Eleven chambers sent a letter Aug. 27 to Gov, JB Pritzker after he announced new restrictions on restaurants and bars in District 7, the COVID-19 tracking zone that includes Will and Kankakee counties, seeking the reasons for focusing on those businesses.
The governor’s office sent a response over the weekend, said Michael Paone, vice president for government affairs with the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“They do allude to the fact that the decision was based on scientists’ opinion that bars and restaurants are places where more risky behavior can occur, such as loud talking, not wearing masks and drinking alcohol,” Paone said.
He said the chambers are still looking for research to be cited that would back up the opinion.
“We trusted the government, but we are being used as pawns. I want to know what is the science behind this?” [said Christina Kollintzas-Pavlis, of Plainfield]
Findings from a case-control investigation of symptomatic outpatients from 11 U.S. health care facilities found that close contact with persons with known COVID-19 or going to locations that offer on-site eating and drinking options were associated with COVID-19 positivity.
Adults with positive SARS-CoV-2 test results were approximately twice as likely to have reported dining at a restaurant than were those with negative SARS-CoV-2 test results.
A large amount of New Yorkers, 41 percent, have developed a new hobby and 13 percent have adopted a pet.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 42 percent say that they have gained weight while 32 percent have lost weight.
Seventy percent say the government’s priority should be to contain the spread of the coronavirus, even if it hurts the economy. That’s the same percentage as it was two months ago.
Ninety percent said they continue to practice social distancing, wash their hands after touching any surface and wear masks as much as they can or completely.
I was hanging out with a buddy in his back yard last week and he said he’d lost 30 pounds during the pandemic.
* The Question: Have you gained or lost weight since March? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
* WIND’s Amy Jacobson tried pressing the governor today on the seriousness of COVID-19 on college campuses after Gov. Pritzker spoke about his trip to Bloomington yesterday and the quarantine at Bradley University…
Jacobson: It should be emphasized that most of these people are asymptomatic, sometimes no symptoms at all and of out of 5,000 colleges across the country only five have been hospitalized.
Pritzker: So what’s your point? Do you think that unless you’ve been hospitalized it’s not worth worrying about?
Jacobson: No, no, no, I’m just saying, of all of the college students in Illinois, how many are in the hospital? Do you have that number?
Pritzker: I don’t have that number, but I mean, I think you’re discounting the idea that getting COVID-19 is serious business. Making sure that someone who has COVID-19 is not spreading it to other people is the reason that you want to quarantine people, so that’s that’s critically important. I know there are lots of people who think ‘Well gee somebody didn’t have to go to the hospital, or they didn’t die and therefore, well there’s nothing to it.’ That’s just not accurate. I realize that there are people, particularly followers of the president, who believe that that’s true that it’s okay to spread COVID-19 because hey if you’re not showing symptoms of it, then it’s fine, Well guess what? When people are not wearing masks, when people are just running around asymptomatic and they’re not getting tested but they are positive, they’re spreading it to other people. And the result is that it’s going into environments in which people who are vulnerable are going to be sick and are going to go to the hospital. And by the way, you should take a look, our hospitalizations in the state are rising. And this is problematic, so we’re watching very closely, even though we’ve got our positivity rates moving in the right direction in many regions, that hasn’t kept people from going to the hospital because, someone who is more likely to end up in the hospital getting it versus somebody who is less likely to end up in the hospital, you just don’t know. You don’t know who’s got a comorbidity. Everybody who knows they’ve got one, that’s fine, you know you’ve got a comorbidity and you should take extra care. Many people don’t know that they have a comorbidity yet, and then they get COVID-19 and then they end up with a problem.
Bradley University in central Illinois is requiring its entire student body to quarantine for two weeks because of clusters of COVID-19 on campus and is reverting to remote learning, officials announced Tuesday.
Officials of the private university said they have linked a spike of the coronavirus to off-campus gatherings. The Peoria university is requiring students to limit nonessential interactions, stay in their off-campus apartments, residence halls or Greek houses and take classes remotely beginning Tuesday.
In announcing the measure, the university said it has tallied about 50 COVID-19 cases so far, adding emergency measures are needed to respond to the outbreak without disrupting academic progress.
Students who gathered en masse and maskless to see YouTube personalities the NELK Boys could face consequences that include suspension, Illinois State University President Larry Dietz said Wednesday.
ISU authorities are working with the Normal Police Department to investigate Tuesday night’s visit by the popular group, stylized as NELK or NELK Boys on YouTube. Its members are known for producing videos of pranks that generate millions of pageviews, but officials said the YouTube stars’ visit to town led to large, flash mob-style gatherings that ultimately were broken up by police.
The number of reported COVID-19 cases on the Northern Illinois University campus nearly doubled over the four-day weekend, as the school reported 73 new cases, bringing the total to 150.
The school also reported 18 new recoveries, bringing the total to 24. The data represents cases of the viral respiratory disease identified on campus since Friday.
All 73 new cases were in students. The school hasn’t reported a case in an employee since Sept. 1, and just three cases have been reported in employees.
According to the school, 31.4% of its quarantine and isolation areas are in use, down from 54% Friday.
In an early glimpse of the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on college enrollment, some Illinois universities are seeing declines in international students and freshman class sizes but also a higher number of graduate students, who are taking advantage of online programs.
At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the state’s largest college, undergraduate enrollment fell by about 350 students from record levels last year, the school announced Wednesday. The freshman class size also dropped by about 1.8% to 7,530 students, the school said, and an additional 277 students deferred admission compared with about 60 in a typical year. […]
About 17,800 graduate students enrolled at UIUC, up by 9% from a high last year. Some 42% of graduate students are taking fully online programs, with big increases seen in the Gies College of Business and Grainger College of Engineering. Still, about 2,000 graduate students chose to delay admission.
