THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Gun lawsuits...Giannoulias settles in...Who controls wind and solar sites?
January 26, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
Of all the issues facing Washington, what are Senators focused on? Taylor Swift tickets.
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YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
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SOME OF OUR TOP LINKS FROM THE WEEK SO FAR
More than 1,000 plaintiffs, including Darren Bailey, Tom DeVore, and 70 firearms dealers, file suit challenging state gun ban (Chicago Tribune)
Downstate attorney Thomas DeVore, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for attorney general last year, has filed a second lawsuit challenging Illinois’ recently enacted ban on high-powered guns and high-capacity magazines.
The latest lawsuit was filed in downstate White County and lists more than 1,000 plaintiffs, including former state senator and GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey and some 70 firearms dealers, who allege the new law violates the state constitution.
DeVore’s first lawsuit challenging the gun ban was filed in Effingham County, where a judge last week temporarily blocked the enforcement of the ban on more than 850 people and a handful of firearms dealers named in that action.
DeVore represented Bailey, who unsuccessfully challenged Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s bid for reelection in November, in a 2020 lawsuit challenging Pritzker’s COVID-19 mitigations.
Also among the 1,000-plus plaintiffs in the White County suit are two GOP state representatives, Adam Niemerg of Dieterich and Blaine Wilhour of Beecher City, both of whom aligned with Bailey during his time in the General Assembly as part of a group of far-right lawmakers from southeastern Illinois known as the “Eastern Bloc.”
Reminder number 4,285: this issue won’t be settled in state court. Pay attention to the federal suits like…
Related: …Bringing in the big guns? NRA, lawyers who helped win U.S. Supreme Court case train sights on Illinois’ assault weapons ban (Chicago Sun-Times)
Gun rights advocates are suing over Illinois’ weapons ban. Here’s what to know. (WBEZ)
Lawsuits pour in over Illinois' semiautomatic weapons ban. What's next? (Bloomington Pantagraph)
State preparing further defense of assault weapons ban (Capitol News Illinois)
Lawmakers call on DuPage sheriff to enforce assault weapons ban (Chicago Tribune)
As several support DuPage sheriff, county chair says she'll seek censure over weapons ban remarks (Daily Herald)
Republican Party of McHenry County pushes for gun sanctuary (Shaw Media)
Replacing Illinois institution as secretary of state, Giannoulias makes modernization push (Capitol News Illinois)
For newly sworn-in Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, customer service is the central mission as he assumes the state’s second-largest constitutional office, replacing the man who had held it for nearly a quarter century.
“Modernization and bringing new technology is going to be at the forefront of everything we do,” Giannoulias said in an interview with Capitol News Illinois at the end of his second week in office. “This office is rooted in customer service, and my goal is to provide the best customer service possible.”
With over 4,000 employees divided among 20 departments, the secretary of state’s office deals more with the public directly than any other constitutional office. Most well-known for overseeing driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations, the office is also responsible for supporting the state’s libraries, keeping an organ and tissue donation registry and maintaining the 20-building Capitol Complex among other tasks.
Last week, Giannoulias released his team’s transition report, a guiding document compiled by 124 individuals who served on nine separate subcommittees.
The report outlined priority areas for the office, including improving driver services facilities, ethics and office policies, and technology enhancements. The report was also informed by ideas and suggestions submitted by more than 800 Illinoisans through RevUpIllinois, a website run through the secretary of state’s office that allows residents to submit a survey on the office’s performance.
“We had some great suggestions, some were ideas we hadn’t thought of. Some were complaints that gave us a good idea of what we need to focus on, so they were critical,” Giannoulias said. “And I would encourage people to continue to send us their ideas.”
Late last year, Giannoulias asked state Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, to serve on his transition team. Although it may be seen as fairly unusual for a defeated opponent to participate in this process, Brady said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the offer.
“I appreciate the opportunity to continue service in that way, using my expertise and experience and suggesting some of the things I talked about along the campaign trail,” Brady said. “It was an opportunity of sharing knowledges and experiences that hopefully will be helpful.”
For both Giannoulias and Brady, this move says a lot about the office’s capability for bipartisanship. In many ways it’s also a testament to the legacy of outgoing secretary Jesse White, who had held the office since 1999 until his retirement at the age of 88 this year.
White praised both candidates in the general election, noting he had worked with both of them on policy proposals. The retired secretary also had crossover appeal with voters as the perennial lead vote-getter on the statewide ticket throughout his career.
“I think, in general, people are sick and tired of people who just hate the other party and won’t work with them and I pride myself on always working with anyone who has good ideas, whether they’re Democrat or Republican,” Giannoulias said.
Changes appear to be coming for how wind and solar arrays are sited in Illinois (WCBU)
A bill awaiting Governor JB Pritzker's signature will set statewide standards for wind and solar farm siting.
Until now, counties have enjoyed wide latitude in setting the rules for where wind and solar energy arrays can locate. The new law would preempt local ordinances more restrictive than the new state standards.
Jen Walling is executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. She said some county requirements were so restrictive that they were essentially bans on clean energy developments.
"A number of these counties weren't representing their constituents and were taking away individual property rights," she said.
Wind arrays in particular have created controversy, usually from landowners of properties neighboring those participating in the projects. The state law would create a setback requirement of 1.1 times the maximum blade tip height of the wind tower to the nearest point on the property line of nonparticipating properties, or 2.1 times for nonparticipating residences.
The law also requires occupied community buildings or nonparticipating residences not experience more than 30 hours of shadow flicker per year. Those are the moving shadows created by moving wind turbine blades at certain times of the day.
The Illinois Farm Bureau was opposed to House Bill 4412. Director of state legislation Kevin Semlow said the group finds the legislation lacking in some areas.
"Some of the setback distances within the legislation need to be adjusted to better reflect a much safer and adequate way that those facilities should be sited," Semlow said.
The Farm Bureau also wants the Illinois Department of Agriculture and local counties to have more authority in the legislation to enforce agricultural impact mitigation agreements, and more language addressing drainage issues from the developments.
Walling said the legislation doesn't take counties out of the process. She said the law still require public hearings, building and road use permits, and other ways for the public and local government officials to participate in wind and solar array siting.
"There are standards that are set in the bill that are used in a number of different counties that have successfully had wind projects that are supported by the county and supported by the neighbors. So, we put in some some of those things that have worked in a number of counties throughout the state," she said, noting the standards do take various environmental and ecological factors into account.
State senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) was a co-sponsor of the legislation. He said it's a good compromise measure.
"I think that this is a good attempt to kind of strike a balance between a state standard and local control," he said.
Walling said environmental groups worked closely with Gov. Pritzker's office on the bill, and she expects it to be signed into law.
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Bill seeks more protection, equity for temp workers (Chicago Sun-Times)
Does Gov. J.B. Pritzker Suck? (Chicago Magazine)
Pritzker fights high school AP course changes to appease DeSantis and ‘Florida’s racist and homophobic laws’ (Chicago Sun-Times)
The standardized test for students in Illinois gets low marks. Will the state meet a 2025 deadline to fix it? (WBEZ)
Cheri Bustos to join public strategy firm (Quad-City Times)
Opinion: Not one, but two, plans for taxing the rich up for discussion (Champaign News-Gazette)
Opinion: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic can make Illinois healthier than ever (Chicago Sun-Times)
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