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* ICYMI: Judge’s decision in gun ban challenge weeks away as state also set to appeal concealed carry ruling. Tribune…
A trial over the constitutionality of Illinois’ ban on certain high-powered firearms ended this week after four days of arguments and now is in the hands of a federal judge who is expected to make a decision within the next few months.
The trial before U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn concluded in East St. Louis on Thursday. Lawyers for gun rights advocates and for the state were instructed to submit additional trial-related paperwork by Oct. 21 and a ruling from McGlynn could come a few weeks after that.
On the same day the trial ended, the Illinois attorney general’s office announced it would appeal a ruling in a separate case in which a judge found that the state’s prohibition on allowing residents with concealed carry licenses to carry guns on public transportation violated the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
A common thread in the two gun cases are arguments over a new constitutional test requiring gun laws to be historically consistent with laws on the books in the 18th century, when the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms was written. This arose from the landmark 2022 case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, in which the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative 6-3 majority established the new standard.
* Related stories…
At 8:45 am Governor Pritzker will give remarks at National Association of State Treasurers Annual Conference. At 10:25 am, the governor will speak at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research Power+ Summit. Click here to watch.
* Crain’s | Assault weapons ban would have prevented 38 mass shootings, Northwestern study says: The study, published today in the journal JMIR Public Health & Surveillance, is the first to consider how many mass shootings the ban would have prevented, the health system said in a press release. The federal ban on certain military-style automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines was enacted in 1994 and ended in 2004, during which time Northwestern estimates it prevented five public mass shootings.
* Tribune | With jury deadlock ending La Schiazza trial, prosecutors in looming Madigan case face clear challenge: Closing arguments in the federal trial of former AT&T Illinois boss Paul La Schiazza, who was accused of bribing House Speaker Michael Madigan, brought an expected crowd to a Chicago courtroom. But only one spectator could claim to have had a direct influence on the proceedings. That was James Snyder, the former mayor of Portage, Indiana, whose fight to overturn his own bribery case ended with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that raised the bar for prosecutors in a number of Illinois public corruption cases.
* SJ-R | Lawmakers weighing use of solitary confinement in Illinois prison. Here’s what to know.: Last year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation making it illegal to confine incarcerated youth in solitary confinement for any purpose other than preventing immediate physical harm. Now advocates and lawmakers are calling for limits of the practice for incarcerated adults. There appeared to be momentum brewing during the spring session for such legislation — dubbed the Nelson Mandela Act — passing out of committee and wracking up dozens of Democratic co-sponsors. If passed, it would have limited solitary confinement to no more than 10 consecutive days or 10 days within a 180-day period.
* Treasurer Michael Frerichs | Hey, Stellantis, a deal is a deal. Open the Belvidere plant now: You don’t need a PhD in Economics to understand basic supply and demand or to question why market conditions are an impediment to Stellantis, but not to the same extent as Ford or General Motors. Market conditions certainly did not prohibit Stellantis from rewarding Tavares with a $39 million annual compensation package, an increase of 56 percent. Nor has it prompted the CEO to return some of that compensation until market conditions improve.
* WAND | Illinois House Republicans renew calls for property tax reform: “Illinois is still poised to be a leading economy in our nation,” Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) said Thursday. “But we’re certainly never going to do it by overtaxing homeowners until they either lose their properties or are rendered valueless or we drive businesses out of our state.” Republicans argue the state should set aside 25% of its revenue each year to make pension payments and send more money to schools. Ugaste said his plan could save taxpayers $82.4 billion over the next 21 years. Although, his bill has never moved out of committee.
* Quantum Insider | AOL’s Founder Predicted A Midwest Tech Hub: A Decade Later, Illinois’ Quantum Ecosystem Is Fulfilling The Prophecy: The idea that a tech hub could rise in the Midwest once seemed improbable. For decades, Silicon Valley has long been synonymous with “epicenter of innovation.” However, predictions of a Midwest resurgence, made nearly a decade ago by AOL’s founder Steve Case—are beginning to take shape. Illinois is positioning itself as a quantum computing hub through tax incentives, major investments, and a growing quantum ecosystem, as demonstrated by recent developments in the state.