Citing the pandemic, UIUC said about 576 international undergraduate students discontinued their studies for the fall 2020 semester. Most new international students are taking classes online, with freshmen from China rising by 3.9%.
For the first time in 10 years, new student enrollment at Western Illinois University has increased.
The number of new freshmen enrolling at Western this fall stands at 1,064, 18.9 percent over Fall 2019, while new transfer students total 721 (9.2 percent over Fall 2019) and new graduate students stand at 569 (10.3 percent over Fall 2019), for a total new student increase of 13.7 percent. In addition, the grade point average (GPA) of the incoming freshman class has increased to 3.49 (compared to 3.40 in Fall 2019).
Total enrollment as of the 10th day is 7,490, according to 10th-day data released by WIU’s Institutional Research and Planning.
Besides the increase in new students, WIU’s Fall 2020 enrollment has increased 7.1 percent over Spring 2020. According to Gary Swegan, interim associate vice president for enrollment management, Western has not seen a spring-to-fall increase since 2016.
Eastern Illinois University announced on Tuesday that its fall 2020 enrollment has increased by approximately 10.5% despite the challenges posted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figures from Eastern’s 10th-day enrollment report show that total enrollment increased from 7,806 students in fall 2019 to 8,626 this fall. The university reported that this marks the third consecutive year of its growth in institutional enrollment. That growth reportedly includes graduate student enrollment increasing by 5 percent from 1,577 to 1,657 and undergraduate enrollment increasing 11.8 percent from 6,229 to 6,969.
Reversing a decade-long trend, student enrollment is up at NIU despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our sister station WLBK reports that NIU student enrollment this fall is up 160 students from last year to a student body of 16,769. Enrollment had been falling since 2009 when NIU had more than 24,000.
The university says this year’s growth was driven by a freshman class that is eight percent larger than last year and improving retention of first-year students by six percentage points.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s School of Nursing (SON) record enrollment of 1,877 students highlights SIUE’s fall 2020 enrollment picture. The University’s overall graduate and professional enrollment hits 2,918 students, its highest mark in 43 years.
With its 5 percent increase from fall 2019, the SON saw record enrollment for the second consecutive year. SIUE’s graduate and professional enrollment includes 849 doctoral students, from all levels, the most in the history of the institution.
Twenty-nine percent of the SIUE student body reports an ethnicity or race other than white, making this fall’s student body the most ethnically diverse for the University. Enrollment includes record numbers of Latinx students (637) and students who identify as Asian, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (370). […]
SIUE total enrollment is 1.5 percent behind fall 2019 (13,061). The University welcomed 1,554 new freshmen or 113 (6.7 percent) fewer than last fall.
The number of first-time college students at Southern Illinois University Carbondale increased by 31.2% this fall. The total reflects a 32.9% increase in new first-time students enrolling from the Southern Illinois region.
The university also saw continued growth in the freshman to sophomore retention rate, reflecting the percentage of last year’s first-time freshmen who returned this fall. This year’s rate is 80.6%, the highest in 20 years and up from 72% in 2017 and 75% last year. […]
Total enrollment stands at 11,366, a decline of 2.8% from fall 2019. The university has seen declines between 8% and 12% in each of the last four years.
Beleaguered Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan could soon be asked to publicly explain his dealings with ComEd.
At least that’s what Republicans were planning Wednesday on the eve of the first meeting of a special bipartisan legislative panel convened to explore the political and legal minefield.
“We have an admission of facts from Commonwealth Edison to the federal prosecutor’s office that have laid out a series of very concerning occurrences that happened,” state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, said. “I think that as of right now, those facts are uncontested. We’d invite the speaker to contest those facts if he does not believe that those are accurate.”
A day before the Thursday meeting, Demmer said at a news conference that he and his GOP colleagues on the panel — Deanne Mazzochi of Westmont and Grant Wehrli of Naperville — will seek answers to the “legitimate, good-faith questions being asked” by their peers in the General Assembly and the public as part of the committee investigating any potential wrongdoing by Madigan.
The object is to discern whether Madigan behaved in a manner unbecoming of a legislator and/or behaved in a way that breached the public trust.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, Michael McClain, Anne Pramaggiore, Fidel Marquez, John Hooker, Jay D. Doherty, Michael R. Zalewski, any individual currently or formerly employed by Commonwealth Edison with knowledge of the matters contained in the Deferred Prosecution Agreement.
I’m thinking none of those named people are gonna speak. The committee could, in theory, subpoena witnesses, but that would require Democratic cooperation and the witnesses can always take the Fifth.
* Anyway, the hearings are on hold until the committee hears back from the US Attorney’s office to see whether it wants them to back off (which is what happened to then-Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s investigation of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich) or if it’s OK to proceed and under what terms. [ADDING: The US Attorney allowed an FBI special agent to testify at Blagojevich’s impeachment trial under ” sharply limited” terms.]
Lawmakers bristled as they discussed how to proceed after they unanimously agreed to contact the U.S. attorney’s office about how they can conduct their own investigation of Madigan without interfering with the ongoing criminal investigation.
They did not set another hearing date.
Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, sought clarification as to what it is that the committee is investigating considering that the speaker faces no criminal criminal charges himself.
Ronald Safer, a former federal prosecutor who is representing Durkin in the House investigation of Madigan, responded by noting that the deferred prosecution agreement between ComEd and prosecutors itself is evidence of factual wrongdoing, and it warrants investigation of Madigan by the committee.
I’m gonna nitpick a bit here and say the feds have not yet presented any evidence of specific wrongdoing by Madigan himself. Others, yes. Lots.
Republican member, state Rep. Grant Wehrli, R-Naperville, said Madigan has to respond to what was laid out in the deferred prosecution agreement ComEd entered into.
