* Press release…
As “smash-and-grab” robberies continue to terrorize consumers and retailers, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) has filed legislation targeting the organized theft rings behind these headline-grabbing crimes.
“Smash-and-grab retail theft has become disturbingly commonplace and these criminals are only becoming more brazen,” said Durkin. “These crimes have many victims, from the people who own and operate these stores, to their employees and customers. We cannot let this stand. These criminals are sophisticated and organized like the street gangs that terrorize our communities and must be treated the same.”
Retailers, from small mom and pop stores to large companies, lost between $3.7 and $4 billion worth of merchandise to retail theft in Illinois alone last year, according to a recent report from the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. Additionally, billions in stolen goods means the state loses out on millions in sales tax revenue. These thieves are not reselling on street corners or out of car trunks, but through anonymous online marketplaces.
Durkin’s legislation, House Bill 4275, creates the crime of organized retail theft, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in jail if the value of the stolen goods is more than the state’s current felony threshold of $300.
Under Durkin’s proposal, a person commits organized retail theft when they:
• Work with one or more people to steal merchandise with the intent of selling or returning the merchandise for profit.
• Work with two or more people to receive, purchase or possess merchandise they believe to be stolen.
• Act as an agent of another individual or group of individuals to steal merchandise from one or more merchant’s premises as part of an organized plan to commit theft.
• Recruit, coordinate, organize, supervise, direct, manage or finance another person to undertake any of these actions.
Durkin’s legislation also allows for organized retail theft to be charged in one of several locations. Charges can be brought either where the theft took place, where the merchandise was recovered, or where stolen merchandise was resold. For instance, if a store on Michigan Avenue was robbed, but the organized crime ring attempted to sell the stolen goods in DuPage County, the crime could be charged in Cook or DuPage County.
“States Attorney Foxx and Governor Pritzker continue to coddle criminals and disregard the victims of their crimes. It is time we reset our criminal justice system and hold those who disregard our laws accountable. Our citizens and our merchants are desperate for action,” said Durkin.
* I asked for a response from Rob Karr, the president & CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association…
While we appreciate Leader Durkin’s continued support of the retail community as well as his efforts to ensure retailers can continue to operate safely in Illinois, we are in need of policies that best addresses the many complexities of organized retail crime. To that end, we will soon be unveiling a proposal that advocates for comprehensive solutions. With profits from organized retail crime driving other illicit activities such as illegal firearms purchases, human trafficking, and in worst cases terrorism, as well as eroding sales tax revenues and threatening retail viability, it is far from a victimless crime. Indeed, Illinois has become the epicenter for these types of crimes, with organized retail theft growing over 60% in just the last five years. It is more important than ever before that elected officials work with members of the retail community to ensure Illinois is no longer an easy target.
* Related…
* Kim Foxx rethinking retail theft policy: In an emailed statement, Foxx spokeswoman Cristina Villareal confirmed the office is reviewing its policy. “We believe the retail threshold at $1,000 for felony charges is in line with the rest of the country, but we have committed to look at available data and engage with partners to see if this is still the best policy,” she wrote. “It’s important to note that cases of retail theft are not the same as ‘smash and grab’ and organized theft rings. We will also be taking a look at our policies around those issues.”
* Three new retailers are coming to State Street. Really.
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* From the US Attorney’s office…
A Chicago consultant pleaded guilty today to a federal tax offense for willfully attempting to evade and defeat the assessment of income taxes.
EDWARD ACEVEDO, 58, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to a tax evasion charge before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly. The conviction is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Judge Kennelly set sentencing for March 9, 2022.
The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Justin Campbell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu, Diane MacArthur, Sarah E. Streicker, Timothy J. Chapman, Michelle Kramer, and Julia Schwartz.
Acevedo worked as a self-employed consultant. He admitted in a plea agreement that he willfully failed to file an individual income tax return for the calendar years 2015 through 2018, causing a loss to the IRS of at least approximately $37,380. Acevedo further admitted that he attempted to evade taxes by handling his affairs in a manner so as to avoid the creation and maintenance of customary business and accounting records.
After discovering that he was under investigation by the IRS, Acevedo provided incomplete information to his accountant concerning the sources of Acevedo’s income and expenses for 2017 and 2018, causing the accountant to prepare incomplete federal tax returns for those years, the plea agreement states.
