that, this may rear its head from time to time. So to destroy the local economy over this, the financial pandemic, that’s the true pandemic that’s taking place. The mental health pandemic that’s taking place. Our school children, in many cases are being kept home. The nursing homes are being locked down. So as a representative, I hear this all day long from people across the state. That’s what I’m standing up (and) fighting against.
JM: Is there also a danger that if that approach is taken, that the level of outbreak may go higher than it is already right now?
BAILEY: Obviously. The numbers are spiking again. But so far, when we see the numbers spike, they come back down. But if we continue to pull back in and rein ourselves in, we are preventing what probably is going to have to happen with the virus. Are we waiting on a vaccination or some medications take care of this? I don’t know when that’s going to come. When’s the next strain of another virus going to come? We are not getting the answers from the Illinois Department of Public Health that we are asking for. The data and the information that they tell us they have, they don’t present it. And constantly, their mitigation situations have changed many times. So it’s certainly a situation where, we’re free Americans, and my argument is that we should live like that. Because what’s at stake with the shutdowns is our economy and our mental health situation.
JM: When you said, “what probably has to happen with the virus,” are you talking about herd immunity?
DB: Possibly, yes. If you need to wear a mask, you wear a mask. If you’re concerned, you stay home. But to continue to destroy the economy as is being done, we’re going to see some long-lasting effects that I don’t believe that we’re fully aware of right now.
(“Herd immunity” occurs when enough people become immune to a disease to make its spread unlikely. That can happen when enough people receive a vaccine or survive being infected with the disease. Most health experts say herd immunity to the coronavirus by infection is a dangerous strategy that would likely lead to more deaths. Rep. Bailey’s opinion on herd immunity follows ideas expressed in the Oct. 4 Great Barrington Declaration, written by medical professors Sunetra Gupta, Jay Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorff, and sponsored by the libertarian American Institute for Economic Research.)
That interview was done just before the virus surged wildly out of control. And opening up nursing homes back then would’ve been an unmitigated disaster.
* Natalia Dagenhart interview with Sen. Darren Bailey last week…
Q. As Illinois governor, would you mandate a coronavirus vaccine?
A. Absolutely not. The government’s role is to educate and advise. When the government starts mandating and forcing people and telling them what to do - we have problems.
Q. Do you think that it would be fair for Illinois employers to request their employees to get vaccinated in order to keep their job? What about schools? Should they mandate a coronavirus vaccine?
A. Absolutely not. I am adamantly opposed to that.
Q. Many states are opening up. Would you open Illinois? Should we open concert halls, opera houses, and other cultural institutions?
A. Yes, I would never have closed them. If the government advises and lets people choose, people have their own choice of where to go and what to do.
The state can’t mandate an experimental vaccine and the shot hasn’t yet been approved for children, but does it sound to you like he was for herd immunity before he was against it?
A number of hospitals in northwest and central Illinois are filling up — and at least one ran out of intensive care unit beds — amid the latest COVID-19 surge.
Recent spikes in cases have been seen across the state, including in the Chicago area where ICU bed availability is also down, though not as severely. Even as some coronavirus metrics in Illinois have improved slightly this week, certain hospitals are continuing to feel squeezed.
About a half dozen Illinois hospitals operated by OSF HealthCare had at least 90% of their beds filled Tuesday, said Dr. Michael Cruz, chief operating officer.
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria was at 97% occupancy as of Tuesday morning. OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford was at 96%, and OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington had no available intensive care unit beds, Cruz said.
Hoping to flex a little Springfield muscle, mayors representing hundreds of municipalities in metropolitan Chicago today launched a campaign to get lawmakers to stop dipping into the share of state income tax receipts meant for cities and villages, with hundreds of millions of dollars a year at stake.
There are distinctly mixed signs as to how the mayors will fare, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office standing by its view that if municipalities want help, they ought to get behind his plan to close $900 million in “corporate tax loopholes.” […]
A Pritzker spokeswoman said the solution is simple: back the plan to close loopholes. Because some of those loopholes affect local tax collections, that step would generate $228 million a year for local governments, more than the proposed $152 million cut in the local distributive share.
But Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett likened that to “a shell game.” Instead of “using our money as some sort of leverage,” he said, Pritzker ought to restore the distributive share.
As pot smokers across Illinois celebrated 420 — marijuana’s unofficial high holiday — state Rep. La Shawn Ford quietly filed a long-awaited amendment to a bill that aims to resolve the state’s beleaguered cannabis licensing process and vastly expand the legal weed industry.
“This is driving home the intent of the cannabis law of Illinois,” Ford, a Chicago Democrat, told the Sun-Times on Tuesday. “We want to get to the point of true social equity.”
Ford’s proposal would most notably create up to 120 new pot shop licenses, adding to the 75 dispensary permits that have remained in limbo for nearly a year. Those outstanding licenses were the first prioritized to social equity applicants, a designation created by the law that legalized recreational weed in an effort to diversify Illinois’ white-dominated marijuana industry.
State Sen. Win Stoller, R-Germantown Hills, has Senate Bill 2531 at the statehouse that would change state tax code so businesses can take advantage of a change the IRS approved allowing them to file as an entity, rather than on the individual level.
“The beautiful thing about this is it will cost Illinois nothing,” Stoller said. “It’s completely revenue-neutral to Illinois.”
He said if passed and signed into law, the measure could lower the federal tax burden for more than 400,000 Illinois pass-through businesses, S-corporations and partnerships in Illinois. […]
The measure is also supported by state Sen. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, especially because it is revenue-neutral.
“And in a time where Illinois continues to face the challenge that we do, being able to provide some relief to our small businesses and help economic growth and job creation is something I think everyone should get on board,” Martwick said.
* More bipartisanship from Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago) and Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) writing in the Sun-Times…
In House Bill 3123, we are proposing the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit to build on the federal aid, providing that needed boost to private housing developers ready to go to work. We estimate building 3,500 homes or apartments every year through the program, supporting 17,150 jobs over the next 10 years and creating more than $1 billion in extra income for Illinoisans over a decade.
Illinois would join 20 states now using the tax credit to match more federal funds for building affordable housing, and recent congressional action means there are even more federal aid dollars available for these projects.
The best news? While the tax credit comes with an estimated annual $35 million price tag, Illinois will see zero expenses until the projects are complete and the housing occupied. We will see the direct benefits of today’s investment at no cost to taxpayers until more people have a place to call home. We must credit the leadership of the Illinois Housing Council and its coalition of supporting partners for helping us push for this long-term solution.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,765 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 28 additional deaths.
- Champaign County: 1 female 100+
- Cook County: 1 male 40s, 2 females 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 2 females 80s
- DuPage County: 1 male 70s
- Greene County: 1 female 70s
- Kankakee County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 60s, 1 male 80s
- McDonough County: 1 male 70s
- McLean County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s
- Peoria County: 1 male 70s
- Rock Island: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
- Tazewell County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s
- Wayne County: 1 male 90s
- Whiteside County: 1 male 50s
- Will County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 90s
- Winnebago County: 1 male 60s
- Woodford County: 1 female 60s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,309,552 cases, including 21,722 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 81,133 specimens for a total of 21,920,359. As of last night, 2,191 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 521 patients were in the ICU and 237 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from April 14-20, 2021 is 3.8%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 14-20, 2021 is 4.4%.
The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses for Illinois is 10,358,875. A total of 8,342,542 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 122,842 doses. Yesterday, 140,712 doses were reported administered in Illinois.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
* ILGOP Chair Don Tracy in a recent email to party members…
Pritzker fights to cut taxes for the rich, himself
It was revealed recently that Governor JB Pritzker joined with six other Governors from high-tax Democrat-led states in penning a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to eliminate the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions (SALT cap) - a provision of the 2017 Republican tax cuts.
A study from the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that if Governor Pritzker - champion of the so-called “Fair Tax” - were to get his way and the SALT cap was lifted, 62% of the resulting benefits would go to the top 1% of income earners. And 86% of the benefits would go to the richest 5% of Americans. Governor Pritzker is in the top 1%.