“Here we have statements of fact and if the Speaker doesn’t refute them, I think the logical conclusion can be drawn,” Wehrli said.
Rep. Wehrli is not a big fan of the 5th Amendment…
BREAKING: Auditor General Frank Mautino invoked his 5th Amendment right in response to Illinois State Board of Elections subpoena#twill
* To be super clear, I’m not saying that the feds won’t get Madigan. They could very well succeed. And, as I wrote in Crain’s, I’m not sympathetic to the House Democrats’ grumblings about these hearings…
So is Madigan right that this is all about politics? […]
But, really, who cares? Madigan isn’t answering questions, so maybe this will help shine a little light on things. And the committee won’t do much except take testimony. The panel is evenly divided between the two parties, and three staunch Madigan loyalists will be there to stop any majority vote to proceed with discipline. The open-minds thing goes both ways.
And if the Republican maneuver and Pritzker’s subsequent comments about how Madigan ought to answer the committee’s questions make House Democrats angry, well, so be it. Only a tiny handful of them have spoken up about Madigan, and even fewer have called on him to resign. That’s their prerogative, but it also means they’ve deliberately chosen this path. You wanted it, you got it, so deal with it.
Preliminary data suggests that the June 2018 Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, et al. Supreme Court decision that allowed state and local government employees to “free ride” may have affected public sector union membership.
• In Illinois, total public sector union membership has fallen by 6.8 percent since 2017, the year before the Supreme Court decision.
• Still, nearly half of all public sector workers are unionized in both Illinois (45.8 percent) and the Chicago metro area (45.4 percent), exceeding the national public sector average (33.6 percent).
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,953 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 28 additional confirmed deaths.
• Adams County: 1 male 90s
• Christian County: 1 female 50s
• Cook County: 2 males 60s, 1 female 70s
• Edgar County: 1 male 80s
• Ford County: 1 male 80s
• Henry County: 1 male 70s
• Jersey County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
• Kane County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
• Lake County: 1 male 70s
• Madison County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
• McLean County; 1 male 70s
• Montgomery County: 1 female 70s
• Randolph County: 1 female 50s
• Rock Island County: 1 female 80s
• Sangamon County: 1 male 40s
• Shelby County: 1 male 90s
• Will County: 1 female 40s, 1 male 60s, 1 male 90s
• Winnebago County: 1 male 60s
• Woodford County: 1 male 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 255,643 cases, including 8,242 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 3 – September 9 is 3.8%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 48,982 specimens for a total of 4,575,721. As of last night, 1,609 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 346 patients were in the ICU and 141 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*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. Information for deaths previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
Highland Mayor Joe Michaelis hasn’t yet gotten a response to his letter to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, but he’s okay with it.
“It may sit on his desk for a while,” Michaelis said. “He probably gets a laundry basket full of mail.”
Michaelis wrote a letter to Pritzker dated Sept. 4, and posted it on Facebook, citing his “grave concern” about the impact of the heightened restrictions on businesses in his community.
[St. Clair County’s] daily positivity rate dropped sharply from 9.3% on Tuesday to 8.2% on Wednesday. The daily positivity rate is the percentage of positives from a day’s worth of coronavirus tests.
The county’s seven-day positivity rate was 6.8% as of Wednesday, up slightly from 6.6% as of Tuesday.
“If the spread had been stopped back in January or February, this never would have gotten here,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said during the county’s daily briefing Wednesday. “We never would have had to deal with this. We’re doing what we can in St. Clair County to contain the virus and keep as many people as possible from getting it. If we take our foot off the gas, we might see those numbers go up. We’re making progress here.”
Looks like St. Clair County is being held back by Madison County.
Gov. JB Pritzker joined with faith leaders at a memorial in Springfield Wednesday evening dedicated to the 8,214 Illinois residents who have died from complications to COVID-19 and their families.
The socially-distanced event, hosted at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Springfield, featured families from across the state who have lost loved ones to the virus.
Pritzker and faith leaders assembled said they hoped to offer a moment for Illinois residents to take a step back and process their “individual and collective” grief.
“Let’s allow this pandemic to remind us of at least one important thing: We need each other. We need each other,” Pritzker said. […]
“The hearts of our people are big enough to hold both of those truths at once — that we are courageous enough to meet this moment and that we’re human enough to grieve about it,” Pritzker said.
“Pritzker is a far-reaching, power abusing, tyrant that is destroying small business,” said Santino Patragas, owner of Tap House Grill in Plainfield, which along with all other restaurants in the area had to suspend indoor dining once again Aug. 26. […]
Patragas said he feels that if masks help in containing the virus, then shutting down dining rooms was a baseless step. He misses serving his loyal customers.
“We are sorry to you that we are being blackmailed by this state,” he said. “The government is best which governs the least.”
Bruce Springsteen made a surprise return on Thursday morning (Sept. 10) with the heartbreaking rocker “Letter To You,” the title track to his upcoming 12-song album with the E Street Band. The rock icon’s 20th studio album is due out on Oct. 23 on Columbia Records and is described as a “rock album fueled by the band’s heart-stopping, house-rocking signature sound” in a statement.
“I love the emotional nature of Letter To You,” Springsteen said in a statement about the album recorded at his home studio in New Jersey. “And I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we’ve never done before, and with no overdubs. We made the album in only five days, and it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.”
The album includes nine songs recently written by Springsteen, and three new versions of previously unreleased tracks from the 1970s: “Janey Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest” and “Song for Orphans.” The collection — produced by Ron Aniello with Springsteen, mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bob Ludwig — is The Boss’ first time performing with the E Street Band since their 2016 The River tour.
