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* Background is here and here if you need it. Despite Tom DeVore sticking his nose into the case, a Macon County judge has granted Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) and others a TRO over the assault weapons ban. This is zero surprise since the 5th District appellate court allowed a similar motion to go through. Plaintiffs had asked for a statewide TRO, but the judge limited his order to cover only the plaintiffs. The order is here.
So, what happened to the DeVore intervention? From the court…
02/02/2023
Clerk presents file this date, the Court finds that Attorney Devore sent a Notice of Hearing on his Application to Intervene without first scheduling the matter for hearing with the Court and in violation of Circuit Court Rule 2.1(f) which requires 14 days notice. The Court has not had an opportunity to review the Application and issues in detail as the focus of the Court has been on the issues presented in Plaintiff’s Motion which was properly set for a quick hearing date due to the emergency nature of the motion, upon request of counsel. Accordingly, the Court will not hear the Petition to Intervene on February 3rd, 2023. Parties are directed to contact Judge Forbes’ Judicial Clerk to obtain a date and time for hearing on that application.
So much winning from the greatest legal mind this state has ever known.
* If you were ever curious how much Facebook ads cost to reach each person, this excerpt from a Change Illinois fundraising pitch gives you the answer…
Now that we have the [redistricting reform-focused candidate] survey responses, we need to reach as many Chicago residents as we can so they can review candidate responses before this month’s election. We’re running a digital ad that has already reached more than 7,000 Chicago residents, but we need your help to reach more!
It costs 4 cents to reach a Chicago resident with the ad below. Will you chip in $18 (or more) today to help us reach 450 more residents so we can make sure voters are informed before the election?
According to a Facebook ad library search, Change Illinois Action Fund has spent $304 on ads (really breaking the bank there, CI). So, at 4 cents per person, they’ve reached 7,600 FB users.
* Nancy Pelosi is doing a fundraiser for the House Democrats. Not the national House Democrats, the Illinois House Democrats…
On March 3, 2023 Democrats for the Illinois House will kick off Women’s History Month with a fundraising event celebrating women leaders in the House. In addition to Illinois leaders, the event designed to encourage, motivate and inspire women, will feature national trailblazer and history maker, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
“Women are leaders everywhere you look—from the CEO who runs a Fortune 500 company to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household,” says Pelosi. Our country was built by strong women, and we will continue to break down walls and defy stereotypes.”
Speaker Welch and Democrats for the Illinois House agree.“Women are powerful. Whenever they have a seat at the table, whenever they bring their power and full selves to the table, we have better outcomes. We have stronger solutions. I am so proud of the group of women who will headline Women in Power and all of the women who serve in the House. They are my colleagues and my friends. They are some of the fiercest advocates for Illinois families that have ever graced the floor. I look forward to hearing them share their challenges and their triumphs to help power other women forward. ”
The event will be well attended by the women and men of Democrats for the Illinois House. Recognized House Leaders include Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, Speaker Pro Tempore Jehan Gordon Booth, Deputy Majority Leader Mary Flowers, Deputy Majority Leader Lisa Hernandez, Assistant Majority Leader Natalie Manley, Assistant Majority Leader Kelly Burke, Assistant Majority Leader Barbara Hernandez, and Majority Conference Chair Theresa Mah.
Women in Power will be held at RPM Seafood [ 317 N. Clark Street| Chicago] from 2-3 pm. There will be a private VIP reception for event sponsors from 1pm-2pm. Tickets are limited and can be purchased at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/women_in_power. Seating is limited. Pre-purchased tickets are encouraged.
* This WaPo piece is about US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene heckling President Biden during the State of the Union address, but it could easily be applied to the same sort of candidates in Illinois…
Greene easily won the primary and then election in a district that backed Donald Trump by a 3 to 1 margin. So now she’s in Congress — and was a key ally of McCarthy in his struggle to be elected House speaker. Her willingness to throw bombs at her perceived opponents has made her a force in Republican politics, one that McCarthy clearly thinks is useful to keep close.
In other words, Greene is in Congress because her style of agitating the Republican base was useful in winning a primary in a deep-red district, winning election in a wildly pro-Trump one and in getting access to the core of Republican institutional power. And this, really, is the Republican Party’s central weakness, as made obvious in last year’s midterm elections: It is very, very good at energizing its base and not very good at appealing to everyone else.