* Jason Meisner reports…
Though the indictment stemmed from the ComEd probe, Acevedo’s plea will make no mention of it, or Public Official A, and he has no cooperation deal with the feds
Public Official A is former House Speaker Michael Madigan, in case you’ve been living under a rock. So, this was a one-off.
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* From Pearson’s story about yesterday’s announcement…
Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey on Monday named Stephanie Trussell, a former right-wing radio talk show host in Chicago, as his running mate for the June 28 primary.
Bailey became the first of four announced GOP candidates to pick a lieutenant governor contender. Under state law, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor must run as a team. Team Bailey links a white farmer and state senator from rural downstate Xenia with a Black suburban woman. […]
In her social media posts in 2016, Trussell was opposed to Donald Trump’s Republican presidential nomination. She used the #NeverTrump hashtag on her Twitter account as she wrote Trump “is a despicable human being,” saying he “will donate to #Satan for a land deal” and that her “skin crawls when pundits call #Trump the leader of the #GOP. He doesn’t represent my values.”
Trussell also has used her social media platform to liken Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan and question the validity of health care professionals calling for vaccinations to deal with the pandemic.
* The governor was asked today about Trussell’s anti-Trump comments coming back on her…
It’s a complete mess over there. I do not know how they’re going to resolve all of this. The cult of personality around Donald Trump is a major factor in the Republican Party, seemingly. And I think they’re going to have lots of disagreements about who’s more Trumpy than the other person. But I know what I’m focused on. And you know what I’m focused on and I’ve been doing it for the last three years and that’s just the people of Illinois, the working families of Illinois
* Trussell had this to say today on the campaign trail…
I support President Trump 100 percent. Like a lot of people, we all had some issues with candidate Trump. My issue with him is that we didn’t think he was conservative enough, that was my issue with him. But you know what? I was so happy to be wrong about him. I voted for Trump in 2016. I campaigned and voted for Trump in 2020. And I will never apologize to the trolls on the Internet for who I am and what I am. I know what I am, that’s unshakeable.
She does more than her share of Internet trolling, as we’re about to see.
* As I told you yesterday, Trussell pulled down her Twitter account not long after people started posting about her. She put it back up at some point, and this was still there…
I asked the Bailey campaign for comment and haven’t heard back. I asked the ILGOP for comment twice (including on one of their Twitter posts about race) and haven’t heard back. I also asked some Democrats for comment, and House Black Caucus Chair Kam Buckner stepped up…
Stephanie Trussell and Darren Bailey should be ashamed of the past remarks regarding President Obama––but we all know they won’t be. These offensive, incendiary comments are unacceptable for someone seeking one of the highest offices in our state, and I look forward to hearing about the mental gymnastics Mrs. Trussell must do to justify these disturbing statements. Stephanie Trussell is exactly the kind of pick we’d expect from this field of far-right extremists, but she doesn’t represent us and never will.
…Adding… Real tough guy, eh?…
*** UPDATE *** Statement provided by the Bailey campaign…
I wouldn’t expect a basement blogger to do his job and add context to a sarcastic tweet from 7 years ago, but here you go: In 2014, Michelle Obama told black voters, “I give everyone full permission to eat some fried chicken after they vote.” This ridiculousness is the kind of stuff we’ve grown to expect from pandering liberals and the left-wing media, though. They put black people in a box, tell us to keep our heads down, our hands out, and vote Democrat. Well, these elitist politicians have failed us. Our streets aren’t safe, our schools are failing our children, our communities lack opportunities, and we need change. I’m proud of being a black woman raised on the Westside of Chicago, and I won’t apologize to the left-wing media or the out-of-touch career politicians who have been selling out Illinoisans for years. We’re here to fight for change for every Illinoisan and turn this state around.
Hilarious. Also, Buckner has been in office not quite three years. Also, too, I don’t think Obama said anything about malt liquor and watermelons.
…Adding… This is hilariously ironic…
I’ve asked for comment.
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COVID-19 roundup
Tuesday, Dec 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Jake Griffin…
State health officials today reported 3,628 COVID-19 patients are being treated at hospitals throughout Illinois.
That’s up 115 patients from the day before.
Of those hospitalized, 743 are in intensive care, according to Illinois Department of Public Health records.
