Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Schiff have been trying to impeach this president since day one. When one play doesn’t work, they just go back to their political playbook for the next. https://t.co/cOV3qNRNOl
Problems started early Saturday because Madigan decided to call the House into session at 10 a.m., despite a declaration from Blagojevich that the House and Senate should convene at 2 p.m. Madigan wanted to finish work early so House members could return home overnight Saturday before returning to Springfield Sunday.
Madigan agreed that Blagojevich has the authority to call the General Assembly into special session, but said the governor does not have the authority to dictate the time of the meetings. Blagojevich’s office disagreed, saying it has the constitutional authority to set not only the date of the special sessions, but the time as well. The administration said it is exploring its legal options. […]
Before the House could finish its work Saturday, Blagojevich issued another proclamation calling for another special session to start at 2:30 p.m. Nonetheless, Madigan adjourned the House at about 11:45 a.m.
Rank and file lawmakers who’ve been forced to stay in Springfield with little to do while the budget impasse continues erupted in anger Saturday. […]
“I believe we should look into what it would take to see if he (Blagojevich) is to the point where impeachment proceedings should start,” said Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro. “I am dead serious.”
Back in the day, Rep. Bost wanted to impeach a governor over an argument about the precise time the House was required to convene a special session.
* Greg Hinz was at Gov. Pritzker’s appearance today at the Economic Club…
Insisting that “no silver bullet” exists to slay Illinois’ staggering public pension problems, Gov. J.B. Pritzker today flatly rejected the idea of tying constitutional pension reform to his proposed graduated income tax. […]
For instance, the most commonly discussed pension change that a constitutional amendment would allow is eliminating the current guaranteed 3 annual percent compounded COLA increase in benefits. But slashing that figure roughly in half to match today’s actual inflation rate “does not solve” the state’s current $133.5 billion unfunded pension liabilities, Pritzker said. “It doesn’t.” […]
Moreover, even getting such a proposition to voters would require a three-fifths approval of the House and Senate, both of which are controlled by union-friendly Democrats, Pritzker continued. Voters then would have to enact the change in a referendum by at least the same three-fifths vote.
“If you did all of that, if you could get it through . . . you will then face the U.S. Constitution’s contracts clause,” which holds that contracts cannot be dismissed by legislative fiat. That’s significant because the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the government worker pensions here are an enforceable contract.
The key political numbers here are 71, 36 and 60. It’ll take 71 votes in the House, 36 votes in the Senate and 60 percent of voters to make this happen. If someone wants to show me a doable roll call in the overwhelmingly Democratic General Assembly and sound polling of likely Illinois voters, then I’ll listen. Until then, this ain’t going anywhere.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx on Tuesday released a digital ad for her 2020 reelection campaign that invokes President Donald Trump’s rhetoric against Chicago and addresses her own handling of the controversial Jussie Smollett case.
In the ad, Foxx also reminds viewers of her Cabrini-Green upbringing and the struggles she’s overcome on her way to becoming Cook County’s top prosecutor.
“State’s attorney is a tough job. Every day, my office is under attack: from a president who uses our city as a punching bag, the NRA hellbent on letting guns flood our streets and the FOP clinging to the old ways. They’ll do anything to undercut progress, including attacking me personally over the Jussie Smollett case,” Foxx said in the ad. “Truth is, I didn’t handle it well. I own that. I’m making changes in my office to make sure we do better. That’s what reform is about.” […]
Factions of the city’s law enforcement community, led by the Fraternal Order of Police, have heavily criticized Foxx. Her office’s role in the area’s bail reform efforts also is at the center of intense debate.
Her biggest public blunder — the Smollett case — is still on the minds of a lot of people.
Nine months after the Smollett saga, in which Smollett reported to police that he’d been the victim of a racist, homophobic attack by President Trump supporters, and seven months after Foxx’s office mysteriously dropped all the charges him, the case still comes up a lot.
Earlier this month, President Trump brought up the situation during a speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention.
“It’s a scam. It’s a really big scam, just like the impeachment of your president is a scam. And then you look what’s going on. Smollett is still trying to get away with it,” Trump bellowed.
Um, this is a Democratic primary race. And even if it was a general election contest, the president received 21.4 percent in Cook County. Running as the candidate the president hates would be a positive there.
* Foxx’s opponent raises nearly $900,000 since August: Big executives at the Carlyle Group, one of the world’s richest private equity firms, are pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into the campaign of Democrat Bill Conway, who is now outraising incumbent Kim Foxx.
