* Press release…
SEIU Healthcare Illinois child care and home care members will ramp up a series of statewide actions with a three-city tour starting November 28 as 45,000 care workers continue to bargain with the Pritzker Administration for a new contract. At speakouts in Alton, Peoria and Carbondale, allies, families who need care, and workers will echo what workers are calling for at the bargaining table with the Pritzker Administration: living wages and a pathway to retirement for child and home care workers across Illinois.
The three-city tour is part of an escalating statewide “Good Care Job Sprint,” where care workers who provide care through state-run programs are raising their voices to highlight the need for a strong contract to address the mounting care worker crisis. Over the last two weeks, workers rallied in Springfield and Rockford to highlight how the care crisis impacts families all over the state. Earlier this month, care workers kicked off their campaign with a major march and rally in front of the Springfield State Capitol building. Workers have also made a major investment in radio ads throughout Illinois to encourage the Pritzker administration to invest in workers.
At the upcoming events, child care and home care workers and consumers will gather to tell their stories, raise demands and fight to “make care jobs, good jobs.” The assembled workers will focus attention on the families in each region who are struggling to access the essential child and home care services needed due to Illinois’ care workforce crisis.
* The spot…
Script…
It’s nine o’clock at night and people all over Illinois are doing their nightly rituals: Brushing teeth, reading a bedtime story, helping grandpa take his medicine, making sure everyone is cared for.
But for 45,000 child care and home care workers across our state, the clock never stops. Every day, they’re also making sure everyone else’s families get the care they need. Now it’s our turn to care for them too.
Under Governor Pritzker’s leadership, Illinois is on the way to being the best state in the country for families to receive the care they need at all stages of their lives. It’s time to secure wage increases and a pathway to retirement for 45,000 workers. It’s time to care for the people who care for us. Paid for by SEIU healthcare Illinois, SEIUHCILIN.org, which is responsible for the content of this advertising.
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Afternoon roundup
Monday, Nov 27, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Advancing a data-driven plan to improve the asylum seeker response and provide safe shelter through the winter, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced construction will launch this week on two new shelter sites. The sites, a base camp in Brighton Park and a brick-and-mortar site in Little Village, will house up to 2,200 asylum seekers in total. The locations of the shelters were identified by the City of Chicago and both shelters will operate as part of the existing City of Chicago shelter system. Work to construct and operate the shelters is being funded by the State through Governor Pritzker’s recently announced $160 million investment to improve the asylum seeker pipeline as well as the $478 million in State funding that has been provided or committed to the asylum seeker response over state fiscal year 2023 and 2024.
In partnership with the City of Chicago, available beds will be prioritized for families and individuals with disabilities who are currently sleeping outdoors, at police stations and at O’Hare airport. While construction on both locations will begin this week, asylum seekers will not move into the Brighton Park location until all environmental concerns have been addressed. Pending this work, the shelter sites are expected to open and begin housing asylum seekers as early as mid-December. [..]
Both sites will offer warm sleeping spaces as well as meals, hygiene facilities, and wraparound services to allow asylum seekers, particularly those eligible for temporary protected status, to gain work permits and achieve self-sufficiency, thereby alleviating the strain on State and City resources. Construction, shelter operations and wraparound services will be funded by the State.
The two sites will operate as a part of the existing City of Chicago shelter system with New Life Centers of Chicagoland contracted by the State to provide on the ground support, including quality assurance and community-care services, like conflict resolution, onsite communications, community engagement, and connection with local resources. […]
“New Life looks forward to being a continued partner with the City and State in welcoming new arrivals,” said Matt DeMateo, Executive Director, New Life Centers. “The two locations will provide warm shelter and support for our new neighbors as they begin their lives in this country.”