IDPH officials are also reporting 28 more residents have died of COVID-19, while 7,390 new cases of the respiratory disease were diagnosed. That brings the state’s death toll from the virus to 26,934, and 1,911,649 infections have been recorded since the outset of the pandemic, IDPH records show.
The state’s seven-day case positivity rate is at 4%, the same as the day before. Case positivity is the percentage of new cases derived from a batch of tests. A seven-day average is used to account for any anomalies in the daily reporting of those figures.
That’s the most hospitalizations since January 8th.
* Things got a bit heated today…
Amy Jacobson: The governors of New York and California have implemented new mask mandates, but both of their governors have given their people end dates of January 12. What about giving Illinois a mandate [end]?
Gov. Pritzker: Here’s why we have a mask mandate: because we need to keep people safe. We need to stop pretending that masks don’t work. They do. Countless studies show that masks do work to reduce the transmission of infection. We also know that the most important thing you can do is to get vaccinated and if you’ve been vaccinated to get boosted, that is what keeps people out of the hospital. It’s what keeps people safe. And so I encourage everybody to please wear your mask indoors. Please make sure that you go get vaccinated if you’ve not been and if you haven’t had your booster yet. We just opened booster shot vaccination clinics across Cook County as well as in other parts of the state. We have vaccination clinics that are open to people who want to get booster, so I just want to encourage everybody to do the right thing. We are in the state of Illinois and we’re gonna keep doing it. Following the science.
Amy Jacobson: But we went from 300 cases in Chicago to a thousand…
Gov. Pritzker: Look, every time the numbers go down, you say you want everybody to take the masks off. Every time the numbers go up, you say you want everybody to take the masks off. I know what you stand for. Let’s keep moving on. I’d like to talk to reporters.
Heh. Somebody must’ve heard about yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling.
* At the moment, omicron appears to spread very, very fast. It also appears to generally cause milder symptoms with most people. But do the math: A smaller percentage of hospitalizations per infected person doesn’t mean much if lots more people are infected than now…
The World Health Organization said Wednesday that omicron, which is being reported in 77 countries, is spreading at a faster rate than previous coronavirus variants and delivered a stark warning against dismissing it as mild.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that even if data eventually confirms that omicron causes less-severe disease than other variants, the sheer number of infections could “once again overwhelm unprepared health systems.”
* However, if this turns out to be true, then maybe, just maybe we can all get a break from the insanity…
A highly anticipated study of Pfizer’s Covid pill confirmed that it helps stave off severe disease, the company announced on Tuesday.
Pfizer also said its antiviral pill worked in laboratory studies against the Omicron variant, which is surging in South Africa and Europe and is expected to dominate U.S. cases in the weeks ahead.
“We are confident that, if authorized or approved, this potential treatment could be a critical tool to help quell the pandemic,” Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Last month, Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize the pill, known as Paxlovid, based on a preliminary batch of data. The new results will undoubtedly strengthen the company’s application, which could mean that Americans infected with the virus may have access to the pill within weeks.
Know hope.
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Giannoulias wins Cook County Dem slating
Tuesday, Dec 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The juggernaut continues…
* Press release…
See below for a statement from Illinois Secretary of State candidate Anna Valencia on today’s Cook County Democrats slating, which resulted in an endorsement for her opponent, Alexi Giannoulias, in this race:
“Nothing worth doing comes easy in life. That’s the story of my parents, working families across Illinois and women across the country. Even so, when things get tough, they continue to fight on. I am in this race for them, and I am staying in the race because I plan to win so that I can be a voice for working families like my own and to show little girls everywhere what’s possible when they persist.”
…Adding… More…
…Adding… Full slating list is here.
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* From Pew Charitable Trusts…
With mental illness and drug addiction surging across the United States, it’s more likely than ever that emergency calls could involve a person experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. Those calls are often received by 911 call centers, which recent Pew research suggests lack the resources and training needed to dispatch tailored responses. Instead, law enforcement officers typically are sent to manage situations that often require specialized services related to health, mental health, and housing.
New research from the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts, suggests that a program developed in Dallas might serve as a blueprint for policymakers who want to move their crisis response systems toward a health-centered approach instead of relying solely on police.