The 2017 Republican tax law was a tremendous boon to the middle class because it nearly doubled the standard deduction for single and joint filers, while the SALT cap is not applicable for the vast majority. Governor Pritzker is begging Biden to end the SALT cap that primarily targets the richest Americans, including himself.
Governor Pritzker begging Biden to lower his tax bill and that of his billionaire buddies is not surprising given his history of trying to avoid taxes. But this time, instead of writing a work order for a contractor to rip out the toilets in his mansion, he wrote a letter to the President. JB needs to answer how many thousands of dollars he stands to save if Biden grants his wish.
Pritzker bucks Lightfoot to force property tax hike
A Chicago public employee pension bill was just signed into law that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and business groups opposed, “arguing that the cost to taxpayers would be too high.”
Dan Petrella of the Chicago Tribune reports…
Lightfoot sent a letter to aldermen on April 1 urging them to oppose the bill. She said it would double pension costs by $18 million to $30 million each year.
“If the governor does not veto this bill, the city will have to find a means to address the increased cost since the legislation does not provide a way to pay for these increase costs,” Lightfoot wrote.
“During the 2022 budget season, it will then fall on the members of the City Council to make difficult decisions to pay for these additional costs.”
She said “the obvious revenue solution, another property tax increase…”
The bill passed in Springfield was signed by the Governor and Tax-Avoider-In-Chief himself, JB Pritzker. As a Chicago resident, Governor Pritzker should be sensitive to the ever-growing tax burden the city inflicts on its residents, but since he has a history of dodging taxes that others have to pay (stashing his fortune away in offshore accounts, ripping out toilets of his Gold Coast mansion to lower his property tax bill, begging Biden to lift SALT cap), Pritzker likely doesn’t mind because he’ll just find a way to avoid paying it.
The Governor’s lifestyle is so far removed from the average working family in Chicago he may be under the assumption everyone has a second mansion they can rip toilets out of to lessen their tax burden. Well, he’s wrong. At a time when the pandemic has hit small businesses and workers the hardest, the last thing Chicagoans need is the Governor stepping in to hike their property taxes. Take it from Mayor Lightfoot, Pritzker’s legislation will raise property taxes.
* Meanwhile, GOP Rep. Joe Sosnowski has introduced HR121…
Urges the Governor and the Illinois Department of Revenue to explore administrative or legislative options that will allow Illinois residents to voluntarily contribute any amount in excess of what they are required to pay the State of Illinois under Illinois income tax laws.
Illinois’ climate is swiftly changing, becoming warmer and wetter and signaling long-term shifts that could push people, cities and ecosystems to the brink. If the planet fails to curb greenhouse gas emissions, what’s ahead could be more worrisome.
In an extensive new report released Tuesday, the Nature Conservancy details how Illinois’ climate has transformed and looks forward to what more change might mean for the state’s agriculture, human health and already-stressed ecosystems. […]
Even after curbing carbon emissions to meet certain bench marks, the changes in Illinois by 2100 could be stark: average annual temperatures warming 4 to 9 degrees, a month of 95-degree or higher temperatures, 3 more inches of spring rain, more flooding, and compounding health risks from heat, waterborne pathogens and diseases carried by mosquitoes and ticks. Not to mention the mental strain of living through it all. […]
Increased carbon dioxide levels may benefit soybean crops in the short term, but as drought and heat intensify, elevated levels may make things worse. Corn yields are likely to be reduced by 2050 and may be particularly vulnerable to warming nighttime temperatures. Some planting zones may shift north.
With increasing precipitation, a wet spring could delay planting. In 2019, among the wettest years on record , about 1.2 million acres of corn and soybeans went unplanted, the assessment notes. Wetter weather can also cause erosion, which can make soil less resilient to extreme weather.
Nuisances — weeds, pests and disease — may also become greater problems, requiring more applications of control measures, including pesticides.
Climate change in the form of increased precipitation and rainfall intensity tend to increase nutrient loads in rivers. However, other factors (e.g., wetland restoration) can also influence riverine nutrient loads. Combined sewer outflows (CSOs) affect water quality in urban streams and rivers and Lake Michigan in the Chicago region. Both CSOs and increased overland flooding cause environmental damage and public health hazards, such as increased exposure to infectious diseases and contaminated drinking water.As surface water supply is often limited by low streamflow, unless it is augmented by in-channel or off-channel storages, climate change may increase risks of inadequate surface water supply in drought conditions. Projected increases in precipitation would increase recharge to shallow aquifers. This could result in higher water tables during springtime conditions, increasing basement flooding and necessitating more tile drainage in row crop areas. Conversely, more intense summer droughts could result in lower water tables during peak pumping conditions in the summer, potentially impacting the sustainability of the groundwater resource used in water supply.
Native prairie plants that can tolerate drought, including big bluestem, prairie milkweed, Illinois bundleflower and rough blazing star, will likely fare better than other species. Invasives may take the place of plants that wither under warming temperatures. The common, pesky weed Johnsongrass, which can grow to be 8 feet tall, may be one of the species that benefits from warming, going on to overrun grasslands further north. Warming may additionally offset the timing of blooms — a particular threat for butterflies that rely on nectar for food.
As the cost of federal elections rises almost every year, just 12 megadonors from both sides of the aisle — at least eight of whom are billionaires — made up a combined $3.4 billion in contributions to federal candidates and political groups in the past decade, a new report shows.
This means that the top dozen donors — six of whom largely supported Democrats and six of whom generally supported Republicans — accounted for 7.5% of the $45 billion donated to federal political causes between January 2009 and December 2020, according to the analysis by Washington-based good-government group Issue One, based on campaign finance data compiled by the nonpartisan research group Center for Responsive Politics. […]
Other Republican megadonors were shipping industry executive Richard Uihlein, hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, Pan Am Systems Chairman Timothy Mellon, former TD Ameritrade CEO and Chicago Cubs co-owner Joe Ricketts, and hedge fund manager Paul Singer, the report said.
The lede’s $3.4 billion figure is kinda misleading because Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer spent a combined $1.3 billion on their own federal campaigns.
But, according to the group, Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein contributed $138 million, Ken Griffin gave $107 million and Joe and Marlene Ricketts kicked in $66 million. Democrat Fred Eychaner gave $92 million.
* I did a quick search of the Illinois State Board of Elections website to see how much those folks contributed to Illinois committees since January of 2009…
Industry-connected political appointees in the Trump administration blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from investigating ethylene oxide polluters and prevented career staff from warning thousands of Americans who live near sources of the cancer-causing gas, according to a scathing new report from the agency’s inspector general.
The latest findings by the independent watchdog add more details to reporting by the Chicago Tribune since August 2018, when the Trump EPA released the latest National Air Toxics Assessment without notice and left it up to state and local officials to decide for themselves whether to draw attention to elevated cancer risks in their communities.
On multiple occasions, the inspector general found, Trump political appointees in Washington ordered staff in the EPA’s Chicago office to dramatically scale back efforts to understand the dangers of ethylene oxide in the Midwest, most notably in west suburban Willowbrook and two north suburbs, Gurnee and Waukegan in Lake County.
Repeated political interference and a woeful lack of public education about the dangerous gas ran counter to the EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment, the report concluded.
* This press release was issued late yesterday afternoon…
Joint Statement from Leader Jim Durkin, Rep. Deanne Mazzochi and Sen. John Curran:
“In a comprehensive audit that was conducted between March of 2019 and February of 2021, the OIG found that the US EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation delayed communicating known health risks to community members in and around the Sterigenics plant in Willowbrook. Through the investigation, the OIG’s office also found a complete lack of policy requirements and protocols to help ensure the public would be notified in a timely manner when a potential health risk was identified at an ethylene oxide emitting facility.
While the findings in the audit should come as no surprise to those of us who fought the Sterigenics battle back in 2018, they are nonetheless alarming. The US EPA’s own mission and risk communication principles stress the importance of communicating accurate health and environmental risks to the public and involving them as legitimate partners. The US EPA and Office of Air and Radiation failed at every turn, and instead placed thousands of area residents in danger. This matter needs to be further investigated to determine whether the acts constitute negligence or even worse, collusion with the company.
Our decision to shut down this polluter was the right thing to do for our constituents and our communities. This should never happen at any level of government, including state and local government.”
