THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Choate...crime...new casinos...
September 8, 2022
Good morning, Illinois.
If you missed our Livestream yesterday with Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) and Paul Lisnek of WGN-TV, you can watch it here. You can also find the podcast version here.
I’m hosting the morning show on WMAY in Springfield Friday morning. We’ll talk a little Illini football and memories of 9/11. Listen online from 6-9am at www.wmay.com. I’ll be in all next week, too. More on that in the next few days.
I’ll also be on Bruce DuMont’s “Beyond the Beltway” show this Sunday night from 6-8pm, likely enraging Trump supporters across the country. Listen online here.
We’re also continuing to offer a free month of our paid subscriber content in honor of our 2nd anniversary. Just click below to join!
Drop me a note at patrick@theillinoize.com with any thoughts or questions.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Governor calls for changes after 'awful' reports of abuse at developmental center (Herald & Review)
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called patient abuses at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in rural Anna “awful” and “deeply concerning,” and he said the future of the facility depends on correcting poor conditions.
Pritzker’s comments at a news conference on Tuesday came on the heels of articles published Friday by Capitol News Illinois, Lee Enterprises and ProPublica outlining a history of egregious patient abuses and other employee misconduct at Choate.
At least 26 employees over the past decade have been arrested on felony charges in relation to their work at the facility, and internal investigations have cited dozens of other employees for neglecting, exploiting or humiliating residents, lying to investigators, or failing to report allegations of mistreatment in a timely manner. In some cases, investigations have languished for years as accused employees have continued to receive their full pay while on administrative leave.
Pritzker said the state isn’t currently planning to close Choate, but he didn’t rule it out if safety issues aren’t addressed.
“The question is, can we prevent that in the future? And if not, then obviously that’s not a facility that should remain open,” the governor said in response to a reporter’s questions at an unrelated event in downstate Decatur.
Meanwhile, he said, the “state has an obligation to the people that it serves at that facility right now” and is concentrating on upgrades to the facility and ensuring that appropriate services and personnel are in place. In a statement to reporters last week, Marisa Kollias, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Human Services, which runs Choate, said that the problems there are the result of “longstanding, entrenched issues” and that the department has taken “aggressive measures” to address them.
Related: Pritzker, Bryant Comments (The Illinoize on YouTube)
Candidates for Illinois governor talk public safety at separate events (State Journal-Register)
A day after Labor Day, gubernatorial candidates Gov. JB Pritzker and GOP challenger Darren Bailey campaigned in downstate Illinois Tuesday to talk public safety.
Bailey, a state senator from Xenia, held a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield where he again castigated Pritzker for rising crime rates and for "handcuffing" law enforcement in their response.
"We won't have peace in Illinois until we fire JB Pritzker," he said, standing before a backdrop of law enforcement officers.
With nine weeks remaining before the election, Bailey turned attention during much of the press conference to Jan. 1, 2023, when the SAFE-T Act ending cash bail will go into effect.
No cash bail practically already exists in Chicago, Bailey said, a city that has been a major flashpoint of his throughout the campaign. If elected governor, the Republican lawmaker wants to repeal the act as one of his law enforcement priorities.
"When (Cook County State's Attorney) Kim Foxx refuses to prosecute, essentially, no cash bail already exists now," he said, calling her, Pritzker, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot the "three musketeers of crime, chaos, and tragedy."
Pritzker started his day in East St. Louis announcing a new home for the Illinois State Police Metro East Regional Headquarters -- a 62,500 square foot facility using approximately $55 million of the state's $45 billion Rebuild Illinois capital plan.
"It reflects what this region and all of Illinois deserve: communities where public safety works so all of our families can thrive," the governor told the crowd at the Jackie Joyner Kersee Center on Tuesday morning.
Related: Illinois governor GOP candidate decries Chicago crime, chaos (Associated Press)
Opinion: Readers say COVID, abortion and guns may affect voting choices (Shaw Local)
The plan for a downtown Chicago casino now has a surprising ally: river lovers (WBEZ)
Chicago’s push for a casino has stirred fervent debate focused mostly on the predictable: whether the right site was chosen, how much tax revenue it will generate and whether it will worsen noise, traffic or problem gambling.
But river advocates and ecological preservationists see the complex in a different light. To them, the Bally’s plan to replace the Tribune printing plant in River West can be a meaningful next step in the ongoing makeover of the city’s riverfront — if done right.
The casino plan is still unfolding, but it will join an urban landscape in mid-transformation. Roughly since the beginning of this century, the banks of the Chicago River have been growing from bit player to star attraction, an ever more alluring aspect of a city where natural beauty can be scarce.
Many of the details are still being sorted out in the pre-final approval dance between developers, interest groups and the city. But advocates feel enough safeguards are in place to ensure that what happens at the casino site will improve the river, too.
Related: State green lights Hard Rock Casino Rockford construction (Rockford Register Star)
Bears release initial Arlington Park redevelopment plans, vow no tax dollars at least for stadium (Daily Herald)
The Chicago Bears on Tuesday released conceptual plans for their proposed redevelopment of the 326-acre Arlington Park property, as well as an open letter vowing not to ask for tax dollars at least for the stadium portion of the project.
Plans unveiled by the NFL franchise call for a transit-oriented, mixed-use and entertainment district anchored by a domed stadium on the sprawling site of the former thoroughbred racetrack in Arlington Heights.
A conceptual site plan by design firm Hart Howerton shows a stadium district on the northwest portion of the property near Route 53 and Northwest Highway, and a mixed-use district on the southeast near Euclid and Wilke roads. A Bears spokesman said renderings of the massive enclosed stadium simply are a placeholder and not an actual design.
The open letter from Bears officials on Tuesday said they won't seek public funding for the direct stadium structure construction, but they left open the door to seeking governmental assistance for the rest of the massive redevelopment. Officials added they look forward to working with key stakeholders in the region and state in the months ahead.
Related: The Chicago Bears release Arlington Heights details and make a case for public subsidy (WBEZ)
Opinion: Bears stadium proposal emphasizes need for public involvement in the process (Daily Herald)
Opinion: Hoping for more from Secretary of State candidates (Shaw Local)
Come January, Illinois will have its first new Secretary of State since the last millennium.
Jesse White has led the department since Jan. 11, 1999, a tenure that’s spanned the terms of five governors. He’s the 37th person to hold the office since statehood (we’ve had 43 governors) and his 23-year run dwarfs the second-longest, James Rose, who served from 1897 until his death in 1912.
White has endorsed as his replacement Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, state treasurer from 2007-2011. His opponent is Dan Brady, the Bloomington Republican who joined the Illinois House in 2001.
Both candidates won contested primaries. In the weeks since, Brady hasn’t published a new campaign video. Giannoulias released his first new spot Tuesday morning, a minute-long clip bookended by White introducing his intended successor. The bulk of the ad is an excerpt of Giannoulias’ recent speech at the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association.
This focus on the office as “the first line of defense for voting rights,” as Giannoulias said in an older spot, goes back more than a year, though as a former state officer he certainly knows the State Board of Elections administers election laws, not the Secretary of State.
Voters are left to infer these remarks allude to the office’s role with automatic voter registration at the time of applying for a driver license. Those who visit Brady’s website encounter more germane issues such as streamlining services, improving driver education, developing local libraries and, in a strong connection to White’s legacy, increasing organ and tissue donor registration.
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