Since 2018, the city has employed a multidisciplinary model known locally as Rapid Integrated Group Healthcare Team (RIGHT) Care, which brings together teams of mental health professionals, paramedics, and specialized law enforcement officers who can better direct people in distress to community-based care and services. According to the Meadows Institute report, these teams responded to 6,679 calls from Jan. 29, 2018, to June 7, 2020. The analysis found that:
• 62% resulted in a connection to care (community service, or voluntary or involuntary hospitalization).
• 40% resulted in a connection to some sort of community service, such as a referral to health or housing services.
• 29% were resolved on scene with no further services needed.
• Only 14% resulted in emergency detention.
• 8% resulted in a person being taken to a hospital or psychiatric facility.
• Only 2% resulted in arrests for new offenses.
• While mental health visits to the emergency department at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital increased by 30% from 2017 to 2019, areas served by RIGHT Care saw a 20% decrease in mental health-related admissions.
Emphasis added.
* More…
In addition to the on-patrol three-member units, Parkland provides the RIGHT Care team with licensed mental health professionals to assist with navigating 911 calls involving behavioral health crises. That’s important, because recent research by Pew suggests that few 911 call centers have staff with the training or resources needed to manage these calls and dispatch appropriate responses. Dallas’ initial success shows how a properly resourced call center can improve outcomes.
Based on the positive data from Meadows—a Dallas-based, data-driven nonprofit focused on providing efficient behavioral health care to Texans when and where they need it—city officials earlier this year expanded RIGHT Care throughout the city. They added two new teams, increasing active units from nine three-person units to 15, and moving closer to the goal of RIGHT Care responding to 40% of mental health calls in the city.
* Flow chart from the study…
The added benefit here is the amount of stress this approach can take off of responding police officers, who already have high-stress jobs.
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* The 2021 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Senate Republican Non-Campaign Staffer goes to Whitney Barnes…
I think the quantity and strength of the nominations she’s received really speak to her character. While it’s true that she’s smart, hard working and respected by members of the caucus and the media, it’s how she interacts with the people around her that makes her a standout to me. Simply put, Whitney is a good person who treats everyone around her with respect and kindness - something that is sadly becoming increasingly rare in this arena.
Whitney announced this week that she’s leaving to join Nicor as its communications manager. Her departure will create a giant hole on that staff. Best of luck!
* The 2021 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best House Republican Non-Campaign Staffer goes to Joe Sculley…
When you see how prepared the HGOP is with nearly everything budget you can look to Sculley. He is an excellent partner with Demmer and because of their relationship and oversight the HGOP can land plenty of budget punches when the rest of the world is wondering what GOMB is doing. A true artist at his craft who has an attention for detail that benefits the HGOP in so many ways. Also super fun.
When somebody gets a nomination like that they have to win.
* On to today’s categories…
Best House Democrat
Best House Republican
As always, explain your answers or they won’t count and nominate in both categories, please. And, remember, it’s 2021. The nominations are for activity in this year, not last year, or last decade or whatever. Thanks.
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* Tribune…
The north side of the [Edwardsville] warehouse “is where the vast majority of our employees and partners went,” Kelly Nantel, Amazon’s director of media relations, said at the news conference.
“A small handful, and we speculated … it was because of the work that they were doing at the time, they congregated on the southern side of the facility,” she said.
But that’s not what some survivors are saying.
* Reuters…
Amazon cargo driver Austin J. McEwen, 26, was an only child who loved to listen to rapper Mac Miller and hunt with his friends.
He died trying to shelter from a powerful tornado in the bathroom at an Amazon.com warehouse on Friday night, according to a coworker. […]
Several employees told Reuters that they had been directed to shelter in bathrooms by Amazon managers after receiving emergency alerts on mobile phones from authorities. […]
“I was at the end of my route. I was just getting in the building and they started screaming, ‘Shelter in place!’” said David Kosiak, 26, who has worked at the facility for three months. “We were in the bathrooms. That’s where they sent us.”
* Post-Dispatch…
Jaeira Hargrove and Etheria Hebb loaded up their delivery vans Friday morning at an Amazon facility near Edwardsville and spent the day delivering packages in the Glen Carbon area.