* Facebook ads and direct mail make it very easy for candidates to talk out of every side of their mouths at once. Lynn Sweet with the scoop…
An internal document for Rep. Dan Lipinski’s Democratic primary campaign, obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, proposed pitching Republicans by highlighting his vote against Obamacare while wooing independents by reminding them he opposed its repeal.
Other highlights from the strategy document suggesting messages to various voter demographics in the 3rd Congressional District:
•Hispanics were to be flagged about Lipinski’s “pro-Dreamer votes” while Republicans would be targeted with “pro border patrol” messaging.
•Lipinski is anti-abortion and that would be the emphasis for Republicans and Catholics, but not for outreach to other women, millennials, teachers, independents, union members and nurses.
•A drive to persuade Republicans to vote in the Democratic primary would include reaching out to GOP officeholders; getting letters from “GOP surrogates”; and through Facebook “ads targeting independents.”
* React…
“The kind of cynicism displayed in the Lipinski campaign memo is why a lot of people are turned off from politics,” said Marie Newman. “Since he has not voted with the Democrats on critical issues, this memo suggests he is turning his attention to Republicans instead. This is why I am running - because I believe this district needs a real Democrat who will fight for everyday issues and represent working people, lower health care costs, and fight for our Democratic values.”
* Planned Parenthood, um, stretches the limits of possibility with this fundraising email…
Illinois could become the next anti-abortion state. Don’t let abortion opponents win! Make an urgent gift now to fight back!
The Reproductive Health Act (RHA) is under attack. It has only been in effect a few months, but dangerous legislation has already been introduced to repeal this critical protection for reproductive freedom.
You fought to pass the RHA, declaring reproductive health care as a fundamental human right in Illinois. But the opposition wants to steal your victory.
This new, alarming legislation will:
* Ban abortions at six weeks - before most women even know they are pregnant
* Jail doctors for providing abortion care
* Strip away people’s access to reproductive health care
You cannot let this happen. [Redacted], make an emergency gift today to support the pro-Planned Parenthood champions in Springfield, and help us fight back against this attack on our reproductive health and rights.
Your support is critical to fight this new legislation, and protect care in the Midwest.
In this together,
Jennifer Welch
Chair
Planned Parenthood Illinois Action PAC
The bill is not going anywhere and they know it and this pitch is designed to generate fear when none is warranted.
* Democratic congressional candidate Anthony Clark uses image of murdered student to raise campaign money…
Donor,
This is Michael Reese.
He was one of my students, and on Oct. 2, he was shot on a street in my district.
Five days later, he succumbed to his wounds and died.
I’ve shared with you before that in my 10 years of teaching here in the Seventh District, I’ve lost 11 students to gun violence. One of the reasons I’m running for Congress is to treat the systems that lead to violence and grief. But, here we are today—I’ve now lost 12 students to gun violence.
As I write this email, our school and our community are in mourning over Micheal’s death. We’ve mourned the loss of far too many young people.
We know these problems don’t have a single fix. They are intertwined with the systematic vehicles of oppression and marginalization. Our students, our communities, and all of us are owed opportunity. We demand a fair judicial system. We deserve fair pay. Everyone deserves the right to grow and flourish.
The system won’t change until people like US are elected to Congress. Our current leaders are too distant from the harsh realities we face on a daily basis to make effective change.
I got into this race because this is OUR community, and it deserves a voice in Congress that is connected to the roots in our neighborhoods. Someone who’s connected now to the communities of Bellwood, Oak Park, and across the district.
That’s why our campaign is 100% grassroots and doesn’t take any money from corporate PACs or special interests. I intend to serve the people, not big money, and I intend to finally put an end to the violence that has claimed 12 of my students and countless others in IL-07.
We can’t afford to lose one more life, so I’m asking you to support our campaign to root out the causes of gun violence and make this epidemic a thing of the past.
This is literally a matter of life and death.
In solidarity,
Anthony
Support Anthony’s camaign
…Adding… An eagle-eyed reader pointed out that Clark also spelled the kid’s name wrong in its second usage. “Micheal.” For crying out loud, do better.
* Rodney Davis uses the House impeachment process to appeal to his fundraising base…
Friend,
Since Nancy Pelosi gave Adam Schiff the green light to do anything he wants, he’s been turning Congress upside down and on its head. Schiff is calling up witnesses who aren’t credible, none of them have ever even met President Trump nor have they ever been in contact with him!
Schiff has no evidence to prove his politically motivated impeachment investigation, yet he continues to waste more and more of taxpayer money. More so, Democrats are polling what charges to bring against President Trump.
This entire investigation is nothing more than a political tool Democrats are trying to use to bolster their 2020 election chances.