* Sun-Times | Chicago organizers work to ease Black-brown tension over the influx of migrants: The conversations between Latino and Black Chicagoans began earlier this year, alternating between locations in the mostly Black neighborhood of East Garfield Park and the largely Latino neighborhood of Pilsen. An event on Sept. 12 brought together about 35 people to discuss disciplinary practices in public schools. Other discussions have centered around law enforcement, housing, jobs and immigration. Some Black participants say that before these dialogues, they hadn’t taken the time to try to understand Latinos and their struggles.
* Chicago Reader | Henry V, portrait of a serial killer: Directed by Chicago Shakes artistic director Edward Hall (whose brilliant 2003 Rose Rage remains a seminal production at the Navy Pier theater), Henry (Elijah Jones, in full command of the stage) goes to war for two reasons: A) because his feelings have been hurt by a child (the Dauphin of France and a prank involving tennis balls) and B) because he’s so wrapped up in his ego that he fails to understand the bishops convincing him to invade France only want war as a means of fattening church coffers. Yes, Henry’s eve-of-battle St. Crispin’s Day Speech is an inspiration to underdogs through history. But when Jones’s Henry unleashes the passage with fire-breathing righteousness, urging his men to invade a sovereign country where countless will be slaughtered, it feels dangerous and disingenuous.
* Block Club | Rain Flushes Away Chicago’s Foul Smell: On Sunday, the seemingly endless string of sunny, 80-degree days this month came to an end as rain storms rolled through the city. The National Weather Service forecasted rains and possible thunderstorms for the city through the day Sunday. The rain was much needed for multiple reasons. Before Sunday, September had only seen 0.04 inches of rain, compared to the monthly average of 1.73 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The lack of rain has led to drought conditions for much of the Midwest, including Chicago and Illinois, according to NBC 5.
* Sun-Times | White Sox tie 1962 Mets’ record with 120th loss: With their fifth consecutive defeat and 23rd in the last 28 games, the Sox fell to 36-120 to tie the expansion 1962 Mets’ record for most losses in the modern era and break the 2003 Tigers’ AL-record 119 losses. “It’s very frustrating; it’s not what we want,” said Miguel Vargas, who homered off Yu Darvish. “We don’t want to be on this side of history.”
* Tribune | As suicide deaths become more common among young kids in Illinois, one Waukegan mom mourns her 10-year-old daughter: After losing her daughter, Gaines said she’s felt sadness, grief and, at times, guilt. Gaines isn’t alone in her experience. Suicide among young people is a “challenging and prevalent problem,” with Black and LGBTQ+ kids, who are at disproportionate risk nationally and in Chicago, according to Dr. Aron Janssen, a vice chair at the psychiatry and behavioral health department at Lurie Children’s Hospital.
* WGN | Cook County welding renaissance: Latinas Welding Guild helps bridge the gap: “We want this to be a space where anyone can grow and learn and develop in their welding skills,” said Jessica Rodriguez Hernandez, Deputy Director of the Latinas Welding Guild. “When We started the organization, it was really with the intent to help women get into the trades. But as we realized it wasn’t just women who needed those doors to be open.
* Daily Herald | Barrington gearing up for more discussion of Motor Werks expansion: The Motor Werks auto dealership’s proposed expansion of its Barrington campus will undergo further scrutiny by village officials and residents next week. The plan commission will reconvene Sept. 30 as it considers the proposal, which calls for a new Porsche facility, a parking garage with restaurant and retail elements, an expanded showroom and another high-end dealership to the site on Dundee Road between Barrington Road and Grove Avenue.