In addition to a $65 million investment in these new shelter sites, the State is also making targeted, data-driven investments on the front and back end of the asylum seeker pipeline, to alleviate bottlenecks. Those investments are as follows:
WELCOME: $30 million to stand up a large intake center and deploy a welcome team to better support those coming to Chicago who are seeking another final destination, or who have sponsors in Illinois and don’t require shelter. With this approach, data indicates the number of new arrivals requiring shelter can be reduced by 10%.
INDEPENDENCE: $65 million in increased funding to expand the wraparound services the State currently provides at City shelters which enable new arrivals to live independently as they await asylum hearings, including case management, housing assistance, legal services, work permit processing, and workforce development support. The State will continue to provide the rental assistance that allows asylum seekers to transition from shelters to independent living.
* Press release…
Drivers with autism or other communication disabilities can now have better experiences during routine traffic stops, thanks to State Senator Julie Morrison.
“A routine traffic stop sparks anxiety for anyone – now imagine you are a driver who has autism or another medical condition that makes processing social cues and responding to commands difficult,” said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “That can quickly lead to a stressful situation for both the driver and the police officer. It’s why it was so pertinent we ensured people can effectively communicate their medical conditions.”
Drivers now have the ability to easily disclose a medical condition or disability that could impede effective communication with a police officer. People can visit the Illinois Secretary of State’s website to access a form to disclose their health condition. The information will then be printed on the person’s vehicle registration associated with their license plate and be put in the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System.
The form – which will improve interactions with law enforcement to prevent the potential for unnecessary or unintentional escalation – comes after Morrison successfully passed House Bill 4825 last year.
“If a police officer pulls someone over and that person isn’t making eye contact or engaging in conversation, the officer may think the driver is being defiant,” said Morrison. “The reality, however, is that not every person communicates in the same manner. By designating a condition that impairs speech on one’s registration, a traffic stop will be a less stressful situation for all involved.”
Morrison worked closely with a former local high school student – who is now in college – whose twin brother is on the autism spectrum and was worried what would happen if he was pulled over and avoided eye contact. Together, they successfully put forth the legislation to enhance inclusivity by ensuring certain behaviors – such as avoiding eye contact – aren’t misinterpreted by police.
“People with autism have to deal with the ‘everybody’ stress of a traffic stop but layered in with the need to actively process the hum of the road, the flashing of the lights, the whine of a siren as well as directions from the close-talking stranger who just caught them making a mistake,” said Henry Lytle, who worked closely with Morrison on the legislation. “House Bill 4825 makes traffic stops safer for my brother and other drivers with communication challenges.”
For more information on the certification for impaired communication with a peace officer disclosure, people can call the Illinois Secretary of State’s office at 1-800-252-8980.
* Two things you don’t see every day. 1) Southern Illinois business owner touts his state…
2) A campaign fundraiser at a funeral home…
* Isabel returns Wednesday…
* Daily Herald | What caused CTA train crash? Braking glitches, ‘communications meltdown’ questioned: However, University of Illinois at Chicago Urban Transportation Center Director P.S. Sriraj says he’s most worried about a “a classic communications meltdown.” “The snowplow was on the same track as the train. That is the more important thing that could have been avoided. The operator definitely was not expecting something else on the track at that time,” said Sriraj, a civil engineering professor. “Any time you have a live track, you don’t put anything else on that track. So there was a slip-up somewhere in communications. Maybe the track got changed for that particular train just before its departure. My main question is how did this incident get triggered?” Sriraj asked. Safety expert John Plante is curious about the circumstances surrounding the snow removal equipment. “Why was it there? Why was it stopped — was it waiting for signal clearance?” wondered Plante, a former CTA attorney and Metra board member.
* WICS | Illinois Gov. Pritzker addresses homelessness in remarks to organization: Pritzker said it’s unacceptable that on a given night, tens of thousands of Illinoisans have to stay at shelters or abandoned buildings. He highlighted that Illinois has invested $350 million to support homelessness prevention and housing programs.