* Also from yesterday…
Today, U.S. Reps. Brad Schneider (IL-10), Bill Foster (IL-11), Lauren Underwood (IL-15), and Marie Newman (IL-03) released a joint statement in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the Inspector General’s report that Trump political officials blocked ethylene oxide (EtO) monitoring in Illinois:
“The Trump Administration ignored our calls – and cries from our communities – for help when we knew the profound threat posed by EtO. The Trump-appointed leadership at EPA actively stood in the way of meaningful action in Lake County when they should have been making sure that Americans were safe from this known carcinogen. We look forward to working with the Biden Administration to guarantee appropriate federal monitoring of EtO under the law—and the proper engagement of affected communities in addressing the issue.”
The OIG report outlines how the Trump Administration’s “then-senior leader in the Office of Air and Radiation, who was a political appointee, instructed Region 5 to not conduct inspections at ethylene oxide-emitting facilities unless invited by the state to conduct a joint inspection,” and that the EPA “did not conduct public meetings with residents either near the Medline facility in Waukegan, Illinois, or the Vantage facility in Gurnee, Illinois.”
Stop Sterigenics, an organization dedicated to protecting public health through exposing and educating the public of the dangers of ethylene oxide (EtO), is calling for the US EPA to take immediate steps to mitigate the harm caused by EtO and the misconduct in which their predecessors engaged. The US EPA prevented the notification to communities nationwide about the cancer risk they face due to EtO exposure. Stop Sterigenics demands that, as outlined below, the US EPA immediately notify affected communities nationwide, conduct inspections, and create risk assessments based on perimeter testing at all facilities known to emit EtO.
Stop Sterigenics and the community around Willowbrook, IL was thrust back into the news last week after the US EPA Office of Inspector General released a report finding that Trump appointees knowingly and willfully hid the truth about the dangers of EtO. Career EPA employees have characterized the situation as another “Flint-level” crisis. Political appointees instructed US EPA employees not to conduct testing or inspections, to remove critical information from public view, and prohibited the notification of communities about their risks.
Ethylene oxide, which is slightly heavier than air, can persist in the air for weeks; is constantly emitted by facilities that use it for 24/7 operations; can be more concentrated indoors and at lower levels of buildings; and is particularly dangerous for children. The area around Willowbrook, IL, a suburban community about 20 miles from downtown Chicago, has suffered a staggeringly high rate of cancer which has been connected to the release of tens of thousands of pounds of EtO by Sterigenics, a sterilization facility located in a residential community, for over thirty years.
“Communities across America are breathing in this dangerous chemical and people are getting sick and dying. It is clear that the US EPA was protecting the profits of these companies while sacrificing our health. These officials need to be held accountable and trust must be regained by taking the steps necessary to protect public health,” said Gabriela Tejeda, a resident whose home is less than half of a mile away from the former Willowbrook Sterigenics facility.
“After several Congressional requests from myself, Senator Durbin, Senator Carper, Representative Richmond and Representative Foster, the EPA Office of Inspector General revealed what we unfortunately expected: the Trump Administration chose corporate profits over the safety of our communities. They refused to take a public health crisis seriously and put Illinoisans at risk when they knew the impact ethylene oxide’s carcinogenic emissions could have on communities like Willowbrook and Waukegan.
“Since 2018 I’ve called for an investigation into the wrongdoing by Trump’s EPA, and I’m glad these communities finally have the answers they deserve, but the fact remains that they should never have had to experience this. It’s unacceptable that civil servants were instructed by senior Trump political appointees to not conduct inspections of toxic emissions, delay public notifications of dangerous levels of emissions and refuse to hold public meetings with residents impacted by this harmful cancer-causing chemical.
“EPA is supposed to ensure that everyone has access to accurate information to effectively manage health and environmental risks, and that communities have the right to participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives and livelihoods. Trump’s EPA failed that mission and our state. I will continue to work with EPA, Region 5 and Illinois to ensure that protocols are in place so that this abuse of power never happens again.”
Wednesday, Apr 21, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Bribery, corruption, and formula rates have decimated public trust in utility regulation.
Instead of passing another rate hike, let’s pass a comprehensive clean energy bill.
Illinois’ legislature has an opportunity to finally hold utilities accountable, while addressing the climate crisis, creating thousands of equitable clean energy jobs, and lowering electric bills all at the same time.
The Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) is the only energy bill that installs an independent monitor in the headquarters of ComEd and Ameren. CEJA also refunds customers for ComEd’s violations and creates a new Accountability Division at the Illinois Commerce Commission to protect residents against future offenses. You can read the full list of CEJA’s accountability measures here.
As we get closer to May 31st, profit-hungry utilities are getting more aggressive. Missouri-based Ameren spent more than $40,000 on Facebook ads alone in just the last few weeks as they try to pass a bill that would drastically increase electric formula rates and expand them to gas customers.
We have just five weeks left to pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act. Let’s get it done.
Central and southern Illinoisans told lawmakers Monday they’re concerned about transparency and fairness as Democrats aim to redraw legislative and congressional maps in the state.
Democrats invited the public to share their thoughts on redistricting at two dozen hearings statewide, including one Monday evening in East St. Louis.
Stanley Franklin, president of the NAACP’s East St. Louis chapter, said he is concerned about racial gerrymandering suppressing Black voters. He asked for a comment period before lawmakers vote on a map so the public could have a chance to weigh in.
Democrats, who control redistricting, must approve a map by June 30 per the state constitution. But 2020 was not a traditional year, and the COVID-19 pandemic will delay United States Census Bureau data by months. Complete data won’t be available until the end of August at the earliest.
It means that the maps could be drawn without the benefit of a full census. […]
[Republican] legislation (SB1325) would empower the Illinois Supreme Court to appoint a 16-member commission composed of seven Democrats, seven Republicans and two independents.
During the hearing Monday night, Sen. Christopher Belt (D-Belleville) reminded lawmakers that the Illinois constitution doesn’t require census data for redistricting. The state won’t receive that critical data until the middle of August or early September. He stressed the General Assembly must have new maps completed by June 30.
“This means we cannot put off this process until census data is released as some have argued we should,” Belt explained. “If the General Assembly misses the June 30 deadline, mapmaking will be turned over to a commission of political insiders. The public would be cut out of the process entirely. This is not an independent commission as some have wrongly claimed. It is a commission of political appointees named by legislative leaders.”
Belt argued moving to that process is a “disservice” to the people of Illinois. Sen. Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) later called the Republican proposal a false choice.
“Republicans know that this bill is nothing but a smokescreen. A bill cannot trump the constitution. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about that. A bill cannot trump the constitution,” Crowe said. “We have a June 30 deadline to draw a map. If we fail to meet that deadline, we – Democrats and Republicans – have failed.”
* This all reminded me of a 2001 quip by the late Sen. Vince Demuzio (D-Carlinville) highlighted by John Oliver’s show a few years ago. The Democrats had won the lottery which gave them the right to draw the new map after the Senate spent 10 years under Republican rule. So, Vince was naturally a bit exhuberant at the time…
State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) released the following statement after a Minnesota jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of the 2020 murder of George Floyd:
“Today, a jury decided that Derek Chauvin will be locked up and will face justice for murdering George Floyd, but we are still a long way from delivering George and his family the justice they truly deserve.
“True justice would be creating a society where police don’t murder unarmed Black people.
“True justice would be ensuring people like George Floyd receive the support they need.
“True justice would be improving the lives of people like George Floyd by investing in and enriching their communities.
“We must recognize that real police accountability goes much beyond throwing officers in prison after they commit a murder.
“Until we can achieve a society where everyone is given the opportunity to fulfil their best lives, we must continue to fight for real safety and justice for all. Public safety must belong to us, the people.”
* Deputy Governor Mitchell…
The relief we all feel, the raw emotion, the weeping… it points toward the true shame of our system. That with 9 minutes of clear video, so many of us feared that Chauvin might escape justice. Good day. But we’ve got so much work to do. #DerekChauvinTrial
We should not have to be celebrating a guilty verdict in this case, because George Floyd should be alive. Justice isn’t Chauvin going to jail. Justice is George Floyd walking among us. More work to do.
