THE ILLINOIZE: Who gets reshuffled in the remap?...LaSalle fallout and legislation...Mary Miller's uninspiring start
Good morning.
Happy Tuesday and welcome to the free edition of The Illinoize newsletter.
We are 21 days from the scheduled adjournment of the Illinois General Assembly, 546 days to the 2022 General Election, and 152 days since the Governor’s office last responded to a question from The Illinoize.
We’re expecting a draft of new legislative maps sometime this week. I’ll give you some ideas of what we may be expecting below, but subscribers will get all of the details this week.
If you want to subscribe, it’s just $7.99 a month or $75 per year. So it’s cheaper than Disney+. And, be honest, how many times can you really watch Hamilton?
Only subscribers will get things like our exclusive sit-down with House GOP Leader Jim Durkin last week.
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Let’s get to it.
MAP THIS WEEK?
Let me just be clear about a couple of things here. None of what you are about to read is confirmed and on the record. I’ve been talking to a lot of Democrat lawmakers over the last couple of weeks, many of whom have seen the new legislative map, and they have been telling me things about the map that will likely be presented this week. None of them, though, are speaking on the record. The Speaker’s people aren’t commenting or returning my calls. Neither are the Senate folks running the re-map process (and believe me, I’ve asked for interviews with Sen. Aquino and Sen. Sims about 30,000 times).
So, reading between the lines, here’s what I’m getting a sense of:
Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) may be at risk of being drawn out of her district. There’s been a push to make Waukegan a majority Latino district. She’s surrounded by three Democrats, so it could set up a messy member vs. member primary (unless someone tries to move to the Senate.)
It sounds like Democrats may go hard after Rep. Brad Stephens (R-Rosemont). He won a competitive race with surprising ease last year. It is possible Democrats will move some northwest side members like Rep. Lindsay LaPointe and Rep. John D’Amico out in to the suburbs a little more, so you could find Stephens in a far more Democratic district against one of them or Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines).
It’s also safe to assume Democrats want to rid themselves of Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine). They could move Democrat areas into a neighboring district and stick Morrison in a member vs. member primary against Rep. Marty McLaughlin (R-South Barrington).
DuPage County appears to be a specific point of contention among Democrats internally right now. There are currently two DuPage-specific Republicans, Rep. Seth Lewis (R-Bartlett) and Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst).
To put this straight: Democrats don’t like Mazzochi. She’s a pain in the butt on the floor and drags out debates on their bills endlessly. (She’s a very accomplished lawyer, by the way.) Maybe they try to put Republican areas on the north side of Mazzochi’s district (including her house) into Lewis’ district and try to move others into neighboring district.
It’s also still an open question how Democrats handle Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville). She hasn’t really been on the Democratic program since being elected, was a voice against former House Speaker Michael Madigan, and, I’m told, there isn’t a ton of love for her in the House Dem caucus meetings. Don’t be surprised if Republican areas of Mazzochi’s district get moved into Stava-Murray’s district and she’s a bit of a DuPage County sacrificial lamb.
I’m also told Democrats would finally like to “get” Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) in the remap, but he’s surrounded by heavy Democratic districts and those members will fight to protect “their” voters. It wouldn’t be the craziest thing to see Batinick drawn into a district with Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego).
Downstate, Senate Democrats want to draw a district for appointed Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield). She was picked to replace then-Sen. Andy Manar when he resigned to join the Pritzker administration. John Cullerton drew the 48th for Manar, who lives in southern Macoupin County, and may be the only Democrat this side of the ghost of Vince Demuzio that could win the district. It’s likely more of the north side of Springfield and more of Decatur get added to Turner’s district. You could probably chop off a big chunk of the southern part of those districts, potentially leaving Rep. Amy Elik (R-Alton) and Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville) in a member vs. member primary. It could also draw Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) into a new district.
I’ve been told Democrats would like a fourth Metro East area house district, but I don’t know if there are enough votes you could take from Rep. LaToya Greenwood (D-East St. Louis) and Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) to make Rep. David Friess’ (R-Red Bud) district vulnerable.
Like I said, none of this is confirmed, and I’m not promising it’s accurate. A lot of it is reading between the lines of what people have told me. If you’re a House or Senate Democrat staffer or member and I’m right or wrong, e-mail me at patrick@theillinoize.com and I’ll give you my cell so we can chat on background.
LAWSUITS BEGIN IN LaSALLE, LEGISLATION FILED
Families of as many as 25 veterans who died in the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home last fall appear prepared to file suit against the state.
The family of 89-year-old Richard Cieski of Seneca has filed suit in the state’s Court of Claims in connection with his death on November 15. He was a Korean War veteran who served in the Army.
Read more here.
Also yesterday, Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) asked Senate Democrats to move four bills that tie to the Auditor General’s report following the Legionnaire’s outbreak at the Quincy Veterans’ Home in 2015. Democrats haven’t said whether they’ll move the bills or not.
The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee meets this afternoon to begin hearings on the damning Inspector General report on LaSalle. Another hearing is set for Thursday, according to Chair Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego). The Senate counterpart meets Friday.
OPINION: MARY MILLER’S DISSOCIATION FROM THE TRUTH
Of course, as many of you know, I worked for a different candidate in the 15th Congressional District primary last year that lost to Freedom Caucus darling Mary Miller.
I shouted from the rooftops that Miller was extreme, had no real policy agenda, and wouldn’t do anything good for her district.
Five months in, I’m feeling pretty vindicated.
In my column this morning, I talk about Miller’s issues with the truth, supporting Donald Trump’s “big lie,” and passing up on important things that can help her district.
Miller ran her first campaign devoid of any policy, ideas, or talking points that boiled down to anything other than “I like Trump,” basically. When asked by a reporter if she supported repealing and replacing Obamacare, a core Republican principle, she froze, asked her communications guy for help, then whispered into the microphone “I can’t answer that.”
Sadly, blind loyalty to Trumpism, funded by Jim Jordan and the “Freedom Caucus,” is exactly what Republican primary voters were asking for last year.
And, they’re getting what they asked for.
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS
Comptroller Susana Mendoza celebrates a birthday Thursday. Also Thursday, longtime Judy Biggert and Rauner administration staffer Brian Colgan turns 4-0. Former State Senator A.J. Wilhelmi celebrates Friday. Former Senator Bill Brady celebrates number 60 on Saturday. Sen. Emil Jones III celebrates Sunday.
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