Unclear on the concept
Wednesday, Mar 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Center Square…
State officials have recorded 21,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Illinois since the outset of the pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed 19,893 deaths through the end of February in Illinois where COVID-19 was listed among multiple causes. Of those deaths, about 1,830, or 9.2 percent, had COVID-19 listed as the sole cause of death.
That percentage is higher than it was in September 2020 when the rate was about 6%.
But a county coroner is calling for a full audit after reviewing some of the deaths in his county.
“My concern is, I’ve reviewed several cases, (of 100 cases) about ten of them here in Monroe County, that the state has deemed COVID-related deaths and none of them have had underlying conditions or contributing factors to COVID,” Monroe County Coroner Bob Hill said. “So my concern is no matter when the person was tested positive, the state is automatically giving them a death classification as related to COVID.”
Um, the state posts death information supplied to it by certifying physicians, local public health departments and coroners. If he’s got a problem, he needs to deal with it locally.
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It’s just a bill: Cannabis edition
Wednesday, Mar 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico…
A year after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order delaying the submission date for new cannabis license applications, there have been no new licenses issued.
Three bills have been introduced in the state Legislature to correct a scoring problem that shut out qualified cannabis entrepreneurs, many who are social equity applicants, from securing a spot in the lottery for a dispensary. And all three failed miserably.
Rep. La Shawn Ford hopes the fourth bill is a charm. He’s introducing a compromise measure that was crafted with equity applicants and the governor’s office. “I’m looking forward to the final language that the General Assembly can pass and the governor signs to have Black and brown people included in this industry,” he told Playbook.
Ford’s draft legislation would create two lottery drawings to dole out 110 licenses to sell recreational weed. The bill also calls for a separate lottery to add five licenses to sell medical marijuana.
To move forward with any lottery, the state is required to fix the scoring process and create an additional competition that would address lawsuits filed because of the flawed scoring in the first lottery.
* Sun-Times..
After previously slamming Gov. J.B. Pritzker over the marred licensing rollout, Hendon praised him on Monday for halting the process after outrage and legal action followed the state’s announcement that just 21 of the more than 900 applicant groups had qualified. Hendon said the governor ultimately told Black cannabis applicants to “unify and come to us with a solution.”
In a statement Tuesday, Pritzker’s office expressed support for the bill.
“We welcome the legislation proposed by Rep. Ford in coordination with community stakeholders that aims to address acknowledged shortcomings in the Act,” said spokeswoman Charity Greene. “Holding an additional lottery for conditional adult-use dispensary licenses will not only provide a path to participation in the industry for Illinoisans from all backgrounds but also provide high-scoring applicants from the first round an opportunity to gain a license.”
Ford said he intends to file the new language soon by adding to a “shell bill” that was introduced shortly after Ford’s push to create 75 additional dispensary licenses fell short during the lame duck session in January.
* Meanwhile, from the Tribune…
Among some 300 cannabis-related bills introduced in Springfield, most of which are unlikely to pass, a few stand out.
One proposal provides that a county or municipality may allow the sale and consumption of cannabis at temporary events, clubs, and tours of cultivation centers.
Another bill would transfer cannabis business licensing and oversight from existing state regulators to a new Cannabis Control Commission to be appointed by the governor.
Yet another would require schools to teach the medical and legal ramifications of cannabis use, similar to warnings about alcohol and drug use.
And one measure provides that no one may knowingly allow an animal to ingest cannabis, including secondhand smoke, in a way that results in the animal’s sickness or death.
* Related…
* This Recent Cannabis SPAC Is Looking to Make Acquisitions in These 5 Key States
* Illinois’ first on-site consumption cannabis bar set to open in Sesser
* United Way of Adams County hopes to use cannabis funds to improve programs
* This McLean County cannabis business is growing so much, they need more parking
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* Tribune…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday he’s working with business interests and health professionals in developing an incremental reopening plan for Illinois that is expected to be released later this week.
“We’re working with industry leaders, (and) we’re working with our doctors at (the Illinois Department of Public Health) as well as other experts in the state to make sure that the phased reopening is not only healthy for everybody but also good for the economy as we move it forward,” Pritzker said outside Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in downstate Lincoln.
At a stop later in Decatur, Pritzker said the new reopening plan would balance economic interests with the need to stay ahead of new variants of the virus that spread more quickly than the strains that drove the spring and fall surges.
