Lightfoot advice
Monday, Jun 24, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Center for Illinois Politics asked several political types about their advice to new Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Here’s Secretary of State Jesse White’s advice…
Always remember who you are, and where you came from. I think Mayor Lightfoot is very good at this. The purpose of government is to solve problems and help people, and all elected officials need to remember that.
* DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin…
Don’t forget about the suburbs, and that includes DuPage County. We’re a region that really needs to work together - two particularly compelling areas are economic development and the opioid crisis. The former is vitally important for the region. On the latter, we’ve been battling this thing that has serious and tragic consequences, and we’ve got to work with Chicago. I think very highly of her and I’m looking forward to working with her.
* Former Gov. George Ryan…
You have to have good people around you. That’s the secret to governing. The right people with the right attitude. I think I did a pretty good job with that. You’ve got to work with people and you have to be a better listener than a talker.
* Former Gov. Jim Edgar…
Enjoy the honeymoon. It doesn’t last.
Your turn.
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Question of the day
Monday, Jun 24, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Illinois drivers caught using their cellphones will soon face harsher penalties that could ultimately lead to a license suspension.
Beginning July 1, drivers caught using an electronic device will no longer be issued just a warning ticket on their first offense. Instead, drivers will be issued a moving violation. Three moving violations in a year will result in a license suspension.
In addition to the moving violation, a person who violates the law will be fined a maximum of $75 on the first offense, $100 on the second offense, $125 on the third offense and $150 for all future offenses.
The ban is not limited to cellphones and includes any “electronic communication device.”
* The Question: When was the last time you violated this law? Make sure to explain your answer, please.
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Is this really the best we can do?
Monday, Jun 24, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Natalie Morris…
America may run on DUNKIN’ – as the multinational chain’s slogan suggests – but bringing the brand to Springfield’s South Sixth Street has taken a slower pace.
The chain’s signature table and chairs, a display counter and equipment beckon from inside the 2730 S. Sixth St. location that has been five years in the making. A “Hiring Now” sign even greets traffic along the busy commuter road. […]
Sixth Street’s traffic was the draw, but access from one of the city’s busiest commuter roads has proved a challenge.
It took a full year after publicly announcing plans in 2016 to build in front of the Habitat for Humanity Restore before receiving approval from the Illinois Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction of that section of Sixth Street.
I freely admit that I don’t know all the details here. And I’m not even a big Dunkin’ fan. But while IDOT certainly has a role to play, a year-long approval process when the store was built on a parking lot in front of another store seems a bit much.
As I’ve said before, we put so many hurdles in front of businesses in Illinois that improving this approval process could be one small way to make things better. It’s at least worth a try.
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Not exactly employee of the year
Monday, Jun 24, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune’s Elyssa Cherney…
The last child welfare investigator who made contact with Andrew “AJ” Freund before the young Crystal Lake boy was allegedly killed by his parents is a local elected official with a history of workplace complaints and a recent suspension, according to documents reviewed by the Tribune.
In one case, the investigator was disciplined for ignoring a court order to connect a family with support services, delaying help for four children in a home with a record of domestic violence and alcohol abuse, the documents show. Separately, prosecutors wrote a letter saying he failed to alert them about a mother’s heroin use and that he refused to hold a child because he was worried about bedbugs.
The investigator, 53-year-old Carlos Acosta, serves on the McHenry County Board — first elected in November following a campaign that highlighted his decades of experience in social services.
Acosta, who represents Woodstock and several other communities, did not return multiple calls seeking comment. A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said Acosta was not authorized to discuss agency matters. The department declined to comment further.
Board Chairman Jack Franks said in an interview that Acosta is a “model board member” who works hard and is always prepared. Issues under review at the state agency do not affect Acosta’s status on the board, Franks said.
This story is infuriating on so many levels. Read it all if you have the stomach for it.
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“If anything is good, more is better”
Monday, Jun 24, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This story has absolutely zero to do with state politics or government, but Mr. Nixon is right…
* Go read it all…
Georgia Sheehan, who made chocolate-covered cherries and other treats on a Fannie May assembly line on the West Side for 25 years, loved slot machines, strong perfume and stiff highballs, according to her family.
“‘If anything is good, more is better’ — that’s how she lived her life,” said her daughter Donna Badon.
She’d attend every baptism, first Communion, confirmation, wedding, birthday, holiday and funeral in her big Irish family. She liked to sing, dance and have a good meal. And she didn’t stand on ceremony. She’d take out her partial dentures and put them on the table if it made it easier to eat.
At parties, you’d find “George” belting out “Won’t You Come Home, Bill Bailey” and “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” or Irish songs like “Take Me Home to Mayo” and “Mick McGilligan’s Ball.”
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Cochran gets a year and a day
Monday, Jun 24, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Another convicted Chicago alderman is headed to prison.
Former Ald. Willie Cochran was sentenced to one year in prison Monday by U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso for using a ward charity fund like his personal piggy bank, including to pay for gambling trips, fancy meals and accessories for his Mercedes. […]
Cochran, 66, admitted in a plea agreement with prosecutors that he stole more than $14,000 from the 20th Ward charity he created ostensibly to fund activities for needy children and provide assistance to others in the poverty-stricken neighborhoods he represented.
