President Joe Biden is reportedly considering giving Rahm Emanuel a plum job that would make the former Chicago mayor the U.S. ambassador to Japan, but Black Chicago is trying to block the nomination.

The effort to derail the high-profile ambassadorship was brought on by allegations that Emanuel tried to cover up the police murder of a Black man. 

“Rahm Emanuel does not deserve to be the ambassador of anything,” said Dorothy Holmes, mother of Ronald Johnson, who was shot by Chicago police in 2014, according to The Daily Beast. “Rahm Emanuel belongs behind bars.”

Johnson was shot in the back and Emanuel’s administration tried to block the release of police dashcam footage. 

More than two dozen victims of police violence in Chicago and their relatives released a joint statement on June 10 condemning Biden’s reported choice of ambassador, accusing the former two-term mayor and White House chief of staff for President Barack Obama of “contempt for communities of color” during his time as mayor, The Daily Beast reported.

“Emanuel ‘became a symbol of lethal disrespect for Black lives,’” the letter stated. Making him an ambassador “would make the U.S. government a similar symbol.”

Among those who signed the letter were Holmes, Emmett Farmer (father of Flint Farmer, who was shot by police three times as he lay on the ground in 2011) and Crista Noël, an activist with Women’s All Points Bulletin, which works to end police violence against women in Chicago.

Activists claim Emanuel has a history of trying to cover up police murders of Black men in Chicago, including the murder of Laquan McDonald in October 2014.

McDonald, 17, was shot 16 times by a Chicago police officer while he was walking away from the police. His death led to nationwide protests after Emanuel tried to stop the release of the police dashcam footage. It wasn’t until Emanuel was re-elected in 2015 that the city council later awarded McDonald’s family $5 million for the teenager’s wrongful death, The Chicago Tribune reported. The police officer who shot McDonald was later convicted of second-degree murder.

“Rahm Emanuel helped cover up the murder of Laquan McDonald,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted in November 2020 after Biden won the election. “Covering up a murder is disqualifying for public leadership.”

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 74: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin returns for a new season of the GHOGH podcast to discuss Bitcoin, bubbles, and Biden. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. Are broader financial markets in a massive speculative bubble?

Due to his scandal-ridden legacy as mayor of Chicago, Emanuel was eventually passed over for secretary-level positions in Biden’s cabinet, as well as lower-tier roles like U.S. trade representative, for which he was also briefly considered. 

Following his exit from Chicago politics, Emanuel left politics and jumped into the swamp. The longtime Democrat insider joined the Wall Street investment banking firm Centerview Partners LLC and opened a Chicago office as a senior counselor for the company.

>>> Don't Miss Today's BEST Amazon Deals!
Originally Appeared Here

Illinois Republican leaders filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging new legislative district boundaries that were drawn and approved by Democrats who control state government, saying residents were “robbed” of a fair and transparent process for creating maps that will be used for elections over the next decade.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation last week establishing the new maps, despite pledging as a candidate that he would veto any maps drawn by politicians. Pritzker said the new maps help ensure minority representation and align with the federal and state Voting Rights Acts.

Republicans and other critics have objected throughout the map-making process, saying Democrats drew the boundaries behind closed doors and using flawed data. Democrats used population estimates from the American Community Survey rather than U.S. Census Bureau data, which is delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

GOP House and Senate minority leaders Rep. Jim Durkin and Sen. Dan McConchie filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago against House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch, Senate President Don Harmon, Pritzker and state board of elections officials. The Democratic leaders did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit seeks to have the maps declared unconstitutional and voided, and asks a judge to direct Welch and Harmon to appoint members to a bipartisan redistricting commission that would draw and approve new maps after official census data is released in August. In a statement, Durkin and McConchie said they would make their appointments to the commission “soon” and that they would work with them and Democratic leaders.

“Today we are entering court on behalf of the thousands of families, small business owners, workers, and taxpayers who said they wanted an independently drawn map, not the one handed down by political insiders desperately clinging to power,” McConchie said.

