* WTTW…
For the past eight months, members of the Save Bell Bowl Prairie coalition have been inundating Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office with emails, petitions, texts, tweets, phone calls and old-fashioned letters, pleading with the governor to broker a deal that would save a patch of ancient prairie from demolition by the Greater Rockford Airport Authority, which plans to rip up the prairie as part of a major expansion of the airfield’s cargo operation.
The deluge of messages has largely been met with silence, save for a brief off-the-cuff comment made by the governor at a press conference back in November. Then, two weeks ago, Pritzker’s reelection campaign dropped a 30-second TV ad called “Cargo Load.”
“Do you know what city has the fastest growing cargo airport in the world? Rockford, Illinois!” the ad boasts. “As governor, J.B. Pritzker made it happen.”
“My first reaction was, ‘What?’” said Kerry Leigh, executive director of the Natural Land Institute, the organization that for decades was entrusted with stewardship of Bell Bowl Prairie — a handful of acres of 8,000-year-old land tucked inside the airport’s nearly 3,000-acre expanse.
In the ad’s emphasis on job creation and the airport’s importance as an economic engine, Leigh distinctly heard echoes of the talking points the airport authority has used in its ongoing battle against the Save Bell Bowl coalition, by portraying the conservationists as anti-development and anti-commerce.
“What I got out of the commercial is (Pritzker’s) only listening to the airport,” said Robb Telfer, of Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves, a nonprofit that’s allied itself with Natural Land Institute in the fight for Bell Bowl.
The Pritzker ad is here.
* Response from Natalie Edelstein at the Pritzker campaign…
The governor’s new ad celebrating Rockford being home to the fastest growing cargo airport in the world does not indicate a shift in any previously held positions. Economic development and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive, and the governor has demonstrated a strong commitment to both. As he said in November, we can protect our environment, while also creating jobs.
…Adding… The governor was endorsed today by the NRDC Action Fund…
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Apr 13, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mark Maxwell…
The push to clean up a culture of corruption in Illinois could have the unintended short term consequence of flooding farm fields after all of the drainage experts in one local unit of government quit their jobs, leaving the office that monitors and manages flood risks vacant.
Larry Skinner, Dale Ewing, and Randy Mayhall informed the Douglas County Circuit Clerk’s office that they would rather step down from their unpaid government duties than submit to “intrusive” transparency laws.
The Newman Murdock Union Drainage District has a meager budget. It collects $10,579.80 in property taxes each year, and sets aside funds to upgrade or install new drainage tiles to prevent backed up water from flooding farm fields. […]
Skinner and Ewing both submitted letters of resignation, though county officials said Ewing was considering potentially rescinding his resignation and complying with the new ethics law. Mayhall verbally resigned, but had not yet submitted his letter in writing at the time of this report.
“All three of us have resigned because they’re asking us to list our wives, they’re involving our spouses, trying to get us to list things that we owe on or we buy together,” Skinner said. “It’s just stuff that’s totally nobody’s business.”
Skinner’s resignation letter noted it’s an unpaid position and he doesn’t personally handle any government funds. […]
Their resignations are the first reported cases of local officials who fulfill mundane tasks in unpaid government jobs who ditched their posts before a May 1st deadline to fill out the more stringent forms.
Skinner, a local farmer in Newman, Illinois, said he’d rather quit the job than reveal his personal financial information to the government.
“I prefer to resign,” he said in a March 17th letter. “The questions being asked by the Statement of Economic Interest and the potential liability it places on someone just trying to do what is right and helpful is just a problem I don’t need.”
In a March 4th letter to Governor Pritzker and legislative leaders, the Illinois Municipal League warned that hundreds more local officials were “considering resigning their positions” because the new disclosure law was “too intrusive and personal.”
* The requirements…
* I asked Alisa Kaplan at Reform for Illinois if she had any comments…
Hi Rich,
Overall we are in favor of more transparency and support the legislature’s moves in that direction. Some officials are not going to like it — that’s inevitable with just about any serious ethics reform. These forms are well in line with what other state legislatures require and are by no means the most detailed out there. And there are some ways in which the new forms require less information than the old forms, by raising the dollar thresholds that trigger reporting, for example.
