THE ILLINOIZE: Enforcing Pritzker's mitigations..."We are heading" to another shutdown...Does Biden administration end the Madigan probe?...Underwood wins 14th, Oberweis will start recount process
November 13, 2020
HELP THOSE IN NEED
I buried this at the end of the newsletter Tuesday, but I think it deserves top billing. We’ve partnered with the Salvation Army Metropolitan Division to host a virtual red kettle this holiday season. Please consider giving this incredible organization a few bucks to help us reach our goal. The need is greater than ever and amid a pandemic, a coin shortage, and nobody shopping in stores, it’s up to us to help the most vulnerable. Donate here.
ENFORCING MITIGATIONS IS A HUGE PROBLEM
Governor JB Pritzker went off on local officials who aren’t enforcing his bar & restaurant indoor dining restrictions yesterday.
“More people will get sick, more people will struggle to breathe, and more people will die because you’ve failed to do your job,” he said. Tough talk.
I’ve heard anecdotally that all around downstate bars and restaurants are operating indoors business as usual. As positivity rates continue to fly over 20% in a few counties around the state, does it make sense for anyone to gather anywhere?
So I reached out to dozens of sheriffs around the state and the answer was nearly unanimous. It’s either not their problem or that they don’t have any authority to enforce the restrictions.
The latter is the opinion of Grundy County Sheriff Ken Briley.
“After consultation with the Grundy County State’s Attorney, he has been clear, there is no mechanism for law enforcement to enforce the Governors EO,” he says. “We believe this is a health department issue requiring due process regarding the licensure issued by the state, county, or municipality.”
Clearly, we need to know more about whether the state rules apply to all executive orders or just the mask order from May.
Here’s the whole story up this morning.
STAY-AT-HOME COMING?
Meanwhile, at his daily COVID-19, Governor JB Pritzker warned if infection rates and hospitalizations aren’t reduced soon, he’ll enact another stay-at-home order.
“The numbers don’t lie. If things don’t take a turn in the coming days, we will quickly reach the point when some form of a mandatory stay-at-home order is all that will be left,” said Pritzker. “But, right now, that seems where we are heading.”
The region in northwest Illinois, containing Rockford, Galena, and DeKalb, leads the state at 18.9% positivity. The region consisting of Will and Kankakee counties is reporting a positivity rate of 18.5%. No region of the state is lower than 12.5%.
In comparison, the highest rate in the state was 8.7% on October 1st, just six weeks ago.
And, of course, the people you would expect to oppose the Governor at every turn went to Twitter last night.
“The Governor is angry at Illinoisans who’ve ignored his efforts, but he regularly ignored the steps and actions taken by the federal government, so he could use the virus for a political attack on a President he dislikes,” said State Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), who has sued the Governor over his executive actions.
Speaking of Bailey and his hypocrisy.
DOES BIDEN GET MADIGAN OFF THE HOOK?
A new President has the power to appoint new United States Attorneys around the country, and with an active investigation into the powerful House Speaker, Madigan may have hoped current U.S. Attorney John Lausch, appointed by President Trump, as well as his investigation, could have been out on the street.
But according to longtime experts, Madigan may get no such reprieve.
A former federal prosecutor familiar with the transition process in U.S. Attorney’s offices tells The Illinoize the investigation into Madigan likely isn’t going away, even if a President Biden replaces the current U.S. Attorney.
Add the fact that both Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth publicly backed Lausch means the investigation probably isn’t going anywhere.
Then again, Madigan is as slippery as a leather sole on a patch of ice. So, we’ll see just what the Feds have in time.
UNDERWOOD WINS, OBERWEIS WILL ASK FOR RECOUNT
The Associated Press called the suburban, exurban, and rural 14th Congressional District yesterday for freshman Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-Naperville.)
As of last night, Underwood had extended her lead to 4,604 over State Senator Jim Oberweis. Oberweis’ campaign signaled yesterday it was planning to ask for a recount.
Now, if you aren’t familiar, you don’t get to automatically ask for a full recount in Illinois. You must ask for a “discovery recount” of 10% of precincts in the district. If there are any issues with the count, things don’t match, or some other evidence of a mistake, you take that to a judge who would order a full recount.
I’ve seen a bunch of discovery recounts since the state was fully switched to optical scan ballots in 2006. You almost never see a race change in a discovery recount, much less to close a 4,600 lead.
There will also be some late arriving mail-in ballots that haven’t been counted yet, but they’ve been going heavily for Underwood.
It’s going to be a tough go for Oberweis.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Happy Birthday Sunday to State Senator Andy Manar. He’ll turn 45.
THANK YOU
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