THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All...DeSantis comes to Illinois and everyone is freaking out...Convicted politicians are still getting pensions...What to do about Choate?
February 20, 2023
Good Morning from Peoria. We’re in the River City this morning to speak at the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois annual convention. Thanks to EVP Jeff Adkisson for the invitation.
It’s another state holiday today. We’re working on some things for tomorrow morning’s regular newsletter, but don’t be surprised if we’re a little truncated.
The House and Senate return at noon on Tuesday. Governor Pritzker does not have anything on his public schedule.
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Let’s get to it.
SOME TOP LINKS FROM LAST WEEK
Bailey Expected to Return to Ballot in 2024, May Challenge Bost
Podcast: Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) and Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet)
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis coming to speak to Chicago FOP Monday in Elmhurst (Chicago Tribune)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, exploring a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is scheduled to speak at an invite-only event Monday in Elmhurst to members of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police and potentially deliver some rhetorical political payback to Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The Presidents Day visit to a so-far undisclosed location in the Chicago area would represent an escalation of the feud between DeSantis and Pritzker, who has been the focus of some speculation as a potential 2024 Democratic presidential candidate if President Joe Biden does not seek to be nominated for a second term.
In July, Pritzker was keynote speaker for a gathering of Florida Democrats in Tampa where he took aim at the Florida governor.
Pritzker assailed DeSantis as “just Donald Trump with a mask on” and, more recently, has attacked the Republican’s policies blocking some teachings of racial and gay curriculum.
The DeSantis political operation did not respond to a request for comment on the reasons behind the Florida governor’s visit, which is open only to members of the law enforcement community. But a DeSantis speech to Chicago’s FOP Lodge 7, set for an undisclosed location in west suburban Elmhurst, would appear to be aimed at attacking Pritzker and Democrats over outbreaks of violent crime in the city as the mayoral election nears.
An invitation to the event said the location would be disclosed to registrants “48 hours prior to the event.”
John Catanzara, head of the Chicago police union, as well as the city and state FOP, endorsed Pritzker’s Republican opponent, Darren Bailey, in last year’s governor campaign. The Chicago FOP has endorsed challenger Paul Vallas for Chicago mayor as Lori Lightfoot seeks a second term.
Related: Pritzker blasts plans for DeSantis visit (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Florida Gov. DeSantis now a factor in Chicago’s mayoral race (Chicago Sun-Times)
If you think Chicago mayoral race voters really care that much about a speech by the GOP governor of Florida, then Rob Ritchie says “crime, boy, I don’t know.” And, for all of his pot shots at Florida, the Governor still seems to like his $12 million horse farm outside of Palm Beach. It’s all politics, kids.
How admittedly corrupt ex-Illinois lawmakers get to keep their pensions (WBEZ)
Illinois state senator-turned-government mole Terry Link infamously asked “What’s in it for me?” while wearing a wire in a 2019 federal bribery sting that snared a corrupt legislative colleague.
Link played the role of undercover hero in that encounter, but he’s far from being a study in ethical behavior.
As part of a plea deal, the Vernon Hills Democrat admitted underreporting his income for four years to avoid paying his share of state and federal income taxes. He’s awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion.
And yet, taxpayers likely will keep paying Link handsomely for years to come: He’s gotten $200,000 from his state pension, and counting.
Those payments are part of nearly $2 million in state retirement checks that WBEZ documented going out to a mix of federally charged, convicted and self-admitted felons who once served under the Capitol dome in Springfield. In some cases, loved ones were the beneficiaries.
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his indicted inner circle all have drawn hundreds of thousands of dollars in state pension payments while they await upcoming federal corruption trials. Madigan has pleaded not guilty.
Former state Rep. Edward Acevedo, D-Chicago, pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion and last year was drawing his state pension while serving time in a federal prison.
The group also includes the widow of former state Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago. He admitted pocketing more than $250,000 in bribes as a legislator. After his death in 2020, his wife has continued to receive his pension.
All of these cases won sign-off from an obscure state panel, often on the advice of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Raoul’s office found that the criminal wrongdoing of people like Acevedo and Link didn’t disqualify them from their pensions because it wasn’t linked to their work as public officials. That’s a legal standard Illinois pension boards rely on to decide who gets a pension, and who doesn’t.
Let’s see who in the majority has the guts to put in a bill.
Related: Boeing’s misconduct hasn’t stopped Illinois politicians from taking campaign cash from the company (Chicago Sun-Times)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker again says southern Illinois mental health facility could be shuttered after IG reports document mistreatment of residents (Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday said a southern Illinois mental health center where state investigations have documented systemic mistreatment of residents would be shut down if the problems aren’t fixed, while also pointing to the “big challenges” of finding properly trained workers for rural facilities.
Pritkzer’s remarks followed a report last week by Capitol News Illinois, ProPublica and Lee Enterprises that cited Illinois Department of Human Services’ reports documenting mistreatment of residents by the staff at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in downstate Anna. The news outlets initially reported on the issues at Choate last year.
Employees at the facility have been charged criminally more than a dozen times since 2019. According to the IG reports, one worker at the facility bragged about beating up a resident, the actions of two others led to a resident breaking his shoulder, and some of those living at the facility were required to search their own feces for objects they may have swallowed.
Asked about those reports, Pritzker reiterated earlier statements that “if the problems can’t be fully addressed then we ought to close it down because the state obviously in that area is incapable of managing the facility properly if we can’t take care of the problems.”
Speaking at an unrelated news conference in Springfield, Pritzker indicated the problems at facilities like Choate are amplified by the shortage of health care workers nationwide.
“Think about what’s going on in Illinois and across the nation right now, which is we have many, many more job openings than we have people who are available to do those jobs,” Pritzker said. “And then think about whether you need people who are trained for a job and then (in a) developmental disabilities facility you sure do need training.”
Pritzker was asked Thursday if he has a plan for Choate, and he did not answer in the affirmative.
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Where suburban GOP megadonors Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein's $36 million went last fall (Daily Herald)
Federal judge denies bid to block Illinois assault weapons ban, Naperville gun restriction (Chicago Sun-Times)
Did an F-22 shoot down an Illinois hobby group’s small radio balloon? (WBEZ)
Mayor Lightfoot still sees chance to stop Chicago Bears’ move to Arlington Heights: ‘We want to do everything we can’ (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Now the real work starts on possibility of a Bears stadium in Arlington Heights (Daily Herald)
Editorial: Budget plan good if world cooperates (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Editorial: Governor's spending plan gambles with state's future (Champaign News-Gazette)
Opinion: Why You Should Vote Strategically in the Chicago Mayoral Election (Chicago Magazine)
Opinion: Service agencies push back on Pritzker’s budget as falling short (Shaw Media)
Opinion: Team Ammons — still angry — expand their list of foes (Champaign News-Gazette)
Opinion: New gun law just another reason for people, businesses to leave Illinois (Rockford Register Star)
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