If this truly becomes a problem, however, it might be worth revisiting the types of office-holders required to disclose certain kinds of information. We may need different information from a state legislator than from an unpaid local official, though we shouldn’t underplay the possibilities for corruption at any level of government.
Finally, there seems to be some confusion that needs to be cleared up about what is actually required in the new forms and how much of a departure it is from the old forms.
* The Question: Should ethics disclosures be loosened for unpaid local board members? Explain.
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Yet another post-session roundup
Wednesday, Apr 13, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Daily Herald…
Long-sought state funding for Kane County’s Longmeadow Parkway will help push the 5.6-mile corridor to completion. But it won’t eliminate the toll — yet.
State lawmakers included $17.5 million for the project in a marathon state budget session last weekend. After the bipartisan Longmeadow funding passed, some state lawmakers, such as state Rep. Suzanne Ness, issued statements saying the money “eliminated” the need for a toll on the parkway.
But the money in the state’s 2023 budget is only about half of what county officials sought to eliminate the toll.
The toll became a necessary to help fund the Longmeadow Parkway bridge over the Fox River when, unlike the Stearns Road bridge, not enough federal and state money came through to pay for the project at the northern border of Kane County. County officials sold bonds to pay for the construction and ongoing maintenance.
* Reform for Illinois…
We have some terrific news. Last week the Illinois legislature passed bills with two of Reform for Illinois’ top priorities: making voting more accessible for people with disabilities, and advancing a serious discussion about public campaign financing in Illinois.
Accessible Voting
We asked you to show your support for SB 829, a bill we’ve been fighting for with our partners Equip for Equality, Access Living, the Illinois Council of the Blind, and others. The bill takes an important step towards enabling Illinois voters with certain types of disabilities to cast a private ballot without assistance, a right many of us take for granted.
You contacted your representatives and submitted hundreds of witness slips, and we’re thrilled to report that SB 829 passed the legislature and is on its way to the governor’s desk! […]
Task Force on Public Financing of Judicial Campaigns
Reform for Illinois is a fervent advocate of public campaign financing as a way to fight corruption and diversify candidates and political donors. So we are pleased that the General Assembly passed a measure that, if signed by the governor, will establish a task force to explore public financing for judicial elections.
While we support public financing for many offices, the judiciary is a good place to start. Special interests and big donors shouldn’t be able to put their thumbs on the scales of justice. An optional public financing program would offer judicial candidates the opportunity to fund their campaigns without threatening their independence and impartiality.
HB 716 was sponsored by Senate President Don Harmon and Representative Jay Hoffman. Although we have expressed concerns about other provisions of the bill, we enthusiastically support the creation of the task force and look forward to its work.
* Gov. Pritzker…
Celebrating the passage of a FY23 budget that prioritizes responsible spending, Gov. JB Pritzker joined students, lawmakers, and advocates at Gately Park Indoor Track in Chicago to highlight programs designed to foster the success of young people throughout the state. […]
Under the state’s FY23 budget, new investments in youth programs will provide young people with opportunities to learn, work, and grow in a safe environment. These efforts include:
• Additional Early Childhood Education funding of $54.4M to cover services for an additional estimated 7,131 children
• Funding for $300M Strengthen and Grow Childcare grants while continuing investments in rate increases for childcare providers July 1, 2022, and December 1, 2022
• An extra $460M for K-12 schools and programs to provide quality classrooms, qualified and well-compensated educators, and the textbooks and supplies necessary for a good education
• $122M increase in need-based Monetary Assistance Program scholarships for college students to a total of $600M to help over 155,000 students receive awards while also increasing the maximum grant award
• Increase of $12M for the Regional Offices of Education to address truancy and chronic absenteeism issues coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic
• $7M funding increase to support targeted summer youth services in the areas of Teen REACH, Community Youth Services and Youth Employment.
