* I’ve also heard about this Senate Democratic poll. Here’s Pearson at the Trib…
“The other side is using crime as a bludgeon for the next election,” said a longtime Democrat who was not authorized to speak for the House majority, “and there’s a political reality that people want to address crime.”
The issue provides inroads to swing suburban districts that had once been reliable Republican territory but have changed demographically and ideologically in favor of Democrats in recent years.
But an internal poll conducted for Senate Democrats indicated that crime falls below taxes and other concerns among suburban voters, according to a senator who was not authorized to speak about internal caucus discussions. Only in Chicago was crime a top issue, the legislator said, in part because random gun violence being seen in parts of the city that have long been relatively unscathed by violence.
To counter Republican attacks, Democratic legislators are looking to take up issues in Springfield this spring that include carjacking, smash-and-grab retail theft and ghost guns, which can be manufactured from home kits without serial numbers or other ways to trace them.
There’s also an effort to provide increased funding for state and local police to both attract and retain officers after retirements of police hired with an influx of federal dollars in the mid-1990s.
* From my own conversation with a Democratic Senator…
Some of the negatives that they’re polling are polling like 55 percent. And when you get 55 percent on a negative message, that’s huge. […]
As soon as you cross into the suburbs [from the city], [crime] goes from the number one issue down to like number four. So, I mean, it’s still a strong four. It’s not like people don’t give a [crud] about it. They care. But there are a lot of other things. It’s taxes, corruption and inflation. […]
You can tell people are paying attention because they’re talking about supply chain issues and what China’s doing and [etc.] So they’re not just mad that prices are high. They feel like the government screwed up during the pandemic and that’s why prices are high.
And they’d be right about the government. That the feds have allowed meat and poultry monopolies to jack up prices so high is beyond messed up.
Now, it’s just one poll, and from everything I’ve heard from people who track this stuff, the Democrats are doing really, really bad in the suburbs right now. Like blowout bad. But it’s fascinating that the crime issue drops in the suburbs. And I’m betting there are a lot of very thankful Chicago Democrats that relatively few of their incumbents are facing primaries this year.
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Valencia goes after Giannoulias on ethics
Friday, Mar 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Earlier today…
* Press release…
Cheryl Bruce, campaign manager for Secretary of State candidate Anna Valencia, released the following statement today after Alexi Giannoulias released a video claiming he’ll clean up Illinois politics and saying that “Illinoisians are sick and tired of the corruption & scandals that have become all too common in our state”:
“Alexi Giannoulias was senior loan officer for a bank that loaned money to convicted mobsters, he engaged in reckless lending practices that led authorities to seize his family bank, and he lost millions of dollars in college savings for thousands of Illinois families. Now he thinks he’s qualified to clean up Illinois politics? Illinoisans already rejected Alexi when he lost Barack Obama’s Senate seat to an opponent plagued by scandal. Now, Alexi on the ballot risks losing Jesse White’s Secretary of State office, too. We’ve already seen what happens when Alexi’s in charge – it’s not reform; it’s a disaster for middle class Illinois families.”
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Madigan indictment fallout roundup
Friday, Mar 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This is a given…
“It reinforces southern Illinois views and prejudices against Chicago and against Madigan, which are now five decades old,” said John Jackson, a visiting professor at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute in Carbondale. “Republicans are going to try to hang Madigan around the neck of every Democrat who runs for office.”
* On that very same note, the House Republicans sent out a press release yesterday morning blasting freshman Rep. Suzanne Ness (D-Crystal Lake) for not issuing a statement on former Speaker Madigan’s indictment. She issued one last night…
“When I first heard the news about the indictments against Mike Madigan, it reaffirmed that I had made the right decision to vote no alongside 19 other Democrats as the former-Speaker sought to remain in his position.” Ness said.