* AP | A historic but dilapidated Illinois prison will close while replacement is built, despite objections: The prison is behind on maintenance by $286 million, according to a long-range capital needs study released in May 2023. It identified $12 million in immediate upgrades, but Hughes said that “grossly underestimates the full spectrum of urgent needs.” Wood’s court order focused on falling chunks of concrete, bird feathers and feces and foul-smelling tap water.
* Sun-Times | North Carolina GOP gov candidate Mark Robinson drops Chicago-area fundraiser after vile posts surface: Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina, a key presidential battleground state, scrubbed the Kenilworth visit, according to a post on the website of the Tenth Congressional District Republican Organization. On Saturday, the group’s website was no longer promoting Robinson’s event. Instead, on the organization’s “coming events” page, there was this message: “Welcome. Our earlier speaker cancelled, but we have secured a great Trump ally for this event! Stay tuned!”
* WAND | SEIU Local 73 blames short staff on wages at U of I: “We are disappointed that University management have failed to take negotiations seriously while continually posting threats against the workers,” said Joseph Richert, SEIU Local 73 Secretary-Treasurer. “From suspending civil service rules to intimidating workers about their access to healthcare, management continues to demonstrate a lack of respect for these essential employees. Our members are fully prepared to strike for as long as it takes to secure a contract that provides a living wage.”
* WCIA | Pharmacies in Central Illinois face medicine shortage: Hudson Drug and Hallmark shop in Paxton say they’ve been limited on their supply of Adderall and Ritalin. He says other pharmacies could be going through the same thing because of multiple different situations. These drugs could be high in demand, or several manufacturers aren’t making money off the specific item and other companies have to meet the need.
* WAND | Charleston Middle School student arrested for making threats: The Charleston Police Department said a Middle School student has been detained on preliminary felony juvenile charges for making a threat to a student, to pull a fire-alarm. They say the student also threatened to commit additional violence on school grounds. The student is facing several charges including making a terrorist threat, which is a Class X felony, and Disorderly Conduct, school threat, which is a Class 4 Felony.
* WCIA | U of I building service workers plan to strike Monday: According to an email sent to SEIU 73 members, the strike will begin at 7:00 a.m. In that same email, the Bargaining Committee asked workers who are scheduled to come in to not come to work. For those who are already working, they ask them to clock out and head to the picket line.
* Crain’s | Caterpillar joins Ford, Lowe’s in diversity rethink as backlash grows: Caterpillar Inc. is introducing new guidelines on external sponsorships and donations as part of a review of some of its DEI initiatives, after anti-diversity activist Robby Starbuck told the company he was preparing a social media attack against its policies. The construction and mining equipment maker, which in 2022 moved from Illinois to the Dallas area, said it will focus all employee training programs on fostering “high performance,” require senior manager approval for external speakers at company events, and implement new guardrails around its employee resource groups. The changes were communicated in a letter to employees that Starbuck shared on his social media page.
* Pantagraph | 2 Black Civil War veterans in Central Illinois fought to be citizens, voters: When the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was formally adopted on March 30, 1870, less than a week later both men exercised their newfound right to vote. Because of a special charter, El Paso’s city election was held one day earlier (Monday, April 4), than the rest of the elections held in the State of Illinois (Tuesday, April 5). However, when Strother arrived at the polls to vote, he was denied by one election judge, William Niefing, who stated “if any law existed entitling Negroes to vote he had not seen it.”
* The New Yorker | How inflation fooled almost everybody: Early in the current inflation debate, at least one highly placed group of economists did draw a more appropriate lesson from history. In a July, 2021, blog post, Cecilia Rouse, the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and two colleagues—Jeffery Zhang and Ernie Tedeschi—highlighted the years immediately after the Second World War, when the U.S. inflation rate jumped to more than fourteen per cent in 1947 before falling back to minus one per cent by the end of 1949. In the course of the war, a lot of factories had been reoriented to produce armaments, which meant consumer goods were in short supply. After the fighting ended, households that were eager to get back to normal bought a lot of the goods and services they had been deprived of, and prices shot up. (Another factor: wartime price controls had been lifted.) “Today’s shortage of durable goods is similar,” the White House economists wrote. “A national crisis necessitated disrupting normal production processes.” They noted that the postwar inflationary period “ended after two years as domestic and foreign supply chains normalized and consumer demand began to level off.”