• Additional $16M for Homeless Prevention and Homeless Youth services, in addition to continued authority to maintain rental assistance programming into FY23
• Additional $8M investment in Redeploy Illinois to reduce juvenile incarcerations and prevent crime
• Increase of $87 million to bolster the DCFS provider network
• Increase of $15.5 million to hire an additional 360 DCFS staff
• New funding of $25 million to rebuild residential capacity for vulnerable youth in care.
• Includes $56M for new Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grants at IDNR to provide for parks for children to explore, the largest and most accessible round in the state’s history for distressed communities.
• Includes funding to fully implement the Pathways to Success Program for children with serious mental illnesses approximately $150M. Pathways to Success is a program for Medicaid enrolled children under the age of 21 in Illinois who have complex behavioral health needs and require intensive services and support
• Expands the Earned Income Credit for working families from 18% of the federal credit to 20%, while expanding the number of households covered
• Provides families with a “Back to School” sales tax holiday on clothing and school supplies for a week this August
These programs serve as major components of a state budget that prioritizes building a financially strong and responsible state that can be passed down to the next generation of leaders.
* Center Square…
Plastic forks may soon be a thing of the past in Illinois’ state parks after the legislature passed a bill that could soon be sent to the governor’s desk.
If Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs it, Senate Bill 1915 will require state agencies to contract with suppliers only providing compostable or recyclable foodware in state parks and natural areas.
The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Lake Forest, who said the goal is simple: to reduce waste.
Illinois Environmental Council Executive Director Jen Walling said it shouldn’t cost the state much either.
* More stuff…
* Measure aimed at ending workplace bias over hairstyles on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk
* CAPITOL RECAP: Budget passes after all-night session
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Campaign notebook
Wednesday, Apr 13, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Lens…
New Orleans City Councilwoman Helena Moreno has sent a subpoena to a senior member of Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration on Monday demanding he hand over a wide array of documents and appear before the council for questioning related to a potential multimillion-dollar “smart cities” project and contract-fixing allegations regarding a Chicago-based consultant called Ignite Cities. […]
Moreno has previously complained about the lack of public information and the administration’s refusal to share details about the project — a sprawling plan that includes creating a “city-directed” but privately run internet service to compete with existing internet providers like Cox Communications and AT&T. The project would also install thousands of “smart” devices throughout the city to collect data that the city could use to improve services and sell to private companies. […]
The subpoena also comes days after Ignite Cities became embroiled in another controversy in Chicago that sheds new light onto the contract-fixing allegations in New Orleans, and pokes big a hole in the Cantrell administration’s central justification for dismissing those allegations. […]
The reporting from Illinois TV station WCIA-TV centered on Ignite Cities’ managing director, Reyahd Kazmi, and his wife, City Clerk of Chicago Anna Valencia. The station reported on emails from Valencia, a public official, showing how she used her position to advance government projects that involved Kazmi and Ignite Cities.
Vitally, the report revealed that Kazmi is also a registered lobbyist for IKE Smart Cities — a WiFi kiosk manufacturer that, unlike Ignite Cities, is an official member of the Smart+Connected NOLA consortium that would be responsible for installing dozens of kiosks around New Orleans. Kazmi was also present at the recent “WiFi for All” events in New Orleans to promote the smart cities project. […]
In her subpoena, one category of documents that Moreno requested in her subpoena is “any and all communications with George Burciaga, Anna Valencia and Reyahd Kazmi.”
I fully admit that I’m not quite understanding this yet. But it sure does look like Valencia has been providing help to her husband’s business through her city office, which wouldn’t be good.
* Meanwhile, we’ve talked about how the People’s Coalition Map crowd has been hammering away at the Chicago United Map group for its Madigan connections. Well…
Supporters of the Chicago United Map today called on the political committee supporting the “People’s Coalition Map” to return a $10,000 contribution Victor Reyes’ law firm made to the political committee supporting the Latino Caucus-backed map that flies in the face of City of Chicago ethics rules.
The law firm, Reyes Kurson, was hired to advise the Latino Caucus in the city remap process and is headed by attorney and lobbyist Victor Reyes. Reyes is named as “Lawyer A” in the federal criminal indictment case against former House Speaker Michael Madigan and Reyes Kurson is named as “Law Firm A” in the indictment. Reyes’ firm has billed the city nearly $150,000 for work on the remap from the end of May to the end of November, according to a recent media report.