Ness was elected in the fall of 2020 and was officially sworn-in as State Representative to Illinois’ House District 66 on January 13th, 2021. Being that Ness had not been sworn in as an elected official, she could not be recognized as a member of the 19 Democrats who voted for new leadership, though her no vote was recorded.
That second part is just not true. Rep.-elect Margaret Croke joined what eventually became the 19 House Democrats in November of 2020. She wasn’t sworn in until January.
* WBEZ…
“There were some pretty dark moments,” [Rep. Kelly Cassidy] said. “I remember at the beginning just talking about being frustrated and wanting to say something and people just recoiling, like I had something contagious.”
Similar sentiments came from Alaina Hampton, a former Madigan aide who left the organization after another operative sexually harassed her. In 2019, she settled a lawsuit against two Madigan-controlled political funds, his 13th Ward Democrats and the state party he still led at the time.
“I certainly feel vindicated,” Hampton said of the indictment. “I feel like I’ve received more justice than I did when my lawsuit settled.”
She said her career in politics clearly suffered as long as Madigan kept his power.
“When Madigan lost the speakership last year, I could kind of feel things in politics in Chicago starting to change,” she said. “Politicians and politicos are kind to me again, and I think people could see the ways things were going and that they kind of felt that they went in the wrong direction initially…This has been a long time coming.”
* Press release from yesterday…
It’s been a full day since Mike Madigan’s indictment was announced, and yet we are still waiting to hear from his protégé and hand-picked Comptroller, Susana Mendoza. Mendoza got her start as a career politician in Danny Solis’s Ward Organization, was married in Ed Burke’s home, and has been closely allied with Madigan for years, calling Madigan her “mentor” and nominating him for speaker.
Comptroller candidate Shannon Teresi released the following statement on Susanna Mendoza’s continued silence:
“Susana Mendoza’s silence is telling. The career politician, state Comptroller, and former member of Madigan’s caucus has nothing to say about the largest corruption scandal since Rod Blagojevich? This delay is disappointing though unsurprising, as the Madigan-controlled Democratic Party of Illinois remains Mendoza’s top donor.”
I reached out and was told that the Mendoza campaign had actually sent a statement to the Associated Press upon request. I asked for it as well…
“The allegations in the indictment are very serious and, if true, former House Speaker Michael Madigan should be held accountable and face the consequences.”
* Also yesterday…
24 hours ago, Mike Madigan was indicted by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois on 22 counts of public corruption, and the state’s chief law enforcement officer remains silent.
“Kwame Raoul’s silence just goes to show you what money can buy,” said Attorney General candidate Steve Kim. “After taking $2.5 million in Madigan money for his 2018 campaign, our state’s Attorney General would rather announce an investigation into Tik Tok than comment on the corruption indictment of the man who ran this state for nearly half a century. It’s well past time for Kwame Raoul to be accountable to the people of Illinois.”
From AG Raoul’s spokesperson today…
We do not and will not comment on any pending investigation or prosecution being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s office or any of our law enforcement partners.
* Press release…
State Representative Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) has filed HB 5718, legislation requiring the state to remove the name and likeness of the disgraced Michael J. Madigan from the Capitol building and other state properties.
Madigan, the former longtime Speaker of the House, was indicted on 22 counts of federal racketeering charges and running a criminal enterprise for more than a decade. Chesney is unwavering in his belief that the state not honor Madigan’s legacy of corruption with portraits, plaques and other accolades, especially in the “people’s house.”
“If Democrats are serious about ridding the state of corruption then they will support efforts to remove the honors typically reserved for those who we revere, not those who perpetuated the corruption,” said Chesney. “Ending this era marked by corrupt politicians starts with removing the tenure of Mike Madigan.”
Chesney was one of the three original petitioners to begin the process of investigating the corruption of House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, a move that eventually led to his resignation last year.
OK, first of all, the Republicans are claiming that the special investigation committee started by Chesney’s petition and chaired by now-Speaker Chris Welch was a sham. Can’t have it both ways.
