THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All
April 21, 2022
Good morning, Illinois.
Conservative businessman Richard Uihlein reported a $2.5 million donation yesterday to the campaign of Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia).
This vaults Bailey closer to the top of the fundraising hill, currently held by Aurora Mayor Richard Ivin and venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan. Bailey is up on TV and will likey be throughs the end of the primary
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Indicted ex-Speaker Michael Madigan taps his campaign fund for another $4 million for legal defense (Chicago Tribune)
Ex-Speaker Michael Madigan’s campaign fund paid $4 million last month to the legal firm defending him in his federal racketeering case, nearly doubling the total amount he’s sent to the firm over the last four years.
The Southwest Side power broker’s political fund gave $2 million on both March 1 and March 2, the day before and the day of his indictment, newly released state records showed, although those records can sometimes be out of sequence.
The Friends of Michael Madigan campaign now has spent nearly $8.5 million on legal fees to the Katten Muchin Rosenman firm since January 2018, according to newly filed campaign records.
The total in Madigan’s Friends of Michael Madigan account dropped from $10.5 million to $6.49 million in the first quarter of 2021, according to the state report.
Madigan, who turned 80 on Tuesday, has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to a sweeping 22-count indictment alleging his far-reaching political and governmental operations represented a yearslong criminal enterprise.
Related: FBI acquires transcript of Michael Madigan deposition and the ex-speaker answering questions under oath in civil case (Chicago Tribune)
Illinois COVID case rise ramps up — but ‘different than what we were seeing earlier,’ officials say (Chicago Sun-Times)
A day after Gov. J.B. Pritzker fell in line with a federal court decision lifting mask mandates on public transit, Illinois public health officials on Wednesday reported the state’s highest COVID-19 caseload since shortly before Valentine’s Day.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 3,931 positive tests, the most in a day since Feb. 11. The state is now averaging 2,560 cases per day over the past week, a rate that has shot up 138% in the past month.
Actual case numbers are likely significantly higher, because those figures don’t include at-home test results.
Related: Illinois COVID-19 update: Hospitalizations, case rate rising (Shaw Media)
Pritzker ends mask mandate on public transit (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Masking 'remains necessary' on transit, CDC says in asking DOJ to fight to reinstate mandate (Daily Herald)
Citizen Ken: What kind of politician would Illinois’ richest man make? (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Ken Griffin, Illinois’ richest man and founder of two highly successful Chicago-based businesses, is plowing tens of millions into the state's gubernatorial race this year, as well as the national midterm elections.
Would the billionaire ever opt to use his formidable checkbook on his own campaign rather than the bids of others? If so, what kind of politician would he make?
In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, Griffin, 53, said he has too much on his plate to consider running for office now. But he opened the door wide to a future candidacy.
“I would like to think that at some point in my life, I will have that opportunity to be involved in public service,” he told the Journal.
The outcome of this year’s gubernatorial contest could be the catalyst for a future Griffin candidacy. If Pritzker defeats his chosen candidate, Griffin might consider entering the next governor’s race himself. Political insiders say governorships are particularly appealing to former business leaders, who see parallels to the executive positions they’ve held in the private sector.
As, say, Illinois governor, Griffin would need to set priorities and limits on what he’d accept and then be flexible enough to negotiate packages that Democrats in the Legislature could live with. That was a skill former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, another super-wealthy businessman turned GOP politician, never mastered in his one term before losing his re-election bid to Pritzker.
Related: Candidates for Illinois’ 1st congressional district have raised $1.5 million total (WBEZ)
U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood's fundraising again tops rivals' in 14th District (Daily Herald)
Here's what that big ComEd rate hike is really for (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Commonwealth Edison justified its recent request for a $199 million rate hike on what it termed as needed improvements in reliability and enabling more clean-energy sources to contribute to the power grid.
But $114 million—nearly 60%—of the increase isn’t tied to any investments, according to ComEd’s filing with the Illinois Commerce Commission. It’s the result of higher interest rates that, under the controversial annual formula-rate system Illinois adopted a decade ago, determine the returns ComEd gets on its investments each year.
Additionally, $60 million of the increase isn’t even for next year’s needs, according to the filing. It’s money ComEd says it should have gotten previously but didn’t when revenues fell short of expectations.
The latest increase is ComEd’s last filing under the 10-year formula-rate authorization before it expires at the end of this year. But the system enacted to replace the formula in last year’s Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA, retains one controversial feature of the old system—the so-called “guaranteed profits” provision entitling ComEd to charge ratepayers later for shortfalls.
Billie Jean Paige, one of the first Black women to lobby in Springfield, dead at 84 (Chicago Sun-Times)
Services are planned Saturday for Billie Paige, one of the first Black women to work as a lobbyist in Springfield.
Mrs. Paige died April 10 at the Franciscan Health hospital in Dyer, Indiana. The Crete resident was 84 and had been experiencing health problems, according to her son Gary Paige.
“She definitely was a trailblazer and glass-ceiling breaker,” said U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill.
Adept at forging alliances, Mrs. Paige understood that, in politics, it’s best to avoid having permanent enemies.
“She didn’t take guff from anybody,” said former state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, a former Illinois House of Representatives majority leader. Also, “She wasn’t the kind of person who would call somebody to task in a way that she wouldn’t be able to call on them again.”
Clients of her Shea, Paige & Rogal lobbying firm included Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Metra and the Tobacco Institute.
“She was extremely bright and forward-thinking, and she was very, very kind,” said George Paige, her husband of 65 years. “Her intelligence just blew everybody away.”
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