An advisory opinion issued by the City of Chicago Board of Ethics in Feb. 2022 found that the city’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance limits certain contributors, including those “seeking to do business with the City,” to $1,500 in political contributions per calendar year to a candidate or the “candidate’s authorized political committees.” The Reyes Kurson contribution to the Chicago Coalition Map to Redistrict Chicago may be in violation of this ethics rule.
The Chicago United Map is supported by the majority of the Chicago City Council. Supporters of the Chicago United Map are calling on the Chicago Coalition Map to Redistrict Chicago to return the campaign contribution immediately.
* Irvin…
J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Democrats did nothing to clean out corruption in government prior to adjourning session last Friday, even as it was announced the very same day that a state legislator was being investigated by the federal authorities for misusing campaign funds and that former Chicago Alderman Danny Solis was charged for taking bribes in return for favorable ordinance rulings on the City’s Zoning Committee.
The Deferred Prosecution Agreement between Solis and the U.S. Attorney’s Office that was unveiled yesterday showed he had been wearing a wire since December 2018 in his cooperation with the feds, which ultimately resulted in the takedown of former House Speaker Mike Madigan. Solis is being arraigned in federal court this morning.
“J.B. Pritzker’s record when it comes to cleaning out corruption in government is nothing but words and no actions,” said Irvin for Illinois spokesperson Eleni Demertizis. “Pritzker’s continued denial of his connection to Madigan and his criminal enterprise goes hand in hand with his refusal to enact meaningful ethics reform that would prevent any further corruption and misuse taxpayer dollars.”
* Casten…
Today, U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (D-IL) announced he has been endorsed by the NRDC Action Fund. This endorsement comes on the heels of the League of Conservation Voters endorsing Rep. Casten and adds to the growing list of pro-environmental groups backing him over his opponent in his re-election campaign.
“It’s never been more important for lawmakers to help lower energy costs for American families by standing up to the fossil fuel industry and securing a clean energy future,” said Kevin S. Curtis, executive director of the NRDC Action Fund. “We’re proud to support Congressman Sean Casten because he is in the thick of that fight, working to build a better future for his constituents by growing clean energy jobs, cutting fossil fuels pollution and working to solve the climate crisis.”
“I have spent my entire life working to combat the climate crisis,” said Rep. Sean Casten. “The evidence is overwhelmingly clear - this is the greatest existential threat we face as a species. I’m proud to be endorsed by the NRDC Action Fund as we continue our work together to create clean energy jobs and pass a livable planet on to our children and grandchildren.”
Since coming to Congress, Rep. Casten has passed critical legislation to address the climate crisis. In December, President Biden signed into law legislation from Rep. Casten to reduce the carbon footprint of the federal government. Rep. Casten has also passed legislation to invest in clean energy storage technologies and protect the US financial system from the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.
* Foster…
Today, scientist and businessman Bill Foster announced that his re-election campaign raised over $620,000 in the first quarter of 2022. Foster currently has $4.59 million cash on hand, a clear sign of the strong and broad-based support for his campaign.
“I am so grateful for everyone who has supported our campaign,” Foster said. “When I left my career in physics to run for public office, I didn’t know if we would succeed but I was humbled by the widespread and grassroots support for my campaign. I continue to be honored by everyone who chooses to support me and I look forward to serving the new Illinois’ 11th District next Congress as the only PhD physicist in Congress.”
* Pekau…
Mayor of Orland Park and 6th Congressional District candidate Keith Pekau released his first official campaign video and digital video ad, which focuses on how politicians like Marie Newman, Sean Casten, Nancy Pelosi, and Kim Foxx have put special interests, party politics, and extreme far-left agendas ahead of doing what’s best for the people they’re supposed to represent, and how he will put people over politics in the 6th District.
View Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QmNnuGtldw
Video Script:
Politicians like Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx are letting violent criminals run free, putting our families’ safety at risk. I didn’t put my life on the line to defend our country in the Air Force, including three tours in Iraq, so families would feel unsafe in their homes. Here in Orland Park, we’re fighting back. We’ve reduced crime to the lowest rate in 27 years and we’re rated the safest city in Illinois.
