* Background is here if you need it. Fox 32…
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the “border czar” has issued a pointed response to Gov. JB Pritzker’s recent pledge to keep Illinois a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants, suggesting the state’s policies will not deter ICE enforcement.
In an interview on conservative Charlie Kirk’s podcast, Tom Homan responded to Pritzker’s statement, in which the governor declared, “If you come for my people, you come through me.”
Homan replied, saying in part:
“Game on. We’ve got no problem going through him. I’ve got 20,000 men and women in ICE who are going to do their job with no apology,” Homan said. “And if any governor wants to stand in the way, go ahead and do it. We’ll see what happens. We’re not gonna be intimidated.”
Click here for the relevant portion of the interview.
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Wednesday, Nov 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* NBC Chicago…
An Illinois law designed to ensure victims of sexual assault receive proper care inside hospitals also includes a carve out that allows patients to be transferred if the hospital determines it can’t provide services like rape kit exams.
Advocates argue this can disrupt the chain of custody for things like evidence collection and creates a chilling effect where victims may decide to not travel further to get a rape exam.
“That now means a survivor has to go that much further, that’s where we see the real-life impact on a survivor,” said Carrie Ward with the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
An NBC 5 Investigates’ review of 185 Illinois hospital inspection reports filed by the Illinois Department of Public Health between 2018 and 2024 found hospitals across the state have failed to properly treat victims through a series of missteps – from poor record-keeping to more serious violations like failing to contact police and turnover rape kits – some which we found sat on the shelves for years.
* The Illinois Freedom Caucus announced its first Senate member…
Illinois’ most conservative Senator, Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport), today announced his decision to join the Illinois Freedom Caucus, making him the first Senator to join and launching the Caucus into the Senate.
“I’m here to defend American values, stand up for hard-working families, and fight back against the radical left policies we see in Springfield,” said Senator Chesney. “My record speaks for itself—I’ve never voted for a tax or fee hike in my life. I’m proud of that. By bringing the Freedom Caucus into the Senate, I’ll have allies standing with me as I keep fighting for conservative values.”
In joining the Freedom Caucus, Chesney is doubling down on his conservative leadership and commitment to fiscal responsibility, limited government, and protecting the rights of Illinoisans. Senator Chesney has earned a reputation as a no-nonsense, rock-solid conservative who isn’t afraid to call out the leftist policy agenda—or Republicans who vote against their principles.
“I had the pleasure of serving with Andrew Chesney in the House, where he showed he was a true, courageous conservative leader,” said State Rep. Chris Miller, Chairman of the Illinois Freedom Caucus. “He’s exactly the conservative leader we need bringing the Freedom Caucus into the Senate. In fact, he is the only Senator in Illinois with a track record of true conservatism. Working families and taxpayers can count on Andrew Chesney, and they can keep counting on the Illinois Freedom Caucus to fight for them.”
With this announcement, Senator Chesney and the Illinois Freedom Caucus are strengthening a new era of conservative leadership—one that defends Republican core values, refuses to bow to pressure, and will put Illinois families first. This is what the people want.
* Views in the Capitol…
* WAND…
Country star Megan Moroney is coming to perform at the Illinois State Fair next year.
Moroney will take to the grandstand on Saturday, Aug. 10.
Moroney has nearly 2 billion total global streams to date.
“The Illinois State Fair has a long tradition of showcasing artists early in their careers,” said Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II. “We’re looking forward to Megan Moroney’s Grandstand appearance in August. She has a bright future in Country music.”
*** Madigan Trial ***
* Sun-Times | ‘Did the word ‘felony’ resonate with you?’: Defense attorneys grill star witness in Madigan case: One of those defense attorneys accepted wholeheartedly Wednesday, grilling Fidel Marquez over whether he’d forgotten last winter that he’d “pled guilty to a felony” and was “facing five years?” “Did the word ‘felony’ resonate with you on March 8, 2024?” attorney Patrick Cotter demanded. “Did you remember that part of the court proceeding?”
*** Statehouse News ***
* WTTW | State Republicans Call for Inclusion in Budget Talks as Illinois Faces $3B Deficit: President-elect Donald Trump’s victory last week should have a resounding message for Illinois politicians, according to the Republican leader of the state Senate, John Curran: “They want elected officials to focus on making life more affordable.” Curran said Illinois Democrats, who control state government and therefore its purse strings, should bear that in mind as they contend with a deficit projected to top $3 billion.
* Center Square | Bipartisan push to protect Central Illinois drinking water from carbon capture: Julie Fosdick, an opponent of carbon sequestration projects, said legislators seem to be protecting the aquifer now that news broke about the Archer Daniels Midland leaks. “People became much more aware that having carbon sequestration near an aquifer is a serious risk after learning ADM had two leaks,” said Fosdick. “The one leak had already occurred at ADM when the bill [Senate Bill 1289], but that was kept secret.”
*** Statewide ***
* WGLT | Illinois Farm Bureau expelled from national federation: The American Farm Bureau Federation [AFBF] has kicked the Illinois Farm Bureau out of the federation in a dispute over member dues. A letter from AFBF President Zippy Duvall to state farm bureau presidents said the action comes after a failed mediation session on Monday. The move is in retaliation for a decision by the Illinois Farm Bureau’s affiliate, Country Financial, to drop a Farm Bureau membership eligibility requirement for non-farm insurance policy holders in Illinois.
* FarmWeek | IFB president responds to AFBF’s decision: We believe AFBF is choosing to abandon our more than 70,000 Illinois farmer members because our affiliate insurance company does not want to force non-farmers to join.
* KFVS | Illinois Department of Agriculture Launches First-Ever Illinois Product Holiday Box: The Illinois Department of Agriculture has announced the release of the first of its kind Illinois Product Holiday Box. The box features nine different products from Illinois. We believe AFBF is choosing to put our farms, our families and our communities at risk at a time when we need support through federal policy. In short, we believe AFBF has chosen to break its promises to Illinois farmers.
*** Chicago ***
* Sun-Times | Durbin, Duckworth, House Democrats demand feds fix Legionella problem at Loop buildings: The Sun-Times reported in August that three Loop buildings — Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal Building, John C. Kluczynski Federal Building and Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse — have Legionella and, in some cases, traces of lead or copper that exceed safe levels set by the government. The Metcalfe building also includes a children’s daycare that detected Legionella and lead. In their letter, the lawmakers said the Stanley J. Roszkowski U.S. Courthouse Building in Rockford was also found to have Legionella above safe levels.
* Tribune | Chicago-based Grubhub sold for $650 million to Wonder Group Inc.: Wonder Group Inc. is buying Grubhub from Just Eat Takeaway.com NV for about $650 million, acquiring the restaurant delivery service at a steep discount to the $7.3 billion price tag it commanded during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, Just Eat said in a statement on its website Wednesday. It expects net proceeds of as much as $50 million from the deal.
* Sun-Times | Family of Officer Enrique Martinez doesn’t want Mayor Johnson, Gov. Pritzker at funeral, FOP head says: The family has been “very clear they do not want the governor or the mayor to attend” the funeral on Nov. 18, Catanzara said in a video posted to the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police YouTube channel on Monday. He added that Pritzker has acknowledged the request and indicated he plans to honor it, but Johnson has yet to follow suit. “Shame on you, Mayor Johnson,” Catanzara said.
* Tribune | Nurses at University of Illinois Hospital walk off the job, in second strike since August: It’s the second time the nurses have gone on strike since August, which is when their last contract expired. The nurses are seeking better security to prevent patients from attacking them at the hospital, and they’re asking for higher pay. UI Health has proposed annual raises of less than 3%, according to the union, the Illinois Nurses Association. Meanwhile, the health system has said that the majority of its nurses are already better paid than 90% of nurses in the Chicago area.
* Tribune | How will Donald Trump’s plans for education affect Chicago Public Schools?: Trump repeatedly made promises on the campaign trail to dismantle the Department of Education and change funding priorities toward private schools and other educational expenses, which worries Reyes. Like other parents and educational advocates in Chicago, he said he would do whatever it takes to “ensure (his) kids get the proper education they need from all realms and all voices.” Education policy experts say the 47th incoming president’s plans to expand education savings accounts (where families get taxpayer money to help pay tuition for private schools), limit and reshape American history curriculums and shift budget priorities from programs that benefit low-income students have the potential to create a tumultuous transition for Chicago students.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Shaw Local | Will County state’s attorney calls for closure of SAFE-T Act ‘loophole’: The murder case filed against a man accused of killing a Chicago police officer has led Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow to call for lawmakers to close a “loophole” with the SAFE-T Act. But the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice, which supports the law, said in a statement that Glasgow’s solution would “effectively try to lock up everyone accused of any felony,” do nothing to improve safety and “distract the courts from their current careful focus on cases with serious allegations.”
* Daily Herald | Lake County sees a mix of incumbent leaders seeking reelection and those voluntarily ending their runs: Several incumbent Lake County mayors are seeking reelection and some will face challengers who submitted paperwork Tuesday, the first day to file nominating petitions for local offices in the April 1 consolidated election. Many candidates file when their local village halls open the first day to get a higher ballot position and there was plenty of activity with some mayoral candidates filing as a slate with incumbent trustees.
* Daily Herald | CMAP, DuPage County to host traffic safety open house: DuPage County and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning will host an open house in Bensenville to discuss traffic safety issues and hear suggestions from the public. The event is scheduled for 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, in the Bensenville Community Public Library, Diamond Meeting Room, 200 S. Church Road.
*** Downstate ***
* WIFR | Winnebago County residents share experience on public defense in Illinois: State Rep. Dave Vella says public defenders are understaffed and overloaded with cases. He says the main Winnebago County public defender was tied up in court all day Thursday because of this. “We don’t have swift justice for either the victims or for the defendants, and it costs a lot more money for the taxpayers,” says Vella. That’s why Vella introduced the Funded Advocacy and Independent Representation, or FAIR Act, which in part will create an office of the state public defender to assess client needs, staffing and resources statewide.
* Crain’s | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign chancellor to step down: Robert Jones, the first African American chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, announced he will be stepping down at the end of this academic year, leaving a vacancy at the top of Illinois’ largest university as it plays an increasing role in the state’s economic future. Jones has led Illinois’ flagship land-grant university for nine years while also serving as vice president of the University of Illinois System, which oversees the Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield campuses. U of I System President Tim Killeen said in a written statement that Jones will remain with the system to “employ his considerable experience” in expanding its presence in Chicago.
*** National ***
* NYT | Mexico Signals It Could Hit Back With Tariffs at U.S.: “If you put 25 percents tariffs on me, I have to react with tariffs,” Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s economy minister, told a radio interviewer on Monday. “Structurally, we have the conditions to play in Mexico’s favor,” he added. The disclosure by Mr. Ebrard, who is poised to be one of Mexico’s top negotiators with the Trump administration, showcases the rising tensions between the countries in the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election.
* The Hill | Axelrod pushes for Rahm Emanuel as DNC chair: “If they said, ‘Well, what should we do? Who should lead the party?’ I would take Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, and I would bring him back from Japan and I would appoint him chairman of the Democratic National Committee,” Axelrod said Tuesday on his podcast “Hacks on Tap.” “He is the most skillful, political kind of infighter in the Democratic Party. … He’s been a member of Congress, he’s been White House chief of staff, he’s been the mayor of Chicago. Now, he’s been ambassador to Japan, and he ran, in 2005 and [2006], the campaign to take back the House,” Axelrod continued.
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* Isabel and I were chuckling about reporters asking the governor if he plans to run for president in four years. I mean, it’s not like he’s gonna use some little press conference somewhere to make such a big announcement.
So, we thought about a better way to get at his thinking and maybe see if it knocked him off his stride a bit and made him somehow take the bait. From earlier today…
Isabel: At this moment in time, what qualities would you like to see in the next Democratic presidential nominee?