“No courtroom can ever replace a life, but it can and should deliver justice. Today, the jury in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial honored that truth.
“My heart goes out to the family of George Floyd, who deserve to have him alive today. I’m also thinking of all our Black communities and other communities of color who see their children or their parents or themselves in George Floyd, and Daunte Wright, and Adam Toledo, and Breonna Taylor, and Laquan McDonald.
“This verdict marks an important milestone on the journey to justice, but the fullest measure of progress is how we deliver accountability, safety and meaningful change.
“In Illinois, we are addressing law enforcement reform, criminal justice reform, economic opportunity, educational equity and health care.
“We can and must make progress every day until we have a state and a nation and a justice system that truly serve everyone. And as long as there’s more work to be done, that’s what we’ll do.”
* Sen. Van Pelt…
Last summer, the entire world was horrified by a murder that lasted eight minutes and 46 seconds. Though a trial was not necessary to prove what we all saw with our eyes, I am satisfied that this time, the criminal justice system worked: https://t.co/DGTWgy9wJ7pic.twitter.com/TXQ5rILbju
Today, after 11 months, we have finally received a verdict that suggests we may have some common sense of justice. While it’s important to have faith in the future of our own humanity, it should not have taken George Floyd losing his life, Gianna Floyd losing her father, for our hearts and minds to change. Nonetheless, we are here, and Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of murder by a jury of his peers. There’s nothing to celebrate, though, as a system that allows this to happen still prevails. This year our legislature passed historic police reform, and we will continue to build on that. Simply put, our work here continues and we’re going to make sure our policies in Illinois value Black lives.
* Mayor Lori Lightfoot..
In May of 2020, I saw the harrowing footage of George Floyd’s life being extinguished beneath Derek Chauvin’s knee, and I cried. I said then and I say now, being Black in America cannot be a death sentence. I join my fellow Chicagoans, Americans, and human beings across the world as justice is being served in Minneapolis today. A jury of his peers listened to the evidence presented by both sides and came to the only reasonable verdict based on the overwhelming evidence presented by the Prosecution. I want to commend the jury, the prosecution and the people of Minnesota for their invaluable work to hold Mr. Chauvin accountable for his crimes. George Floyd’s death sparked a pivotal movement for Americans fighting to end systematic racism. Today marks a moment where future generations can look back and see that we as a nation came together and rightfully demanded justice and accountability. And justice was served. Let us pray that the Lord continues to watch over George Floyd’s family and loved ones. Pray for peace as we continue on our journey towards a more just and equitable world.
* SEIU Local 1 president Tom Balanoff…
“We are heartened to see the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial deliver a guilty verdict, but there is still more work to be done.
“Convicting Jason Van Dyke didn’t prevent an officer from killing Adam Toledo, and convicting Derek Chauvin today is bare-minimum accountability. Taking one bad officer off the streets still leaves in place a system that brutalizes Black and Brown people with impunity. George Floyd should still be alive today.
“SEIU Local 1 members across the Midwest will continue to fight to reimagine public safety and break down an unfair justice system that provides anything but. In this moment, we hope this verdict brings some measure of comfort to George Floyd’s loved ones.”
* US Rep. Bobby Rush…
“Today’s verdict — guilty on all three counts — is an important first acknowledgment of illegal police conduct. It holds one unlawful policeman accountable for murder. However, police accountability is not synonymous with justice.
“We still have a long way to go to ensure that every American has a guaranteed right to equal justice under the law — if America is indeed a nation built on equal justice under the law.
“Bottom feeding to populate our police forces in this nation must come to a screeching halt. Our police forces must be highly professional, highly educated, highly trained, and highly paid personnel who adhere to the highest standards of public safety and public protection.”
* Anti-Defamation League…
“The jury’s decision to hold Derek Chauvin accountable for the murder of George Floyd is a critically necessary first step in securing #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd.
And yet, no guilty verdict can change the fact that George Floyd — and Breonna Taylor, Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo, and too many others — should be alive today. Our country’s policing and criminal legal systems have targeted and devalued Black, brown, and Indigenous lives for centuries. The issue is much bigger than one traffic stop, one no-knock raid, one police shooting, one department, or one city. It is long past time for our country to tackle systemic racism, reimagine what public safety looks like, and create transformational change to ensure justice and fair treatment for all people. Black Lives Matter, and our society’s laws, practices, and institutions must reflect that.”
* Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago)…
“With today’s verdict, Derek Chauvin has been held accountable for the murder of George Floyd. At a basic minimum, this is what we need, and I am relieved to see the verdict. But we must ask ourselves now what justice will look like for George Floyd.
“Justice is broad and systemic, and this verdict tells us that the system must change from the ground up. George Floyd was executed on camera in a matter of minutes. His daughter will never see him again. Derek Chauvin has had many months and more of due process, all while communities across the country anxiously awaited this decision, not at all confident that Chauvin would face consequences even in light of the fact that his crime was caught on film.
“That this was in doubt, that we feel relieved that there will be consequences, speaks to how much the system needs changing. Chauvin is one officer whose misconduct will be punished. This must cease to be the exception, or more Black lives will be routinely taken from us.”
* AG Kwame Raoul…
“Today justice was served, and I hope this verdict brings some measure of peace to the family and friends of George Floyd, and allows them to begin recovering not just from Floyd’s tragic death but also from the trauma of the trial. I am also hopeful that this verdict will begin the healing our country needs.
“I would like to congratulate my colleague, Keith Ellison, on a well-conducted prosecution. It should be noted that the successful prosecution was obtained with testimony of fellow officers within the Minneapolis Police Department who refused to sign off on an illegal and unconscionable use of force. Let that be a new standard.
“While George Floyd was not the first unarmed Black man to die at the hands of police, his death galvanized Americans in a historic way. The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people to remain at home with little else to distract from the horror of the video depicting George Floyd’s cries for his mother as he struggled to breathe. As a result, streets throughout the country filled with people demanding change to the status quo.
“Today’s verdict must not mark an end to a struggle toward eliminating the systemic problems that have tolerated police misconduct. It would be a mistake to take the ‘bad-apple’ approach to evaluating the impact of this case. I, for my part, am committed to utilizing the tools and resources of my office toward confronting the systemic problems that have tolerated unconstitutional policing in departments throughout the country. I will also continue to partner with community leaders, advocates and law enforcement agencies to enact policies that facilitate preventing future tragedies.”
* House Republican Leader Jim Durkin…
“While today’s verdict won’t bring back the life of George Floyd, it delivers a powerful statement that no one is above the law. Derek Chauvin is now a convicted murderer, and bad actors like him have no place in law enforcement.”
* US Rep. Casten…
“For Americans who watched for the 9 minutes and 29 seconds as George Floyd was murdered, this trial wasn’t so much a question of guilt as it was a test of the American justice system. Today, our justice system prevailed, but in so many instances, it continues to fail Black and brown Americans.
“While I hope that today’s verdict paves the way for increased accountability for police brutality, it is also my hope that it doesn’t dissuade us from reckoning with the reality facing Black and Brown Americans or the long way we have left to go. Massive disparities in policing and incarceration, health care, housing, access to clean air and drinking water, and voting rights continue today and every day.
“In the wise words of John Lewis, ‘A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few. Ignoring these cries and failing to respond to this movement is simply not an option — for peace cannot exist where justice is not served.’”
* Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle…
I want to first extend my condolences to the family of George Floyd who have had to relive painful memories during the trial.
While the guilty verdict does not bring George Floyd back, today reminds the Black and Brown people of America that sometimes, with monumental effort on behalf of the people, a verdict reflecting the true meaning of justice can be returned.
The fact that for many, today’s guilty verdict was in question, tells us we still have a long way to go in bringing accountability to policing.
Still, today’s verdict is a step in the necessary direction of reforming the systems that have entrenched racism into the police departments of this country: the codes of silence, the inadequate disciplinary systems, the bloated budgets, and the fearmongering rhetoric whenever police departments come under scrutiny.
I envision a society where policing has a place alongside a variety of other services in responding to urgent situations and hope that the bad acts of a few officers do not define the many other officers who protect and serve with honor.