Our economy is struggling. Workers are especially hurting in Illinois, where unemployment remains among the highest in the nation. As a successful small business owner, I will fight to bring economic growth and prosperity back to our country, especially right here in the 6th District. That’s what we’ve done here in Orland Park, where our businesses are thriving and creating good-paying jobs for our residents.
But with the highest inflation since 1980, working families are struggling to keep up. Gas, groceries, utilities, and even eating at restaurants costs more now. This is because Washington politicians keep spending and printing money like drunken sailors. It needs to stop. I’ve led by example in Orland Park. I’ve cut spending, paid down debt, and lowered taxes.
While the other Republican candidates talk about solving challenges like crime, inflation, and the economy, I’ve actually done it. This is the common sense leadership we need to take on the failed far-left politics of Marie Newman and Sean Casten. Join me and let’s put people over politics.
* Lightfoot…
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot’s political operation announced its fundraising efforts will be chaired by civic leaders Laura and Brooke Skinner Ricketts, Charles Smith and Sam Sanchez.
“I am grateful to these four incredible civic leaders for believing in this campaign, and for being willing to step up and lead this effort,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “Charles, Brooke, Laura and Sam have spent this pandemic doing all that they can to help Chicagoans in communities across the city. I’m humbled to have their support.”
“From refocusing more than $1.4 billion in public investment into our historically underserved South and West Side neighborhoods through the INVEST South/West program, to raising the minimum wage to $15 for hundreds of thousands of Chicago workers, Mayor Lightfoot has stayed focused on her mission of equity and opportunity for every Chicagoan,” said Smith. “That’s why Brooke, Laura, Sam and I are already hard at work, and we’re confident that we will have all the resources we need to ensure Mayor Lightfoot can continue her crucial work to guide our city back onto solid ground following this unprecedented time.”
In the first quarter of 2022, the campaign had its strongest fundraising quarter since her election, raising more than $800,000, and reporting more than $1.7 million in cash on hand.
* Politico…
Abdelnasser Rashid raised nearly $115,000 in less than three weeks of his campaign for state representative in the 21st District. Rashid is also first out of the box with a timely digital ad targeting incumbent Rep. Mike Zalewski for legislation he introduced that would allow cities to raise the gas tax. […]
— Republican Kathy Salvi has been endorsed by the Republicans of Wheeling Township in her bid for the U.S. Senate. […]
— Kina Collins has been endorsed by the Sunrise Movement, a grassroots network of youth climate advocates, in her bid for the 7th Congressional House seat.
— Fernando “Sergio” Mojica, a former Chicago Public School principal, has been endorsed by state Rep. Lamont Robinson, Equality Illinois co-founder Art Johnston, and former Midwest Regional Director at Lambda Legal Jim Bennett. Mojica is running to replace retiring Rep. Greg Harris in the Illinois 13th District. Full list
Rashid’s total included a $25K loan from a retired relative. Zalewski has not been reporting many large contributions, but he had $338K on-hand at the end of last year.
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* As you know, the Illinois legislature just voted to get rid of the state’s 1 percent grocery tax for a year. Revenues from that tax go to local governments, but the locals will be reimbursed by the state for the loss. So, while this Tax Foundation take is a bit late for our purposes, it’s still worth a look…
In the face of decades high inflation, policymakers across the political spectrum have proposed either reducing or repealing their states’ grocery taxes. Doing would “actually increase tax liability for the lowest-earning households” while “providing only extremely modest tax savings for the middle class,” according to a new study released today by the Tax Foundation.
Current state of grocery taxes:
13 states currently tax groceries to some degree. While they may be in the minority, “the economic evidence strongly suggests that they are in the right,” said Jared Walczak of the Tax Foundation. Of these 13 states, only three tax groceries at the ordinary rate without providing some sort of offsetting grocery tax credit.
State definitions of groceries vary, but mostly at the margin. All states distinguish between prepared and unprepared foods, and prepared foods are subject to tax. (For example, a rotisserie chicken is a “prepared food” and therefore subject to grocery tax.)
