Question of the day
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rockford Register Star…
Saying Illinois could become the epicenter of a “clean transportation revolution,” Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act during a visit to the Rockford region.
Pritzker signed the law championed by Illinois state Rep. Dave Vella and state Sen. Steve Stadelman during a visit to the future home of the Rock Valley College Advanced Technology Center in Belvidere. The facility focused on advanced manufacturing education is expected to open in 2022.
“With this bill, we intend to attract more EV manufacturers, charging station manufacturers and automotive parts manufacturers than ever before and help Illinois to become one of the leading EV hubs in the entire nation,” Pritzker said.
“With this new focus on electric vehicles, our state can also become a leader in the clean transportation revolution. Electric school buses, electric municipal buses, electric delivery trucks, electric 18-wheelers and so much more.”
After the presentation, the governor offered to take questions from the media. Nobody spoke up. “OK,” he said after a pause. “That was the easiest press conference I ever had.”
* We’ve seen time and time again on this blog that whenever I post a question having to do with the Illinois Senate, it gets almost no responses. So, I’m wondering, could the presence of this man behind Pritzker have somehow caused reporters to clam up?…
Yes, it’s the comment-killer himself, Don Harmon. And his trusty sidekick John Patterson (also a notorious comment killer) was at the event as well.
* The Question: Why don’t you like to answer questions about the Illinois Senate?
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* First we find out that the US Census Bureau was drastically overestimating annual population losses for states like Illinois, and now this…
The government sharply underestimated job gains for most of 2021, including four months this summer in which it missed more job growth than at any other time on record.
In the most recent four months with revisions, June through September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported it underestimated job growth by a cumulative 626,000 jobs — that’s the largest underestimate of any other comparable period, going back to 1979. If those revisions were themselves a jobs report, they’d be an absolute blockbuster.
In an average month before the pandemic, estimates would be revised by a little over 30,000 jobs, or just 0.02 percent of all the jobs in the United States. The recent revisions to the jobs reports have been much larger.
The missing jobs surfaced through revisions to the widely watched non-farm payrolls number that BLS releases each month. The data is considered preliminary until it has been revised twice. The fixes are typically minor, but recent revisions have been big enough to turn a substantial slump into a surprising surge.
Unreal.
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COVID-19 roundup
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WICS…
It was supposed to be the happiest of occasions. Now, family and friends of a Chicago couple are mourning their passing.
Luis Suarez and Norma Franco had been together for years and were finally going to make it official just after Thanksgiving by getting married.
But instead of a wedding, family members are now planning a memorial service after both died in October. […]
Santos says Suarez and Franco were not vaccinated, but we’re planning to get the shot soon so they could have family at their wedding.
Just before they could get it, however, both came down with the virus and both were hospitalized.
Get your shots, people.
* Daily Journal…
Riverside Healthcare has terminated 40 employees for noncompliance with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
On Nov. 1, the hospital placed 62 employees on a two-week unpaid suspension for failing to become vaccinated by a Oct. 31 deadline. Kyle Benoît, Riverside’s chief operating officer, said of those, 35 percent (or 22 employees) became vaccinated and will remain in their positions. When the suspension period concluded on Monday, the 40 employees who still had not complied with the requirement were informed they were no longer employed.
“We were happy to see more employees become vaccinated,” Benoit said. “We wish it would have been 100 percent of them.”
Not included in Monday’s terminations are the 57 employees who gained a court-issued restraining order from a Kankakee County judge that protects them from being either fired or suspended until a Jan. 11 hearing on an injunction seeking to bar the hospital from firing unvaccinated employees.
The hospital employs 2,900 people.
* WICS TV…
Springfield District 186’s board of education voted Monday to fire a teacher for opting not to follow the state and district mandates about testing and vaccinations.
Franklin Middle School band teacher, Kingsley Keys, is now a former teacher after the board unanimously voted to dismiss him Monday.
The rules are that teachers and faculty must prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or get weekly testing. Keys decided to not do this so the board dismissed him.