Instead, Cochran admitted using the fund to pay for personal expenses, including college tuition for his daughter, cash withdrawals from casino ATMs and the purchase of “items for his personal residence,” according to the plea agreement.
* NBC 5…
Judge Jorge Alonso sentenced the former 20th Ward alderman in a hearing Monday, during which Cochran was surrounded by dozens of supporters as he asked for leniency.
Alonso denied Cochran’s attorney’s earlier request not to send him to prison, saying probation and home confinement “would not protect the public from future crimes.”
Attorney Christopher T. Grohman argued earlier this month against prison time for the 67-year-old, telling a federal judge that previous prison sentences for nearly three dozen Chicago City council members have “not done anything to curb Chicago’s tidal wave of aldermanic corruption cases.” […]
Following Cochran’s prison sentence, the judge ordered two years of supervised release.
* WBEZ…
“I am better than this,” Cochran told the judge before receiving his sentence. “My human frailties have brought me shame.”
In handing down the sentence, Alonso characterized Cochran’s behavior as “calculated” and said, even though he did not plead guilty to the earlier bribery and extortion charges, the former alderman committed a “breach of the public trust.”
“Unfortunately, like others before him, he fell into temptation,” Alonso said. He added: “He had everything. There was no need, there was no poverty or desperation.”
* Sun-Times…
Assistant U.S Attorney Heather McShain told Alonso that the alderman’s victims were reluctant to cooperate with investigators out of fear of retribution.
In arguing for prison time, McShain cited legendary Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko, who wrote that corrupt Chicago politicians always ask: “Where’s mine?”
In court, before he was sentenced, Cochran apologized, saying, “I am better than this.” The former alderman talked about his family and good works and said it was an “honor” to serve. He called himself a community builder and asked for “a second chance.”
By sentencing Cochran to a year and a day — rather than just a year — the judge gave Cochran a break, so that the former alderman will actually serve about 10 months behind bars, since credits for good conduct time in the federal system apply to any sentence more than one year.
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* Politico…
Although the [$45 billion infrastructure] measure drew bipartisan support, details of the plan have Democrats getting bigger slices of capital pie. Democratic senators will see about $6 million in funding for projects in their districts, while Senate Republicans will see about $3 million. Each House Democrat will get about $3 million for district projects; and House Republicans, $1.5 million.
Lawmakers voted to double the state’s 19-cent-per-gallon gas tax to fund roads and mass transit improvements. And they approved Senate President John Cullerton’s proposal to raise the cigarette tax by $1 per pack on the current $1.98 state tax to help fund public building construction.
The disbursement to members was initially planned for $3 million for each lawmaker’s district. But Cullerton told Playbook those numbers were adjusted, given the size of the capital bill — thanks in part to his cigarette tax that was three times more than the 32-cent increase Pritzker proposed.
Simply, the cigarette tax was Cullerton’s baby and he wanted Democrats to benefit from it.
Except a bunch of Republicans also voted for that tax hike.
In past capital bills, every member in each chamber received the same amount of money, regardless of party. But, I suppose with super-majorities in both chambers and the governor, the Democrats could force the Republicans to take whatever they could get. Choosing to die on Pork Chop Hill probably wouldn’t be a good look, which is why we probably haven’t seen much coverage of this topic.
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* Jake Griffin…
More than 71,000 people collecting public pensions from six statewide retirement plans have moved out of Illinois, taking more than $2.4 billion annually with them.
That’s roughly 18% of all the pensioners in those systems, according to a Daily Herald analysis of financial data obtained through public records requests with the six pension programs.
Florida leads all migration destinations with 14,030 Illinois pensioners, followed by Arizona and Wisconsin with more than 5,600 Illinois public pension recipients now living in each of those states. […]
All states experience some migration of pensioners to other areas. Although there are no national comparisons, a check of several other states shows Illinois’ departure rate among pension recipients is higher. About 16% of Iowa’s pension recipients have migrated to other states, according to officials at the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System. In 2015, California pension officials reported roughly 15% of their public pension recipients relocated to another state. […]
Illinois public pension recipients who leave the state average pensions of $34,053 a year, compared to an average pension of $35,573 for those who stay put.
There’s more, so go check it out.
* Cal Skinner used the same data to see where General Assembly Retirement System beneficiaries are currently living. Here’s some of what he found…
So, about 88 percent remain in Illinois. I thought the Arizona and Florida numbers would be higher, by the way.
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Today’s number: 30 years
Monday, Jun 24, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Two Chicago neighborhoods, just eight miles apart, are worlds apart in so many other ways…
A recent analysis from the City Health Dashboard, published by the department of population health at New York University, found that the two neighborhoods have the most divergent life expectancy of any in the US that share the bounds of a city.
In predominantly white Streeterville, Chicagoans can expect to live to 90. In Englewood, where the population is virtually all black, life expectancy is just 60. […]
Streeterville is almost a caricature of physical and economic health. The lakefront neighborhood, a mere 14 blocks north to south, is home to a Northwestern University campus and three hospitals. On a late spring day, teens toss footballs and volleyballs as joggers zig-zag with leashed dogs in tow. On a full-length track in front of a pair of highrise condominiums, Kate Gardner jogs. She can’t muster one complaint about life in Streeterville, save for a few weeks of unseasonably cool weather. […]
The different health outcomes are multifaceted and correlate to almost every socioeconomic factor. The median income in Streeterville is nearly $100,000 a year, according to the US census. In Englewood, smack dab in the center of Chicago’s Southside, it’s a quarter of that. More than 80% of Streeterville residents have a college degree, compared with 8.2% in Englewood.