When the weather started turning bad, they returned and quickly parked their vans. A woman told them to head to the bathroom because of a tornado warning, Hargrove said Sunday in an interview with the Post-Dispatch. […]
“We were just standing there talking. That’s when we heard the noise. It felt like the floor started moving. We all got closer to each other. We all started screaming,” Hargrove said.
The building collapsed as an EF3 tornado smashed into it.
Both Hargrove and Hebb were knocked to the floor. Hargrove was calling out to Hebb, but Hebb didn’t respond. She was one of the six people who were killed in the building’s collapse.
* Washington Post…
The “take shelter” location is the restrooms, said delivery driver Alonzo Harris.
* Yet, Amazon almost appears to be blaming the workers who died or just chalking their deaths up to tragic bad luck…
Six that died in Edwardsville, Illinois Amazon warehouse were not in the designated shelter in place: Amazon spokeswoman said that the designated shelter in place is an interior section of the warehouse not a room. The workers who gathered there survived and the 6 persons who died were on the south side of the building where the tornado struck.
* Meanwhile, on to the Tribune…
Amazon’s 3.8-million-square-foot fulfillment center at the southeast corner of Harlem Avenue and Vollmer Road in Matteson opened in October and is designed to withstand winds of at least 110 mph, according to Ernest Roberts III, the village’s director of community development.
That wouldn’t be nearly enough…
The National Weather Service said Saturday night that the tornado that hit the Amazon building reached the EF3 category — the third-strongest rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with winds between 136 mph and 165 mph.
* Gov. Pritzker was asked about strengthening the rules…
We’re relying upon not only the local investigation, but the OSHA investigation to look at issues around whether there are structural challenges with the way those warehouses and that particular one was built. People have said that they were built to code. If they were, then we need to look, and I’ve talked to legislators about this, we need to look at whether the code needs to be strengthened. Because I think we all are quite well aware that storms are getting more severe, that climate change is affecting businesses and homes and individuals all across the nation, not to mention here in Illinois. And so if we need to strengthen those codes because of climate change, we should go do that.
Thoughts?
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* Gov. Pritzker was asked at an unrelated press conference today about the recent New York Times story claiming he’d talked privately about running for president…
I have never spoken privately with anybody or publicly about that. I, first of all, and second, I love my job as governor of Illinois. And I intend to keep doing it on behalf of the working families of Illinois, making sure that we’re lifting up our children making sure they get the education that they deserve, that families get the health care that they need, and that we’re growing our economy and of course, working our way out of this pandemic. So I’m going to continue doing the job.
* Reporters persisted, peppering him with more questions…
I have no intention of running for anything except reelection as governor. […]
Of course, people have mentioned this to me on occasion, but I’ve never had a conversation with anybody about it. […]
I am focused on this job. I love this job. I really love the job of being governor and I’m going to continue doing it as long as I can. […]
I think I’ve been pretty clear about this. I want to be governor of Illinois. I want to continue to be governor of Illinois. I’m doing the job that I love.
And that’s just some of the responses.
* My “favorite” question was whether he’d consider running for president if he lost reelection next year. I did not make that up. His response was that he’d have more time to spend with his family.
…Adding… ILGOP…
“Governor Pritzker and his team should focus more on fixing the problems that ail our struggling state instead of dreaming of the White House. JB has surrounded himself with a bunch of depressed Clinton 2016 alums who still believe the right to lead the country is theirs. Now they’ve found a billionaire benefactor to make another go of it and Pritzker, it seems, is happy to indulge in the fantasy.
Newsflash to team Pritzker, our economy lags behind all our neighbors, violent crime is destroying communities, rampant inflation is busting the budgets of already overtaxed Illinoisans, and public corruption still defines our political system. Get to work, Governor, and stop dreaming.” - ILGOP Chairman Don Tracy
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* The 7th US Court of Appeals has ruled that the pandemic and Gov. Pritzker’s resulting emergency order closing down businesses did not trigger insurance policies covering income reductions caused by “direct physical loss.” Here’s Steve Daniels at Crain’s…
In the linchpin cases—suits by Sandy Point Dental in Lake Zurich, the owner of the Hyatt Place hotel in East Moline and a Southern Illinois restaurant owner against Cincinnati Insurance—a three-judge panel decided that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s actions in the spring of 2020 to keep the virus from spreading out of control didn’t constitute a “physical loss” that virtually every business policy requires for payment of claims.
