THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All
October 25, 2021
Good morning.
It’s been an eventful weekend and looks to be an even more eventful week as we head down to Springfield for the final three(ish) days of veto session.
Democrats released a new Congressional map Saturday afternoon and we’re told there will be public hearings Tuesday and Wednesday.
When the map was released Saturday, subscribers got it in their e-mail with some quick analysis within minutes.
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Let’s get to it.
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Democrats’ latest congressional map could add a Latino district and set up several intra-party battles (Chicago Tribune)
Reflecting a growing Latino population in the state, the new map would create an opportunity for a second Latino district in Illinois along with the 4th District now held by U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
Garcia’s current district would see much of its Northwest Side Latino population moved into a redrawn open 3rd District seat that stretches into the western suburbs and is designed to capture growth in the Latino community in Cook and DuPage county suburbs.
One prominent resident of the proposed 3rd District is Chicago Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, who chairs the City Council Latino Caucus. On Sunday, Villegas and the 13-member Latino Caucus issued a statement urging Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign the revised map. The caucus is also seeking greater representation in the redrawing of aldermanic boundaries.
“Latinos have chosen to make Illinois their home and we are committed to this great state. In Chicago, the Latino Caucus is working hard to ensure that our community is fairly represented and we are happy to see that the General Assembly has that same mission,” Villegas said.
With Democrats holding a narrow U.S. House majority, Illinois Democrats were under pressure to try to maximize their advantage over Republicans in the delegation in drawing new map lines
Still, Democrats created a one-on-one Democratic suburban primary pitting two-term U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove against freshman Democrat Marie Newman in a revised 6th District that runs from Lombard on the north to include the southwest suburbs that had been part of Newman’s current 3rd District.
Newman would lose Chicago communities that would be moved into districts now represented by Democrats Garcia and Danny Davis of Chicago, and Robin Kelly of Matteson. Bridgeport residents testifying about the initial map complained that they were being split up, dividing Southwest Side and south suburban areas with common interests.
As I mentioned in our story Saturday, four Republican incumbents have also been drawn together for two potential member vs. member primaries.
Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Peoria) and Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-Channahon) were drawn together in the new 16th District. Though, Kinzinger could run in the nearby 14th District, which encompasses parts of his current district. If he were to run there, he would face Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-Naperville) in the November election in a district that likely leans Democratic.
Congressman Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) and Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-Oakland) have been drawn into the new 12th District. Miller’s home is about 1.5 miles outside of the new 15th District, which is home to Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville). If Davis runs for Governor, Miller could seek that seat next year.
Members of Congress are not required to live in the district they run in or represent, just to live in the state.
Meanwhile, Democrats have continued efforts to gerrymander the 13th District and 17th District for a Democrat to win. The new 13th district contains urban areas of St. Clair and Madison counties, including East St. Louis and Belleville, all of Springfield east of Veteran’s Parkway, north Decatur, and all of Champaign-Urbana. Former Pritzker and Biden staffer Nikki Budzinski has already declared her intention to seek the seat.
In the 17th, multiple “fingers” extend out to connect the Quad Cities with Rockford, Peoria, and most of Bloomington-Normal. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D-Moline) is not seeking re-election. Both Sen. Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) and Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford) say they’re considering running for the seat. Redistricting expert Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report says the new 17th gives Democrats a 9-point built in advantage.
People have been texting me all weekend asking me what Congressman Davis and Congressman Kinzinger are going to do. I’ve texted them both (and neither has responded) and hope to have something more in tomorrow’s main newsletter.
While this map was drawn to give Democrats a 14-3 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation, it isn’t necessarily a slam dunk.
If you look at the 2016 State Comptroller special election (which was won by Democrat Susana Mendoza), Leslie Munger, the appointed Republican, won 7 of the proposed 17 new districts. (Data is from the fantastic IL Election Data site.) Munger also lost two other proposed districts by under two percentage points. That’s the high water mark for Republicans since then, but, at some point in the next decade, one should expect Republicans won’t have a Trump or Rauner dragging down the rest of the ticket.
That said, candidates also matter. Had Republicans had better general election nominees than Jeanne Ives and Jim Oberweis last year, neither Sean Casten or Lauren Underwood would be in Congress right now.
Related: Butler: Democratic maps meant to protect Democratic incumbents (The Illinoize)
Latino Caucus ward map rekindles Black-Hispanic tensions (Chicago Sun-Times)
4 involved in failed Broadway Bank backing Alexi Giannoulias’ run for secretary of state (Chicago Sun-Times)
Former Illinois state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias saw his political career derailed 11 years ago by the collapse of his family’s Broadway Bank, whose failure cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. more than $383 million.