A flawed logic for exemption:
Exempting groceries from state sales tax bases is seen as a progressive move; advocates say that it would benefit low-and middle-income taxpayers most since they spend more of their income on groceries.
“The assumption is simple and, on the surface, reasonable—and it is wrong,” Walczak said. “Grocery exemptions are a middle-income, not a low-income, benefit—and middle earners can be more efficiently made whole through grocery tax credits.”
Here are the flaws to the argument, Jared finds:
• It largely ignores the full impact of the universal policy of exempting from sales tax any purchases made using federal food-purchasing assistance programs, such as SNAP. These kinds of policies can dramatically reduce taxable consumption for low-income families.
• Additionally, the conventional wisdom underestimates the degree to which higher consumption of groceries does scale with income. Higher earning households purchase not only more, but higher qualities of, groceries. Low-income households, in fact, are more likely to purchase taxable substitutes to what states classify as groceries, a category that traditionally only covers unprepared foods.
• Finally, while low-income households spend more on groceries as a share of income than do the highest-income households, they do not necessarily spend more on groceries relative to other necessities.
The result is that a policy designed to inject progressivity into the sales tax has the opposite effect, increasing tax liability on the lowest-income households.
The bottom line: “Public perceptions regarding grocery taxation are not easily changed. In states where groceries are taxed, the policy is not always very controversial, because it is deemed the ordinary condition, at least until policymakers agitate for change. But in states where groceries are exempt, or taxed at a preferential rate, a reversal is likely to meet with stiff opposition unless the public can be convinced of the benefits,” said Walczak.
“A more comprehensive approach, however, is possible, broadening the sales tax bases to include both groceries and consumer services (which tend to be consumed by higher earners) and is potentially paired with a modest grocery tax credit, with remaining revenues dedicated to income tax reductions. This approach can manage something of a tax policy hat trick: it is progressive, it yields greater revenue stability, and it makes the overall tax code more pro-growth,” said Walczak.
The full report is here.
* But what hasn’t really been highlighted yet is that millions of Illinoisans will still be paying sales tax on groceries via the mass transit tax. Here’s the breakdown…
• 1.25 percent sales tax on qualifying food, drugs, and medical appliances in Cook County
• 0.75 percent sales tax on general merchandise and qualifying food, drugs, and medical appliances in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties […]
• 0.25 percent sales tax on general merchandise and sales of qualifying food, drugs, and medical appliances in Madison County
• 0.75 percent sales tax on general merchandise (excluding items that are titled or registered) and sales of qualifying food, drugs, and medical appliances in St. Clair County
“Qualifying food” means groceries and is defined here.
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* I shared her full report with subscribers yesterday, but here’s Heather Wier Vaught’s rundown of public safety bills which passed this spring…
* Car hijacking: The Illinois Vehicle Hijacking and Motor Vehicle Theft Preventing and Insurance Verification Council will provide grants and financial support to help identify, apprehend, and prosecute hijackers and recovery hijacked and stolen vehicles. It also must develop strategies for combating hijackings and improving how laws are administered (HB3699 Delgado/Martwick). Additionally, language was approved to protect those who receive red light tickets as a result of car hijackings (HB 3772 Delgado/Aquino).
* Ghost Guns: Bans sale and possession of ghost guns which are untraceable due to lack of a serial number (HB 4383 Buckner/Collins).
* Expressway cameras: The Expressway Camera Act was expanded to include Lake Shore Drive and allows the use of images from the cameras to investigate and prosecute car hijackings, terrorism, or any forcible felony (HB 260 Williams/Feigenholtz). The law was also expanded to cover 21 additional counties (HB 4481 Greenwood/Murphy).