Democrats have argued that the process was open, saying they took input at a series of public meetings that influenced how the boundaries were drawn. They also said there wasn’t time to wait for the census figures because maps must be completed by June 25. But that date is simply when they would lose complete control of the process.

Rep. Lisa Hernandez, a Democrat who led the House Redistricting Committee, criticized Republicans as obstructing what she says was a “citizen-driven process.”

“As expected, the Republicans are doing everything in their power to block a map that reflects the true diversity of Illinois in hopes that they get a chance to single handedly draw a map for their political gain,” Hernandez said.

When he was running for governor in 2018, Pritzker called for an independent commission to draw the lines and said he would veto politician-drawn maps. But in recent weeks, he noted that no commission had materialized and said he would veto any map that was “unfair.”

Political lines must be redrawn after each decennial Census to reflect changes in population and ensure the protection of voters’ rights. They must be compact, contiguous, and of equal population, among other things.

>>> Don't Miss Today's BEST Amazon Deals!
Originally Appeared Here

One of the most significant pieces of legislation passed by the Illinois General Assembly this week was a move to delay next year’s primary to June, but tucked inside of that bill was a provision to change the official elected title of members of Chicago’s City Council.

In the SB0825 bill, which passed both chambers of the General Assembly this week, a provision was included that will change all statutory references to “alderman” and “aldermen” to “alderperson” and “alderpersons.” All state laws that contain the word “congressman” will also be changed to read as “congressperson,” according to the legislation.

State Rep. Maurice West cosponsored the bill, and authored the provision along with State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, according to WTTW.

“We see a lot of ‘hes’ and ‘hims’ in state statute, and now we have not just women in office, but we have people who may not identify with any gender,” West said. “We want to make sure that our voting and our election cycle process is inclusive for everyone.”

If signed, the bill would move the 2022 primary from the third Tuesday in March to June 28, 2022. Lawmakers said that the change was necessary because of delays in census data that will be used to draw new maps. That new data will not be released until August, according to officials.

State Republicans blasted the move, saying that it was designed behind “closed doors” to aid Democrats in drawing a more favorable legislative map.

“They did it behind closed doors. This is how power and control are maintained in Springfield,” Illinois House Republican Leader Rep. Jim Durkin said.

>>> Don't Miss Today's BEST Amazon Deals!
Originally Appeared Here

Get more in-depth, daily coverage of Chicago politics at The Daily Line.

CHICAGO — Chicago elected officials aired mixed reactions to an omnibus election bill (SB 825) on its way to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk that is set to change all official references to municipal elected officials from “alderman” to “alderperson.”

Some aldermen are thrilled with the change, others are lukewarm and some don’t see the changes included in the bill as necessary. The change from “alderman” to “alderperson” is part of a measure that also pushes the state’s 2022 primary election from March 15 to June 28, designates Election Day as a state holiday and allows voting in jails.

RELATED: Omnibus election bill would delay 2022 primary, expand mail-in voting and more

The push to move away from “alderman” previously bubbled when Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) introduced a resolution (R2021-379) in March calling for the General Assembly “to pass legislation replacing word ‘Alderman’ in all places within Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) with gender-neutral word ‘Alder.’”

The resolution was originally proposed for the City Council Committee on Health and Human Relations, Ald. Ed Burke (14th) sent the proposal to the Council’s Committee on Committees and Rules.

Co-sponsors for Vasquez’ proposed ordinance included Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th), Ald Jeanette Taylor (20th), Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd), Ald. James Cappleman (46th), Ald. Maria Hadden (49th), Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garz (10th), Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd), Ald. Michael Scott (24th), Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), Ald. Felix Cardona (31st) and Ald. Matt Martin (47th). 

The proposed resolution in the “whereas” section detailed that the term “alderman…derives from explicitly gendered language denoting an ‘elder man’ of the community” and that candidates seeking to run with any title other than “alderman” have been denied the ability to do so.

Vasquez told The Daily Line on Tuesday the goal of his ordinance was to “remove gender from the term,” and he arrived at “alder” after talking with colleagues in the City Council to see what would work for them. 

