THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All
January 27, 2022
Good morning and happy Thursday.
If you happened to watch the fantastic Illinois/Michigan State basketball game the other night, you may have noticed a familiar voice calling the game for ESPN: Jason Benetti.
Benetti is the play-by-play voice of the Chicago White Sox and fills in often on Chicago Bulls TV broadcasts. He also does college football and basketball for the four letter network and did play by play of NBC’s Olympic baseball coverage last summer.
Not bad for a guy who is just 38. Oh yeah, and was born with cerebral palsy. He’s one of my favorite voices in sports and he has an incredible story. I hope you can take a minute to read this piece in Chicago Magazine.
You’re almost out of time to take advantage of our $22 discount on a yearlong subscription as we ring in the new year. So, instead of $75 for a year, we’re just asking $53. I think some of you spend that at Starbucks in a week.
Your support means the world and we hope you’ll join us as one of our paid subscribers. Click below to sign up.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments at patrick@theillinoize.com.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets)
‘Internal miscommunication’ blamed for Pritzker’s failure to act on veterans bill that became law without his signature (Chicago Tribune)
Veterans and others who have complaints about the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs will have a new outlet to voice their concerns under a state law that’s going into effect without Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature.
The Democratic governor, whose reelection campaign this year will face tough questions over his administration’s handling of a deadly 2020 coronavirus outbreak at a state-run veterans home in LaSalle, did not sign or veto the proposal within 60 days after it reached his desk, meaning it automatically becomes law.
Republicans were quick to attack Pritzker for failing to act on the bill, a lapse the administration blamed on “an internal miscommunication” that allowed the proposal to fall through the cracks.
Pritzker’s administration “worked closely with the sponsors ... and he wholeheartedly supports the legislation becoming law,” spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement Tuesday.
Pritzker missed the signing deadline after a planned ceremony was delayed due to the most recent COVID-19 surge, she said.
It creates a veterans’ accountability unit within the state VA, with a director to be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. While it will operate independently of the department, the new unit will be funded out of the agency’s budget.
The new office will be responsible for hearing complaints and recommendations from veterans and others who receive services from the department, residents of the state-run veterans homes and their families, and agency staff, contractors and vendors.
The inspector general for the governor’s office will be responsible for investigating complaints, but the new unit will be charged with making sure all complaints are reported to the inspector general for review.
Let’s start with the fact that it is extraordinarily dumb for the Governor’s legislative shop to miss the deadline to get this bill signed. Politically, with the deaths of 36 residents of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home in 2020 and 2021 hanging around his neck, the Governor should have been clearly out in favor of this legislation. Instead, we’ve heard his office put pressure on a lot of Democrats to help keep their complaints about the handling of LaSalle quiet. The administration also went above and beyond to kill mine and all other Freedom of Information Act requests into the LaSalle mess.
That said, for Republicans to throw around lines like the Governor “forgets veterans exist,” as the Illinois Republican Party did yesterday, is both irresponsible and reckless.
When issues like this pop up, I hate broad allegations like “so and so hates senior citizens.” There are a lot of complaints the GOP can make into the handling of LaSalle, so why throw around language like this?
Our discourse should be better than that.
State investigating 2 more COVID-19 testing companies (Chicago Sun-Times)
The Illinois Department of Public Health launched an investigation into Northshore Clinical Labs and O’Hare Clinical Labs after both businesses have been accused of bungling people’s test results, among other issues.
IDPH spokesperson Melaney Arnold confirmed Wednesday evening the investigations into the two companies are ongoing but didn’t provide any additional details.
The Illinois attorney general’s office said it has received more than 40 complaints about Northshore and over 30 complaints about O’Hare. Most of the concerns center on people receiving delayed test results or none at all as well as staff not practicing proper social distancing or correctly wearing masks.
One person told the Sun-Times that they waited four weeks to receive their COVID-19 test results from a facility operated by Northshore Clinical Labs only to find out that the samples were unstable and couldn’t be tested. The person said their friends are still awaiting results from tests performed toward the end of last month.
I can’t imagine using a fly by night outfit set up in a shack on the side of the road for something so important as a COVID test. Maybe I’m just an uptight new dad, but why would you trust it?
Related: DeKalb mom tested positive for COVID-19 on Christmas Day, gave birth four days later: ‘Getting the vaccine helped me’ (DeKalb Daily Chronicle)
COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases are down, but blood donors needed (Daily Herald)
COVID-19 positivity rates remain high across the Quad-Cities, hospitalizations dip (Quad City Times)
A DeKalb man had a heart attack, but the ICU was full. “These people are heroes.” (DeKalb Daily Chronicle)
61% of Sangamon County fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (State Journal-Register)
Chicago Teachers Union leaders face challenge from within their ranks following COVID-19 work action that canceled school for 5 days (Chicago Tribune)
A group within the Chicago Teachers Union is launching a new campaign to challenge President Jesse Sharkey and Vice President Stacy Davis Gates in the union’s spring election.