In the decision, Judge Diane Wood emphasized that businesses were able to function in part even during the most restrictive phases of Pritzker’s orders. Restaurants could serve takeout orders. The dentists’ office could perform emergency work.
“(T)he businesses’ preferred use of the premises was partially limited, while other uses remained possible,” she wrote. “Without any physical alteration to accompany it, this partial loss of use does not amount to a ‘direct physical loss.’”
With this ruling, the 7th Circuit joins four other federal judicial circuits around the country in arriving at this interpretation. Unless another circuit rules that insurers are liable for these losses, the U.S. Supreme Court is highly unlikely to weigh in on what last year looked like it might be one of the most intense insurance industry legal wars in years.
* From the decision…
“Loss” means accidental loss or damage.
In other words, incorporating the stated definition of “loss,” the Businesses were covered for income losses resulting from direct physical loss or direct physical damage to property. Thus, to survive Cincinnati’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion, they needed to allege that either the virus or the resulting closure orders caused direct physical loss or direct physical damage to covered property. […]
Sandy Point insured its property, not its ideal use of that property. Having alleged neither a physical alteration to the property nor its equivalent in its amended complaint, Sandy Point failed adequately to allege a “direct physical loss” under the Policy. […]
Bend Hotel has not alleged loss of use so substantial as to amount to a physical dispossession of its property. […]
To state a claim under the Policy before us, the Businesses needed to allege more than a partial loss of their preferred use of the insured properties. But they alleged neither a physical alteration to property nor an access- or use- deprivation so substantial as to constitute a physical dispos- session. They thus have not managed to state claims upon which relief could be granted.
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* Capitol News Illinois in October…
The deficit in the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund remains over $4.3 billion and interest payments on the debt began accruing on Sept. 6.
Thus far, more than $6 million in interest has accrued on the money Illinois owes the federal government, according to the U.S. Treasury, and interest will continue to accrue at a rate of 2.27 percent. The state earmarked $10 million for interest payments this fiscal year.
* Comptroller Mendoza press release…
State financial officers are asking the federal government to reinstate the waiver on interest being charged for fund advances given to the states to cover COVID-19 unemployment insurance.
These advances were provided to the states interest free so that unemployment benefits could be made without disruption during the worst phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The interest waiver on these advances expired Sept. 6, 2021.
“Taxpayers should not be on the hook for interest just because the pandemic is lasting longer than projected,” Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said. “States are wrestling with how best to replenish their COVID-depleted unemployment funds and they should not have to do that with the meter running.”
Illinois’ interest tab is nearly $20 million as of today. That could reach more than $100 million if left unpaid for a year.
State officers, representing more than 75 million residents from New York, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Minnesota joined Comptroller Mendoza in cosigning the attached letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, seeking the administration’s support for reinstating the interest waiver.
“We believe the waiver deadline was originally determined under the assumption that the pandemic would likely be over and that the economy and state governments would be in recovery mode,” the signatories wrote. “However, it is quite plain to see that this public health crisis is not over, and the benefit provided by this interest waiver is still necessary.”
They emphasized that the pandemic is clearly not over and that states that are having to pay interest on more than $39 billion on federal advancements need more time to figure out how to address repayment of these advances.
“The cost of covering this federal initiative to extend unemployment benefits during the pandemic should not fall completely on the shoulders of businesses and labor,” said Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza, who convened her fellow financial officers from the most-affected states to seek the extension.
“Colorado has over $1 billion in outstanding advancements,” said Colorado Comptroller Robert Jaros. “Accrued interest is almost $4 million as of today and will grow to over $20 million if not paid within a year. The State supports reinstating the interest waiver for advancement loans for UI benefits. Colorado needs more time to address the repayment of the outstanding advancements.”
Illinois owes $4.5 billion in outstanding advancements. The advances are generating federal interest at a rate of 2.27%, amounting to more than $187.5 million as of Dec. 6, 2021. Illinois has accrued $19.6 million in interest since the waiver expired and after paying $6.3 million in September.
The letter is here.
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Today’s quotable
Tuesday, Dec 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Marie Newman via E&E News via Politico…
“I’m not running against Mr. Casten. I announced my reelection first, and then he announced his reelection,” she said. “My reelection was requested by my entire district, voters and constituents. So I’m running for the district.”
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