You gotta wonder what the Eastern Bloc has in store for Gov. Pritzker next week during his State of the State/Budget address.
* Press release…
The Lee County Industrial Development Association (LCIDA) today announced the hiring of Tom Demmer as the organization’s new executive director. Demmer replaces Kevin Marx who is retiring after leading the organization since 2018.
Tom Demmer comes to LCIDA after having served for the past ten years as State Representative for the 90th district
* Live from the Statehouse…
Keep up the hustle, li'l buddy. pic.twitter.com/Cwc8o0Rbiz
— John Amdor (@JohnAmdor) February 8, 2023
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Forbes | The Illinois Voucher Law Is About To Ride Into The Sunset. Will Lawmakers Rescue It, Or Just Wave Goodbye?: Yeshivas Tiferes Tzvi Academy of Chicago reserves the right to expel any student whose family listens to secular music. Rockford Christian Schools will not enroll a “parent with a child at home.” Westlake Christian Academy of Greyslake will not admit students if they or their custodial parents maintain a “lifestyle” that violates biblical principles; this would include “promiscuity, homosexual behavior, or other violations of the unique God-give roles of male and female.” In fact, Westlake only accepts students from families in which one parent is “a born-again Christian.” These sorts of restrictions are common to many of the schools participating in the state’s voucher program. Taxpayers are footing the bill for this discrimination.
* ABC Chicago | Chicago alderman calls out Cardinal Blase Cupich over opposition to proposed city ordinance: Cardinal Cupich made the unusual move of weighing in on a proposed ordinance in city council. In a two-page letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and all 50 aldermen, the cardinal expressed concerns that includes requiring Catholic Charities to sign a labor peace agreement with union officials, which may result in higher wages that he says the archdiocese can’t afford.
* Philip Howard | Public unions are hurting Illinois: Amendment 1 to the Illinois Constitution, approved by referendum in November, was promoted as guaranteeing basic fairness for all workers. But it does something else — by prohibiting any new laws that might impinge on worker collective bargaining, Amendment 1 disempowers future elected officials from changing how government operates. Illinois voters will elect governors, mayors and legislators who have been disempowered from fulfilling their main constitutional responsibility: to make decisions on how to best operate government for the public good.
* Crain’s | Ramirez calls for more action on working-class issues in State of the Union response: And while she criticized Republicans on several issues, Ramirez said Democrats and Republicans have failed so-called Dreamers—immigrants seeking legal status—for more than a decade. These include her husband, Boris, who immigrated to the United States from Guatemala at age 14 and is awaiting the renewal of his status allowing him to work under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
* Bloomberg Law | Illinois Court Upholds Pritzker’s Tax Relief Pension Merger Law: Roughly 650 Illinois first responder pension plans must follow through with a statewide consolidation law aimed at lowering local property taxes that are ballooning because of pension liabilities, a state appeals court ruled.
* STLPR | Illinois spent decades refusing to repatriate Native American burial remains: The report, published last month, is part of the news organization’s Repatriation Project, which found that around half of the 210,000 Native American remains in the possession of museums have yet to be returned. The reporting project’s introduction noted, “Tribes have struggled to reclaim them in part because of a lack of federal funding for repatriation and because institutions face little to no consequences for violating the law or dragging their feet.”
* WaPo | Federal official warns $191 billion in covid unemployment aid may have been misspent: The new estimate — computed by Larry D. Turner, the inspector general of the Labor Department — galvanized House Republicans as they intensified their scrutiny of the roughly $5 trillion in emergency funds approved since the start of the crisis. Turner presented the information at a hearing Wednesday convened by Rep. Jason T. Smith (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, according to testimony shared early with The Washington Post.
* ABC Chicago | Chicago street vendors say city licensing requirements are hurting business: During a gathering of street vendors Tuesday, the issue was city licensing. Two representatives from the City’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection listened to concerns about fines due to restrictions with the current street cart license that does not allow for preparation on the cart of traditional street foods like elote, freshly cut corn slathered with mayonnaise, cheese and chilis.
