Question of the day
Wednesday, Oct 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Block Club Chicago…
Johneece Cobb was at the gravesite of her nephew, shot to death in 2015, when she got a horrifying call: Her 14-year-old granddaughter had just been shot outside Wendell Phillips Career Academy in Bronzeville.
Police said the shooter laid in wait outside the Bronzeville school as classes were letting out, and “immediately starts shooting” when the security guard opened the door for students leaving the building.
Cobb’s granddaughter, a freshman, was shot twice when bullets pieced the door. The 45-year-old security guard was shot multiple times, police said. He was taken to University of Chicago Hospital in fair condition. […]
Pastor Michael Pfleger, frustrated by the lack of response from City Hall, is calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to declare a “state of emergency” as gun violence continues to plague the city. An online petition created by Brave Youth Leaders — the church’s violence prevention program — has been circulating on social media.
* From that online petition…
With this state of emergency we are asking that additional emergency funds be allotted via state grant opportunities to community grassroots organizations/programs for:
1.Youth Mentoring and After School Violence Prevention Programs, Organizations and Services
2.Organizations Servicing At-Risk and Criminal Involved Youth under 25 years and younger.
3.Initiating a Taskforce with the ATF (The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) assigned with the IL State Police to gun/drug trafficking and shooting/homicide cases.
4.Full time mental health/trauma specialists staffing in to public schools and community organizations along with a combination of trade and vocational classes and certification opportunities with college readiness resources for youth.
5.Incorporating of a Statewide Violence Prevention Office With Grassroot Organizations as Liaisons
* Sun-Times…
Pfleger also called on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to declare a state of emergency and come up with a plan on “how we’re going to stop this. It just keeps getting worse.” […]
“How many children, how many lives before we say it’s a state of emergency? We are at a state of emergency now,” Pfleger said. “And I believe that the governor is cautious, doesn’t want to embarrass the city or, you know, overstep the city. I don’t care about feelings anymore.
“I don’t care who’s embarrassed, I don’t care who’s hurt,” he said.
* The Question: What do you think the governor should do about this? Make sure to explain your answer.
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* This was a weird rumor…
A campaign official for Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin said this week there is “no way” the mayor will join the race for governor.
Dennis Cook, a campaign spokesman who has served as Irvin’s campaign manager in his races for mayor, said this week an online video interview that named Irvin as a potential candidate in the Republican primary was likely “just wishful thinking.”
“No, he’s not running for governor,” Cook told The Beacon-News. “Richard just got re-elected in April. We have a job to do.” […]
Irvin himself did not address the rumors, and referred questions about it to Cook.
* Today’s quotable from Sen. Darren Bailey…
He ran for the House and was elected. He then ran for the Senate and is serving there, even when he’s being asked to leave because he refuses to wear a mask. Now, he’s running for governor.
“God’s opening these doors and we’re being obedient in walking through these doors, that’s all we’re doing,” Bailey said. “A message of hope, standing up for the people, that’s something different and unique to Illinois.”
He’s not fond of career politicians, saying, “As soon as people get elected, they try to figure out to get re-elected and when they do that, then you’ve got to start pleasing everyone. It’s that simple. George Washington served to terms and stepped aside, that was the example.”
So, instead of trying to get re-elected he just keeps running for another office. Got it.
* We’ll see if he can raise any money…
Jonathan Logemann is a soldier, a high school teacher, a family man and a Rockford alderman.
He would like to add congressman to the list.
Logemann, a Democrat, announced on Wednesday that he is running to represent the 17th Congressional District. It is the seat U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of Moline has announced she is retiring from in January 2023 following her fifth term. […]
Re-elected to a seventh term in an uncontested race in April, Alderwoman Linda McNeely, D-13, has also said she plans to run for the seat.
Illinois Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford, also said he is considering a run for the seat, but is waiting to see final district boundaries before announcing his candidacy.
His promise to not be one of the fighters in DC may not go over too well in a primary, however. And defeating Stadelman on his own turf could be pretty tough. But, hey, we have zero idea yet what the district will look like.
* Politico…
The Illinois House Legislative Black Caucus has formed a political action committee that will be chaired by Reps. Nick Smith and Lakesia Collins.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about for a few years, and it took some time to put it together,” Smith told Playbook of the Illinois House Legislative Black Caucus PAC.
Black legislators have for years relied on the Black Caucus Foundation to help boost civic and philanthropic efforts in members’ communities. “We felt we needed something to support the caucus politically, too,” Smith said.
