THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All
April 18, 2022
Good morning, Illinois.
Lots to get to this morning, including showing you the story we first told subscribers about Saturday as former President Donald Trump getting involved in a member vs. member House primary here in Illinois.
Mary Miller is going to have a hard chance winning this primary, so she is pulling out all of the Trumpy stops to try to beat fellow incumbent Rodney Davis.
Thanks for reading our stuff. I feel very blessed this morning-after-Easter.
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Let’s get to the Free for All:
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Trump to host Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for Congresswoman Mary Miller (The Illinoize)
Subscribers found out about this Saturday evening.
Former President Donald Trump will host an April 27 fundraiser for controversial right wing Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-Oakland) at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, FL, according to an invitation to the event obtained by The Illinoize.
Miller was drawn out of her current 15th District seat and into the 12th District, currently held by Congressman Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro).
Instead, Miller is competing with Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) in a completely redrawn 15th District. Davis was drawn out of his current 13th district and chose to seek the new 15th district, which touches the borders with Iowa, Missouri, and Indiana.
Trump has endorsed Miller, who has repeatedly sworn allegiance to the former President as a member of the House “Freedom” Caucus.
(Disclosure: I worked against Miller in a 2020 GOP primary and worked for Davis in the 2012 general.)
Miller is a traditionally light fundraiser, so the additional cash infusion could be huge for her campaign against Davis, a fundraising machine. As of April 1st, Davis had about $1.9 million cash on hand. Miller reported about $500,000 in the bank at the first of the month.
Miller has attempted to position herself as the most Trump-like candidate in the race, and has used Trump’s endorsement in nearly all of her paid advertising in recent weeks. Davis has staked his claim on effectiveness, though has attempted to avoid talking about the elephant in the GOP room during the campaign thus far.
Related: Opinion: Frankly, you're paying for these political ads (Champaign News-Gazette)
Davis Calls Being Sanctioned by Russia a “Badge of Honor” (WLDS Radio)
ComEd wants to add $2.20 a month to your bill to pay for clean energy transition (Daily Herald)
ComEd has filed a request with state regulators to increase residential electricity rates by $2.20 a month to offset costs of transitioning to 100% clean energy.
If approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission, the $199 million in increased delivery fees would go into effect at the start of 2023, a company news release said.
ComEd has filed a request with state regulators to increase residential electricity rates by $2.20 a month to offset costs of transitioning to 100% clean energy.
If approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission, the $199 million in increased delivery fees would go into effect at the start of 2023, a company news release said.
Company officials said the additional revenue would allow ComEd to expand solar energy investments and spur economic growth creating new jobs.
Until ComEd emerges from its legal troubles with the Federal Court in Chicago, the ICC should immediately deny all rate increases.
Politics at the pump: Democrats’ election-year plan to pause gas tax hike sparks backlash from station owners (Chicago Tribune)
By the Fourth of July, Illinois drivers likely will be greeted at the gas pump by 4-by-8-inch signs informing them that as they fill their tanks, they’re actually saving money, courtesy of their elected leaders in Springfield.
Legislation pushed through in the closing hours of the General Assembly’s truncated spring session this month freezes a scheduled hike in the state’s gas tax for six months. The measure, now awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature, includes a stipulation that every gas station in the state post a notice informing drivers about the gas-tax freeze.
That requirement, laid out in a single paragraph in the Democrats’ 923-page election-year tax relief plan, has gas station owners grumbling and Republicans howling. Democrats have responded by calling their GOP colleagues hypocrites because their party pushed a similar election-year proposal two decades ago.
The fact that the law requires gas stations to pay for the signs or be fined and that the placards be in place when the hike would have taken effect on July 1, as the state budget year begins and just days after the June 28 primary, has emboldened critics to say the effort is little more than the latest example of old-school, gas-pump politics.
But Democrats, who correctly note that while Republicans complained they nevertheless voted for the measure, are defending the sign requirement.
Opinion: Reasonable law gives law enforcement a fighting chance against ghost guns (Daily Herald)
When it comes to the issue of gun regulation, it is hard to imagine any law more reasonable than the bill headed for Gov. J.B. Pritzker's desk that places explicit restrictions on privately manufactured weapons -- generally known as "ghost guns."
The Illinois law codifies the essence of a federal proposal announced this week by the U.S. Justice Department and President Joe Biden and makes it illegal for businesses to sell do-it-yourself firearms kits without a serial number or background check.
Note that the legislation does not make it illegal to manufacture a weapon on your 3-D printer at home -- a prospect troubling enough by itself -- or to own one. It merely tries to ensure that if you do own one and you use it to commit a crime, law enforcement will have some hope of tracking you down.
Opponents of the measure trot out the usual Second Amendment tropes that describe any restriction at all on ownership of deadly weapons, no matter how powerful, as a constitutional sacrilege.
It is befuddling to consider how someone who claims to support law enforcement could resist a measure that helps fight crime and support a policy that so blatantly makes the job of law enforcement more difficult.
Related: ATF cited stores that most often sold guns used in Chicago crimes, then let them off easy (Chicago Sun-Times)
Tom Dart, judge at odds over required 2-day furlough from home confinement for suspects on bail (Chicago Sun-Times)
SOME TOP LINKS FROM LAST WEEK
Illinois GOP Asking Gubernatorial Candidates to Sign "Unity Pledge" to Support Nominee
State Rifle Association Threatening Suit Over "Ghost Gun" Bill
Top Democrat, Republican See State's Fiscal Position Heading in Separate Directions
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