Illinois Insights: An Update from Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies (7/11)

Public Health

• COVID-19 filling hospital beds across Illinois, as risk level improves to ‘medium’ in Cook County, by The Chicago Sun-Times. 

Illinois

State general revenues top $50 billion for first time, ending June with $730 million revenue growth

In the fiscal year that concluded on June 30, the State’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability reported a “record-breaking year” of $51.070 billion in revenues overall. This comes at the end of an impressive month of $730 million in base revenues.

The 12 percent base revenue growth in FY 2022 gave lawmakers a great deal of budgetary flexibility last April — allowing them to pass a suite of election-year tax breaks, shore up Illinois’ oft-neglected “rainy day” fund, and increase pension payments. It additionally helped the state reach a zero-day accounts payable cycle for the first time in decades.

Despite this considerable progress, COGFA’S report notes that Illinois’ better-than-expected FY 2022 revenues are the result of several “atypical revenue-enhancing factors,” including an influx of federal pandemic relief funds, the “continuation of a pandemic-related shift from non-taxed service-based sales to taxable goods,” and “strong market conditions.”

Given the one-time nature of these fiscal supports, state analysts expect the influence of these factors to “wane” in FY 2023, potentially resulting in reduced revenue expectations for the new fiscal year.

Beltway Briefing podcast special edition: Primary elections in Illinois and New York

June’s primary calendar ended on June 28 with five states — including Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Utah — holding key contests.

In Illinois, all six statewide offices were up for election, including an open race for secretary of state after a long-time incumbent announced his retirement and a competitive Republican primary for the opportunity to challenge Governor Pritzker. Additionally, redistricting of state House, state Senate, and U.S. congressional maps led to several retirements and competitive primaries. Meanwhile, voters in the Empire State picked their candidates for governor come November, potentially setting the stage for the first female elected governor in the state’s history, and cast their ballots in other statewide races — for lieutenant governor, state attorney general, and state comptroller. Primary races for the state Assembly and judicial delegates were also on the ballot. Due to redistricting litigation, primaries for Congress and the state Senate were pushed to Aug. 23.

Public Strategies’ Chicago-based Matt Glavin and Pat Carey are joined by their New York City-based colleagues Rose Christ and Jamie Ansorge to break down the key races and discuss the potential national implications of the primaries in Illinois and New York.

You can listen to the episode here.

Around the State

• Governor Pritzker announces $30.3 million in grants for 87 local park projects throughout Illinois: “Gov. JB Pritzker announced Friday $30.3 million in grants for 87 local park projects that will help communities acquire open space and develop and improve recreational facilities throughout Illinois,” Office of JB Pritzker.
• Future legislation needs to target guns, gun control PAC CEO says: “Lawmakers have called for a variety of proposals in response to the Highland Park shooting,” by The Daily Line.
• Pritzker sure sounds like someone mulling a presidential run: Today’s Juice: “A couple of weeks or so after visiting New Hampshire and one-upping President Joe Biden (intentionally or not) with a rousing defense of abortion rights that made national news, Pritzker grabbed the national spotlight again yesterday,” by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Chicago

Bevy of aldermanic candidates launching campaigns, fundraising ahead of 2023 municipal elections

With the June 28 primary elections now over, several aldermanic hopefuls have already announced their campaign runs for next year’s citywide elections. Several notable contested races are detailed below:

• 11th Ward: Newly appointed Ald. Nicole Lee, who replaced former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, has yet to formally announce a reelection bid. However, should she choose to run next year, she’ll face competition from teacher Ambria Tayor, who closed out the first quarter with $29,620 in cash on hand.
• 46th Ward: Ald. James Cappleman announced last week that he will retire at the end of his term. Prior to his announcement, three people had already signaled their intent to run for 46th Ward alderman next year.
• 48th Ward: Incumbent Ald. Harry Osterman is facing a challenge from community organizer Nick Ward, who closed the first quarter with $36,617 in cash on hand.
• 26th Ward: Popular Chicago DJ Julian “Jumpin’” Perez is challenging Roberto Maldonado for his 26th ward seat, which largely represents Humboldt Park. Perez has self-funded more than $15,000 and raised over $6,000 so far.
• 24th Ward: Mayor Lightfoot appointed Ald. Monique Scott last month to fill the vacancy left by her brother, former 24th Ward alderman Michael Scott. At least one other candidate has filed paperwork to run in 2023.
• 50th Ward: Mueze Bawany, a Chicago Public Schools teacher, filed paperwork in April to challenge Ald. Debra Silverstein who has served as an alderman for the 50th Ward since 2011. Bawany ended Q2 with $22,853 in cash on hand.

More From City Hall

• More than 8 million Illinoisans get drinking water from a utility where forever chemicals have been detected, Tribune investigation finds: “Worrisome concentrations of PFAS have been found in Chicago, which provides treated Lake Michigan water to more than 5 million people in the city and suburbs”, by The Chicago Tribune.
• North-suburban reassessments point to tax cool-down for landlords, but no end in sight to calendar crunch: “First round of new assessments offer an early signal that landlords may be spared of the sticker shock that has confronted them the last three years,” by The Daily Line.
• Chicago Leaders to Kick Off Budget Season Weeks Before Officials Are Set to Detail Deficit: “Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office will host three ‘budget engagement forums’ on July 21, July 23 and July 30 to give Chicago residents a chance to ‘share their priorities regarding city services’ and ‘have a dialogue’ with the mayor, budget director and other city officials, by WTTW.
• Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot distributes first set of $500 monthly cash payments to over 3,500 households: Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) Commissioner Brandie Knazze announced today that the first cash payments have been distributed to Chicago households through the Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot (CRCP), the $31.5 million monthly cash assistance program to benefit low-income Chicago residents and families who have faced disproportionate economic hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. More information will be posted here.

Federal

• Trump lawyer interviewed with FBI about Bannon contempt case: Former President Donald Trump’s attorney Justin Clark interviewed with federal investigators two weeks ago, the Justice Department revealed in a court filing early Monday morning, a significant development that could reverberate in multiple investigations facing Trump’s inner circle.
• Most Democrats Don’t Want Biden in 2024, New Poll Shows: President Biden is facing an alarming level of doubt from inside his own party, with 64 percent of Democratic voters saying they would prefer a new standard-bearer in the 2024 presidential campaign, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll, as voters nationwide have soured on his leadership, giving him a meager 33 percent job-approval rating.

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