The goal, said Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Kam Buckner, “is to raise funds, mobilize volunteers, and have an effective apparatus to elect and re-elect members of the Black Caucus.”
Creating the PAC comes as the Democratic Party shifts its operations under new leadership. Party members can no longer rely on former House Speaker Michael Madigan to open the purse strings for campaigns. New party Chair Robin Kelly has created a separate fundraising arm for state and local campaigns, while she focuses on fundraising for federal positions.
“Speaker Welch is doing a great job but he’s focused on his entire caucus. And it’s too early to tell how the party’s local [fundraising] committee will do,” Smith said. “There’s a vacuum with Michael Madigan gone, and we see an opportunity to fundraise to help fill that hole.”
Smith is right. Also, If Rep. Buckner really does want to run for mayor, he’ll need some significant fundraising experience.
* Press release…
Today, Congressman Sean Casten announced he has raised over $473,000 in the third quarter of 2021. The campaign’s impressive fundraising haul brings its total cash on hand to $1.05 million.
Campaign Spokesman Jacob Vurpillat released the following statement:
“These impressive fundraising numbers reflect a wide surge of support for Rep. Casten and everything he has accomplished so far this Congress, like passing critical legislation to safeguard our economy from the devastating effects of the climate crisis. People in the 6th District have sent a loud and clear message—Rep. Sean Casten is the best person to represent their values and interests in Congress.”
* And here’s a press release I didn’t post earlier…
Nikki Budzinski, a labor activist, Chief of Staff at President Biden’s Office of Management and Budget and former senior advisor to Governor JB Pritzker, announced her campaign has raised 455k since entering the race on August 24th.
Budzinski made the following statement: “I’m humbled and grateful for the support that my friends, family, and supporters in Illinois have shown me since we announced this campaign. I’m eager to continue working to build a broad coalition of support to win the 13th Congressional district for working families.”
This total raised in just over 5 weeks places Budzinski in a strong position as one of the highest-raising Congressional candidates in the country this quarter.
Pretty darned good haul.
*** UPDATE *** Speaking of good hauls…
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth’s (D-IL) reelection campaign announced today that it raised more than $1.8 million in the third quarter of 2021, with more than 43,000 individual contributions averaging under $35 each. Of those contributions, 98% were $100 or less. The campaign, which ended the quarter with nearly $5.8 million cash on hand, issued the following statement regarding this announcement:
“These impressive numbers reiterate how eager Illinoisans are to keep Tammy’s unique and powerful voice in the United States Senate. We’re energized by having this many early supporters and are well into our efforts to build a robust campaign that can reach Illinoisans in every corner of our state and help ensure Tammy can continue executing her mission of advocating for working families, new parents, small businesses, servicemembers and Veterans as our Senator for years to come.”
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COVID-19 roundup
Wednesday, Oct 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lisa Donovan…
U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh says the disappointing jobs report released in recent days points not only to fears among eligible workers about COVID-19′s highly contagious delta variant, but also an attitude shift in the American workforce.
“I think that we’re seeing people still living with the concern and maybe fear of the pandemic. Maybe their health is not necessarily the best and then they’re worried about their personal health,” Walsh said in a phone interview with the Tribune. The former Boston mayor, whose political star began to rise as a labor leader, said he’s also hearing from employers ranging from health care to financial institutions to construction who say some employees have reconsidered their professional path amid the pandemic and “have just left the job market because of their work-life balance.”
The U.S. logged 194,000 new jobs in September, according to monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. That’s less than half the 500,000 jobs economists were predicting would be added to the economy as enhanced federal unemployment benefits expired and a new school year brought the promise of a raft of teacher and support staff hires, which typically boost fall jobs numbers.
Neither scenario played out. Walsh said it’s clear to him the special federal unemployment benefits, which ended early last month, weren’t keeping people out of the workforce — an argument that picked up political steam as the pandemic wore on — or “we would have seen different numbers” in the recent jobs report.
* WMIX…
A group of parents are suing a school district in southern Illinois over who has the right to issue a mask mandate. The suit, in the Triad district, hopes to overturn mask mandates in schools, arguing that the State Board of Education doesn’t have the right to issue one.
Governor JB Pritzker says groups like those are working against the best interests of everyone connected to a school.
Transcript…
There are people who are irresponsible, extraordinarily irresponsible, who are going around the state suing because they basically want to make schools less safe. That’s not right. I mean, we are not at a moment when this pandemic is over.
