THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Link avoids prison...Senate passes Chicago School Board bill...Piles of political potpourri
March 7, 2024
Good morning, Illinois.
We’re back out in the field this morning to preview a legislative primary. We’ll have that for paid subscribers tomorrow morning. Speaking of which, we’ll have a subscriber-only email in a couple of hours with some rumors, rumblings, and ruminations we’re hearing here in primary silly season.
Oh yeah, and paid subscribers had the Bost/Bailey poll yesterday hours before anyone else.
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The House and Senate are scheduled to gavel in at noon. The Senate is also scheduled back tomorrow. We’ll see if that holds.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets, because good journalism isn’t free)
With feds citing ‘extensive cooperation,’ judge gives ex-Sen. Terry Link 3 years’ probation (Capitol News Illinois)
On an August day in 2019, then-Democratic state Sen. Terry Link stood outside of a suburban Wendy’s and solicited a bribe from his colleague in the Illinois House.
“What’s in it for me, though?” Link asked then-state Rep. Luis Arroyo, who’d asked to meet up to discuss a type of video gaming machine that Arroyo had been lobbying to legalize.
But Link – the two-decade veteran of the General Assembly and former poker buddy of then-state Sen. Barack Obama – was wearing a wire. He’d been acting as a cooperating witness after the feds accused him of illegally spending campaign money on personal expenses and filing false tax returns to cover it up. He wasn’t officially charged until August 2020 and pleaded guilty to the single count the following month.
Because of that cooperation, a federal judge on Wednesday handed Link a lenient sentence of three years’ probation, matching what prosecutors recommended last week. The feds had advised probation due to Link’s “extensive cooperation,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum, and asked that he pay nearly $83,000 in restitution, which U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland ordered.
During the brief sentencing hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, the 76-year-old Link made a public apology. Speaking slowly and with a tremor borne of a neurological condition that has worsened since he left office in 2020, Link said he’d made a mistake and “did not intend to cheat the government.”
“I accept responsibility for what happened,” Link said tearfully. “Do I feel bad about it? I feel horrible about it.”
Related: Judge spares cooperating ex-Sen. Terry Link from prison but has questions about Springfield corruption (Chicago Sun-Times)
Ex-state Sen. Terry Link gets probation for campaign-cash tax conviction (Chicago Tribune)
Judges, ex-lawmakers, lobbyists wrote to support convicted ex-Madigan aide (Capitol News Illinois)
Illinois Senate passes plan for ‘hybrid’ elected Chicago school board backed by CTU (Chicago Tribune)
The Democratic-controlled Illinois Senate on Tuesday passed a plan that would create a hybrid elected school board in Chicago this fall, with half of the members voted in by residents and the rest appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Legislators failed last fall to resolve the contentious issue of shaping Chicago’s first elected school board, and some Senate Democrats made it known that they still had problems with the latest proposal, which is backed by Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union. It ultimately passed in a 37-20 vote.
The bill now goes back to the House, which approved a similar plan last fall.
Lawmakers are up against a self-imposed April 1 deadline to implement the process, which includes putting a school board map in place, ahead of the November general election.
Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park agreed to the plan after pushing last fall for the election of all 20 board members in the first round of voting. During a Senate Executive Committee hearing Tuesday, he said that he went along with the House plan because it had the endorsement of Johnson, a former CTU organizer and a Harmon ally.
“Our solution in the fall was to propose an immediate election of all 20 members of the school board,” Harmon said. “I still think that’s the better opportunity, the better option. The House disagrees. The mayor and the city of Chicago disagree and we’re running up against a deadline.”
Related: Illinois Senate approves plan for how Chicago would elect 10 of 21 school board members in 2024 (Chalkbeat)
Senate backs Mayor Johnson, CTU-backed plan to elect 10 city school board members in November (Chicago Sun-Times)
TOP STORIES THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Bears' stadium plans involve significant public amenities — and public subsidies, too (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Former Gov. Pat Quinn backs GOP-sponsored ethics amendment (Capitol News Illinois)
Mayors slam Pritzker’s proposal to eliminate grocery tax (Daily Herald)
Democratic state lawmakers propose ways to protect — or expand — IVF (WBEZ)
Illinois advocates of career and technical education want more funding as demand for programs increase (Chalkbeat)
[Some] Illinois lawmakers seek to protect state wetlands (WBEZ)
State commission says Illinois underfunds public universities by $1.4 billion (Capitol News Illinois)
Ambitious plan unveiled to boost college spending in Illinois — and more fairly distribute money (WBEZ)
Migrants report shelter staff limits hygiene products and say they fear retaliation for speaking out (Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Brandon Johnson says no plans yet to again extend migrant removal deadline (Chicago Tribune)
Real or fake? Illinois students learning the dangers of social media ahead of election (State Journal-Register)
Supreme Court ruling keeps Trump on Illinois ballot (Chicago Sun-Times)
Illinois appellate court says ‘Bring Chicago Home’ referendum votes will count (WBEZ)
The 'Vader' of Illinois election law could take down 'Bring Chicago Home' (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Democratic primary candidates Garcia and Lopez differ on potential cease-fire in Gaza (Daily Herald)
Mayor Brandon Johnson endorses US Rep. Danny Davis in crowded primary (Chicago Tribune)
Nearly 9 in 10 state-level primaries give voters no choice in candidates (Capitol News Illinois)
Republicans in 19th Senate primary say property taxes, immigration as top issues (Chicago Tribune)
Two Democrats, 1 Republican compete to replace state Rep. Kelly Burke (Chicago Tribune)
House OKs extra $75 million for security at DNC (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Editorial: Illinois is stalled, and a miserable tax environment is a major cause. (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Lawmakers, get ready for the double-team from White Sox, Bears for stadium money (Chicago Sun-Times)
Durbin: This decision-making moment will determine O’Hare’s future (Chicago Tribune)
Spain: Illinoisans deserve some truth telling after Pritzker’s State of the State (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Mayor Johnson's transparency problem should anger us all (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Vallas: First report on Invest in Kids scholarship program has major flaws (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Illinois [lawmakers are] fighting for safer food. Don’t let food manufacturers derail the effort. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: We must stop predatory ‘rent-a-bank’ lending in Illinois (Chicago Tribune)
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