THE ILLINOIZE: Pritzker attacks judge...Will the mask TRO stick?...Welch's wife breaks caps for judicial race...Schimpf on TV...Hamilton for Senate
February 8, 2022
Good morning.
First, my latest Shaw Media column on congressional candidate Cassandra Tanner Miller.
Lots to get to this morning, but I’m planning a vent column this week on the GOP’s turn on Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-Channahon) for, you know, doing his job.
It feels like the national GOP is rudderless in the middle of the North Atlantic right now headed for an orange iceberg. Like I said, more on that later.
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As always, drop me a note at patrick@theillinoize.com with questions, comments, or thoughts. If you have enough questions about the status of the mask mandate, we may do a video later today.
Let’s get to it.
PRITZKER TAKES SWIPE AT JUDGE, FILES APPEAL ON MASK RULE
Governor JB Pritzker yesterday took surprisingly direct aim at a Sangamon County judge who granted a Temporary Restraining Order against his mask mandate in schools, setting off chaos and confusion around the state over whether masks would be required in classrooms.
“Judge Raylene Grischow’s ruling is out of step with the vast majority of legal analysis in Illinois and across the nation,” Pritzker said. “Most importantly, it constrains the ability of the named school districts to maintain safe, in-person learning requirements, as if kids need a minute more of remote learning.”
The attorney who challenged the mandate, Thomas DeVore of Greenville, said in a video statement Monday some 250 school districts had chosen to stop requiring masks.
“The judge has created a tremendous amount of confusion, even in the way she wrote her opinion, so that has been problematic,” Pritzker said. “We want our appeal to be heard as soon as possible to rid ourselves of the fog of a, frankly, not good decision by the Sangamon County Court.”
Emergency appeals were filed with the Fourth District Appellate Court Monday, the Attorney General’s office confirmed. There is no time frame for when a decision could be made on reversing the circuit court decision.
In a post on Facebook Monday, DeVore said school districts are expressing the will of the public.
“Your districts made these choices today on their own volition, executive order be damned,” DeVore, who is also running for Appellate Judge in southern Illinois, wrote, “This shows you what the local school districts across this state think of his authoritarian rule. The districts just needed a little encouragement. At this point there is no reason whatsoever for them to go back to mask required policies for any reason whatsoever, regardless of whether there is a TRO or not. The TRO gave that burst of momentum needed to put an end to this madness.”
WILL THE JUDGE’S DECISION HOLD?
One of the things that caught my eye most about Judge Raylene Grischow’s Temporary Restraining Order on the Governor’s mask mandate was citing processes in the Illinois Public Health Act instead of the Illinois Emergency Management Act. The Emergency Management Act has been the basis for rulings in Pritzker’s favor (from Republican and Democrat judges) as executive orders have been challenged throughout the pandemic.
Considering I’m a dope and didn’t go to law school, I asked Scott Szala, a retired Winston & Strawn attorney and Adjunct Professor at the University of Illinois College of Law what he thought. He teaches a class on the Illinois Constitution, by the way.
“You hit the $64,000 question,” Szala said, inflating my ego. “There’s no citation to the contrary that the argument that the Attorney General has made repeatedly that if the General Assembly doesn’t object to the Governor’s actions, basically, if the General Assembly’s not going to step in, someone has to step in and deal with this issue.”
Hence why this will wind up in the hands of the Appellate Court.
Szala says we’re seeing unprecedented rulings and case law being handled in challenges to the laws and state constitution. He said much of the confusion could have, and should have, been settled by the General Assembly sometime during the nearly two-year long pandemic.
“You could have passed legislation that the Governor has the power and all the General Assembly is doing is reaffirming that power,” he said. “Therefore, you wouldn’t have run into [these] objections.”
More here…including why Szala can’t predict what the Appellate Court will do.
SPEAKER’S WIFE BREAKS CAPS FOR JUDICIAL RUN
ShawnTe Raines-Welch, wife of House Speaker Chris Welch, and a candidate for Cook County Circuit Judge, reported breaking campaign contribution caps with a loan of $100,100.
She also appears to be tapping into the Speaker’s political organization, too. Her campaign chair and Treasurer both work in the House Democrats organization.
I’m sure we won’t be hearing the last about this campaign, especially with the changes made to Cook County judicial subcircuits earlier this year.
SCHIMPF GOES ON TV
Former Sen. Paul Schimpf, who has sort of been an also-ran in the GOP race for Governor so far, starts TV ads today.
I’m told his campaign has made a $25,000 cable buy on FOX News, HGTV, and History channel in the Chicago area. I have not seen any broadcast buys yet.
Schimpf has struggled to raise money in his campaign thus far, but has reported about $25,000 in large contributions since the beginning of the year, which seems to be most of the buy. He ended 2021 with around $81,000 in the bank, around $400,000 less than any other major GOP candidate for Governor.
It’s disappointing that Schimpf has struggled to gain some momentum because, in my opinion, he’s probably the best GOP candidate actually suited to govern if elected.
I’ve asked for the spot, I’ll post it on the website when I get it.