* Wirepoints…
The Delta variant and its limited impact on Illinois children
Response from the governor’s office…
Misinformation is killing people and putting the wellbeing and safety of communities at risk. The administration, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Illinois Department of Public Health have worked closely with school districts to require masks, establish a vaccine mandate for teachers and staff, and ensure students have access to learning. The pandemic is still here, and it will be irresponsibly prolonged by those twisting data and spreading misinformation.
Also…
The CDC found that the odds of a school-associated COVID-19 outbreak in schools without a mask requirement were 3.5 times higher than those in schools with an early mask requirement.
* Meanwhile, to the north of us…
Minnesota on Tuesday reported a COVID-19 test positivity rate of 8.3% that is the highest in the vaccine era and a level of hospitalizations that hasn’t been seen since the first shots against the coronavirus were administered in mid-December.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Minnesota reached 960 on Monday and included 254 people needing intensive care because of breathing problems or other complications. While that is below the record 1,864 hospitalizations on Nov. 29, it is the highest in 2021 and combines with patients with trauma and other illnesses to fill up 96% of available intensive care beds and 93% of non-ICU beds. […]
Minnesota hospitals continue to report observational findings about COVID-19 patients that match recent vaccine research.
While vaccines might be losing some effectiveness at preventing any infections, studies show they remain protective against severe illness, hospitalization and death.
* More…
* COVID-19 update: 2,913 new cases, 39 additional deaths, 1,615 hospitalizations: The state’s positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 2.1% based on a seven-day average, up a notch from 2% on Tuesday.
* New COVID-19 cases drop by 27% on average in October, yes to mingling flu and COVID shots
* Downtown office vacancy hits new record as delta variant slows leasing
* Illinois Told to Prepare to Vaccinate Young Children by November, White House Says
* Who Can Get a COVID Booster Shot Right Now? A Breakdown of Who is Eligible
* With a booster vaccine, should we expect the same kind of side effects?: Dr. John Segreti, medical director of infection control and prevention at Rush University Medical Center, said this is something we will continue to study, and it’s possible that side effects might be similar to initial vaccinations.
* Former Mass Vaccination Center to Reopen in DuPage County for Booster Shots
* 2 Peoria TV stations tell employees to get vaccinated against COVID or get terminated: However, at WEEK-TV and HOIC ABC, all union employees complied to the vaccination edict, Collins said. Further, he said, the company demand does not violate the union contract.
* Do We Really Need to Meet In Person? Videoconferencing is flawed, but it’s still better than the alternative.
* ADDED: Danville Veterans Administration nursing home where 11 residents died didn’t follow COVID guidelines, report finds
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It’s just a bill
Wednesday, Oct 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We’ll see if this actually comes to fruition…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been working to change the Health Care Right of Conscience Act, which some have invoked in the fight against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The 1998 Health Right of Conscience Act bans discrimination because of such persons’ refusal to receive or participate in any way in any particular form of healthcare services contrary to his or her conscience.
Some have said the law allows people to avoid getting the COVID-19 vaccine and evade Pritzker’s executive order mandating vaccination or regularly testing for health care workers, educators and other state employees.
Ameri Klafeta, of the ACLU of Illinois, said people are abusing the 1998 law and using it in a way that was not intended.
“The cases that have been brought under this law have always involved health care professionals,” Klafeta said. “This was never a law for individual citizens.” […]
State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said last month that addressing the HCRCA through legislation would be the first major action Democrats have taken on policies concerning COVID-19.
“I don’t think they want to be put in that vice-like position, but the governor’s pushing it,” Rose said.
Democrats too often allow themselves to be spooked by a tiny and vocal minority. It’s a big reason why they’ve sat on the sidelines for so long.
* CBS 2…
All over Illinois, said State Representative La Shawn Ford (D-101st) people are outraged by the rash of catalytic converter thefts, sold to scrap metal operators and used car parts dealers for cash.
“So right now, if I have a catalytic converter, I can go into a company and sell it to the scrap yard and they don’t ask any questions.”
Ford has introduced a new Illinois law that would require catalytic converter sellers to shows buyers a drivers license or state ID. Buyers would then have to log that personal information. […]
The hope to dry up the market for the stolen parts. Similar laws have been passed in other states, including legislation in California in 2019. But State Farm Insurance said its customers claims for catalytic converter thefts jumped a 175% in California between June of 2020 and June of this year.
…Adding… From a bill passed and signed into law in 2012…
Prohibits the sale and purchase of catalytic converters not attached to motor vehicles unless the seller is a licensed automotive parts recycler or scrap processor.
