THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All...Veto session begins...Mendoza employee fired for antisemitic posts...LaHood on Speaker mess: "We look foolish"
October 23, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
Welcome to veto session week in Illinois. Though, from what we’re hearing, there may not be anything big addressed this week and pushed off to the second week of veto in early November.
We told subscribers Friday afternoon that widely-respected Rep. Kelly Burke (D-Evergreen Park) is not seeking re-election. More on that tomorrow.
We also shared our conversation with Congressman Darin LaHood with subscribers last night. You can read more below.
Governor Pritzker speaks at an Arab American Bar Association event this morning condemning hate and violence.
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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)
What to expect when lawmakers return to Springfield this week (Decatur Herald & Review)
Illinois lawmakers will return to Springfield [this] week for their annual fall session with an agenda that, though still being worked out behind the scenes, likely will be lighter than previous years.
The session, held across two different weeks in October and November every fall, allows for the General Assembly to reconsider bills that were vetoed or revised by the governor and, at times, to take up topics that could not be resolved during the regular session that ends in May.
In 2021, for example, lawmakers used the veto session to repeal a state law requiring that doctors notify the parents of a minor seeking an abortion as well as to pass new congressional district maps. And last year, changes were made to the SAFE-T Act ahead of Illinois’ first-in-the-nation abolition of cash bail.
This year is shaping up to be less active. Legislative leaders have already ruled out new legislation that would have provided additional state funds to Chicago to deal with the influx of asylum-seeking migrants from Venezuela. And the leaders of the Chicago Bears, who have been seeking state help with their expected stadium project in Arlington Heights, have said they will not be pursuing legislation this fall.
Everything else is a bit uncertain as backers of vetoed bills — including one that would lift the moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants and another that would grant downstate utilities Ameren and MidAmerican the right of first refusal to build new electrical transmission lines in their service areas — continue working behind the scenes to drum up support to override the governor's veto. Doing so would require three-fifths support in each chamber.
Related: Gun laws, scholarship tax credits, nuclear energy – but not new spending – on table for veto session (Capitol News Illinois)
Lawmakers return to Springfield for six-day veto session (State Journal-Register)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he’ll agree to extend a tax credit program for private school scholarships if legislators send him a proposal (Chicago Tribune)
An under-the-radar tussle over nursing home taxes could boost your property tax burden (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Rezin: Illinois must fully embrace new nuclear energy technologies (Shaw Media)
Nuclear power in Illinois: Behind the scenes at Byron Generating Station (Daily Herald)
Opinion: Will lawmakers act to restrict campaign money expenditures? (Shaw Media)
Illinois comptroller’s office attorney fired over antisemitic comments on Instagram (Chicago Sun-Times)
An attorney with the Illinois comptroller’s office was fired Thursday over antisemitic comments she made earlier in the day on Instagram.
A screenshot of the Instagram exchange was reposted to X. The comptroller’s office was made aware of the posts about 12:30 p.m., the office said.
Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office contacted the employee about an hour and a half later, then fired her after she admitted to some of the comments, the office said.
“Comptroller Mendoza has zero tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech,” a statement from Mendoza’s office said.
The fired employee is legal counsel Sarah Chowdhury, the Sun-Times confirmed. She allegedly made the comments in private direct messages with an Instagram account called Big Law Boiz.
Among the messages were “All you zionists will pay” and “Hitler should have eradicated all of you.” A screenshot of other messages she allegedly sent, which the Big Law Boiz account made public earlier Thursday, included, “Hopefully someone sends you anthrax or poison and you die a slow terrible death” and “Burn in hell.”
Chowdhury was also ousted from her position as president of the South Asian Law Association.
While he party is becoming increasingly divided on the issue and some Illinois Democrats have seemingly joined the pro-Hamas caucus, good on Mendoza for taking an unequivocal statement for what’s right.
Related: Illinois comptroller’s office employee fired over antisemitic comments in online exchange (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: A stunning outbreak of antisemitism from a state employee (Chicago Tribune)
Rep. Darin LaHood on House GOP Speaker fight: "We look foolish" (The Illinoize)
Fresh off a plane in Washington Sunday evening as the House GOP’s inability to choose a Speaker of the House slides into a third week, Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Peoria) is frank about the Republican Party’s predicament.
“[Removing former Speaker Kevin McCarthy] was a real tragedy for our Republican Party, for the House, and for democracy. The fact that we, in our Republican Party, allowed eight people to partner with 208 Democrats, less than four percent of our Republican conference, to take down Speaker McCarthy, was absolutely wrong,” LaHood said. It has led to chaos and our conference to be paralyzed and to dysfunction. We look foolish as Republicans. We need to be leading right now.”
It has led to a House that can’t act on legislation and remains unable to function.
“We look dysfunctional, we look chaotic, and we need to get beyond that,” said LaHood.
The next Speaker will be LaHood’s fifth since entering the House in 2015.
LaHood supported McCarthy and then Louisiana’s Steve Scalise in the first ballot for a new speaker, but endorsed Ohio’s Jim Jordan, the Freedom Caucus firebrand, when it became clear Jordan was the next in line.
LaHood’s endorsement raised a few eyebrows in mainstream GOP circles.
“I gave Jim Jordan a chance. I think you’ve seen a transformation in him, particularly as Judiciary [Committee] Chairman, helping McCarthy. He has kind of separated himself a little bit from the Freedom Caucus, but still maintained his principles,” LaHood said. “[Jordan] argued he could bring the far right together to unite our party. Obviously, he wasn’t able to do that on the floor last week, but I think he deserved a chance just like McCarthy and Scalise deserved a chance.”
Now, Republicans are tasked with finding a new nominee, again.
“I think what we found, in some ways, our conference now is ungovernable because of that paralyzation,” he said. “This is when leaders have to step up. Make no mistakes about it, there are deep divisions and anger and bitterness within our conference. But we have to unite for the betterment of our party to move forward. Hopefully we can find somebody to do that.”
TOP LINKS LAST WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Illinois lawmakers banned campaign contributions from red-light camera companies — then accepted them (Chicago Sun-Times)
State to pause enrollment in health care program for immigrant seniors as spending again outpaces estimates (Capitol News Illinois)
Ten days after withdrawing from ICC, Navigator cancels CO2 pipeline (State Journal-Register)
Rose, Niemerg file legislation to improve safety during road closures (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Few suburban schools follow state's radon testing recommendation (Daily Herald)
Chicago gun-related domestic homicides jumped during pandemic years (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Chicago police officers with ties to extremist Oath Keepers stay on the force. Some have troubling records. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupy U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s Skokie office; police cite seven for trespassing (Chicago Tribune)
Washington mayor in the running for 53rd Senate District race (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Editorial: The case against Melissa Conyears-Ervin settled. But she’s now a candidate who still needs to answer questions. (Chicago Tribune)
Vallas: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget does little to move beyond Lori Lightfoot’s programs (Chicago Tribune)
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