If you agree that this entire investigation inquiry has been a complete waste of time and money, add your name to the growing list of Illinoisans who want this partisan impeachment to end!
Rodney Davis is committed to fighting for the priorities of Downstate Illinois and that means advocating on your behalf, Friend.
If you want your voice heard, click here to say NO to impeachment>>>
Help put an end to this politically motivated investigation by signing our petition today! Let Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff know what you think of their partisan impeachment process.
An investigator with the inspector general’s office for the state Department of Human Services remains on the job despite findings that he has sexually harassed employees of agencies that hold DHS contracts.
According to a report released last month by the state Executive Ethics Commission, Manuel “Manny” Zepeda told three women employed by Marcfirst, a Normal nonprofit that helps the developmentally disabled, that he had an ex-girlfriend who once obtained Viagra for him. Then he told the women that his wife liked to have sex in hotels. All the time, according to the report prepared by the Office of the Executive Inspector General, Zepeda was staring at a whiteboard in the agency office, and when someone said, “That’s not on our board,” Zepeda said that he should probably leave before he got another sexual harassment complaint against him. The conduct occurred in July 2018.
Reactions from employees, according to the report, ranged from alarm to someone who said, “This is just typical Manny” and, “You have to play along.” One of the employees who witnessed Zepeda’s behavior had met him that day. Zepeda was in Marcfirst offices to conduct an investigation, the nature of which wasn’t disclosed in the report released by the ethics commission. As an investigator, Zepeda is charged with investigating allegations of abuse, financial exploitation and neglect involving people who receive services from agencies licensed, funded, operated or certified by DHS.
One Marcfirst employee told the inspector general that Zepeda was “always inappropriate and creepy,” but she had decided to “let it go.” While she said that she was offended and made uncomfortable by Zepeda’s comments, she said she didn’t feel that she could speak up because her agency might suffer negative consequences from his investigations.
Another employee had similar concerns.
“I’ve always been told by coworkers to go along with what Manny says because it could affect the outcome of the case he is inquiring about,” the employee wrote in a statement.
Zepeda was put on 30 days of unpaid leave earlier this fall, according to DHS spokesperson Meghan Powers, after having been moved off of investigations involving the disability service agencies whose employees made complaints. Additionally, a letter has been put in his personnel file.
“IDHS takes employee misconduct extremely seriously,” Powers said in a statement. “In 2018, IDHS strengthened its sexual harassment policy, which was relied upon for the OEIG report. We will continue to aggressively enforce anti-harassment policies and ensure a safe environment for those we represent and serve.”
Zepeda received a pay bump of $1,000 per pay period in 2019, from $6,800 last year to $7,800. Even with his 30-days of unpaid suspension time, Zepeda has made $75,800 so far in 2019, according to state records.
Zepeda’s union contact with AFSCME may have played a role in both the raise — as state workers finally received step increases earlier this year that had been denied to them by former Gov. Bruce Rauner — and Zepeda’s continued employment with DHS.
In March this year, the small Illinois town of Hinsdale, in the western Chicago suburbs, was facing a crisis.
The village’s district had a funding shortfall, and a referendum was scheduled to determine whether $140m could be pumped into Hinsdale’s schools.
The referendum was hotly contested – an organized, enthused Vote Yes campaign was pushing hard for people to back the vote. It looked like the referendum might deliver a yes verdict.
Enter Locality Labs, a shadowy, controversial company that purports to be a local news organization, but is facing increasing criticism as being part of a nationwide rightwing lobbying effort masquerading as journalism.
The company, with two other linked organizations, was responsible for the Hinsdale School News, a print newspaper that was distributed around Hinsdale voters. The paper had the Hinsdale high school district logo, and the look of a journalistic organization. But, as the Hinsdalean reported, the “newspaper” was stuffed full of articles, mostly byline-free, which had a distinct anti-referendum skew.
“The depths of what they went to were pretty egregious,” said Joan Brandeis, who was part of the Vote Yes Campaign.
“This was purposely done to mislead people into thinking that was a publication from the district.”
We’ve talked about Locality Labs several times. These are the Proft papers run by Brian Timpone.
There’s this thing called the First Amendment, so the papers cannot be regulated or put out of existence. It’s possible, perhaps, to argue that some of them should be regulated like campaign committees, but that’s a dangerous path to tread. I mean, if you make that argument, are you gonna require the Tribune editorial board to register, too? Good luck getting that done.
The Hinsdale referendum passed, so Timpone’s paper didn’t have a deciding influence.
