The largest procurement contract in Illinois history was once again the subject of a legislative hearing. The House Appropriations-Human Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) heard from vulnerable stakeholders in the state’s medicaid program and grilled Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Felicia Norwood. The following are core takeaways from the lengthy subject hearing.

9:15 a.m. - Springfield - First Lady Diana Rauner will announce the student winners of the Illinois Executive Mansion Association’s “Help Our Garden Grow” art contest at Innovate Springfield, 15 S. Old State Capitol Plaza. At 11:00 a.m. Gov. Bruce Rauner joins the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs & Illinois World War II Memorial Committee in a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony at Elks Lodge #158, 409 E. Lake Shore Drive. Rauner will then host the Governor’s Cabinet on Children and Youth Quarterly Meeting at the Simmons Cancer Institute, Robbins-Woerner Conference Center, Room 1012, 315 W. Carpenter St.

On Tuesday, stakeholders and workers from across the corrections industry told a panel of Illinois lawmakers that lingering impacts from state’s budget impasse have contributed to an increase in assaults on corrections workers and the neglect of mentally ill inmates. State representatives gathered members of the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31, among other groups, to testify on possible solutions during a subject matter hearing of the House Appropriations-Public Safety Committee.

Committee Chair Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) said she called the hearing after receiving an increased number of communications about violence in DOC and Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facilities.

“These communications are coming from staff alleging increased abuse from inmates or residents, and from advocates on behalf of inmates and residents alleging increased violence on the part of staff. In both cases, complaints about the agencies’ level of response and level of acknowledgement of a prob, and seeming desire to correct it,” she said.

“The agencies’ responses to that have been that they are doing everything in their power, and then some. And, you know, rarely in this work do you find yourself in a situation where there is zero match between anybody’s stories. There’s usually some common ground that you can find, and these stories all diverge so much that it's almost impossible to get to the bottom of them.”

AFSCME representatives said violence has increased significantly in the last two years in the state’s medium security prisons, where a combination of new policies and a lack of funding create a need for multiple solutions at once from the state. In the meantime, they said ensuring workers’ safety requires timely action.

“No one in this room believes that it’s acceptable that anyone’s job would include being routinely spit on, groped, splashed with urine or feces. Or, for that matter, punched or stabbed, or otherwise assaulted,” said Anne Irving, director of public policy for AFSCME Council 31. “So if we can agree, then the significant increase in assaults that we’ve seen over roughly the last two years in DOC and DJJ facilities needs to be addressed.”

Irving said AFSCME representatives visited facilities and learned that assaults are contributing to extreme turnover. Prior to two years ago, state corrections policy enforced a greater degree of inmate segregation. Unless an inmate was in transit between rooms, they were largely in their cell. Reduced inmate segregation can make managing a facility’s general population unpredictable but AFSCME called for key improvements that could make the job safer.

The group wants the DOC to stop housing maximum security inmates in medium security facilities, provide adequate medical staff for facilities where mentally ill inmates are integrated into the general population, and to provide facilities with basic equipment such as functional walkie-talkies and replacement prisoner transport vehicles. Another recurring theme was the call for necessary staff training updates to address the new policy toward integrated inmate populations.

Rep. André Thapedi (D-Chicago) was adamant that neither staff, nor inmates, should endure the assaults currently reported.

“Absolutely not. That should not be happening,” he said. “The inmates have some rights as well, too. And when they’ve made a mistake--those that have truly made a mistake--and they’re incarcerated and they’re there to do their time, I think they’re they’re to do their time; not to be beat up on by other inmates or guards, not to be raped by other inmates, not to be mistreated, et cetera.”

DOC Director John Baldwin told the committee Illinois’ own assault rate increases are consistent with rates seen nationally, but that untangling the exact causes is a complex process that is currently being undertaken across multiple states.

One potential cause is that Illinois’ definition of assault has been widened in recent years, which he says makes it more expansive that most other member states of the Association of State Corrections Administrators.