The title track is classic E Street Band energy, with poignant piano, layers of guitars and Springsteen’s weatherbeaten vocals floating above it all as he works out some existential angst about an all-encompassing love. “Dug deep in my soul/ And signed my name true/ And sent it in my letter to you,” he sings in the stark black and white video that features images of Bruce writing the lyrics in a notebook, sharing tender moments with wife/bandmate Patti Scialfa and working the track out with his trusty sidekick guitarist “Little” Steven Van Zandt.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at 884,000, a sign that layoffs remain stuck at a historically high level six months after the viral pandemic flattened the economy.
The latest figures released by the Labor Department Thursday coincide with other recent evidence that the job market’s improvement may be weakening after solid gains through spring and most of summer. The number of people seeking jobless aid each week still far exceeds the number who did so in any week on record before this year.
Hiring has slowed since June, and a rising number of laid-off workers now say they regard their job loss as permanent. The number of people who are continuing to receive state unemployment benefits rose last week, after five weeks of declines, to 13.4 million, evidence that employers aren’t hiring enough to offset layoffs. Job postings have leveled off in the past month, according to the employment website Indeed.
“The claims data were disappointing,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. “It is especially concerning that the pace of layoffs has not slowed more materially even though the economy has reopened more fully and more and more businesses have come back online.”
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 23,305 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 31 in Illinois, according to the DOL’s weekly claims report released Thursday.
That’s down from 26,194 claims filed the week before.
While the new claims reported Thursday morning are based on advanced estimates, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) will be releasing a final number later Thursday.
* From a July fundraising email sent by GOP congressional candidate Jeanne Ives…
Sean Casten is ranked to the LEFT of the most well known socialist extremists in the Democratic Party.
* This press release today should help counter that sort of rhetoric…
Pat Brady, former chair of the Illinois Republican Party and former member of the Republican National Committee, announced today that he has endorsed Rep. Sean Casten in his re-election campaign against Jeanne Ives.
In addition to his endorsement of Rep. Casten, Brady is featured in multiple digital ads for the campaign. The ads are part of a six-figure digital buy that will run through Election Day on Facebook, Hulu, and Google.
Pat Brady, former chair of the Illinois Republican Party and former member of the Republican National Committee, announced today that he has endorsed Rep. Sean Casten in his re-election campaign against Jeanne Ives.
In addition to his endorsement of Rep. Casten, Brady is featured in multiple digital ads for the campaign. The ads are part of a six-figure digital buy that will run through Election Day on Facebook, Hulu, and Google.
“Jeanne Ives showed us her true colors in her unsuccessful campaign for governor when she ran the most sexist, racist, and hate-filled ad I’ve ever seen. That anger, bigotry, and lack of judgment doesn’t belong in the United States Congress. And most importantly, it doesn’t represent the people of the 6th congressional district.
“Sean Casten is a good man, a family man, and a businessman, who cares deeply about the district and all who live in it. As a Republican, I might not agree with him all the time. But I know he will always do what he believes is best for us, and for the country.”
Rep. Sean Casten released the following statement:
“I believe that public officials should always lead with their values. Jeanne Ives has made it clear that her values don’t represent the 6th District, and Pat Brady has made it clear that her values don’t represent the Republican Party. I am honored to receive his endorsement.”
*** UPDATE *** Joint statement from ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider and National Committeeman/woman Richard Porter and Demetra Demonte…
Identifying and labeling Pat Brady as a Republican is false and misleading. If you spend all your time attacking and betraying Republicans - whether out of newfound convictions or to continue booking TV appearances - you are a Democrat. Pat Brady is a liberal Democrat and has been for some time. Sean Casten may have the backing of political hacks but Jeanne Ives is supported by hard working taxpayers.
* Meanwhile…
US House candidate (IL-06) Jeanne Ives released her first campaign ad of the 2020 election, Step Up, this morning to introduce herself to suburban voters.
In the ad, Ives, a West Point graduate, mother of five and former state legislator, illustrates her record of stepping up through the imagery of the different shoes Ives has worn in service to her country, community and family: jump boots at West Point and in the Army, running shoes as a coach, and high heels as a legislator.
Ives concludes the ad by emphasizing her record of independent leadership, saying, “When you need me, I always step up.”
A :30 second version of the ad will run on cable in the Chicago Media Market – Watch the ad here.
A :60 second version of the ad will run on Ives social media channels - Watch the ad here.
Transcripts:
Step Up - TV Version, :30 Seconds
A journey of service starts with one step.
I took my first step in jump boots, serving my country in the Army - just out of West Point
In the Statehouse, I traded my boots for heels to bring both parties together, battle corruption and protect taxpayers.
Now, I’m stepping up to grow our economy, and to get our nation working again;
To build on the promise only American can keep.
I’m Jeanne Ives,
When you need me, I always step up.
++++
Step Up - Digital, :60 Seconds
I’m Jeanne Ives.
Want to know why I’m running for Congress?
Walk a mile in my shoes.
A journey of service starts with one step.
I took my first step in jump boots, serving my country in the Army - just out of West Point.
Then I traded my Army boots for athletic shoes, coaching cross country and raising my kids.
But duty called again.
I stepped into heels, and a new job.
In the Statehouse, I battled corruption wherever I found it;
Protected taxpayers with every vote;
And reached across the aisle to work for you.
Now, I’m stepping up for a new fight:
To save this country from those who would destroy the values that forged our nation and make it strong;
To rebuild our economy;
And to get our nation working again - to build on the promise only America can make and keep.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker stressed the importance of the 2020 census during an appearance in Normal on Wednesday morning.
“Redbirds, I want to make sure you know the stakes could not be higher,” Pritker said, encouraging everyone who has not completed the census to do so.
Pritzker was joined by Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Grace B. Hou, Illinois State University President Larry Dietz, state Sen. Bill Brady, state Rep. Dan Brady, Normal Mayor Chris Koos and Bloomington-Normal NAACP President Linda Foster.
Just a 1% undercount could result in the state losing over $195 million in federal funds each year, he said.