But this should be a lesson for everyone. When campaigns are being planned, the possibility that one or more of these Locality Labs outlets could start engaging is something that should be factored into the equation. And whining to an overseas news outlet is not a plan.
Jace spent more than 80 minutes in the room before someone stepped inside to hand him a change of clothes, wipes to clean his feet and some lunch. https://t.co/ExUbPxTQQA
For this investigation, ProPublica Illinois and the Tribune obtained and analyzed thousands of detailed records that state law requires schools to create whenever they use seclusion. The resulting database documents more than 20,000 incidents from the 2017-18 school year and through early December 2018.
Of those, about 12,000 included enough detail to determine what prompted the timeout. In more than a third of these incidents, school workers documented no safety reason for the seclusion. […]
But disability advocates, special-education experts and administrators in school systems that have banned seclusion argue that the practice has no therapeutic or educational value, that it can traumatize children — and that there are better alternatives. […]
Nineteen states prohibit secluding children in locked rooms; four of them ban any type of seclusion. But Illinois continues to rely on the practice. The last time the U.S. Department of Education calculated state-level seclusion totals, in 2013-14, Illinois ranked No. 1.
Although state law requires schools to file a detailed report each time they use seclusion, no one is required to read these accounts.
Several school district officials said they had not reviewed seclusion reports from their schools until reporters requested them. The Illinois State Board of Education does not collect any data on schools’ use of isolated timeout and has not updated guidelines since issuing them 20 years ago.
Go read it all, but prepare to be disgusted, saddened and enraged.
*** UPDATE *** Rep. Jonathan Carroll (D-Northbrook) says he is “filing a bill to end this practice,” adding “It’s in LRB as we speak.”
* The Tribune takes a team-coverage look at a significant aspect of suburban opposition to approving local cannabis sales…
In several suburbs, crowds of protesters — many of them Chinese Americans brought out by social media — wore identical Opt Out shirts, carried signs, signed petitions and helped convince local officials to prohibit marijuana sales. […]
Activists said they shared their concerns with a broader audience through WeChat, a China-based multilingual messaging app, similar to Facebook, which claims more than 1 billion users.
Critics complained that Opt Out consisted of the same group of protesters going from town to town. While some people attended meetings in more than one suburb, and got their identical signs and T-shirts from the same group, Asian American Advocacy, organizers maintained that protesters mainly consisted of residents of each municipality.
Many in the movement are Chinese immigrants who share conservative, family-first values, according to Cynthia Hopkins of Hinsdale, a volunteer with Asian American Advocacy. Influenced by a history that includes the drug trade related to the Opium Wars of the 1800s, she said, many parents are motivated to minimize their children’s exposure to addictive drugs. Protesters also raised concerns about rising incidents of emergency room visits and traffic accidents involving marijuana users, and the fact that the drug remains illegal under federal law.
“It’s a perfect issue to show there’s so much potential with the Asian Americans,” Hopkins said. “Once they’re organized, they’re a force, they make sure their voice is heard.”
After hearing about large Asian-American crowds at several local council meetings a couple of months ago, I reached out to some folks in the polling business who told me that some of the most intense opposition to legalization comes from older Asian-Americans.
…Adding… Hmm…
The group behind this push is Asian American Advocacy, a dark money group formed last year, active in Republican politics. I did a long, deep investigation into the org's money trail last year, and more broadly that Asian American voters are often ignored: https://t.co/LoLggIagzKhttps://t.co/A2wJcx6AHG
As an aggressive federal corruption probe pursues Illinois Democrats, frustrated voters of both parties feel a sense of relief. Finally, someone is digging out the bottom of the well — and the top.
Grateful for the intervention of the feds? One person deserves kudos, and progressive Democrats especially might want a defibrillator on standby before saying it aloud: Thanks, Mr. President.
President Donald Trump, through his then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, nominated federal prosecutor John Lausch in summer 2017 to lead the Chicago-based U.S. attorney’s office. Lausch was one of a handful of candidates considered and vetted by Illinois’ GOP congressional delegation. U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth signed off, too, but only after eliminating from consideration Maggie Hickey, who had served under former Gov. Bruce Rauner. Her GOP connection made Democrats nervous. Maybe they thought Lausch would go easy. How wrong they would have been.
Also, the US Attorney’s office under Obama ensnared both a Chicago alderman (Daniel Solis) and an Illinois state Senator (reported to be Terry Link) who were eventually used to nab others. Link and Obama used to regularly play poker together back in the day.
The fact is, federal prosecutors and investigators have been involved in a years-long process to get to this point.
Has the Lausch appointment played a major role in this? Yep. No doubt. Does the president deserve kudos for nominating him after he was recommended by the delegation? Yep.