Then there’s the violence and the trauma it brings. … Englewood has long held a reputation as one of Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods. According to the Chicago Tribune, between 2000 and 2017 there were more than 4,800 shootings here.
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That is so Illinois
Monday, Jun 24, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Finke…
An interesting Executive Inspector General report came out last week dealing with parking at an Illinois Department of Transportation facility in Chicago.
Specifically, it was parking at an Emergency Traffic Patrol operation that’s about a five-minute walk from Guaranteed Rate Park, which is where the White Sox play.
Now why would the inspector general do an investigation about that? Because some IDOT workers at the facility were letting people attending Sox games park for free in the ETP parking lot, which is against IDOT policies. Parking in the area for Sox games costs $15 to $20, the inspector general said, so there’s an incentive for people to seek out the freebie.
Investigators interviewed some IDOT workers involved in the parking deal. It makes for interesting reading about the protocols involved in trying to accommodate parking requests. For example, one email reminded workers that to get on the list of people approved for parking a person must be a current employee of IDOT, the state police (as a trooper or administrator), the governor’s office or a legislator’s office. Friends and relatives of those people were supposed to be denied. However, when investigators conducted surveillance of the lot, they found some license plates that could not be traced to state workers.
* This is how the OEIG office found out about the issue…
In April 2018, the OEIG became aware that the ETP facility’s parking lot was potentially being used for White Sox gameday parking. Specifically, after meeting at a training session, an ETP employee emailed OEIG staff saying it was nice to meet them, and “If you guys ever need anything (from help with your vehicle on the Expressways to parking for a White Sox event), please feel free to contact me.” After conducting an initial surveillance of the ETP parking lot on a White Sox gameday in May 2018 and observing several vehicles park at the ETP lot before entering Guaranteed Rate Field, the OEIG self-initiated this investigation to determine the nature and extent of this use of State resources.
#FacePalm.
IDOT agreed to end the practice.
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AFSCME members ratify new state contract
Monday, Jun 24, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sean Crawford at NPR Illinois…
Members of AFSCME Council 31 have a new labor deal with the State of Illinois, according to the union.
Ratification votes were taken at various locations over the past week and a half. It’s the first state contract for the 40,000 state government employees since the last one expired in 2015. Efforts to negotiate a new pact with former Gov. Bruce Rauner were unsuccessful.
New Gov. J.B. Prtizker had made resolution of the dispute a priority since his election last year. The agreement includes 11.5% raises over the next 4 years. Other provisions dealing with overtime and subcontracting are included. Members will pay more for health coverage, but far less than what the Rauner Administration was seeking.
* SJ-R…
Compounded, the raises amount to 11.98 percent over the life of the contract. State workers have received no general raises since July 2014.
Employee health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs will increase. Although specific totals will vary depending on the employee’s health plan and salary, premiums will go up each January by a composite $13 per month for individuals and $18 per month for families. It is the first increase in premiums or out of pocket health costs in four years.
AFSCME said the contract also strengthens restrictions on mandatory overtime and maintains current provisions about subcontracting. Rauner wanted to increase the use of outsourcing of state work.
The deal also expands maternity and paternity leave and creates a new labor-management body to reduce the threat of violence in the workplace and improve worker safety.
* AFSCME…
The new agreement takes effect immediately and runs through June 30, 2023. The previous contract had been slated to expire at the end of June 2015.
In recognition of their continued diligence during Rauner’s tenure—when he froze their pay and illegally prevented employees from progressing through the pay plan for four years—state workers will initially receive a stipend of $625 for each of the past four years worked. General pay increases will follow in January 2020 (1.5%), July 2020 (2.1%), January 2021 and January 2022 (both 3.95%). State employees have received no general increase since July 2014.
Employee premiums and out-of-pocket costs in the state group health insurance plan will increase. Although specific employee contributions vary by type of health plan and salary levels, premiums will go up each January by a composite $13 per month for individuals and $18 per month for families. This maintains Illinois’s standing in the middle ranks of state employee health plans nationally.
Among other provisions, the new contract strengthens employee protections against excessive forced overtime, expands maternity and paternity leave, creates a new labor-management body to reduce the threat of violence in the workplace and improve worker safety, preserves accountability standards for privatization proposals and creates new protections to safeguard employees’ private information.
The agreement was ratified by an overwhelming majority of union members voting. “The big margin reflects how ready state workers are for the return of sanity and responsible governance in the wake of Bruce Rauner’s relentless attacks,” Lynch said. “Public service workers in state government clearly believe this contract is fair for all.”
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* Bernie has it all…
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, says the fact that she led House debate on two complicated, controversial bills within the final week of this year’s legislative session was just a matter of how the issues fell into place.
“Honestly, these things happened to happen at the same time,” Cassidy said of the Reproductive Health Act, which makes abortion a “fundamental right” in Illinois law, and the bill to legalize recreational use of marijuana for people 21 and older in the state. “They’re both things that have been a multi-year effort.”
Each debate took hours, as both bills had nuances that backers and opponents wanted to examine.
