THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Trump Illinois ballot suit proceeds...McCann trial doesn't...Tax credit efforts
February 8, 2024
Good morning, Illinois.
We’re recording our podcast today. We’re scheduled to be joined by Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) and longtime Springfield reporter Dean Olsen, now with the Illinois Times, who is covering the messy Sam McCann federal corruption trial. Subscribe on YouTube or on your favorite podcast app like on Apple, Spotify, or Amazon.
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Judge allows challenge to Donald Trump’s place on Illinois primary ballot to continue (Chicago Tribune)
A Cook County judge on Wednesday rejected a request to put a hold on a legal challenge to former President Donald Trump’s place on the Illinois’ March 19 Republican primary ballot.
Attorneys for the former president had filed a motion to halt legal proceedings in Illinois until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on an appeal of a Colorado Supreme Court decision that found Trump disqualified from running for the presidency in that state under the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The nation’s highest court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the Colorado case on Thursday.
Judge Tracie Porter also rejected a request made by those objecting to Trump’s place on the Illinois ballot for an expedited court schedule, and set a Feb. 16 hearing for an appeal of the Illinois State Board of Elections’ Jan. 30 decision that kept Trump’s name on the ballot.
Trump attorney Adam Merrill had sought a stay of Illinois court proceedings, citing the U.S. Supreme Court consideration of the Colorado case. The Colorado court, in a 4-3 ruling, ruled Trump committed “insurrection” and was disqualified from holding the presidency under Section 3 of the post-Civil War era constitutional amendment.
“Every single issue has been briefed and is going to be argued” before the U.S. Supreme Court,” Merrill told Judge Porter.
“It simply makes no sense for this court to be the only court in the country to continue proceedings here,” he said. “The stay is really the only decision that makes sense.”
Related: Illinois challenge to Trump’s candidacy won’t be delayed, Cook County judge rules (Chicago Sun-Times)
Trump’s Illinois ballot challenge to move forward (Capitol News Illinois)
Indicted former lawmaker’s corruption trial up in the air after hospitalization forces delay (Capitol News Illinois)
Sporting a 5 o’clock shadow and a slight grimace, former Republican State Sen. Sam McCann held his phone very close to his face as he videoconferenced into a federal courtroom from his hospital bed in St. Louis late Tuesday afternoon.
McCann’s sudden hospitalization has muddied the timeline as to when his already-delayed trial for misuse of campaign funds will begin.
McCann told U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless that he was “hooked up to nitroglycerin and saline right now” and wasn’t sure when he’d be discharged from Missouri Baptist Hospital and be able to make it to her courtroom. McCann had been set to represent himself in his federal corruption trial starting Monday morning.
“I have no idea,” McCann said, his head supported by a black posture pillow. “I do not know. No one has told me.”
He again affirmed what he told Lawless on Tuesday morning via speakerphone through his standby attorney’s presence on Zoom: that he’d be willing to begin trial Wednesday morning so long as he was released from the hospital at a “reasonable” time.
Lawless interpreted “reasonable” as 8 p.m. Tuesday evening, but said if he were released after that time, the trial could still begin on Wednesday, albeit later than its scheduled 9 a.m. start. It was unclear as of the 4 p.m. hearing whether he would be released Tuesday night.
McCann’s trial had most recently been scheduled for late November but was put off for 10 weeks after he surprised his own court-appointed attorneys by firing them the morning proceedings were about to begin.
“This is clearly a manufactured crisis by the defendant,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Bass told Lawless via videoconference during a brief hearing earlier on Tuesday.
Bass also read excerpts from McCann’s sealed medical records, noting doctors recorded him in “no pain or distress” and “well-nourished” upon checking into Missouri Baptist Hospital. He added that McCann “denies any depression or anxiety” and that only one test McCann underwent in the hospital came back with a “slight abnormality,” though he was careful not to reveal any personal medical information.
McCann defended himself after Bass said the government was “suspicious” that McCann had engaged in a “creation of these conditions.”
“This is not a manufactured (crisis),” McCann said. “If this was, I would not have signed the release yesterday.”
If it weren’t so sad, it would be funny.
Related: McCann trial delayed until Monday as hospitalization continues (State Journal-Register)
Hospitalization delays start of ex-Illinois state senator’s federal fraud trail (Associated Press)
McCann trial postponed until Feb. 12 (Illinois Times)
Illinois lawmakers call for statewide child tax credit to help thousands of families (State Journal-Register)
Following federal action in enhancing the child tax credit, state lawmakers and advocates are renewing their calls to install a similar benefit for Illinois families.
State Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr., D-Chicago, filed the most recent proposal Wednesday. House Bill 4917 sets a lower threshold at $300 per child starting in 2025 and then have an inflation-adjusted amount in subsequent years.
Illinois would become the 14th state to pass a statewide child tax credit, which its supporters say will assist thousands of low-income families particularly those of color. The price tag, however, is estimated to run the state $300 million.
"It's not just about the dollars, but it's in the stimulus in our local economy that is going to be the real catalyst for this," Evans said during a press conference.
Creating a statewide child tax credit has been an effort years in the making. This session, several legislative proposals have been filed in the Illinois General Assembly, one of which offers a tax credit of up to $700 per qualified dependent — another Evans-led initiative.
Barbara Flynn-Currie used to take all of the tax credit bills and put them in a drawer. This one seems like it has a little more traction.
TOP STORIES THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Progressive state lawmakers push to end subminimum wage for tipped workers across Illinois (Chicago Sun-Times)
Kam Buckner introduces bill that would ban single-family zoning in most Illinois cities (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Illinois lawmakers to file bill preventing the mishandling of human remains (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Feds say former state legislator Annazette Collins avoided nearly $100,000 in taxes (Chicago Tribune)
State Supreme Court denies state lawmaker’s bid to vacate gun ban ruling (Capitol News Illinois)
How campaign donations played a role in new Illinois nuclear power law (Peoria Journal Star)
A handful of politicians switch parties, citing extremism. Others question their motives. (Daily Herald)
City snafu allows protest at Democratic Convention’s front gate — when whole world is watching (Chicago Sun-Times)
Former Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey is running to unseat Mike Bost in Illinois’ 12th District (WBEZ)
Bally’s Chicago bucks trend with casino revenue gains in January, while new hotel plan remains under review (Chicago Tribune)
Illinois Republicans balk at bipartisan border deal (Bloomington Pantagraph)
State Rep. Wilhour and Darren Bailey visit U.S. southern border (Effingham Daily News)
Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau’s remarks on cease-fire draw protest from Islamic advocacy group (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Legislators should move ahead on plan for an elected Chicago school board (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: Fully elected school board will give Chicagoans a better say in future of CPS (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Illinois is not as blue as we think. Gerrymandering is the problem. (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: State revenue drops, but economy looks 'solid' (Champaign News-Gazette)
Opinion: Big game sure to draw big bets in country’s No. 2 online wagering market (Shaw Media)
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