In talking with colleagues, Vasquez said he heard that “council member” and “alderperson” were too clunky, so his proposal stuck with “alder.”

Still, he said he is “elated” the bill passed both chambers. “It’s very awkward and I’ve seen it through my first couple years in the council” as people would refer to women in the City Council as aldermen. 

“I think alderperson, functionally, gets the same thing done,” Vasquez said, adding that it will be more difficult to remove or replace “ageist” terms.

Rodriguez-Sanchez said it’s “kind of uncomfortable” having to be told by the state legislature what titles can be used. “I’m confident the old ways are dying, and we are creating more space in our council,” Rodriguez-Sanchez told The Daily Line on Tuesday. “Having less gendered terms definitely opens space for the presence of more diversity and humanity in the Council.”

Still, Rodriguez-Sanchez said she wishes the change “would have happened sooner” and she hopes it helps develop “a different culture” in the City Council.

“I think people should be called what they prefer to be called,” Taylor, a sponsor of Vasquez’ resolution, told The Daily Line on Tuesday.

“It’s about identity,” Taylor said. “I am a woman. I identify as a woman. I beared five children. I’m not a man, I deserve to be called a woman.”

Taylor noted that her ward website uses the title “alderwoman” and that “we need to remember that in this country, change is good but change takes time.”

Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said she prefers to keep the title “alderman.”

“If I wanted to be called Alderwoman Dowell I would,” Dowell told The Daily Line on Tuesday. “I prefer to be called alderman. That’s what’s in the law.”

Dowell said it would have been “appropriate” for Vasquez to survey all his colleagues when proposing his resolution. “I would have shared with him my opinion,” she said, adding the changes “should have been socialized more.”

“I certainly would not want to be called Alder Dowell.”

Dowell, who chairs the council’s Committee on Budget and Government Operations, also questioned how much money the changes will cost the city, if anything. The mayor’s press office did not respond for a comment on the proposed change.

Still, some are more ambivalent about the change. 

“I say whatever you call me just call me,” Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th) told The Daily Line on Tuesday. “We have so many other issues happening. We’re living in days when our focus should be serving our communities and not what our titles are.”

Coleman said she hopes the state lawmakers is also committed to focusing on “bigger” issues including ward remapping and ensuring communities have resources they need.

When she is working in her “official capacity,” Coleman said she refers to herself as “the very proud alderman of the 16th Ward.”

Ald. George Cardenas (12th) said he supports the change but would have preferred the title “council member” or “councilor,” as “alderperson” still refers to an “elder” person.

“I understand something’s gotta change…for far too long people have gone with the status quo, and away with that I say,” Cardenas told The Daily Line on Tuesday, adding he would have like to have a City Council committee discussion on the matter.

“But we also have to come to terms with what we’re going to call each other,” Cardenas said, adding he doesn’t think the term “alderperson” is going to stick. “No one is going to call me alderperson.”

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) said “there are more important things for the General Assembly to focus on” besides deciding whether it should be “alder” or “alderperson” and designating the state microbe.

>>> Don't Miss Today's BEST Amazon Deals!
Originally Appeared Here

Under a new measure signed into law by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday, state businesses can continue to sell cocktails in to-go containers, and can now offer customers a free beverage if they have received their COVID-19 vaccinations.

Senate Bill 104, which passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly this week, will allow bars and restaurants to offer the free drinks through July 20 in an effort to help drum up business in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bar and restaurant customers would need to show proof of vaccination in order to get the free beverages.

“Not only will the vaccine protect you from getting sick – your free COVID-19 shot can now get you a free shot of your choosing, or whatever drink suits your palate,” Pritzker said. “I’m pleased to sign this legislation into law to offer our hardest-hit businesses another lifeline as we recover from this pandemic.”

To-go cocktails and mixed drinks, which were approved during the height of the pandemic as a way to help hard-hit restaurants and bars, will now be allowed for at least three more years. The measure which allowed the beverages to be served was set to expire this week.