Pritzker: Well, gosh, let’s start with I’d like them to hold Democratic values. And you know, there are a lot of things about standing up for the middle class, a lot of things about making sure that we’re addressing their freedoms and protecting them that I think that the next Democratic nominee ought to hold. And so I think we’ve got quite a number of really highly qualified people on the Democratic side. I think you saw some of that the people you know during the last year or two who you know, been pushing back on the proposed agenda of the Trump potential Trump administration at that point, some of those leaders, I think, are terrific people who hold those values.
He’s not bad at this game.
* Another reporter took a crack at it…
Q: With Think Big America, with the Polis group that you put together, with the gun issue, Why should anyone think that you are not running for president in 2028?
Pritzker: [Laughs] That’s kind of funny. I mean, it’s, first of all, it’s 2024. I still have two years left to serve in the term that I’m in as governor. As you all have heard me say time and time again, I love this job and there’s an awful lot about it that I believe I can do to protect people from the problems that seem to want to come from Washington, DC, over the next two years. So I’m looking forward to doing that. And you all should - and you’ve been asking me about re election. I think that’s the relevant conversation.
…Adding… Pritzker was also asked about who he’d like to see as the new Democratic National Committee chair…
I know there are probably four or five people that I’ve heard, whose names I’ve heard. I like all the names that I’ve heard. So I’m not going to make a decision about that now, about who I might support. But I can say we need to do a lot of building across the nation, especially in states where, not just the battlefront states, but I’m talking about states where we need to lift up the Democratic party that has been less competitive than it should be. An example of that would be the Indiana Democratic Party, where there’s an opportunity in Indiana, because it appears to be, anyway, the Democrats are doing better, and the opportunity to elect more to their general assembly and potentially to statewide office.
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* Last week…
“People have often said that I’m a happy warrior, and I’ve always taken seriously my role as a happy warrior on behalf of this state,” Pritzker said in a news conference Thursday. “Even today, when I’m struggling with many of the difficult questions this election poses, my optimism for the future remains undiminished.”
“To anyone who intends to come take away the freedom and opportunity and dignity of Illinoisans: I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior,” he said. “You come for my people, you come through me.”
* Senate Republican Leader John Curran yesterday…
Unlike other Democratic governors in other states, like Pennsylvania, that have approached the election results with calls for collaboration and working in a more bipartisan manner, Governor Pritzker recently with his press conference, has doubled down on his anti-Republican rhetoric, bashing Donald Trump and telling Illinoisians he was going to be protecting them from the incoming administration. Despite the electoral outcome, he still does not seem to understand that he represents all Illinoisians, including the 2.4 million that voted for Donald Trump.
Governor, the people of Illinois are not happy with the incompetent governance your administration has displayed. They’re not happy that your administration continues to fail our most vulnerable populations, where your failure to meet the requirements of our consent decrees with abused and neglected children under the state’s care, as well as develop adults with developmental disabilities. Illinoisans are not happy paying the highest property tax rate in the nation, as well as the highest overall effective tax rate. Illinoisans are not happy about living in a state that continues to be known for crime and corruption, and they certainly are not happy with your repeat broken repeated promise that you broke with regards to not signing a map drawn by politicians and instead signing the most gerrymandered map in the nation. Illinoisans are now seeing the dramatic effect from that gerrymandered map with this last election, where they’re able to hold on to power for he and his allies and really thwart the will of the electorate that are looking for new leaders.
You know what would make Illinoisans happy? A state government that meets its obligations. So maybe instead of reaching into Illinois’ pocketbooks for more of their hard earned dollars and being happy leading an administration that continually fails our most vulnerable population, Governor, you should stop with the national campaigns. Come home, sharpen your budget pencil, and let’s get to work. It is time for you and your administration to work with both parties in approaching the upcoming budget. In that spirit, on behalf of all Illinoisans, regardless of who they voted for, I am calling on Governor Pritzker to pledge to not increase taxes on Illinois families and businesses in this upcoming budget year, Illinois has real Illinois problems right here that need to be dealt with. It is time for Governor Pritzker to take a break from the national campaigns and to start to think Illinois.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
* Wirepoints.org’s Ted Dabrowski was on WLS Radio yesterday…
Q: I guess the place we start with you is, when did Governor Pritzker become a warrior of any kind?
Dabrowski: Well, he’s always been a culture warrior. He’s been, I guess, very tribalistic, separating people, dividing. He’s really good at delivering his talk. He’s smooth, he’s controlled. But underneath it all, he’s always dividing people, and that’s why I think he’s a warrior. He’s saying, ‘Look, you come after the people that I’ve segmented out, the ones that I’ve instilled fear in. If you come after them, I’m going to defend them. And that’s basically the message he had for Trump right after Trump won. So you know, he didn’t, he didn’t waste any time in telling Trump, stay away from Illinois. He went right at it. […]
Q: The election here, and we saw these gains being made by Republicans here in Illinois. I mean, not enough to swing this state red. But is part of that playing into Pritzker coming out and saying, ‘Hey, don’t screw with me’. Because, I mean, I think there’s a real chance that 10 years from now, this state might be swinging the other direction.
Dabrowski: Look, he’s certainly on defense, right? I mean, you know, he tried that, if you look at his rhetoric, especially like at the DNC, and even before that, you know, he’s always calling Pritzker all kinds of things. Pritzker all kinds of names, misogynistic, all those names, homophobic, blah, blah, blah. He was aggressive. And then the press has been aggressive against Trump here in Illinois. So, you know, they didn’t, they weren’t successful in slowing down the move, right? So Trump got, Trump did the best he’s ever done in the three different elections he’s had. He got 45% of Illinois. Nobody expected that. So the other side is under threat. And a lot of people, I should say, are sick of kind of this culture wars and tribalism that Illinois pushes.
Q: Yeah, but realistically, what can Pritzker do to stop, I mean, the federal government’s the federal government, you know? I mean, like, what’s Pritzker thinking he can really accomplish here by, by saying, ‘Hey, Trump, don’t come after me and my people.’
Dabrowski: Well, you know, he’s trying to create a mecca for the kind of vision he has, trying to invite everybody from the rest of the country here. Whereas a lot of people going to Florida and Texas, yeah. So, you know, you will have some movement from Florida to Illinois and in from Texas to Illinois, for those people who are of the issues that Pritzker pushes so hard, the whole LGBTQ and the abortion and things like that. So he’s going to try to attract people that way. But, you know, it’s not a winning strategy, it’s a divisive strategy. And this is my problem with Pritzker, he’s not standing on just general American principles of merit and achievement and accomplishment. And you know, in the just being generally good people to everybody. He really points out who are those who’ve been aggrieved. He wants to single them out, and then he wants to act like he’s gonna be the one to save them. And that’s why he’s calling himself the warrior. He’s gonna save those people. It’s a bad strategy, because he’s not saving all Americans. He’s not saving all Illinoisans. He’s picking out people that he wants to, quote, protect.
* Today, Pritzker was asked how he thought it had reached the point where “we need to be protected from our own president”…
Well, that’s not exactly what the purpose of it is. We’re protecting democracy, and we do believe that between the Congress and the President, that there are proposals that I’ve heard, like we heard recently, I think the last few days, about the potential for passing laws that would take money away from states where we don’t allow prayer in schools. Now, you could say that’s a constitutional issue for the Supreme Court, or you could say it’s an attack on a state, where we need to protect the separation of church and state. So that’s something that comes out of the President-Elect’s transition, and I’ve heard echoed by members of the Congress.
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Pritzker, Welch talk Trump
Wednesday, Nov 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
* ABC7…
Governor JB Pritzker is now the co-chair of a new non-partisan coalition of the nation’s governors.
Governors Safeguarding Democracy is said to be committed to protecting American democracy at the state level ahead of Donald Trump’s Presidency.
Pritzker will be joined as co-chair by Governor Jared Polis of Colorado.
The coalition will be supported by GovAct, an organization “championing fundamental freedoms,” according to a press release. […]
The group assured that coalition is not funded by Pritzker but paid for by other “philanthropic dollars.”
More…
The action items are vague. Pritzker described the goal as one to “leverage our collective strength, experience and institutional knowledge to drive policies that protect the rule of law” among the states.
“We’ll design and implement affirmative strategies to protect the rule of law and deliver for people in the states. We’ll work to reinforce key state institutions to protect executive agencies, elections, state courts and other democratic bodies. Then we’ll develop playbooks to enable governors and their teams to anticipate and swiftly respond to emerging threats,” he said.
When fully implemented, the initiative will be a “peer opportunity for governors to learn from one another on best practices and policies,” Polis said.
* House Speaker Chris Welch appeared on the 21st Show today…
Q: What are you and other Illinois Democratic leaders looking at in regard to what may be coming from President Elect Trump’s second term?
Welch: Well, I will tell you, one of the things I’m proud about is and proud to be an Illinoisan, is the work we’ve already done in this space. In 2019 we passed the Reproductive Health Act. In 2022 we put workers’ rights in our constitution. In 2023 we strengthened the Reproductive Health Act. So we’ve already done a lot of things that make Illinois a beacon, not just in the Midwest, but across the country. But, you know, we started having conversations before the November 5 election, because of the possibility of a Trump presidency, and certainly those conversations have intensified since his re election, and so those conversations are happening. But I want to underscore something. The work ahead of us is bigger than Donald Trump, and it’s not going to be done or resolved in a two-week veto session. The House that is returning for veto session, and the House that will take office in January, we’re committed to defending the rights of Illinoisans every time we show up, and we’re also committed to controlling costs for families every time we show up. We’re committed to rebuilding our fiscal house and ensuring everyone who wants to work hard has a chance to get ahead. And those are the things we’re going to focus on in the veto session in January and beyond that. That’s what the voters have sent us to do.
Q: I am wondering, though, because there could really be some federal/state friction coming up. Let’s say, for example, Trump federalizes the Illinois National Guard and orders them to begin rounding up migrants who do not have legal permission to be in America, undocumented people. How does Illinois respond to that? How should Illinois respond to that?
Welch: That’s a hypothetical that I certainly don’t know how to address, because I certainly hope that something like that doesn’t occur. You know, the only thing I can say is that we’re going to continue to have conversations with the governor, with the Senate President, with our respective caucuses. And under our leadership, we’ve already proven that Illinois is a place that believes in freedoms and protects people. And we’re going to continue to be a place that people can count on. We’re not just a beacon in the Midwest. We’re a beacon in the country. I can’t predict what Donald Trump will do. We know what he said. We know what he said he would do. We have to continue to have conversations with everyone and come to alignment on what we’re going to do to continue to the state. […]
Q: Last week, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget put out its annual report on the state’s finances, and it predicted a budget shortfall of $3.2 billion, billion with a B, for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. It’s a pretty drastic increase from the $900 million deficit state government had to deal with last year as the work to create a new budget begins for the General Assembly next year. What? What options are on the table for dealing with this potential shortfall?
Welch: Let me answer the question this way. You know, because I’ve been really proud of the work that we’ve done on the budget since I’ve been Speaker. We balanced the budget every year I’ve been speaker. In some of those years, we have had grim forecasts, just like we do now, and we’ve still managed to produce budgets with surpluses, additional payments to our pension obligations and credit rating upgrades. I think we’re at nine so far. So I fully expect the General Assembly that takes office in January, we’ll approach the next budget with the same responsible approach of going line by line, weighing priorities and making smart decisions for our future like we’ve done the last four years. And my calls with my caucus members the last couple of days, many, I’ve lost count, talked about the budget work ahead. There’s things that rolled up, they’re ready to get to work, they’re ready to do it in a responsible and compassionate way.
Q: Last thing I want to ask you about, we have talked on this program a number of times now about, I think it’s 25 counties. At this point, voters have approved some sort of referendum saying that Chicago Cook County, maybe the entire Chicago land area, I don’t remember the exact language should become a separate state and down state, Illinois would become the 51st state people, even people who support it. We talked to somebody from the Madison County Board who supports this, and said it’s more symbolic, because it feels like Democrats aren’t responsive to the concerns of their voters. How do you respond to this idea that Democrats have steamrolled and certainly we’ve seen the success of the map has has made it very difficult for Republicans to make inroads and represent their constituents in the way they would choose to.