Cassidy, who notes that passing legislation requires a collaborative approach and credits the group effort that involved numerous colleagues for success on the issues, didn’t seem to mind those marathon sessions.
Click for more.
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A missed opportunity
Monday, Jun 24, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
“We are so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish this first legislative session of ours,” Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton told a TV interviewer earlier this month. “We said that we wanted to think big for the people of Illinois, we said that we wanted to get Springfield back on the track of working families and that’s what we did.”
But a former House colleague was overheard telling Stratton at a bill-signing ceremony the next day how much she’d missed her. Indeed, Stratton’s absence from the legislative arena was the subject of much speculation in the waning days of the spring session.
J.B .Pritzker often referred to Stratton as a “partner” during the campaign. And she was unarguably indispensable during Pritzker’s statewide bid.
Stratton was only in her first term in the Illinois House when Pritzker picked her to run with him, but she’d already impressed her colleagues with her abilities. It was widely assumed that Stratton would play a major role in the governor’s dealings with the Legislature.
But, depending how you count, Stratton was only in Springfield for about 20 days during the five-month legislative session. Her public schedule, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, shows her departing for Springfield from Chicago a few times at 6 o’clock in the evening with no events when she arrived, so I didn’t count those.
Her schedule only includes a handful of meetings with legislators and scheduled appearances at legislative-related events.
And the last time Stratton was in Springfield was May 16, and she departed for Chicago at 2 p.m.
That meant Stratton completely missed the final two weeks of the spring session, which is typically a busy time, but was especially so this year as one hugely important bill after another was hotly debated by the House and Senate.
As mentioned above, her absence was the source of frequent chatter in Springfield, particularly when some members of the House Black Caucus began resisting pressure to vote for the cannabis legalization bill. Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx traveled to Springfield at least twice to help put out that fire, and several Senate Black Caucus members also played a crucial role as did Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell, who, like Stratton, is a former House member.
The governor’s office was in an “all hands on deck” mode during those final days, but according to her office, Stratton wasn’t even in Illinois. She traveled “out of state” from May 22 through May 25 for her daughter’s graduation and then left on May 28 “with a US delegation of women leaders to Israel,” her office said. Legislative session was scheduled to end on May 31 but ended up lasting until June 2.
Stratton returned on June 5, just in time to attend Gov. Pritzker’s bill-signing ceremony for budget-related legislation, even though the budget deal was made and voted on while she was out of the country. She also attended the governor’s signing ceremony for the Reproductive Health Act the following week, the day after she was interviewed on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight” program.
Stratton’s spokesperson defended his boss, saying she’d been “deeply involved” in legislation and had “countless conversations” with legislators. And the governor’s office claimed Pritzker consulted with her “regularly” on issues like expungement during the cannabis legalization debate. “Illinois is a more just and equitable state today because of the Lieutenant Governor, and her work will continue to be central to the progress we make.”
But I talked with several House Democrats, mainly Black Caucus and female members, and everyone said the same thing: They had little to no interaction with Stratton on important legislation.
”Not at all,” said one legislator, adding “She stopped by to say hi but no conversations on bills.”
”She seemed kind of on an island of her own if you asked me,” said another.
It’s not unusual for a lieutenant governor to not take a major role at the Statehouse. The office has no constitutional duties.
This simply wouldn’t have been a story with almost all previous lt. governors because expectations were so low. Expectations for Stratton, on the other hand, were sky high and remain so, as clearly shown by that WTTW interview.
As far as I can tell she wasn’t elbowed out by the governor or his administration. She chose this path, which is obviously her right as a constitutional officer. And, in the end, almost all of the governor’s bills passed.
But the words I heard most often about her were “disappointing” and “missed opportunity.”
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* Greg Hinz told us earlier this week that the feds were “examining business deals” involving Ald. Austin. Here’s Mary Ann Ahern…
A day after federal agents raided the offices of Chicago Ald. Carrie Austin, new details are beginning to emerge over what exactly it was they were looking for.
On Thursday, NBC 5 learned about questions surrounding the home Austin built three years ago. The home is in an area where the alderman requested a zoning change, and it was also part of a TIF district, according to sources.
Documents show that Austin requested a zoning change in April 2016 for the land where her home, as well as a group of condominiums, were built.
The developers building the project received a $3.6 million TIF for six single family homes and 80 condos, according to the documents.
Just four months after the zoning upgrade on the land, Austin received a building permit to build a $300,000 home on the site. The land she owns in the area, a total of 70,000 square feet, is valued at nearly $900,000.
Ald. Austin’s most recent economic disclosure statement claims she had no outside income above $1,000.
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Question of the day
Friday, Jun 21, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Amanda Vinicky…
Recreational marijuana is all but a done deal in Illinois. Late last month, Illinois became the first state in the nation to approve such a measure via a legislative body, rather than a referendum.
But on Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to make it final.
Multiple sources tell WTTW News that the governor, who campaigned on legalizing recreational adult use cannabis, is scheduled to sign that law June 25.
Legal weed is still about six months away, as the law won’t actually take effect until Jan. 1, 2020.
That signing date is confirmed.
* The Question: Your mood next Tuesday?
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* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker signed two pieces of bipartisan legislation today to impose the strictest limits in the nation on ethylene oxide emissions from ethylene oxide sterilization facilities and other companies that use ethylene oxide.