“Our hospitality industry has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, and Senate Bill 104 contains a number of initiatives designed to offer much-needed help,” State Rep. Michael Zalewski said in a statement.

The to-go drinks can only be sold to customers age 21 and older, and must come in a special to-go container, according to the legislation.

>>> Don't Miss Today's BEST Amazon Deals!
Originally Appeared Here

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed newly-passed legislative district maps to govern elections in the Illinois General Assembly for the next decade despite opposition from Republicans and criticism from certain community groups who say they were ignored in the process.

“Illinois’ strength is in our diversity, and these maps help to ensure that communities that have been left out and left behind have fair representation in our government,” Pritzker said in a statement. “These district boundaries align with both the federal and state Voting Rights Acts, which help to ensure our diverse communities have electoral power and fair representation.”

Pritzker, who once promised to veto maps drawn by politicians, said earlier this week that he was reviewing the maps, but that “we have a constitutional requirement in the state of Illinois” to complete the maps this month.

His latest stance is a departure from comments he made as a Democratic candidate for governor in 2018 when he promised to reject a political product, opting for an independent, nonpartisan commission to create the districts. Pritzker this month backed away from that pledge, saying only that he would nix an “unfair” map.

The House voted 71-45 along party lines last week after 2 1/2 hours of debate to approve new district lines required after each decennial Census to reflect population shifts. It followed a similarly partisan Senate vote, 41-18, in favor of the maps drawn outside of the public eye but which Democrats contend were influenced by opinions voiced during 50 public hearings since April.

Republicans and grassroots activist groups have decried the process concluded without benefit of official U.S. Census numbers, which have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats contend they must be completed by June 25, which is simply the date on which they lose complete control of the work.

“The people deserve better than bad data, fake deadlines and sham hearings,” said Sen. Sue Rezin, a Morris Republican.

Pritzker criticized Republicans for not putting their own maps forward, saying they were “unwilling to participate.”

Political lines must be redrawn after each decennial Census to reflect changes in population and ensure protection of voters’ rights. They must be compact, contiguous, and of equal population, among other things.

Critics wonder why the map can’t wait for release of official U.S. Census numbers, which won’t be available until late summer. A consultant who’s on contract with House and Senate Democrats for $200,000 says the ACS numbers from before the 2010 Census varied only slightly from the official count.

The constitution requires the Legislature — currently controlled by Democratic super-majorities — to produce a map by June 30. After that, the project goes to a bipartisan commission. Each time that’s occurred since 1980, the panel has deadlocked and the name of the partisan tie-breaker is drawn from a hat.

During House debate, several Republicans called out Democrats for previously espousing independent map-making, reading from news articles and newspaper endorsement questionnaires their pledges to take politics out of the process. Democratic Rep. Will Guzzardi cried foul, contending it’s not “inconsistent to say, ‘I believe the system should be different and nonetheless, I’m participating under the rules as they are today.’”

Virtually nothing was said about the cartography before the first map popped out late May 21. A revision appeared late Thursday which Hernandez maintained was “absolutely influenced” by public input. GOP Rep. Tom Demmer of Dixon claimed there was an “intentional effort” to withhold details from taxpayers, adding, “It makes a mockery of this process.”

Republicans also criticized the surprise remap produced this week of state Supreme Court districts, the first revision in 60 years. The GOP claims it’s because Democrats fear losing their majority on the high court. The House approved that map last Friday afternoon.

>>> Don't Miss Today's BEST Amazon Deals!
Originally Appeared Here

A study released Tuesday suggests lingering loopholes allow Chicago police to share information with federal immigration authorities, despite activists’ hard-fought victory to strengthen the city’s sanctuary protections this year.

The 19-page report produced by a University of Chicago professor and immigrant rights groups indicates when police can give information to immigration agencies under the federal Department of Homeland Security. That includes the city’s much-maligned gang database as well as data collected at high-tech information centers from an extensive camera network, license plate readers and gunshot detection systems.