But that nomination didn’t come out of nowhere and neither did this widespread probe.
…Adding… Also, do you remember this case? Lots of players involved and it may have been the catalyst for some of what’s going on today…
The son of a wealthy pharmacist, Sethi was a licensed pharmacy technician in 2003 when his family were partners in a $10 million deal to buy a 122-room hotel on 2.8 acres at 8201 W. Higgins Rd., next to a Hooters along the Kennedy Expressway.
A few years later, Sethi decided to knock down the hotel and replace it with three hotels and a convention center.
He hired one of Chicago’s most politically connected zoning attorneys, James Banks, who got approval for the project from the City Council Zoning Committee which was then headed by his uncle, Ald. William Banks, a powerful member of the Cook County Democratic Party. The alderman — who later ended up working for Sethi — abstained from the January 2009 vote.
Four months later, Sethi hired Madigan’s law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner, to seek a reduction in the property taxes by appealing the value put on the hotel and the land by the Cook County assessor’s office and the Cook County Board of Review, agencies controlled by Madigan’s fellow Democrats. Over the next four years, Madigan’s firm saved Sethi and his family more than $645,000 in taxes as the family ended up tearing down the hotel to make way for the project. […]
Sethi also hired attorney Michael McClain, a Madigan loyalist who’s one of the top lobbyists in the state capital. A former state legislator, McClain once served as Madigan’s assistant majority leader. […]
Sethi settled the SEC case in March 2014, agreeing to pay a $1 million fine, sell the land and refund the money he collected from foreign investors, including the administrative fees that went to the Chinese brokers who lined up investors.
Five months later, Sethi was indicted for fraud. In January, he pleaded guilty.
Democratic state Sen. Kimberly Lightford of Maywood has emerged as the leading candidate to become the next Illinois Senate president after John Cullerton’s stunning resignation announcement last week.
Lightford, currently the Senate majority leader, would become the first African American woman to preside over a chamber of the Illinois legislature. […]
Two potential candidates to replace Cullerton aligned themselves with Lightford — state Sens. Andy Manar, a former Cullerton chief of staff from Downstate Bunker Hill, as well as Heather Steans from Chicago, who has family wealth to help Democratic candidates.
“I look at her leadership in the state senate and I see success after success in what is one of the most diverse Democratic caucus in the U.S. Not an easy task. Senate President Cullerton did it – mastered it. That’s what I’m interested in and I believe she has the skill set and the knowledge and the ability to continue that for the Senate Democrats,” Manar said.
Sen. Tony Munoz is also reportedly backing Lightford.
…Adding… I just talked to Sen. Munoz and he confirmed he’s supporting Lightford.
“I am talking with my colleagues and I am assessing their concerns and interests in the caucus. I expect that I will run for Senate president but I want to keep talking to my colleagues before making any formal announcements,” [Sen. Don Harmon] said. “People are eager for change but people also want to be sure that the next Senate president has all of the attributes to be effective both inside the building in terms of having good public policy, but also in the political spectrum. Our public policy victories are only as durable as our majority.” […]
[Sen. Mike Hastings] says the next president has to be a leader who shapes policy that lawmakers from all of the state’s diverse regions can get behind while also serving as a political operator who can get Democrats elected. That requires having a political operation and the ability, “unfortunately,” to raise money.
“I have all those things,” Hastings said. “I can count … probably five senators that have legitimate political organizations – a base of volunteers to send anywhere in the state, and are able to handle their own district, with no problem taking tough political votes. If you’re going to be the leader you got to lead the whole chamber.”
Sen. Hastings was sued in September by his former district office chief of staff who claimed harassment and retaliation.
As we’ve already discussed Sens. Elgie Sims and Melinda Bush are also interested.
* Last week, the Tribune editorialized that the Senate needed someone much different from John Cullerton as its next Senate President…
The next Senate president could insist on a fair redistricting process. He or she could acknowledge that a state with an unfunded pension liability of $137 billion ought to rethink the rigid pension clause of its constitution. The next president could insist on a more responsible budgeting process that begins in January, not mid-May. The next president could answer the call of voters to put term limits on the ballot.
As the various candidates make their cases for why they should be the next to take up the mantel, we encourage them to model themselves after Cullerton. Illinoisans need people who can be a leader not just for their party, but for the whole state. Serious issues remain to be addressed in Illinois, including the underfunded pension liability, teacher shortfalls, economic development, taxes and a host of other problems that only get worse the longer lawmakers wait to tackle them.