“Protecting the health and well-being of the people of Illinois has always been my top priority, and I’m proud that this legislation keeps dangerous pollutants out of our communities,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “Families in affected areas can breathe easy. Illinois now has the strictest safeguards in the nation, and I appreciate the hard work of the General Assembly in developing this bipartisan legislation and bringing it to my desk.”
“As Attorney General, I am pleased that, with Gov. Pritzker’s signature, Illinois will lead the nation in enacting stronger regulations of facilities that emit ethylene oxide,” said Attorney General Kwame Raoul. “I appreciate the General Assembly’s work to craft new, stringent regulations of ethylene oxide, which my office will work with the Illinois EPA to enforce.”
“Protecting Illinois residents from the threat of ethylene oxide was a bipartisan effort and I would like to thank everyone, including Governor Pritzker and his staff, who worked on this legislation that ensures proper protections are in place when it comes to this dangerous chemical,” said Leader Jim Durkin. “The tragic situation which unfolded in Willowbrook at the Sterigenics facility should have never happened. This law will help make sure that it never will again.”
“This new law creates the strongest ethylene oxide sterilization regulations in the nation,” said Senator John Curran (R-Downers Grove). “I would like to thank Governor Pritzker for swiftly signing this bill into law.”
“It is vital that once a public health crisis is identified, it is dealt with as quickly and aggressively as possible,” said Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake). “As soon as I learned that Lake County had two companies that were emitting Ethylene Oxide into our air, I started to work on what is now the strictest set of regulations of Ethylene Oxide emissions in the United States. Today Governor Pritzker is signing into law two very important bills – bills that both set the highest emissions standards and ensure constant monitoring of those that use Ethylene Oxide. Our residents deserve nothing less than clean air to breathe.”
* The first new law…
Senate Bill 1852
Under Senate Bill 1852, ethylene oxide sterilization facilities would be prohibited from operating in Illinois unless:
The facility captures 100 percent of all fugitive ethylene oxide emissions within the facility.
The facility reduces ethylene oxide emissions to the atmosphere from each exhaust point by at least 99.9 percent or to 0.2 parts per million.
The bill requires facilities to conduct an initial emissions test within 180 days and yearly tests thereafter, and the results must be submitted to the Illinois EPA. Upon receiving a failed emissions test, a facility must:
Immediately cease operations.
Notify the Illinois EPA within 24 hours.
Within 60 days, conduct a root cause analysis of the failed emission test, take corresponding corrective actions, and seek IEPA approval prior to restart of operations.
The measure also requires EtO sterilization facilities to conduct quarterly ambient air testing and to obtain construction permits from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency before making the modifications required to comply with the emissions limits in the legislation. After January 1, 2020, any new facility seeking a permit to sterilize with EtO must comply with setback requirements mandating that the facility be located at least 10 miles from schools or parks.
The measure prohibits facilities that have previously been subject to a Seal Order from the Illinois EPA relating to EtO emissions from using the substance unless the facility can certify to the Illinois EPA that EtO is the only available sterilization method for the medical instruments or other products and that the facility’s emissions control system uses technology that produces the greatest possible reduction in EtO emissions.
As Leader Durkin explained this to me recently, previous state law allowed companies subjected to a Seal Order to either use the only available method or install the best available emissions control system. Now they have to do both.
* The other new law…
Senate Bill 1854
Senate Bill 1854 applies emission limits on non-sterilization facilities that emit ethylene oxide. Beginning in 180 days, any such EtO facility would be required to obtain a permit from IEPA, which must include a site-specific cap on the facility’s EtO emissions. Hospitals are specifically excluded from the requirements of this bill.
The Illinois EPA will also be required to conduct at least one unannounced inspection of all EtO sterilization sources per year and air testing to determine the ambient levels of EtO throughout the state.
Both bills have immediate effective dates. We’ll see how long that hospital loophole lasts.
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Pritzker signs immigration bills
Friday, Jun 21, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Making good on his promise to make Illinois a welcoming state for all, Governor JB Pritzker signed three pieces of legislation Friday to protect Illinois’ immigrant community amid growing attacks from the federal government.
“Illinois is and always will be a welcoming state,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “Let me be perfectly clear: the state of Illinois stands as a firewall against Donald Trump’s attacks on our immigrant communities. In the face of attempts to stoke fear, exploit division, and force families into the shadows, we are taking action. We will not allow private entities to profit off of the intolerance of this president. We will not allow local police departments act as an extension of ICE. And we will ensure that every student in this state who wants to go to college should be able to do so without saddling themselves with debt for the rest of their lives.”
Among the bills he signed was HB2040, the Private Detention Facility Moratorium Act…
HB 2040 bans immigrant detention centers in the state of Illinois, halting the proposed federally-run center in Dwight, Ill. Specifically, the bill prohibits state, county and local governments from entering any agreement or making any financial transactions with a private detention facility, with an exception for contracts with providers of ancillary services such as medical or food services.
This makes Illinois the first state in the nation to ban private civil detention centers, after the state already banned private criminal detention centers. HB 2040 takes effect immediately.
And HB2691…
HB 2691 allows undocumented and transgender students to received MAP grants and institutional aid at public institutions. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission estimates that approximately 3,500 additional students will qualify for a MAP grant as a result of this new law.
