THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...our 2nd anniversary!
September 1, 2022
Rabbit, rabbit.
Good morning, Illinois.
Two years ago today we sent our first newsletter to a list of political people, friends, and contacts I had made over the years. I’m proud at how much this little venture has grown over the past two years.
I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m going to keep challenging everyone, regardless of party, I’m going to keep pushing for common sense, and I’m going to be a guy who tries to push back on politicians for you, the public.
As a thank you, I’d like to offer you one month free if you purchase a year subscription. We’re nothing without our subscribers and we’re going nowhere without your support. I hope you’ll join us now.
If you missed our Livestream and podcast yesterday, we had a really great chat with Sen. Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) and longtime Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn, who now writes a newsletter here on Substack called the Picayune Sentinel.
You can watch the Livestream feed here or you can listen to the podcast here. You can also find the podcast on your favorite podcasting app.
I also spoke with Craig Wall of ABC 7 yesterday about our poll and Darren Bailey’s fundraising troubles. You can watch that story here.
Let us know how we’ve done the past two years, what we could do better, and what you’d like to see in year three at patrick@theillinoize.com.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets)
The election is two months away. Is the ‘Red Wave’ cresting in Illinois? (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Despite being dealt a bad hand in redistricting, Illinois Republicans up until several months ago were giddy about their chances in November, hoping to ride a red wave to victory in suburban legislative districts and swingy congressional districts.
On paper, they had reason for optimism — inflation has been exorbitant and President Joe Biden’s approval ratings low. Not to mention the typical penalty the party in power pays in a midterm election.
But, two months out, there’s a growing body of evidence that this “red wave” may not reach shore, at least to the extent once promised by state and national Republicans.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, echoing many Democrats nationally, said at a press conference with Planned Parenthood officials Tuesday that abortion rights are on the ballot in November.
“The right wing may have taken away abortion rights from half of all Americans," Pritzker said. "But they've unleashed a tsunami of determined women voters and their allies who will lift up pro-choice candidates and take down the ultra conservative fundamentalists this November.”
If the red wave doesn't come in Illinois, what would that look like?
Our poll would tell you there is no such thing as a red wave in Illinois right now. Things can always change, but the atmosphere is dire for the GOP right now.
Related: GOP candidate Thomas DeVore’s campaign loan lifts contribution limits in Illinois attorney general race (Chicago Tribune)
Pulse of the Heartland: Centralia voters say Chicago treats southern Illinois like ‘an afterthought — it’s two different worlds’ (Chicago Sun-Times)
Illinois Republicans look to gain control of the state Supreme Court this election (WBEZ)
Here's what to know about mail-in ballots, early voting and candidates ahead of elections (State Journal-Register)
Despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s focus on abortion rights, prospects dimming for special legislative session before November election (Chicago Tribune)
The prospect of state lawmakers returning to Springfield before the November election for a special session to expand protections for reproductive health care in Illinois appear to be dimming, even as abortion providers and advocates push Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to come to their aid.
Pritzker, who has made his support for abortion a central theme of his reelection campaign, announced plans to call lawmakers into special session “in the coming weeks” almost immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court released its June 24 decision striking down the federal protections afforded by Roe v. Wade.
Now, despite positioning himself as a national leader on abortion rights, Pritzker is deferring to the legislature on when the time is right to address issues such as allowing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to perform abortions and expanding legal protections for patients and health care workers.
“The legislature has to do its work, and it is hard at work,” Pritzker said Tuesday during a campaign event at the Loop headquarters of Planned Parenthood of Illinois.
“There are some things that … could be done with a supermajority, some things that take a simple majority,” Pritzker said. “So again, the legislature is working through all those things.”
That’s code for “we don’t have the votes.”
Related: Pritzker makes abortion rights central issue (Capitol News Illinois)
Pritzker's personal fortune intersects with state contracts (Better Government Association/Crain’s Chicago Business)
Illinois expecting 580,000 initial doses of updated COVID vaccine next week (Chicago Tribune)
Illinois expects to get about 580,000 initial doses next week of updated COVID-19 boosters that target omicron subvariants, the state health department said Wednesday.
On top of that, Chicago anticipates its own separate allocation of about 150,000 initial doses, according to the city health department.
The boosters are meant to protect against both the original strain of COVID-19 as well as the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants. Those subvariants now make up the majority of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and are expected to continue circulating this fall and winter, according to the FDA.
The updated boosters are made by Pfizer and Moderna and are to be given at least two months after a person’s most recent COVID-19 vaccine shot. The updated Pfizer booster is for people ages 12 and older, and the updated Moderna booster is for people ages 18 and older.
As with previous COVID-19 vaccines, the shots are expected to be available at pharmacies, hospitals, health care providers and other locations.
I know a lot of folks *raises hand* have been waiting for an updated formula before getting a booster.
Related: COVID cases spike at U of I. Masks are now ‘strongly recommended’ but not mandated in most settings on campus. (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: The state of COVID-19 in Champaign-Urbana (Champaign News-Gazette)
POLL ADJUSTMENTS
We told you yesterday we did a few shifts to the geographic weights on our poll. You can view the whole thing here. Headlines below:
JOIN US