* The Question: Do you know anyone who hasn’t yet filled out their Census form? If you do, explain what you think is up with that.
As he was preparing to return to the nation’s capital, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said in Chicago today that he’s focused on working with lawmakers to put together a new COVID-19 relief package - an effort that’s been stalled for months amid a partisan standoff.
The domino effect, he says, is that with the expiration of federal paycheck protection and unemployment subsidies, more businesses will close and people simply won’t have the purchasing power to maintain sales and other tax revenues needed to keep governments functioning. […]
But a short time after Durbin’s downtown Chicago news conference, McConnell announced what the Washington Post called a slimmed-down COVID-19 bill that does not include help for state and local governments. […]
“We’ve seen state and local governments all across the United States take an inventory of where they are today and the news is not good. Whether it’s the state of Illinois or the city of Chicago, there’s been a dramatic loss of revenue for obvious reason,” Durbin told reporters this morning. “… And so governors and mayors are facing some of the most difficult choices, whether it’s Gov. Pritzker or Mayor Lightfoot, they’re in a situation where they don’t have the revenues to continue the service levels that they have traditionally provided. What that means is if Congress does not act and act soon, many of them will face cutbacks in critical employees. We’re talking about police, firefighters, teachers, health care workers, the list goes on and on.”
Illinois’ governor says state and local government workers could lose their jobs without a federal bailout. Governor JB Pritzker yesterday predicted that first responders and social service providers would feel the brunt of the coming economic impact of the coronavirus. Pritzker is pushing for a federal bailout for Illinois, but many Republicans on Capitol Hill say that looks very unlikely.
The Republican proposal would add $300 a week to unemployment checks, down from the $600 boost that expired last month. Democrat Bernie Sanders tweeted that it also included $161 million “corporate welfare to the coal industry.” But for many Democrats, the biggest objection is that Republicans offer nothing to local governments, such as the state of Illinois, which is warning of layoffs without at least $5 billion.
“Big corporations all across the nation have received billions and billions and billion of dollars of aid. But now when it comes to the very social services, the very education, the frontline, you know, first responders–our police, our firefighters–now they’re gonna fall short?” Pritzker said.
As members of Congress get back to work, some are looking for another COVID-19 aid package. President Donald Trump said he doesn’t support bailing out what he called “badly run” Democratic cities and states, “whether it’s New York or Illinois.” […]
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said Illinois should not get a bailout for years of policymakers neglecting the state’s finances before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“No one is going to bail out the structural debt and deficit that Illinois has,” Davis said. “That’s not a pandemic expense, that’s not something that’s caused by the pandemic.” […]
U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, said Illinois’ structural debt is from years of Illinois paying more than it gets back in federal taxes.
“So until that problem is fixed, this mischaracterization of this as a bailout is just way off base,” Foster said. […]
Foster said a deal for additional COVID-19 relief may be wrapped in with an end-of-year spending plan to get passed the presidential inauguration in January. He said that would be to avoid making things more turbulent with threats of a government shutdown. Davis said he would support allowing local governments to cover COVID-related costs with money congress has already approved. […]
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday it’s up to Congress to “step up.” He said he is “very, very” concerned that social services will be diminished if Congress doesn’t take action.
Attorney Thomas DeVore, who has gained fame during the COVID-19 shutdowns for directly questioning and winning suits against Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s Executive Orders and shutdowns of restaurants, bars, and small businesses gave a presentation at Bella Vista Winery in Maryville on Wednesday afternoon about what the new mitigation measures mean to restaurants and bars and what they can do about it.
He’s winning suits? And since when is the state shutting down local bars and restaurants?
The basis for [DeVore’s] advice to the restaurant and bar owners came from the Department of Public Health Act (20 ILCS 2305/2(c)) which states “no place may be ordered to be closed and made off limits to the public except with the consent of the person or owner of the place or upon the prior order of a court of competent jurisdiction…In the event of an immediate order issued without prior consent or court order, the Department shall, as soon as practical, within 48 hours after issuing the order, obtain the consent of the person or owner or file a petition requesting a court order authorizing the isolation or quarantine or closure.”
That’s… not great advice. Those businesses could be hit with a misdemeanor charge and a possibly hefty fine for their defiance. It’s not about closing businesses, or pulling their licenses - something the governor has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to do.
DeVore informed business owners “I’m not advocating for social disobedience, I’m asking for business owners to stand up.” The crowd erupted in applause when DeVore said “If enough of you stay open, this is over.
The majority of restaurant and bar owners in attendance, as well as dozens that had contacted DeVore before today’s educational presentation from across the area, said they plan on keeping their indoor dining open this time. DeVore said the owners are not looking to be defiant of anything, and have not come by their decisions to stay open lightly. Many of the owners stated that if they shut down inside dining, they will never reopen. One owner of an establishment outside of Madison County said that last week he did a poll on Facebook asking his customers if he should stay open. Of the 300 responses he received, 297 said to stay open and he is going to do so.
DeVore encouraged each owner to speak with their own legal counsel about their decision since each business has its own unique needs.
…Adding… We went to the Sangamo Club for dinner last night (outside, of course) and I think the sign on its front door puts the whole mask issue into proper context…
Also, if establishments are listening to lawyers like DeVore instead of public health officials when it comes to things like masks, you gotta wonder what they’re doing in the kitchen. If I live to be 100, I will never again go to restaurants that flout these simple, basic public health rules. And I may compile a list before veto session.