But, even in the best of situations, long term improvements in public safety will not be brought about by police departments.
To prevent crime, we must address the inequities in our society; we must continue to increase our investments in the communities most affected by both crime and policing; and we must repair the harm of decades of redlining, restrictive covenants, mass incarceration, and disinvestment.
* SEIU Healthcare Illinois President Greg Kelley…
“As a union of mothers and fathers, of hard-working women and men who give their all to protect and provide for their children, we are now breathing a sigh of relief that the jurors in the Derek Chauvin trial have delivered the most just verdict within their power.
“But we are all too aware that the verdict will not bring George Floyd back and will not protect more of our children from the same fate.
“It’s no surprise that it was a multi-racial jury that delivered this verdict—it took a multi-racial coalition to ensure that a trial was even held. And it will take an even larger multi-racial coalition powered by anger, grief and ultimately our collective love for our children to bring about the deep systemic change needed to prevent the future repetition of the all-too-familiar pattern of murder followed by denial and injustice.
“Today is a day for breathing a little more deeply and feeling the full weight of this moment—deep grief only partly relieved by this rare just verdict.
“And in the days to follow, we will again add our voices and our efforts to the growing coalition working to rethink the role of police and to reimagine public safety in this country.
“Together we have the power to bring about a world where all of us have what we need to thrive, no exceptions. Our members have long been committed to dismantling structural racism and today we recommit to doing so in the memory of George Floyd.”
* Senate GOP Leader McConchie…
“Nearly a year ago, the world watched in horror as George Floyd begged for air while being murdered by Derek Chauvin,” said Illinois Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods). “Today, we watched a jury of Chauvin’s peers declare him guilty on all counts. Nothing will return George Floyd to his family, but today’s verdict is justice under our judicial system.
“George Floyd’s life and death will forever affect the trajectory of race discussions in the United States. His trial ignited strong emotions of pain and mistrust throughout the country. I pray that the public’s reaction here in Illinois is one that remembers George Floyd’s life and death by pursuing peaceful progress for all those who are hurting in America.”
* Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart…
His name was George Perry Floyd, Jr., and he was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020.
A jury has returned its verdict and confirmed what we have all known about those nine horrifying minutes. Through this verdict, our legal system has kept this case on the road toward justice. The sentence in this case will further reveal whether real reform is within reach.
Eleven months ago, our nation and our legal system started a journey to this historic verdict. We have grieved, marched, listened, learned, shouted, cried, voted, and waited. We have waited for this day not because we were unsure of the truth, but because we were unsure of a system that for too long has ignored its own structural flaws and refused to hold accountable those who have caused the deaths of black and brown Americans.
As criminal justice reform surged forward, as new groups and younger people joined the political process, and as our communities reverberated with intense debate and calls to action, we may have felt a renewed sense of hope about our ability to effect change.
Sadly, the recent deaths of Adam Toledo and Daunte Wright have shown us that there is so much more work to do – more accountability, more investment in communities, more listening. This verdict does not solve all of our system’s problems, nor does it change our nation’s history, but it gives us hope.
The jury listened to the evidence, and its verdict speaks the truth that this was murder. It is time for us to carry that truth with us, in honor of Mr. Floyd, as we go forward in this work toward justice for all.
* US Sen. Durbin…
“The image of Derek Chauvin staring straight into the camera as George Floyd died under his knee haunts me to this day. The injustice of his killing is undeniable. And so is the fact that systemic racism continues to plague America.
“The verdict of this jury gives me hope that we can strive for a system of justice in our nation that is applied equally to all.
“As Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I have the forum and the means to help move our nation nearer to that goal. To that end, the Committee will hold a hearing next month on police reform.
“I know today’s ruling provides only a small measure of comfort to the Floyd family. His loss will be forever felt. We will honor George Floyd’s memory by continuing the fight for racial justice.”
* Senate President Don Harmon…
George Floyd’s murder reignited the fight for justice across this country in the never-ending hope that someday justice might be found.
This verdict will not undo the tragedy and suffering.
But it should serve as a historic marker in our ongoing work to build a just and equal society.
* U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth…
“Last year, the world watched in horror as Derek Chauvin put his knee on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as he cried ‘I can’t breathe’ and called out for his mother while the life drained from his body. George Floyd was murdered at the hands of a police officer who betrayed his oath to protect and serve.
“While today’s ruling won’t bring George Floyd back, it brings his family—and the entire community—closer to some semblance of justice, sends a message that our nation cannot ignore police violence and reminds us all that accountability is still possible.
“Though today’s verdict is a just result, it is only a beginning. Our work is not complete. In order to make justice the norm rather than the exception and truly bring us closer to achieving equal protection under the law for everyone, Congress must pass the comprehensive George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement and begin to rebuild trust between law enforcement and our communities.”
* Lt. Gov. Stratton…
This verdict is our Selma moment. In Selma, men and women marched to demand that Black people be seen and treated with the same respect and dignity as others, that our humanity be recognized in this country. Now, in Minneapolis, a diverse jury of men and women with various lived experiences have handed down a guilty verdict that tells this nation, and the world, that the humanity of Black people matters. Finally, this is what accountability looks like. But make no mistake, George Floyd should be alive today and the system still needs to change.
As many cheer this guilty verdict, this act of justice for George Floyd, let us not forget others for whom no justice or police accountability was found: Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Tamir Rice, and so many others. We will still speak their names along with George Floyd as we work to bridge our differences, fix our problems, and search for a more perfect union in this country.
God bless the Floyd family, including his daughter, Gianna, who will grow up without her father. May we spend our days working to ensure that no other person or family will have to go through this again.
* Rep. Justin Slaughter…
Today we’re reminded of the importance of the ongoing discussions surrounding police reform in this country, and here in Illinois. While justice prevailed today, we must not forget the systemic disparities that have plagued our communities of color for decades. When our General Assembly passed the historic police reform package in January, we made a commitment to form a task force that would continue these conversations deliberately and inclusively. The goal of the Task Force on Constitutional Rights and Remedies is to produce a report that clearly outlines how we better hold police accountable, and allow all stakeholders to operate from the same set of facts. We remain committed to moving these discussions forward, not only with the legislature but with communities across the state.
* IEA President Kathi Griffin…
“Everyone wants to be safe in their community – no matter where they live, no matter the color of their skin. The jury’s verdict today helps remind us that no one should be above the law, even if they are the law. Derek Chauvin was hired to serve and protect his community. Instead, he took the life of George Floyd over the alleged passing of a fake $20 bill, in broad daylight, on a Minneapolis street, ignoring onlookers who were warning Chauvin he was killing Floyd.
As Chauvin’s co-workers and supervisors testified at the trial, he violated the department’s Use of Force policies. Their testimony indicated they believed Chauvin’s actions showed he lacked a moral compass.
There has been a long list of crimes committed against Black and Brown people by police over the years. Now, more are being caught on camera. As a result, justice is more likely to be served.
The Illinois Education Association, wherein part of our mission is “to effect excellence and equity in public education” is asking people to ask their Senators to support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which calls for common sense police reforms, including:
• Requiring the use of dashboard and body cameras;
• Mandatory de-escalation training;
• The end of racial and religious profiling;
• The end of no-knock warrants;
• And, the prohibition of potentially fatal measures that block blood flow to the brain (like that which killed George Floyd).
It is our responsibility to look out for the safety of our students — all our students. And, we believe changes such as these will help.”
* Comptroller Mendoza…
I want to commend and thank the prosecutors and the jury for delivering justice with today’s guilty verdict. To all who gave their testimony, including the individuals who taped the last fateful 8 minutes and 46 seconds of George Floyd’s life and the police officers who had the courage to testify against another policeman, thank you. Today, we can be thankful that justice was served, but we must recognize this is just the beginning as we strive for a fairer justice system that treats everyone equally.
* Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago)…
“Today’s verdict is a consequence, an action to hold one police officer accountable. We can be thankful for the dedication and bravery of those who brought the truth of this incident to light and the decency and courage of a diverse jury. Yet, I hesitate to call today’s verdict justice.
