THE ILLINOIZE: Downstate venture capitalist considering run for gov...Illinois GOP leader lives in Indiana...Environmentalists on energy bill: "...next two weeks are going to be critical"...Bill Haine
August 17, 2021
Good morning.
We have a bunch to get to this morning, so I won’t build this up like some food blogger who writes 37 chapters before a guacamole recipe.
All I’ll say is I’m glad you’re here and part of our growing community. We’re continuing to run a special discount through the end of the month knocking $10 off the price of a yearly subscription to just $65 per year. I think that’s basically the cost of one Frappuccino per month. But there’s no price worth drinking one of those “Unicorn Frappuccinos” from a couple of years ago. Ew.
Let’s get to it.
VENTURE CAPITALIST JESSE SULLIVAN CONSIDERING GOV RUN
A Springfield area resident with a San Francisco venture capital firm may be the latest to jump into the race for the GOP nomination for Governor.
Jesse Sullivan, 37, of Petersburg in Menard County, is a graduate of St. Louis University and Oxford. He also has an MBA from Stanford, where he started his venture capital firm, Alter.
Sullivan confirmed to me that he is considering jumping into the race for Governor.
Sullivan is a stranger to many in Republican politics and doesn’t appear to have played a very active role in the GOP. Records show his only political contribution was $10,000 to the Illinois Republican Party federal account earlier this year. He has never sought elective office.
He didn’t offer any policy specifics when we finally got in touch with him over the weekend.
There are rumors that Sullivan may be willing to put millions into his potential campaign, but he wasn’t willing to discuss any of that with us yet.
Here’s more on Sullivan on the website this morning.
He also looks a little bit like fictional New York Governor Will Conway from House of Cards.
ILLINOIS GOP STATE COMMITTEEWOMAN LIVES IN INDIANA
One of the 18 members of the Illinois Republican Party’s State Central Committee has confirmed she now lives in Indiana and isn’t in any rush to resign.
Char Foss-Eggemann, formerly of Park Ridge, confirmed she and her family moved to Munster, Indiana, about a mile over the border “a few weeks ago.”
But here’s the goofy thing about state law: she isn’t required to live in the state to serve on the State Central Committee.
A state party spokesman says a fluke in state law requires a GOP committeeperson to live in the district they represent at the time they’re elected or appointed, but there isn’t a requirement for the person to continue to live in the district or, in this case, in the state.
Foss-Eggemann could theoretically serve on the Illinois State Central Committee while living in Indiana until next summer, but State GOP Chairman Don Tracy says it “won’t take that long” to replace her.
WILL DEMS NEED TO DRAW NEW LEGISLATIVE MAPS?
If you were keeping an eye on the site yesterday, you saw the news that House and Senate Republicans believe there’s enough population difference in the new legislative district maps to get them thrown out in court.
Republicans did not released their math other than two districts. They claim a district represented by Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora) has 92,390 people and a district represented by Rep. Lamont Robinson (D-Chicago) has almost 125,000 people. That’s more than the 10% deviation generally allowed under the law.
GOP lawmakers say the map needs to be thrown out ASAP, but my guess is that Democrats make changes to districts sometime in the next couple of months to try to save the plan.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS SAY WIND AND SOLAR CAN REPLACE COAL
A top environmental leader in the state says negotiations on an energy bill are moving forward, but the next two weeks will be “critical” to find a solution.
I sat down (via Zoom) with Jennifer Walling of the Illinois Environmental Council to discuss the stalled discussions to see how the major moving parts are shaking out.
Environmental advocates continue to believe coal-fired plants need an end date, specifically the Prairie State Energy plant near Marissa in southern Illinois.
“We are anti-coal. We are anti-coal under any circumstances,” she said.
She’s also confident wind and solar can make up the loss off energy generation from coal and natural gas.
“Any renewable energy facilities being built right now are being built at a cheaper price, even without subsidies, than coal or natural gas plants,” she said.
But it’s also more important to find a way to keep nuclear plants in the northern part of the state open, she said. Walling says if Exelon shutters nuclear plants in Byron and near Morris, it likely means more natural gas plants in the state’s future.
But, she thinks there needs to be movement in the next couple of weeks.
Tick. Tock.
Here’s the link to our interview with Jen Walling of the Illinois Environmental Council.
EXPLAINING THE EVICTION MORATORIUM SITUATION
I wanted to make sure I included this story from the Capitol News Illinois to explain what’s going on with the eviction moratorium situation and how the state and federal rules differ.
Since March 2020, Illinois residents unable to pay rent because of the COVID-19 pandemic have been protected from eviction through Gov. JB Pritzker’s executive action, but that reality could change come Sept. 1 when executive and Illinois Supreme Court orders are scheduled to expire.
For some landlords, that’s welcome news after a 17-month prohibition, except in limited health and safety circumstances, on residential evictions. But for housing advocates and renters, it puts Illinois in a “great period of uncertainty,” with tens of thousands of renters at risk of losing their homes as court hearings begin for the first time in over a year.
A concern raised by landlords, however, is that not everyone covered in the governor’s eviction moratorium will be eligible for emergency housing aid.
“Covered persons” in the moratorium include individuals earning up to $99,000 annually and joint filers earning up to $198,000. But the income limit to apply for federal rental assistance equates generally to about $38,000-$52,000 for a one-person household depending on the county, as the limit is set at 80 percent of the Area Median Income, as measured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
CONDOLENCES
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of former State Senator Bill Haine, who passed away yesterday at the age of 77.
Haine served 14 years as Madison County State’s Attorney and in the Senate from 2002-2019. He was also a veteran of the Vietnam War. More recently, he had served on the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Sen. Haine was widely respected across the aisle and was considered one of the true gentlemen of the Senate.
Interestingly enough, Sen. Haine’s son, Tom, is now the Madison County State’s Attorney. Bill Haine was a Democrat. Tom is a Republican.
Our thoughts are with his wife of 50 years, Anna, and his whole family.
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS
Today- Rep. Michelle Mussman
Thursday- Former Rep. Monique Davis
Friday- Congressman Brad Schneider (60), former State Rep. Mike Boland
Saturday- Statehouse maven and HSHS VP of Advocacy Catie Sheehan
Sunday- Former Rep. David Leitch, former Rep. Will Burns
Monday- Former Sen. turned Senate GOP Chief of Staff Dale Righter (55)
BEFORE WE GO
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We’ll have more for paid subscribers tomorrow and Friday. We’ll also have a Free for All Thursday and free subscribers will get a full newsletter next Tuesday. So, obviously, you want to become a paid subscriber!
Talk to you then.