The next leader should pledge to continue to be like Cullerton, in that he or she can see the beauty and benefit of compromise with those with different political ideologies, and who will know when to dig in and when to sit down to hash out a deal on a given issue. Best of luck to Cullerton as he starts a new chapter in his life, and thank you for often being the adult in the room.
* The Question: Without naming any names, what qualities do you think are most important for the next Senate President?
* Here’s one I missed the other day. From Jon Seidel at the Sun-Times…
Federal prosecutors want a judge to send a longtime Dorothy Brown worker to prison for more than two years after they said she lied to a grand jury, “threw a wrench in the wheels of justice and ground them to a halt.”
They also said the lies Beena Patel told the grand jury investigating job-selling allegations in the office of Brown, the clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, “directly impacted the government’s ability to charge those most culpable in the illegal activity.” […]
The feds’ investigation centered in part around a $15,000 payment by Sivasubramani Rajaram allegedly to land a job at the clerk’s office. The feds say Rajaram made a $5,000 cash payment at a meeting at the Corner Bakery across from the Daley Center. But when prosecutors asked Patel about that meeting in front of the grand jury, they said Patel gave misleading answers.
“She attempted to minimize her own involvement by stating that Rajaram slid the envelope containing $5,000 in cash directly to the Clerk,” McShain wrote in Tuesday’s memo.
Prosecutors said it was Patel who accepted the cash.
I just don’t know enough about this to say one way or another, but this piece does bring up questions about whether the feds might have possibly chased the wrong person because of Patel’s testimony.
The federal criminal probe into Commonwealth Edison is one of the most aggressive anti-corruption efforts to permeate Illinois politics in a generation.
Exhibit No. 1 is the middle-of-the-day FBI and IRS raid of Democratic state Sen. Martin Sandoval’s office in the Illinois Capitol in late September. Investigators sought information about four unidentified officials at Exelon, ComEd’s parent company, and documents pertaining to utility rate hikes.
The federal scrutiny even has extended all the way up to the state’s most powerful politician, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, though the veteran lawmaker has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.
No one has been charged with a crime. But the investigation is broad, complex — and moving fast. Here’s what you need to know to catch up.
Today, the Illinois Republican Party is launching DemCorruption.com, a website to expose the Illinois Democrat Crime Ring as a wide-ranging network of lawmakers, lobbyists, and party bosses whose sole purpose is the personal financial benefit of those within the ring. Whether the public benefits from their government service is of no concern to them.
The individuals atop this network of criminals and cronies are in the most powerful positions within state government and our state’s largest city:
INDICTED on federal charges
Tom Cullerton, State Senator
Ed Burke, Chicago Alderman
Luis Arroyo, State Representative (former)
Under federal investigation
Mike Madigan, Speaker of the House & Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois
JB Pritzker, Governor
Martin Sandoval, State Senator
Carrie Austin, Chicago alderman
Daniel Solis, Chicago alderman
Jeff Tobolski, Cook County Board
Only in Illinois would so many elected officials be indicted or under federal investigation. Some are tied up in the same scheme; others are being investigated for their own personal insider dealings. The thing that binds them together is that they serve in high-ranking leadership roles in the Democratic Party of Illinois.
The ILGOP has created DemCorruption.com to expose the misdealings of each politician and to help keep all the ongoing scandals straight. We even created helpful nicknames to make it easier to remember all the corruption, grift, and greed. Some of the infamous members of the Illinois Democrat Crime Ring include The Velvet Hammer, Junior Blagojevich, and the Red-light Baron. Information about the rest of the crime ring can be found at the website.
“DemCorruption.com will serve as a central clearinghouse for information on Democrat corruption in Illinois,” explained ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider. “Voters can stay up to date, learn how to fight back, and get involved in exposing the Illinois Democrat power structure for what it is: a criminal enterprise.”
…Adding… Missed this one…
* Diminished and preoccupied, indicted Ald. Edward Burke no longer a dominating presence at City Council meetings
*** UPDATE *** From Eileen F. Boyce at the Democratic Party of Illinois…
As we watch the parade of Trump administration officials who are convicted of a variety of crimes, Illinois Democrats are continuing our work to protect workers’ rights, access to affordable health care, and a woman’s right to choose from attacks by dangerous politicians in Illinois and Washington. Democrats are working to strengthen ethics laws while Illinois Republicans are simply trying to distract from their own poor record and a failed President
SafeSpeed came to dominate the suburban red-light camera market during the last decade by developing deep relationships with public officials.
Consider the company’s dealings in southwest suburban Justice, where court records show the firm not only was getting a new contract but was enlisting the police chief to act as a consultant to get other towns to do the same for a cut of the proceeds.