While citizenship status and registration in selective service are required for federal financial aid, any Illinois resident is now qualified for state financial aid. The bill also allows students who used MAP grants to help pay for at least 75 credit hours to continue receiving scholarships rather than cut them off until they attain junior status. HB 2691 takes effect immediately.
* He also signed HB1637, the Keep Illinois Families Together Act…
HB 1637 prohibits local law enforcement agencies from engaging in federal immigration enforcement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
While local law enforcement agencies in 21 states, including Wisconsin, participate in the 287(g) Program — an ICE program that allows local law enforcement officials to identify and remove undocumented residents from the U.S. — Illinois now statutorily prohibits participation.
This bill ensures witnesses of all backgrounds can come forward and report crime to their local police. HB 1637 takes effect immediately.
The bill also provides that “nothing shall preclude a law enforcement official from otherwise executing that official’s duties in ensuring public safety.”
The 287(g) Program allows Homeland Security to “deputize selected state and local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration law.” None of those deputizing programs currently exist in Illinois.
* These early provisions were eliminated from the bill via an amendment…
It would also prohibit law enforcement officials from asking anyone who has been arrested or detained about their citizenship or immigration status, or their place of birth. That prohibition also would apply to people who submit to questioning, crime victims, witnesses and any person who contacts law enforcement seeking assistance.
Additionally, it would call on the state attorney general to propose rules limiting how much assistance certain public agencies could provide to immigration officials. Those rules would apply specifically to public schools and higher education institutions, state-funded health care facilities, public libraries, facilities operated by the secretary of state and courthouses.
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* WTTW…
Chicago is finally set to get a much-anticipated casino. And it’s not just any casino, but one that could rival Las Vegas mega-casinos in size and scope.
Unlike previous proposals, this will not be a city-owned venture (though Chicago is set to get a third of the casino’s adjusted gross receipts, so it’s in the city’s interests for any eventual operator to succeed). Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday that’s at the city’s request [Emphasis added.]
* Neil Bluhm was likely pleased with the mayor’s request…
Consider the new mayor’s ties to the owners of Rivers Casino in Des Plaines — who include billionaire real estate developer and casino operator Neil Bluhm, Bluhm’s family and Kentucky horse-track operator Churchill Downs. A spokesman says they are considering applying to operate the Chicago casino.
The final decision on where that casino would go lies with the Illinois Gaming Board. But Lightfoot is expected to play a big role in determining the best site, as well as who would run the casino.
Lightfoot says campaign contributions won’t influence her, noting “the worst thing” anybody could do is try to sway her by giving her campaign money. “I’m always going to look after the best interests of the city . . . I’m going to play by the book,” she says.
Lightfoot attended law school at the University of Chicago with Bluhm’s daughter Leslie Bluhm, and they remain close friends.
Leslie Bluhm and her sister Meredith Bluhm-Wolf, who have a financial stake in Rivers, gave a total of $212,500 to Lightfoot’s mayoral campaign fund, records show. Leslie Bluhm also co-hosted a fundraiser for Lightfoot.
There’s more, so go read the whole thing.
* More background…
Among Lori Lightfoot’s early boosters are a posse of girlfriends she’s known since law school and college. Leslie Bluhm, Hilary Krane, Margaret Dale and Judy Gold graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1989 with Lightfoot. Bluhm, Gold and Lightfoot also knew each other before that—when they attended University of Michigan. Like Barack Obama, who received early and critical support from his law school classmates, these girlfriends lent their advice and fundraised. Dale is a New York attorney at Proskauer Rose, where she’s co-chair of the litigation department. Gold is a partner at Perkins Coie in Chicago and expert in government and business law. Crane is general counsel at Nike. And Bluhm is a founder of the Chicago Cares nonprofit that connects volunteers to nonprofit projects across the city. Bluhm, whose father is billionaire Neil Bluhm, donated $212,000 to Lightfoot’s campaign.
Judith Gold is the only registered exclusive lobbyist for Perkins Coie. The firm has just two Statehouse clients. One is Neil Bluhm’s Rush Street Gaming. The other is Bluhm’s Midwest Gaming.
Mayor Lightfoot’s former law firm is Mayer Brown. The firm is also a registered lobbyist for both Rush Street Gaming and Midwest Gaming, among others.
Keep in mind that Bluhm did not oppose a city casino, even though Rivers is just outside city limits. Perhaps he’s confident for a reason.
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Union drives ahead for cannabis industry
Friday, Jun 21, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Hannah Meisel…
Organized labor helped push the bill to legalize recreational marijuana across the finish line in the closing days of the spring legislative session last month, but unions’ involvement in the marijuana industry is likely only just budding. […]
Hundreds, if not thousands of jobs could be created in the emerging industry, sponsors and proponents of legalization have said repeatedly. Unions like the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881 and Service Employees International Union Local 1 had been at the negotiating table for months working on the marijuana legalization bill. […]
“They missed opportunities to really fix some wrongs,” [Beniamino Capellupo, the executive director of SEIU Local 1] said of other states. “The sort of failed war on drugs. Who’s that affected? We got into this with the understanding that this bill needed to come from a social equity and expungement point of view first and foremost. If that wasn’t included in the bill, we would not have been a supporter of it.”