He said the state would have little time to react to an increase in the variants.
* More from his stop in Macon County…
I can tell you that we got together with leaders of various industries in Illinois to make sure that we’re covering all of the the stakeholders that would be interested from a business perspective. And then of course, we brought our doctors from IDPH and others into meetings to try to figure out how do we phase in as things get better in the state. Also, how do we take into account that there are variants out there that are faster moving in their transmission to people, and therefore, what we don’t want to see is a surge of cases. And so how do we make sure that as we’re opening up we’re taking into account that we could still see a surge of cases while we’re vaccinating everybody here. So that’s all part of the thinking, and contemplation as we look at, you know, how we gradually move entirely to phase Five. And that’s something we’re still working on, we’ll be announcing shortly.
* Meanwhile…
The city of Chicago will greatly expand the number of people eligible for vaccination shots later this month, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced on Wednesday.
Under the move to phase 1C, Chicago residents who have medical conditions or are essential workers who haven’t yet qualified for the coronavirus vaccine will become eligible for the shot starting March 29, Lightfoot said.
The eligibility for those with health conditions applies to Chicagoans 16 and older and will follow the Illinois Department of Health’s guidelines that include cancer, lung disease, heart conditions and other ailments that put individuals at greater risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19. Unlike the rest of the state, however, Chicago will not include smokers in that category. Essential jobs will be defined as industries such as restaurants, construction, finance, media and other categories. […]
Chicago public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady has said she predicts most people in Phase 1c will get their vaccine throughout April and May. Meanwhile, Lightfoot has expressed optimism about President Joe Biden’s announcement last week that all adults in the U.S. should be eligible for the shot by May 1, but she prefaced that hope with the caveat that there must be more vaccine sent to Chicago.
* Sun-Times…
The soon-to-be-eligible Phase 1C recipients are more likely to start receiving doses through April and May. […]
“We’ll definitely still be vaccinating hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans through the summer and beyond, but this is going to start feeling more like a traditional flu vaccine campaign where the problem is not finding a vaccine, it’s having the confidence and making the decision to get a vaccine.”
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* There are two big, undisclosed problems with this story…
Cook County has launched a new COVID-19 vaccine campaign, based in part on a survey showing that 46% of African-American residents say they likely would not get the shot or were unsure about getting it.
“The ‘My Shot’ campaign speaks directly to these individuals who need to hear from their neighbors about the safety of these shots and the importance of making the choice to get vaccinated,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Monday during a Facebook Live event.
The campaign drew on responses from about 1,100 Cook County residents surveyed earlier this year. Among other things, it found that, overall, 32% of respondents were hesitant about getting the vaccine. Broken down by race, 46% of Black and 35% of Latino residents “probably would not, definitely would not or were unsure if they would get the vaccine.”
Not trying to pick on the Sun-Times because every Chicago media outlet ran essentially the same piece. But, like I said, there are two problems here if you look at the actual poll commissioned by the county. I decided to wait until I received the results before posting anything about them.
1) The poll was taken January 25 through February 9. Those are relatively ancient numbers because more recent polling shows vaccine hesitancy, including among African-Americans, has been declining for months as more people get their shots. This is from a March 3-8 NPR/PBS Marist poll…
According to a new poll, vaccine hesitancy among African-Americans is now on par with reluctance among white Americans.
That poll is here. The results clearly show that Republican men are by far the most resistant to getting vaxed, with 50 percent saying they would be vaccinated or have been vaccinated and 49 percent saying they would not be vaccinated. That’s compared to 73 percent of Black people who said they will or have been vaccinated and 25 percent who said they wouldn’t. Other recent polls have shown much the same thing.
Recent national Latinx attitudes seem to be more in line with that Cook County poll, however. 63 percent said they will or have been vaxed, while 37 percent said they would not take the shot.
2) Cook County’s media rollout lumped “definitely would not,” “probably would not” and “unsure” into the same result. Those are three very different attitudes. The results for African-Americans on this outdated survey were 19 percent definitely would not, 16 percent probably would not and 13 percent unsure.
* None of this is meant to say that Cook County shouldn’t be launching a campaign to convince people to take their shots. But things can change in life, and sometimes things change fast. So, using polling results that are as much as 51 days old on a rapidly evolving topic makes little sense to me and risks perpetuating a stereotype.
