Question of the day
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Our greatly missed friend is covering the presidential campaign for Business Insider, but she recently returned to Chicago to pick up a few things…
* The Question: What would you pack? Remember to not exceed 50 pounds.
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* Background is here if you need it. From Elizabeth Clarke, the president of the Juvenile Justice Initiative…
Dear Rich - since I so often benefit from and am grateful for your coverage of IL politics, it seems unfair to reach out to you for the first time with a complaint. But thought your headline that the retention vote was making a “martyr” of the chief judge in juvenile court was a little over the top. Then I read the comments and was really dismayed. For whatever good it may do, here is some background to clarify the concerns in the advocacy community about Judge Toomin’s leadership.
You may not realize this, but the juvenile court in Cook County is an historic legal innovation. It is the oldest juvenile court in the world dating back to 1899 and has been widely copied. Now family courts exist in nearly every nation. As a world leader, it is critical for the court to exhibit leadership, policies and practices that are consistent with the highest global standards. Our children deserve no less.
But for decades the Cook County Juvenile Court has detained children who are nearly exclusively black and brown. Addressing and ending these deeply troubling racial disparities should be at the center of every juvenile court policy and practice. Instead, Judge Toomin has endorsed policies and practices that fail to limit detention and incarceration.
Most troubling was his opinion overturning a Cook County ordinance aimed at ending detention of young children, age 10/11/12 years. These were children who were detained based on their difficulty complying with an electronic monitoring device strapped on their ankle - in one case, for several weeks during the hot month of August. Imagine trying to parent a 12 year old who has to live with a EM device 24/7.
National experts pointed out this was contrary to national trends to end detention of young children based on the lifelong harm from incarceration. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/illinois/articles/2019-11-10/illinois-court-permits-detaining-preteenagers. Lifelong harm. Detention is short but extremely traumatic and increases the propensity to offend. Community based alternatives are always more effective in the long run.
The article also pointed out that the U.S. is an outlier in its use of detention, especially detention of young children: Despite the recent nationwide shift, the United States remains an international outliner in its treatment of juveniles, according to advocates. The U.S. is one of only two United Nations members who did not ratify the human rights convention on children’s rights. Douglas Keillor, executive director of Juvenile Justice Advocates International, said that after the U.N. creation and agreement on children’s human rights, globally two standards have been widely accepted: Children under the age of 12 [Note – the U.N. has since clarified that children under age 14 should not be prosecuted] should not be treated criminally, and youth should be treated in juvenile systems until the age of 17.
In addition, despite eligibility Cook County lacked the juvenile court judicial leadership to access state funds for alternatives to juvenile prison through Juvenile Redeploy Illinois. Redeploy Illinois is a program utilized by over forty other jurisdictions in Illinois to support services rather than incarceration for juveniles in trouble with the law, potentially making $1,000,000 available annually to Cook County. The most recent opportunity to access funds for new sites was last fall, and the Juvenile Court in Cook County failed to apply.
Finally, last Spring Judge Toomin had to be countermanded for blocking motions by juveniles for release from detention during the pandemic. Instead, he should have been doing everything possible to facilitate release, including mass commutations of lengthy probation sentences and electronic monitoring orders.
Together these actions demonstrate a shocking lack of the progressive and rehabilitative leadership essential for the world’s first juvenile court. Justice must be tempered with mercy and compassion, especially when children’s lives and futures are involved.
I would be happy to answer any questions, but just want to close by saying that unless you have seen the eyes of a young child as they are locked alone in a cell, you can’t appreciate the horror or trauma of incarceration. The police chief in Evanston recently spoke about the trauma of a police encounter for a child, and how the justice system must change to de-escalate conflict and end the policies, including incarceration, that cause trauma to predominately black and brown children.
Happy to answer any questions & thank you for your good work.
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* From today’s press conference…
* Pritzker also mentioned other states today when asked about the failed US Senate bill…
As you know, they put this skinny CARES Act bill in the Senate up. It didn’t have enough votes to avoid a filibuster because frankly it’s not a robust enough bill. It does not take care of state and local funding that is vitally important.
States like Florida have more than $5 billion of a hole in their budget. Texas has said their hole is a historic deficit. And those are two Republican-controlled states, it’s true all across the nation. This is a problem affecting everybody.
It’s clear that the President hasn’t wanted to move forward on this, for some reason. From my perspective, this would be good for him if he moved forward on a [crosstalk].
