Editorial Roundup: Illinois
Chicago Tribune. January 24, 2022.
Editorial: New Illinois crime law is put to the test. We're both worried and watching.
With crime spiking across the state, both parties in Springfield find themselves wrestling with a life-and-death issue that's begging for problem-solvers, not demagoguery. Yet politics is never far behind.
In Illinois, the issue provides an obvious target for Republicans, who have too little power at this point to bear much of the blame. Democrats don't have that luxury as they search instead for some good news to justify the merits of the sweeping criminal justice legislation they passed last year, even as they have added additional crime-fighting proposals for this year's condensed session in Springfield.
New House Speaker Emanuel 'œChris'ť Welch, now finishing his first year in the chair occupied by former Speaker Mike Madigan before he was voted out, has an ambitious agenda although he remains cheerfully tight-lipped about the tricky specifics.
The issue throws raw meat to Republicans in the General Assembly who have pounced on persistent surges in carjackings and organized retail theft rings as a sign of weak-on-crime Democrats. All state legislators and Gov. J.B. Pritzker will be on the November ballot and defending last year's crime bill, which Republicans have ripped into with claims that it weakens law enforcement and emboldens criminals.
Adding to other recent horror stories about Chicago crime, the carjacking issue seemed to hit state lawmakers close to home after Democratic state Sen. Kimberly Lightford and her husband, Eric McKennie, were carjacked by masked individuals in near west suburban Broadview a few days before Christmas. The holdup let to a shootout between the suspects and Lightford's husband, who police said possesses a concealed carry license.
Add that to the numerous smash-and-grab burglaries at retail stores since the pandemic began, including blue-ribbon shops on Chicago's Gold Coast and Magnificent Mile, as well as in the suburbs.
Also on trial is the elimination of cash bail in 2023, a key provision of last year's anti-crime legislation. Aimed at addressing inequities in the justice system, the measure already has drawn fire from pro-police groups and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, of Western Springs.
So far, data show a profound lack of empirical proof that similar reforms in Cook County's bail system have made crime in Chicago worse. But as a political issue, crime always evokes strong feelings quite detached from actual evidence.
To wit: 'œThese guys aren't going to show up,'ť said Durkin, a former Cook County prosecutor. 'œI know it for a fact.'ť
Yet, since the new law has not gone into effect yet, Welch said he still supports cash bail elimination and cautioned against tying a measure that hasn't yet taken effect to the rise in violence.
Indeed, on bail reform the jury is still out, but amid much watchful waiting.
Welch and his fellow Democrats already have been signaling a reconsideration of their approach to crime fighting, particularly in light of these brazen episodes of carjacking, which understandably terrifies many citizens, and retail thefts, which are having a visible impact on tourism and economic development in downtown Chicago. That's wise. Lax bail reform and electronic monitoring have had some scandalous and tragic consequences, as previously discussed on this page, a situation made yet worse by pressures to reduce the prison population during the global pandemic.
State Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, a Chicago Democrat who voted in favor of the criminal justice reform package, more recently suggested in a Zoom-based public meeting in Chicago's Lakeview community, that the law might need another look.
'œI don't think that anybody bargained for repeat offenders and people who were in possession of a gun and accused of a violent crime to be released on an I-bond,'ť she said at the meeting, (as previously reported by the crime-reporting website CWB Chicago.) She's right. An I-bond, short for individual bond, allows a defendant to be released merely by signing a statement saying they will come to court, without having to post cash bail. This clearly dangerous privilege should be limited scrupulously to nonviolent offenders. If we did not all know that before, we sure do now.
Now that the new legislation has moved from the dream stage into reality, responsible minds in both parties need to get their heads together for the sake of the public that elected them. They have to be willing to look closely again at the impact and efficacy of what they have done.
The current crime plague has touched the lives and shaken the confidence of Illinoisans across the state, contributing to a profound and depressing change in how safe people feel in their neighborhoods and thus to an exodus of Illinoisans of all stripes The proper measure of success for this crime-fighting legislation is not to be found in who's the most 'œleft'ť or 'œright,'ť but in what we can see has worked in recent months and its prospects for our shared future.
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Chicago Sun-Times. January 24, 2022.
Editorial: Lawmakers' pet projects should have to pass public scrutiny
The state's $45 billion in capital projects through the Rebuild Illinois initiative in 2019 included $4 billion in pork-barrel projects that were slipped in without any public input, the BGA reported.
Politicians have always been accused of being untrustworthy, deceptive and power-hungry by constituents. Indeed, 71% of Americans believe that elected officials don't care about them, according to a 2020 Pew Research Center poll.
Many Illinoisans, we're sure, probably feel the same way, given the near-constant flow of unflattering news reports on some of our local and state leaders.
A new Better Government Association investigation certainly won't help matters when it comes to Springfield lawmakers, especially former House Speaker Mike Madigan.
As part of the massive $45 billion Rebuild Illinois package in 2019, lawmakers slipped in $4 billion in pork barrel projects, without any public input, the BGA found. That $4 billion included four projects tied to Madigan worth $144 million, as well as projects pushed through by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Democratic majority leaders, Madigan and then-Senate President John Cullerton.
Of the $4 billion in itemized projects, $2 billion was for 18 projects each labeled a 'œGovernor's Office Addition,'ť the BGA found. Another $368 million were labeled 'œHouse Democrat Leadership Addition,'ť $326 million were labeled 'œSenate Democrat Leadership Addition,'ť and $1.2 billion of projects were identified only as 'œleadership additions.'ť
Every Illinois taxpayer, we think, supports the notion of spending on infrastructure improvement, which was the focus of Rebuild Illinois. Roads need resurfacing, bridges need reinforcing, schools need rehab work - the list of projects is undoubtedly long.