SafeSpeed officials instructed him to invite fellow police chiefs to hear a red-light camera presentation at a River North Brazilian steakhouse. Later, records show, the chief had a meeting at a Countryside cigar shop with SafeSpeed officials, including its rainmaker, Omar Maani. As the meeting wrapped up, the police chief had a couple questions: Were his business cards ready? And could he get one of the company’s red polo shirts to wear when he pitched their business to his fellow police chiefs?
Justice officials would fire their top cop, Robert Gedville, for what they said was an obvious conflict of interest, soon after the Tribune disclosed his dealings with the village’s red-light vendor in 2012.
* You should read Mark Maxwell’s entire story, but here’s a small excerpt to get you started…
On the political side of his operation, the four separate campaign funds [Senate President John Cullerton] controlled sit in varying degrees of debt and disarray. Several members of the party complained to Cullerton about what they perceived as a “mismanagement of funds.”
Records filed at the State Board of Elections show the Senate Democratic Victory Fund took on $630,000 in debt in the final weeks of the 2018 election cycle. The risk paid off. Voters delivered Cullerton unprecedented political power with a supermajority of historic proportion. […]
However, despite strong financial backing, boosted by an extra $2.5 million from billionaire Governor J.B. Pritzker, the Victory Fund burned through so much money, it took most of 2019 for Cullerton’s team of political fundraisers to fill that hole.
In addition to taking on more than half a million dollars in debt, Cullerton’s campaign accounts lost tens of thousands of dollars in risky investments, paid out high fees to brokers, navigated through software glitches, and submitted campaign finance reports that Cullerton now acknowledges were littered with discrepancies and inaccuracies that, on the surface, appeared to some Democratic senators to look more like sleight of hand than transparent disclosure.
Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30) defied county and state party leaders on Friday by wrangling the voting power of former State Rep. Luis Arroyo to appoint Peoples Gas official Eva-Dina Delgado as Arroyo’ successor in the legislature.
Reboyras was one of four Democratic committeepeople who showed up to the meeting Reboyras had scheduled to pick Arroyo’s successor, in a process the alderman repeatedly said followed the letter of state law and party rules. But one of the committeepeople in attendance, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), called the meeting “corrupt” and walked out as soon as proceedings got underway.
Arroyo resigned his House seat Nov. 1, a week after he was arrested on a corruption charge that includes allegations that he bribed a state senator on behalf of a firm that hired him to lobby Chicago officials. But he refused to resign as 36th Ward Democratic committeeperson, giving him the largest share of the vote in the party-driven process of choosing his replacement.
Reboyras suggested during the run-up to Friday’s controversial meeting that Arroyo would assign his votes to a proxy, but the alderman repeatedly declined say who would wield that power. It was not until the meeting had already begun that Reboyras said, in response to a question from State Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago), he had Arroyo’s votes, giving him more than 50 percent of the weighted vote and unilateral power to fill the seat.
Arroyo, who held the largest weighted vote, had called the meeting at the Alliance of Polish Clubs.
But after he did, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan sent letters to the other committeemen, warning them that any involvement from Arroyo “whether a direct vote or a vote by proxy would cause the candidate’s qualifications to be challenged by the full Illinois House of Representatives.”
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, who’s also the 35th Ward committeeman, walked out of the meeting Friday, saying the process had been tainted by the use of Arroyo’s votes.
“I’ve been urging Ariel Reboyras not to use Arroyo’s proxy for weeks — I told him that would put a cloud over the process,” Ramirez-Rosa said after he walked out. “It’s clear he’s hell-bent on filling the vacancy with the support and collusion of the disgraced former state rep.”
Reboyras said he did not coordinate the selection with Arroyo and that he arranged Friday night’s meeting with him through attorneys. […]
Because Reboyras used Arroyo’s votes to make the selection, other committeemen, including 35th Ward Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and state Sen. Robert Martwick, the 38th Ward committeeman, boycotted the process. Several potential candidates also withdrew from consideration.
“I think it’s a disservice to all of these candidates to allow them to go through this process when it’s very clear that they are unlikely to be seated,” Ramirez-Rosa said before leaving the meeting. “And I would urge any candidate that wants the respect of the community, that wants to be trusted as a candidate to fill this vacancy, to also leave this process because ultimately this process appears to be corrupt.”
Martwick didn’t attend Friday’s meeting but had given his votes to Ramirez-Rosa.
Delgado now faces the unusual prospect of being challenged from within the party to hold on to her 3rd District seat before an election is held since House Speaker Mike Madigan is sticking to his guns about ousting any appointment that included Arroyo’s weighted votes.