* DNYUZ | Elon Musk’s X Backs Down in Brazil: After defying court orders in Brazil for three weeks, Mr. Musk’s social network, X, has capitulated. In a court filing on Friday night, the company’s lawyers said that X had complied with orders from Brazil’s Supreme Court in the hopes that the court would lift a block on its site. The decision was a surprise move by Mr. Musk, who owns and controls X, after he said he had refused to obey what he called illegal orders to censor voices on his social network. Mr. Musk had dismissed local employees and refused to pay fines. The court responded by blocking X across Brazil last month.
* The Guardian | ‘A break from the heat’: Americans most affected by climate crisis head midwest: As a Rust belt town of 65,000 people in eastern Indiana, Muncie may not be the most exciting place in the world. It doesn’t have beaches, year-round warm weather or much in the way of cosmopolitanism. But for Laura Rivas, a cybersecurity engineer formerly of North Miami Beach, Florida, Muncie is perfect. Before she moved there in 2022, life in Florida had become unbearable.
posted by Isabel Miller
Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 7:35 am
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=== A common thread in the two gun cases / laws on the books in the 18th century. ===
Such an absurd qualification. People who wrote laws in an era in which there were no flush toilets, no means of communication / no electricity, it would make sense that such people were incapable of reasoning beyond their next bowel movements. Yet we are to trust the “wisdom” of such people - those who believed the Irish, people from all regions of Africa and indeed, all women on the planet, were sub-species of the family of humankind. The right they advocated was for themselves, not those around them. They did not want immigrants and others to have weapons, much less, weapons capable of mass carnage. And yet, we must defer to their intellectual abilities, as if intelligence is only as capable today as it was then.
What a clown court we have today.
Comment by H-W Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 8:27 am
==over a new constitutional test requiring gun laws to be historically consistent with laws on the books in the 18th century==
One of the stupidest decisions to ever be made by the Court. As I’ve stated before, Clarence Thomas is one of the most dangerous Supreme Court justices to ever occupy a seat on the bench.
Comment by Demoralized Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 8:53 am
–requiring gun laws to be historically consistent with laws on the books in the 18th century—
It’s not a new test. The test was delineated in Heller in 2008. If the 2A is implicated, that conduct is presumed lawful and the burden shifts to the GOVERNMENT to prove a law is consistent with historical laws. The judge does not need to perform the historical research, the government does. The government does not want this burden so instead they smear the judiciary in news publications.
Comment by lloyd Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 9:06 am
== Illinois attorney general’s office, argued there is no functional difference … ==
It may be splitting hairs, but there is one significant difference. AR-15’s and their clones are only capable of single shot operation, ie, you must pull the trigger for each shot. The closest military version, the M-16, has somewhat different internals and it has a switch on it for single fire, selective fire, and fully automatic. Selective fire produces 3 shots per trigger pull; as noted in the one testimony selective fire (as opposed to full automatic) is often used by the military to improve accuracy.
It’s easy to prove the AR-15 is a common weapon owned by the public: variations have been a top seller for years. I suspect that key difference between automatic and manual operation will be a significant point in the judge’s decision as to whether or not an AR-15 is a ‘weapon of war’. And I have no idea which side of the fence the judge will land on.