* Tribune | With less than 6 weeks before deadline, 3,400 gun owners have registered guns covered by state ban: While the degree of compliance is impossible to determine, the number of people who had registered through Nov. 21 represented just 0.1% of the 2.4 million people holding Illinois firearm owner’s identification cards, the state-mandated permits that authorize residents to own guns. FOID card holders could also own guns not covered by the ban, or may not have any guns at all. The registration requirement for prohibited weapons that were owned before the ban’s Jan. 10, 2023, effective date was one of the most controversial aspects of the law, which gun rights advocates so far have failed to overturn through state and federal lawsuits.
* Tribune | The siblings of children killed by gun violence and how they cope: ‘I just feel alone’: People experiencing traumatic grief may become hypervigilant or feel constantly unsafe, she said. They may also try to avoid feeling their emotions, experience intrusive thoughts such as nightmares or flashbacks or begin to think about the world in a different way. Mental health care can be an important way for young people who have lost siblings to understand their grief and continue their lives, Raviv said. But just 1 in 5 young people who need mental health care have access to the services they need.
* Sun-Times | CHA mounts $50 million program to fix up scattered sites: “It’s an aggressive target,” said the agency’s CEO, Tracey Scott. That’s probably an understatement as financing, supply issues and permits all can produce delays. But she said the CHA has analyzed the vacant parcels, worked up plans and found the funding. Staff and contractors, many working under a federal program to steer job opportunities to those getting housing help, will be “laser focused” on the mission, Scott said. She said the CHA is in close contact with the city’s Buildings Department to smooth the permit process.
* Daily Herald | Casten, Quigley, Ramirez among early congressional filers for 2024: In the 6th District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove is seeking a fourth term. He’s being challenged once again by Chicago Democrat Charles Hughes in the primary. Casten defeated Hughes and then-U. S. Rep. Marie Newman of La Grange in last year’s primary before besting Orland Park Republican Keith Pekau in the 2022 general election. On the other side of the political aisle, Niki Conforti of Glen Ellyn is back for another shot at the GOP nomination in the 6th. She lost to Pekau in the 2022 primary.
* Crain’s | Chicago performing arts struggle to win back audiences: Most of the performing arts in Chicago are housed in nonprofit organizations that depend on the generosity of individual donors, corporations and foundations. Yet in the pandemic years following the murder of George Floyd, companies shifted dollars to social justice causes, arts executives say. Others have focused on the environment and sustainability. The money coming in isn’t keeping pace with inflation.
* SJ-R | Thousands of campaign buttons: Inside Springfield local’s political memorabilia collection: Over the last 48 years, Gordon Wayman has assembled a political memorabilia collection spanning countless autographs, presidential PEZ dispensers and more than 3,000 campaign buttons.
* NBC 5 | Rolling Stones pre-sale tickets for 2024 tour start this week: Fans looking to score tickets can gain access to a special ticket release, which begins Nov. 29. Those who provide their information here before 11 a.m. CT on Nov. 28 will receive an exclusive “pre-sale code” and a ticket link by noon on the same day. Pre-sale ticket sales begin at 12 p.m. CT and continue through 10 p.m. CT on Nov. 30.
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Bus arrivals trending upward again
Monday, Nov 27, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* According to the city’s Friday briefing, 25 migrant buses arrived in Chicago last week. That’s more than the 18 buses which arrived during the prior week and about ten or so more than the average during the previous few weeks.
New arrivals currently in shelters are up from 12,073 on November 17 to 12,482 this past Friday. But the number of new arrivals in staging areas like police stations is down from 2,218 total on Nov. 17 to 1,513 - a very significant 32 percent drop. I’m also hearing lots of progress was made over the weekend as well.
Total exits from the shelter system have increased from 8,280 as of Nov. 17 to 8,908 last Friday, an increase of 628, which is significantly above the recent average.
* Tribune…
Keinymar Avila, a tiny 7-year-old with microcephaly who has never been separated from her mother, curled up in the arms of a woman she’d recently met.