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* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,655 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 17 additional deaths.
- Boone County: 1 male 70s
- Cook County: 1 female 40s, 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
- Grundy County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 60s
- Kane County: 1 male 90s
- Madison County: 1 male 50s, 2 females 80s, 1 male 80s
- Randolph County: 1 male 90s
- Will County: 1 male 60s
- Winnebago County: 1 female 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,213,765 cases, including 20,988 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 77,798 specimens for a total of 19,299,281. As of last night, 1,143 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 259 patients were in the ICU and 102 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from March 10-16, 2021 is 2.2%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from March 10-16, 2021 is 2.6%.
A total of doses of 5,101,825 vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 414,900 doses total have been allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 5,516,725. A total of 4,283,487 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight, including 358,234 for long-term care facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 102,223 doses. Yesterday, 102,390 doses were reported administered in Illinois.
IDPH is now posting the weekly number of COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated from the federal government to the State of Illinois. Weekly allocations are broken out into the number of doses allotted for long-term care, second doses, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Safety Net Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, Illinois National Guard Vaccine Sites, Illinois Retail Pharmacy, Minority Health and Mobile Teams, Illinois Department of Corrections, dialysis centers, and local health departments. Both first dose and second dose allocation will be broken out by local health department. The City of Chicago receives its own allocation of vaccine and therefore is not included on the IDPH website. These data include vaccine allocated to the state and do not include vaccine that is part of the federal supply, which is directly distributed by the federal government. Data can be found at http://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/vaccineallocations.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for deaths previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
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Oppo dumps!
Wednesday, Mar 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico today…
Rod Blagojevich is getting back into politics — but not as a candidate. He appears in a new digital ad to support Orland Township Supervisor Scott Kaspar, who’s running against Democrat Paul O’Grady in the April 6 consolidated election. The former governor takes a dig at O’Grady, by calling him a “Madi-goon,” a reference to being an ally of former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who butted heads with Blagojevich while in office. Blagojevich, who has appeared on “The Apprentice,” also had a bit of self-deprecating humor. “I’m the only guy in American history to have ever been fired and freed by the same guy.”
The 2.5-minute video is here if you’re at all interested. Dude is definitely in the “fat Elvis” phase of his life. The words are still there, but the spark is long gone.
* Kaspar’s ticket, Orland Residents for Responsible Government, has been endorsed by Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau, who is up for reelection. But the local party is having some problems lately…
Orland Township Trustee candidate Lora Kreczmer posted bond on Tuesday afternoon after reports revealed she had an outstanding arrest warrant for three charges stemming from a car accident in August 2017, according to Chicago Ridge police. She is currently running on the Orland Residents For Responsible Government (ORRG) slate in the April 6 election.
According to Chicago Ridge police, Kreczmer got into a car crash Aug. 1, 2017, in the 10100 block of S. Harlem Avenue. The officer who wrote the accident report said Kreczmer was speaking with “mumbled speech,” she appeared to have “a blank stare” and her movements were “delayed/deliberate.” This lead to a field sobriety test, and Kreczmer was later faced with four charges, including driving under the influence - drugs, driving on a suspended or revoked license and failure to yield on a private road or drive,” according to records obtained and revealed in a Suburban Chicagoland report.
The report indicates a FOIA request — which cost a total of $9 — revealed that Kreczmer dodged her Sept. 26, 2017, Bridgeview court date to face the charges, and an arrest warrant was later issued on March 21, 2018, due to her failure to show up. According to records the outlet obtained, Kreczmer’s DUI charge included the use of prescription drugs.
Oops.
* And then…
Orland Township Board of Trustees candidate William Keefer is the latest on Orland Residents for Responsible Government’s slate to draw scrutiny.
Keefer, 25, has said he is a lawyer, listing it as his occupation in our Patch candidate survey. Although he did graduate from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 2020, according to the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, by definition, Keefer is not a lawyer, regardless of his degree.
In order to be considered a practicing lawyer in the state of Illinois, one must pass the bar exam, which is given to law school graduates to determine whether they are qualified to practice law in a specific jurisdiction.
Recently, readers asked Patch to look into Keefer’s qualifications as a lawyer. Before we could, the candidate’s profile on the political committee’s website changed. Prior, Keefer’s biography stated, “As a lawyer, William is interested in constitutional law ….” Now it reads, “William obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He is currently awaiting his bar exam results.”
