Gov. JB Pritzker pushed back on criticisms of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout Thursday, Jan. 29, saying state officials are “doing everything we can” to ensure timely delivery of doses.
Illinois currently ranks 47th among all 50 states in vaccine distribution, with 4.8 percent of the state’s 12.7 million residents having been vaccinated so far. The state has issued 829,488 total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday, with only 1.4 percent of the state’s population having received both required doses.
Some state lawmakers have criticized the Pritzker administration for the slow delivery of the vaccine, especially at long-term care facilities that have been prioritized under the state’s vaccine distribution plan.
The state reported Thursday that 131,284 doses have been issued at long-term care facilities out of 496,100 doses allocated, just 26 percent of the total allotted to them. Those vaccines are administered through a federal Pharmacy Partnership program with nationwide pharmacy chains Walgreens and CVS.
State senators from both parties asked for more transparency from the administration regarding the distribution of vaccines in a pair of letters to the governor’s office this week.
In a letter to the governor on Thursday, Senate Republicans said “Illinois has failed its residents.”
“We are asking for you to provide a clear explanation to legislators and to the citizens of Illinois as to why Illinois is among the worst states in regard to getting vaccines out to those who need it most,” the GOP Senators wrote in the letter. “With all due respect, blaming the previous President, the federal government and CVS/Walgreens simply will not suffice.”
Pritzker said Thursday that he had spoken to leaders from Walgreens and CVS pharmacies, and said the companies plan to have the first round of vaccinations at assisted living and long-term care facilities complete by Feb. 15.
Pritzker said the state helped administer vaccinations at state veterans homes to ease the burden on Walgreens and CVS, and has placed the blame for the state’s lag in vaccinations on a slow delivery process from the federal government.
He said the federal government’s requirement to keep a set number of vaccines in reserve for second doses has also contributed to the lag.
The governor’s remarks come as the state recorded another single-day record for vaccinations, delivering 55,865 doses Wednesday.
Pritzker said he is hopeful the single-day numbers will continue to increase as the federal government authorizes increased production and the state works to build out its vaccination facilities.
In total, nearly 1.8 million vaccines have been delivered to the state so far. The state moved into Phase 1B of its vaccination plan on Monday, meaning an estimated 3.2 million additional residents are eligible to receive a vaccine, including people age 65 and older as well as non-healthcare frontline essential workers.
* * *
COVID-19 UPDATE: The state’s rolling COVID-19 positivity rate has continued on a steady decline over the past two weeks, standing at 4.4 percent Thursday, Jan. 29. That marked the 20th consecutive day that figure has decreased, and the lowest it has been since Oct. 13.
State public health officials reported 4,191 new and probable cases of COVID-19 on Thursday out of 100,119 administered tests.
The state has seen a total of 1.1 million cases of COVID-19 to date. Health officials reported 103 additional deaths Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 19,067.
There was no movement in COVID-19 mitigations Thursday. Region 4 in the Metro East region near St. Louis was the only region to remain under stricter Tier 2 mitigations, which prohibits indoor service at bars and restaurants.
Regions 7 through 11, which include Chicago and surrounding suburban counties, remained under Tier 1 mitigations, which allow for some limited indoor dining and service.
The rest of the state has been returned to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan with normal mitigation measures in place.
* * *
COVID-19 VARIANT: Public health officials announced Monday, Jan. 25, that eight cases of a new COVID-19 variant were identified in Cook County. The variant was first identified in the United Kingdom in November and spotted in Illinois on Jan. 15. The new variant is believed to be more contagious than the initial COVID-19 strain that originated in China over one year ago.
“We are following closely to see if there is evidence that infections by this variant cause more severe disease or death,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a statement Monday.
“Based on the information available now, the vaccine will still be effective. Continued masking and vaccination when it is your turn remain our best path to defeating this virus as quickly as possible,” Ezike added.
* * *
COMMITTEE CHAIRS: On Thursday, Jan. 19, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch announced the committees and their respective chairs for the 102nd General Assembly, including the addition of six new committees.
The committee announcement comes as Welch canceled all but one of the House session days that had been set for next month.
Lawmakers in the House are expected to return on Feb. 10 “for a one-day session to adopt House Rules for the 102nd General Assembly that will authorize remote work and legislating for committees,” according to Welch’s news release.
Although the state Senate passed rules that allow for remote committee work, the House did not.
According to the release, House members are scheduled to meet in the state Capitol, rather than the Bank of Springfield Convention Center, where they met earlier this month for the lame duck session. They also convened at the convention center for session last May.
Members will rotate between the House chamber and their offices in order to maintain social distancing, the release states, and the Bank of Springfield center “will be available as a backup option if chamber use is ultimately determined not yet feasible.”
New committees since the 101st General Assembly are Ethics & Elections, Housing, Immigration & Human Rights, Police & Fire, Restorative Justice and Tourism.