* Here’s some info on Florida…
Forecasters believe the state will have $3.4 billion less revenue than anticipated to support the state’s general fund this fiscal year due to the severe effects of the coronavirus pandemic particularly on tourism, the state’s top economist said.
In fiscal 2022, there’s expected to be $2 billion less revenue to spend and in 2023 the deficit will be $1 billion, Amy Baker, coordinator of the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research, told lawmakers in a Sept. 10 presentation. […]
The government watchdog group Florida TaxWatch also warned that if the $5.8 billion in CARES Act funds can’t be used for traditional appropriations the state’s expected “deficit will be bigger.”
* Texas…
The economic contraction associated with the spread of COVID-19 and recent volatility in oil markets warrants an update to the Certification Revenue Estimate (CRE) we published in October 2019. We now estimate the state will have $110.19 billion in General Revenue-related (GR-R) funds available for general-purpose spending for the 2020-21 biennium, down $11.57 billion, or 9.5 percent, from our October estimate. This results in a projected fiscal 2021 ending deficit of $4.58 billion, a substantial downward revision from our previously projected surplus of $2.89 billion.
The original projection was a $2.9 billion surplus.
* Problems in Georgia and Maryland…
In Georgia, policymakers approved a 10 percent cut for 2021, including a nearly $1 billion cut for K-12 public schools and cuts to programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities, among others. Maryland’s governor has proposed nearly $1.5 billion in cuts; some have already taken effect, including large cuts to colleges and universities.
More at NCSL’s website.
* The big picture from the National Association of State Budget Officers…
(S)tate revenue forecasts for fiscal 2021 (and fiscal 2022 for those states that have released estimates) are projecting more significant losses, especially without additional federal aid. Overall, state revenue losses resulting from the COVID-19 recession are expected to exceed the 11.6 percent drop states experienced over two years during and following the Great Recession, with some states anticipating revenue declines of 20 percent or more. Moody’s Analytics released an analysis on stress testing state budgets based on its latest economic forecasts, which estimates budget shortfalls through fiscal 2022. According to that analysis, state budgets could experience a fiscal shock (revenue declines plus increased Medicaid expenditures) of $498 billion due to a prolonged economic recovery and continuation of COVID-19 cases in the fall. This analysis assumes flat spending by states with no increases to combat the epidemic or address other needs. […]
State and local governments are major economic drivers. Their spending totaled $3.1 trillion in 2019, representing 14.7% of gross domestic product. As states continue to experience high unemployment rates, the trends seen in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 are expected to further depress state revenues in fiscal 2021 and beyond. Without additional federal aid to mitigate these revenue losses, states will be forced to make deeper cuts to services and spending, as well as turn to tax increases, creating a drag on economic growth at a time when the nation’s economy is attempting to recover.
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* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 1,466 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 20 additional confirmed deaths.
Christian County: 1 male 90s
Cook County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
DuPage County: 1 female 80s
Jasper County: 1 male 70s
Jersey County: 1 female 90s
Kane County: 1 female 80s
Kankakee County: 1 male 70s
Macon County: 1 male 80s
Madison County: 1 male 70s
Ogle County: 1 female 70s
Peoria County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 90s
Randolph County: 1 male 80s
Rock Island County: 1 female 80s
Stark County: 1 female 80s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 264,210 cases, including 8,332 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 8 – September 14 is 3.6%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 39,031 specimens for a total of 4,810,827. As of last night, 1,584 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 373 patients were in the ICU and 144 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*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. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
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* The governor was asked today about the small number of suburban rallies supporting fall sports in high schools and the (apparently online) rumors today that Gov. Pritzker was going to make some sort of announcement about that topic. “Will there be fall sports sooner than later?” His response…
Well, let me start by saying, frankly, that I wish we didn’t have this pandemic keeping us back from, frankly, from our small businesses being highly successful as they have been in the state, holding people back from getting their jobs back if they’ve been laid off. The pandemic has had an enormous impact on everybody, not to mention the health and safety of people.
But the idea, as you know, of focusing on sports - not my idea it’s doctors and researchers - have found that these sports, particularly high school sports and college sports, without the proper mitigations, without the proper prevention, etc. that those sports are dangerous. And evidence of that has popped up more recently in our state, down in Wayne County. I think you may know that the baseball team at the community college at Frontier, unfortunately there was an outbreak. It spread significantly, most of the team now has tested positive. There are many many dozens of people who are now quarantined as a result of their having tested positive, there having been an outbreak. This is not an unusual thing, you’ve seen it before in our state.