Her mother, Yamile Perez, glanced over at her daughter to make sure all was well as she attended a virtual meeting with Chicago Public Schools officials who were evaluating Keinymar’s needs. It is not easy to let someone else hold your child, especially if your child requires special medical care.
No one knows this better than the person cradling the girl, Mary Otts-Rubenstein, a Lakeview resident who has her own child with disabilities. Otts-Rubenstein has taken it upon herself to help over a dozen migrant families with medically complex kids enroll in CPS.
* Meanwhile…
Crews will begin constructing winter tents meant to house up to 1,500 migrants in Brighton Park on Monday, the local alderperson says.
The city is moving forward with the camp at 38th Street and California Avenue despite not sharing a study that shows the former industrial site needs to be cleaned of toxic metals, Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) said in a letter released Saturday night.
Contractor GardaWorld is expected to begin the final phase of construction Monday, Ramirez said in the letter, while distancing herself from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s choice to continue with the project. […]
On Sunday, the mayor’s office said that “the city is confident that the property will be suited for the purpose for which it will be used. Additional details regarding environmental information will be provided this week.”
More…
City officials have said it will take them three days to erect the base camp, which will have separate tents for sleeping, case management services, dining, showers and bathroom facilities. The base camp will open to house 500 people and expand to as many as 2,000 people, officials said
But…
Mayor’s Office Spokesperson Ronnie Reese said late Sunday that construction on the site will not begin Monday despite a Saturday letter from 12th Ward Alderwoman Julia Ramirez saying it would.
Unreal.
…Adding… The mayor needs a comms staff, Part 4,217…
* Unclear on the concept…
A South Side alderman’s claims that warming centers in his ward will be used as migrant shelters is not true, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said.
Ald. David Moore (17th) released a letter Tuesday addressed to Johnson saying public spaces in his ward will soon become warming centers used to house migrants. The letter circulated on social media, angering South Side residents.
But it’s not true, Johnson’s office said Friday.
“Warming centers are not, nor have they ever, been considered for shelters for asylum seekers in the 17th Ward,” Johnson press secretary Ronnie Reese said in an email.
Those facilities have been used as warming shelters for homeless folks and poor people for years and years. Ald. Moore is just feeding the hate.
* I’m pretty sure the governor’s disaster declaration (which isn’t mentioned in ABC 7’s story) overrides this case, but we’ll have to wait for the judge’s ruling. As we all saw during the pandemic, judges can go off-script…
Two South Shore residents will appear in front of a judge after filing a lawsuit against the city of Chicago and how officials are housing incoming migrants.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the city. The plaintiffs want to stop the city from housing migrants in public schools, parks and police stations and even those so-called tent camps.
The legal action could prevent the mayor from disrupting park programs, violating zoning laws and he would have to disclose fully how much money is being spent on supporting incoming migrants. That case goes before a judge Monday morning.
* More…
Block Club Chicago | As Chicago’s Shelter Rule For Migrant Families Takes Effect, Here Are Three Student Rights To Know: Homeless children have certain rights aimed at maintaining stability for them at school, including the ability to stay at the school they’ve been attending.
* Tribune | Half full: Migrants struggle to eat in Chicago: Migrants say that, unlike in their home country, there’s a lot of food in grocery stores in Chicago, and they’re grateful for the city’s aid. But the food distribution at police stations is uncoordinated, the meals at city shelters are substandard and often not to their liking, and they have to follow strict rules about what outside food they can bring inside.
* NBC News | Chicago scrambles to house migrants as winter approaches: But Matt DeMateo, the chief executive officer of New Life Centers of Chicagoland, a nonprofit that works with the state on resettlement, said that while the reduction to three months of rental assistance may provide a challenge in finding housing, it could ultimately allow more migrants to benefit from the program. DeMateo believes another aspect of the state’s plan — submitting 11,000 applications for work authorization and temporary protected status by February — also will improve the migrant crisis. “Once that opens up, people can get on a stable path,” he said. “With all of those investments, the idea is how do we better the whole system, so we can get through this and get past these bottlenecks.”