IT IS ORDERED that the motion for clarification is allowed. This court’s order of August 5, 2020, transferring cases from Edgar, Bond, Clinton, and Richland Counties to Sangamon County to be consolidated with Sangamon County No. 20 MR 589, is hereby corrected, nunc pro tunc, to specify that these cases and the cases that were transferred to and consolidated in Sangamon County in case Nos. 126232 and 126261, shall be heard by the same judge, Judge Grischow, who was assigned to preside over Riley Craig et al. v. Governor Jay Robert Pritzker, etc., Sangamon County No. 20 MR 589, and Governor J.B. Pritzker, etc., et al. v. Board of Education of Hutsonville CUSD #1 et al., etc., Sangamon County No. 20 MR 557.
* Here’s an explainer from the attorney general’s office…
It is a procedural order. The Supreme Court’s earlier orders transferred the cases in other counties to Sangamon, but didn’t specify that they should all be heard by the same judge (Judge Grischow, who had previously been assigned to hear the Craig and Hutsonville cases). Because the earlier orders didn’t specifically say that the cases should go to Judge Grischow, DeVore thought he had the right to move for a substitution of judge. We filed our motions because we thought the court intended that all cases go to Judge Grischow, and the court agreed.
DeVore had moved for a substitution of the judge in the Bailey case, but waited to do so until after Judge Grischow ruled against him in the Hutsonville case. It wasn’t that long ago, you may recall, that DeVore was accusing the governor of judge-shopping.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,337 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 30 additional confirmed deaths.
• Adams County: 1 male 90s
• Christian County: 1 female 90s
• Coles County: 1 female 80s
• Cook County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
• Jackson County: 1 female 90s
• Jersey County: 1 female 100+
• Kane County: 1 male 80s
• Lake County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
• LaSalle County: 1 male 70s
• Macon County: 1 male 70s
• Madison County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s, 2 males 80s, 1 female 90s
• Peoria County: 1 male 90s
• Rock Island County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s
• Sangamon County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 90s
• St. Clair County: 1 male 80s
• Will County: 1 male 70s
• Williamson County: 1 female 80s, 3 females 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 253,690 cases, including 8,214 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 2 – September 8 is 3.7%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 48,029 specimens for a total of 4,526,739. As of last night, 1,580 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 357 patients were in the ICU and 133 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*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. Information for deaths previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
Two unsuccessful marijuana dispensary applicants are suing the state, hoping to hit the pause button on its plans to hand out 75 marijuana licenses.
Awarding of the licenses is more than four months behind schedule and last week, the state announced that only 21 of 700 applicants would proceed to a lottery for the 75 licenses.
Some lawmakers and unsuccessful applicants are decrying the state’s process, saying it defeats the stated goals of diversifying the largely white-owned industry. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Chicago federal court, is at least the second formal attempt to pause the process. The Illinois Legislative Black and Latino caucuses are calling on the Pritzker administration to suspend the lottery until the public can learn more about how and why the 21 groups were selected.
Southshore Restore and Heartland Greens, two applicants that will not proceed to the lottery, allege in the suit that the 21 groups are “politically-connected insider companies,” and seek to have the lottery delayed until they can challenge why they didn’t make the cut.
A pair of state lawmakers joined a group of losing pot shop applicants Tuesday to call on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to halt an upcoming lottery to determine the winners of the 75 long-delayed licenses and review the application grading process, which they claim was tainted and benefitted clouted firms.
“We are under the weather from this oppressive system, this rigged system, in which the state representatives and the state senators were lied to,” Rickey Hendon, a former Democratic state senator from Chicago, said during a news conference, noting that the “legislative intent” of the legalization law was to increase minority and local participation in the booming weed industry.
State law offers additional points on applications to groups and individuals deemed social equity applicants for living in an area disproportionately impacted by drug enforcement, having a past cannabis offense or meeting other criteria.
More than 700 groups applied for the next round dispensary licenses but only 21 applicants moved onto the lottery last week after receiving perfect scores on their applications, which were graded by the global accounting firm KPMG. All of the applicants in the lottery are considered social equity candidates, who were given a leg-up in the process in an effort to bolster minority participation in the overwhelmingly white pot industry.
An employee of the global accounting firm that was awarded a no-bid contract to grade applications for the state’s next round of pot shop licenses is also a partner in one of the 21 groups that secured a spot in the upcoming lottery to determine the winners.
Hamd Kamal works as a risk management consultant for KPMG, which is getting nearly $4.2 million through a no-bid contract with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the agency that oversees dispensaries. All told, more than 700 candidates submitted 1,667 total applications seeking upwards of 4,000 dispensary licenses. […]
KPMG spokesman James McGann said Kamal “is an employee but he was not part of the engagement team that scored the applications.”
He added: “The scoring process was objective, following the state’s criteria, with a blind scoring methodology. The team scoring the applications would have no knowledge of the names or affiliations of applicants. A separate team scored certain aspects of the application, such as social equity.”
Facing calls from Black and Latino lawmakers to suspend the lottery for 75 new marijuana dispensary licenses, Gov. JB Pritzker said he’s open to minor tweaks to the program, but he said the process needs to move forward before considering sweeping changes. […]
“When we’re done with this process, we will have the largest percentage ownership by people of color anywhere in the nation,” he said.
Hutchinson noted applicants were able to seek up to 10 licenses each, so overall there were more than 4,500 applications for the 75 new dispensary licenses, so “there was bound to be a lot of disappointment for this first round.”
“We knew that this was going to create a thunderstorm,” she said.
Asked if he will consider suspending the lottery for the 75 licenses, Pritzker said that’s not allowed under the current state law governing the program.
Part of the frustration stems from the fact that, while more than 700 different groups applied for licenses this time around, only 21 social equity groups are advancing to the lottery round to be considered for business licenses. According to the accounting firm KPMG, those are the groups that received perfect scores on their applications. Thus, many applicants are suspicious about what happened and what was wrong with their application.
Another application group, Cultivarx, was stunned to find out that it received no points for social equity applicants, despite the fact that its majority owner, Bernard Cobbins, is Black and a lifelong resident of Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood, a Disproportionately Impacted Area from the War on Drugs.
