THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Left keeps ramping up pressure on Pritzker...Police drones...Proposal to add new fees to concert festival tickets
June 22, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
NASCAR is racing in the streets of downtown Chicago in something like 10 days, the track isn’t completed yet, everyone hates it, and tickets are astronomical.
Have we forgotten there’s a perfectly good actual race track in Joliet?
The General Assembly is still out. Governor Pritzker does not have anything on his public schedule.
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Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Criticism continues against Gov. Pritzker’s move closing health care enrollment for immigrants (Chicago Tribune)
Backlash continued to rain down on Gov. J.B. Pritzker Wednesday following his decision last week to close enrollment for a state-funded health insurance program for immigrants under 65 as other Illinois officials highlighted that a bill is sitting on the governor’s desk that would allow the state to issue regular driver’s licenses for noncitizens.
Though not connected, the two issues took center stage as Pritzker continues to push back against criticism from Latino lawmakers and immigrant advocates that his administration’s decision on the health insurance program was “immoral and fiscally shortsighted.” Pritzker has defended the move because program costs are skyrocketing.
But protesters gathered at the Federal Plaza downtown for a “die-in,” in which they hammered Pritzker and carried signs in both English and Spanish declaring health care as a human right.
“I’m enraged that instead of getting to celebrate the lives that have lived and thrived under this program, we have to give our office of the governor the visual that they will react to, which is the lives that will die,” said Graciela Guzman, a former campaign director for Healthy Illinois, a coalition of pro-immigrant and health care advocates. “I’m here to remind you together in unity we can continue to make this push and we need to.”
The budget deal placed responsibility for the program squarely in Pritzker’s lap, and the move is proving to be a growing political liability for the governor early in his second term. While Pritzker is trying to balance the political and fiscal realities, a bill that immigrant advocates want that would allow the state to issue regular driver’s licenses for noncitizens awaits the governor’s signature.
“The state of Illinois is continuing its investment in health care with more than $500 million going towards a program that will provide health care for more than 63,000 people,” [Pritzker] spokesman Alex Gough said in a statement. “These are major successes for the immigrant community and the Governor is proud of his record.”
Related: Pritzker quickly wields expanded authority to freeze noncitizen health care enrollment (Capitol News Illinois)
Editorial: Illinois and immigrants lacking permanent legal status make for a health care conundrum (Chicago Tribune)
Illinois expands use of police surveillance drones (Capitol News Illinois)
Next time you attend a parade, there might be an eye in the sky.
A new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday expands local police departments’ authority to use drones to surveil certain events, respond to certain 911 calls, inspect buildings and participate in public relations events.
House Bill 3902 passed 56-1 in the Senate and 84-7 in the House with three members voting “present,” The law drew some concerns from civil liberties groups which ultimately led to added privacy protections and disclosure requirements.
The push to expand when police drone authority originated after a 2019 mass shooting at the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, according to the bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora. She and others received renewed calls after a 2022 shooting at a July 4th parade in Highland Park last year.
“I hope people are safe and that this can prevent anything else from happening,” Hernandez said.
Kenny Winslow, executive director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, supported the measure and is already planning to offer training on the new law to police departments. He said drone technology could save lives and expects more departments to use them moving forward.
But he added that the protections contained in the bill – including requirements that police post notices if they are surveilling an event and keep a record of flight paths – were an important part of the final product.
“We’re trying to be as transparent with the public as we can,” Winslow said.
The ACLU of Illinois – a civil rights organization that has long been a voice of opposition to unrestricted drone use by police departments – took a neutral stance on the bill. ACLU staff were key architects of a 2013 state law referred to as the Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act that placed significant restrictions on police drone use.
“Our concern is that this kind of technology can be used in fairly invasive ways that intrude on our constitutional and privacy rights,” ACLU attorney Liza Roberson-Young told Capitol News Illinois.
Related: Opinion: Lawmakers sought happy medium with police drone use bill (Shaw Media)
State rep proposes 2% community tax on tickets for Chicago park fests (Crain’s Chicago Business)
With festival season underway, one lawmaker is suggesting a 2% tax on ticket sales for events held at Chicago parks.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, says adding a 2% community benefits tax to ticket sales would ensure funds go directly to the community in which such an event is hosted. "The community that actually hosts the concert, they could designate what nonprofit they have confidence in and that's where the money will go," Ford told Crain's.
While funds from festivals currently benefit the Chicago Park District as a whole, park district officials have said the money doesn't necessarily go to the community in which an event takes place, Block Club Chicago reported.
"The city still needs a lot of money for structural maintenance of the parks, upkeep and to pay staff. This would be a separate text that would be designated just for community benefits," Ford said.
He claims the tax could be implemented right away with an ordinance in the City Council or a "referendum ballot question," according to Block Club.
Ford believes concertgoers would be happy to pay an additional fee that goes directly to the community and said he has gotten support from community members. Ald. Ruth Cruz, 30th, whose ward includes Riis Park, said she would collaborate with Ford on his proposal.
Related: New stadium call gets tougher for Chicago Bears, and Soldier Field is back in the mix (Chicago Sun-Times)
SOME TOP LINKS FROM THE WEEK SO FAR
Harmon, Welch Spending Hundreds of Thousands on Politically-Connected Lawyers
Progressives Outraged Over Pause to Immigrant Health Insurance Program
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
New Illinois law fixes disability benefits disparity between municipal, university police (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Stalled bills include repeal of subminimum wage for disabled workers, BIPA reform (Capitol News Illinois)
Naperville high school student confronted loss by working for state legislation on fentanyl education (Chicago Tribune)
State regulators clamp down on Nicor Gas (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Contract negotiations between AFSCME, governor's office ongoing (State Journal-Register)
Illinois lawmaker recap: Bill Hauter on health care, abortion legislation (Decatur Herald & Review)
Ex-state rep Zalewski gets lobbying gig with Taft (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Ex-State Rep. Denyse Stoneback sues successor, GPAC Illinois saying they defamed her (Chicago Tribune)
'We in Illinois stay strong in our support' Springfield leader honored in pride month ceremony (State Journal-Register)
Editorial: Too many shootings, too little support for gun safety (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Pritzker should veto nuclear construction bill (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Opinion: State management failures exact a high human cost (Champaign News-Gazette)
Opinion: Gender-inclusive bathrooms are a win for Illinois (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Quigley: The debt ceiling deal was not perfect, but it was far better than a default (Chicago Tribune)
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