* Tribune | Pritzker administration sought migrant tent camp proposals before Mayor Brandon Johnson took office, records show: But in response to questions from the Tribune, the governor’s office acknowledged last week that the inclusion of tent-like structures in the May bid solicitation was “a collaborative effort” between IEMA and the Illinois Department of Human Services “as they prepared for every possible outcome.” The possibility of housing migrants in tents rather than buildings had “always been on the table” in conversations with City Hall — under both Johnson and the prior administration of Mayor Lori Lightfoot — “given the few practical options to house mass amounts of people on an emergency basis and the space limitations on indoor sites,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in an email. “The governor’s concern with soft shelter sites at that time they were announced was because cold weather was just a few months away and the preference has always been to house people in brick-and-mortar shelter sites,” Abudayyeh said. “But as we move closer and closer to winter, people are still sleeping outside police stations in regular tents with no resources so soft shelter sites provide better accommodations, and more importantly, allow asylum-seekers access to caseworkers and a path to independence.”
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* February 3, 2021 press release…
A grand jury today indicted former Illinois State Senator Sam McCann on charges of fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion related to his alleged misuse of campaign money for personal expenses. The indictment alleges that from May 2015 to June 2020, McCann engaged in a scheme to convert more than $200,000 in contributions and donations made to his campaign committees to pay himself and make personal purchases, and that he concealed his fraud from donors, the public, the Illinois State Board of Elections and law enforcement authorities. […]
McCann organized multiple political committees that were registered with the Illinois State Board of Elections: Sam McCann for Senate; Sam McCann for Senate Committee; McCann for Illinois; and, Conservative Party of Illinois. According to the indictment, from April 2011 to November 2018, McCann and his political committees received more than $5 million in campaign donations.
The indictment alleges multiple instances when McCann used campaign funds to purchase personal vehicles, pay personal debts, make mortgage payments, and pay himself, including the following:
• McCann allegedly used more than $60,000 in campaign funds to partially fund the purchases of a 2017 Ford Expedition in April 2017 and a 2018 Ford F-250 truck in July 2018, which he titled in his own name and used for his personal travel. McCann then used campaign funds for loan payments on the F-250 and for fuel and insurance expenses for both vehicles, while at the same time using campaign funds to reimburse mileage expense claims which he did not incur.
• In April 2018, McCann allegedly used $18,000 in campaign funds to purchase a 2018 recreational travel trailer, and in May 2018, used $25,000 in campaign funds to buy a 2006 recreational motor home, both of which McCann titled in his personal name.
McCann established an online account with a recreational vehicle rental business in Ohio and listed the vehicles for rent identifying Sam McCann as the owner. McCann then established a second account with the same rental business and identified himself as William McCann, a potential renter, with a different residential address and email than those he listed as the owner. From approximately May 2018 to June 2018, McCann, while representing himself as the renter, William, rented both the travel trailer and motor home from Sam, the owner, through the RV rental business. McCann caused a total of approximately $62,666 in campaign funds be used to pay the rental cost of the vehicles. The rental business retained approximately $9,838 for commission and paid McCann, as the owner, approximately $52,827 by direct deposit to McCann’s personal checking account. McCann reimbursed the campaign accounts $18,000, resulting in more than $77,000 in campaign funds used to buy and rent from himself.
• On or about Oct. 4, 2016, McCann allegedly used a $20,000 cashier’s check funded by a campaign account and issued to himself to pay off a personal loan, including legal fees, that had originally been issued to him as an equipment loan in 2011 and was in collection by the bank due to non-payment.
• From May 2015 to August 2020, McCann allegedly used campaign funds to pay approximately $64,750 on two separate personal mortgage loans that were secured by his former residence in Carlinville and an adjoining property used as an office for his construction business.