Look, I’m not willing to sacrifice people’s lives or their health, neither the children, nor their parents who would be affected also. And so we’re being, we’re being careful about it, but I am relying upon doctors and researchers to give us the information. This isn’t a political decision. I know that there are people who would like me simply to make a political decision to allow people to endanger themselves.
* Amy Jacobson from WIND then jumped in to claim Illinois is the only state in the Midwest that isn’t playing high school football. As a reminder, Jacobson spoke at a Chicago rally on May 16th and demanded the economy be fully reopened. The state’s 7-day average positivity rate on that date was 15 percent. And her show posted this claim yesterday…
* Anyway, here’s Pritzker’s response during lots of crosstalk…
We are, we are. Amy. Can I, can I resp… I want to respond to your, to your comment. Let me. Amy. It’s not a. I understand. Amy, I got your question. I’m just pointing out to you, we have the lowest, we have the lowest positivity rate in the Midwest. Still too high.
Look at the states that you’re talking about. They all have high positivity rates, double-digit positivity rates in most. And those are states, fine, if they decided to endanger children and families in those states by allowing contact sports to take place, that’s their decision. That’s not something that’s good for the families, the children of Illinois.
* Related…
* IHSA to allow more than two games per week; extends summer seasons by two weeks
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* Politico…
State lawmakers are focused on November — and not just for the General Election or its expected chaotic aftermath. They are tentatively planning a three-day veto session to begin Nov. 17, depending where the state is in the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m hopeful we’ll be able to return. It’s entirely dependent on the severity of the virus at the time,” Senate President Don Harmon told Playbook. “If the Black Caucus is ready to advance an agenda, it’s even more important that we do everything we can to be in session.”
House Democrats may have more to say about a November session after next week’s caucus retreat in Springfield, where members can attend in person or by Zoom.
“The final plans haven’t been made,” Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, told Playbook. “It will be decided based on the advice we get from health experts. Just like it was in May.”
There are a few ways the General Assembly will return. It could be choreographed like the mini-May session, where senators met in the Capitol building and House members met in a nearby convention center, allowing them to spread out. Or state senators could do their legislative work virtually, since they voted on that option in the spring, while House members meet in the Capitol.
This week, the Legislative Black Caucus is holding two subject matter hearings to narrow down potential legislation — or an omnibus bill — for any November meeting.
The group has already laid out a four-point policy plan that addresses criminal justice reform (including reducing violence and increasing police accountability), education and workforce development, economic access, and health care and human services.
The Black Caucus is being tight-lipped about specifics, not wanting to give opponents — police and law enforcement groups — too much time to organize against the legislation.
1) The scheduled veto session is for six days, not three. The Black Caucus has demanded that the GA meet for the full session.
2) The House Democrats are not having a retreat next week. My phone blew up this morning. Sample text from a House Democrat…
Maybe my invite was “lost in the mail?”
The Senate Democrats are having a retreat next week.
3) The Senate rules allow for remote participation in a session, but not a remote session. From the rules…
The President, in consultation with the Minority Leader, may establish a process by which Senators and members of the public may participate remotely in hearings for standing committees, special committees, subcommittees or special subcommittees, and service committees. […]
In times of pestilence or public danger, the Senate may adopt a motion to allow a member to remotely participate and vote in the regular and special sessions of the Senate, provided that at all times a quorum of members is physically present at the location of session. [Emphasis added.]
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* Some background is here if you need it. From an IDFPR email to reporters…
Good morning,
A number of you have asked to be updated on the date of the lottery. Here is the latest update.
“The final date for the lottery for adult-use cannabis licenses had not been set as of today. As we continue to review questions that have been raised, our goal is to provide time to ensure that the process is fair and equitable. A date for the lottery will be announced by IDFPR.”
Paul A. Isaac
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
* Meanwhile…
Two Democratic legislators penned a letter to Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Sunday proposing a compromise to the potential legal standoff over the upcoming lottery for the next batch of pot shop licenses.
In pitching the plan to Pritzker, state Reps. La Shawn Ford, of Chicago, and Kathleen Willis, of Northlake, said the attorneys representing dozens of losing firms would drop a federal lawsuit seeking to halt this month’s lottery for the 75 new pot shop licenses.
