THE ILLINOIZE: Republicans think Madigan hearings won't be fair & square...The gamesmanship that may save the Speaker's hide...Why has a mask become a political statement?...9/11
THE ILLINOIZE: Republicans think Madigan hearings won't be fair & square...The gamesmanship that may save the Speaker's hide...Why has a mask become a political statement?...9/11
HAPPY FRIDAY
In a perfect world, Illinois would be 1-0 this weekend as my wife and I prepared for a Saturday morning drive to the crisp, early fall of Champaign and a day filled with tailgating, friends, and a shellacking of hapless Connecticut. But, alas, 2020. Here’s to hoping for a spring season for the Fightin’ Lovies.
But hey, the Bears! (Bite me, Morrissey.)
Cheer me up by inviting people to subscribe. I’m not above wallowing.
EARLY DRAMA IN MADIGAN HEARINGS
As you may expect, there was some sniping between Republicans and Democrats yesterday in the first Special Investigative Committee hearing into House Speaker Michael Madigan’s alleged participation in a Commonwealth Edison bribery scheme. Republican spokesman Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) agreed with Chairman Chris Welch (R-Hillside) that the committee should seek guidance from U.S. Attorney John Lausch before moving forward with testimony. Lausch’s office entered into the Deferred Prosecution Agreement with ComEd.
That’s pretty much where the bipartisanship stopped.
Rep. Natalie Manley (D-Joliet) asked GOP attorney Ron Safer if the accusations in the Deferred Prosecution Agreement constituted crimes.“The charge for this body is to decide whether the Speaker has acted in conduct unbecoming of a Representative,” he said. He says the committee has no role into guilt or innocence of Madigan. All three Democrats on the committee are top Madigan supporters, so it’s hard for one to imagine a hearing where they turn on the Speaker.
WHICH LEADS TO THE WITNESS LIST
Yesterday morning, House Republicans gave me their tentative list of witnesses they want called before the committee. It’s a who’s who list, including Madigan, his close confidant Mike McClain, ComEd executives and lobbyists, as well as former Chicago Alderman and Madigan associate Michael Zalewski (the father of the State Representative.)
It’s unlikely any of them agree to testify out of the kindness of their hearts, which leads to the question of subpoenas. Republicans would need one of the three Democrats to vote for issuing a subpoena, and many consider it unlikely any Democrat flips on even the most basic issue in the hearings.
It’s hard to imagine this thing gaining any steam other than the traction the GOP wants it to gain in the suburbs to counteract bad Trump news and a potential beating they’re facing in legislative races. Bottom line: yes, it’s political. It’s all political. It’s always political.
A STACKED DECK?
Following yesterday’s hearing, I reached out to a dozen or so current and former legislative Republicans asking the same question: is there any chance this will be a fair hearing? The answers likely won’t shock you:
“of course not.”
“There’s always a chance. But it’s the same chance I’ll be the Democratic nominee for President in 2024.”
“I suspect it will not be lacking in partisan flair from both sides.”
“If not, these elected Democrats will have to face the people of Illinois and explain why.”
You can imagine the skepticism of Republicans after 24 years of Democratic majorities in the House and 4 out of the last 5 Governor’s races going Democrat after 26 straight years of GOP rule.
That said, with a gigantic fundraising lead, favorable 2020 maps, and a chance to draw their preferred maps in 2022, what do Democrats really lose by stonewalling?
COVID-19 UPDATE
The highly talented Hannah Meisel checked in on Governor Pritzker’s COVID-19 update yesterday afternoon and has some startling data, specifically in the Metro East. The counties bordering St. Louis, known as Region 4 in the Governor’s “Restore Illinois” plan, have seen high positivity rates for weeks, and triggered stricter mitigations last month when the region recorded three straight days of a positivity rate above 8%. The Illinois Department of Public Health and Pritzker initially followed the governor’s prescribed plan to limit indoor dining and reduce the size of gatherings.
But the region’s positivity rate just kept climbing.
THE POLITICS OF MASKS
Ben Garbarek waded into the dirty water of the politics of wearing, or not wearing, a mask. Bottom line: Democrats blame President Trump. Republicans call out hair salon hypocrisy from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And one guy seems to be using the controversy as a launching pad for a run for governor.
TUESDAY FOLLOW-UPS
I asked folks to let me know where they disagree with me in my Top 10 Legislative Seats Likely To Flip. A couple of folks noted that I left off the seat held by Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine). He survived by about 50 votes in 2018 and has a rematch with Democrat Maggie Trevor. One person even suggested that Morrison is a lost cause. Trevor isn’t raking in the kind of bucks she did in 2016 and a top Republican told us that the idea of giving up on Morrison is “dumb.”
Another questioned why I added Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) to the list. The bottom line is that it is the most “gettable” seat for the GOP this year and they believe there’s a chance to beat him. Democrats have begun airing negative ads against Republican nominee Tazewell County Treasurer Mary Burress, so they don’t think it’s a slam dunk.
I mentioned Tuesday that Democrat Betsy Dirksen-Londrigan was the top tier congressional candidate on TV in this shortened cycle. Since then, her opponent, Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) (Disclosure: I was his Communications Director on his 2012 campaign), Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Naperville), Rep. Sean Casten (D-Downers Grove), and his opponent, former State Representative Jeanne Ives (I don’t have a link for her spot yet), have all gone up on TV.
Meanwhile, former State GOP Chairman Pat Brady cut a :15 ad for Casten, a Democrat. Brady has been warring with the Ives and Dan Proft faction of the GOP for years. GOP Chairman Tim Schneider put out a statement calling Brady a “Democrat.” Even though Schneider smacked Ives around for a gross ad two years ago. I’ve known Pat Brady for a long time, and he’s a good and decent guy who has worked his tail off to elect Republicans and has spoken from his heart. I’m not a fan of Casten’s politics, but you can’t blame Pat for his position. Attacking him is a joke as the GOP tries to play defense for a potentially fatally flawed candidate.
This is more from last Friday, but I’m not making a totally new block. Illinois’ richest person, Ken Griffin, has written an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune opposed to to the graduated income tax constitutional amendment. He gave $20 million last week to the effort aimed at defeating the ballot question. Meanwhile, the Sun-Times endorsed the referendum while whacking Griffin. Apparently they don’t think the $75 million he paid to state government last year is enough.
POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE
It was 19 years ago this morning I was a senior at Crescent-Iroquois High School in Iroquois County (that's about two hours south of Chicago and an hour north of Champaign for those of you not familiar with my hometown of 500 people.) It was an early-in-the-day study hall hour where I did all of my homework from the day before as I almost always had a shift at my local radio station, WGFA, on Monday nights during football season. Our grumpy History and Spanish teacher walked into the room with an ashen look on his face and he turned on the TV. I was transfixed at the images on the screen, and, a couple of months shy of my 18th birthday, I know now that I was not in any way cognizant of what that day would mean for how life would change. That afternoon, in the middle of a line at the gas station in our small town, two women got out of their cars and embraced, crying. Whether in New York, Washington, Shanksville, PA, or a small town in Illinois, we were all Americans that day. It's a good reminder in our partisan and anger today that we're still all Illinoisans and we're still all Americans. God bless the memory of those lost that day and those lost defending our freedom in the years since. My incredibly talented brother-in-law David Heinz, wrote and directed a beautiful movie called American Folk about the days following 9/11. You can see it on Amazon Prime Video.
Have a great weekend.