* Meanwhile, here’s Jim Dey…
[Springfield school teacher Kadence Koen] recently caved to the pressure of being on unpaid leave and provided a photo of her vaccination card to district officials. News reports state the dates on her card showed she got two shots on June 29 and July 19, well before the mandate she protested so publicly was put in place.
So what was all the fuss about?
Koen contends that being “anti-mandate does not mean anti-vaccination” and that what she was really protesting was the district’s requirement that she show a vaccination card or submit to regular testing.
Few, however, will take that explanation credible because Koen could have been more forthcoming about her motivation. After all, Koen could have revealed that she was vaccinated, but did not.
Why? Who knows? Call it the coronavirus effect.
Call it a lot of things, I suppose. I cannot understand these odd ducks and I’ve mostly given up trying.
* Ms. Koen appeared on Jim Leach’s radio show a few days ago and showed a remarkable lack of understanding about vaccines and COVID-19 and masking and numerous other things. For instance, here’s a direct quote…
I am no less likely to contract COVID because I’m vaccinated.
Whew. I just. Wow.
And yet, she’s a teacher.
Koen also said she was still planning to pursue legal action against the district, but the suit wasn’t yet filed and she wouldn’t name her attorney.
* But while the weird people get a lot of headlines, there is still hope. From The Atlantic…
It’s possible COVID could become endemic in some countries in the coming months. That is, a disease that’s present and unshakable, but totally manageable without massive disruptions to work, education and travel. […]
There’s a cumulative effect from the mandates, a drop in hesitancy and the recent decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize boosters for many Americans, as well as first doses for children over five years old. From a recent low of just half a million doses a day back in July, the vaccination rate has climbed to a healthy 1.2 million doses a day.
“The combination of vaccinating children, continuing to get vaccination rates up in older individuals and natural immunity from the substantial numbers of people who have already been infected now puts the long elusive herd immunity within reach,” Alberg said.
Today, 59 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated. And that percentage has been increasing by a point roughly every two weeks.
A vocal and sometimes violent minority might make it seem like the United States has an insurmountable anti-vax problem. It doesn’t. And as COVID surges in its third winter, vaccines are likely to keep a lot of people out of hospitals and morgues in the U.S. and other countries with high case counts. The SARS-CoV-2 virus isn’t endemic yet, but it’s getting closer, Alberg said. “We can confidently say that endemicity is now within reach.”
Maybe. I’d sure like to see Illinois boost its 65+ rate, however…
The CDC reports 98.5% of adults 65 and older [nationwide] have received at least a first vaccine dose as of Wednesday, while 85.8% are fully vaccinated.
Illinois’ rates are 89 percent and 84 percent, respectively. Those folks are the most vulnerable by far.
* And this announcement will also help those folks, since they are also the most vulnerable to harmful breakthrough infections…
The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that it is purchasing 10 million courses of Pfizer’s covid pill, a multibillion-dollar investment in a medication that officials hope will help change the trajectory of the pandemic by staving off many hospitalizations and deaths, according to two people with knowledge of the transaction.
U.S. officials see this antiviral pill, and another by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, as potential game-changers to help restore a broader sense of normalcy and are eager to add them to a small arsenal of treatments for Americans who contract the coronavirus. With breakthrough cases rising and 30 percent of American adults not fully vaccinated, health officials believe the pills will help tame the pandemic because of their ability to thwart the virus’s most pernicious effects.
* More…
* COVID-19 update: 1,627 hospitalized, 20 more deaths, 3,005 new cases: Hospitalizations have increased by 16.8% from a week ago, IDPH figures show. … The state’s seven-day case positivity rate is at 2.8%. … A week ago, the state’s seven-day case positivity rate was at 2.2%.
* Why Health-Care Workers Are Quitting in Droves: About one in five health-care workers has left medicine since the pandemic started. This is their story—and the story of those left behind.