Oops.
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* Washington Post…
An Illinois Senate committee will hold its first hearing Wednesday to begin the process of redrawing congressional and state legislative districts in line with the 2020 census, despite the fact that detailed census data will likely be unavailable until September.
Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said in an interview that despite the delay by the Census Bureau, he expects the General Assembly to complete the process before the June 30 deadline set in the state constitution.
“Well, the delay in the census data is certainly a new challenge, in a year full of challenges. But we’re prepared to forge ahead with our obligation to draw a map before June 30, as we’re required to do by the Constitution,” Harmon said.
Normally, states would receive the detailed “block-level” data from the Census Bureau in early April following the decennial census, but the process was delayed in 2020, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Capitol News Illinois…
Under the Illinois Constitution, if lawmakers fail to approve new maps by June 30, the process is automatically handed over to an eight-member, bipartisan Legislative Redistricting Commission. That panel would then have until Aug. 10 to produce maps that have the support of at least five members. If it fails to meet that deadline, one more person would be chosen at random from a preapproved list to serve on the commission and the deadline would be extended to Oct. 5.
Harmon, however, said he does not believe that will be necessary, and the first committee hearing will feature testimony from the National Conference of State Legislatures about how other states are approaching the challenge.
“We know other states are getting started with their redistricting process as well, Iowa is kicking off their process,” he said. “Oklahoma seems to be a little bit ahead of us. Oklahoma evidently has announced that it’s going to begin using the 2019 estimated data from the American Community Survey, which in the past has been a fairly reliable predictor of what the final census data will look like.”
Keep an eye on the Oklahoma option.
* Crain’s…
Senate President Don Harmon promises “a thoughtful, thorough, transparent process where everyone has a seat,” and that he and Welch share a belief that a fair map is one that reflects the racial diversity of Illinois.
Harmon says it’s too early to preordain how many majority-Black districts might be lost. “We have a proud tradition in Illinois of ensuring minority representation … that will continue to be a guiding principle.”
Harmon made state Sen. Omar Aquino, who is Latino, a chair and state Sen. Elgie Sims, who is Black, vice-chair (similarly in the House, Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez is chair, and Curtis J. Tarver is vice-chair). “For communities that have been traditionally marginalized, the African-American community, the Latino/Latina/Latinx community to not only have a seat at the table, but to have the gavel, is an important message to the residents of Illinois that all voices are going to be heard,” Harmon says. “They’ve both been staunch advocates for their communities and for good government, and I trust they’ll be able to lead a diverse and representative committee through their process.”
* Tribune…
Any map is certain to draw a legal challenge and the accuracy of the data used would likely provide a new avenue to contest the final product.
Kimball Brace, a national redistricting expert who has worked generally for Democrats, including in Illinois, called redistricting the process of “the nonstop hiring of lawyers and expert witnesses” in court challenges.
But Brace also notes that questions about the accuracy of the census results are legal fodder in defending the use of other data to draw the maps.
“There is an added dimension to this data question. And that is the question of how good is the census anyway?” Brace said. “Did the Trump administration do a good job or not a good job? That is … what is starting to get talked about and argued back and forth, but it certainly is a realistic question mark right now.”
* NPR Illinois…
NPR Illinois: People get very animated about some of the weirdly shaped legislative districts and congressional districts and wards in Chicago. Does that make your list of things to worry about? Or is it more important to join minority communities to create a district for that population, no matter how “weird” it looks?
Harmon: [Laughs] Too much importance is attached to shapes. It would be lovely if everything were organized in rectangles. But Illinois is not a rectangle, and there are plenty of municipalities in the state that are incredibly irregular shaped themselves. What’s important in putting together a fair map is one that reflects the communities of interest and ties them together and gives everybody a seat at the table.
NPR Illinois: Speaking of rectangles, Some folks point to states like Iowa, which does map making via computer, and ends up having mostly square legislative districts. But of course, Iowa is a state with a much more homogenous population than Illinois. Is there a happy medium for folks who advocate for that sort of extreme nonpartisan process?
Harmon: I think that the Iowa process has been sold as something it is not. A computer doesn’t draw the districts; the people programming the computer do. Iowa is more homogenous, but there’s not a single African American in the Iowa Senate. And I don’t know that is a question of chance or or not. Illinois has a richly diverse community, and has led the way on representation of minority communities, particularly African Americans. And I wouldn’t trade places with Iowa on that score any day.