* Press release…
Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart and Illinois State Senator Jacqueline Collins on Thursday will announce proposed state legislation to ban the possession and sale of guns without serial numbers, known as “ghost guns,” and the unserialized gun kits used to make them. Ghost guns are homemade firearms that cannot be traced. The kits used to build ghost guns do not require background checks, which allows anyone – even individuals prohibited from owning a firearm – to purchase them.
Who: Sheriff Thomas J. Dart, Illinois State Senator Jacqueline Collins, and Delphine Cherry, of Brady Illinois
When: 10 a.m. Thursday, October 14, 2021
Where: Cook County Sheriff’s Police Headquarters – 1401 Maybrook Drive, Maywood, 60153
We are requesting pool coverage. Proper COVID-19 precautions will be observed, including social distancing, appropriate use of face masks, and hand sanitization.
* More…
* Medical marijuana, more popular than ever, could still cost you your job in Illinois: Morgan has introduced legislation to challenge Illinois law so most workers or job seekers would not be punished after testing positive for low levels of marijuana, whether recreational or medical.”This law would change the burden in the sense that the individual who fails a drug test alone should not lose their job, and should not be refused an opportunity to work someplace” he explained. “Unless you show impairment, you can’t be discriminated against in the workplace.”
* After The SAFE-T Act, What’s Next For Criminal Justice Reform In Illinois?
…Adding… Sports betting license…
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Pritzker pressed on PNA repeal
Wednesday, Oct 13, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Dave Dahl…
As reporters in Springfield Tuesday tried to pin down Gov. JB Pritzker on whether he’ll try to repeal the state’s Parental Notification Act, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) launched a passionate argument to repeal it.
Abortion rights advocates believe repealing PNA would be a good response to Texas’ anti-abortion laws. As for Duckworth, “Had I gotten pregnant at 16 or 17, I would have been one of those kids who lied to their parents if there were parental notification laws, and I would have gotten an illegal abortion,” she said in Springfield Tuesday. “When you talk about parental notification, it sounds like a good idea, but it also puts those vulnerable young people – the ones who do not have good communications with their parents – in a very vulnerable place, where they have no other options.”
Abortion rights advocates in Illinois believe a repeal would be an appropriate response to, for example, new restrictions in Texas.
Lawmakers are back in town for veto session, which starts next week. Pritzker says a repeal would be up to lawmakers..
* What Pritzker said when asked and then pressed further…
I’m a lifelong pro-choice advocate. I believe in standing up for a woman’s right to choose. This is just one component, but a vital component of making sure that that right is available to all […]
I think I’m clear about it. I’m in favor of a woman’s right to choose. I’m in favor of repealing PNA. I don’t know whether the legislature will bring this up over the two weeks of veto session, but I have stood in favor of it since I was elected. In fact long before that, when my mother had me marching in favor of a woman’s right to choose back in the 1970s.
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* I was going to do a piece on this today, but Politico saved me the trouble…
There’s an opportunity for state lawmakers to create a second Latino congressional district, according to a remap consultant who testified before the Senate Redistricting Committee on Tuesday. The panel is taking public input before it goes behind closed doors to come up with the new boundaries for 17 congressional districts — one less than the current 18.
Illinois has a larger Latino population than Arizona, which has two Latino members of Congress. Only California, Texas, Florida, and New York have higher Latino numbers, according to Frank Calabrese, who is representing Chicago Ald. Gilbert Villegas, chairman of the Latino Caucus, in calling for a second Latino congressional district.
Calabrese says voter engagement among Hispanics has changed since lawmakers first drew Illinois’ 4th Congressional District, now held by Rep. Chuy Garcia. (The district was nicknamed “the earmuffs” because of its odd shape.)
“The 4th District was created a few decades ago because Latinos weren’t voting at high rates and you had to make it a super-Latino district to work,” Calabrese told Playbook after the hearing. “That’s not the case anymore. You don’t need to have a district that needs to be 70 percent Latino.”
He pointed to New York as a good example. The state has one Latino majority district and three other districts that have a Latino plurality. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s district, for example, is 47 percent Latino, according to the presentation packet Calabrese gave to lawmakers Tuesday.
In Illinois, he told lawmakers, there’s an opportunity to create a second district in addition to Garcia’s district, which encompasses the South and West sides of Chicago.
There are enough Latinos on the North Side of the city and in the suburbs to create a Latino-centric district that would count 50 percent of Latinos — from northwest Chicago, Melrose Park, Franklin Park, Bensenville, Addison, and Des Plaines. Garcia’s district could continue with a supermajority of Latinos, 67 percent. Some of those areas are now part of Rep. Mike Quigley’s 5th Congressional District.
