THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All...Road projects...LaHood on inflation legislation...COVID risks...Chuy for Mayor (again?)
August 15, 2022
Good morning, Illinois. It is political week at the State Fair.
Governor’s Day is Wednesday with the 9am Democratic County Chair’s Association brunch at the BOS Center downtown followed by what’s being billed as a “unity event” and concert instead of the traditional political rally. The governor’s campaign won’t say who is playing the concert, but the Governor has a flair for shelling out for big name acts.
Thursday is Republican Day. Their annual rally on the Director’s Lawn is at noon. They will hold their annual State Central Committee and Republican County Chairman’s Association meeting that morning at the Wyndham City Center downtown.
After a no good, very bad week for GOP nominee for Governor Darren Bailey, expect some pretty harsh rhetoric Thursday. My guess is you could put together a bingo card with the words “racist,” “xenophobic,” “anti-woman,” and “Trump” for the Democrats to describe Bailey Wednesday and you’d be cashing out early.
Today, Governor Pritzker will at the State Fair at 10:30 announcing a “new senior community support program.” He'll be in Alton at 1 and Belleville at 2:45 to re-announce capital bill projects. The Bailey campaign has not released a public schedule. There are 85 days to Election Day.
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Pritzker lays out $34.6B multi-year spending plan for roads, bridges, ports, airports, rail and transit (Capitol News Illinois)
The Illinois Department of Transportation on Friday laid out a $34.6 billion six-year spending plan for road, bridge, transit, rail, airport and port upkeep.
It’s the latest multi-year plan backed by the state’s 2019 Rebuild Illinois bipartisan infrastructure law, which doubled the state’s motor fuel tax from 19 to 38 cents per gallon and scheduled it to grow with the rate of inflation. That measure also increased driving-related fees, redirected a portion of the state’s sales tax on motor fuel to the road fund and authorized borrowing to pay for construction projects.
“A little over three years ago, I signed our historic bipartisan infrastructure program into law,” Gov. JB Pritzker said at a news conference at the IDOT building in Springfield. “And since then, Rebuild Illinois has undertaken a massive transformation of our state's transportation systems.”
Approximately $8.6 billion has already been spent in the first three years of the Rebuild Illinois plan on road and bridge projects, including over $6.4 billion on the state transportation system and over $2.1 billion on local systems.
It’s a slower pace than laid out in the six-year $33.2 billion spending plan passed in 2019. But IDOT Secretary Omer Osman said he’s hopeful that the pace picks up as several large projects move beyond the initial engineering phase.
IDOT has expanded its engineering staff and lawmakers approved a “design-build” process in Senate Bill 2981 this year to combine the design and construction in a more efficient bidding process, which could also hasten things, he said.
“We are aggressively, aggressively pushing all these projects across the entire state,” he said
Related: Much of the Illinois Department of Transportation’s funding for this program is coming from the state’s $45 billion Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan, but almost $16 billion more is expected to come in from the federal government. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Illinois workers would see boost in wages if a proposed constitutional amendment passes, study finds (WBEZ)
'A year head start': How advocates say Illinois is in a good position for federal climate spending (Daily Herald)
LaHood: So-called Inflation Reduction Act will hurt families in Illinois (Peoria Journal Star)
We live in a country that faces many challenges around political and social division and economic instability. While we may disagree on many issues, Americans overwhelmingly agree that the ongoing, historic inflation crisis cannot continue.
The cost of everyday necessities – food, fuel, and electricity – are rising at an unsustainable rate for many American families. As I travel throughout Illinois, the top issue constituents and voters ask about is the cost of goods, gas and groceries. Under President Joe Biden and one-party Democrat control in Washington, Illinois families have watched as their paychecks diminish and the cost for daily life rises.
As working families try to manage these challenges, President Biden and Democrats in Washington are preparing to make the economic pain worse with passage of their so-called “Inflation Reduction Act.” While Democrats and some in the media will try to paint a rosy picture about a few provisions in this legislation, the bill will have broad reaching implications for every sector of our economy. Make no mistake – this massive spending bill will raise energy costs, kill innovation for future health cures, diminish opportunities for American jobs, harm small businesses and raise taxes.
Related: Illinois Republican candidates warn of retirement tax (Quad City Times)
Cook County back down to medium COVID-19 risk level, but hospitalizations and deaths high across Illinois (Chicago Sun-Times)
Cook County is back down to a medium COVID-19 transmission level under federal standards as case rates dip — but viral hospitalizations and deaths across Illinois remain near five-month highs.
Despite the improvement in Chicago and its immediate suburbs, masks are still recommended indoors across most of the metro area, public health officials said Friday.
Lake, Kane, DuPage and Will counties are among 42 Illinois counties at the high transmission level as determined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which means masking is urged in all indoor public settings. That’s a decline from the 59 counties at the CDC’s orange risk level a week earlier.
Related: St. Clair County moves back to high COVID-19 community level as hospital admissions rise (Belleville News Democrat)
Opinion: Getting your young children vaccinated is best protection against COVID-19 (Rockford Register Star)
What you need to know about new COVID-19 guidelines as school year approaches (State Journal-Register)
Congressman Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia leaves the door open for another mayoral run (Crain’s Chicago Business)
The 10-minute phone call was supposed to be about tomorrow’s U.S. House vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, a major climate change/tax policy bill, and U.S. Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (D, IL-04) did not disappoint, conceding that Washington progressives have discovered the glories of compromise.
But the real news from Garcia: He’s still leaving the door open to a run for mayor, even though there’s reason to believe that, in the end, he’ll take a pass.
Asked if he’s going to join the field that now amounts to an official nine candidates, Garcia replied, “I will say that I’m getting a lot of calls from folks urging me to do it, [saying] that I’m in an excellent position to form a broad coalition.”
Translation: the left wing still hasn’t found its champion.
But will you run, congressman?
Related: Bally’s play for long-awaited Chicago casino now up to state regulators — but hopes to open temporary site next year face long odds (Chicago Sun-Times)
CPS enrollment could drop by 15,000 students — but that could benefit the district overall, researchers say (Chicago Sun-Times)
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx defends office, blames departures on COVID-19 pandemic (ABC 7)
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