Welch: Listen, Democrats represent folks all over the state. We have to listen to their concerns and try to address their concerns. We have to try to be unifiers and not dividers, and I’d love to continue to listen to those folks. Illinois is a great state to live, work and play. If there’s some things that we’re not doing that they think we should be doing, I’d love to hear from them. I’m Speaker of the House, I’m not Speaker of the Democrats. If there’s a concern they’d like to addressm call the Speaker’s office, come talk with me. We’re here to help the entire state, and the things that Democrats have done, especially since I’ve been Speaker the last four years, I’ve helped every single corner of this state. And if there’s more things we can do. I want to do that we’re playing an infinite game, and we want to make this state better. Each and every day we go to work. And so there’s some things, some ideas that people think we need to make them better? Love to hear from them.
Please pardon any transcription errors.
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New rules (Updated)
Wednesday, Nov 13, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told subscribers about this earlier today…
Security has been beefed up here at the state Capitol. The Secretary of State’s Office has added more police officers to statehouse grounds, and visitors who aren’t government employees will need to go through a metal-detection screening. The office said it just wants to make sure visitors know that “safety and security are a priority.” The changes were in the works before last week’s election.
I’m not quite seeing the relative threat posed by reporters and lobbyists compared to, say, a random state employee who doesn’t even work in the building.
Your thoughts?
…Adding… ILCA…
Dear Secretary Giannoulias,
We at the Illinois Legislative Correspondents Association appreciate your efforts to keep the Capitol Complex safe. But we were disappointed that the changes to Capitol security instituted today were made without any advance warning to our organization.
It is thus unclear to us, at this time, how the new policy came about, whether it will be permanent, and whether the needs of the press corps were considered.
Several members of our organization, including photographers and videographers, carry heavy equipment and must frequently and quickly enter and exit the building for rallies on the grounds and other job necessities.
We’d appreciate if you’d consider those needs in formulating future policy decisions, as the number of credentialed reporters are far fewer than the lobbyists who carry similar credentials, and many reporters office daily from the Capitol similarly to state employees.
If the rules rolled out today are temporary, we would further appreciate if you’d consult with our organization about to best meet the needs of the press corps while also ensuring everyone’s safety as permanent rules are finalized.
Again, we recognize changes to protocol are likely necessary to better secure the building. But we think there are better ways to do so than the process we’ve experienced thus far in the veto session.
And we stand ready to work with you to better the process in the new session.
Sincerely,
Members of the ILCA board
Dave Dahl, President
Brenden Moore, Secretary
Jeremy Gorner, Treasurer
Jerry Nowicki
Mike Miletich
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* Capitol News Illinois…
The former chief lobbyist for electric utility Commonwealth Edison has spent the last week telling a federal jury how he bent over backward to accommodate hiring requests from former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Led by the prosecutor questioning him, ComEd exec-turned-cooperating witness Fidel Marquez repeatedly said he and other utility leaders agreed to hire or contract with the powerful speaker’s allies in order for Madigan “to be more positively disposed toward ComEd’s legislative agenda.”
But on Tuesday, an attorney for Madigan co-defendant Mike McClain, ComEd’s longest-serving contract lobbyist, began his cross-examination of Marquez by drilling down on his previous testimony – and his guilty plea in 2020 for bribery conspiracy.
“Are you not saying and are you not testifying at this trial that in your mind, the purpose of this conspiracy was to trade jobs at ComEd for Mike Madigan taking action?” Cotter asked, referring to action Madigan is alleged to have taken on legislation ComEd pushed in Springfield.
“I said it was to consider ComEd’s agenda favorably,” Marquez said.
* WTTW…
Madigan had previously been “hostile” toward electrical utilities like ComEd — Marquez testified he knew the speaker “didn’t like” the company — but through his relationship with McClain, he came to have a “favorable disposition” toward ComEd’s legislative agenda.
“It was part of Mike’s job to do everything he could to have the best communication between the speaker and his staff, and ComEd?” Cotter asked Marquez.
“Yes,” he replied.
“It made sense, did it not … that Mike McClain spent an enormous amount of time on Speaker Madigan?” Cotter asked.
“Yes,” Marquez answered.
* Center Square…
McClain defense attorney Patrick Cotter asked Marquez about several pieces of legislation that affected ComEd.
Cotter played a recording of McClain talking with Marquez and then-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore in 2018 about a plan to kill a low-income bill that ComEd opposed. In the recording, McClain suggested including vendors, unions and municipal leaders. Marquez admitted that, during the call, none of the participants asked to include Madigan.
Cotter also asked Marquez about favors and job recommendations. Earlier, Marquez had described requests from McClain that ComEd hire individuals that Madigan wanted the utility to hire.
Marquez testified that ComEd also considered job recommendations from then-Senate Majority Leader John Cullerton, D-Chicago, and then-Illinois State Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs.
* Sun-Times…
Prosecutors have gone to great lengths to show constant communication between Madigan and McClain through secret FBI recordings and testimony from various witnesses. But Cotter noted that it was McClain’s job, as a lobbyist, to know what special interests motivated Madigan, as well as the political dynamics at any one time.
“The amount of attention that a lobbyist spends or gives to an elected official is often based on how important that official is, in the political sense?” Cotter asked, making note of Madigan’s vast power over the Legislature at the time.
“That may be a factor,” Marquez said.
Cotter also confirmed with Marquez that, as vice president of external and governmental affairs, Marquez was “ultimately in charge of all the lobbyists” at ComEd. That would theoretically include a group of Madigan allies paid as subcontractors through a ComEd contract with Doherty.
* Tribune…
As Marquez’s direct examination wrapped up Tuesday, prosecutors showed another slew of emails and recordings in which McClain pushed ComEd to hire people with political connections.
Madigan seemed particularly interested in getting a job for Vanessa Berrios, daughter of then-Cook County Democratic boss Joseph Berrios. The speaker apparently first floated the idea to McClain in a December 2018 phone call, which was played for jurors.
“My thought was that there might be a place for her at ComEd,” Madigan told McClain.
In the ensuing months, McClain emailed Marquez at least twice about getting ComEd to hire Berrios, who had worked for her father when he headed the Cook County assessor’s office.
Berrios ultimately was offered an interview with ComEd, Marquez testified Tuesday, but declined.
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It’s just a bill
Wednesday, Nov 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Click here for some background if you need it. Rep. Carol Ammons introduced HB5907 yesterday…
Creates the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act. Provides that all general operating expenses for public universities shall be distributed by the Board of Higher Education through a funding formula for eligible public institutions and shall be administered by the Board. Defines “eligible public institution”. Sets forth provisions concerning the adequacy targets and resource profiles of eligible public institutions. Provides for the distribution of State appropriations and the calculation of the base funding minimum for each eligible public institution. Provides that the Board shall oversee an accountability and transparency framework for assessing the distribution and use of all funds appropriated by the funding formula and evaluating the funds’ effects on institutional outcomes pertaining to student affordability, enrollment, persistence, and outcome metrics. Provides for reporting and the establishment of an Accountability and Transparency Committee. Provides that the Board shall establish a Funding Formula Review Panel tasked with studying and reviewing topics pertaining to the implementation and impact of the funding formula. Contains provisions concerning the Board’s annual budget request and the collection of data. Amends the Board of Higher Education Act. Removes certain provisions concerning budget proposals. Effective immediately.
* Statehouse reporter Brenden Moore…
* We Are One Illinois…
Today, state legislators and public service workers unveiled the Fair Retirement and Recruitment Act (HB5909/SB3988), legislation sponsored by State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego) and State Sen. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago) that will make significant progress in fixing the broken Tier 2 pension system. Thousands of public service workers are expected to rally in Springfield at noon today in support of the legislation as they demand lawmakers take action.
The current broken system undercuts retirement security for public employees and makes it harder for schools, universities, cities, counties, and the state of Illinois to attract and retain needed workers.
The four key provisions of the Fair Retirement and Recruitment Act are designed to solve the current system’s major problems:
Problem: Compared to Tier 1 participants, Tier 2 participants pay the same amount toward their pension from every check, yet must work longer and retire later.
Solution: The Fair Retirement and Recruitment Act aligns the Tier 2 retirement age with Tier 1.
Problem: Tier 2 participants now receive a diminished cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that fails to keep pace with inflation.
Solution: The Fair Retirement and Recruitment Act implements an across-the-board 3% simple-interest COLA for all Tier 2 participants.
Problem: Tier 2 participants’ pension benefit amount is reduced by a lesser final-average-salary calculation.
Solution: The Fair Retirement and Recruitment Act brings the final average salary calculation back in line with Tier 1.
Problem: Tier 2 participants are subject to a pensionable salary cap that runs afoul of federal law (the so-called “Safe Harbor” problem).
Solution: The Fair Retirement and Recruitment Act adjusts the pension salary cap to match the Social Security wage base.
In addition to the key elements above, the bill makes a number of minor but meaningful changes to the pension code to address issues specific to particular job titles or pension concerns.
* NBC Chicago…
A suburban mom is hoping that lawmakers will pass a bill during their veto session in Springfield to allow for aid-in-dying medication for terminally ill patients.
Suzy Flack’s son died after a battle with cancer two years ago, an experience that taught her about the importance of allowing physicians to render medical aid for those who are dying with a terminal illness. […]
She’s become a fierce advocate for end-of-life options, and is hoping the Illinois General Assembly passes the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act. […]
“It is not a decision that anyone takes lightly,” House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel said. “Many people feel at peace just to get the medicine.”
Under provisions of the law, medication can only be obtained by individuals 18 years of age and older, who are diagnosed as terminally ill with less than six months to live. The patient must be mentally capable of making decisions, and two physicians must sign off on the process.
Patients are allowed to change their minds, and must be informed about all end-of-life care options. Finally, doctors are not required to participate in the administration of the medication.
* Rep. Curtis Tarver introduced HB5906 yesterday…
Amends the School Finance Authority Act of the School Code. Reinstates the School Finance Authority and reverts any powers, duties, rights, or property granted to the Chicago Board of Education upon the abolition of the original Authority established by the Article back to the Authority. Provides that any powers, duties, rights, or property granted to the Board before the abolition of the original Authority and after the reinstatement of the Authority under the amendatory Act shall remain vested in the Board. Updates the expiration dates of terms of the Chairman, the 2 Directors of the Authority appointed by the Governor, and the 2 Directors of the Authority appointed by the Mayor. Requires the Board to adopt and submit for approval a financial plan on or before March 1, 2026 and adopt and submit for approval a budget on or before February 1, 2026 with respect to the remaining portion of the fiscal year ending in 2026. Requires the Board, beginning in fiscal year 2028 and every second year thereafter, to adopt a financial plan covering a period of 2 fiscal years. Requires the Board to submit a staffing plan for the fiscal year ending in 2026 to the Authority within 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Makes other changes.
* Tribune…
Other unresolved issues include gun safety measures that Democrats haven’t been able to bring over the finish line.
Legislation that’s become known in Springfield as “Karina’s Bill” would require law enforcement to remove firearms from people who have orders of protection against them, clarifying when and how authorities can confiscate such weapons. As it stands, guns aren’t always taken from people in those situations even if the owner’s firearm identification card is revoked. […]
Another holdover proposal would require gun owners with valid FOID cards to report their guns lost or stolen within 48 hours, instead of 72 hours, upon discovering their guns are missing. Another measure would prohibit storing or leaving a firearm outside an owner’s immediate possession or control unless it’s unloaded and secured in a lock box, making it inaccessible to a minor or anyone else who is barred from using guns.