“We provided them with more than ample information, they had five years of Illinois state tax returns, and driver’s license, voter’s registration card, and a map showing he is in a disproportionate area,” said team member Nonna Knapp.
Despite the detailed information provided, Cultivarx received a discrepancy notice asking for additional information to prove Cobbins’ status. The team did so, and still did not receive points.
But as I told subscribers today, the perfect scores of those 21 applicants threw an unexpected wrench into the process because nobody expected it. So, several applicants didn’t do things like attract military veteran investors, which was only five points out of 250, but proved crucial in the end.
“It makes no sense that again, in 2020, Governor Pritzker, you have a Black lieutenant governor, you have a Black mayor of Chicago, you have a Black drug czar overseeing the marijuana industry here in Illinois, but you don’t have any Black-owned marijuana dispensaries?” said community activist Tio Hardiman.
According to the administration, of the 21 successful applicants, “13 are majority owned and controlled by people of color and 17 have at least one owner who is a person of color.”
* Decent points…
Hutchinson: "How far we've come in 9 months: We've expunged 10,000 criminal records. The sales of this have been through the roof … ."
* The Cannabis Equity IL Coalition and the Social Equity Empowerment Network want to delay the tie-breaking lottery and offered up some suggested improvements…
1. The Coalition demands that the following be immediately provided to each applicant:
1. Full Scorecard. Each applicant’s full scorecard with scoring broken down by exhibit.
2. Disqualification Explanation. Any applicant who was disqualified from the process must be provided with a substantive explanation justifying their disqualification.
2. The Coalition demands that the following be immediately made available to the public:
1. The full ownership structure of each “tied applicant” (as defined in 68 IAC 1290.10).
2. KPMG Contract. The KPMG contract and an explanation of the following:
i. Why were they chosen by the state?
ii. Why was this a no-bid contract?
iii. How much money was the contract worth?
iv. How much additional compensation did KPMG receive for being months late?
v. Did the State have an administrative review process for KPMG’s scoring?
3. Scoring Rubric. The scoring rubric that KPMG used to grade the applications.
A better approach would be to remove the cap on licenses while adopting a set of reasonable licensing standards meant to ensure the solvency and integrity of the industry. Anybody who meets those standards should get a license.
Opening up the market would ensure that supply rises to meet demand, spurring price competition, better service and innovation. Unfettered supply and demand allows a market to reach its full potential. Customers and business owners benefit. Fledgling enterprises serving minority communities would get to compete, without having to navigate a complex, costly application process and win a lottery.
Colorado offers a glimpse at the upside for states that don’t limit licenses. Nearly 3,000 marijuana licensees in that state rang up $1.7 billion in sales last year, generating more than $300 million in tax revenue, and employing more than 40,000 people. Imagine the potential in Illinois, with more twice Colorado’s population.
Lifting the cap on marijuana licenses is good economics, and good public policy for a state seeking to advance social equity.
Colorado is not exactly a great social equity example. In Denver, for example, Black residents comprise just 5.6 percent of ownership and 5.9 percent of industry employees.
Incumbent state Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, said taxpayers can send policymakers a message about budget principles.
“Just by simply voting ‘no’ on the progressive income tax,” Wilhour said. “You wanna force a tough conversation on our fiscal situation in Illinois, a conversation we’ve been needing to have for a long, long time, that’s a perfect place to start.”
If you want to force an increase in the state’s flat income tax, there’s no better way to do that than to vote against the progressive income tax. Democratic super-majorities in both chambers and the Democratic governor and the Democratic-leaning electorate in this state are not going to support deep spending cuts.
Libertarian candidate for US Congress in the 6th District, Bill Redpath, personally received an endorsement from his longtime friend and colleague Krist Novoselic, known most notably as the bassist from the Grammy award-winning band Nirvana.
Redpath and Novoselic were both longtime active members of the non-profit organization FairVote, where Redpath was the Treasurer from 1995 - 2019 and Novoselic was the Chair from 2008 - 2019.
FairVote works to reform the electoral process, making elections more fair and accessible for both voters and candidates. They also advocate for Ranked Choice Voting, which gives a citizen’s vote more weight and influence in an election. FairVote.org offers details on how ranked choice voting works.
“I am proud to receive the endorsement of Krist Noveselic. FairVote is a leading organization trying to change the electoral system in the US and calls for Ranked Choice Voting in both single winner elections and multiple winner elections for legislative seats. That is what is needed, so that so many voters don’t feel boxed into voting for the lesser of two evils.”
- Bill Redpath
Bill Redpath is the Libertarian candidate for US Congress from the IL 6th Congressional DIstrict. His opponents are Republican Jeanne Ives and Democrat Sean Casten.
The Chicago Board of Elections has received more than 350,000 vote-by-mail applications for the general election, up from about 250,000 in mid-August, and that number could grow to a third of all city voters by Election Day, the board’s chair said Tuesday. […]
The number of vote-by-mail applications the city has received so far is more than triple the board’s all-time record of 118,000, reached during this year’s primary, according to Marisel Hernandez, chairwoman of the Chicago Board of Elections.
Given the current rate, Hernandez said in an interview later, the city “could easily reach 500,000” vote-by-mail applications out of about 1.52 million registered voters.
More than 1 million Illinoisans have applied to vote by mail for the November election, roughly triple the number of the last presidential contest in 2016. […]
In southwestern Illinois, St. Clair County Clerk Thomas Holbrook said the office has received more than 25,000 mail ballot requests. That’s compared with roughly 9,200 people who cast ballots by mail in 2016. He said his office will hire more people to handle the influx. […]
A pending federal lawsuit against the [state’s vote by mail] expansion could further complicate things. Cook County Republicans allege expanded mail voting is a partisan scheme.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee intervened, accusing Republicans of “playing politics and risking the lives of Illinoisans by forcing them to choose between exercising their right to vote or the health and safety of themselves and their families.”
