THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Cash bail...Pritzker in UK...Health care for undocumented immigrants
July 20, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
I got bumped last minute yesterday from the Steve Cochran Show on WLS Radio in Chicago yesterday. I think we’ll try again this morning at 7:05. You can listen on your old fashioned Marconi-style radio device or online here.
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Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Cash bail will end in Illinois as justices rule SAFE-T Act provisions constitutional (Capitol News Illinois)
A landmark criminal justice reform that eliminates cash bail in Illinois is constitutional, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, paving the way for the change to take effect Sept. 18.
The 5-2 decision – handed down on partisan lines – means that an individual’s wealth will no longer play a role in whether they are incarcerated while awaiting trial. Judges can still order someone to be detained as they await trial, but the new system will instead be based on an offender’s level of risk of reoffending or fleeing prosecution.
With the new law’s implementation, Illinois will become the first state in the U.S. to fully eliminate cash bail – and all provisions of the SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform will have taken full effect.
Short for Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today, the wide-ranging measure was an initiative of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus that passed in the wake of a nationwide reckoning with racism in the criminal justice system following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
The act reformed police training, certification and use-of-force standards, expanded detainee rights, and gave the attorney general’s office authority to investigate alleged civil rights violations by law enforcement. It also requires body cameras at all police departments by 2025. Some larger departments are already required to use body cameras under the law.
The state Supreme Court had postponed the scheduled Jan. 1 implementation of pretrial detention provisions pending its ruling, which was issued Tuesday.
State Rep. Justin Slaughter, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the 2021 measure in the House, said in a virtual news conference after Tuesday’s court decision that the pretrial detention overhaul will addresses an “overly punitive criminal justice system” for impoverished Illinoisans – especially those in Black and brown communities.
It’s a system, Slaughter said, that often forces innocent individuals to take plea deals – and to accept a criminal record – to obtain their freedom when they don’t have money to post bail.
“So this is not about being tough or soft on crime,” he said. “This is about being smart on crime, reworking our system, streamlining our system to address those higher-level, more violent, dangerous alleged offenses. It's not about having someone unnecessarily sit in jail.”
Related: Illinois Supreme Court upholds law eliminating cash bail, sets Sept. 18 as start date for new system (Chicago Tribune)
Illinois Supreme Court finds no-cash bail constitutional, goes into effect in September (State Journal-Register)
What happens when cash bail ends in Illinois? In other states, narrower attempts have succeeded but debate goes on (Chicago Sun-Times)
Illinois could be a national model for eliminating cash bail, but implementation is another test (WBEZ)
How bail reform will work in Illinois (Chicago Sun-Times)
Elation, dismay from suburban leaders over state Supreme Court's landmark bail ruling (Daily Herald)
Editorial: Eliminating cash bail puts Illinois firmly on road of criminal justice reform (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Ruling creates whole new world in bond court (Champaign News-Gazette)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker touts Illinois’ clean energy policies during UK trade mission (Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker promoted Illinois as friendly to clean energy and a burgeoning technology hub during his weeklong visit to the United Kingdom in an effort to expand the state’s footprint in the international business world.
“Illinois really hasn’t been on the international scene for some number of years,” Pritzker said on a video conference call from the U.K. as he wrapped up his overseas trip. “We found our sea legs I would say, and now we’ve got lots of folks who are approaching us about getting together.”
Since winning a second term in November, Pritzker has prioritized courting businesses after high-profile corporate relocations last year by Boeing, Caterpillar and Citadel.
The Democratic governor made an official visit to he U.K. in 2021 and also has made trips to Davos, Switzerland and Germany. On this trip, he led a group of three dozen that included state officials such as Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and leaders in higher education, utilities and aviation.
“Broadly, our view is that people really don’t know enough about Illinois, and it’s important for us to convey the big selling points of why they ought to come to Illinois,” Pritzker said.
In addition to seeking overseas companies to boost Illinois’ electric vehicle industry, as well as its standing in manufacturing, financial services, food processing and hospitality, Pritzker said he met with leaders in the quantum computing field, adding that he has a vision of making Illinois the “Silicon Valley of quantum development.”
Pritzker said the goal of his trade missions is not only to attract new companies, but also to expand relationships with those who already do business with Illinois.
“We have over 850 U.K. companies that are already doing business in Illinois,” Pritzker said. “We have 90,000 employees, Illinoisans, who are employed by U.K.-owned companies in Illinois. So expanding that relationship is good for people in Illinois.”
Related: Pritzker gives UK trip update — hints Illinois in ‘final throes’ of electric vehicle deals (Chicago Sun-Times)
Lawmakers criticize Pritzker administration’s handling of noncitizen health care limits (Capitol News Illinois)
Members of a state rulemaking oversight committee voiced concerns Tuesday that Gov. JB Pritzker's administration didn’t sufficiently seek public input on its plan to cap enrollment in Medicaid-like health care programs for noncitizens.
The controversy centers on the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults and Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors programs, which provide health care benefits to low-income noncitizens who would qualify for Medicaid benefits if not for their citizenship status.
During May budget negotiations, lawmakers gave the Pritzker administration authority to cap program spending through emergency rulemaking, and his administration exercised that authority in late June.
Those emergency rules froze enrollment in HBIA, which serves noncitizens aged 42 to 64, and set a cap for enrollees in HBIS, which provides benefits to noncitizens age 65 and over. The changes also reduce reimbursement rates for two large public hospitals, institute copayments and coinsurance for some services and transition some enrollees into the state’s Medicaid managed care program in an effort to reduce costs.
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules on Tuesday heard from representatives of the state’s Department of Healthcare and Family Services, who defended the rules.
The rules are designed, according to IDHFS officials, to limit costs for the program, which they say would be underfunded by hundreds of millions of dollars without the changes.
He noted the General Assembly allocated $550 million while giving the administration the authority to cap costs.
Pritzker’s administration proposed the changes in both “emergency” and “permanent” administrative rules. While emergency rules are generally valid for 150 days, the law authorizing the administration to limit program enrollment also allows it to refile emergency rules once they expire. That means that unless JCAR votes by a three-fifths majority to suspend the rules, they would remain in place as long as the department wants, at least for the next two years.
FROM THE ILLINOIZE THIS WEEK
Union Details State Contract, GOP Says Pact will Smash Budget Surplus
On Party Lines, Illinois Supreme Court Upholds Law Ending Cash Bail
Illinois GOP Hosts Pence Event, but Claim it Isn't an Endorsement
POLITCAL POTPOURRI
Kwame Raoul, other AGs denounce letter warning Fortune 100s against diversity efforts (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Air pollution rule change to move forward, preventing sanctions from federal government (Capitol News Illinois)
Federal judge dismisses Madigan-related bribery charge against ComEd (Chicago Sun-Times)
Man suspected of killing Springfield organizer Emma Shafer 'may not be' in U.S., police say (State Journal-Register)
How Instagram users in Illinois can receive settlement money from $68.5M lawsuit (Peoria Journal Star)
Editorial: Since convicted former ComEd CEO can’t follow the law, she shouldn’t be practicing it (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: There's a stealth campaign to lure business away from Illinois. Lawmakers must halt it. (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Opinion: Illinois needs more immigrant workers (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Slain Springfield organizer set shining example (Bloomington Pantagraph)
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