“We know that the bills that we pass in Springfield have real life and death consequences. It is clear that we must address child access to firearms and safe storage,” Rep. Maura Hirschauer, a Democrat from Batavia, said at a news conference on Chicago’s West Side in October. “We know that gun owners can help make their homes and communities safe by storing their guns securely. A comprehensive statewide safe storage policy will have an impact on this.”
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Open thread
Wednesday, Nov 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Nov 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* ICYMI: Lawmakers return to Springfield as projected budget deficit looms. Capitol News Illinois…
Illinois lawmakers returned to Springfield Tuesday for the first time since May following news earlier this month that they’re facing a projected $3.2 billion budget deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
The news didn’t surprise Republicans, who condemned “drunken spending” policies, but the Senate’s top Democratic budget leader defended the state’s spending priorities and cautioned next year’s budget is still more than six months away from passage.
“This was not unexpected and certainly there’s a long time between now and the end of the fiscal year and we’ll be prepared,” Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, said.
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget released a report on Nov. 1 projecting the state will face a $3.2 billion deficit for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1. The annual report from the governor’s budget office typically sets a benchmark for state lawmakers as they begin budget talks early in the year.
* Related stories…
* At 11 am Governor Pritzker will give remarks at the Willard Ice Building 40th Anniversary Celebration. Click here to watch.
*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***
* Sun-Times | Pritzker, Colo. Gov. Polis launch governors’ coalition to protect against ‘threats of autocracy’ under Trump: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis have formed a coalition of governors to fight against “increasing threats of autocracy” and strengthen democracy during a second Donald Trump presidency. The goal of Governors Safeguarding Democracy, or GSD, is to protect state-level institutions of democracy — and to utilize their collective legislative, budgetary, executive and administrative powers. Pritzker said it will “catalyze collaboration across state lines.”
* Capitol News Illinois | Amid flurry of gun ban challenges, federal appeals court considers Cook County assault weapon law: A panel of federal judges is weighing whether to overturn a Cook County ban on semiautomatic weapons in a case that could upend other local bans and call into question the statewide prohibition on the controversial class of firearms. But the appeal under consideration at the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals faces potentially long odds of success. The constitutionality of local bans on “assault weapons,” the phrase used in such laws, has been upheld by the 7th Circuit three times in the past 10 years, including once in 2023
* WCIA | IDOA pitches new hemp regulations to lawmakers: The new rules center around testing and licensing, specifically for hemp at academic institutions. “For the universities that get this license, they wouldn’t have to comply with all the various testing requirements,” Sam McGee, a counsel for IDOA, said. “They would just have a little bit easier of a testing requirement and they could do research.”
*** Statehouse News ***
* Capitol News Illinois | Capitol Briefs: Former Gov. Quinn pushes for ‘millionaire tax’ amendment; Underground Railroad task force issues findings: A task force created by a 2023 law to explore ways chronicle Illinois’ Underground Railroad history announced its findings on Tuesday, recommending the state create a commission that would organize historical sites and stories about the network. “Too many in Illinois believe we need to travel to the East Coast to visit locations on the Underground Railroad, unaware of the enormous activity that took place in their own backyards here,” task force member and Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman said.
*** Statewide ***
* Tribune | Attorney General Kwame Raoul launches unit to investigate innocence claims: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is launching a unit to investigate cases in which new evidence could prove the innocence of people convicted of serious crimes. “Wrongful convictions destroy lives. Wrongful convictions diminish faith in our criminal justice system,” Raoul said Tuesday at a downtown news conference, flanked by state’s attorneys and members of the new unit. “They put victims and public safety at risk by allowing the true perpetrators to escape unpunished.”
*** Chicago ***
* Tribune | Embattled CPS CEO criticized in meeting with mayor as Johnson administration continues moving to fire him: Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez got chewed out this week by allies of Mayor Brandon Johnson over impending charter school closures, in a contentious City Hall meeting that could spell the next step in Johnson’s monthslong push to oust the embattled schools chief. The Monday meeting, which the mayor attended, featured a presentation by Martinez over the looming closures of seven Acero charter schools, according to attendees. It took a hostile turn when several progressive aldermen began grilling Martinez on the slideshow.
* ABC Chicago | ‘Collaborator in chief’: Chicago mayor willing to negotiate with aldermen working to defeat tax hike: Aldermanic sources said, at this point, behind-the-scenes budget negotiations could result in the property tax hike being reduced to $135 million, or maybe even $100 million. The mayor would not confirm any figures, but said he’s willing to work with the Council.
* WTTW | Chicago Will Remain a Sanctuary City, Despite Donald Trump’s Threats, Mayor Brandon Johnson Says: In his first remarks on the outcome of the presidential race, Johnson said Chicago will not allow Chicago Police officers to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deport Chicagoans. That assistance is now prohibited by city ordinance. “We will not bend or break,” Johnson said. “Our values will remain strong and firm. We will face likely hurdles in our work over the next four years but we will not be stopped and we will not go back.”
* Tribune | With CPD a possible target for personnel cuts in budget plan, consent decree monitor raises alarm: “Cutting these positions permanently could be a devastating blow to the future of CPD reforms,” Maggie Hickey, head of the independent monitoring team, told U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer during a consent decree status hearing Tuesday. “The proposed budget cuts would be a step backward for the CPD reform process at a pivotal point,” Hickey said, “just when progress is starting to be felt.”
* Crain’s | Outrage over delivery fees has waned, but lawsuit against Grubhub lives on: Grubhub co-founder Matt Maloney, who stepped down as CEO nearly three years ago, says he’s about to be deposed in a lawsuit filed against food-delivery app companies by the City of Chicago when Lori Lightfoot was mayor. The suit was filed in late 2021, during the peak of both the COVID-19 pandemic and restaurants’ outrage over delivery fees and other charges that often totaled 30% or more of the retail price of the food.
* WBEZ | Five of the best Amtrak adventures from Chicago for train lovers: I’m a bit of a rail fan myself, and I’ve taken multi-day trips from Chicago to California and Florida, along with multiple shorter Amtrak trips across the country. (I’m currently on the inaugural run of the Floridian, the first train to connect Chicago and Florida since 1979.) It’s a fantastic way to see the country, and the routes from Chicago are some of the most scenic train trips you can take in the U.S.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Southtown | State tells Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard her pick for cop chief not cleared for duty: A state agency has told Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard her temporary choice for police chief is “not authorized to exercise law enforcement authority” and urged her to remove him from public service. Tiffany Henyard, at a Nov. 6 Village Board meeting, named Ronnie Burge Sr. to a temporary 30-day posting as chief, after trustees voted against the appointment. A Nov. 8 letter from the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board states Burge “has been wearing a Dolton Police Department uniform and carrying a firearm publicly for the last few weeks,” even though he’s not authorized to do so.
* Daily Herald | Mayoral races heating up in Lisle, West Chicago: Incumbent Mayor Chris Pecak is expected to face at least one opponent: Mary Jo Mullen, a current village trustee. Mullen is campaigning under the banner “Lisle Forward” with a slate of village board candidates. “I’m running for mayor because I think Lisle really needs change,” said Mullen, who served as Lisle Township supervisor before being elected to the village board in 2021. “We’ve been making progress around development and economic development very, very slowly.”
* Tribune | Evanston/Skokie School D65 was asked to consider pausing school in historically Black area: memo: With the district’s deficit standing at more than $10 million, the best financial course of action would be to pause construction on Foster School, Robert Grossi, the financial consultant, suggested in the memo, while also acknowledging the historic significance of the district’s desire to provide a neighborhood school for 5th Ward children. Many in the community have voiced support for building Foster School, however, and some public commenters at an Oct. 15 special Board meeting saw the building of the school as necessary to further racial equity in Evanston.
* Tribune | Berwyn woman says far-right streamer Nick Fuentes allegedly assaulted her: Marla Rose, 57, a self-described progressive, said she approached Fuentes’ home Sunday after friends who knew she lived in Berwyn encouraged her to go see if rumors of prank deliveries to his home were true. Fuentes’ home address had been leaked online in response to his posts on social media where he boasted, “Your body, my choice. Forever” last week in an apparent reference to abortion rights after Donald Trump won the presidential election. […] She said Fuentes opened the door before she could ring the doorbell. “In that same movement, he pepper-sprayed me in the face … screamed an expletive at me,” Rose said.
* NBC Chicago | Canadian Pacific’s Holiday Train returning to the Chicago area later this month: Canadian Pacific’s Holiday Train will tour Canada and the U.S. from, Nov. 21 through Dec. 20, raising donations for food banks across the company’s network, according to a news release. As it treks across the nation, the holiday train will make not just one — but three stops in the Chicago suburbs. Last holiday season, the train held events in Gurnee and Pingree Grove. This time around, a stop in Franklin Park will be added to its itinerary.
*** Downstate ***
* Rockford Register Star | New technology could help reduce the need for high-speed vehicle pursuits in Rockford: The Rockford Police Department would like to tap a $125,888 Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity grant to purchase vehicle-mounted and handheld StarChase systems that can fire GPS tags at fleeing vehicles. The fleeing vehicle can then be tracked electronically rather than being followed in a high-speed pursuit.
* WCIA | Rock Springs Nature Center in Decatur receiving $900K upgrade: Rock Springs Nature Center is receiving a new indoor-outdoor classroom that will change the way they host people and events thanks to an almost $900,000 grant. The new space in Decatur will let classes in the center move from inside to outside with ease. The people at the center are excited about adding these new options to their curriculum. The Macon County Conservation District applied for the money last summer and got it from the Park and Recreational Facility Construction Act Program earlier this year.
*** National ***
* Crain’s | Rivian announces formal launch of $5.8 billion joint venture with Volkswagen: The automakers announced the deal in June. Since then, the size of VW Group’s investment in Rivian and the joint venture has risen from the initial estimate of $5 billion. Rivian is bringing its technology to the table and Volkswagen Group is bringing its global scale, executives said. “The partnership with Rivian is the next logical step in our software strategy,” said Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen Group. “With its implementation, we will strengthen our global competitive and technological position.”
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Live coverage
Wednesday, Nov 13, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* You can click here to follow the Madigan trial. Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* NBC Chicago…
An NBC 5 investigation revealed dozens of Illinois hospitals failed to properly treat victims of sexual assault.
An Illinois law known as the Sexual Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act – or SASETA – was designed to ensure victims of rape and sexual assault get proper care. The law requires that hospitals offer forensic services including rape kits, and that they contact police, collect forensic photographs with the patients’ consent and provide them with things like access to a shower, calling a friend or a rape crisis counselor, among other services. […]
Between 2018 and 2024, NBC 5 Investigates found 88 hospitals failed to properly treat victims of sexual assault, according to our review of thousands of pages of state health department inspection reports.
In many cases, the hospitals were found to have poor recordkeeping – failing to document if a rape kit was collected or contact information for the victim.
But we also found more egregious errors, including Illinois hospitals that failed to contact police, left rape kits sitting on shelves for years or told victims they couldn’t offer them rape kits services and sent them home.
* Sun-Times…
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Tuesday a conviction integrity unit within his office that will investigate claims of innocence. The unit will focus on whether new, credible evidence proves that individuals are serving prison time for crimes they did not commit. The unit has been in development since Raoul took office in 2019.
“Our (unit) has the opportunity to ensure that justice was received in these cases and redress wrongful convictions where mistakes may have been made,” Raoul said at a news conference.
To be considered for review by the unit, a person would need to have been convicted by an Illinois state court in a forcible felony case, which involves the threat or use of physical force.
In order for a case to be taken up by the unit, the applicant must show new evidence that wasn’t presented before. If the unit determines that person didn’t commit the crime, it will work with local state’s attorneys’ offices to seek relief for the applicant, and find the real offender.
The unit will be funded by the Illinois Attorney General’s office and a $1.5 million grant from the Justice Department.
* WNIJ…
Dana Foltz says that’s exactly how the universal newborn support system is supposed to work. She’s with the Stephenson County Health Department, which has been running the program since it started in 2018.