In a letter to the caucus, Welch wrote the next step is to solicit feedback from members on which committees they wish to be assigned. Members in their second terms will receive strong consideration on requests to serve as a committee vice-chair, according to the letter.
* * *
CHICAGO OFFICE PURCHASE: State officials on Wednesday, Jan. 28, announced the purchase of a 17-story office building in Chicago’s West Loop for $73.25 million, a move Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said will “pay for itself.”
The 429,316-square-foot building at 555 West Monroe is set to become the new office space for over 1,000 Chicago-based state employees currently working in the James R. Thompson Center and other downtown locations leased by the state.
A spokesperson for the state’s department of Central Management Services said that state agencies expect to begin moving into the new building as early as April of this year. Once the move is completed, it will signal the end of the state’s time at the aging Thompson Center on Randolph Street, which has housed the state’s Chicago offices since 1985.
State officials cited staff consolidation and cost-saving measures as primary reasons for the purchase of the new office space.
According to a news release, the state currently leases office space in seven different locations around downtown Chicago at a cost of $21.3 million in base rent and operating costs.
The Illinois Department of Central Management Services said that approximately 2,200 employees are currently based at the Thompson Center, with an additional 1,300 working in other leased facilities.
CMS said that after conducting an analysis in coordination with other state agencies, it determined that only about 900 state employees require an office in the Loop, and that the remainder “can be located elsewhere”.
Pritzker said that the state’s purchase of 555 West Monroe and subsequent relocation from the Thompson Center will save a significant amount of money in the long run.
Pritzker signed a bill in April 2019 to begin the process of selling the Center and exploring an alternative location for state offices in downtown Chicago.
During its abbreviated session last year, the General Assembly set April 5, 2022 as a target deadline to reach an agreement on the sale of the outdated building.
CMS cited “prolonged deferred maintenance and delayed capital projects” as reasons for the Thompson Center’s declining condition. The department estimates it would cost between $325 and $525 million dollars to modernize the Thompson Center and bring it into a state of good repair.
State officials said that minimal work would be needed at the 555 West Monroe building to bring it up to state standards.
* * *
JANUS LAWSUIT: The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a case Monday, Jan. 25, that sought to compel public employee unions to reimburse nonmember employees for mandatory fees which the court ruled as unconstitutional in 2018.
The case was brought by Mark Janus, a former Illinois government employee whose original lawsuit resulted in the landmark 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision, “Mark Janus v. American Federation for State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31.”
Janus, a former child support specialist with the state, never joined a public union but was still obligated to pay so-called “fair share” fees.
Under a previous court precedent from a 1977 case, nonmembers could not be forced to fund a union's political or ideological activities through fair share fees, but nonmembers could be required to pay to support the union for universally beneficial activities, such as collective bargaining.
In “Janus v. AFSCME 31,” the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the 41-year-old court precedent, finding fair share union fees violate nonmembers' First Amendment right to free speech.
The 2018 decision means that public unions, such as AFSCME Council 31, can no longer collect fees from public employees who are not union members.
Janus petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court last year, asking the court to decide whether he and other nonmembers are entitled to receive back pay in the form of the fees they paid to AFSCME.
His petition to the U.S. Supreme Court came after his case demanding back pay was dismissed in a federal district court and federal appeals court. Both the federal and appeals courts ruled that the unions did not owe back pay because they were acting in “good faith” when they charged nonmember fees, since those fees were constitutional at the time under federal and state law.
Jeffrey Schwab, a senior attorney at the Liberty Justice Center and one of Janus’ lawyers, said in a written statement that his organization is disappointed that the Supreme Court decided not to take up the issue at this time.
“We are continuing to fight for back fees for government employees who paid money to unions against their will,” Schwab said.
* * *
REFLECTIONS ON SPEAKER RACE: Democrats in the Illinois House of Representatives made history on Jan. 13 when they elected the first Black lawmaker to serve as House Speaker and ended the reign of Rep. Michael Madigan, the longest-serving statehouse speaker in the country.
But the decision to elect Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, from Hillside, meant that members of the House Democratic caucus were ultimately unable to unite behind any of the three female lawmakers who came out as early contenders for the job.
Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, was the first member of the Democratic caucus to announce her challenge to then-Speaker Madigan, issuing her intention to run to replace him on Oct. 1.
Reps. Ann Williams, D-Chicago, and Kathleen Willis, D-Addison, tossed their hats into the ring on Jan. 6, although Willis dropped out by Jan. 10 and threw her support behind Williams.
Kifowit, Williams and Willis were also part of a group of 19 House Democrats who, prior to the lame duck session that began Jan. 8, pledged they would not support Madigan’s re-election for speaker in the current General Assembly.