* Pfizer agrees to let other companies make its COVID-19 pill
* Illini football coach Bret Bielema tests positive for COVID-19 and will miss Saturday’s game against Iowa
* Minnesota COVID-19 deaths top 9,000 as new cases soar
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* Flashback to July 12th…
18th District Congressman Darin LaHood said he was pleased with the recent bi-partisan compromise struck by the Biden Administration with Senators last week: “I’m optimistic that the Senate will take up action this week and next week. They are going to be the drivers of this initially. I give the Biden Administration and the bi-partisan group of Senators a lot of credit. They keep working at this and working on it, and they have made a lot of progress. It’s about a trillion dollar bill – doesn’t raise significant taxes. It has some user fees on airports and the rail system. It gives back a lot of COVID money to help pay for infrastructure, but it’s a significant amount of money. It would be about a trillion dollars that would fund roads and bridges, and our locks and dams, and traditional infrastructure. We’ll see if it passes the Senate next week. If it does, I think it’ll pick up some momentum and it’ll come over to the House. I’m going to give it strong consideration if that happens. I’m looking forward to seeing this new progress that’s being made.”
* August 12th…
The Senate voted 69-30 Tuesday to approve a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, a historic piece of legislation that could reshape American lives for decades.
The measure fulfills a call from President Biden for the two major parties to work together to deliver one of his top priorities, but it faces an uncertain fate in the House of Representatives as progressive Democrats press for even greater spending. […]
The 19 Republicans who voted for the bill, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., did so despite pressure from former President Donald Trump to deny Democrats a victory. Trump released a statement that called the bill “the beginning of the Green New Deal.”
Republican negotiators, including Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, dismissed that criticism and promoted the agreement as a huge breakthrough for the Senate.
* November 5th…
The House passed a more than $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill late Friday, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk in a critical step toward enacting sprawling Democratic economic plans.
The Senate approved the revamp of transportation, utilities and broadband in August.
* Also on November 5th…
Congressman Darin LaHood (IL-18) released the following statement on his vote against the infrastructure bill:
“I voted no on the infrastructure package which enables the Democrats to ram through their reckless tax and spending agenda using reconciliation. Given the reconciliation process initiated by President Biden and Speaker Pelosi at the behest of Senator Sanders and the radical progressive wing of the Democrat party, the reality remains that the infrastructure bill and reconciliation package are linked and cannot be viewed separately. A vote for the infrastructure bill is a vote that paves the way for an extreme reconciliation spending bill that includes crippling tax hikes that will kill American jobs and send them overseas, hammer small businesses as they struggle to recover from COVID-19, and worsen the labor shortage while driving up inflation on working families.”
So, he’s now the process police.
* This News-Gazette editorial on November 10th was about Rodney Davis’ argument, which was the same as LaHood’s…
Equally disappointing was the response of Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville — the ranking Republican on the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee — who voted no on the legislation and falsely claimed that it was paired with another infrastructure bill.
“I’m beyond disappointed that President Biden and Democrats in Congress paired bipartisan infrastructure investment to their reckless, multi-trillion-dollar, tax-and-spending proposal,” said Davis.
Davis could have voted for the physical infrastructure bill — as other Republicans did — without voting for the separate social-safety-net and climate-change bill that Democrats hope to pass later this month. Further, Davis last summer asked that about $23 million in “member-directed spending” or earmarks for his district be included in the infrastructure bill.
Congress’ history is full of hypocrisy, and last week’s voting on the infrastructure bill is another example.
Mike Bost made the same argument, by the way.
* Also on November 10th…
One caller instructed Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois to slit his wrists and “rot in hell.” Another hoped Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska would slip and fall down a staircase. The office of Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York has been inundated with angry messages tagging her as a “traitor.”
Investing in the nation’s roads and bridges was once considered one of the last realms of bipartisanship in Congress, and President Biden’s infrastructure bill drew ample support over the summer from Republicans in the Senate. But in the days since 13 House Republicans broke with their party leaders and voted for the $1 trillion legislation last week, they have been flooded by menacing messages from voters — and even some of their own colleagues — who regard their votes as a betrayal.
