In this issue:
- Governor’s Gerrymandering Hypocrisy Tour continues
- Final “ComEd Four” convict sentenced to prison
- Do you have unclaimed property?
- Illinois headlines
Governor’s Gerrymandering Hypocrisy Tour continues
Governor Pritzker spent much of the past couple of weeks speaking to national audiences about the redistricting controversy in Texas. But everywhere he went, from Meet the Press to NPR to Stephen Colbert, it seemed like everyone just wanted to ask him “What about Illinois?”
Illinois has the most unfair, partisan gerrymandered district maps in the country. Under these district maps, Republicans received a majority of the vote for the Illinois House of Representatives, but Democrats won a supermajority of the seats. The unfair district maps give Democrats a stranglehold on power in Springfield, which they have used to ram through their agenda year after year, regardless of the wishes of the voters.
The Wall Street Journal recently commented that “no one knows more about partisan gerrymanders than Illinois Democrats.”
When asked repeatedly in these national interviews about how he can criticize another state for considering doing the same thing he already did in Illinois, the Governor deflected, changed the subject, and even made a joke about the Illinois map (which he signed) looking like it had been drawn by kindergarteners.
The Illinois district map was drawn behind closed doors by Democrats to maximize their power in Springfield. It was the exact opposite of a transparent process. Republicans have proposed reforms, such as the use of an independent redistricting commission to draw fair maps – a process used by many other states to prevent partisan gerrymandering. But these reforms have been blocked by Democrats in order to keep their hold on power.
If you would like to see change, please click here and sign our petition for redistricting reform.
Final “ComEd Four” convict sentenced to prison
One of the consequences of this Democrat stranglehold on power in Springfield has been an inability by state government to enact any sort of meaningful ethics reform. Republicans propose ideas to clean up the mess in state government, and Democrats use their power to keep these ideas from ever seeing the light of day.
Former House Speaker Mike Madigan was recently convicted and sentenced in federal court for his role in a corruption scheme involving the electric utility Commonwealth Edison. Last week the last of his co-conspirators was sentenced to a year in federal prison for his role in the criminal enterprise which ensnared many politicians and lobbyists.
Longtime ComEd lobbyist Jay Doherty “played a criminal game that undermines all that the soft power that persuasion, organization and debate is meant to achieve, how civic, lawful democracy is supposed to work,” said federal judge Manish Shah at Doherty’s sentencing. The ComEd Four were convicted of bribing Madigan in exchange for the Speaker using his immense power to pass legislation in Springfield which was favorable to the company.
Do you have unclaimed property?
The Illinois State Treasurer’s office has $5 billion in unclaimed property in its possession. Could some of it be yours?
Forgotten savings accounts, uncashed stock certificates, insurance payments, old utility deposits – these are just some of the sources of unclaimed funds which the state treasurer’s office is holding onto for Illinoisans. Next week I am joining with the treasurer’s office and other local state legislators to host an informational event to help local residents find out if they have unclaimed property and learn how to access it.
We will be at the Dominy Memorial Library located at 201 S. 3rd Street in Fairbury on Wednesday August 20 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Stop by and see if there is any unclaimed property waiting for you.
Learn more from the state treasurer by clicking here.
Our current bill backlog
When a vendor provides the state with goods and services, they submit the bill to the Illinois Comptroller for payment. The Comptroller processes the paperwork and pays the bill when funds are available in the state’s checking account. Currently the total amount of unpaid bills is $1,801,474,877. This figure changes daily. Last year at this time the state had $1.2 billion in bills awaiting payment. This only includes bills submitted to the Comptroller for payment, not unfunded debts like the state’s pension liability, which is well over $100 billion.
Illinois headlines
House GOP stands firm in opposing tax hikes
New law cuts ‘red tape’ from process of Illinoisans applying for disability driving placards
Central Illinois homeowners, renters and businesses grapple with spiking electric bills