But taxpayers surely have a right to know where their money is going before it's spent. Public works should come with public scrutiny.
Benefits for friends
All four of the former House speaker's projects, the BGA found, benefitted his political allies, business associates or friends.
First, there's the $98 million Madigan secured to help curb the noise of train brakes outside three hotels near Midway Airport owned by Jon and Mark Weglarz, clients of Madigan, who is a property tax lawyer. The brothers said they never even asked for the $98 million.
Then there was the $6 million Madigan helped secure for a control tower at Lewis University Airport in Romeoville, a pet project of former U.S Rep. Dan Lipinski, a Madigan ally. Lipinski had tried unsuccessfully to get federal funding for the project before Madigan was able to 'œkick start'ť things in the state legislature, an airport lobbyist wrote in an email.
Two other projects also have ties to Madigan. The Academy for Global Citizenship, a privately run, publicly funded charter school near Madigan's former House District, received $31 million after it hired a lobbyist who once worked for Madigan. The school had only asked for $1.5 million from the lawmaker, the BGA reported.
And John Hancock College Prep, a Chicago public high school in Madigan's former Southwest Side district, was awarded $9 million - that CPS says it never even requested.
Supporters can argue that these projects weren't wasteful and ultimately benefit the public. Hotel guests don't want to hear loud trains during their stay. Airport control towers are needed to manage air traffic. Schools can always use more money.
But such needs exist everywhere in Illinois, not just in neighborhoods and districts where Madigan and other current and former high-level legislators wield power.
Credit the BGA, as well, for finding out that such a thing as 'œleadership additions'ť even existed when reporters Chuck Neubauer and Sandy Bergo requested project records from the Governor's Office of Management and Budget. That term doesn't exist in the legislation for Rebuild Illinois
Asked how particular projects ended up among the select group of additions, a Pritzker aide told the BGA that the governor picked his projects based largely on his personal contacts and observations.
'œProject ideas came from every corner of Illinois,'ť Carol Knowles, a spokeswoman for the management and budget office, told the BGA.
It's worth pointing out, too, that the $4 billion in projects was in addition to so-called member initiatives that were part of Rebuild Illinois, in which $600 million was set aside for state lawmakers to direct to projects in their districts.
In Washington, lawmakers are now required to list on their websites each earmark they've asked for, with dollar amounts and their rationalization for the use of taxpayer funding, as the BGA reported.
It's time for the same rule in Illinois.
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Champaign News-Gazette. January 23, 2022.
Editorial: Compromised hiring process endemic to state
Given Illinois' history, state officials don't have much credibility when it comes to ending abuses in the hiring process.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker's lawyers recently went before a federal appeals court in Chicago to argue that it's time to end what they have complained is the 'œnever-ending'ť oversight of state hiring by a court-appointed monitor.
'œThe governor is committed to ensuring all state hiring and employment practices are conducted with the highest ethical standards,'ť his lawyer said.
Not only is it administratively bothersome to be held accountable by a court-appointed outside monitor, the Pritzker administration also is unhappy about the cost - an estimated $1 million over the past 18 months.
There's no reason to dispute the governor's good intentions or dismiss the resentment the outside monitor generates. But the reason the status of the outside monitor seems 'œnever-ending'ť is because the efforts by state officials to violate hiring rules by giving special treatment to friends, families or political supporters are equally never-ending.
Perhaps that's why, just as Pritzker's lawyers were calling for an end to the monitor, the monitor reported another round of suspected violations of hiring rules at the Capital Development Board, the agency that manages state construction contracts.
Pritzker lawyers summarily dismissed the issue. They claimed they reported the hirings to the outside monitor, Noelle Brennan, and further said their investigation revealed no wrongdoing.
Here's a good question. If they actually had found wrongdoing, would they admit it?
Readers can answer that question for themselves by considering the facts reported by the monitor.
The monitor reported the questionable hirings of four people, two of whom had political connections but had been fired from previous state jobs.
Brennan reported that another of the hired individuals is the 'œson of a senior official of the agency.'ť
Two of the four were hired as a 'œContract Specialist III,'ť a position for which Brennan said they did not meet the minimum required qualifications. Principally, they, among other things, lacked 'œextensive knowledge of the procurement code.'ť
The state's position is that their investigation revealed no problems. Further, it said each of the four performed beautifully during the interview process. While acknowledging 'œblemishes'ť - what a great word - in their work history with the state, they said the state often gives second chances to people.
Maybe that's one of the state's problems - rehiring people it previously fired. By the way, just what does one have to do to get fired from a state job?
Obviously, one need not be unduly skeptical of what occurred here to smell a rat. That's why the public ought to be ever skeptical that state officials will oversee a hiring process that gives all applicants a fair opportunity.
Readers may remember the IDOT hiring scandal that occurred under Govs. Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn and involved top officials flouting one hiring rule after another.
Circumstances may no longer be as egregious now as they were then. But it's just a fact that those in charge simply cannot be trusted to follow the rules because they have demonstrated on so many previous occasions that they will not follow the rules.
One thing on which the monitor and the governor agree is that the administration's ongoing effort to minimize hiring misconduct is on the verge of completion - perhaps by the middle of the year.
If that is the case, let's get it done. Until then, the federal court should keep the monitor on duty to ensure more unqualified, but connected, applicants do not end up on the state payroll.
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