When Madigan announced he was suspending his campaign on Jan. 11, Welch and Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, joined the field of candidates, but Welch was the only candidate to gain the support of 60 of his peers and pass the threshold needed to be elected speaker.
Kifowit said the growing list of candidates was a good thing in that it gave lawmakers a choice that many never had in their entire legislative careers.
Williams stressed the importance of party unity in backing Welch.
“My candidacy and that of the others really served as a catalyst for change,” Williams said. “One thing we could all agree on was that we want the House to function and function effectively. The caucus was very divided. Moving forward with a coalition really helped unify the caucus.”
“I think that one important thing to note is that women sometimes make it less about themselves and more about the collective. I think that's a very powerful tool,” she said.
Kifowit criticized Madigan’s decision not to suspend his campaign earlier as part of the reason why she and other female candidates failed to garner enough support during informal balloting. She said the entire process of electing a new speaker for the 102nd General Assembly was “stifled by the continued presence of Michael Madigan in the conversation.”
Willis did not respond to requests for comment.
* * *
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT INVESTIGATION: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched an investigation to determine whether Illinois has violated federal law by enacting and enforcing the 2019 Reproductive Health Act which, among other things, requires certain health insurance plans to cover abortion services.
In a letter dated Jan. 19, which was the last full day of the Trump administration, HHS’s Office of Civil Rights notified the Chicago-based Thomas More Society that it had received a complaint the group filed in October 2019 and had agreed to open an investigation to determine if certain portions of the act violate federal law.
Specifically, the letter stated that HHS’s Office of Civil Rights “is investigating whether the state of Illinois, through its Department of Insurance and Department of Central Management Services, is discriminating against health plan issuers and plans that would offer health coverage that limited or excluded abortion coverage but for the Reproductive Health Act,” Luis Perez, who was a deputy director at HHS in the Trump administration, wrote in the letter.
But it is unclear how the investigation will play out as the department transitions to the leadership of President Joe Biden.
A spokeswoman for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in an email statement that his office was aware of the pending investigation but that it intends to defend the state’s law.
“We were notified – on the final day of the Trump administration – of the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights’ intention to investigate complaints filed by the Thomas More Society” the spokeswoman said. “In the event that the new administration follows through on this 11th hour attempt to undermine access to reproductive care in Illinois, Attorney General Raoul is committed to defending Illinois’ Reproductive Health Act.”
The Illinois Department of Insurance regulates small-group health plans sold in Illinois while the Department of Central Management Services administers the state employee health insurance program, both of which are under the coverage mandate in the Reproductive Health Act.
The coverage mandate does not apply to private, large-group insurance plans that are regulated under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, also known as ERISA. And while the mandate does apply to plans in the state’s Medicaid program, abortion services within that program are paid for only with state funds, not federal matching funds.
The letter specifically referred to a federal law known as the Weldon Amendment, which has been attached to every HHS appropriations bill since 2005. It prohibits any recipient of HHS funds, including state and local governments, from discriminating against “any institutional or individual health care entity,” including health insurance plans, “on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.”
* * *
JUVENILE DETENTION DECISION: The state’s highest court deadlocked Friday, Jan. 22, over how to interpret a state law that outlines the procedure judges must follow to sentence a minor who is found guilty of a crime to a state juvenile detention center.
The case, out of Rock Island County from December 2019, raised the question of whether, under Illinois law, a judge must state directly in the court record that commitment to a juvenile detention facility is the “least restrictive” sentencing option.
When at least four justices of the Supreme Court cannot agree on a decision, the appellate court ruling being reviewed becomes the final decision. That means there is conflicting legal precedent in Illinois courts on this issue because two other appellate courts have ruled differently. The Supreme Court could rule on the precedent again in the future if a new case regarding the same issues comes before it.
The Illinois General Assembly added language to the Illinois Juvenile Court Act in 2012 that a judge must find detention is “least restrictive,” and provide “the reasons why efforts were unsuccessful in locating a less restrictive alternative to secure confinement.”
In the December 2019 opinion, the 3rd District Appellate Court decided the judge who sentenced a juvenile was not required to make a direct statement that juvenile detention was the “least restrictive” option because the judge in this case “explicitly contemplated a number of less restrictive options.”
The appellate court found that this requirement amounted to a judge reciting “magic words,” but a judge could still achieve the purpose of making this direct statement by evaluating other less restrictive options in the court record.
The 2019 ruling conflicts with two other rulings on this question from two separate appellate court decisions in juvenile cases from 2016 and 2014.
In those two decisions, both the 1st District and 2nd District appellate courts found the language in the Illinois Juvenile Court Act requires a judge to make an explicit verbal or written finding that detention in a juvenile facility is the least restrictive sentence.
In the 2019 ruling, the appellate court found that the case before them was different from the decisions in 2014 and 2016 because the judges in those two cases did not consider less restrictive sentencing options.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