“The speaker’s position has not changed,” Madigan Spokesman Steve Brown told Playbook on Sunday.
We’re now in uncharted territory because such appointments are usually perfunctory. Lawmakers we talked to don’t know what a challenge might entail.
Delgado, who would hold the seat until January 2021 if she survives Madigan’s opposition, spent the weekend calling lawmakers for their support.
The heir apparent is already in line to fill the soon-to-be vacated seat of longtime state Sen. John Cullerton.
Within hours of Cullerton’s shocking announcement at the end of the fall veto session in Springfield Thursday that he plans to retire in January, signs were already pointing to state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz to replace her fellow North Side Democrat in the Illinois Senate.
Feigenholtz — who worked as Cullerton’s district chief of staff for more than a decade dating back to his time in the Illinois House of Representatives before she was first elected in 1994 — said Saturday she has contacted Democratic ward committeemen who will eventually vote to appoint Cullerton’s replacement once he steps down. […]
And as for who might eventually take Feigenholtz’s House seat, it’s too soon to say who might eventually land in that portion of the legislative game of musical chairs. Feigenholtz said she’ll still file to run for the House in the March election.
Much will change at the Statehouse when Senate President John Cullerton retires in January, a year before his term expires.
Unlike his House counterpart, Speaker Michael Madigan, Cullerton always wanted to find ways to get things done — and he got a lot done.
He’s a kind, approachable man who prefers bipartisan statesmanship but relishes partisan battle whenever the times call for it. He’s smart and funny and has managed to keep a diverse caucus together without resorting to intimidation, like his predecessor routinely did.
And, frankly, he’s been very good to me over the years, always taking the time to talk. If he disagreed with something I wrote about him, he’d call me himself and make his case instead of ordering some underling to do it or give me a cold shoulder. The state will be lesser with Cullerton’s retirement, but a lot of us will miss him.
OK, enough with the mushy stuff and on to the future.
Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood) told me she’s running for Senate President. She will be formidable because she’s well-liked, she’s already in the second position and she’d be the first woman of color to lead that chamber in Illinois history. Not to mention that she has strong leadership skills.
As a friend said, Lightford can either be the next Senate President or make the next one. If she can cobble together a coalition with one or more of the other people I’m about to mention, she may very well end up in the chamber’s top job.
One of the ways Cullerton convinced his fellow Democrats to back him for Senate President in 2009 was to demonstrate how much money he could raise. He took in more than $750,000 in the four months after Senate President Emil Jones announced his retirement. That may seem like a quaint amount these days, but it was enough to impress his colleagues back then.
On fundraising alone, Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) should be considered a serious contender. She has the connections and the ability to raise big cash and helped Cullerton raise all that money in the run-up to his Senate President bid. She’s also an experienced budget negotiator and has serious policy chops.
Sen. Tony Munoz (D-Chicago) was perhaps the leading contender last year to replace Cullerton when he quietly told select members of his leadership team that they might want to start lining up support to replace him. Munoz appeared to be Cullerton’s favorite right up until Cullerton decided to rescind his announcement because it was dividing his caucus and damaging his ability to maintain power. Munoz had been expected to get a primary opponent this coming spring, but nobody has yet surfaced, so that helps his bid. Munoz is very popular within the caucus, has powerful allies, but he was close to Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago), whose Statehouse office was raided by the feds in September, so we’ll see how that plays out.
Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) was the other leading contender for Senate President last year. Since then, he was moved out of the Senate Executive Committee chairmanship and given a paid leadership job. It seems certain that he will throw his hat into the ring. He has policy, campaign and communication skills and has some support within the caucus.
Sen. Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) is Cullerton’s former chief of staff, is perhaps the most media-savvy member of his caucus and is super-close to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who could turn out to be an important factor here. A Pritzker negotiated Lightford-Manar ticket might work. Manar’s biggest hurdle is that he represents a swingy, Republican-leaning district. His people love him there, but he will technically be on the political bubble every time he’s on the ballot.
Sen. Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) describes herself as a dark horse candidate mainly because of her relative newness to the chamber (elected in 2012) and her outspokenness on ethics. But she’s built a formidable political organization in Lake County, so she has campaign skills.
Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) also said he’s looking at the job. Sims worked his way up the Senate staff to run the appropriations team. He served in the House before moving to the Senate.
I’m sure there will be others, but the field will eventually winnow as deals are cut. And whomever wins the job will have to run again in a year, after the current General Assembly adjourns. The new president won’t have long to prove that s/he is up to the job.
Monday, Nov 18, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
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