“The sizable trove of information about Chicago residents in the hands of the police creates an enormous danger for the city’s immigrant communities,” the report said. Chicago police “continue to use a vast network of technologies, which Immigration and Customs Enforcement can employ to target immigrants despite the Welcoming City Ordinance’s protections.”

Chicago bolstered its sanctuary protections in February when Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed a plan describing limited circumstances when police can work with immigration agents, including if a person living in the country without legal permission has an outstanding criminal warrant or is named in the gang database.

However, the report raises questions about existing operations, saying Chicago police policies allow outside law enforcement agencies to access data from an information center as long as there is “criminal predicate.” The department does not explain what that means, with activists suggesting it could include a law that criminalizes improper border crossings.

Part of the issue is the lack of information on how the centers operate, according to the report. Researchers relied in part on Freedom of Information Act requests, many of which were withheld.

“It’s very unclear to us what sort of check is being done to make sure that the reason that information is being requested is valid,” said Nicole Hallett, an associate clinical professor of law at the University of Chicago.

Chicago’s first high-tech fusion center was created in 2007 and is staffed by police and outside agents including from the Illinois State Police and Homeland Security. A decade later, the city created local versions to help process the massive data influx.

Authorities have praised the centers for fostering collaboration in investigations and the availability of real-time information to dispatch officers to fight crime. But civil rights groups have raised concerns about the type of surveillance and privacy in cities including Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Austin, Texas. Several states have limited the use of facial recognition over fears of civil rights violations and racial bias.

“We are over-surveilled as a city,” said Kevin Herrera of Just Futures Law, a group that helped with the report. “The degree that CPD has access to our images constantly and advance additional surveillance doesn’t make us safer and enhances the vulnerability of the immigrant community.”

For instance, questions have been raised about the accuracy of the methods.

Last month, the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University’s law school, and other groups said in a court filing that gunshot detection routinely reports gunshots where there are none, sending police into largely Black and Latino areas for “unnecessary and hostile” encounters.

The city has also lagged in replacing its error-riddled gang database, which has been shared with hundreds of outside agencies. A Chicago Office of Inspector General audit in 2019 showed that of the roughly 134,000 people listed, roughly 95% were Black or Latino. While the department promised to overhaul it, a follow-up audit in March showed continued use of the “deeply flawed” system.

Messages left Tuesday for Chicago police and Lightfoot’s office weren’t immediately returned.

Still, top city officials argue that using technology such as gunshot detection and the fusion centers is essential for solving crimes. Last month, Lightfoot called the combination of technologies “a lifesaver.”

The report called for further changes to Chicago’s sanctuary protections to specify that information cannot be shared on immigration-related offenses, to end use of the gang database and to offer more transparency on how the police department collects and processes personal information.

>>> Don't Miss Today's BEST Amazon Deals!
Originally Appeared Here

The Illinois Senate on Tuesday passed a measure to create an elected school board for Chicago Public Schools, over the objections of Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

The Senate voted 36 to 15, with two voting present, in favor of House Bill 2908. It now must pass the House and receive Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s approval before becoming law.

Since 1999, the Chicago Board of Education has consisted of seven members, all appointed by the city’s mayor to oversee and govern CPS.

The measure the Senate passed Tuesday would expand the board to 21 members, with 10 elected to four-year terms in the November 2024 general election while the other 10, plus a Board president, would be appointed by the mayor, each to a two-year term. The terms for all 21 members would begin in January 2025, according to the legislation.

Then in the 2026 general election, the 10 spots on the Board that were previously appointed by the mayor would be up for election to four-year terms beginning in January 2027, at which point the board would become fully elected. Also beginning with the 2026 general election, one member of the Board would be elected at large to serve as president.

The city would be divided into 10 electoral districts for the 2024 elections, with each represented by one elected and one appointed member, then divided into 20 districts for the 2026 elections, after which each district would be represented by one elected member.

Any vacancies on the Board beginning in 2025 would be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members, the bill states.

The measure would also impose a moratorium on “school closings, consolidations or phase-outs” until the new Board of Education is seated in January 2025.

