THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...State to announce help for Chicago migrants...ComEd Four lay foundation for leniency in sentencing...Assault weapons ban gets to U.S. Supreme Court
November 16, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
I think it’s going to be a bit of a day. After Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson let the cat out of the bag yesterday that the state is going to put some more resources to the migrant crisis.
The Governor is holding a 10am news conference and are apparently briefing their favorite reporters on the plan an hour earlier.
We’ll see how this goes, but I think there’s are three things to keep in mind ahead of this announcement:
There’s no extra money in the state budget. There was, essentially, a $45 million cushion in the FY24 budget, but that counted on the Governor attempting to save some $600 million in the health insurance for undocumented immigrants plan. We’ve discussed it already, but the Governor’s plan to implement copays has already been reversed, so it’s hard to know where there are any savings coming from.
If they’re going to move money from existing line items, you’re taking them away from existing programs that help Illinoisans. And, especially in the case of a lot of non-profits that count on state funding, they’re still just barely stepping onto dry ground after the Rauner disaster.
Dipping into the rainy day fund is not going to be popular and, I believe, requires legislative action. The General Assembly isn’t scheduled back until January.
The Chicago media is going to be laser focused on what’s being done in the city, but the money has to come from somewhere.
We’ll have much more for paid subscribers tomorrow morning. Our Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday newsletters are only available to paid subscribers. I hope you’ll consider joining us. It’s the best way of showing our support for the independent news and opinion content we’re doing here.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Mayor Brandon Johnson announces effort to get migrants out of shelters within 60 days (Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday announced an effort to get migrants out of city-run shelters within 60 days, while offering scant information about what will happen to them if they hit that deadline.
At a news conference marking passage of his first budget, Johnson announced the city is “implementing a tiered 60-day shelter stay limit, combined with robust case management and workforce access to move new arrivals through our system to self-sufficiency and economic stability.”
The mayor repeatedly demurred on questions surrounding how the 60-day limit would play out, saying more details would be available Friday. State and federal partners will be providing a “more expedited process” for migrants to be resettled and put on the pathway to work, he said, and the state will make an announcement about a new partnership Thursday, he said, which state officials confirmed.
The changes signal the city’s sharpest curtailment of migrant support since Johnson took office in May with a vow that his administration can provide enough for all Chicagoans, new and old.
Johnson’s deputy chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, also offered limited details after the announcement, emphasizing there would be a “comprehensive approach” to the 60-day limit that will be associated with “people’s eligibility for work authorization, temporary protected status, other state benefits.”
She pointed to similar limits in New York and Denver.
“No one will be kicked out if they’re able to demonstrate that they have made progress with seeking permanent housing,” Pacione-Zayas said, adding that there would be “comprehensive case management, all kinds of support” offered.
Related: Mayor Brandon Johnson deflects questions over proposal tying homeless tent removal to City Council votes (Chicago Tribune)
Brandon Johnson’s first budget sails through City Council (Chicago Sun-Times)
‘Life’ at stake? Ominous prediction made as sentencing hearings loom in ComEd bribery case (Chicago Sun-Times)
The high-stakes nature of one of this year’s biggest public corruption trials became clear Wednesday when a defense attorney predicted an ominous argument from prosecutors: That federal guidelines call for life sentences for four people convicted of conspiring to bribe then-Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan.
Prosecutors are not expected to begin disclosing their recommendations for the January sentencing hearings until next month. And even if the feds make the guideline argument predicted by defense attorney Patrick Cotter, it doesn’t mean they will actually recommend life sentences.
But it’s a sign of just how serious all sides are taking the sentencing of longtime Madigan confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty.
The four are in their 60s and 70s, meaning even lengthy sentences could effectively amount to life.
The prediction also bodes poorly for Madigan himself. The once-powerful Southwest Side Democrat faces his own trial along with McClain in April.
Cotter, who represents McClain, made his prediction Wednesday about the feds’ upcoming argument as he and his fellow defense attorneys sought to push their clients’ sentencing hearings to February. Cotter made the point in an effort to explain to Leinenweber what was at stake.
Caulkins seeks Supreme Court review of Illinois semiautomatic weapons ban ruling (Decatur Herald & Review)
A downstate lawmaker whose challenge of Illinois' semiautomatic weapons ban lost at the state Supreme Court earlier this year has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review that decision.
State Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, filed the request with the nation's highest court last week, arguing that the Illinois Supreme Court's 4-3 ruling upholding the ban, issued in August, denied plaintiffs their due process right to a fair hearing due to the participation of two justices with perceived conflicts.
Justices Mary Kay O'Brien and Elizabeth Rochford, both Democrats elected to the state's high court in 2022, received $500,000 from Gov. J.B. Pritzker's campaign and $500,000 from Pritzker's personal trust during the campaign.
"Given the size of the campaign contributions and who gave the contributions, there not only is a question of fairness and impartiality, there also is a question of the independence of the Justices which calls into question the validity of the state court decision," Caulkins said.
Lawmakers passed and Pritzker signed the legislation banning semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines in January. It took effect immediately, making Illinois the ninth state in the country with a ban on the books.
It was quickly challenged in state and federal court.
O'Brien and Rochford both declined to recuse themselves from the case.
Rochford ended up writing the majority opinion, which dismissed Caulkins' claims that the ban constituted special legislation and denied equal protection to members of the public who weren't classified as exempt from it.
O'Brien, however, dissented, ultimately siding with Caulkins in his claim that the legislation in question violates the special legislation provision in the state constitution.
SO FAR THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
A new report gives the tax climate in Illinois its worst grade in a decade (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Illinoisans struggle to find available DMV appointments through new 'Skip the Line' program (WLS-TV)
State high court to hear case against staffing agencies accused of suppressing wages (Capitol News Illinois)
Families lament, public school advocates celebrate end of controversial scholarship tax credit (Chicago Tribune)
Lawmakers pass bill aimed at modernizing professional licensing in Illinois (Capitol News Illinois)
A new policy would ban Chicago police from participating in hate, extremist groups (WBEZ)
Bill to boost pensions for retired Chicago cops will cost city $60M (Chicago Sun-Times)
Brandon Johnson sitdown with WGN-TV (WGN)
Ethics board finds probable cause Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin wrongfully fired 2 whistleblowers (Chicago Tribune)
One year before Chicago’s first school board election, key details remain unresolved (WBEZ)
Study: $5B from Stellantis could equal $3B for Belvidere area residents (Rockford Register Star)
Illinois U.S. House delegation split on temporary spending plan; shutdown averted (State Journal-Register)
Marketplace health insurance plans will cost more next year in many parts of Illinois (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Is your Nicor bill going up by $9 a month? The ICC decides Thursday (Daily Herald)
State Supreme Court weighs constitutionality of lifetime restrictions on child sex offenders (Capitol News Illinois)
Democratic Rep. Matt Hanson charged with driving under the influence (Chicago Tribune)
Frerichs: Those who want to ban sustainability-focused investing are on the losing end (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Small reactor bill sets terms for negotiating state’s nuclear future (Shaw Media)
Opinion: For some defendants, bond issues are all about timing (Champaign News-Gazette)
Vallas: Chicago could create its own Invest in Kids scholarship program (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: With farm bill, lawmakers must find a bipartisan way forward (Champaign News-Gazette)
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