Meanwhile, Richard Irvin’s campaign is spending another $53,000 on cable over the next two weeks while Jesse Sullivan is spending around $89,000. They’re only on FOX News. The Pritzker campaign is spending about $150,000 on cable over the next couple of weeks. As I mentioned, I hadn’t seen new broadcast buys when I looked yesterday morning.
NEW REP HAMILTON RUNNING FOR SENATE
As we told you on the Twitter machine over the weekend, newly appointed Rep. Sandy Hamilton (R-Springfield) is planning to challenge also appointed Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield) in the 48th Senate district this fall.
Hamilton was chosen to replace Rep. Mike Murphy at the end of December, but lives in what will become Rep. Tim Butler’s (R-Springfield) House district if Butler keeps his seat, so Hamilton will instead look to move up to the Senate.
From our friend Brenden Moore’s writeup in the Herald & Review:
"Due to redistricting, my term in the House will end in 2023," said Hamilton, flanked by several local GOP officials. "But I'm eager to continue serving the residents of Central Illinois, who deserve an honest and relentless voice at the Capitol fighting for the values we believe in."
Hamilton was chosen for the appointment over Kelly Thompson, a project manager for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce-affiliated Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group, who had previously been the preferred candidate of the Illinois Senate GOP's campaign arm.
However, with Hamilton's ascendance to the House allowing for an easier jump to the Senate with her status as an incumbent lawmaker, Thompson has decided not to run.
Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, attended Hamilton's announcement for Senate, putting aside any doubt about whom his caucus would be supporting.
"Sandy's a strong candidate," McConchie said. "She obviously has deep ties to the community here and to the region. With her professional background, she also understands the importance of what state government can do and what it shouldn't be doing."
I don’t personally know Hamilton, though we’ve texted back and forth a couple of times since she received the appointment, but I’ve heard good things about her first month in office.
She had better have her big girl pants ready for the fall, though, (and that’s not sexist, I’d say big boy if she were a he) as Senate Democrats are going to pump a ton of money into Doris Turner’s campaign. President Biden won the district by about 4 points, Gov. Pritzker won it by around 5 points, but GOP Attorney General candidate Erika Harold won it by around 6 points in 2018.
OTHER CANDIDATES
Democratic East Alton Mayor Joe Silkwood appears to be the Democratic choice to challenge Rep. Amy Elik (R-Alton) in the new 111th District in northern Madison County. Elik was drawn into another district, but is planning to run in the district that looks more like her current base. Silkwood has strong union ties, but Donald Trump won the new 111th in 2020 by about 13 percentage points. Gov. Pritzker won it by around 5 points in 2018.
Republican Tazewell County Treasurer Mary Burress looks like she’s throwing her hat in the ring for the 87th House District seat being vacated by Rep. Keith Sommer (R-Mackinaw). Burress lost to Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) in 2020 by around 54%-46% in one of the top Senate GOP efforts two years ago. Her house is actually in the 93rd, represented by Rep. Mark Luft (R-Pekin), so Burress would have to move a couple of miles east if she plans to stay past 2024. I’m told there is going to be a gaggle of candidates in that 87th race.
Keith Thornton, Jr. a 911 dispatcher who was praised for his work during an incident that led to the deaths of two Chicago Police Officers has filed paperwork to challenge Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-Chicago) in the 19th district on the city’s northwest side. LaPointe had around $130,000 in her campaign fund at the start of the year.
Freshman Sen. Win Stoller (R-Peoria) may be getting a primary after all. After Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savana) was drawn into a safer district in the September version of the map, Stoller appeared to be getting off without a challenge. Insurance business owner Brett Nicklaus from Dixon has filed paperwork to seek a Senate seat and he lives in Stoller’s district. I don’t know much about him, but I’ve reached out.
Democrat Mary Morgan of Island Lake, who works in the Wauconda School District in the Curriculum & Instruction Office has filed paperwork to challenge Rep. Marty McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) in the redrawn 52nd House district. I haven’t gotten an answer yet if Morgan is the House Dems choice for the seat. McLaughlin’s new district got a lot tougher. President Biden won it by 6 percentage points and Governor Rauner won by around 12 points in 2018.
Grayslake Village Trustee Adam Shores, a Republican, has filed paperwork to run in the redrawn 62nd district being vacated by Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Grayslake), who is running for Senate. Republicans have previously seen that district as a pickup opportunity, but President Biden won it by 26 percentage points in 2020.
Republican Madison County Board Member Erica Harriss of Glen Carbon looks to be aiming to challenge Sen. Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) in the redrawn 56th Senate District. President Trump won the district by around 3 points, Governor Pritzker won it by around 8. This could be one of the top races in the state if the GOP has a good candidate.
House Republicans are excited about Jennifer Sanalitro of Hanover Park, who is running in the new 48th district. She’s a sales executive at a packaging company. The new 48th doesn’t have an incumbent and could be a swing district. President Biden won it by 3 points, Governor Rauner won it by 3 points in 2018.
Of course, none of these are official until they file next month to get on he ballot.
BEFORE WE GO
Thank you for your continued support. Our Free for All readership yesterday was off the charts, but I assume that is tied to the chaos with the TRO on the mask mandate.
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Have a great day.