Secondly, I asked Rep. Chesney what there is to remove. He sent me a photo of this plaque of the list of all Illinois House Speakers…
I pointed out that George Ryan’s name is also on that very plaque. His response…
I had the understanding everything was removed in the Capitol on Ryan. In any event, I’d happily support it such a bill. Public corruption is public corruption.
Um, no. Ryan’s photo is still hanging on the second floor…
* More…
* No perp walk for ex-Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan: Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s arraignment next week will be by telephone, despite objections from prosecutors who wanted an in person court hearing. Although this will be a lengthy legal war, the first skirmish is won by Madigan, who won’t have to walk the media plank into court.
* Will Madigan indictment change Illinois politics? ‘We’ve got a long way to go,’ expert says
* Only 19 Democrats broke from Madigan. Will his shadow change course of midterm elections?
* Legislators React to Former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s Indictment
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Campaign notebook
Friday, Mar 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
State Sen. Jacqueline Collins, D-Chicago, is jumping into the crowded Democratic primary to replace Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., announcing her bid Friday with a powerhouse group of backers, including Rev. Michael Pfleger.
Collins, a state senator since 2003, is one of 17 Democrats registered with the Federal Election Commission for the 1st Congressional District seat Rush will be vacating next year after 15 terms. The window to file petitions to run in the June Illinois primary opens on Monday and closes on March 14.
In the past weeks, Collins, an assistant majority leader, had been weighing running for another Senate term or making a bid for Congress.
She told the Sun-Times she decided on the House race because, “I feel there is only so much you can do on the state level, and for the issues that I have been campaigning, working, advocating for over the last 20 years — whether it was the proliferation of guns in our community, as well as how do we close the wealth gap between Black, Brown and white communities, those are issues I have to take on to the federal level.
* Shia made a good point today…
An interesting name in the indictment of Michel Madigan is Victor Reyes, an attorney hired by ComEd with a nod from Madigan. He’s also the attorney representing the Coalition Map, which is supported by the Latino Caucus and others who want to increase the number of Latinos on the City Council. On the other side of the map debate is Michael Kasper, the former legislative attorney for Madigan (who is not mentioned in the indictment). For months, Coalition Map supporters have grumbled about Kasper being part of the process. Now, you could say, they’re even.
For example, I posted this press release on indictment day…
The following is a statement from The People’s Coalition Map on the indictment of Michael Madigan and its implications for Chicago’s redistricting referendum:
“Today’s federal indictment of Michael Madigan is a clear reminder that the days of his iron grip on our state and on this city are over. That’s why it’s appalling that the City and the Rules Committee continue to support a faulty map, drawn in a backroom deal by Madigan’s top lawyer, Mike Kasper.”
Glass houses, stones, etc.
* Back to Politico…
Former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, the most powerful Illinois Republican who doesn’t hold an elected office, announced yesterday she’s backing Darren Bailey in his run for governor.
Um.
* More on the Ives story…
Bailey is also hoping for the endorsement of another notable Republican who’s out of public office: Donald Trump.
The Illinois Republican said he spoke to the former president in December. “I was with him for several hours and I asked for his endorsement. I’m still waiting,” Bailey told Playbook. “He doesn’t like to lose. He knows Illinois is a tough state, and he’s still exploring that option.”
Bailey was at a Trump book publishing event. He got an autograph.
* Sun-Times…
Ives, who ran against former Gov. Bruce Rauner in the Republican primary in 2018, only mentioned one of Bailey’s four GOP rivals by name in her remarks at the news conference at an American Legion post in northwest suburban Palatine.
“Republican voters need to be warned. The same people who ran Rauner’s campaign backed by a billion-dollar checkbook are now running the Irvin-Bourne race backed by the same billion-dollar checkbook,” she said.
As we’ve already discussed, Gov. Rauner’s top campaign consultant in that Ives primary is now being paid by Bailey’s campaign.