Now, Giannoulias, who’s trying to get back into politics with a run for Illinois secretary of state, has taken campaign money from four top officials of the Chicago bank.
Among them are his two brothers, who ran the bank, which federal regulators shut down over losses that included more than $100 million in bad loans made to 17 failed commercial projects from New York to Los Angeles.
Giannoulias has accepted $24,000 in campaign contributions from the four former Broadway Bank officials, campaign finance records show.
He got $6,000 contributions Jan. 20 from each of his brothers — Demetris Giannoulias, who was president and chief executive officer of Broadway Bank when it failed, and George Giannoulias, who was chairman of the bank’s board of directors.
The same day, the former state treasurer got $6,000 contributions from two former bank board members — businessman Steven Dry, who was on the board when it was shut down, and real estate magnate Sean Conlon, who left the board more than a year before the bank failed.
He also got $6,000 contributions from Demetris Giannoulias’ wife and Dry’s wife.
Giannoulias’ brothers, Dry and Conlon were among nine Broadway Bank officials the FDIC sued, trying to recover the $100 million-plus the bank lent to the 17 failed commercial projects.
I’m not sure who planted this story, because it would be really silly to pitch it in October ahead of a June primary. It also reminds me to tell you the stories I’ve heard about the Michael “Jaws” Giorango shark suit guy from the 2010 Senate race.
(Sort of) Related: I’ve had a number of people send me this Giannoulias tweet showing lots of unmasked people at an indoor campaign event. (Do with it what you choose.)
Pritzker mandates vaccine for day care professionals (Capitol News Illinois)
Gov. JB Pritzker announced an executive order Friday that will add day care personnel to the list of professions that must either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing.
The governor’s office said it expects the order to affect 55,000 individuals in the state, although many of them may have already received a vaccine.
“Vaccinations offer life-saving protection for the people who receive them and make the community safer for the people who can’t – including the babies, toddlers, and young children not yet eligible for the vaccine,” Pritzker said in a news release. “By extending vaccine-or-test requirements to those who work at licensed day care centers, we are adding another level of protection for our youngest residents and preventing outbreaks in daycare centers as more and more parents return to work.”
Children under 12 are not yet eligible to receive any of the approved vaccines in the U.S., although Pfizer has asked federal regulators to approve its vaccines for children aged 5 to 11. Children 12 years of age and older are currently eligible for that vaccine.
Day care professionals will be required to receive their first dose by Dec. 3, and their second by Jan. 3. Those not fully vaccinated by Dec. 3 will have to submit to weekly COVID-19 testing until they are fully vaccinated, according to the governor’s office.
There are 2,872 day care centers in Illinois that are licensed through the Department of Children and Family Services, the governor’s office said in a news release.
Since August, the governor’s office has mandated the same vaccine or testing requirements for health care professionals, teachers and staff at Pre-K-12 schools, higher education personnel and students, and a number of state workers.
On Wednesday, the governor’s office announced it had reached an agreement with a fifth state employee union, bringing the number of union employees covered by vaccine agreements to nearly 2,100.
Related: Court injunction sought for Riverside Hospital vaccine mandate (Kankakee Daily-Journal)
Growing Illinois sports betting market is now keeping company with top states like Nevada (State Journal-Register)
Illinois’ sports betting handle in August was $400,359,760, which trailed only New Jersey ($664,675,859) and Nevada ($427,425,369). With the revenue data from August being released this month, the nearly $400.4 million wagered was a 8.5% increase from the state's July handle ($369,134,820).
QUESTION: Do you have one of the sports betting apps on your phone? How often do you use it? Your response is private.
Cook County’s gun, ammunition taxes shot down because they ‘burden a law-abiding citizen’s right to acquire a firearm’ (Chicago Sun-Times)
Two Cook County taxes targeting firearms and ammunition are in jeopardy after the Illinois Supreme Court found they violate the state constitution.
In a 6-0 decision, Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis wrote in an opinion filed Thursday the county’s firearm and ammunition tax ordinances violate the constitution’s uniformity clause, and the taxes “impose a burden on the exercise of a fundamental right protected by the second amendment.”
“While the taxes do not directly burden a law-abiding citizen’s right to use a firearm for self-defense, they do directly burden a law-abiding citizen’s right to acquire a firearm and the necessary ammunition for self-defense,” Theis wrote.
“Under the plain language of the ordinances, the revenue generated from the firearm tax is not directed to any fund or program specifically related to curbing the cost of gun violence,” she wrote.
Theis is not some gun-totin’ redneck, either. This is a potentially huge development.
SOME TOP LINKS FROM LAST WEEK
Democrats Publish New Congressional Map on a Saturday Afternoon
Butler: Congressional Map Protects Democratic Members of Congress
Hundreds of Parents File Suit Over School Masks and Quarantines
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