In return, the Pritzker administration would need to give all losing applicants a chance to remedy discrepancies in their applications and address possible scoring inconsistencies.
Just 21 firms qualified for the lottery after submitting perfect applications. Though some of the applicants are clouted and seemingly well capitalized, they all qualified as so-called social equity applicants, a designation created to bolster diversity participation in the overwhelmingly white pot industry.
“As we suspect you have heard from many others, virtually no one is happy with how this is unfolding,” Ford and Willis said of the grading process, which has incensed other social equity applicants who invested considerable resources only to have their prospects go up in smoke.
* WGN…
On Sunday, Ford said attorneys are willing to dismiss the lawsuit if the playing field is “leveled” through changes to what’s called a “deficiency notice procedure.”
Under the proposed changes, applicants would be given a 10-day period to fix any problems on their forms. Ford said some applicants were never given the opportunity to correct any errors.
“Many did not learn their applications were deemed insufficient until they received notice on September 3rd that they did not win,” Ford said.
Another concern is reports of inconsistencies in the way scores have been calculated.
* Law 360…
Pressure has ramped up on Illinois’ cannabis regulators in charge of retail licensing as dozens of businesses shut out of the upcoming lottery for 75 dispensary licenses have turned to litigation to challenge the regulators’ decision-making. A federal suit filed on behalf of a group of would-be Illinois cannabis operators against the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has grown to include more than 70 plaintiffs, and at least three other suits have been filed against the department in the wake of its announcement that just 21 businesses will be able to enter the lottery, court records show.
* Crain’s…
If the plaintiffs succeed, it would foil the state’s plans to quickly expand the recreational-marijuana program launched in January, limiting a badly needed source of new government revenue at a time when the coronavirus is squeezing tax collections. A delay in issuing new licenses also would extend the oligopoly that existing licensees currently enjoy over marijuana sales, which are growing at double-digit rates.
Illinois officials expected litigation. Lawsuits were filed when Illinois issued medical cannabis licenses in 2015, and winners were able to proceed to build out cultivation centers and dispensaries while the litigation played out. That’s been true in other states, as well.
But rejected applicants have won injunctions or stays in Nevada and New Jersey that put all new licenses on hold. In Nevada, litigation held up licenses for 62 stores for 18 months. The suit was resolved Sept. 3. In New Jersey, 150 applications for 24 medical marijuana licenses remain on hold after a year, awaiting a hearing.
* Meanwhile…
Two more lawsuits have been filed over the state’s process to award 75 new retail marijuana licenses.
Both suits target a provision in the process that gave an extra five points to applicants that were led by military veterans. The state is preparing to hold a lottery to award 75 new licenses. It will choose from 21 applicants who received the maximum 252 points possible, which included the points for veteran status.
The lawsuits note the law that allowed recreational marijuana sales in Illinois set a goal to diversify industry ownership with “social equity” applicants from areas disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, or those who had been arrested or convicted of minor cannabis crimes.
“One hundred percent of the new dispensary licenses will be distributed to members of one group—military veterans. Military veterans were never identified, lauded or supported by empirical evidence to be a group that was adversely impacted by the war on drugs or required a leg up in the Illinois cannabis industry, let alone one that deserved a monopoly,” according to a suit filed in Sangamon County, home to the state capitol, on behalf of seven unsuccessful applicants.
Yeah, good luck with that in Springfield. The filing is here.
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* Tribune…
The U.S. attorney’s office told state lawmakers probing the conduct of House Speaker Michael Madigan it had no objections to the panel calling on Madigan or others to testify, members of the committee said.
The state House special investigative committee launched its investigation of Madigan over the federal Commonwealth Edison bribery case last week. Three Republican committee members submitted a voluntary witness list that included Madigan and several other people who have been implicated in the federal investigation, including former ComEd executives and lobbyists.
“We wanted to check with the U.S. attorney’s office about whether they would have any objection to us calling Speaker Madigan to testify, or calling any of those other individuals who are part of that deferred prosecution agreement,” said state Rep. Tom Demmer, a Republican from Dixon. “And they informed us today that they have no objection to us calling those individuals.”