“You’ll notice there is a spike when we change the definitions. That was to be expected and that is what has happened,” he said. Baldwin said he agrees with the definition in place currently, however.

Baldwin told lawmakers assaults in maximum security prisons, which hold 25% of the state’s prison population but account for 60% of all assaults on corrections workers, are down over the last two years. Baldwin said medium security prisons, which are home to 33% of total assaults are down over several years and currently at 2008 rates. He said minimum security facilities, which account for 25% of the prison population, accounted for only 6% of corrections assaults, a rate that’s been falling since 2014.

Another factor Baldwin said could impact the data is the location of the assaults.

“Almost all of our staff assault increases have occurred at Pontiac, Logan, and Dixon. Those are our three largest drivers. If you take those out of the equation, the number of staff assaults in the Illinois Department of Corrections is stagnant or dropping,” he said.

“Why those three institutions? All of those three are where we house a large percentage of our seriously mentally ill. Nationally, the percentage of staff assaults by someone who is designated SMI hovers between 70 and 80 percent of all staff assaults.”

The three locations are each scheduled for mental health unit development.

Baldwin was quick to stress that there are mentally ill people who interact with staff and do not assault or have integration problems, but said: “We owe it to our staff and population to do a much better job of dealing with the mentally ill in our operation.”

Cassidy told witnesses and committee members the panel would reconvene again at a later date to continue reform discussions aimed at stemming prison violence. No date has yet been confirmed.

 

During a Monday subject matter hearing by the House Mental Health Committee, four panels of witnesses testified that the Illinois Department of Insurance is failing to comply with federal mental health parity laws by neglecting to enforce Medicaid managed care organizations private insurance regulations. Medical professionals and industry experts said too-frequent denial of coverage has become hazardous to patient mental health and opioid addiction treatment in the state.

Statehouse workers were evacuated yesterday when a bomb threat was called into the Capitol around 2:40 p.m. Springfield police converged on the site along with bomb-sniffing dogs from Secretary of State Police. No bomb was found and the building was cleared for reentry at 5:19 p.m., according to Secretary of State spokesperson Dave Druker. The threat follows on the heels of 10 bomb threats made against area schools in recent months, although no connection has been established between the events.

5:00 pm. Monday marked the petition filing deadline at the State Board of Elections for candidates running for election in 2018.

Near-holiday meeting cancellations have begun to appear among the state’s agencies and boards. The Workers Compensation Commission and its Advisory Board both cancelled meetings this week, along with the Illinois Treasurer’s Secure Choice Board. More cancellations are anticipated as Christmas nears. Currently, few meetings this month are scheduled beyond Dec. 21.

A bloc of eight anti-abortion lawmakers joined with 11 organizations to file suit against the state yesterday, in an effort to stop the Illinois from implementing the recently-passed HB40, which provides reproductive and abortion care for Medicaid recipients. The new law’s effective date is currently Jan. 1.

Legislators filing the suit are all Republicans: Reps. Barbara Wheeler, Mark Batinick, Steve Reick, and Keith Wheeler. Senators, also Republican, include: Dale Fowler, Kyle McCarter, Dan McConchie, and Paul Schimpf. They are represented in court by Republican Rep. Peter Breen.

Anti-abortion organizations in the suit include: Pro-Life Action League, Springfield Right to Life, Clinton County Citizens For Life, Henry County Right to Life, Knox County Right to Life, NFP, Lake County Right to Life Committee, Morgan County Right to Life, Pro-Life Action League, Illinois Right to Life Action, and Illinois Federation for Right to Life.

In a Thursday release, the group said: “The State of Illinois is unique in having a tradition of allowing taxpayer lawsuits, which are brought by private individuals to protect the public treasury. Illinois law requires such a suit to be brought by a petition for leave to file a complaint… state government spending on abortions could range anywhere from $15 million to $30 million.”

State Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) shot back with a release in response: “This lawsuit is a blatant attempt to prevent poor women and state employees from exercising their legal right to choose. I firmly believe that all women should have the opportunity to make their own reproductive decisions regardless of their income level or employer.”

The plaintiffs say the petition in this case has been set for hearing before Associate Judge Brian T. Otwell, on Thursday, December 7, at 10:30 a.m., at the Sangamon County Courthouse.

 

 

• 10:00 a.m. - Gov. Bruce Rauner joins the Brandt Group of Companies for the unveiling of plans to create new jobs in Bloomington-Normal area today. The event will take place at 19500 N. 1425 East Road, in Hudson. Rauner toured a Kane County manufacturing plant and a forge in DeKalb County yesterday, en route to providing the keynote speech at the DeKalb County Economic Development Corp.’s 30th anniversary dinner, according to a release from his office. “DeKalb is a microcosm of our state’s economy,” Rauner said. “It features strong manufacturing and distribution employers like The Suter Company and 3M that coexist in the same geography with some of the most bountiful harvest land in the world. Manufacturing and agriculture: These are the foundational businesses of Illinois.”


• Indivisible Chicago’s Jennifer O'Brien joined legislators yesterday to introduce legislation aiming to remove Illinois from the highly controversial Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program, whose gaping security holes were recently exposed in a joint House and Senate hearing. The bill, SB2273, has not formally been filed in the legislature. A video of the press conference is available online.


• In case you missed it, the first brief of the Janus v. AFSCME case was filed this week, beginning proceedings in the free-rider case before the high court. In a release, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix reiterated the company’s aim of overturning the controlling precedent of the 1977 Abood v. Detroit ruling. “Now that the Janus case is being briefed for argument at the High Court, we are hopeful that in the coming months the Supreme Court will correct this anomaly in First Amendment jurisprudence by striking down all mandatory union payments for public workers,” Mix wrote.


• On the radar: What’s going on with the unusually high number of bomb threats at schools in the capital city? The State Journal-Register counts ten such incidents so far this year.

 

Gutierrez’ impact -- In Illinois’ 4th Congressional District, Cook County Comm. Chuy Garcia picked up a Bernie Sanders endorsement for his run after being tapped as the successor to Democratic U.S. Rep Luis Gutierrez in what became a two-day media cyclone, upending the Chicago district’s political pecking order. Meanwhile, the only woman in the race, Sole Flores, picked up an endorsement from Ameya Pewar. Over in Illinois House District 3, Gutierrez is backing Lourdes Ramos against incumbent state Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago). Gutierrez’ abrupt decision to step down from his post may lighten the impact of an otherwise significant endorsement, but Capitol Fax’ Rich Miller is warning it could get heated in the early stages.

Proft pop-ups -- Another Dan Proft candidate emerged this week. In the solidly-red Illinois House District 108, state Rep. Charles Meier (R-Highland) hasn’t seen a primary challenger since 2012 when he narrowly nabbed a win against two opponents. Even in 2012, Meier grabbed 66% of the vote in the general. Now he’ll face Donald Moore (R-Troy), the Madison County Board member who’s been stumping since October against Meier’s aye-vote on Rauner’s vetoed tax hike.

Silverstein’s seat -- It’s getting crowded in Illinois Senate District 8, as incumbent Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) faces an investigation into sexual harassment and ethics violations. Even so, Silverstein filed this week. A standout among his primary challengers is U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider’s (D-10) former political director, Ram Villivalam. As Mary Ann Hern writes, “Also endorsing Villivalam is State Rep. Theresa Mah and Water Reclamation District Commissioner Josina Morita. Mah and Morita, like Villivalam, have Asian-American roots. Mah is the first Asian-American member of the Illinois House and Morita is the first Asian-American elected to a Cook County-wide board. Should Villivalam win, he would be the first Asian-American elected to the Illinois State Senate.”