* Click the pic for a larger version of Calabrese’s proposed maps that he sent me yesterday and more explanation…
* Meanwhile…
The Illinois African Americans for Equitable Redistricting (IAAFER) has filed a complaint with the Department of Justice to ensure that the [new state legislative] maps optimize opportunities for minority voters to elect candidates of their choice. IAAFER also shared concerns regarding prison gerrymandering and how the practice will divert over $800 million from Black communities to prison towns between now and the next Census.
Spokesman Norman Montgomery called the latest version of the maps the most retrogressive redistricting plan in state history, with the lowest number of majority Black districts in 40 years. The number of majority Black representative districts has been cut from 16 in 2011, to 8 in 2021. The number of Black senate districts has been cut from 8 to 4.
“We are back to where we were in 1990,” Montgomery said. “How do you make progress if you lose what you’ve gained over the last 20 years in 20-year increments? You can’t do that.”
IAAFER notes that Black people comprised 14% of Illinois’ population in 2011, and still comprise 14% of the state’s population. However, the number of majority Black districts has been cut by 50%. Whites comprised 60% of Illinois’ population in 2011, and 58% in 2021. Yet, 69% of the districts drawn in the Democrat’s redistricting plan are majority white.
The complaint is here.
Let’s look at the House data. Click here for district demographics. You’ll see, for instance, that House districts 6-10 have between 39 and 49.5 percent Black voting age population. All but one of them had 50+ percent in the last remap. All of the current incumbents in those districts are Black and some are quite powerful, including House Speaker Chris Welch (42.3 percent) and Rep. Sonya Harper, the Joint Caucus Chair for the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus (45.4 percent). Population on the West Side is becoming more racially diverse as whites and others move in, so Rep. La Shawn Ford’s new district went from 55.3 percent VAP Black to 49.5 percent this time around.
* Onward to the farcical hearings…
But a House hearing on Tuesday lasted only 15 minutes, most of which was taken up by a roll call for attendance and a pro-forma introductory lesson on the redistricting process, given that zero witnesses submitted testimony virtually, or in-person.
State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, said the address listed for the Joliet hearing site location was incorrect and led to a literal dead-end; he said he was the only legislator on the committee to physically attend.
House redistricting chair State Rep. Lisa Hernandez, D-Cicero, noted that additional hearings are scheduled the rest of this week and encouraged members of the public to participate in them.
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* Wednesday…
Urging its members not to comply with the city’s vaccine reporting mandate, the Chicago police union plans to take Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration to court, even though unvaccinated city workers will go into “no-pay” status starting Friday.
Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara said in a video Tuesday that sending home non-compliant officers could cut the city’s police presence over the weekend in half.
The union president said that the FOP already has a class-action grievance drafted to cover “everything under the sun” that police officers might lose if they refuse to get vaccinated, including pay and benefits.
City Hall has announced that any city employees who fail to report their vaccination status by Friday will be placed in a “non-disciplinary, no-pay status.
But Catanzara instructed rank-and-file officers to file exemptions to receiving the vaccine, but not to enter any information into the city mandated vaccine portal.
* Also Wednesday…
Former Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo Sr., 67, who led the union during the tumultuous years immediately after the shooting of Laquan McDonald, has died after a weekslong battle with COVID-19.
Mr. Angelo, who served as president of the police union from 2014 to 2017, died Tuesday, according to his son, Chicago Police Sgt. Dean Angelo Jr. He said his father had tested positive for the coronavirus in mid-September and had been in intensive care since Sept. 26. His son had earlier declined to say whether his dad had been vaccinated.
* NYT…
More than 460 American law enforcement officers have died from Covid-19 infections tied to their work since the start of the pandemic, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, making the coronavirus by far the most common cause of duty-related deaths in 2020 and 2021. More than four times as many officers have died from Covid-19 as from gunfire in that period. There is no comprehensive accounting of how many American police officers have been sickened by the virus, but departments across the country have reported large outbreaks in the ranks.
While the virus has ravaged policing, persuading officers to take a vaccine has often been a struggle, even though the shots have proven to be largely effective in preventing severe disease and death.
Some elected officials say police officers have a higher responsibility to get vaccinated because they are regularly interacting with members of the public and could unknowingly spread the virus. The debate echoes concerns from earlier in the pandemic, when police officers in some cities resisted wearing masks in public.
Yet as more departments in recent weeks have considered requiring members to be vaccinated, officers and their unions have loudly pushed back, in some cases threatening resignations or flooding systems with requests for exemptions.
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