Back to the Sun-Times…
“The truth is Richard Irvin and Avery Bourne just may be both Madigan and Pritzker’s favorite Republicans,” Ives said. “The Irvin-Bourne campaign cannot be trusted.” […]
“It’s surprising she would endorse someone who raised property taxes 81 percent, voted for Obama and picked a Never Trumper as his running mate,” said Eleni Demertzis, an Irvin-Bourne campaign spokeswoman, referring to votes Bailey took as a local school board member and a 2008 Democratic Primary vote his campaign said he took to stop Hillary Clinton.
Remember how Rauner’s campaign used the “Madigan’s favorite legislator” attack against Ives in the 2018 primary? Well, the same consultant is now trying to use the line against Irvin. Clever. And I don’t know about Madigan, but I’m thinking that Pritzker would much rather run against Bailey, despite this DGA press release…
“Extremist Darren Bailey is barreling his way towards frontrunner status and is more than willing to take down Richard Irvin and anyone else in the Illinois GOP primary field who stands in his way,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “As the Republican candidates battle for support from party insiders and conservative megadonors, they’ll be too busy echoing out-of-touch talking points to deliver real solutions for Illinois families.”
* Richard Irvin was on WGN Radio with Lisa Dent and Steve Bertrand yesterday…
Q: You mentioned JB Pritzker being in the pocket of Madigan and the $10 million. But obviously, Ken Griffin, the richest man in the state of Illinois, is supporting your campaign and has already contributed 20 million and there are people saying that he’s going to contribute more. How do you differentiate one person being in the pocket of somebody when people might say you’re in the pocket of this rich guy in Illinois?
A: Well, first of all, let’s be clear, there is no comparison. Mike Madigan participated in a criminal enterprise. And he got money from JB Pritzker, $10 million, to continue that criminal enterprise. So there is no comparison. As far as Ken Griffin is concerned, you know, he’s, I think everybody will agree that he’s done great things for the state of Illinois, just his businesses, business assets, and, and everything he’s done for the community, his philanthropic support for the state of Illinois. But he is one vote, he’s one person. I didn’t bind to his vision. He bought into and believes in my vision. And that’s why he’s supporting me. And that’s why I’ll be getting support from a lot of folks that will be contributing to the campaign throughout the state of Illinois.
* Background is here if you need it. From Aaron DeGroot at the Rodney Davis campaign…
Hey Rich.
TGIF. Saw that you posted Mary Miller’s bizarre State of the Union tweet yesterday. In the context of that, wanted to flag something for you:
On August 2, 2019, Chris and Mary Miller invited Gov. Pritzker to visit and tour their farm. Here’s a screenshot of an email from Chris Miller to the Governor’s Office.
If you decide to use in a post, here’s a quote from me:
“Very fitting that the Millers would invite Pritzker to their farm, which is incorporated in Delaware, a state considered to be a domestic tax shelter. Perhaps the Millers were going to exchange tax-avoidance strategies with our billionaire governor, who is an expert on that topic himself.”
Have a great weekend!
Aaron
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The COVID-19 trend remains a friend, but…
Friday, Mar 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Hospitalizations are down 26 percent from a week ago, ICU usage is down 27 percent, the test positivity rate is down 22 percent, cases are down 20 percent and deaths are down 23 percent…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 10,462 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an increase of 272 deaths since February 25, 2022.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 3,037,199 cases, including 32,926 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since February 25, 2022, laboratories have reported 750,521 specimens for a total of 55,089,500. As of last night, 843 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 153 patients were in the ICU and 77 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from February 25 - March 3, 2022 is 1.4%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from February 25 - March 3, 2022 is 1.6%.
A total of 21,157,960 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 12,488 doses. Since February 25, 2022, 87,414 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, 76% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, more than 67% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated, and more than 49% boosted according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Beginning this weekend, daily deaths reported on weekends and at the beginning of the week may be low as IDPH and local health departments move away from reviewing and processing COVID-19 death records over the weekend. Those deaths will be captured in subsequent days.