The judge has indicated he’ll rule before ballots go out this month.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is warning the public about robocalls trying to discourage people from voting by mail.
According to Raoul’s office, some voters have reported receiving robocalls warning them that voting by mail could result in their private information being provided to third parties.
According to Raoul, calls can involve an automated recording claiming that information belonging to people who vote by mail will be shared with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track people for mandatory vaccines, police departments and law enforcement in order to locate individuals who have outstanding warrants, and creditors to help find people who owe outstanding debt.
Raoul is urging individuals to disregard any messages containing such false claims, saying in part, “I am urging voters to be aware that Illinois law does not permit election authorities to share personal information, regardless of the voting method you choose. If you receive a call, email or text trying to convince you otherwise, please report the contact to my office or the Illinois State Board of Elections.”
When it comes to voter turnout, Chicago’s 3rd Ward, which includes Bronzeville, is one of the biggest.
But some voters, including Alderman Pat Dowell, were recently targets of robocalls discouraging vote by mail.
“The message was ‘don’t vote by mail because the information you’ve given the Board of Elections is going to go to a national data base for credit card companies to come after you,’” Dowell said.
She said the message also relayed that her private information will be given to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the police.
While the voice was an African American-sounding woman, Dowell said the caller ID came up as Jack Burkman, an ultra-conservative conspiracy theorist.
Michigan authorities are investigating a robocall that is targeting voters in Detroit by providing false information about mail-in voting.
The audio of the phone call in question:
This is [unintelligible] 1699, a civil rights organization founded by Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl. Mail-in voting sounds great. But did you know that if you vote by mail, your personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants, and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debt? The CDC is even pushing to give preference for mail in voting to track people for mandatory vaccines Don’t be [unintelligible] into giving your private information to the man. Stay safe, and beware of vote by mail.
The recording alleges the call was made on behalf of Project 1599, a project spearheaded by conservative social media personality Jacob Wohl and GOP lobbyist Jack Burkman. The actual source of the call remains unknown, but Wohl and Burkman have a “known reputation for spreading misinformation in an effort to gain notoriety,” Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. Wohl denied involvement when contacted by The Detroit News on Thursday and said he and Burkman,while “not fans of mail-in voting,” were “puzzled” by the call.
In the wake of the economy-crippling COVID-19 pandemic, Teachers’ Retirement System assets experienced a $4.9 billion rebound between March and July, climbing to a total of $53.4 billion.
The worldwide effect of the coronavirus impacted TRS investments between January and the end of fiscal year 2020 (FY2020) on June 30. The preliminary TRS investment return for FY2020 hovered close to the break-even mark at +0.52 percent, net of fees, on June 30. By comparison, on December 31, 2019, the half-way mark in FY2020, the TRS rate of return was +13.41 percent.
The System began calendar year 2020 with $54.2 billion in assets. The effects of the pandemic caused total assets to drop to $48.5 billion at the end of March. On June 30, assets totaled $51.6 billion. At the end of July, TRS assets totaled $53.4 billion, a 10.1 percent increase since March.
“Everyone took a hit during the pandemic,” said TRS Interim Executive Director Stan Rupnik. “But the investment strategies we have in place limited losses and have allowed us to prudently rebuild the portfolio’s value.”
During the January-March quarter of FY2020, the TRS investment return was -9.95 percent, net of fees. During the previous quarter, October to December, the System’s return was +4.28 percent. The System’s return during the April to June quarter was +5.94 percent.
The TRS return between January and March, however, stood favorably compared to other economic measurements of the same period.
The Northern Trust Corporation’s analysis of the 300 largest U.S. institutional investors indicated that the median return for public pension plans between January and March was -12.6 percent. A similar analysis of public pension systems by Wilshire Associates found that the median quarterly return was -12.8 percent.
In general, the negative investment returns for various stock market measurements indicate that the TRS portfolio held up comparatively well. For instance, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index returned -19.6 percent during the January–March quarter.
Long-term, TRS investment returns continue to exceed the System’s long-term assumed return rate of 7 percent. For FY2020, the 40-year TRS return was +9.0 percent.
“The long-term investment returns are the most important numbers for our members,” Rupnik said. “These timeframes reflect the long-term relationship that TRS has with its members, both as active educators and as retirees. The long-term returns also indicate a successful investment program that values steady growth and strong risk management over several generations.”
Today, Rodney Davis’ campaign for Congress released a new ad titled “Madigan Machine,” which highlights Betsy Londrigan’s close ties to Speaker Mike Madigan’s corrupt political machine. The ad will be running on TV stations across IL-13 as well as online and digital platforms.
llinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is facing intense scrutiny after being subpoenaed in connection with a bribery investigation.
Mike Madigan is the most corrupt politician in Illinois and Betsy Londrigan is part of Madigan’s Machine.
Londrigan raises money for Madigan and his corrupt machine while her campaign is bankrolled by Madigan and his henchmen.
Now Londrigan is refusing to call for Madigan’s resignation.
Betsy Londrigan would make Washington more corrupt.
…Adding… Press release…
In response to Congressman Rodney Davis’ first TV ad that airs a misleading attack on his opponent rather than focusing on any accomplishments of his own, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s campaign released the following statement:
“After nearly a decade in Washington, Rodney Davis still can’t come up with a single positive reason for people to vote for him so he’s resorted to launching desperate and misleading attacks instead,” said campaign spokeswoman Eliza Glezer. “Davis doesn’t want Central Illinois families to know his real record of voting 11 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement, voting to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and voting against lowering the cost of prescription drugs. If Davis doesn’t have a record he can win on, he shouldn’t be running.”