* From the committee chairman, Rep. Chris Welch…
The US Attorney made it clear we could seek testimony from whoever we choose; however, they requested we refrain from seeking any materials or testimony related to the DPA that is still confidential or anything in the possession of the federal government. In other words, we can call witnesses, but we can’t really ask them any questions. We also agreed to memorialize today’s call in a follow up letter and Mr. Lausch agreed to respond to us quickly. As soon as I get Lausch’s written response, I will share that with the committee and the media.
As a committee we agreed we would take no actions that could interfere with the work of federal prosecutors. Today myself and Rep Demmer spoke with the US Attorney and agreed we would put our request in writing and they would respond. But once again my Republican colleagues have disrespected the process for political gain. As an attorney, I understand the difficult position we are putting the US attorney in, but I appreciate their willingness to help guide us.
* WBEZ…
“How anyone even found out about the fact that we even had the call [Monday] only tells me that someone’s trying to score political points,” Welch said. “I think the GOP realized that the U.S. attorney said what he said and that we were not gonna be able to get documents and information that they’re seeking. And so they jumped the gun. They’re trying to score political points. They know exactly what he said and they only shared parts of the story.” […]
Demmer, however, said Lausch’s instructions open the door for Madigan himself to be called before the legislative panel, which was convened after Republicans pushed for its creation.
“Members of the committee and other elected officials in Illinois have suggested that this special investigative committee might be a forum in which [Madigan] could provide some sought-after answers,” Demmer said. “And so, the indication [Monday] that there is no objection by the U.S. attorney to us calling Speaker Madigan for a testimony … helps clear the path to getting some of those answers.” […]
A spokesman for Lausch did not respond to a voicemail late Monday.
* From the House Republicans…
What [the US Attorney’s office] said is they did not want ComEd talking about documents they may have gotten from the feds. [ComEd] could talk about the DPA. We also can call the witnesses. Said nothing about not talking about the DPA. They did not object to us calling ComEd to testify about the DPA.
* Back to Welch…
That’s not what Lausch said and more reasons why Demmer should have waited for Lausch’s letter as we had agreed. This entire he say/she say could have been avoided but they wanted to leak it to the media to score political points.
* I followed up again with the HGOPs…
There was no indication we have to stay within the parameters of the DPA. There was no objection to asking witnesses to testify. They didn’t want us asking for docs that a witness (mainly ComEd) would have gotten from the Feds and were not included in the DPA. It was specific to the DPA.
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Cook Democrats make martyr out of judge
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Yeah, this’ll go well…
As the Jussie Smollett case boiled over last year, Judge Michael Toomin appointed a special prosecutor to look at how Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and her office handled the controversial case, saying it had been botched.
On Monday, the Cook County Democratic Party, which is chaired by Foxx ally Toni Preckwinkle, took the relatively rare step of voting not to endorse Toomin for retention on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The move set off a political firestorm. Toomin called it “retaliation.” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said it sure looked like payback. But the Democratic leaders who dumped Toomin pointed to what they said was his outdated approach to juvenile justice, finding him “imperial” and “obstructionist” as they declared it was time for him to retire. […]
In 2018, Toomin faced backlash from Preckwinkle, who also is the Cook County Board president, and others after declining to follow a county ordinance that barred youths 12 and younger from being sent to juvenile detention. Two 12-year-old boys with gun charges on their records had been placed on electronic monitoring, but were ordered to detention after they repeatedly damaged their monitors and ran away.
Toomin ruled that the boys would remain confined there, saying they were a threat to society and to themselves, and the county law provided no “viable alternative” to their incarceration. State law, which allows children as young as 10 to be locked up, trumps the county ordinance, he ruled. A state appellate court agreed with him last year, drawing disappointment from Preckwinkle because the confinement of young children can lead to mental health problems, she said at the time.
* Mark Brown…
The Cook County Democratic Party voted Monday to oppose retention of the judge who appointed a special prosecutor to investigate State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case, bringing immediate accusations of retaliation.
Party officials denied any connection to Foxx’s election and said they are seeking to oust Judge Michael Toomin, presiding judge of the county’s Juvenile Justice division, over what they said was his “imperial” temperament and “outdated approach” to juvenile justice.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot was among those who questioned the party’s move, saying she was “deeply concerned” about it.
“The optics of this are terrible,” Lightfoot said. “It looks like retaliation.”
It sure does.
Yes, it does. And with all this free publicity, the party just gave him a big campaign boost.
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Open thread
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Keep it Illinois-centric and polite, please. Thanks.
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