All data are provisional and will change. Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.
Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.
* From the Atlantic…
The rush in the rich countries to declare the pandemic “over” while it continues to ravage the global South is completely predictable—in fact, the same trend has played out again and again. Infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV that are now seen as “Third World diseases” were once serious threats in rich countries, but when incidence of these diseases began to decline there, the global North moved on and reduced investments in new tools and programs. Now, with COVID-19, the developing world has once again been left to fend for itself against an extremely transmissible virus without the necessary vaccine doses, tests, and treatment tools. Some pandemics never truly end—they just become invisible to people in the global North.
You may know malaria as an infectious disease that affects poor “tropical” countries. But for several thousands of years, malaria was a global menace. During the 20th century alone, the disease is estimated to have accounted for up to 5 percent of all human deaths. It was eradicated from the global North by the 1970s, but the rest of the world was left behind. In 2020, there were an estimated 240 million malaria cases, and nearly all of the 627,000 deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. For a disease that affected even our neolithic ancestors, the world had to wait until 2021 for the first-ever malaria vaccine. Though the World Health Organization recently endorsed this partially effective malaria vaccine, expanded manufacturing and scale-up plans remain undetermined.
The same phenomenon has unfolded with tuberculosis, a disease so old that DNA of TB bacteria have been identified in Egyptian mummies. “Consumption,” as TB was once called, was highly prevalent in Europe and North America. From the 1600s to the 1800s, TB caused 25 percent of all deaths in Europe. By the 1980s, TB case numbers had decreased significantly in the West, largely thanks to drug treatments and reductions in poverty. But again, TB remains a problem in developing countries (and among marginalized populations within the global North). In 2020, TB killed 1.5 million people, more than 80 percent of whom lived in low- and middle-income countries. Investments and innovations to make the disease less devastating have been scarce: For example, the TB vaccine we use today is more than 100 years old, and it has limited efficacy in adults. […]
For now, the biggest problem with the global North proclaiming that the coronavirus pandemic is “over” is that it manifests the opposite outcome. Eventually, even rich countries will bear the brunt of tuning out COVID-19. Allowing infectious diseases to circulate in any part of the world within large populations of unvaccinated people will almost surely result in the emergence of new variants that will affect all nations.
* Related…
* Illinois’ top doctor Ngozi Ezike is being wooed to lead a Chicago health system
* ‘I’m humbled that it made a significant difference’: Dr. Ezike reflects on her time as Illinois’ top doc
* The long, strange history of anti-vaccination movements
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Today’s must-read
Friday, Mar 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This is a fascinating story…
In a stunning conclusion to a process that has been marked by frustration and confusion, Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard is now the Supervisor of Thornton Township after being appointed to the position roughly ten minutes before the legal deadline.
Henyard, who said she did not expect the appointment but greeted the news with a pageant-style scream of delight, will fill the shoes of the late Frank Zuccarelli, who passed away in January after nearly thirty years as the supervisor of Illinois’ largest township.
“I’m overjoyed,” said Henyard after taking the oath. “I didn’t see it coming.”
Go read the rest. And watch the videos. There’s even a timeline of all the votes that were taken. It’s a great example of the advantages of online reporting.
Also, as the new township supervisor said, I don’t think anybody saw this coming, particularly with the problems Ms. Henyard has had…
“The people elected us to be the dream team, so we said, and now it’s a nightmare,” Henyard said Tuesday. […]
A special meeting in August was canceled at the last minute. Trustees held a meeting outside of Village Hall without the mayor. Some trustees have not shown up for meetings Henyard called, preventing a needed quorum to take action.
Questions arose about Henyard hiring Dorothy Brown as village administrator and comments she made and later apologized for regarding a Dolton police officer fatally shooting 19-year-old Alexis Wilson.