* November 11th…
[US Rep. Darin LaHood’s] Illinois district includes the heart of the nation’s heavy construction equipment manufacturing industry, where Caterpillar, Komatsu America and their suppliers are mainstays of the Peoria economy. The upstart electric truck maker Rivian in Normal, Ill., has much to gain from the bill’s funds to electrify the nation’s highways and boost its power grid. […]
But while the new 16th District may have infrastructure needs, it also has Republicans — lots of them — with a heavy conservative tilt. The new district will almost certainly be represented by the Republican Party in 2023. […]
Eli Nicolosi, the Republican chairman in Winnebago County, which includes Rockford, had the misimpression that the bill was full of social policies that had nothing to do with infrastructure, some of which are in the reconciliation bill. He said he understood and accepted Mr. LaHood’s vote, even though he noted that the local airport could use some help and that aerospace manufacturing would most likely benefit from a cash infusion. […]
Connie Beard, the chairwoman of the McLean County Republicans, brought up Rivian as a company of the future, but she worried aloud that the infrastructure measure would mean “tremendous amounts of tax increases.” Told that there were none in the bill, which is dominated by old-fashioned public works programs, Ms. Beard pivoted.
“It’s hard for the legislators themselves to understand what was left in the bill and what was on the cutting room floor,” she said, adding, “I understand why Congressman LaHood wanted to take more time.”
Extreme partisanship combined with newly drawn districts and a whole new crop of voters will make politicians skittish as heck about breaking party ranks and drawing primary challengers. That’s not an excuse, but it’s clearly why they did what they did.
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* We talked about this last month, but here’s Hannah Meisel…
Campaign contributions from out-of-staters and so-called dark money groups will be banned in Illinois judicial campaigns beginning in January under legislation Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law Monday. […]
But making Illinois the first state to outright ban certain political contributions to judicial candidates is the biggest change contained in the law, which comes a year after an Illinois Supreme Court justice first elected as a Democrat became the first sitting high court member in state history to lose his retention bid — an expensive race fueled in part by dark money.
Republicans voted against Stuart’s legislation last month, with several members arguing during the House debate that the majority party was making another adjustment in state elections law to benefit their party.
“This is another effort for the majority [party] to change the rules of the game because they don’t like the outcome,” State Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) said before voting no on the bill. “And the voters of the state of Illinois are noticing that the policies and practices and elected officials that they’ve put in power have not served them well.”
I mean, I get it, but I’m still not sure how you can claim with a straight face that a bill to ban dark money contributions is a scary bad thing.
* There’s more to the omnibus bill…
The law also makes adjustments in deadlines and other technical requirements for candidates in next year’s primary election because it’s later. Pritzker signed a law in June moving the primary from March 15 to June 28 because late-arriving 2020 Census numbers delayed the drawing of new congressional district boundaries.
Under the law, which takes effect immediately, any polling place that is accessible to voters with disabilities and elderly voters shall include at least one voting booth that is wheelchair accessible. […]
Another change allows voters to designate sex on voter registration forms as “male,” “female” or “non-binary.”
…Adding… Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul Schimpf…
Out of all of the items included in SB 536, improving and increasing election integrity safeguards was not one of them.
If the Democrats are going to make voting vastly more accessible, they need to increase voting safeguards. Yet, they are so focused on their one-party control that they don’t even consider what the voters want—and Illinoisans want to know their vote will be counted fairly and securely. But Democrats couldn’t even reach across the aisle to make election integrity a pillar of our voting process. Good government and governance starts at the top and under JB Pritzker’s leadership deficit, Illinois voters will experience another election with a lack of safeguards that promote integrity in the system.
I would have VETOED SB 536 because of the lack of election integrity safeguards. Integrity and trust must be restored in our elections.
I’ve asked what specific safeguards he was talking about, since he didn’t mention any. I’ll let you know.
…Adding… [The bill in this deleted update had been signed previously. Oops. Sorry about that.]
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* What a long strange trip this has been…
…Adding… Some background from earlier this year…
Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino violated campaign law as a legislator, Illinois Supreme Court Justices ruled on May 20.
They found his campaign committee improperly spent more than $200,000 at Happy’s service station in Spring Valley.
They remanded his case to state election board commissioners, who must decide whether Mautino knowingly broke the law.
…Adding… [The bill in this deleted update had been signed previously. Oops. Sorry about that.]