• In November 2018, after an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of Illinois, when he was no longer a candidate for office and did not financially support any other candidate, and continuing to June 2020, McCann allegedly caused the Conservative Party of Illinois to issue approximately $187,000 in payments to himself personally and an additional $52,282 in payments for payroll taxes. Using a payroll service, McCann was allegedly able to conceal himself as the payee for the expenditures from the campaign account.
• The indictment also alleges that approximately $50,000 in campaign funds were used for personal expenses including Green Dot credit card payments related to a family vacation in Colorado and other personal expenses, charges from Apple iTunes, Amazon, a skeet and trap club, Cabela’s, Scheels, Best Buy, a gun store, and cash withdrawals.
In addition to wire fraud and money laundering, the indictment charges McCann with one count of tax evasion related to his joint return for calendar year 2018. McCann allegedly failed to report income from his 2018 rental payments to himself for the RV trailer and motor home. In addition, in March 2018, McCann used a $10,000 check issued by a campaign account to make a down payment to a Shipman, Ill., business for a motor home. When the purchase was not completed, the business issued a $10,000 refund check payable to William McCann, which he deposited to his personal checking account and failed to report as income received.
* From this past January…
A public defender representing indicted former senator and one-time gubernatorial candidate William “Sam” McCann Jr. has been replaced, after saying their attorney-client relationship was broken.
That split happened not long after it looked like McCann was about to agree to a plea deal.
* Last week…
A judge, not a jury, will determine whether an indicted former senator and one-time gubernatorial candidate misused campaign money, laundered money and evaded taxes.
Attorneys for William “Sam” McCann Jr. said in a filing Monday in U.S. District Court that he “requests the court try all charges against him in this case without a jury.” […]
McCann was granted a court-appointed defender after telling the court he was unemployed with $53,000 in debt and $500 in his checking account.
* Jim Dey…
The nominal Republican defeated veteran Democratic incumbent state Sen. Deanne Demuzio in 2010 and served in the Illinois Senate until 2018.
But his tenure was marked by his high-profile feuding with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Encouraged and funded by Democrat-backing labor groups, McCann ran for governor in 2018 as a conservative whose goal was to boost J.B. Pritzker’s election prospects by drawing votes from Rauner.
Pritzker, who didn’t really need McCann’s help, easily won the race.
Ironically, the millions of dollars in leftover campaign funds donated to McCann is the source of his legal troubles.
* Doesn’t look like we’ll be able to follow along in real time…
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** Bizarre is right…
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Petition filing begins today
Monday, Nov 27, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Click here to see who has filed so far.
…Adding… All of the petitions that were turned in by 8 this morning have now been processed and the candidate names are online.
…Adding… Click here for the filed legislative candidate list. (It’s a pdf file and takes a bit to load.)
* From Capitol News Illinois…
Monday morning marks the official beginning of the 2024 election cycle in Illinois, opening up the week-long period when candidates for local, state, congressional and judicial races are required to turn in the signatures they’ve spent the last two months collecting to get on the ballot.
The first day of petition filing has traditionally taken on a party atmosphere, as candidates and staff line up outside the Illinois State Board of Elections office in Springfield, where the line often reaches past the Chuck E. Cheese storefront, roughly 100 yards down from the board’s entrance in the capital city strip mall.
Those who get in line before 8 a.m. are entered into a lottery drawing to be placed atop the ballot for their respective position. The lottery drawing is scheduled for Dec. 13.
Though many candidates line up before filing opens, elections board spokesperson Matt Dietrich said he hasn’t seen any studies that prove being first on a primary ballot actually provides any advantage.
“Primary voters tend to be the most informed voters,” he said. “So these are the voters are most likely to know which candidates are on their primary ballot and they’re the voters who are most likely to have already made up their minds before they go into the polling place.”