Comment by RNUG Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 9:16 am
= A trial over the constitutionality of Illinois’ ban on certain high-powered firearms +
The plaintiffs in in Illinois are redressing their grievances in the proper legal manner - IMO they are motivated not by some lunacy or gun craze; rather they are responding to the overreach of Illinois legislation. PICA supporters had a so-called gun violence task force that studied the issue – they had zero 2A voices in that group. The ILGA could have sought to impose reasonable registration on semi-automatic sporting rifles – perhaps an age 21 purchase limit. The magazine bans were also a problem to the 2.42 million FOID cards as the handgun (15 mag capacity) and long gun (10 mag capacity) made all standard issue magazines illegal. A compromise would have been the best path – but that ship has sailed- so now the case goes forward and SCOTUS will likely eventually strike down all of these bans nationwide.
Comment by Donnie Elgin Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 9:17 am
Gun laws:
Just like Heller and McDonald were blows to laws against gun ownership, so too will these gun bans fall by the wayside in front of SCOTUS. If not Illinois’ gun ban, then the one in Maryland.
I encourage the readers here to take note so it’s not a shock when it happens.
Comment by We've never had one before Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 9:50 am
==laws against gun ownership==
Laws against gun ownership? Please. Nobody is trying to take away your guns contrary to the hysteria that you and your ilk always like to put out there.
==law is consistent with historical laws.==
Yeah, because the guns of today are just like the guns of yesteryear. What a brilliant standard to put in place.
It’s a dangerous standard and creates a more dangerous society.
Comment by Demoralized Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 9:59 am
Well, that’s two comments so far that seem to be banned.
Comment by Demoralized Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 10:00 am
There is something peculiar about this fund raising event sponsored by the 10th Congressional District Committee. It is not merely the cancellation of the guest appearance by Mark Robinson. The committee name is misleading as it is not actually promoting the Republican congressional candidate in the IL-10th.
Comment by Gravitas Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 10:13 am
@Lloyd
I appreciate your comment, particularly the problem with the current approach of pitting the executive and legislative against the judicial. That approach also misrepresents the problem and hence its solution.
However I would disagree with the assertion that the law is not new. Relative to 1791, 2008 is relatively new, and working out legislation and judicial edicts and opinions always requires decades beyond the ruling / law / executive order.
As I interpret the ruling, it is about conserving an ancient past social relationship, and imposing that ancient past on the present social milieu, to create a legacy which denies modern reality. I see Heller and Bruen as purely philosophical arguments steeped deeply in conservatism, and absent any pragmatism. These ruling suggest that we can never improve society or change society - we must instead conserve a past that no longer exists, and by means that are clearly problematic (unethical) today.
But then again, I like flush toilets, and loathe outhouses.
Comment by H-W Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 10:43 am
If we apply the 18th century as the standard setter then what we are really talking about are muskets. The founding fathers never made mention of future weapons so, if we are being honest, then it is muskets. Which I would not love since none of my guns are muskets.
Comment by JS Mill Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 11:23 am
Suicide rates;
=with Black and LGBTQ+ kids, who are at disproportionate risk nationally and in Chicago, according to Dr. Aron Janssen, a vice chair at the psychiatry and behavioral health department at Lurie Children’s Hospital.
This data is from 2019 and if anyone has more updated data please provide. At that time, the Suicide rate for Whites and Blacks was 25.4 per and 17.9 per respectively per 100.000 - ages 15-24.
This was national data with no info on LGBTQ+ given
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8155821/
Comment by Mason County Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 11:25 am
Firearms are actually mentioned in the Constitution and thus not a 10th Amendment reserved right for States.
About time SCOTUS has some courage and address the multiplicity of issues on this matter with a firm decision.
Yes, I know it I will hamper ‘fundraising’ for those on both/all sides if this is done.
Yes, I know
Comment by Mason County Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 11:30 am
-JS Mill 18th century standard-
It’s not just that the law has to have existed at the founding. It has to be a tradition of regulation that has existed and been enforced since then. We’ve never allowed speech that can induce panic in a crowded theater and we’ve never allowed murder with firearms. It’s actually pretty straightforward and not meant to be a law trapped in Amber. The government does not like the burden shift of the historical analysis and that’s the reason for the push against the “new” test.