SEIU Local 1, which represents more than 50,000 service workers like custodians and security officers in states all over the Midwest, also stands to represent future workers in the recreational marijuana industry. Already, Local 1 represents approximately 8,000 security officers in the Chicagoland area, according to the union’s communications director Izabela Miltko. […]
(U)nionized security officers also offer an added benefit to recreational cannabis dispensaries, Miltko said, in the form of less employee turnover.
“If security officers are allowed to join in unions, not only are they fighting for better wages, healthcare and benefits, they’re able to really lift the industry standard,” she said.
* Accompanying graphic…
[Hat tip: Jake]
I want one of those.
* Bloomberg…
Organized labor will have strong opportunities for organizing those workers under the licensing requirements laid out in H.B. 1438, Koutsky said. Companies seeking operating licenses would be given credit for adhering to “labor peace agreements,” by which the licensee couldn’t interfere with a union’s efforts to organize and represent workers’ interests.
“You have seen this emerging as a standard approach in the states where this is happening,” said Koutsky, who worked with lawmakers drafting the bill. “So Illinois is in line with what’s happening elsewhere, but this is a significant step that Illinois is taking because it is the first state where this happened through a legislative process rather than a rulemaking or administrative approach.”
Koutsky said the UFCW would take a lead role organizing Illinois workers engaged in the cultivation, testing, and sales of cannabis products. That effort meshes with the UFCW’s national goals under its Cannabis Workers Rising campaign, which has organized more than 10,000 cannabis workers in states with medical and recreational marijuana programs.
As a jurisdictional matter, Koutsky said the SEIU would likely have authority to try to represent security personnel hired in cannabis facilities. The Teamsters would have jurisdiction for workers transporting cannabis products and driving armored trucks, he said.
* Other stuff…
* Marijuana legalization poses real questions for employers
* New book a radical retelling of labor movement collapse
* Illinois governor could soon consider watered-down corporate diversity bill
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Census roundup
Friday, Jun 21, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
With the 2020 census nine months away, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order Thursday creating an office designated to help with statewide outreach efforts.
The order will allow Pritzker to appoint two coordinators for the office, which will be housed under the Illinois Department of Human Services, and create a 12-person advisory panel. The office and panel will divvy up funds for local groups to do census outreach, particularly in hard-to-count communities. The operating budget for fiscal year 2020 allocated $29 million to the Department of Human Services for census outreach.
At stake for the state are billions of dollars in federal funding directly tied to population figures determined by the census, according to a study by the George Washington University Institute for Public Policy. The population figures are also used for redistricting and Illinois could lose one or two congressional seats after the 2020 census, experts have previously said. Census data released this month showed the metro Chicago area lost an estimated 22,000 residents from 2017 to 2018 — marking the fourth consecutive year of population loss.
Pritzker didn’t detail how quickly the office will be put together or when groups could start applying for grants to do census outreach.
“We need to get these funds out the door as soon as possible,” Pritzker said.
* Capitol News Illinois…
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said the stakes include billions of dollars in federal funding, as Illinois could lose $120 million annually for each 1% of the population that is undercounted – about $1.2 billion over the 10-year period between each census.
Stratton said nearly 42% of the state’s African-American population, 33% of the Latino population and 20T of children under the age of 5 live in communities classified as hard to count. Undercounts in minority communities could be “disastrous” not only for those communities but to the entire state, she said.
“The census is about equity and representation and how much money for critical services is distributed to communities in need,” she said.
Executive Order 19-10 creates a census office as part of the Illinois Department of Human Services to coordinate the state’s census turnout efforts, and allows the governor to appoint two “census co-coordinators” to direct the census office. It also creates a census advisory panel made up of 12 members appointed by the governor and legislative leaders of each party.
* Centrar Cuadrado…
The Census is more than just a tally of everyone who lives in the United States.
Billions of dollars for roads, schools, and health care are on the line. As is the state’s representation in Washington D.C.
“Our representation in the United States of Representatives is on the line,” Pritzker said Thursday. “Illinois has lost six congressional seats since 1960. And there are experts who predict that we will lose one, or even two, after the 2020 Census.”
* Public Radio…
While signing an executive order Thursday laying out plans, Pritzker criticized former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration for being slow to support census activities. He was also critical of President Donald Trump.
“We certainly can’t count on the federal government to be a good partner. The Trump administration is doing everything in its power to ensure an undercount,” he said. “It’s a multi-pronged approach to slash funding and force communities into the shadows.”
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* Tribune…
Homeowners and commercial property owners on Chicago’s North Side and the city’s central core could be hit with much steeper property taxes this year, according to calculations issued by the Cook County clerk’s office Thursday.
A northward shift in the city’s tax burden, though, means many South Side property owners will be spared significant hikes.
That fact may offer minimal comfort to owners of property in segments of the city that are booming.
A North Sider who owns a single-family home with an average market value of $298,250 will pay an average of $5,213 in property taxes this year, according to Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough’s office. That’s an increase of about $536, or nearly 11.5% from last year.
A commercial property owner in the central portion of the city will see an average property tax bill bump of $11,616, if their site has the average estimated market value of roughy $2.7 million.
If you look at the charts Clerk Yarbrough released, you’ll see tax rates actually went down as property values soared. The average North Side home value jumped almost 19 percent, from $251K in 2017 to over $298K in 2018. Central business district commercial property values rose almost 20 percent. The corresponding tax rates fell by 6.61 percent.