Their team of nurses visits families within three weeks of the birth. They help moms with things like breastfeeding and C-section healing, and they’re also there to answer any questions and connect them with additional services. […]
The key word in Universal Newborn Support is “universal.” In Stephenson County, every single family has access to this. There aren’t many other communities in Illinois that offer universal home visiting support. But there’s a plan to bring it to Rockford and Winnebago County soon.
Emily Klonicki is the executive director of Alignment Rockford — which is helping lead the community initiative along with groups like Brightpoint & the Winnebago County Health Department. She says Winnebago County could particularly benefit from a universal system. […]
They still have to put together a funding structure to secure the grants to pay for the program and choose a lead agency to run it — like the health department does in Stephenson County.
* Press Release…
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame®-inducted icons and rock music legends Def Leppard will bring their electrifying performance to the Illinois State Fair on Saturday, August 16, for an unforgettable night of rock ‘n’ roll. Known for their timeless hits and energetic live shows, the evening will include performances from Def Leppard’s legendary catalog, including chart-topping classics hits like “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Photograph,” and “Love Bites.”
“Our team has worked hard to elevate the quality of musical acts at the Grandstand during the Illinois State Fair,” said Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II. “Def Leppard has a core memory tied to every one of their songs. For me, it’s “Photograph.” I’m looking forward to taking it all in at the Illinois State Fair.”
With over 110 million albums sold, two prestigious U.S. Diamond Awards, and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame® induction, Def Leppard—Joe Elliott (vocals), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick Savage (bass), Vivian Campbell (guitar), and Rick Allen (drums)—are hailed as one of the greatest live rock bands of all time. Known for groundbreaking albums “Pyromania” and “Hysteria,” and an arsenal of hits like “Rock of Ages,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” and “Foolin’,” they bring unmatched energy and showmanship to the stage.
Since launching their catalog on streaming platforms in 2018, the band has gained 5.5 billion streams and continues to expand its global fanbase. The band’s critically acclaimed album Diamond Star Halos debuted in Billboard’s Top 10, while “Drastic Symphonies” with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra reached #4 in the UK, spending 15 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Classical chart. After a recent collaboration with Tom Morello on “Just Like 73,” which soared to #1 on the Classic Rock chart, Def Leppard remains a dominant force, inspiring new generations with its electrifying live performances.
“Def Leppard’s catalog of hits is iconic. Songs like “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Foolin’” and “Rock of Ages” immediately have you singing along, maybe strumming an air guitar,” said Illinois State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark. “Their energy is infectious for fans of all ages.”
Tickets for Def Leppard will go on sale Saturday, November 16 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.
Special holiday pricing makes tickets more affordable today through the end of the year. Until December 31, ticket prices are:
Tier 3 - $85 / Tier 2 - $90 / Tier 1 - $100 / SRO Track - $115 / Blue Ribbon Zone - $165
On January 1, 2025, the price of SRO Track and Tier 1 will increase by $10.
*** Madigan Trial ***
* Tribune | Defense in Madigan corruption trial confronts star government witness over jobs, favors: Seizing on a tactic strengthened by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, defense attorneys in the Michael Madigan corruption trial began their cross-examination of a key witness Tuesday by trying to distinguish between exchanging jobs for official actions and simply currying favor with the formidable ex-House speaker. Fidel Marquez, the onetime head of ComEd’s governmental affairs team, spent nearly 15 hours over four days of direct examination telling the jury about a scheme to hire Madigan’s allies as consulting subcontractors and doing myriad other favors to bring the utility back into the speaker’s good graces. At the outset of his questioning, however, defense attorney Patrick Cotter sought to paint the effort as legal lobbying, not bribes.
*** Statewide ***
* Sun-Times | Advocates seek pardons for five Illinois veterans currently living in exile: Immigration advocates are calling on Gov. JB Pritzker to pardon five Illinois military veterans who were deported and currently live in exile. The veterans are in exile all over the world, including Mexico, Guatemala and India. Some were deported more than 20 years ago, according to the League of United Latin American Citizens. The group called for their return during a news conference Monday afternoon in the Lower West Side. “Today we celebrate Veterans Day … by calling for the immediate return of deported green card veterans who served honorably in the U.S. military, only to be sent into exile after facing legal challenges,” said Cecilia Garcia, director of the Illinois chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
* KHQA | 5th & 6th graders invited to compete in Illinois EPA poster, poetry, and prose contests: Teachers may display the submissions for voting and submit final entries to the Illinois EPA for further judging. Teachers may submit up to eight individual entries per school to the Illinois EPA by February 3, 2025. The creation of posters and written works gives students an opportunity to express and share what they have learned. The students whose works are chosen for the exhibit will receive a certificate and ribbon. The top twelve entries will be given special recognition and displayed on the Illinois EPA website.
*** Chicago ***
* WBEZ | What a second Trump term could mean for housing in Chicago and Illinois: To discuss what some of those proposals could mean for Chicago and Illinois, WBEZ’s Esther Yoon-Ji Kang sat down with Daniel Kay Hertz, director of housing for Impact for Equity. Kay Hertz also served as policy director at the Chicago Department of Housing from 2019 to 2024.
* WGN | Chicago Housing Authority streamlines waitlist process in new website: The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) announce they have streamlined its waitlist application process as part of a new website redesign. The new website is located at www.thecha.org.
* Crain’s | Realtors group unveils new standards for conduct after sexual harassment scandal: Fifteen months after a sexual harassment scandal rocked the National Association of Realtors and quickly took down its president and its CEO, the influential Chicago-based trade association this week unveiled a new set of standards aimed at ensuring better conduct and culture in the workplace. The 11 policies include authoring a clear set of values that volunteers and employees should hew to, creating open pathways of accountability for any infractions, and regular “anti-retaliation” training for top leadership.
* Rick Kogan | An exhibition and a book revisit the life and death of Emmett Till: [T]here is a new book that devotes some of its nearly 300 pages to Till but also to the larger sham of American racism. Its title says a great deal, “Ghosts of Segregation: American Racism, Hidden in Plain Sight” (Celadon Books). It is the work of former Chicagoan Richard Frishman, who traveled more than 35,000 miles across America over five years capturing with his camera such things as once-segregated bathrooms, beaches, churches, hospitals, graves and hotels.
* Crain’s | Chicago’s largest accounting firms see decreasing headcounts among major players: The largest accounting firms in the Chicago area, which are ranked by local professional staff as of June 30, barely saw an increase in numbers from 2023 to 2024. These firms saw median growth of less than 1%. The top 25 firms didn’t see much of an increase in local certified public accountant, or CPA, headcounts either, with median growth hovering slightly above 0%.
* South Side Weekly | The Complicated History of the Globetrotters: Journalists and brothers Mark and Matthew Jacob’s book, Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports isn’t a hit piece. It’s also not sportswashing—the practice of utilizing sports to divert attention away from unethical behavior—even though Saperstein was himself guilty of it. Some of Saperstein’s players, budding hoops iconoclasts, and, perhaps most notably, the Black press including the Chicago Defender, often called Saperstein out for the minstrel vibes given off by the Globetrotters. Even as a kid who couldn’t quite formulate what I was watching at the time, I knew something wasn’t right.
* WBEZ | Pitchfork’s abrupt exit from Chicago seen as a ‘loss’ for music community: For nearly two decades, the July weekend was viewed as “a musical safe space for truly alternative people,” said Mike Bennett, a CHIRP Radio host. “It was a place they could really congregate and feel they were a part of something. That’s a loss for Chicago.” New York–based media giant Condé Nast, which owns Pitchfork Media, the longtime online music criticism website, broke the news on Instagram Monday that the festival would no longer take place in Chicago, where it originated 19 years ago. Condé Nast did not explain the decision.
* The Athletic | Bears fire OC Shane Waldron, Thomas Brown to call plays: The Chicago Bears have made a change at offensive coordinator. The team parted ways with Shane Waldron and tabbed passing game coordinator Thomas Brown to take over play-calling duties, the Bears announced Tuesday. The move comes after the Bears (4-5) scored only three points against the New England Patriots on Sunday. Chicago has tallied only 27 points in its last three games and hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 8.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Herald | Three-way race emerges for Arlington Heights mayor: With longtime Mayor Tom Hayes opting not to seek a fourth term as the town’s top elected leader, the field to replace him includes two members of his village board — trustees Tom Schwingbeck and Jim Tinaglia. Filing alongside them Tuesday morning was Jon Ridler, executive director of the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce. Candidate filing remains open until Monday, so there’s still time for the field to grow larger.
* Tribune | Oak Park Democrats commiserate in wake of Trump victory: “This is tough,” said Democratic Party of Oak Park committeewoman Eileen Lynch, speaking to the standing room only crowd gathered Saturday at the group’s headquarters in Oak Park. “I’m finding it hardest to talk to my daughters who I infused with Democratic activism. This is a devastating setback and I don’t know what we’re going to do.” But some also took a longer view. State Sen. Don Harmon, president of the Illinois Senate and the Democratic committeeman for Oak Park, preached resiliency, saying that setbacks are inevitable in politics. Harmon recalled when he was a student at St. Chiles Catholic School in Oak Park and did some volunteer work for 1972 Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern, who lost in a landslide to Richard Nixon.
* Daily Herald | Motor Werks expansion debate moves to Barrington village board: A proposed expansion of the Barrington Motor Werks campus made its way before the village board Monday, as did neighbors complaining about the project. Motor Werks owner Mario Murgado wants to add a two-story, 110,000-square-foot, two-story building at the corner of Dundee Road and Grove Avenue for a Porsche dealership. But residential neighbors are opposed, complaining the campus is already too loud and busy.
* News-Sun | Lake County planning to double number of traffic roundabouts: ‘Illinois is coming around on them, no pun intended’: Lake County is looking for feedback on a proposed roundabout at Hunt Club and Stearns School roads in Warren Township as it moves to double the number of roundabout intersections within its system in the coming years. It won’t be the first roundabout in Lake County, although its only the second multi-lane roundabout built by Lake County, the first being River and Roberts roads in the village of Lake Barrington in 2015. The $15 million project, which includes drainage improvements and a bike path, is planned to be finished in 2027.
* Daily Southtown | Matteson police say teacher’s aide arrested after endangering a child at Marya Yates Elementary School: Matteson police said Friday charges were pending for battery and endangering the life and health of a child, but as of Tuesday a spokesman would not comment on the status of charges or whether the teacher’s aide was still in custody. Police said in a news release that just before the end of the school day Friday, the 8-year-old boy was running in the hall when a 26-year-old female teacher’s aide grabbed him. The teacher’s aide dragged the student about 20 feet into a classroom and dropped him partially in the doorway, police said.
*** Downstate ***
* Daily Journal | Iroquois to leave Illinois?: Iroquois County Board Chairman John Shure said a group known as New Illinois approached the county board about the ballot request. Shure said some residents have asked him in the county could secede from Illinois and join Indiana. “Obviously we don’t think this will go anywhere,” he said in reference to forming a new state. “But we want to send a message to Springfield that we are not satisfied.” He said the vote result is just about what he thought it might be for this Republican-dominated county. “I’m happy with the result,” Shure said. “It accomplished what we thought it would be.”
* WIFR | Winnebago Co. leaders prepare for potential mass deportations under Trump’s ‘border czar’: For decades, Sara Dady helped migrants in the Rockford area. While planning to oppose Trump’s policies, she learns from past immigration fights in Winnebago County. “We’ve been here before under a Trump administration,” concedes Dady. She references a 2017 incident where Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana walked away from housing ICE detainees in the county jail; the attorney credits community pressure to stopping the planned center.
*** National ***
* Reaters | Kraft Heinz pulls Lunchables meals from US low-income lunch program: Chicago-based Kraft Heinz announced plans to sell to the school lunch program early last year at an industry conference, saying it would target the $25-billion educational market. But demand fell short of the packaged food manufacturer’s expectations, the company said, as it looks to revive its well-worn brands such as Lunchables, Jell-O and Crystal Light, and grow sales volumes, which have faltered after multiple price hikes.