Comment by Lloyd Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 12:14 pm
== It has to be a tradition of regulation that has existed and been enforced since then.==
Technology has changed. To suggest that we need to look back two centuries to determine if a regulation should stand is absurd on its face. It’s a ridiculous standard and is nothing but an attempt by Clarence Thomas and the uber-conservatives on the Supreme Court to torpedo any regulations on firearms.
Comment by Demoralized Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 12:42 pm
==PICA supporters had a so-called gun violence task force that studied the issue – they had zero 2A voices in that group==
Why have participation by people who have no interest in solutions and only an interest in making sure that they can own any gun they want and have magazines as large as they want? Their voices would be a waste of time.
Comment by Demoralized Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 12:52 pm
>>>>Why have participation by…
voters, or people representing voters?
Comment by We've never had one before Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 1:23 pm
== Why have participation by people … ==
From my perspective (and maybe I’m stating the obvious), one side stakes out a fairly extreme rigid position and the other side stakes out the opposite extreme position. Almost everyone is polarized. And almost everyone is using inflammatory language in response to inflammatory language. Special interest groups push Legislators to all or nothing solutions, and seem unwilling / unable to work for a compromise. And unfortunately we now longer have many Profiles in Courage in our Legislatures.
I could write the above about any number of the current hot topics. I deliberately avoided naming sides because I believe both sides of any of the current political hot topics share portions of the blame.
And I agree the court cases are the result of pushing through one agenda rather than compromise.
Comment by RNUG Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 1:44 pm
—technology has changed—
By that logic, 1A protections do not apply to internet or television. Rights are not defined by technological advances. Please remember that the overwhelming majority commonly use this modern technology for lawful purposes.
Comment by Lloyd Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 2:32 pm
=It’s not just that the law has to have existed at the founding. It has to be a tradition of regulation that has existed and been enforced since then.=
If that is the case, when exactly did it become “tradition” to skip the text of the constitution?
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,”
The answer is when the court went hard right and contrived a new argument that literally ignores the strict construction of the constitution.
Comment by JS Mill Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 2:33 pm
Well regulated means well rehearsed or well organized. We are all the militia. I mean, who doesn’t love The Patriot starring Mel Gibson 😂
Anywho… this is nothing but a good old fashioned game of Calvin-ball. We need common sense compromise. Congress should make NICS available to the public similar to how ISP allows person to person transfers via the ISPFSB portal. Instead of banning firearms, let’s fingerprint folks and let them buy what they want to buy. Illinois should do as it always has done; be a nationwide leader in firearm regulation. Tailored, smart regulation instead of the polarized, misguided, special interest pandering that Morgan, Willis, Harmon, and JBP have taken to as of late. Do any of them own an AR-15 or AK-47?
Comment by Lloyd Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 3:26 pm
==let’s fingerprint folks and let them buy what they want to buy.==
And that’s my rub. You want people to be able to own whatever. You talk about “smart regulation” but there’s nothing smart about allowing people to own a semi-automatic weapon or allowing for unlimited magazine capacities.
Comment by Demoralized Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 5:05 pm
==By that logic, 1A protections do not apply to internet or television.==
Lol. Not even remotely an apples to apples comparison. It’s all still speech. And besides, in that case the law has adapted and includes protections for the changes in technology.
There’s quite a difference between the firearms of the 1800s and the firearms of today. The law needs to adapt as it has in your example.
Comment by Demoralized Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 5:09 pm
>>>>There’s quite a difference between the firearms of the 1800s and the firearms of today. The law needs to adapt as it has in your example.
LOL, it’s all still arms.
BTW, some rapid-fire arms existed at the time of the founding. As well as smokeless near-silent arms.
“I’ll take a phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range.”
Comment by We've never had one before Monday, Sep 23, 24 @ 5:53 pm