There’s additional info in all those links, particularly in Hannah Meisel’s interview, so click those links if you’re really interested in this topic. Subscribers also have additional information. Click here and here.
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Cubs fly the L on injury appeal
Wednesday, Mar 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bloomberg…
Two weeks before the first pitch of the season, the Chicago Cubs have already whiffed on an effort to force an injured fan into arbitration, in a ruling that could undermine a practice teams use to avoid litigation.
In a unanimous decision issued Tuesday, a state appeals court in Illinois upheld a trial court decision allowing a lawsuit by the fan to go forward. The court ruled that the arbitration provision—in small type on the back of the ticket, referring the holder to a web page with more information—was “so difficult to find, read or understand” that the fan couldn’t have known what she was agreeing to.
After a rash of fan injuries in recent years, Major League Baseball franchises have installed protective netting. That move has in turn given rise to a new batch of legal claims from injured fans who claim the effort is insufficient, challenging the century-old “baseball rule” that fans assume the risk of attending a game. Companies generally prefer arbitration since it’s secretive, they have a say in the selection of the judges, and the rulings are final, with only limited rights to appeal.
* Clifford Law handled the suit…
An Illinois Appellate Court today (Tuesday, March 16, 2021) held that a young woman hit in the face and injured by a foul ball at Wrigley Field may move forward with her civil lawsuit for damages and is not limited to arbitration against Major League Baseball.
In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Fitzgerald Smith, the appellate court affirmed the decision of the trial court that “the arbitration provision was effectively ‘hidden in a maze of fine print, unable to be appreciated by the Plaintiff,’” as stated by the trial court. Justices Terrence Lavin and Aurelia Pucinkski affirmed the opinion on the First District panel.
Laiah Zuninga, 28, attended the Chicago Cubs game on Aug. 28, 2018, when a foul ball struck her in the face, knocking her unconscious, creating permanent and severe head and facial injuries. MLB had announced earlier that year that all 30 stadiums would have netting that reached the far end of each dugout.
Zuninga sued MLB for negligence after obtaining the ticket to the game from her father after he won it at a raffle. She said she never read any fine print on the ticket or visited the Cubs website regarding any language regarding injuries sustained at the ballpark.
The appellate court held that “factors exist in this case that make the arbitration provision difficult or onerous to find or obtain at the time of using the ticket such that we cannot fairly say that the plaintiff was aware of what she was agreeing to. Principal among these factors is the fact that the paper ticket possessed by the plaintiff did not contain the actual terms and conditions of the contract, but merely contained a summary of the terms and conditions and informed ticket holders that they had to either access a website or visit the Cub’s administrative offices to obtain and read the full terms and conditions they were purportedly agreeing to, including the 8-paragraph arbitration provision.”
The appellate court went on to say that to access this language, one must have a cellular device, internet connection and the ability to read it likely when entering the stadium amidst a great deal of commotion which, when printed is four and a half single spaced pages.
“The likelihood that a ticket holder will actually find, obtain, and read the full arbitration provision by accessing the Cubs’s website or visiting the administrative office is diminished even further by the fact that minimal effort is made on the ticket itself to draw a ticket holder’s attention to the need to do one of these things in order to understand that they are agreeing to binding arbitration by using the ticket to enter Wrigley Field.”
Tracy Brammeier, associate at Clifford Law Offices, is handling this matter at the firm and successfully argued the matter before the Illinois Appellate Court.
The opinion is here.
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*** UPDATED x2 *** I think this is good news?
Wednesday, Mar 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I love the Bond Buyer. I just don’t always fully understand it…
Illinois came to market Tuesday, earlier than expected, with yields lowered by as much as 25 basis points from price talk Monday, as investor demand for high-yield paper welcomed the lowest-rated U.S. state. New deals from Oregon also re-priced to lower yields and New York State sold tax-exempt and taxable general obligation bonds in the competitive market to strong demand.
Triple-A benchmarks were little changed in mixed trading as the primary did the talking. U.S. Treasuries rose ahead of the Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting conclusion Wednesday while equities lost ground.
Investors sitting on the sidelines in the secondary since Friday got a sense of what the primary had to offer and new deals were easily digested and underwriters bumped levels with the state of New York selling exempts through triple-A levels.