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* Click here for county results as of Nov. 10, according to Pat Quinn. And here’s a press release from the former governor…
On November 5, Illinois voters delivered a resounding 60% landslide victory for the Illinois Property Tax Relief Amendment Referendum marking the first time in state history that voters had a direct referendum chance to vote on a specific measure to fund property tax relief for over 3 million households in Illinois.
The advisory referendum which was placed on the ballot by the General Assembly and Governor asked “Should the Illinois Constitution be amended to create an additional 3% tax on income greater than $1,000,000 for the purpose of dedicating funds raised to property tax relief?”
The property tax burden is a major factor in the cost of living for more than 3 million Illinois homeowners who pay more than $23.2 billion in residential property taxes every year.
After New Jersey, Illinois has the second highest property taxes in the nation and eight Illinois counties - Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane, McHenry, Kendall, and DeKalb - are among the highest property tax counties in America.
Voters in each of these eight counties approved the property tax relief referendum by wide margins as well as voters in Champaign, Rock Island, Peoria, Winnebago, McLean, Madison, St. Clair, Sangamon, Vermilion, Macon, LaSalle, Kankakee, Jackson, and Saline counties. The referendum was approved in urban, suburban, and rural areas across the state.
“The people of Illinois have spoken in a language that every public official in the state should understand - it’s time for a constitutional amendment mandating relief from unfair and back-breaking property taxes,” said former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.
The Illinois Department of Revenue has estimated that a millionaire surcharge of 3% on individual annual income over $1 million would generate $4.5 billion for property tax relief.
According to most recent data, Illinois has 77,323 millionaires who declare more than $1 million in net income on their annual income tax returns. Millionaires in Illinois currently have a lighter income tax rate burden than millionaires in 26 states and the District of Columbia. The Illinois tax code is considered one of the 10 most unfair codes in the country.
In 2019, the General Assembly and Governor enacted legislation creating the Illinois Property Tax Relief Fund as a special fund in the state treasury. The law calls for annual property tax rebates to be given to each of the state’s more than 3 million households eligible for the household exemption.
“The Property Tax Relief Fund law is an administratively simple and straightforward mechanism to distribute annual property tax rebates to more than 3 million Illinois households from the billions of dollars generated by a 3% income tax surcharge on the state’s 77,323 millionaires,” said Quinn.
“For too long, millionaires have been getting tax breaks and Illinois homeowners have been getting higher and higher property tax bills.”
The Property Tax Relief Amendment will need three-fifths approval from the members of the Illinois House and Senate by May 3, 2026 to go on the 2026 general election ballot for referendum approval by Illinois voters.
* Senate Republican Leader John Curran was asked about the referendum’s passage today…
Curran: I think the public spoke very forcefully and in favor of the current taxation process in the Constitution and rejected Governor Pritzker’s graduated income tax two years ago. I would not expect to see that come back.
Q: So you don’t think that the voters, even though they’ve said they support charging millionaires an additional 3% for property tax relief, you don’t think that they’re going to support an ultimate constitutional amendment?
Curran: There was no campaign around… Look, those three measures were put on the ballot to crowd out any citizen ballot initiative. Let’s be honest about what was going on there. There was a citizen ballot initiative going on in the state of Illinois. They didn’t want it to make it to the ballot, so they crowded it out with three spots. It’s great to get feedback from the public. That’s fantastic. But likely a different result when you actually put some campaigning and education behind it.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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McLean County was an outlier this year
Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
* After the 2016 election, the McLean county board had five Democrats and 15 Republicans. The Democrats slowly made gains over the years, tying it up in 2022. Now, they have a 12-8 majority…
For the first time, McLean County’s board has more Democrats on it than Republicans.
After the 2024 election, the McLean County Board is split 12 to 8 in favor of Democrats.
Seven Democrats were elected to the board on Tuesday, joining the five who were not up for re-election. Four Republicans were elected to the board. Board members who were not up for re-election will be on the ballot in 2026.
* Interesting…
”This is one of the few parts of the country where Kamala Harris actually did a little better than Biden did four years ago, and that is in McLean County. We certainly see some changes here,” said Tari Renner, a Political Science professor at Illinois Wesleyan and former mayor of Bloomington.
* Pantagraph…
A total of 11 County Board seats were open this election cycle. However, board member Adam Reeves, who represents the county’s first district, and Democrat Alex Duffy, who was seeking the sixth district seat currently held by Jack Abraham, ran unopposed.
McLean County Democratic Party Chair Patrick Cortesi said if the results as they stand are certified, this will be the first time the party has held a majority since the county has had an elected board.
* Isabel talked to reelected Rep. Sharon Chung (D-Bloomington) today…
In terms of McLean County, I’m really proud of a lot of the work that we did. The fact that we were able to flip the board, which I was on the board from 2018 to 2022, and for us to flip it to majority Democrats was a really huge feat. I think it just really speaks to the quality of candidates, quality of our ground game, for the McLean County Democrats, the sort of energy and momentum we had. I’m just really proud of a lot of that work.
When I first ran for the county board in 2018 there were only five Democrats. For us to make those gains in that amount of time has been really extraordinary.
I think also the fact that we had people on top of the ticket to really sort of help drive that. McLean County was one of the few counties in Illinois that gained more Democratic voters. And I think that just really speaks to a lot of the work we’ve been doing down in McLean County. And you know, the work that we were doing on our campaign, the work that Senator Koehler was doing on his campaign, Congressman Sorensen, all of us, was a big team effort. So we’re really proud of that.
* Politico…
McLean County Democratic Party Chair Patrick Cortesi credits hard work and keeping the messaging local. “We really talked about local issues,” he told Playbook. “When our candidates were going and knocking on doors, it wasn’t ‘Vote for me because I’m a Democrat,’ it was ‘Vote for me because I believe in women’s rights or promoting labor unions or fair wages or the environment.’ It depended on the district, and they all knew their districts well.” Cortesi also credits organized efforts by college students to get out to vote.
The ‘keeping-it-local’ strategy is something McLean Democrats modeled after campaigns by Stacy Abrams in Georgia and Anderson Clayton in North Carolina. “Of course, we’re proud to be Democrats, and we didn’t shy away from that,” Cortesi said. “But you gotta lead with the issues and then, once you find out they agree with you on the issues, you’re like, ‘Well, congratulations. You’re actually a Democrat.’”
* A view from the Republican side…
“I think their campaigns are like major league campaigns and I think our campaigns are like single-A campaigns,” said [former McLean County Republican Party chair Chuck Erickson].
McLean County [Republican] Party chair Dennis Grundler agreed, in part. He said the party needs to do more in certain respects.
“And [State Representative] Sharon Chung had a machine there, man! Churning those people out. That’s what the Republicans need to start focusing on, ballot harvesting and getting people to register and go,” said Grundler. “Because if not, we’re going to be looking at some more of the same.”
Erickson said there’s a lack of candidate mentoring and support.
“I think their candidates are being coached extensively, and they’re being assisted extensively by their party. I’m not certain our candidates are getting the same coaching or some of the same benefits their candidates are getting,” he said.
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Energy Storage Can Minimize Major Price Spikes
Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Each month, families and businesses pay a capacity charge through their energy bill. It’s essentially an insurance policy that pays energy resources (or “capacity”) to be available for when the grid needs them most. Grid operators project a possible shortage of capacity in the coming years, which means the charge for this insurance policy will rise next year for many Illinoisans.
Batteries, or energy storage, are currently the best solution to minimize this price spike (which could be as high as $30 in 2026)—but building them at the pace we need will require legislation. The added benefit is the ability to store cheap electricity for use when demand peaks during the day—lowering energy bills and making the grid more reliable.
Learn more about legislation that builds urgently needed energy storage here.
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* Crain’s…
After publicly labeling the former Michael Reese hospital site as unsuitable for the new venue, the [Chicago Bears] team is said to be reconsidering the 49-acre property south of McCormick Place in hopes of jump-starting discussions with politicians to keep the team in Chicago, according to sources familiar with the talks. […]
While it’s unclear how far discussions have advanced, the softened stance on the property is the latest twist in the team’s stadium pursuit after previously announcing their intention to decamp to Arlington Heights before shifting their focus back to staying on Chicago’s lakefront. […]
The mayor’s office and local Ald. Lamont Robinson, 4th, said they are aware of the discussions. The potential development was also broached at a breakfast meeting between Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle last week.
Pritzker’s office said a more palatable financial request has not been discussed but declined further comment. Preckwinkle’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Nothing in there about what sort of government money the team would seek. As far as I can tell, that’s still off the table in Springfield.
…Adding… Sun-Times…
State Sen. Robert Peters, the South Side Democrat whose district includes both Soldier Field and the Michael Reese site, said he hasn’t gotten details on the latest proposal, but he suggested it could get a warmer reception from Springfield legislators who have flatly rejected publicly financing the Bears’ lakefront aspirations.
“If they’re bringing something to the table with broad economic development benefits and affordable housing, that sure beats what the Bears had been proposing before,” Peters said.
“They were asking for billions of dollars from the state to have their own little playground next to their current publicly funded stadium, with little economic benefit to the surrounding community. Here, there is at least an argument to be made around building a community center and bringing affordable senior housing to an area that has needed development for 20 to 30 years now.” […]
[Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson] noted the Reese site is eligible for tax increment financing subsidies “to accommodate — not only the stadium, but the building of a whole new economic anchor point that is the gateway to the South Side,” Ferguson said.
He added: “It could be done as an economic development project … that includes a stadium that keeps the Bears in Chicago that involves far more creative, less taxpayer-burdensome funding sources…It actually brings back online one of the most valuable pieces of urban property that, right now, is not performing at all from a tax perspective.”
…Adding… Senate Republican Leader John Curran was asked about the new Bears development today…
I think the public has expressed their frustration with the high cost of living. They’re looking for relief. So any entity, including Chicago Public Schools and the CTU, coming to Illinois looking for dollars or surplus dollars, they are not here. We have this $3 billion deficit in front of us, and that’s what we have to focus on.
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It’s just a bill
Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Chicago Magazine…
Jim Kelly remembers how his 91-year-old father died: alone in a nursing home bathroom after a long, agonizing battle with prostate cancer. Kelly, a 77-year-old Oak Park retiree, is now dealing with the same disease himself. While his cancer is under control at the moment, if it worsens, if he’s given a terminal diagnosis and his pain can’t be relieved, he hopes Illinois lawmakers will let him choose another path. “I can’t think of any better way to die than at home surrounded by our wonderful friends and neighbors.”
If a pending Illinois Senate bill is enacted, Kelly could drink a lethal drug cocktail prescribed by doctors to allow patients to die quickly, painlessly, at a time of their own choosing, as terminally ill patients in 10 states and Washington, D.C., are already able to do. Senate assistant majority leader Linda Holmes, a Democrat from Aurora who is cosponsoring the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, plans to bring it up for a vote as early as this month. “Many of us of boomer age have watched our parents die, and that’s when you become an advocate of this,” says Holmes, whose own mother and father died painfully of cancer. “It’s horrible to lose a parent, but seeing them suffer and not being able to do anything to alleviate that suffering is worse.”
Proponents call such legislation medical aid in dying, or MAID. Opponents call it physician-assisted suicide. And like such laws in other states, the Illinois bill would limit the option to adults 18 or older who have a prognosis of six months or less to live and who are mentally capable of making an informed health care decision, as confirmed by two physicians. No health care provider is required to participate, and the patient must be able to self-administer the medication. […]
Holmes, as well as House majority leader Robyn Gabel, a Democrat from Evanston, are guardedly optimistic that lawmakers will pass the bill in both houses this time — if not in the November veto session, then in 2025. The response to the bill among Democratic lawmakers and the public has been “overwhelmingly positive,” Holmes says. But would Governor JB Pritzker sign the bill? Gabel thinks he would. The governor did not respond to requests for comment for this story, but back in 2018, when he was running for office, he wrote this in a candidate questionnaire: “I am in favor of putting this very personal decision in the hands of patients to make in consultation with their doctors.”