* NBC 5…
Candidates who get in line before 8 a.m. will be entered into a lottery to receive the top spot on the ballot. The drawing is planned for Dec. 13.
The 2024 primary is on Tuesday, March 19.
* Wishful thinking…
* In the Madigan era, staff members were “encouraged” to camp out days in advance to show how tough they were. That’s no longer the case…
* From a buddy…
Do you have any filing day memories to share?
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Open thread
Monday, Nov 27, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Isabel has an extra couple of days off and I decided to take it a little easy this morning. How was your holiday?
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* Big story in the Tribune from Rick Pearson…
A political committee that helped expand the Democratic majority on the Illinois Supreme Court and was backed by Illinois Senate President Don Harmon emptied its bank account just weeks after being notified it faced one of the largest state election fines ever for failing to timely disclose millions of dollars it spent until after last November’s election.
On Tuesday, the State Board of Elections issued a final order assessing $99,500 in fines against the All for Justice political action committee. The action followed a Tribune story earlier this year detailing the PAC’s reporting deficiencies as it spent more than $7.3 million on independent expenditures supporting Democratic Justices Elizabeth Rochford and Mary Kay O’Brien, both of whom won their campaigns and increased the court’s Democratic majority to 5-2 from a previous 4-3 advantage.
All for Justice was notified Aug. 3 by the state elections board it would be fined for 35 specific violations of failing to timely disclose to the public its spending on behalf of Rochford and O’Brien in the crucial closing months before the November 2022 election.
The PAC was given 30 days to appeal or seek a reduction in the fines, but did not do so. Instead, on Aug. 31, it transferred its remaining cash balance of $149,516 to another independent expenditure committee, Chicago Independent Alliance, a PAC that has been dormant since July 2019, six months after it was created.
Go read the rest. One heck of a story by Pearson.
* Another strong story from Pearson…
James Peyton Philip was a symbol of Chicago suburban political growth in the post-World War II era of white flight from the city, a hulking, cigar chomping retired Marine who helped build a Republican firewall against Chicago’s Democratic domination as Illinois Senate president for a decade.
Philip, 93, known most commonly in Illinois statehouse politics by the nickname “Pate,” died Tuesday night at his home in Wood Dale after a short illness, with his wife of 46 years, Nancy, at his side. No cause of death was given.
Philip served for 36 years in the Illinois General Assembly, eight in the Illinois House before moving to the state Senate, where he served for 28 years and climbed the ladder of leadership to become Senate president in 1993. He remained president for a decade before retiring in 2003 after Democrats gained control of the chamber. His tenure marked him as the longest serving Republican Senate president.
“’Pate’ was very loyal to his members. I mean, he would really do whatever it took that he thought to help them get reelected. And of all the leaders, he probably was the most committed to the rank and file,” said former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar, who served from 1991 to 1999.
The family’s obituary is here. At Pate’s request, “no services will be held and burial will be private.”
* Thrillist…
Multiple studies have shown it, and new video evidence from social media is proving the point: Airlines are way too often careless with wheelchairs and mobility devices.
On TikTok, a video just went viral for showing an American Airlines baggage handler mishandling a passenger’s wheelchair and carelessly shoving it down a ramp that is, according to observant commenters on X (formerly Twitter), reserved for checked bags.
The video with US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s response…
From US Sen. Tammy Duckworth…
This video is shocking, but not surprising based on my own travel experiences or those of anyone who relies on a mobility device to live their lives fully. Since I passed a law requiring public disclosure of how often airlines damage mobility devices, data shows that far too many wheelchair users land at their destinations only to find their wheelchairs broken, often irreparably. It’s completely unacceptable to treat critical medical devices like this, and experiences like these are exactly why I won’t stop fighting to hold our airlines accountable.