The movement by the Members First Caucus comes two weeks after the union narrowly voted to accept Chicago Public Schools’ COVID-19 safety agreement and end a dayslong work stoppage.
The current leadership of the CTU sees work stoppages and strikes as the first step, and not the last one. They are far more focused on being in front of the camera and advancing their own political careers than delivering for us,” the caucus says in a minutelong video posted to its website and on social media Tuesday.
CTU and CPS spent months negotiating a set of safety protocols beyond indoor mask-wearing for this school year, but had not reached an agreement by the time the highly transmissible omicron variant fueled a surge in CPS student and staff cases. Students returned from winter break for two days of school before the union, with 73% of the vote, approved a measure to work remotely for nearly two weeks.
I’m told more rank and file members were upset with the latest work stoppage than they have been at any point in the last decade or so. This is certainly something to keep an eye on.
Related: Editorial: How can teachers fix what’s wrong at CTU? Change the leadership. (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: I’m a Chicago principal. Our schools are not OK. (Chicago Tribune)
Union: Illinois DCFS hasn't been willing 'to work constructively' on staffing, safety issues (State Journal-Register)
The executive director of the union representing Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigators and other workers said it has proposed recommendations to the agency centered around safety, training, and staffing, with little progress.
Roberta Lynch of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 said particularly the safety of staff has been "the number one priority at every meeting" the union has had with DCFS management.
Lynch said "more could be done" by DCFS also to improve hiring and training.
Issues of worker safety have come to light after the Jan. 4 fatal stabbing of DCFS child protection specialist Deidre (Graham) Silas, 36, of Springfield in Thayer, a village of about 700 people on the southern tip of Sangamon County.
Silas was making an investigation at the home of Benjamin Howard Reed in response to a report. Reed, 32, has been charged with first-degree murder.
A union proposal for voluntary training on the use of mace and to allow workers who completed the training to carry it was rejected outright, Lynch added.
Other recommendations have included providing “panic buttons” and bullet/stab-proof vests or jackets for workers, Lynch said.
DCFS management "has not been sufficiently willing to work constructively," Lynch said, with an AFSCME DCFS standing committee, which consists of frontline investigators and caseworkers from around the state. AFSCME represents nearly 3,000 DCFS workers.
"It's frustrating obviously," she said. "A number of (recommendations) that should not be that difficult to implement have not been implemented."
William McCaffrey, a spokesperson for DCFS, said the "top priority (of DCFS) is the safety and well-being of our employees, whose hard work and commitment helps keep children safe, creates brighter futures for many families and strengthens communities across our state."
Part of the issue that isn’t being discussed is the cost of providing DCFS employees what they need to be safe. Whether it be more staff, private security, or some other form, we’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars in the agency’s budget, potentially more. Money doesn’t grow on trees, so where does it come from?
While Budzinski has a head start, there are others running for new IL congressional seat (Belleville News-Democrat)
While one Democratic candidate has scooped up support from most of the metro-east’s Democratic leaders, there are two other contenders for the 13th Congressional District hoping to sway southwestern Illinois voters.
David Palmer, a Democrat from Champaign, is running against Nikki Budzinski of Springfield in the June 28 primary. Jesse Reising, a Republican from Decatur, entered the race last week.
Palmer, 35, is a former professional basketball player who worked as a coordinator for the Boys and Girls Club in Champaign before becoming a retirement adviser. This is his first time seeking political office.
Reising, 32, is an attorney for a Chicago law firm who said he has been living off and on during the pandemic in Decatur, home to six generations of his family. He graduated from Eisenhower High School before attending Yale University, where he played football. Reising planned to join the U.S. Marine Corps, but a serious neck injury from football prevented him.
Republican Regan Deering also entered the 13th race yesterday. I told subscribers yesterday former Champaign County Young Republicans Chair and Trump delegate Maria Vasquez is also considering the race.
Related: 13th District candidate Nikki Budzinski discusses the metro-east (Belleville News-Democrat)
Regan Deering becomes second Republican to enter 13th Congressional race (Decatur Herald & Review)
Open seat in Congress brings Illinois Dems 'out of the woodwork' (Rockford Register Star)
House ethics panel extends review of allegations that U.S. Rep. Marie Newman offered rival a job to stay out of election (Chicago Tribune)
Passed over for GOP slate, Brady says ‘tough primaries aren't new to me’ (Decatur Herald & Review)
JOIN US