* Sun-Times…
The average South Side homeowner, however, will likely see a property tax hike of just $23.37 — about 1%. […]
On the South Side, the average commercial tax bill will go down by about $10.68, or 0.08%, according to the report.
Property values increased less in that region. Combine that with the overall lower rate and the result was smaller payment increases or a reduction even with a levy increase.
* Greg Hinz…
But with the city of Chicago facing a $700-million-plus hole in its 2020 budget, the new figures could pose a real political dilemma for newly installed Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Lightfoot will be tempted to fill part of the hole by tapping property taxes, a reliable revenue source. But if she does, much of the burden could fall on neighborhoods like Wicker Park, Lake View, Edgewater and North Center, where homeowners already may be in revolt once they see today’s new bills, which do not include any increase Lightfoot may order.
Former Assessor Joe Berrios was sharply criticized for favoring wealthier areas of the city while pushing up property taxes in poorer areas. The wealthier folks were the driving force behind Berrios’ ouster. Now they’re gonna pay more, but it’s what they voted for.
* Related…
* Cook County Assessor’s Office asks commissioners to lend staff — and is told, yeah, we’re pretty busy
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* Radio Television Digital News Association…
[Marilyn Hite Ross] was appointed the Winnebago County, Ill., state’s attorney in November, to complete the unexpired term of her predecessor, who’d just been elected to a judgeship. She had been the previous state’s attorney’s criminal bureau chief. Shortly after taking office in December, she issued a new policy governing her interactions with journalists.
The policy dictates that reporters wishing to interview Hite Ross must submit their questions in advance. If the interview is granted, any reporter who asks about something not on the pre-approved list will have his or her questioning terminated immediately.
Local news organizations in Rockford, the county seat, have tried to get Hite Ross to rescind the policy, but she has steadfastly refused. She even took her policy an ominous step forward, having a reporter removed from a news conference because the journalist asked a question not related to the event’s stated topic.
I’ve never heard of a reporter being forcefully removed from a press conference for asking an off-topic question.
The association’s letter to Hite Ross is here.
* Also…
Hite Ross has offered the board even more questionable advice, [board member Jean Crosby] said. County employee and personnel issues “should not be discussed in public, or with the media, to avoid potential liability for the county,” Hite Ross wrote in a Feb. 13 memo to the board.
That correspondence followed a guest column in the Register Star written by board member Dan Fellars, D-19, in which Fellars criticized County Administrator Carla Paschal’s job performance and called for her to resign.
“We still have the First Amendment the last time I checked,” Crosby said.
* The sheriff is suing the board…
Winnebago County Board Chairman Frank Haney, municipal leaders of Loves Park, Machesney Park and Winnebago and even a few County Board members are blasting State’s Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross for advising the board to keep mum about how the county spends its public safety sales tax revenue. […]
Hite Ross has advised the board in an April 1 memo to discuss the public safety tax only behind closed doors because of a lawsuit filed in March against the county by Sheriff Gary Caruana, who alleges that the board hasn’t provided his department sufficient funds to do its job, which includes oversight of 911 services. Additionally, the sheriff’s suit claims that the board has misspent proceeds of the public safety tax, which supplements the county’s public safety services. Any public discussion of the tax, especially in the context of the ongoing 911 talks, “risks jeopardizing our ability to defend the lawsuit,” Hite Ross said in an April 18 memo to Haney.
“If the state’s attorney is telling the County Board that they can only talk in closed session about the public safety tax as it relates to 911, then how are we ever going to work this out?” Jury said.
* So is the county board chairman…
Chairman Frank Haney will sue the Winnebago County Board within 30 days in an effort to reclaim the executive power that the board stripped from him in recent months.
Haney’s ability to file a complaint in circuit court to reclaim his power was made possible by Judge Donna Honzel’s decision on Wednesday to appoint Haney’s personal lawyer, Ken Florey, as the chairman’s special state’s attorney. Haney’s basis for such a lawsuit: The County Board, by approving a series of ordinances that have diminished Haney’s power, has violated his rights and subverted the will of the voters who elected him chairman.
* And…
Winnebago County Chairman Frank Haney violated at least half a dozen conditions of the county’s vehicle policy after crashing his county-owned vehicle on June 8, according to a policy review conducted by Auditor Bill Crowley.
Haney was driving on an expired driver’s license at the time of the crash and his vehicle registration and license plate sticker had expired more than a year before the accident, Crowley noted in a four-page memo to the County Board on Tuesday.
Haney’s relationship with the board has deteriorated since his election in November 2016. Board member Fred Wescott, R-17, was among those who called on Haney to step down in December, asserting that the chairman lacks leadership skills and is unable or unwilling to listen to the board’s concerns. Haney’s four-year term ends in December 2020, and he announced in April that he won’t run for re-election.
Wescott renewed his call for Haney to resign last Thursday, stating that Haney was using his county vehicle for personal business — a flagrant violation of the county vehicle policy.
* Related…
* Our View: No, Marilyn, you’re not going to muzzle us
17 Comments
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Open thread
Friday, Jun 21, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’ve burned through the last hour dealing with a spam attack on one of my posts and looking for interesting and fresh stories. Success on the first front, not so much on the second. So, I’m turning it over to you. As always, keep it Illinois-centric and be kind to each other.
28 Comments
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