THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Governor ending COVID emergency...Some gun owners support weapon ban...Elgin superintendent named State Superintendent of Education.
February 2, 2023
Happy furry rodent day.
I’ll be filling in on WMAY in Springfield from 4pm-6pm this afternoon. Scheduled to be joined by Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield) and whatever other nonsense I can dig up. You can listen on the radio around Springpatch or online at www.wmay.com.
If you missed our Livestream/Podcast yesterday, I hope you’ll check it out. I’m a little biased, but I thought it was pretty good. We talked about struggles for southern Illinois Democrats with former Congressman Bill Enyart and struggles for suburban Republicans with GOP consultant Collin Corbett. You can watch it on YouTube here or you can listen at Apple, Google, Spotify, or Amazon. I’m an Amazon Music guy myself, but I hear lots of you kids like your iPhones.
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Let’s get to it.
SOME TOP LINKS FROM THE WEEK SO FAR
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 disaster declaration to end May 11, more than three years after it was first issued (Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 disaster declaration for Illinois will end May 11, falling in line with a decision by the White House to end a pair of federal emergency declarations more than three years after the start of the pandemic.
Illinois is among eight states — and the only one in the Midwest — with disaster declarations still in place. The Pritzker administration has said maintaining the declaration is necessary to continue accessing federal resources, such as expanded benefits for food stamp recipients.
Opponents have criticized the governor for continuing to renew the declaration every 30 days, even as Pritzker for the past year has been unwinding nearly all of the mandates and restrictions that once accompanied it, most notably the highly contentious statewide mask mandate that he rescinded at the end of last February.
Pritzker declared a statewide emergency on March 9, 2020, two days before the World Health Organization labeled the novel coronavirus a pandemic. At the time, there had been 11 confirmed cases and no deaths attributed to the virus in Illinois.
In announcing his decision to move on, Pritzker in a statement on Tuesday argued that the proclamation and executive orders that drew so much vitriol from critics “enabled us to use every resource at our disposal from building up testing capacity and expanding our health care workforce to supporting our vaccine rollout and mutual aid efforts.”
He also noted that the virus remains a serious health issue.
“Let me be clear: COVID-19 has not disappeared,” Pritzker said. “It is still a real and present danger to people with compromised immune systems — and I urge all Illinoisans to get vaccinated or get their booster shots if they have not done so already.”
Whether you think the state was still in an “emergency” or not the past year or so, I don’t understand why it is seen as such a crime to still try to access federal assistance for the ongoing needs. You can absolutely argue both the state and federal government kept the emergencies in place too long, but why would you actively encourage the state to leave money on the table? It’s our tax dollars in the end, so why should it go to California or Maine instead of staying here?
Rant over.
Related: Pritzker ends pandemic disaster status but warns, ‘COVID-19 has not disappeared’ (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: COVID emergencies are about to end, so take advantage of free vaccines, tests now (Chicago Sun-Times)
Some Illinois gun owners speak in support of state weapon ban, ‘We can make it better’ (Shaw Media)
While a number of gun owners have been outspoken about the state’s ban on high-powered semi-automatic weapons, some Illinois Valley owners have voiced their support for the state’s ban, citing mass shootings, harm to children and dangerous weaponry as key factors.
Peru resident Chris Kelly is a retired iron worker and a veteran of the U.S. Marines who has lived in the region his entire life. He’s now the vice commander of Utica’s American Legion Post 731, and said he supports the recent legislation to ban certain semi-automatic weapons in Illinois.
Kelly said he served in the Marines from 1987 until 1991 when he was honorably discharged. He was part of a helicopter squad based out of Hawaii and served in two tours in Asia, one for six months and another for 10 months.
“I’m all for our Second Amendment. I believe every law-abiding citizen has a right to have weaponry for home protection,” Kelly said. “But with the Second Amendment, how far do we go with that? The high-velocity assault weapon, like the AR 15, which is the rifle of choice for many mass shootings, should just anybody get that? Can I get rocket grenade launchers?”
Kelly has a Firearm Owners Identification card and said he owns a few guns kept in a safe for home security.
“I just want people to calm down, look at it, look at what’s been going on and think maybe we can make it better in our whole country,” Kelly said. “Look at the mass shootings, the children being slaughtered and the teachers and what they’ve gone through. We’re a country that can get away from this, I know we can.”
Related: Appellate court upholds restraining order on assault weapons ban (Capitol News Illinois)
Illinois appellate court allows temporary hold on state gun ban to stay in place for plaintiffs in lawsuit (Chicago Tribune)
DeVore intervenes in Rep. Caulkins’ assault weapons ban lawsuit over campaign donations (Illinois Public Media)
Editorial: Legal assaults on Illinois’ sensible new gun law are a travesty (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: Clarity and common sense casualties of DuPage debate over new gun ban (Daily Herald)
Opinion: Hard work on many fronts can prevent shootings and save lives (Chicago Tribune)
Elgin-area superintendent Tony Sanders to become state superintendent of education (Daily Herald)
Elgin Area School District U-46 Superintendent Tony Sanders [has been] named the next state superintendent of education.
Sanders will assume his new duties in late February.
Sanders said Tuesday he was honored to be selected for the job after a national search to replace outgoing State Superintendent Carmen Ayala.
"I've always told our board of education that there's only one job that I would ever consider leaving U-46 for, and that would be to be the state superintendent," Sanders said. "To know that I was able to get it after a nationwide search is pretty incredible."
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Sanders' breadth of experience as superintendent of the state's second-largest school district and his background in education have prepared him to take on this new role.
"His focus on innovation, social-emotional development, and academic excellence make him an excellent pick," Pritzker said in a news release. "I can think of no better person to lead the Illinois State Board of Education as we continue to invest in, support, and elevate our students and educators."
Related: Sanders to become Illinois superintendent of education (Chicago Sun-Times)
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Amid ‘unprecedented’ prolonged revenue boom, state finds budget breathing room (Capitol News Illinois)
Southland legislator says bill would help prevent homeowners losing properties due to back taxes (Daily Southtown)
Illinois Attorney General sues 3M, other makers of ‘forever chemicals’ (Chicago Sun-Times)
State announces $73 million shoreline erosion project to Illinois Beach State Park (Daily Herald)
How Willie Wilson built the fortune that fuels his populist giveaways (Crain’s Chicago Business)
More improvements planned for Old State Capitol (Illinois Public Media)
Dirksen Parkway Secretary of State office to close for renovations Thursday (State Journal-Register)
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