Residents have been angry and fearful after learning Henyard hired Lavelle Redmond, a registered sex offender, as an inspector, and have voiced their protests outside Village Hall.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Henyard said reports that Redmond was going into people’s houses was not true. She said he works on outdoor violations and has been a “stellar employee.”
Speaker Welch attended her inauguration.
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About those two draft talking points
Friday, Mar 4, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As subscribers were told earlier, this story is based on a false premise…
Publicly and privately on Thursday, top Illinois Democrats grappled with how to put a positive, election-year spin on federal prosecutors’ newly unsealed corruption case against their longtime leader, the former state House Speaker and party boss Michael Madigan.
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker even appeared to celebrate the federal case, saying he thought Madigan’s indictment should help the state finally clean up its act.
But behind the scenes – in a memo titled “indictment talking points” – a dozen Illinois House Democrats got a starkly different, eye-opening missive urging them to express “misgivings” about the federal charges against Madigan and his close friend, former Commonwealth Edison lobbyist Michael McClain.
Democratic aides quickly said they had never approved – and in fact strongly disapproved of – the memo’s contents.
* This looks to me like a comedy of errors. First of all, a young former intern who’s been on comms staff for less than three weeks mistakenly sent two (not one) very different versions of draft talking points. As you can clearly see in the email forwarded to me yesterday by someone who was quite angry, nobody was urged to use the “misgivings” version. Redactions are by me because this appears to be an honest mistake by someone who was hired last month…
That went out to about a dozen House Democrats, some of whom were members of the ferociously anti-Madigan 19. With that in mind, you can definitely understand why some House Democrats were upset yesterday. Like, really mad.
Oops.
To be clear, I was told in no uncertain terms that nobody in upper management had tasked anyone with writing talking points defending the former House Speaker. These were unapproved drafts.
* The junior staffer who sent the drafts was not the same person who wrote them. She sent out a retraction a half an hour later…
* Word of the retraction apparently didn’t get back to the comms director, so he sent out another email about 15 minutes later…
* Here are the two versions that were originally sent to members…
Indictment Talking Points
• Today’s announcement, while an unfortunate confirmation of many concerns I have held, is another sign that our state is on a new track to a more ethical and transparent way of conducting the business of government.
• Tackling the challenges our state faces requires a clean slate and clear approach. We cannot progress further without addressing past issues. In this case, the conduct of Speaker Madigan.
• Following the election of a new Speaker, we have had a fresh start in Illinois. Major legislation, from a Medicaid reform omnibus to the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, signify the impact this changing of the guard has had, and for how long it has been needed.
• We have cultivated a new, more equal and bipartisan atmosphere in the House, a positive sign of new things to come, with the promise of further legislative victories to better the lives of all Illinoisans.
• I applaud law enforcement for stepping in and holding those who have committed wrongdoing accountable.
Indictment Talking Points-2
• While I always stand with law enforcement, I unfortunately feel I must call into question certain aspects of the investigation process regarding Speaker Madigan’s case. From the start, he has faced unfair, partisan accusations; charges which appear to have influenced the indictments laid out today.
• For years, our opponents across the aisle have focused their ire and prejudicial scrutiny on Speaker Madigan, to little effect. However, their constant accusations have finally had an impact; the federal government has buckled under their pressure.
• Despite my misgivings regarding this case, I want to reiterate that Speaker Welch has my full support. Our legislative accomplishments since he has taken the lead, including a major Medicaid Reform and the landmark Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, are undoubtedly victories to be proud of.
• Regardless of the outcome of these proceedings, it is incumbent on us to focus on the needs of the people of Illinois, and continue the legislative process to best address their needs.
I stopped pursuing the story yesterday when I found out what had actually happened. And none of those items from the second set of talking points appear to have been used by any member.