A repricing of Illinois general obligation bonds saw bonds bumped by 12 to 20 basis points from preliminary pricing wires Tuesday and 17 to 25 basis points from Monday’s price talk.
Morgan Stanley & Co. priced $1.25 billion of general obligation bonds for the State of Illinois (Baa3/BBB-/BBB-/). Bonds in 2022 with a 5% coupon at 0.69% (~63 basis points above triple-A benchmarks), 5s of 2026 at 1.51% (+108), 5s of 2031 at 2.22% (+102), 5s of 2036 at 2.47% (+119), 4s of 2041 at 2.81% (+132), 5s of 2046 at 2.75% (a 25 bps bump from Monday and about +111 bps). The second two series, $150 million priced with 5% coupons in 2022 to yield 0.69%, 1.51% in 2025, and 1.70% in 2031. The $258 million priced with 4% coupons in 2022 at 0.69%, 2025 at 1.30% and 2031 at 2.22%.
Maybe Google Translate needs to add a Bond Buyer function. Any help?
*** UPDATE 1 *** OK, this helps. Paul Chatalas, Director of Capital Markets, State of Illinois…
“The State received such strong demand and investor confidence that the bond sale was accelerated. Illinois received very impressive results, including more than 700 orders from more than 130 different investors, including respected names that have not invested in the State for a decade. This led to a contraction of credit spreads to 115 basis points over the benchmark in the longest maturity, the lowest in several years. Investors recognize the State is emerging from a period of unprecedented turbulence due to a global pandemic, and the bond market recognizes the fundamental security of the State’s bonds. The State appreciates the heavy subscription from long-time holders of its bonds, and welcomes the new investors that Illinois is seeing.”
Background…
Today the State of Illinois sold three series of tax-exempt General Obligation Bonds totaling $1.25 billion, to provide funding for capital projects, including projects authorized under the Rebuild Illinois capital program, for accelerated pension payments pursuant to the state’s ongoing pension buyout program and for refunding.
The Rebuild Illinois capital program, enacted in 2019, is the largest infrastructure program in the State’s history and the first in nearly a decade. The historic Rebuild Illinois capital plan passed with bipartisan supermajorities to improve the State’s infrastructure and improve economic development. The plan will invest $45 billion in roads, bridges, railways, universities, state facilities and other projects, creating and supporting an estimated 540,000 jobs over the life of the plan and revitalizing local economies across the state.
The pension benefit acceleration program allows program participants to receive an accelerated lump-sum payment in lieu of the right to receive future pension payments. With today’s issuance of $100 million, a total of $750 million of the authorized total of $1 billion pension acceleration bonds will have been issued.
The $850 million tax-exempt Series of March 2021A Bonds mature in 2022 through 2046 and funds capital projects and the pension acceleration program.
The $150 million tax-exempt Series of March 2021B Bonds mature in 2022 through 2031 and fund IT projects, which by statute may not have bond maturities that exceed 10 years.
The $250 million tax-exempt Series of March 2021C Bonds mature in 2022 through 2031 and are refunding bonds expected to save the State of Illinois $21.8 million, or 8 percent savings on a present value basis.
The G.O. Bonds were offered in three separate series in a negotiated sale, with an aggregate true interest cost of 2.90 percent. The bonds are being issued as fully exempt from federal taxation and are rated “BBB-” negative outlook by Fitch Ratings, “Baa3” negative outlook by Moody’s Investors Service and “BBB-” stable outlook by S&P Global Ratings.
The bond financing was led by Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, with Co-Senior Managers Cabrera Capital Markets LLC, J.P. Morgan, Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC, and Stifel. Co-Managers were Blaylock Van LLC, Mischler Financial Group Inc., North South Capital, Podesta & Co. and Rice Financial Products Company.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From our favorite Bond Buyer reporter…
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* Rachel Hinton at the Sun-Times…
Madigan’s tenure was often described as his “reign,” but [House Speaker Chris Welch] said he has no designs on the throne.
“The media and political junkies assume I’m here to be the new party king — I don’t want to be anybody’s king,” Welch said. “That could be the furthest from the truth. I’m not here to roll out top-down decisions and direction on policymaking and legislative.