* Chicago Reader | Mayoral debate was a poor night for Chicago: I heard a lot of the same old tried-and-failed ideas. Many candidates promised more police and tougher penalties. We hear these same things every election cycle. And how is that working out? Illinois has some of the strictest gun penalties in the country. If an individual possesses a firearm, discharges one, or discharged one to cause the death or serious injury in the commission of a felony, judges are required to add 15, 20, or 25 years, respectively, to their sentence. Despite that, Chicago still has violent crime and high rates of murder.
* Sun-Times | ‘Piles of mail,’ stolen IDs and key-making materials found in downtown Chicago hotel room: Police have released limited information about the probe, saying only that officers responded early Tuesday to an empty hotel room in the 200 block of North Wabash Avenue and “discovered various electronic items and … postal property.” Police radio traffic included a call of a “deceptive practice in progress” at the Virgin Hotel, 203 N. Wabash Ave. A caller had asked for the removal of two men from a room on the 18th floor, where there were “a lot of fraudulent checks,” credit cards and a money order.
* Farm Journal | Illinois Pork Announces New Leadership, Ambassador, Retiring Directors: The Illinois Pork Producers Association recently hosted their 2023 Expo in Springfield and acknowledged retiring IPPA directors, as well as announced new leadership and the next ambassador. Five retiring directors, serving Illinois pork producers in recent years, were acknowledged for their commitment to the industry.
* WCIA | To plunge or not to plunge? Illinois medical expert weighs in: Anne Orzechowski, a family medicine nurse practitioner, said plunges can help with chronic pain, release endorphins and decrease swelling, but only if you’re in the water for long amounts of time. For the most part, she said the risks outweigh the benefits.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 2:04 pm
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“the only realistic path for good government is to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Philip Howard kind of had me… then really lost me.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 2:21 pm
It’s not that hard to find out what the Circuit Court rules are. Either DeVore is lazy, or he thinks the rules don’t apply to him. Surprise - they do.
Comment by JoanP Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 2:59 pm
RE school vouchers … the born again Christian parent requirement is not that unusual for Christian schools. My church is starting up such a school without any State aid, and even going to be offering scholarships, but they do want the family to attend the church associated with the school.
Be interesting to see if it gets renewed or not. It’s an issue that can cut across party lines. I know one of the things my parents, one Democrat and one Republican, agreed on was their complaint of having to pay for the public schools while also paying tuition for the kids to go to the Catholic schools.
Comment by RNUG Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 3:06 pm
–which may result in higher wages that he says the archdiocese can’t afford.–
The diocese in my area is under this archdiocese. Maybe they can sell of some of the completely vacant land they own and are somehow also getting 100% property tax deductions on.
The Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest organizations on the planet.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 3:15 pm
@RNUG
If your parents don’t like paying for both, why don’t they stop paying for private school and just pay for public school?
Expecting taxpayers to subsidize religious education is pretty absurd. Allowing taxpayers to effectively defund public schools so their kids can attend a religious school wouldn’t be much better.
Comment by Techie Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 3:37 pm
==was their complaint of having to pay for the public schools while also paying tuition for the kids to go to the Catholic schools==
Which they could have easily avoided by sending the kids to public school. This is like joining a country club and not wanting to pay for the park district you don’t use.
Comment by Big Dipper Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 3:39 pm
It might be unsurprising and despite DeVore’s gaffe, it is another win. The enforcement of the gun ban gets even more complicated…
TRO Plaintiffs
Effingham Co - 865
White Co - 1690
Macon Co -2019
Comment by Donnie Elgin Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 3:39 pm
===TRO Plaintiffs===
That’s 0.0361 percent of the state’s population.
It’s a sideshow grift.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 4:03 pm
Also the canard about paying double is really just parents not wanting to pay for something they don’t use - public schools. But if that is the standard, then childless people shouldn’t have to pay and people whose kids are past school age shouldn’t have to pay. But we all pay because having educated kids is good for society as a whole.
Comment by Big Dipper Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 4:09 pm
Spent some time teaching in the Archdiocese schools as a Title I instructor. Since the copy machines in the office were “under repair”, I used the equipment at one of the office supply stores in the city.
Was I reimbursed? No.
The Archdiocese should support its employees with a living wage comparable to that in the private sector. No more excuses.
The real estate holdings are quite impressive … especially the Cardinal’s Mansion that sits on the corner of State Parkway, North Avenue, and Astor Street.