“Today’s win in the culmination of a decade-long fight that is an important step toward giving our communities a say in how the schools their children attend are run,” the bill’s sponsor Sen. Rob Martwick, a Democrat from Chicago, said in a statement.

“We’re delivering accountability to the school board and ensuring that the people who will be making the decisions about how CPS is run and will always act in the best interests of CPS students and families,” Martwick continued.

The measure’s chief sponsor in the House, Rep. Delia Ramirez, said she plans to call the measure for a vote when the House reconvenes.

“Senate Amendment 1 to HB2908 achieves the goal of finally securing a fully elected school board for CPS,” Ramirez, a Chicago Democrat, said.

“This bill does not set a timeline that I would have wanted or that Chicagoans deserve,” she continued. “However, with key protections during the transition period including a moratorium on school closures and city council confirmation of temporarily appointed members, I believe it is time to finally legislate a path to a fully elected board.”

Lightfoot, who campaigned in 2019 in part on creating an elected school board, has since changed her stance to support a hybrid option – a move that has garnered criticism from proponents of a fully elected board. On Wednesday, Lightfoot criticized the bill that passed the Senate.

“When we’re talking about the most consequential change in governance for the Chicago Public Schools, it can’t be about the politics. It’s got to be about the people. The people who will matter most are our children,” Lightfoot said when asked about the measure at an unrelated news conference. “So, we’re gonna keep making sure that that message gets through and resonates, and I’m confident that we’ll get to a better place.”

Lightfoot added that she had heard from parents and students that they “don’t feel like they were heard” in the negotiations surrounding the measure. She also expressed concern that there was no provision in the bill to limit how much money can be spent on the elections, citing an unspecified race in Los Angeles that cost a million dollars.

“We don’t need that here in Chicago,” Lightfoot said. “What is the route for actual parents who have skin in the game, of course, because their students are part of the system, but who are members of the LSCs? We proposed a route to make sure that people who were part of LSCs actually had the qualifications to sit on the school board. All of that, rejected.”

“It’s interesting that this is supposed to be about democracy. But what happened in Springfield had nothing to do with democracy. But democracy, mark my word, will prevail,” she added.

>>> Don't Miss Today's BEST Amazon Deals!
Originally Appeared Here

Illinois lawmakers went into overtime early Tuesday, missing the midnight deadline for the spring legislative session as they worked to pass a $42 billion state budget, major election-related changes and an ethics reform package, among other measures.

What exactly did they pass in the final few days of session over the long holiday weekend? Here’s a breakdown of some of the biggest items that could soon become law, should Gov. J.B. Pritzker sign them:

Illinois state budget

Legislators worked past the deadline to piece together a $42 billion state budget, which was based on tax revenue sources that rebounded much faster from the coronavirus pandemic than expected and included $2.5 billion in spending from a multiyear federal relief package.

The plan assembled on the final scheduled day of the spring session incorporates just a portion of the $8 billion Illinois expects in COVID-19 relief money Congress approved last winter — but that pot includes $1 billion in additional construction projects, a fund known only to Democrats until Monday.

House Majority Leader Greg Harris pronounced a balanced budget which also reinstates the $350 million extra for public schools that was promised annually in a 2017 school-funding overhaul, but which Gov. J.B. Pritzker initially said would need to be skipped for a second year in a row.

“We’re very lucky our revenues came up,” said Harris, a Chicago Democrat.

The state’s budget plan this year offers a far rosier picture than the “pain” — deep budget cuts — Pritzker predicted were inevitable after voters soundly rejected his proposed constitutional amendment in November to allow a graduated income tax system that hit the wealthier harder and would generate $3 billion extra a year.

Republicans denounced the ballot initiative as a blank check for free-spending Democrats, who control both houses of the General Assembly as well as the governor’s office. As revenues continued to outpace predictions, they persisted in their claims that Pritzker had more than enough money.

Their reward came in the form of a Pritzker concession to cut fewer of the business and job-producing incentives they negotiated in 2019 with the Democrat, tax breaks the governor touted then but now calls unaffordable “loopholes.” Democrats crafting the budget were planning to cut three programs to generate $636 million in additional revenue. In February, Pritzker proposed eliminating eight incentive programs to save $1 billion.