* Sun-Times…
In the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s reelection, advocates for transgender people in Illinois are scrambling to strengthen the state protections they’ve created, while some trans Midwesterners consider moving to states with shield laws for safe harbor.
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy told the Sun-Times there has been a coalition effort of state lawmakers to protect trans and reproductive health care access since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade leaked in 2022. […]
One gap the coalition identified is medical data privacy and the use of geolocators to track people who visit health care facilities, which Cassidy said she’s confident will be fixed before the fall legislative session ends.
“There’s a hole in that [legislative] shield, and that’s data privacy, so that’s the top priority,” Cassidy said.
* WNIJ…
It’s unclear what changes the next federal administration will make related to the environment. But in Illinois, there is proposed legislation to protect the state’s remaining wetlands. It comes after last year’s Supreme Court ruling that rolled back some of those protections. […]
The ruling changes which wetlands are federally protected. After the Supreme Court decision, the only protected wetlands are ones that have a continuous surface connection to a water body like a river, lake or ocean. This could mean nearly all of Illinois’s wetlands are left unprotected, according to experts. […]
Robert Hirschfield’s a senior water policy specialist with the [Prairie Rivers Network].
“But what we know, he said, “is that wetlands across the country, many wetlands, have likely lost federal protections. Prairie Rivers Network and many of our partners here in Illinois are trying to respond with state legislation in Illinois to basically recreate what was done at the federal level at the state level.” […]
Several groups have come out in opposition to the proposed bill. The Illinois Farm Bureau, and state corn and soybean associations cite the extra regulation that could fall on private landowners.
SB3669, Sponsored by Sen. Laura Ellman, was re-referred to the Illinois Senate Assignments Committee in April…
V Creates the Wetlands and Small Streams Protection Act to restore protections for wetlands and small streams that were formerly protected from pollution and destruction by the Clean Water Act. Includes provisions concerning: exemptions; wetlands delineation, classification, notification, permits and veto; general permits; appeal of final decisions made by the Department of Natural Resources and judicial review; investigation and enforcement; and county authority. Creates the Wetlands and Small Streams Advisory Committee and establishes duties and rules for the Committee. Creates the Wetlands and Small Streams Protection Fund. Provides for permit review fees. Defines terms. Makes conforming changes in the State Finance Act and the Illinois Environmental Protection Act. Effective immediately.
* Daily Herald…
Republican state Rep. Jeff Keicher of Sycamore introduced a bill to end the age-triggered tests early this year, after hearing complaints from constituents, many from Huntley’s Sun City active adult community.
The legislation passed a committee vote, but it was shelved in May. Despite gaining 48 bipartisan cosponsors, only a few top Democratic leaders signed on, and Speaker Chris Welch was not among them. […]
“Don’t hold out hope that something will happen in veto session,” Keicher said. “The measure will need to be reintroduced in spring when the new General Assembly is there.
“I think the best step forward will be to hand it to someone on the other side that can navigate the Democrat hurdles that I might be encountering a little bit more effectively,” Keicher said.
* FOX Chicago…
Exonerated individuals and their advocates are pressing Illinois lawmakers to pass a bill aimed at increasing compensation for those who spent years, sometimes decades, wrongfully imprisoned.
Activists say the current compensation formula, which would pay just over $6,400 per year for wrongful imprisonment, falls far short of a fair amount.
The Illinois Innocence Project, a group focused on overturning wrongful convictions, is calling on lawmakers to act urgently during the current legislative veto session to pass the Exoneree Compensation Bill.
Stephanie Kamel, an advocate with the project, says the legislation — officially known as Senate Amendment 1 to HB 1015 — has bipartisan support across both chambers of the Illinois legislature.
* Sen. David Koehler introduced SB3974 last week…
Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that the fair cash value of commercial energy storage system improvements in counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants shall be determined by subtracting the allowance for physical depreciation from the commercial energy storage system trended real property cost basis. Provides that those commercial energy storage systems are not subject to equalization factors applied by the Department of Revenue or by any board of review, assessor, or chief county assessment officer. Provides that the owner of the commercial energy storage system shall commission a metes and bounds survey description of the land upon which the commercial energy storage system is located. Contains other provisions concerning the assessment of commercial energy storage systems. Effective immediately.
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Back in 2018, about midway through President-elect Donald Trump’s first term, the Illinois Senate passed a bill that was designed to prevent “the weakening of Illinois environmental and labor regulations in response to a weakening of federal regulations,” according to an Illinois Environmental Council news release.
Some state rules are tied directly to federal rules, so if the feds had slashed regulations, the idea was to prevent that from happening here.
“This bill aims to preserve the status quo of Illinois’ current safeguards as the federal administration continues to roll back environmental standards,” the IEC claimed at the time. “The Illinois Baseline Protection Act would prevent the weakening of any current Illinois standard below the federal standard already in place.”
The bill, SB2213, went nowhere in the House, however.
As I’ve been telling my subscribers for a while now, some Democrats are looking at “Trump-proofing” state statutes going forward, perhaps as early as the November veto session, although no language is currently circulating, so it may have to wait.
Gov. JB Pritzker was asked about this topic last week and said he’d met with his senior staff about the concept. He also “talked to some other governors around the country about the things that they’re looking at doing.” California’s Democratic governor has already called a special legislative session.
Pritzker didn’t say if he’d come up with any ideas, but he listed “health care, reproductive rights” as possible topics.
Illinois’ trade unions, led by Local 150 of the Operating Engineers Union, have been looking at this topic since before the election. While no legislation has yet been drafted, they said they are gaming situations about what would happen if the feds repealed the Davis-Bacon Act, which sets the prevailing wage on government contracts.
They’re also looking at creating a state version of the National Labor Relations Act, which is the basis for all federal labor laws on organizing, collective bargaining and the right to strike. Some businesses, including Elon Musk’s Tesla, have challenged the constitutionality of the act.
I asked House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, for comment on what might happen in the near future.
“This week has proven that the work we’ve done in Illinois matters more than ever, and I’m grateful that we’ve taken steps to safeguard the rights and values that are now at extreme risk in many surrounding states. We’ll be heading into this veto session with a renewed determination to ensure our fundamental freedoms remain protected.”
But Illinois reality is also starting to intrude.
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget published its mandated five-year budget projection late last month, and it was bad news for the state, to the tune of a projected $3.16 billion deficit in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.
“The ability to fund new programs will be severely limited,” the budget office warned.
A caveat: The spending and most of the revenue projections are made using current laws and past trends. The economy can change, and laws and practices can be changed.
The budget office also issued a reminder of something we all learned during the budget impasse years ago: “(S)pending reductions cannot be implemented broadly across-the-board. Areas such as debt service on state general obligation bonds, pension payments, Medicaid, and areas that are covered by consent decrees reflect approximately 40% of the State’s General Funds spending. Education spending — primarily base school support (e.g. Evidence Based Funding and transportation reimbursements), state university operations, and need-based assistance — encompass another 24% of the budget.”
That would mean 16% cuts to what can be reduced, without taking other action.
Trump’s much-improved state election results here (halving his loss margin from his last two races) do not create the sort of political environment you want when facing a big deficit next fiscal year — especially if you’re a governor with his eyes on the White House.
Despite the fact that Illinois state and local Democrats appear to have held on to most every office they had, their earlier exuberance contrasted poorly with that final Trump number. And that can put the fear into legislators. Fearful legislators may not want to stick their necks out for a tax hike.
Pritzker himself downplayed his own budget office’s projection by saying the annual forecast has “been wrong every year.”
Yes, we have seen some wild projections. But the crazy pandemic-era fiscal swings have mostly ended, making projections a bit easier.
Pritzker told reporters that his administration had “defeated” dire predictions every year and pledged to introduce and pass a balanced budget next year.
* Related…
* Tribune | Labor leaders, Illinois officials fear workers’ rights at risk under Trump, but vow to keep fighting: In an interview Wednesday, Raoul pointed to efforts that a Trump Labor Department might take to classify gig workers, such as delivery drivers for Uber or Doordash, as independent contractors, which would enable companies to avoid paying them overtime and giving them other benefits they would be entitled to if classified as employees. “We’ve dealt with a Trump Department of Labor in the past that has been less friendly in their interpretation to protecting workers from misclassification,” he said.
* Sun-Times | Officials aim to bolster Illinois protections as trans Midwesterners consider moving before 2nd Trump term: One gap the coalition identified is medical data privacy and the use of geolocators to track people who visit health care facilities, which [Rep. Kelly Cassidy] said she’s confident will be fixed before the fall legislative session ends. “There’s a hole in that [legislative] shield, and that’s data privacy, so that’s the top priority,” Cassidy said.
* WBEZ | How would a second Trump term affect the money flowing into Illinois?: Federal funding is the state of Illinois’ largest source of revenue. And the city of Chicago depends on it for various projects, including the current Red Line Extension and O’Hare Modernization. But President-Elect Donald Trump has a fraught relationship with the state’s prominent politicians, and has threatened to withhold federal funding from political opposition. How could a second Trump term affect the money that Illinois and Chicago receive from the federal government, and will projects like these stall during the next four years?
* Fox 32 | Chicago, Illinois leaders prepare for fight over Trump’s immigration plans: Last week, a defiant Governor JB Pritzker vowed to sue the federal government if it decided to hold up federal public safety funding as punishment for not cooperating, saying he would protect the state’s status as a safe haven. “You come for my people, you come through me,” Pritzker said on Thursday. But House Republican leader Tony McCombie says undocumented immigrants are costing the state billions, and wants Pritzker to rethink his opposition.
* Tribune | Democrats have Donald Trump’s second term in mind heading into Illinois legislature’s fall session: House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said last week that the session will be an opportunity to continue discussions on certain proposals but that larger issues would need more time to get settled. As for the effect Trump’s administration may have in coming years, the Hillside Democrat acknowledged Illinois has made good strides in recent years with certain laws it has put on the books, but that more could be done during the January lame duck session, held before a new legislature is sworn in. “We could call a lame duck session and do some things when it comes to workers’ rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, we have an opportunity that we can do some things before Donald Trump takes the oath of office,” Welch said. “We’re going to be a check on Donald Trump. As a state, we have rights. And we did it in his first term and we’ll do it again.”
* WGN | What Will a Second Trump Administration Mean for Illinois?: Congressman Mike Quigley joins WGN-TV Political Report.
* ABC 7 | Chicago leaders prepare for President-elect Trump’s mass deportation plan: The deputy mayor for Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights said Chicago will not be bullied because of its Welcoming City Ordinance. “We are not able to cooperate with ICE to assist in mass deportations; our mayor has made very clear that he will not flinch,” said Beatriz Ponce de Leon, deputy mayor for Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights. “We will continue to maintain our ordinance in place and to comply with that.”
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Open thread
Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* ICYMI: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois leaders gather at Soldier Field to honor veterans. CBS Chicago…
- Veterans who fought in every war since World War II filled the United Club at Soldier Field for the event Monday.
-Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker were all present.
- During the ceremony, Mayor Johnson gave a special resolution making Chicago a Purple Heart City for retired Illinois Air National Guard Lt. Col. Eldridge Johnson Jr.
* Related stories…
*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***
* Capitol News Illinois | How Illinois will decide on spending $40M opioid settlement with Kroger: By 2038, Illinois’ Opioid Remediation Fund is projected to receive approximately $772.6 million in total from various opioid manufacturers and distributors, according to the settlement fund allocation dashboard operated by the Illinois Department of Human Services. Illinois was awarded more than $420 million from Johnson & Johnson, Walmart, Walgreens, Allergan, CVS, Teva, Mallinckrodt, and opioid distributors, such as AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.