* Assistance for first responders: Requires DHS to provide grant programs for (i) childcare centers to provide late night care for children of first responders and other late-shift workers (HB 1571 Manley/Glowiak Hilton); (ii) local law enforcement, fire districts, schools, hospitals, and ambulance services to provide behavioral health services for first responders (HB 1321 LaPointe/Hastings); (iii) local governments for mental health and substance use prevention for individuals who are incarcerated and individuals in county jails or recently discharged. (HB 4364 Tarver/Loughran Cappel); (iv) departments for officer hiring and training and retention strategies (HB 3863 Vella/Morrison). To aid with retention and recruitment, the General Assembly approved (i) a program to review the standards for transferring credits from community colleges to 4-year colleges to satisfy requirements for law enforcement positions, and allow officers to purchase their guns and badges (HB 1568 Vella/Martwick); and (ii) create a waiver process for out-of-state officers wishing to work in Illinois (HB 4608 Delgado/Bennett).
* Victim protections: To aid victims, (i) investigators will receive instruction and training on victim-centered, trauma-informed investigations; (ii) grants were approved to set up anonymous tip hotlines with cash rewards for info that leads to an arrest; (iii) aspects of the witness protection program are expanded, and a pilot program is established whereby social workers will work alongside law enforcement officers (HB 4736 Gordon-Booth/Peters). The bill also creates a task force to review researched based methods for reducing crime.
* Smash-and-grabs: The General Assembly approved IRMA’s initiative to deter smash-and-grab thefts and moves to resell stolen goods online. The bill creates a new organized retail theft crime and gives the Attorney General and local prosecutors additional tools to prosecute offenders (HB 1091 Buckner/Glowiak Hilton).
* Officer worn cameras: allows officers to identify video they believe has evidentiary value, and clarifies when an officer does not have to have a camera turned on. (HB 4608 (Delgado/Bennett)
* Eavesdropping: Extends the sunsets on laws that allow investigators to recording conversations for qualified sex and drug offenses (date moved from January 1, 2023 to January 1, 2027), and the Illinois Street Gang and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Law (date moved to June 11, 2023) (HB 3893 (Hernandez/Joyce).
* Gun storage campaign: Department of Public Health must conduct a multi-year safe gun storage campaign (HB 4729 Willis/Morrison).
* Burglary: Updates the definition of burglary tools to include new technologies (HB601 Andrade/Gillespie).
* Meanwhile, Deputy House Republican Leader Tom Demmer appeared with other legislative leaders on Chicago Tonight…
(W)hat is the message that the majority party today, Democrats who control the governor’s office, the Senate in the house, what’s the message they’re sending about how serious they are about addressing the public safety issues in Illinois? We’ve had a record level of retirements and resignations from police officers and sheriff’s deputies. We have a system in place right now that come January a carjacker will be back on the streets mere hours after they’ve committed their carjacking because cash bail has been abolished. We have to ask about what’s the longer-running narrative there. This was never an issue that was just related to the to the Prisoner Review Board. This is about a larger approach of what does it take to achieve public safety and which party is actually looking out for people every day.
The host attempted to change the subject to a budget question, but Senate President Don Harmon wanted to respond first to Leader Demmer…
Paris, I’ll answer that question, but I have to respond [crosstalk]. Republicans have clearly latched on to this political strategy that doesn’t match with reality. Democrats are voting to fund police. Representative Demmer’s notion that cash bail is going to release people is upside down. Today, a carjacker can bail out so long as he has enough money. When the new bail system is put into place, those people can be held in jail pending trial because they’re a danger to the community. This is, it’s fear mongering and panic. It is totally inappropriate. I’ll leave it at that.
…Adding… House Speaker Chris Welch was asked today if he is confident that the crime bill is better today than it was a year ago…
I’m very confident in what we passed a year ago. I want to make sure people understand that we never bought into the false narrative created by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. What we passed a year ago was monumental, historic legislation celebrated by people as high as the Supreme Court of this state. Advocates believed the work that we did was extremely important.
What we did this session was continue to listen to the people that send us to Springfield. We know that carjackings have been a problem, we responded to that. We know that organized retail theft has been a problem, we responded to that. We know that ghost guns have been a problem, we responded to that. We continue to make our state a safer place. We even included half a billion dollars in our budget toward public safety, and what did our friends on the other side of the aisle do? They voted no to a half a billion dollars in things that are going to increase public safety. And so what what I like to point out is, there’s only one party in this state that’s voting to defund the police. There’s only one state in this party that is voting to defund youth investment programs. And that’s not the Democratic Party. I’m proud of the work that we’ve done for public safety. And we’re going to continue to build on that.