Pandemic-battered sectors of the state would get $1.5 billion from Illinois’ allotment of American Rescue Plan Act. Hundreds of millions of dollars would be reserved for the Department of Human Services for programs to help the homeless, prevent suicide, counsel schoolchildren through the last year’s trauma, and provide services “for our first responders who have gone through a year of hell and deserve all the support we can give them,” Harris said. The ailing tourism and hospitality industries would receive $578 million.

Illinois borrowed $5 billion from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits for those the pandemic displaced. ARPA would provide $100 million to pay interest on that loan, but principal retirement would wait.

But another huge debt is off the books. The state owed $1.2 billion — payable by December 2023 — on a $3.2 billion federal loan last summer at the pandemic’s nadir. Pritzker and legislative leaders announced 10 days ago that they’d pay that loan off early, saving $100 million in interest.

The ARPA cache is also providing $1 billion for additional construction projects heading into the 2022 election season, money that would be spent in addition to the ongoing, $51 billion “Rebuild Illinois” infrastructure plan approved in 2019. Rep. Tom Demmer of Dixon, the House Republicans’ budget negotiator, questioned Harris as to how projects are chosen. Harris said it’s the “normal process” in which lawmakers and state agencies make requests for work to be done.

“So we have $1 billion dollars of new capital projects that have been available but it appears that they were … only eligible for requests from Senate Democratic and House Democratic caucuses?” Demmer asked.

Harris responded, “Certainly, we would be happy to talk.”

Pritzker said during a news conference Tuesday that he would sign the budget.

Senate Bill 825: Moves Illinois’ primary election from March to June, among other election changes

Illinois lawmakers on Monday passed a measure to move Illinois’ primary election from March to June next year, among other election-related changes.

Senate Bill 825, which includes several election-related proposals, would shift the March 15 primary to June 28 as lawmakers await census data, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, to redraw district maps.

The bill also includes plans to make curbside voting a permanent fixture, create polling places in certain jails and make the Nov. 8, 2022, general election a holiday, as it was in 2020.

It also “establishes new cyber security requirements for election authorities” and “requires every county to have one universal voting center for the 2022 primary and general election,” according to Rep. Maurice West, a sponsor of the bill.

Under the new proposed election schedule, candidates could begin circulating petitions on Jan. 13, to be filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections between March 7 and 14. Residents would be able to seek vote-by-mail ballots beginning March 30 and no later than June 23, and in-person early voting would begin May 19 – among other changes.

The measure comes as lawmakers await the release of “block-level” population and demographic data from the 2020 Census, which is not scheduled to be released until mid-August at the earliest.

The data is usually given to states in March each year following the Census, in time for states to use it in the redistricting process. But this cycle’s delay puts the data release well after the June 30 deadline for new maps that’s mandated in the Illinois Constitution.

Senate Bill 539: Ethics reform

Lawmakers also passed a bipartisan pandemic-interrupted ethics overhaul.

The measure prohibits sitting legislators from lobbying other units of government, a practice exposed in a fall 2019 bribery indictment and create a six-month cooling-off period that would halt the long-derided practice of a lawmaker resigning one day and lobbying ex-colleagues the next. But the creation of a statewide registration system for lobbyists at all government levels exempts Chicago, which has its own program. That raised the question among reporters attending a briefing on the measure about the conflicting systems opening loopholes.

“You’d be hard pressed to find a wall that somebody doesn’t find a way to work around, but this is a good solid step,” said Sen. Ann Gillespie, an Arlington Heights Democrat and chairwoman of the Ethics Committee. “This is extending a ban on lobbying, far greater than it has been.”

Senate Bill 104: Extension of ‘cocktails to go’ and allows bars, restaurants to offer drinks as a vaccine incentive

Illinois lawmakers on Sunday passed a bill to continue allowing bars and restaurants to serve cocktails to go, a measure that served as a lifeline to struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The General Assembly first passed the initiative during the 2020 legislative session, and Pritzker signed it in June, to help bars and restaurants bring in more revenue as they struggled with closures during the pandemic. The measure passed last year included a provision requiring it to automatically expire after one year.