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* I told subscribers about this press release earlier today. Despite a retraction sent yesterday, Moylan said only one word needed to be changed because it misidentified somebody…
State Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, has stated that he is convening a press conference with other state legislators and police chiefs to discuss proposed legislation regarding the increasing crime rate around Chicago and surging violence against police officers.
“The situation is getting out of control. FBI data this year shows that violent, fatal attacks against police officers are up 31%. Just this month, Officer Stephen Kotlewski of Bensenville was shot and hospitalized during a domestic violence call. It’s reaching into every community,” said Moylan.
Moylan is sponsoring two pieces of legislation to combat the alarming rise in fatal attacks. House Bill 4159, the Police Protection Act filed by Moylan, increases penalties for offenses when the act is taken against a police officer. House Bill 4125, proposed by State Representative Fran Hurley, creates the Police “Hate Crime” Act, which would label any offense where an individual attacks, harms or stalks a police officer as “hate crime” and increases penalties for those offenses.
Moylan is also asking for up to $100,000,000 to increase protections for officers on duty.
The conference will reportedly be attended by colleagues from both houses of the General Assembly including State Representatives Jaime Andrade, Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar, Eva Dina Delgado, and State Senators Laura Murphy and John Connor. Additionally, Des Plaines Police Chief David Anderson and Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminski have announced their attendance, along with Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow and DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin.
“The brave men and women who put their lives on the line each day to protect our communities deserve to know they, too, are protected.” Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) said. “Law enforcement officers are facing an increase in dangerous and stressful situations. Together, we must build mutual trust between our officers and the community to reduce violence on our streets.”
“We must address this issue immediately. We are not at war with our police departments. Too many lives are being lost and too many people are being made victims,” said Moylan.
The press conference will be held at Des Plaines City Hall on Thursday, November 18th, at 10:15 AM.
…Adding… USA Today…
An Illinois police union on Wednesday ousted from its membership an officer facing criminal charges for exposing a squad car video that showed his fellow officers slapping and cursing a man dying of a drug overdose.
The case of Sgt. Javier Esqueda, a 27-year veteran of the Joliet Police Department, was featured in September as the first installment of the USA TODAY series “Behind the Blue Wall,” an investigation involving more than 300 cases of police officers over the past decade who have spoken out against alleged misconduct in their departments. […]
Esqueda told USA TODAY that he’s become a pariah among his coworkers since July 2020, when he shared with a television reporter footage from January of that year showing how officers treated a handcuffed Black man in medical distress. Officers slapped Eric Lurry, restricted his airway and shoved a baton in his mouth hours before his death. Esqueda faces up to 20 years in prison after department officials opened a criminal investigation into his actions and prosecutors charged him with four counts of official misconduct.
Members of the Joliet Police Officer’s Association on Wednesday voted 35-1 to expel Esqueda, a move first reported by The Herald-Ledger newspaper in Joliet. In a letter informing him of the impending vote last month, union leaders described his conduct as “reprehensible.” The letter did not offer specifics on what actions from Esqueda prompted the vote.
Emphasis added.
* Tribune…
The controversial head of Chicago’s largest police union said Monday he will retire from the Chicago Police Department — an announcement that came just after he took the stand in a disciplinary hearing that could have ended with his firing.
John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, also declared that he will run for mayor in 2023, alluding multiple times to his combative relationship with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and said he felt the outcome of the proceedings against him was predetermined.
“It was pretty evident very early on that this cake was already baked,” Catanzara said, “I am going to be at human resources first thing in the morning, and I am going to be retiring. I will no longer be a Chicago police officer. … No one will be able to touch me.”
“This has all been a farce from the get-go,” he added, later saying to reporters: “There was never a possibility under God’s green earth that I was ever going to give this mayor the ability to utter the words, ‘I fired him.’ ”
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Open thread
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Oh, man, what a weird morning I had. Got up really early, but it’s just been one thing after another seemingly conspiring to prevent me from finishing my subscriber work. Oy.
Anyway, what’s on your mind?
*** UPDATE *** I just realized that this is our 400th open thread. Not sure what it means or if anyone cares, but it’s kinda boring today.
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