…Adding… Jesse Sullivan campaign…
“Illinois families deserve to feel safe in their homes and in their communities. But J.B. Pritzker and the insider politicians are more interested in protecting criminals and handcuffing our cops than providing the real change that law enforcement is asking for.
“The Democrats hope that election-year gimmicks – bills that nibble around the edges – will trick voters into forgetting that Kim Foxx is releasing criminals out of jail and refusing to enforce our laws.
“They’re hoping voters will forget that Pritzker refused to bring law enforcement to the table to fix his disastrous anti-police bill.
“They’re hoping voters will ignore the rising crime in their communities and reward the insider politicians responsible.
“If we want real change, we need a real outsider. That’s why more than 20 sheriffs, state’s attorneys and law-enforcement leaders around Illinois are backing me and my Safe Streets Plan, and why the voters are going to demand real change this election.”
* Related…
* ADDED: CPD makes significant headway on reform but still grapples with longstanding problems, consent decree monitor says: In an unusual move, the court-appointed monitor, Maggie Hickey, included a letter in the report that reiterates much of her team’s criticism and slams members of the department “who believe crime reduction is separate from, or even opposed to, reform efforts. Constitutional and effective policing — and the Consent Decree — requires the CPD and its officers to reduce crime as community partners, which requires building, maintaining, and rigorously protecting community trust and confidence,” wrote Hickey, a former federal prosecutor.
* Illinois lawmakers pass bill to combat organized retail theft - Retailers call it one of strongest responses in nation, GOP says it doesn’t do enough: Republicans, for the most part, voted for the bill, but several GOP lawmakers called it watered down and removed their names as cosponsors after a late amendment was filed to appease crime victims groups and civil liberties organizations.
* Illinois State Legislature Looks to Target Crime Through Series of Recently Passed Bills: A previous version of the proposal would have penalized anyone who took part in a planned group theft of a store with organized retail theft. After negotiations, the measure is limited to penalizing the leaders or organizers.
* John Catanzara defends proposal to add 2 years to his term as police union president: That would allow Catanzara to remain in office until 2025, instead of facing reelection two years earlier — while the campaign for mayor is also taking place.
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* In my own opinion, this is a good move…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is adopting new federal guidelines for tracking COVID-19 at the community level. The new CDC guidelines emphasize the case rate and hospitalizations in order to better track the prevalence of COVID-19 in communities. As a result of these new guidelines, testing providers will no longer be required to report some negative tests and IDPH will therefore no longer report test and case positivity.
In addition to adopting new CDC guidelines, IDPH is bolstering the data on its COVID-19 dashboard to provide additional information to help communities respond to changes in the course of the virus.
Among the new data that has been or will be shared on the IDPH COVID-19 dashboard are the following:
• Updated data on vaccination rates to reflect the full population eligible as eligibility continues to evolve.
• The number of people admitted to the hospital with a COVID-19 diagnosis.
• More detailed data on hospitalizations, including information about vaccination status in those who are hospitalized.
“Test and case positivity rates were seen as a good way to monitor the level of community spread early in the pandemic,” said IDPH Acting Director Amaal Tokars. “At this stage, now that we have vaccines and effective therapies available, it is more useful to rely on data that indicates the case rate, disease severity and the level of strain on healthcare system to guide our public health recommendations.”
The changes adopted by the CDC mean that states will no longer be required to report negative antigen test (rapid test) results – and are only required to report negative PCR and NAAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) results that were performed in certified labs. In addition, the widespread use of at-home tests means that national testing data is not as comprehensive or representative of population-based testing as it was before the introduction of at-home tests.
The CDC announced in March that is relying on these three metrics to determine the community level of COVID-19 and to classify it as low, medium or high:
• Total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days.
• New COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past 7 days.
• The percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.
IDPH officials note that case rates for COVID-19 are now slowly rising in many areas of the state. However, hospitalizations and deaths continue to remain low at this time.
Hospitalizations have basically plateaued in Illinois during the past month or so.
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