THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All...Assault weapon ban sticks...NAACP President suspended for migrant comments...ICC stifles utilities
December 18, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
Welcome to the week before Christmas where maybe, just maybe, things will slow down a little this week.
Our plan is to write through Thursday and then take next week off and return January 3rd. If it’s dead this week, we reserve the right to duck out sooner. Of course, we’ll always keep our eyes out if stuff breaks. We won’t be on a golf course in Florida for the Illinois Supreme Court to put a stay on the SAFE-T Act this year, so at least there’s that.
But 2024 is going to get wild fast. There are just 92 days to the March 19 primary.
The General Assembly is out until January 16. There is nothing on Governor Pritzker’s public schedule today.
In the spirit of the holidays, we hope you would consider joining us as a paid subscriber for 2024. Our newsletters on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are subscriber-exclusive. So get in now while you can.
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Let’s get to it.
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets, because good journalism isn’t free)
Supreme Court declines to put hold on Illinois gun ban (Chicago Tribune)
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request from gun rights advocates to put a hold on Illinois’ sweeping gun ban, a decision coming as the deadline approaches for owners to register prohibited firearms they owned prior to the law’s effective date.
It was at least the second court setback this week for opponents of the ban on high-powered guns and high-capacity magazines. On Monday, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago denied a request from the National Association for Gun Rights and a Naperville gun dealer for a review by the full court of November’s ruling by a three-judge panel that kept the gun ban in place.
The Supreme Court in May declined a request by the plaintiffs to block the state and local gun bans until the 7th Circuit appellate case was adjudicated.
Legal challenges to the ban are not over. The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday merely denied the gun rights advocates’ request for a temporary halt on the ban from being enforced until they take a full appeal of the 7th Circuit’s ruling to the high court.
Speaking to reporters outside the Governor’s Mansion following a Hanukkah event on Thursday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker again defended the gun ban, saying he believes “as everybody that voted on the law and voted for it, that this is not only a legal undertaking, an appropriate undertaking to keep and safeguard the people of the state of Illinois, but a constitutional one too.”
Related: U.S. Supreme Court refuses to block assault weapons ban as full legal challenges progress (Capitol News Illinois)
U.S. Supreme Court again refuses to block Illinois’ assault weapons ban (Chicago Sun-Times)
U.S. Supreme Court declines to halt Illinois' assault weapons ban (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Illinois NAACP president Teresa Haley suspended for comments about migrants (State Journal-Register)
Illinois NAACP conference president Teresa Haley of Springfield has been suspended after comments she made in a video call comparing immigrants to rapists and savages went public.
A spokesperson for NAACP confirmed the suspension on Friday, which went into effect on Wednesday. At this point, it is unclear for how long Haley will be suspended.
The suspension comes after NAACP branch presidents announced their backing of Haley's leadership earlier this week. Haley issued an apology Thursday, saying she loves and values "all members of our communities — including immigrants."
Haley's recorded comments from an NAACP state presidents' meeting last month were made public by former NAACP DuPage County president Patrick Watson. He received a vote of no confidence at the same meeting Wednesday where branch presidents "unanimously supported Haley's quintessential leadership skills."
Referring to the thousands of migrants who have been bussed to Chicago from southern states, Haley said "these immigrants have come over here, they've been raping people. They've been breaking into homes. They're like savages, as well."
Gov. JB Pritzker said Thursday that he has yet to speak with NAACP officials on the matter, but again referred to the remarks as "reprehensible." Others such as the Springfield Immigration Advocacy Network said the comments reinforce negative stereotypes.
Related: Illinois NAACP president apologizes after likening migrants to ‘savages,’ rapists, burglars (Chicago Sun-Times)
State regulators once again flex muscle in rejecting utilities’ grid plans, lessening rate hikes (Capitol News Illinois)
The Illinois Commerce Commission on Thursday curtailed proposed rate hikes and rejected grid plans from two major electric utilities, mirroring a series of bombshell decisions rendered last month that cut increases for Illinois’ four largest gas utilities.
The ICC rejected the pair of plans from Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois that were meant to illustrate how the companies would comply with the state’s landmark climate legislation, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.
Those plans would have laid out how the utilities plan to integrate with new renewable energy resources and meet decarbonization requirements while ensuring electric rates remain affordable for low-income communities.
In rejecting the plans, regulators limited the companies’ proposed rate increases, meaning that next year’s impending increases will be significantly smaller than the utilities’ requests.
ICC Chair Doug Scott said the plans had “significant shortcomings” and failed to meet the minimum standards set out by CEJA, including by failing to adequately address how the plans would benefit low-income communities. He also said the planning process lacked transparency among other criticisms.
The companies now have three months to file updated plans, which will begin a new review process at the ICC.
Consumer and environmental advocates praised the ICC’s decisions, saying they represent a continued, overdue shift toward tighter utility oversight.
“This is not business as usual,” said Brad Klein, an attorney for the Environmental Law and Policy Center who argued in both cases. “This is really a very significant change in Illinois.”
Related: Peoples Gas customers dodge heftier rate hike with regulators’ rejection of utility’s controversial pipeline replacement (Chicago Sun-Times)
Smaller electric bill increases for Chicagoans as regulators pull plug on ComEd’s rate-hike bid (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: A nod to the Illinois Commerce Commission for preventing utility costs from soaring (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: Commonwealth Edison did not deserve the record-shattering delivery rate hike they wanted (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: High court action puts ComEd bribery case back in the news (Champaign News-Gazette)
TOP STORIES LAST WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
Assault Weapons Ban, Registration Still in Effect as SCOTUS Denies Stay
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POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Pritzker urges ‘careful’ approach as current-year surplus could be followed by deficit (Capitol News Illinois)
Pritzker lights menorah in Springfield, calls for Illinoisans to defy hate (State Journal-Register)
Partway through Medicaid purge, Illinois' re-enrollment rate tops the nation (Crain’s Chicago Business)
No migrants living in Chicago police stations for first time since spring (Chicago Sun-Times)
Cloutless in the jury room, will ex-Ald. Ed Burke get a Christmas wish or a lump of coal? (Chicago Tribune)
Brandon Johnson’s campaign fund has accepted millions from unions with City Hall contracts (Chicago Sun-Times)
Cook County court clerk getting boost in reelection bid from her government employees (Chicago Tribune)
Activists praise Board of Ed’s push toward neighborhood schools, away from school choice (Chicago Sun-Times)
Aldermen block plan to put sanctuary city question to Chicago voters (Chicago Tribune)
Why some congressional candidates could get kicked off the March primary ballot (Daily Herald)
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood says there's evidence to support a Biden impeachment inquiry (Peoria Journal Star)
Fermilab’s ‘muon shot’ could see suburban lab become site of revolutionary particle collider (Chicago Sun-Times)
Denzler: The EPA should leave Illinois businesses room to grow (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Martire: Fixing ‘Tier II’ issue can be both costly and an opportunity (Daily Herald)
Opinion: More data on new pretrial release system only helps understanding (Shaw Media)
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