* Tribune | US Sen. Dick Durbin says Democrats’ minority status a consideration as he mulls reelection bid: The GOP victories undid a 50-50 tie in the Senate that gave Democrats control of the chamber because Vice President Kamala Harris was a tiebreaker as Senate president. “I’m going to watch and see what this means,” Durbin said in an interview after the city’s Veterans Day remembrance ceremony at Soldier Field. “I enjoy serving in the Senate. I’m a realist about the future. But I want to see how the relationship works.”
* Semafor | Gannett probes possible leak of bombshell Iowa poll: But roughly 45 minutes prior to the poll’s public release, a stray tweet predicted the poll’s findings. Its author said that Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Duke University alumnus, had mentioned the not-yet-released poll during a Duke Democrats meeting that day. (A spokesperson for Pritzker did not respond to an inquiry about the apparent leak.)
*** Statehouse News ***
* WICS | AG Raoul announces $11.25 mil settlement agreement with DoorDash: Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a $11.25 million settlement agreement with DoorDash. If approved by a judge, the settlement will resolve allegations that the company violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act by misrepresenting to customers that tipping would increase drivers’ pay.
* Center Square | Illinois files notice of appeal after district court strikes down gun ban: The state filed a notice of appeal late Friday. Federal courts were closed Monday for Veterans Day. “I believe the Court of Appeals will almost certainly extend the stay until the outcome of the appeal,” [John Schmidt, G-PAC Executive Board Member,] said. “Nothing in McGlynn’s opinion suggests any reason to anticipate that the Court of Appeals will not again reverse his injunction.”
*** Statewide ***
* WCIA | Illinois investing over $2 million to improve tourism: Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced that over $2 million in tourism funding will be available through two different grants. The Tourism Attractions Grant Program has $1.7 million in funding, and the Tourism Private Sector Grant Program will give out $600,000.
* WCIA | Illinois allows veterans to adopt pets with no fees: An Illinois law that went into effect Jan. 1 2024 requires animal shelters in the state to provide complete fee waivers to veterans who meet the requirements to adopt a dog or a cat. The law passed both chambers unanimously. […] All licensed animal shelters and animal controls are required to provide the fee waiver, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Fee waivers for pet adoptions in Illinois can cost more than $250.
* Sun-Times | Illinois is holding $5 billion of lost, forgotten money and property: Is any of it yours?: Louise Bohannon got to wondering if she was owed any money after seeing an ad in September about unclaimed property held by the Illinois Treasurer’s office. Two weeks later, the 32-year-old Matteson resident received a check for nearly $500, the bulk of it an insurance reimbursement for a 2016 health care visit. She never got that reimbursement because the insurance company didn’t know she had moved.
* WGN | Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership Training Academy works to get more women involved in politics: An organization in Illinois has a mission to get more women involved in politics. The Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership (IWIL) Training Academy works to prepare and propel women to pursue elected and appointed positions to advance progressive, Democratic ideals.
*** Chicago ***
* Sun-Times | Johnson’s $300M property tax increase will be ’significantly decreased,’ top mayoral aide says: Twenty-two of the City Council’s 50 members met Saturday with top mayoral aides, including Johnson’s budget team, to begin negotiations that, some alderpersons said, should have started long before Johnson belatedly introduced his $17.3 billion budget. […] Ideas ranged from increasing the $9.50-a-month garbage collection fee by varying levels, to raising taxes on items including cigarettes, parking, bottled water, gasoline and liquor, to raising the amusement tax from 9% to 14% — but only on streaming services. One of the biggest-ticket items — bringing in nearly $100 million — involves raising the personal property lease tax on cloud computing from 9% to 10.25%.
* Crain’s | Negotiations underway to cut Johnson’s proposed $300 million property tax in half: Johnson himself has met with the leaders of the 19-member Progressive Caucus, stressing he is open to all options to reduce the property tax plan without tipping his hand on what measures he favored. The mayor hopes to block a vote on the property tax at a special City Council meeting this week by securing at least 17 votes against a procedural motion to suspend the body’s regular rules of order to take up the property tax levy. While Johnson staffers have expressed confidence they have the votes, members of the council say it’s unlikely. “There’s nothing wrong with voting down this property tax levy, so I’ll be voting it down,” said Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, who co-chairs the Progressive Caucus.
* Tribune | No Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago for summer 2025: Pitchfork Music Festival has been held annually in Union Park in Chicago since 2006, except for a year off in 2020 due to the pandemic. Before that, it was the 2005 Intonation Music Festival, curated by Pitchfork Media. This summer’s festival July 19-21 had headliners Alanis Morissette, Carly Rae Jepsen and Black Pumas, among others.
* WTTW | Turf Grass Is America’s Default Lawn Setting. Chicago Researchers Are Rethinking the Possibilities: While turf has long been the country’s default landscape setting, there’s a growing push for a shift away from a monoculture of, say, Kentucky bluegrass to more environmentally friendly lawn alternatives. Ecologists argue that diverse plantings would be better for pollinators, better for stormwater absorption and better for soil than turf, among other benefits. Conservation-minded homeowners have responded by smothering their lawns with cardboard, tarps or other turf killers and replacing the grass with perennials — in Chicago, “prairie” plantings are a popular choice (“prairie” being a catch-all descriptor for a curated selection of native plants).
* Dan Wiederer | Call failed? Matt Eberflus’ indecisiveness on changes to the offense another sign of Chicago Bears being disconnected: Now it’s Eberflus’ duty — for as long as general manager Ryan Poles and President/CEO Kevin Warren allow him to keep his job — to find solutions for all that’s going wrong. That’s particularly important for an offense that has gone 23 possessions since its last visit to the end zone and 29 days and counting since rookie quarterback Caleb Williams last threw a touchdown pass. Yet on Monday, first with that morning radio call and 3½ hours later during a 10-minute news conference at Halas Hall, Eberflus struggled to provide clarity on what specific “changes and adjustments” he was promising to make.
* Sun-Times | Ella Jenkins, Chicago’s first lady of children’s music, dies at 100: From her home in Lincoln Park Ella Jenkins traveled the world, performing for generations of kids who never forgot listening to and performing with her. She has a Grammy Award, and her music is in the Library of Congress.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Herald | Furtive GOP votes, blue-state security blanket: What were suburbanites thinking this election?: “The story here is turnout,” College of DuPage Political Science Professor Melissa Mouritsen said. Although she lost the election, Democrat Harris won Illinois with over 2.85 million votes to Republican Trump’s nearly 2.4 million, according to unofficial results. In suburban Cook and DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties, Harris garnered about 1.38 million votes, a drop from President Joe Biden’s 1.66 million four years ago, Friday tallies showed.
* Tribune | Oak Park becomes second suburb to OK ranked choice voting: Initial results from the Nov. 5 election indicate 79.21% of voters voted in favor of switching to ranked choice voting for those offices. The switch goes into effect in 2027 so next April’s village election will be held under the current first past the post system. Under ranked choice voting voters list all the candidates for an office in order of preference. A candidate who gets 50% of first preference votes plus one is elected. If no candidate reaches the 50% plus one benchmark, the last place finisher is eliminated and then the votes of those who voted for the eliminated candidate as their first choice are reallocated to those voters’ second choices. The process continues until a candidate has a majority of the votes.
* Shaw Local | Voter turnout comes up short of predictions in La Salle, Bureau, Putnam counties: Voter turnout was strong throughout the Illinois Valley, but county clerks guessed a bit high when predicting voter participation. La Salle County recorded 70.1% turnout. Bureau County was 69.7%. Putnam County led the pack with 82.2%. Each figure fell short of what clerks had anticipated, though Bureau County Clerk and Recorder Matt Eggers, who’d projected 70% to 75% turnout, pointed out stray votes still are being counted.
* Daily Southtown | South suburban casino opens to huge crowds, patrons ‘blown away’ by first look: As part of its license application, Wind Creek has promised to establish the Southland Public Benefit Fund. Initially, Wind Creek plans to distribute $150,000 annually during the first five years of operation, with the money providing scholarships to disadvantaged students in the south suburbs and helping bolster access to health care. Wind Creek said it intends to create a fund of $20 million after five years to boost yearly disbursements to $1 million.
* Daily Herald | ‘Never, never give up’: Former POW Jessica Lynch honored at Aurora Veterans Day ceremony: Vietnam War Army veteran Bob Royce of Schaumburg said it’s very important for every village to have a Veterans Day ceremony. “There are so many veterans that have been forgotten about,” he said. “The young generation doesn’t know a lot about what has happened in the past for our country, what they (the veterans) have given and done, the ones that haven’t come home.”
*** Downstate ***
* WGLT | McLean County GOP looks for improvement in next election cycle: A prominent McLean County Republican thinks Democrats took control of the county board because, right now, they’re better at the process of politics than the Central Illinois GOP. Some observers have said changing demographics have helped make Bloomington-Normal a blue dot in the red sea of Central Illinois. Former McLean County Party chair Chuck Erickson said population shifts may matter a little, but there’s a bigger reason several Republican candidates lost to Democrats.
* Sun-Times | 7 downstate counties vote to consider seceding from Illinois to form new state: The likelihood of any county seceding from Illinois is extremely low. Any formal request to secede would require approval from the Illinois General Assembly and the U.S. Congress. The idea to form a new state apart from Chicago has been a recurring proposal made by downstate Republicans in the state Legislature for many years.
* KWQC | Real Estate groups disagree on Galena housing growth: In their fall 2024 report, Ruhl & Ruhl Realtors claim the number of homes for sale in Galena has increased by 76% since last year. […] But local officials disagree, with Ruhl & Ruhl’s analysis of the market. “Since the past year, it’s still a seller’s market, we’re about two months out in sales of homes,” said the Director of the Galena Chamber of Commerce, Barbara Hocker.
* 25News Now | Pekin City Council to consider local 1% tax on groceries: The staff’s report to the council said the city’s share of the state’s tax boosts local revenue by an estimated $1.5 to $1.7 million a year, which is spent on public services. The local tax would go into effect in January of 2026, which is when the state tax expires.
* News-Gazette | Settlement reached with Danville chemical plant over alleged pollution: The Illinois Attorney General’s Office has filed a consent order with Brainerd Chemical Midwest LLC to resolve a lawsuit alleging the company failed to properly control emissions of hydrogen fluoride from its chemical distribution facility in Danville. As part of the settlement, the company is required to pay a $124,000 civil penalty and $1,000 in avoided construction permit fees. Hydrogen fluoride is a corrosive chemical that is harmful to human health. Low levels of exposure can cause eye, nose and respiratory-tract irritation, with high levels of exposure potentially leading to death.
* Illinois Times | Rail project receives final piece of federal funding: Construction on the only overpass in Springfield’s rail improvements project is expected to commence in early 2025 after federal officials announced $157 million in final grant funds. The federal allocation, announced by U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, and by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, and Tammy Duckworth, D-Hoffman Estates, also will help pay for construction of the transportation center known as The Hub – with train and bus access – immediately north of the Sangamon County Building.
* WCIA | Purple Heart returned to daughter of WWII veteran in Decatur: Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said he returned U.S. Marine Corps Private First-Class Delbert Tuttle’s medal to Carolyn Peckham. Tuttle earned the medal and a Silver Star after he was injured during the Battle of Saipan in the Pacific Theater on June 15, 1944.
*** National ***
* AP | Harriet Tubman posthumously named a general in Veterans Day ceremony: Tubman escaped slavery herself in 1849 and settled in Philadelphia. Intent on helping others achieve freedom, she established the Underground Railroad network and led other enslaved Black women and men to freedom. She then channeled those experiences as a scout, spy and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War, helping guide 150 Black soldiers on a gunboat raid in South Carolina.
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Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* You can click here to follow the Madigan trial. Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. It’s the best we can do unless or until Twitter gets its act together.
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