The Illinois House passed Senate Bill 104 on Thursday to update the measure and extend its sunset date to Jan. 1, 2024. The Senate passed the final version of the bill Sunday, sending it to Pritzker’s desk. Pritzker indicated Tuesday that he plans to sign it.

Under the law, cocktails must be sealed, labeled and out of reach in vehicles. A valid liquor license is required to sell the beverages and patrons have to be 21 years old to purchase.

The bill also enables bars and restaurants to give out a free alcoholic drink to customers who have gotten vaccinated against COVID-19.

The so-called “shot and a beer” provision allows establishments with liquor licenses to give customers a free drink if they show proof that they’ve gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, as part of a promotional campaign incentivizing getting vaccinated.

That portion of the measure would only be valid for one month, from June 10 to July 10 of this year.

House Bill 1711: Bill aimed at ending the sale of pets from puppy mills

House Bill 1711 is a measure that changes Illinois’ Animal Welfare Act to allow pet shops to only sell cats and dogs if the animals are obtained from an animal control facility or animal shelter.

The bill is aimed at discouraging the sale of pets from puppy mills, which proponents of the measure say can sometimes result in sick animals, and encouraging pet stores to promote the adoption of shelter animals while focusing sales on pet food, toys, and other supplies.

If signed, the bill would also prohibit any business that violates the requirement from selling cats or dogs, regardless of how they are sourced.

House Bill 3922: Would make Juneteenth a state holiday

Legislation making June 19 a paid day off for all state employees and a school holiday was unanimously approved by the Illinois House last week and by the state Senate last month. It states that if June 19 falls on a Saturday or Sunday the holiday will be observed the following Monday. The meaure would take effect immediately if Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs it.

Juneteenth commemorates the date in 1865 when the last enslaved Black people in the U.S. learned from Union soldiers in Texas that they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. The day is also known as Emancipation Day and Freedom Day.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. La Shawn Ford, has sponsored similar legislation in the past. There “wasn’t an appetite” for passing it previously, the Chicago Democrat told the Chicago Tribune. He says that changed after the murder of George Floyd, who was Black, by a white police officer in Minnesota.

>>> Don't Miss Today's BEST Amazon Deals!
Originally Appeared Here

Liberals will tell you they need to run elections to ensure everybody gets to vote.
That sounds likes Chicago politics. Everybody means the deceased, convicted felons, illegal immigrants, maybe even the not yet born or old enough to vote.
This is a power grab to wrest election controls from the states.
After the 2020 elections, many of us suspected elections in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and many blue states were compromised.
To their credit, our state senators have passed S.499 to guarantee SC election laws remain strong and hold up to legal challenges. Our state did away with so-called Jim Crow laws and to guarantee no party officials can steal an election.
“The Election Commission Restructuring Act affirms the General Assembly’s unconditional right to intervene in a state court action that challenges South Carolina election laws or policies,” said Majorfity Leader Shane Massey who represents Lexington County in the Senate.
. It provides accountability to the state Election Commission and requires long-standing constitutionally-sound practice of advice and consent of the Senate for members of the Election Commission and its director. 
Conservatives have been unhappy with the commission’s lack of backbone in resisting wholesale voting law changes.
These are what Democrats’ HR 1 bill would do to election controls over voting fraud.
Washington liberals already hold more power now than they can safely handle.
The founders anticipated this kind of political vote rigging more than 200 years ago.
They wisely made federal control unconstitutional
HR1 would seize control of election rules nationwide. 
As long as we have the filibuster and 2 Democratic senators opposing this, HR1 cannot gain the 60 votes needed to pass it.
In a Senate divided 50-50, Democrats even lack the committee votes to amend their bill.
To comment on this, please email JerryBellune@yahoo.com
If you want us to publish your comment, please say so.

 

>>> Don't Miss Today's BEST Amazon Deals!
Originally Appeared Here