“True justice would have been for George Floyd to walk away from his encounter with Derek Chauvin with his life. I am hopeful that this is the beginning of the broader change we must make for a criminal justice system that actually delivers justice, and a police presence that truly serves and protects all Americans.”
* HBC…
Illinois House Legislative Black Caucus Statement on Derek Chauvin Trial Verdict. pic.twitter.com/BJNpPiInOV
#twill Please sign the petition so we can show Governor Pritzker that parents in this state reject Critical Race Theory as a corrosive and divisive worldview that should not be taught to our children >> https://t.co/NpRxQbcpzp
“I applaud the jury for serving justice and providing accountability for the murder of George Floyd. This is an essential first step in the right direction, but we must remember that one verdict does not erase the generations of pain and trauma caused by a system of policing that’s been broken by centuries of systemic racism and that enables and perpetuates the terrorization of people of color.
“Americans of all backgrounds are demanding action to increase transparency in law enforcement and hold abusive police officers accountable for their actions. I’m proud to continue to stand with those calling for an end to racial injustice and systemic racial discrimination – that’s why I cosponsored and voted for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and why I will continue to urge the Senate to pass it.
“Justice and accountability should be the norm in America, not the exception.”
“Justice would be George Floyd being alive and present in the lives of those who loved him.
“Accountability is what was served to Derek Chauvin.
“As we waited with bated breath on behalf of a man who cried out that he couldn’t breathe, today is a small measure toward healing. His murder has forced us as a nation to reckon with its racist legacy, that permeates all institutions — particularly the criminal justice system.
“May this moment be the inflection point to demanding and delivering justice and accountability to all of our communities.
“May we actualize in truth and policy that Black Lives Matter.”
Illinois’ COVID-19 infection rate hit its lowest point in two weeks Tuesday, boosting optimism that the state is tamping down its latest viral resurgence. […]
The positivity rate hit an all-time low of 2.1% in mid-March but shot up to 4.4% within a month, throwing off Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan and prompting officials to sound the alarm on a potential third wave of COVID-19 sweeping Illinois just as a historic vaccination effort gained steam.
The numbers have now trended in the right direction for eight straight days, including in Chicago, where the regional positivity rate has inched down to 5.5% after more than a month of troubling increases.
“Things are looking up a little bit,” city Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said during an online Q+A. “Just over the last three to four days, we’ve seen stabilization or just a little decline. … That’s exactly what we want to see.”
“In order to reopen, our plan requires Illinois to meet several metrics precisely because of the current situation: despite vaccinations increasing, too many have lowered their guard and we are closely monitoring our trajectory,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement. […]
Tuesday was the first day since Pritzker announced his reopening plan that the trend line of daily cases showed “no significant change” rather “increasing,” according to the Department of Public Health.
“We are cautiously optimistic that the day-to-day growth in cases and hospitalizations seems to be slowing in recent days,” Abudayyeh added.
Hospitalizations remain troublesome. As of Monday night, 2,288 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 522 patients in intensive care units and 223 patients on ventilators. The seven-day average of total hospitalizations is 2,126, the highest since an average of 2,156 was recorded Feb. 10.
Test positivity, COVID hospitalizations and deaths among Black Chicagoans remain high while vaccination rates among Black adults are half the city’s average, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at an event celebrating the mass vaccination site at Chicago State University on the city’s Southeast Side. The mayor called it a “disturbing trend,” and said in some places, only 12 or 15 percent of Black adults had received a shot.
“Black Chicagoans are once again getting sicker, requiring hospital care and dying more than any other demographic in our city,” she said, and while “we understand the trepidation, the fears and concerns… we need to send out the alarm, make sure Black South Siders understand you must get the vaccine, it is safe.”
The current test positivity for Black Chicagoans is 8.2 percent, according to the city’s COVID dashboard. For Latino Chicagoans it’s 9.4 percent, and for white Chicagoans it’s 4.5 percent. The city’s current average test positivity is 5.5 percent, down from 5.7 percent a week ago.
Effingham County Board Chairman Jim Niemann Monday said, “it is a nightmare”.
“It” is the status of the Census and the inability of counties to comply with the law as far as redistricting.
Niemann told other board members “I’m supposed to be giving the Board a plan, but no Census data is available.” […]
The redistricting involves making sure the nine County Board districts have approximately the same population. All of the work is to be completed and in place in advance of the Fall 2022 election, when all nine Board seats are up for grabs. There is some sentiment for delaying the election to allow more time to get redistricting completed, which Governor J.B. Pritzker could do by executive order, but Niemann said Pritzker stated that he is getting away from issuing executive orders.
The governor, of course, cannot delay an election by executive order.
* The Question: If you were king of Illinois for a day, what orders would you issue?
* It might be helpful if the board would tell Illinoisans if this had anything to do with his job or whether it was on his own time…
This comes a little over two weeks after that board placed him on administrative leave after he reported being the victim of an online extortion attempt.
Illinois State Board of Elections Executive Director Steve Sandvoss has informed the board that he intends to retire effective June 30.
“We thank Steve for his service to the agency over more than three decades,” said Chair Charles Scholz.
Sandvoss, 55, joined the State Board of Elections in 1988, served as its general counsel from 2004 to 2015 and was named executive director in 2015. He has been on administrative leave since April 5. Acting Executive Director Bernadette Matthews has led the Board of Elections in the interim and will continue as head of the agency until a permanent director is named.
Director Sandvoss’ administrative leave was related to a personal online extortion attempt against him that he reported to the Illinois State Police. In response to these events, the board immediately ordered an internal investigation by its chief information security officer. The investigation revealed that no SBE data or systems had been compromised in the incident.
The State Board of Elections is an independent state agency charged with the responsibility of having general supervision over the administration of election laws of the State of Illinois. Elections are administered locally by the State’s 108 election authorities.
In a letter to Senate President Don Harmon, House Speaker Chris Welch and leaders of the Latino and Black caucuses, groups including the Chicago Urban League and Latino Policy Forum stop short of endorsing a bill proposed by Lightfoot to elect only a few members of the board, allowing the mayor to continue to appoint most.
But the letters emphasize the importance of certain clauses that are in Lightfoot’s bill, but not the CTU’s. Included are steps to help undocumented immigrants have a voice, limits on campaign contributions and a requirement that any candidate have prior service on a Local School Council.
The net effect may be to boost chances of a compromise and slow momentum of the CTU’s bill, which easily passed the House last week and could come up for a vote in the Senate as soon as later this week, according to its Senate sponsor, Sen. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago. […]
“What we’re trying to do is slow down the process,” [Latino Policy Forum President Sylvia Puente], who said she did discuss the letter with Lightfoot’s office before sending it.
One quick thing. The House bill is different than the Senate bill. The House bill, which passed the full chamber last week, would sunset the entire law after five years. I asked why there’s a sunset provision in the House bill last week and have yet to hear back.
* You can read the entire letter here. Signatories…
Tom Vanden Berk, CEO, UCAN
Karina Ayala-Bermejo, President & CEO, Instituto del Progreso Latino
Tasha Green Cruzat, Executive Director, Voices for Illinois Children
Ricardo Estrada, President & CEO, Metropolitan Family Services
Jim Hayes, President & CEO, YMCA Metropolitan Chicago
Dorri McWhorter, CEO, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago
Rev. James T. Meeks, Founder & Sr. Pastor, Salem Baptist Church
Sylvia Puente, President & CEO, Latino Policy Forum
Raul I. Raymundo, CEO, The Resurrection Project
Audra Wilson, President & CEO, Shriver Center for Poverty Law
Karen Freeman-Wilson, President & CEO, Chicago Urban League
* For context, Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago) issued this press release shortly after the House passed her bill…
“HB 2908 creates an elected and representative school board for CPS, putting the district in line with every other public school district in the state which gets to elect school board members. Chicago parents deserve to have a say in who represents them and their children’s interests, on the city’s school board,” Ramirez said.
“School boards are a critical part of our education system and should be transparent and open to public input. For too long, CPS parents have not had a voice in the process as mayoral-appointed school boards unilaterally closed schools, increased classroom sizes, and eliminated vital related services that destabilized communities. Educators and parents have been working towards this policy parity for years now. The data shows that the overwhelming majority of our families favor an elected school board and the democratic thing to do is make that happen.”