“I am really here to get things done — fast and decisively, but done well and collaboratively. People need us to act, they need to see us do that by working together.” […]
“I think it’s extremely important that we are very intentional about providing access to health care, not just to the wealthy, but to lower income communities as well,” Welch said. “We have to not just talk about it, we have to do the work.”
More on this topic from his remarks…
At the end of the day, beyond the politicking, the deal-making and the usual business between business and politics, we ultimately answer to our communities. We are accountable to our communities. We need a spirit of unprecedented cooperation and congeniality at this time. As long as I am speaker, I will work to make sure that the Illinois House of Representatives operates in a way that reflects the commitment to openness and collaboration the public expects of us. I want to talk to you about a few of my priorities here today. Equity and justice is right in the center. Democratized, decentralized leadership is how we arrive at solutions that are deeper and more compelling than the challenges and injustices we face.
Subscribers know more about the appearance.
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Today’s number: $20,940
Wednesday, Mar 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Bishop at the Center Square…
The first week of COVID-19 saliva testing for Illinois state Senators, staff members and journalists covering the proceedings cost taxpayers nearly $21,000.
Earlier this month, the office of Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said anyone entering the Capitol building or media areas not controlled by the Senate won’t have to show test results, but would need to show a negative COVID-19 test before entering the Senate chambers, committee rooms or Senators’ offices.
Members of the media were initially told to pay the bill for their tests, but that was later retracted and the cost was put on the taxpayers’ tab.
The Senate returned for an in-person session last week. Harmon’s office said 698 tests were performed at a cost of $30 per test for a total of $20,940. They’re also in this week with another round of testing.
“In order to make sure lawmakers, staff and their families are as safe as they can be during the ongoing pandemic, the Senate is working with the University of Illinois to regularly test everyone entering Senate offices, chambers and committee rooms,” Harmon’s office wrote earlier this month.
The Senate is using the University of Illinois-developed saliva testing program it calls SHIELD.
That weekly tab will likely double when the Senate begins to meet three days per week. We get tested on Monday for Tuesday and Wednesday session days, but must be re-tested on Wednesday for any Thursday sessions. Last week, they adjourned on Wednesday and the chamber will do so again later today.
Also, for the record, while I didn’t like it, I wasn’t opposed to paying my own way. Some other media outlets, however, raised a big stink about the cost.
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* Tuesday press release…
First Lady MK Pritzker and Governor JB Pritzker announced that beginning today, the State of Illinois will host a memorial at the Governor’s Executive Mansion to commemorate the lives lost to COVID-19.
Today, March 16, 2021, signifies one year since the first known COVID-19 death in Illinois. To memorialize this painful milestone and the tragedy of the last year, the First Lady commissioned an installation to honor to the Illinoisans who have died from COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. Illinoisans are invited to visit the installation and pay tribute to their loved ones by tying a ribbon that is provided on site at the perimeter of the installation.
“This memorial offers all of our fellow Illinoisans a space to mourn our losses, individual and collective, in the name of healing,” said First Lady MK Pritzker and Governor JB Pritzker. “Together, one year into this pandemic, we honor those we’ve lost, as well as all the loved ones they left behind. It is through remembrance that we will move forward as one Illinois, committed to a shared vision of prosperity and hope. May the memories of those we’ve lost guide the way and be a blessing.”
Illinois has lost more than 23,000 lives in this pandemic, including both confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths as defined by the Centers for Disease Control. To commemorate this shared loss, the installation includes 102 wings representing Illinois’ 102 counties that together hold more than 5,500 ribbons, each representing approximately four Illinoisans who tragically lost their life to this virus. The ribbons are illuminated by glowing spheres that serve a twofold purpose: To remember the victims of the pandemic, while also representing the permanence of light in the darkest of times.
The memorial will be on display in the state’s capital city for one month, spanning from March 16, 2021, until April 17, 2021. The conclusion of the exhibit marks one year since Governor Pritzker directed all flags to be lowered to half-staff on all public buildings and grounds to honor those who lost their lives to COVID-19. Following the exhibit and the one-year anniversary of the lowered flags, Governor Pritzker will direct the flags to be returned to full staff on April 17.
*** UPDATE *** Pics from the governor’s office…
Pics from the SJ-R are here.
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Open thread
Wednesday, Mar 17, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Ain’t nothing easy these days…
Keep it Illinois-centric and polite, please. Thanks.
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