* Today is Oscar’s birthday! I probably shouldn’t have interrupted his birthday nap to take this pic, however…
* More…
* Capitol News Illinois | State high court skeptical municipal police and fire pension consolidation hurt retirees’ voting rights: But attorney Daniel Konicek said his clients’ objection wasn’t about the money, but rather their say in how the money is managed. “It completely, undeniably diluted their ability to put people on a five-person board that they knew, versus these new boards of people that are statewide and (they) don’t know,” Konicek told the justices. But nearly before he was done speaking, Justice Mary K. O’Brien cut in. “How does that impact whether or not they get a check at the end of the month or on the 19th of the month?” she asked.
* Sun-Times | Burger King owner’s ‘gut feeling’ told him he should have hired Ed Burke’s law firm: The Texas businessman might have been new to Chicago when he visited one of his Burger King restaurants here in 2017, but he’d been given a little insight into the man he’d be meeting — that Ald. Edward M. Burke was one of the city’s “most powerful” politicians. So Shoukat Dhanani came to Chicago. He had lunch with Burke at a country club and let Burke tell him all about his property tax business. When it was over, Dhanani’s company secured a building permit and began to remodel its Burger King at 41st Street and Pulaski Road. All seemed well until that work was shut down late in 2017 — by Burke. Dhanani testified Tuesday that he had a “gut feeling” why the longtime City Council member intervened.
* WTTW | ‘I’d Also Like to Get Some of His Law Business’: Jurors Hear Evidence of Former Ald. Ed Burke’s Alleged Attempt to Extort Burger King Owners: During that meeting, Burke mentioned — unprompted — that he owned a property tax law firm and how he’s been “very successful,” Dhanani testified. Dhanani said he believed Burke brought this up because he “thought maybe he’s wanting us to give him the property tax business,” even though they already had a company that handled such matters. “I thought it might make it easier for us to get our permits,” he testified, when asked why he would consider giving Burke’s firm his business. They also discussed driveway permits for the trucks, though Dhanani believed his business did not need such a permit because the driveway was shared by several businesses in an attached shopping center.f
* Tribune | ‘I’d also like to get some of his law business’: Testimony in ex-Ald. Ed Burke corruption trial moves to alleged Burger King scheme: Three days later, Burke talked to political friend Rodney Ellis, a county commissioner in Texas, about Dhanani. “I’ll let him know how important you are,” Ellis told Burke on the call. “Well, you’re good to do that, but I’d also like to get some of his law business,” Burke responded. “I hear he’s got 300 Burger Kings here.”
* Withers Syndication | Former IL Senator set to be tried for campaign fraud, tax evasion: A former Illinois State Senator and gubernatorial candidate agreed in court Monday to be tried by a judge next week rather than a jury in his federal campaign fraud case. William “Sam” McCann is accused of knowingly defrauding people who donated or contributed to his campaigns for Senator and then for governor, starting in 2015, and continuing through 2020. Monday’s bench trial will come just months after a public defender representing the indicted former GOP lawmaker withdrew from the case, saying their attorney-client relationship was broken. Another public defender was then appointed to represent McCann. Seven of the counts against McCann allege fraudulent misuse of campaign money and providing false reports to the IRS.
* WCBU | Democrat ends campaign for 93rd House District ahead of filing window: In a statement, Zoey Carter said only that “the higher powers above have deemed it not quite my time yet.” Republican Travis Weaver is the current representative for the district, which includes Pekin, Edwards, and Kewanee. The district leans heavily conservative. Carter would have been the first out trans person in the Illinois General Assembly if elected.
* Sun-Times | Dogs sickened by mystery respiratory illness, veterinarians urge vigilance: Symptoms include coughing, sneezing and discharge from the eyes or nose. While typically mild to moderate, the sickness can lead to complications such as pneumonia and in some cases even death, a local vet says.
* NBC 5 | Gov. Pritzker tweets video of him taking shot of Malort when asked about the beverage: Gov. Pritzker took the shot with ease, not appearing to be thrown off at all by the beverage’s intense bitterness and openly embracing one of Chicago’s many unofficial symbols.
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