The bill now goes to the Illinois Senate for further deliberation between legislators and local stakeholders. Rep. Ramirez urges swift passage so that the families and children served by CPS can finally have a fair say in how their schools are run.
The global pandemic and economic crisis have taken the heaviest toll on communities of color, especially Black Americans and Latinos on Chicago’s South Side and in the southern suburbs.
Together, the pandemic and economic downturn have widened the inequality gap in Illinois, one that Gov. J.B. Pritzker has vowed time and time again to close.
But the governor has a great opportunity to do something about that — and to keep those promises. He could get behind a stalled development project in Joliet that would create 10,000 permanent jobs, most of them in my congressional district, providing an average salary of $42,000. That would be a living wage, not just a minimum wage.
The project is ready to break ground and put Illinois folks to work within a matter of weeks. The governor just has to give the word.
Critics say the notion that Pritzker could snap his fingers and order IDOT to approve the bridge is a gross distortion and oversimplification of the issue. Three lawsuits are pending in Will County courts over Joliet’s annexation of land and support for the project.
Opponents include the villages of Elwood and Manhattan; local townships and school districts; Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts; Openlands, the Sierra Club and other environmentalists concerned about the project’s impact on Midewin; and numerous neighborhood groups in Joliet.
* From Jordan Abudayyeh at the governor’s office…
The North Point development is a complicated transaction that would require sign off from multiple municipalities, the people who live in these communities and their representatives in the General Assembly. Gov. Pritzker prioritizes economic development in every region of this state and is pleased to see many communities engaged on moving forward with this project. The administration would encourage the corporation to engage the other municipalities before asking the state to step in and take drastic measures to seize land for this effort.
…Adding… From Northpoint…
• NorthPoint is located in Joliet – there is no requirement or need for other municipalities to sign off.
• NorthPoint has engaged every local public official whose district is near the project. Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Cong. Rush, Cong. Kinzinger, Cong. Kelly support the project.
• The only officials who refuse to meet live in Elwood.
• No land would be seized. The City of Joliet and NorthPoint are asking that the State extend authority of an industrial, public roadway that it took over in 2015.
• This would keep truck traffic off local roads, reduce truck congestion on I-80 and I-55, and would create more than 10,000 permanent Illinois jobs and 1,600 PLA-protected union jobs – even after construction.
• In addition, NorthPoint is working to secure favorable MBE/WBE agreements and opportunities outside of what is required for the project and offering a variety of community benefits, including: a $5 million contribution to a Joliet community fund before construction begins; an on-site workforce training center; a second-chance program for released offenders; programs to combat food deserts in underserved areas; and ongoing traffic studies to prevent future traffic issues.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,587 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 9 additional deaths.
- Champaign County: 1 male 50s
- Cook County: 1 female 40s, 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 male 80s
- Madison County: 1 male 60s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 80s
- Tazewell County: 1 female 70s
- Will County: 1 female 60s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,306,787 cases, including 21,694 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 62,406 specimens for a total of 21,839,226. As of last night, 2,288 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 522 patients were in the ICU and 223 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from April 13-19, 2021 is 3.8%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 13-19, 2021 is 4.5%.
The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses for Illinois is 10,162,155. A total of 8,201,830 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 122,531 doses. Yesterday, 81,963 doses were reported administered in Illinois. However, data from Walgreens on the number of doses administered yesterday is not included due to a technical issue and will be added in tomorrow’s total.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
ICU admissions have not been this high since January 29th. Deaths are a lagging indicator.
Tuesday, Apr 20, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
A coalition of 35 diverse organizations has come together with a common goal: to modernize healthcare and empower patients. To achieve this goal, The Coalition to Protect Telehealth—which includes Illinois healthcare providers, professionals and patient advocates—is united behind patient-centered virtual care that’s high-quality, accessible and safe.
The pandemic brought the coalition together, as it brought the need for telehealth to the forefront. Coalition members include:
• AARP Illinois;
• American Academy of Pediatrics, Illinois Chapter;
• American Nurses Association, Illinois;
• Community Behavioral Healthcare Association;
• Heartland Alliance;
• Illinois Association for Behavioral Health;
• Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network;
• Illinois Primary Health Care Association;
• National Multiple Sclerosis Society; and
• The Kennedy Forum.
The Coalition to Protect Telehealth strongly supports House Bill 3498, which was introduced by State Rep. Deb Conroy and has 46 bipartisan co-sponsors. This bill advances health equity by allowing patients to be treated via telehealth in their home, prohibiting geographic or facility restrictions on telehealth services, and reimbursing telehealth services at the same rate as in-person care.
Tuesday, Apr 20, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Employers in Illinois provide prescription drug coverage for nearly 6.7 million Illinoisans. In order to help keep care more affordable, employers work with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who deploy a variety of tools to reduce prescription drug costs and help improve health outcomes. In addition to helping employers, PBMs also work with the Illinois Medicaid program in the same way to help control costs. Over the last five years, PBMs have saved the state and taxpayers nearly $340 million.
Today, Illinois faces a multibillion budget shortfall as more Illinoisans are relying on Medicaid to help meet their health care coverage needs. As legislators work to address these challenges, one way to help ensure continued cost savings is by strengthening the PBM tools that the State and employers use, which are poised to save employers, consumers and the State $39 billion over the next 10 years. These are meaningful savings that will help continue to contain costs, ensure consumer access to medicines and drive savings in public health programs.
Amid a pandemic and economic challenges, now is the time to strengthen, not limit, the tools that employers, consumers and the State rely on to manage costs and ensure consumers can access the medicines they need.
The Chicago-based Franklin News Foundation, sometimes characterized as ideological by its critics, oversees the Illinois Radio Network and The Center Square reporting service. Both entities act as traditional news outlets, a status that puts them on equal footing with more established news outlets like The Chicago Tribune.
* Rent control advocates have come up with new proposal…
A coalition of affordable housing advocates that is pushing to repeal a law banning rent-control measures by Illinois local governments is moving forward with a new bill that would give local jurisdictions the right to lift the ban by passing a binding referendum. If passed, local governments could then debate and potentially enact rent-control measures for their communities. Rep. Lakesia Collins, architect of the new bill, stated, “People who are impacted the most should have some say so on how best to solve their housing problems. HB116 will give constituents the right to decide if rent control is a good solution to help stabilize their community. Let’s let democracy decide.”
The statewide Lift the Ban Coalition of Black and Latinx community organizations, unions and mobile-home associations is holding a news conference Tuesday morning regarding HB116, the Democracy in Rental Housing Act, which would amend the 1997 law that bans rent control. This week, Rep. Will Guzzardi (39th) chief sponsor of HB116, submitted the AMENDED bill allowing local governments to opt out of the ban by passing a binding referendum.
“Throughout this fight, we’ve said that communities should have the autonomy to decide if and how to keep rent increases in check,” Guzzardi said. “This amendment goes even further, allowing voters to decide whether or not to lift the ban. It’s a reasonable measure, and I’m eager to get it passed.”
* Rep. Sonia Harper said during last week’s debate on this bill that the township supervisor, whom she knows, opposed it. What Rep. Harper didn’t mention was that this issue was part of the reason the supervisor lost her reelection bid…
Legislation to bring natural gas to Pembroke Township and Hopkins Park is moving on to the Illinois Senate.
HB 3404, which is sponsored by State Rep. Jackie Haas, R-Kankakee, was approved 88-14 Thursday with a bipartisan vote. […]
Pembroke Township Supervisor-elect Sam Payton said ensuring the pipeline becomes a reality was one reason he ran against current supervisor Brenda Miles.
“I can see the bill [passing] and see the future of Pembroke, the Nestlé plant and the jobs it will bring,” Payton said. “I’m excited.”