* Nonetheless, the ILGOP tried to make some hay today…
In the WBEZ report, aides from current House Speaker Chris Welch’s office - where the memo originated from - looked around for the nearest person to throw under the bus and came up with a “brand-new, junior staff” who supposedly wrote an entire set of talking points about the most consequential event in state government in quite some time and sent them out directly to House members without any approval of superiors.
Here are a few questions and pieces of evidence that need produced if this fanciful story is to be believed:
If indeed a phantom junior staff member exists, who in the Speaker’s office directed such a memo to be developed and provided talking points to guide its construction?
If the Speaker’s Office denies any leadership instruction to develop this memo, how do they explain the origins of the talking points - where on earth would a phantom junior staffer come up with such a defense of Mike Madigan?
Will the Speaker’s Office make available all internal email communications and text messages relating to this memo - both before and after its release?
Again, the staffer in question did not write the talking points.
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* Remember this comment by Gov. JB Pritzker yesterday?…
Q: When was the last time you spoke with Mike Madigan?
A: On March 1, I called to let him know that we would be making changes at the Illinois Arts Council.
* I followed up with the governor’s office, but the answer came late in the day, so I set it aside for this morning. CBS 2 apparently noticed the same thing I did and here’s their story…
Gov. JB Pritzker has removed Shirley Madigan from her position as chair of the Illinois Arts Council.
While news of the move broke Thursday — a day after Ms. Madigan’s husband, former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, was indicted — Governor’s office spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said Ms. Madigan was removed from her position before the indictment was announced.
The Governor’s office said Pritzker will appoint a temporary chair while discussions are held to determine who would be the best permanent chair.
Ms. Madigan will remain on the council, because her term runs through 2023, and Pritzker is not allowed to withdraw an appointment in the middle of the term.
Abudayyeh said the reason for Ms. Madigan’s removal was that the governor wanted to take the council in a new direction.
Nobody owns a state board position, and times change. But Shirley Madigan has been a passionate advocate for the arts for generations. I hate to see her go out like this.
*** UPDATE *** Mrs. Madigan’s resignation letter to Gov. and Mrs. Pritzker is dated yesterday. Click here to read it. That graceful statement should’ve been highlighted instead of the governor’s desire to remove her.
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* Some folks asked me yesterday why I wasn’t posting the latest profanity-laden Lori Lightfoot story. Aside from the fact that it’s a local story and not a state issue, I had reason to believe - without speaking to anyone in the mayor’s office or campaign - that the claims about what the mayor said weren’t true, so I let it go, even though I kinda wanted it to be true. Anyway, here’s the mayor’s statement from this morning in which she denies the claims…
“I am aware of the lawsuit that has been filed by a former Chicago Park District employee. While I will continue my practice of not commenting on the specific claims alleged in pending litigation, I feel compelled to state that the deeply offensive and ridiculous claims are wholly lacking in merit, and I welcome the opportunity to prove that fact in court. Furthermore, to be clear, I never have and never will harbor any animus toward Italians or Italian Americans.”
Keep it clean in comments, folks. Thanks.
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* The Chamber? Todd Maisch at the Illinois Chamber?…
* Crain’s op-ed headline…
With his latest budget, the governor points Illinois in the right direction
Civic Committee President Kelly Welsh urges the Legislature to follow the governor’s lead and stay focused on fiscal stability.
That would be the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Not sure what to say.
* Related…
* Illinois spreads widen as risk-shy investors exploit liquidity: While Illinois’s credit outlook has improved, investors increasingly are showing a desire to raise cash and avoid risk in the $4 trillion municipal bond market, traditionally a credit haven, said Dan Solender, director of tax-free fixed income for Lord, Abbett & Co., which holds Illinois securities as part of $35 billion in muni debt.
* Site Selection Magazine: In a pandemic-driven season that saw a surge of e-commerce, our Top Metros feature a strong presence of logistics hubs like Chicago, the Midwest megaregion that returns to its spot at the top of our Tier 1 rankings.
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