Comment by Rudy’s teeth Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 4:12 pm
The purpose of a taxpayer supported school is so that anyone can get an education regardless of income, not to educate anyone’s specific child. Sort of like having a library…nobody is forcing you to go read if you don’t want to, but the community decided it is good to have for those who do.
Comment by Jibba Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 4:13 pm
Thanks for the Forbes article.
I read it along with the links that were in it.
Certainly were dramatic successes along with some troubling failures in these programs.
Hat tip to Cap Fax for taking a chance on covering a controversial
subject.
Comment by Back to the Future Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 4:15 pm
@RNUG - I don’t have any children and I have to pay for public schools. It’s not about educating your children, it’s about educating all of our children for the public good.
Comment by Chicago J Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 4:16 pm
I have no kids in school today. I pay the property taxes to keep the public schools up to date. It is a benefit to the community, the local job market and the surrounding residents and when I sell my home the state of the public schools are a factor in it.
If a parent sends their kids to a private school, should they have to pay for the public school during the time their kids are in private school, the answer is yes. Because those parents are still benefitting from having a good public school system. I went to both public and private schools. I know the benefit of both. Private schools are a choice. An expensive choice, but a choice. But another way to answer the question should be: since I send my kids to a private school, the public schools receive less money from the State. Thus property taxes to keep the public schools functional go up. So, should I be responsible for reimbursing a parent(s) who send their kids to a private school. There are compromises. But people have to stop looking at each other (public/private schools) as enemies and work together for the community. And yes, in some parts of our State, that is harder than others.
Comment by Appears Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 4:21 pm
==“The predicate for this bill is one highly publicized incident. One that was investigated and charged without the benefit of cameras.==
You mean the incident that was caught on the body cameras of the officers? The body cam video that forms the core evidence of the case as it pertains to how the EMTs acted, spoke, etc. on scene?
Respectfully, there would be very little ability to prosecute that case *without* the “benefit of cameras”—because the video doesn’t lie, and it’s horrendous. On paper that “incident” looks like an accident; on video it looks like (and has been charged as) a homicide.
Comment by Chambananon Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 4:27 pm
There may have been no sharp knives in the DeVore’s silver drawer.
Comment by Rudy’s teeth Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 4:31 pm
“That’s 0.0361 percent of the state’s population”
Makes for a very complicated next few weeks/months for these counties. Gun shops will be hard-pressed to determine whom to sell SAf firearms/high-capacity mags. As for the plaintiffs, how do they exercise their rights in the face of the statewide ban? Better to follow the path of the Safe-T Act/Cashless bail and have Il supreme’s order statewide TRO/stay while the lawsuit proceeds.
Comment by Donnie Elgin Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 4:39 pm
Devore’s clients sure get some high quality representation for that $500k.
Comment by Big Dipper Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 4:46 pm
==is really just parents not wanting to pay for something they don’t use - public schools==
And, of course, they do use it, they just don’t know it. But every kid who gets even a rudimentary education makes the world a little bit better.
If nothing else, think of it as an investment into a “Lowering the Chances That Someone Steals My Hubcaps” fund.
Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 5:02 pm
Phillip Howard is an outstanding researcher and writer.
Look forward to reading this new book.
Lots of other people in Illinois should read it too.
Comment by Dr. Love Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 5:27 pm
Think anyone of the Blocheads could pull off the Cruella De Vil look of Greene?
In Tattoo Tom’s defense, each circuit has their own rules and some judges have their own rules for their court. That’s a lot of reading to except for just one guy.
Comment by West Side the Best Side Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 9:30 pm
“Expect” not “except.” $ %#@ automiscorrect.
Comment by West Side the Best Side Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 9:32 pm
Having or not having kids isn’t relevant to vouchers. We will all pay taxes regardless–that part is understood. The issue is that while one DOES have children of age and actively getting educated, allowing some choice in where the child (and some portion of their education money) goes can easily lead to better results for the child. And THAT is what child education should be focused on.
This access to school choices and opportunity should not just be for economically strong families and their kids. That is especially true given the proven impact of education on helping kids move up and out of poor economic conditions. Any child, from any economic bracket, should get options. The best way to do that is having us all pay our taxes to support education–and if we have a child, allowing some of those funds to follow our child into the school the family chooses. Many families simply cannot afford to pay twice.
Comment by Liandro Wednesday, Feb 8, 23 @ 10:01 pm