* Via Politico, here’s a draft version of the cannabis cleanup bill. Some changes are expected…
1. Creates a new Qualifying Applicant lottery of 110 licenses to be conducted for current social equity applicants. The lottery is only open to applicants that scored over 85% of available points. The definiFon of social equity for purposes of this lottery applies to applicants that have lived in a disproportionally impacted area for 5 of the past 10 years OR have been convicted of a cannabis offense eligible for expungement or have a close family member that has been convicted of a cannabis offense eligible for expungement. No applicant may be awarded more than 3 licenses in this lottery. This is in addition to the 75 dispensary licenses intended for Social Equity applicants provided for in the current law which has been delayed and takes the place of the 110 licenses set to be awarded in 2021 and must be conducted by December 21, 2021.
2. Allows for relocation of exising Early Approval Adult Use Dispensaries within the same zip code or within 1⁄2 mile of the existing dispensary 90 days after the issuance of the 185 social equity licenses
3. Creates a Social Equity Justice Involved Medical Lottery to issue 5 medical cannabis dispensary licenses to social equity applicants, defines social equity applicant as 51% owned and controlled by an individual who lives in a disproportionally impacted area for 5 of last 10 years OR who has been convicted of a cannabis offense eligible for expungement under the CRTA or a close family member has been convicted of a cannabis offense. This license would also allow the dispensary to hold an adult use license at the location of the medical dispensary and allows an additional adult use dispensary at a second site.
4. Allows medical cannabis patients to purchase cannabis at any medical cannabis dispensary instead of registering with a single dispensary
5. Allows cannabis business employees to begin working while waiting for the required background check needed for obtaining a cannabis business ID card
6. Clarifies that the Cannabis Regulation and Oversight Officer serves a coordinating role between the various cannabis regulatory agencies and adjusts the timing of the required disparity study until after each round of licenses are awarded
7. Removes requirement that IDFPR inspect location prior to receiving authorization to build out the location
8. Removes cap on the number of cannabis Community College programs, currently a cap of 8 programs
9. Matches FOIA requirements in Medical Cannabis Act with the CRTA to allow for more transparency on the ownership of license holders. Adds disclosure requirements to the sections governing each cannabis business license type.
*** UPDATE *** The amendment has surfaced. Click here.
* The House’s Third Reading deadline is Friday, so a bill introduced on Monday is probably gonna have to be grafted onto an existing piece of legislation. But it did get a press pop…
A state lawmaker who represents the city’s West Side introduced legislation Monday that would require all police officers in Illinois to be schooled on the intersection of law, race and racism in the hopes of teaching officers “the culture and the lifestyles of different communities and people.”
“If we want to change the behavior of police, we have to educate them,” state Rep. La Shawn Ford said.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, has introduced House Bill 1872, which would repeal a law that prohibits people in prison from voting.
John Jackson, visiting professor at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, said this bill is part of a shift away from the strict mentality concerning law and order that started in the 1970s.
One way to look at the situation is to measure the average number of doses on hand each day, compared to the average daily number of residents getting vaccinated. That formula shows three regions — West-Central, Metro East and South — have enough doses to vaccinate their residents, at their current paces, for more than three weeks.
Near Chicago, inventory levels are far smaller. IDPH doesn’t track the city of Chicago’s inventory, but for the four regions that encompass the suburbs, supply levels have lingered at 10 days or less.
The shortest supply can be found in the region that combines Lake and McHenry counties, which had on hand a supply good for barely four days’ worth of vaccinations.
Mark Pfister, director of Lake County’s health department, told the Tribune last week that his Lake County department has no trouble still filling up all appointment slots at clinics it runs. It also cannot keep up with all of the physicians and pharmacists vying for the doses provided by IDPH.
10 days isn’t bad. Four days, however, is way too tight. As we’ve already discussed, the state has changed the way it’s distributing the vaccines to deal with these regional differences.
…Adding… The governor’s office says the Tribune story is based only on one sort of distriction, via local health departments. There are, of course, several other dose sources, including mass vaccination sites, the federal government (to pharmacies), state strike teams, etc.
For the Southern Seven Health Department, the average population for completely vaccinated adults is about 18.3%.
The average across Illinois is 25%.
“That shows you how much of a lag there is between the state average for fully vaccinated, and Southern Seven’s fully vaccinated average. And that is just because we don’t have people coming out to get vaccinated,” said Nathan Ryder, the Southern Seven Health Department outreach coordinator.
This trend is showing up not only in Southern Seven counties.
Jackson and Egyptian Health Departments have seen similar issues.
“They’re still seeing strong demand in larger cities and urban areas across the state. But just like many other places across the United States, rural populations are just not coming out to get vaccinated,” said Ryder.
Amidst the pause in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, there has been no change in Americans’ likelihood to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
* Currently, 20% say they are not at all likely to get the vaccine, as soon as it’s available to them. This number has remained steady since early January 2021.
* At the same time, the number of American adults that report receiving at least one dose of the vaccine continues to climb (now at 56%).
I hope you are all enjoying your snowy April Tuesday.
Beginning today, the Senate will now provide wristbands to lobbyists and media who have tested negative for COVID and are cleared for access to Senate offices, press boxes and TV galleries.
There will be a different color wristband each day.
You should pick up your wristband at the table at the north entrance of the Capitol building. You can show your negative COVID test there as well.
You will need to get a new wristband each day of session.
Thank you for your understanding. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
Liz Mitchell
Deputy Press Secretary
Senate President Don Harmon
“We’ve got to actually hold people accountable who are wreaking havoc in our streets. The fact that we have gone now 13 months and we don’t have criminal trials in Cook County” is shameful, the mayor said.
In fact, jury trials began March 22 at the Cook County courthouse at 26th and California and March 29 at the Bridgeview courthouse, court officials say. But there haven’t been many requests by defendants for jury trials this year, officials said. […]
Lightfoot also took aim at the widening practice in recent years of Cook County judges setting relatively low bails for people charged with felonies like gun crimes and having them await trial at home on electronic monitoring.
“We just charged somebody yesterday. Two brothers who murdered a person — 11 bullets into them, in front of witnesses,” Lightfoot said. “And at least one of them was out on another gun charge, on electronic monitoring. This isn’t working. We need to have trials and we need to put dangerous people behind bars so that the community is actually safe.”
Cook County’s 2017 bail reform required judges to set affordable bail for defendants they deemed could be released while awaiting trial without endangering the public. In 2019, Chief Cook County Judge Timothy Evans wrote an opinion piece in the Chicago Sun-Times in which he said, “99.8% of felony defendants released on bail don’t receive charges of new gun-related violent crime while their cases are pending.”
A proposal requiring the city to digitize and publish a database of closed complaints against police officers going back decades stalled in committee Friday over the objection of the city’s top watchdogs, who said the city is “out of runway” to earn the trust of residents on police reform.
The ordinance was sponsored by Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) in response to a lawsuit that found the city has illegally withheld documents on complaints against police officers in violation of the Freedom of Information Act.
Waguespack’s ordinance authorizes the city’s Office of the Inspector General to digitize and publish an online database of complaint reports going back to 1994, while automatically publishing some information of newly closed cases going forward.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she opposed the ordinance “as is” at an unrelated news conference Thursday, citing the “significant” expense and saying there’s already a “robust” amount of information previously made available through various lawsuits. […]
Deborah Witzburg, the deputy inspector general for Public Safety, told the joint committee on Finance and Public Safety Friday the database would require a first-year $709,500 investment and cost just less than $2 million over five years.
The city has paid out more than a half billion dollars in police misconduct settlements in the last 10 years.
Tuesday, Apr 20, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Bribery, corruption, and formula rates have decimated public trust in utility regulation.
Instead of passing another rate hike, let’s pass a comprehensive clean energy bill.
Illinois’ legislature has an opportunity to finally hold utilities accountable, while addressing the climate crisis, creating thousands of equitable clean energy jobs, and lowering electric bills all at the same time.
The Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) is the only energy bill that installs an independent monitor in the headquarters of ComEd and Ameren. CEJA also refunds customers for ComEd’s violations and creates a new Accountability Division at the Illinois Commerce Commission to protect residents against future offenses. You can read the full list of CEJA’s accountability measures here.
As we get closer to May 31st, profit-hungry utilities are getting more aggressive. Missouri-based Ameren spent more than $40,000 on Facebook ads alone in just the last few weeks as they try to pass a bill that would drastically increase electric formula rates and expand them to gas customers.
We have just five weeks left to pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act. Let’s get it done.
