By Raise Your Hand Action And The Beachwood Lyrics Desk
She’s just a bill.
Yes, she’s only a bill.
And she’s sitting there on Cullerton’s hill
Posted on May 31, 2018
Court Rules Government Officials Who Tweet To The Public Can’t Block Users They Disagree With
By The Electronic Freedom Foundation
President Donald Trump’s blocking of people on Twitter because they criticize him violates the First Amendment, a federal judge in New York ruled last week in a resounding victory for freedom of speech and the public’s right to communicate opposing political views directly to elected officials and government agencies.
The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by the Knight First Amendment Institute alleging the president and his communications team violated the First Amendment by blocking seven people from the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account because they criticized the president or his policies. The seven individuals include a university professor, a surgeon, a comedy writer, a community organizer, an author, a legal analyst and a police officer.
Posted on May 30, 2018
Mentally Ill Prisoners Win Injunction; Judge Declares IDOC’s Failure To Provide Mental Health Care An “Emergency Situation”
By The Uptown People’s Law Center
U.S. District Court Judge Michael M. Mihm issued an opinion Friday in the class action case Rasho v. Baldwin ordering the Illinois Department of Corrections to provide mental health treatment to prisoners who are on “crisis watches” and in segregation, as well as to provide medication management, mental health evaluations and necessary mental health staff throughout the system.
The judge ruled that IDOC’s failure to provide mental health care constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the U.S. Constitution, as well as violates the settlement agreement that the department entered.
In a 42-page decision, Mihm found that IDOC’s deliberate indifference to mentally ill prisoners is causing “irreparable harm” that requires the court to issue injunctive relief. The court decision states that the constraints faced by IDOC “are dwarfed by the immense harm to the inmates.”
Posted on May 28, 2018
The Shooting Statistics Are Clear: It’s Not Schools That Are Dangerous
By Mike Males via Common Dreams
Every day, 42 Americans die in gun homicides, the grim backdrop against which to talk about school shootings.
In the three months between the 10 shot dead in Santa Fe, Texas, on Friday, and the 17 in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, around 4,000 Americans lost their lives in firearms homicides.
In the initial horror following a school shooting, we witness the “thoughts and prayers,” finger-wagging from politicians not wanting to “politicize” the shooting, and promises to “do something.” Then, just as predictably, nothing happens.
Or, worse, bad things are done. The survivors of the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida, took center stage to argue passionately for action, and adults initially appeared to be listening. Gov. Rick Scott signed a reform bill into law, but on balance, it does more harm than good. The limited beneficial steps, such as modestly extending background checks and waiting periods on potential gun buyers and banning “bump stocks,” accompanied popular but ineffectual measures such as raising the gun-buying age to 21. Also one very, very bad idea: procedures to arm more teachers and school officers.
But whether those steps will change anything is unlikely. That’s because, while shootings at schools are terrible, it’s not the schools that are the problem. The real problem is that America as a whole is dangerous. As crazy as it might sound after the mass school shootings in the last two decades at Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland and now Santa Fe High School, it’s true: We should be exploring ways to make the rest of society as safe from guns as schools are.
Posted on May 22, 2018
Thousands Illegally Denied Health Coverage In Illinois
By The Legal Council for Health Justice
Attorneys on behalf of thousands of low-income people filed a motion in court on Wednesday to enforce federal law and the State of Illinois’ agreement to process Medicaid applications in a timely fashion. The attorneys charge that the State is violating both federal law and an Illinois court order by significantly delaying Medicaid applications and denying residents access to health coverage.
The motion, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, asks the court to enforce an existing consent decree that requires the State to determine eligibility for Medicaid within federal timelines, and to offer temporary medical assistance to people whose applications nonetheless pend beyond the federal time limits. The advocates allege the State is woefully behind on its processing and has not offered temporary medical assistance as a solution.
“I have represented a multitude of youth clients experiencing homelessness, many of whom have significant physical and mental healthcare needs, who are going without access to care for months,” said Tanya Gassenheimer, youth health attorney at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
Gassenheimer, who helps youth experiencing homelessness apply for Medicaid and file appeals with DHS regarding any issues with those applications, filed a declaration in the motion.
“My clients rely on programs like Medicaid for survival. These issues are simply inexcusable and it’s well past time for DHS to act.”
Posted on May 19, 2018
Any Educational Reform That Ignores Segregation Is Doomed To Failure
By Andre Perry/The Hechinger Report
“In education, America does everything but equity.” With these words, Failing Brown v. Board, a new report from the civil rights group Journey for Justice Alliance, makes plain how the machine of educational reform, with all its innovations and disruptive technologies, is missing an essential cog: the resources to deliver a quality neighborhood school.
Most states cut education spending in the 2008 recession. Yet, despite the economy having recovered, there is less funding today for education than even those lean years, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Researchers from this non-profit found that in 2015, “29 states were still providing less total school funding per student than they were in 2008.”
No wonder the quality of our schools is suffering, and parents are grasping at straws. But the seductive promise of educational programs that don’t grapple with the roots of inequality will eventually ring hollow.
Posted on May 15, 2018
Trump Vowed To Punish Companies That Moved Jobs Overseas. Is Congress Rewarding Them?
By Michael Grabell/ProPublica
Two weeks before the presidential election, Donald Trump flew into a faded textile town in North Carolina and riled up the crowd over one of his campaign’s signature promises: bringing back the jobs that businesses had shipped overseas.
“They wouldn’t be doing it if I was president,” Trump said to cheers. “Believe me, when they say, ‘We want to send our product’ – whatever the hell they make – ‘We want to send our product back into the United States,’ I’d say, ‘We’d love to have your product – 35 percent tax. Let’s see if you move.'”
He ticked off a list of companies that had closed factories in the state, calling attention to Leviton Manufacturing, a maker of light switches and electrical outlets found in homes and offices around the world, including Trump’s real-estate properties.
“I buy a lot of Leviton switches,” Trump said. “I’m not buying ’em anymore.”
Fast-forward 18 months. Leviton now stands to benefit from a bill that would eliminate the taxes the company pays to import an outlet it makes in China – not, as Trump vowed, raise them.
Posted on May 10, 2018
Last Year, Amazon Paid No Federal Income Taxes. Now, It’s Trying To Kill A Local Tax That Aims To Help the Homeless
By Jessica Corbett/Common Dreams
After Amazon stocks soared last week – making founder Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, $12 billion richer – Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted that the company paid no federal income tax last year, which was confirmed by independent analysis on Thursday, and comes as Amazon is trying to kill a proposed tax that aims to end Seattle’s homelessness crisis.
“You know what Amazon paid in federal income taxes last year?” Sanders said Monday. “Zero.”
“He’s right,” PolitiFact declared. “We’ve taken a look at a series of exaggerated claims about Amazon in the past. But in this case, Sanders is on the money.”
Posted on May 5, 2018
Big Money Dominant In State Legislative Races
By The Illinois Public Interest Research Group
Analysis of pre-primary campaign finance reports for 45 candidates in 15 state house races in 14 state legislative districts shows that 86 percent of money raised came from donors giving $1,000 or more, while only 5 percent came from donors giving less than $150. The selection of races was chosen for its geographic diversity, includes both Republican and Democratic primary contests, as well as races with and without incumbents. More details and analysis available here.
Candidates who ultimately won in these 15 races received 92 percent of their campaign funds from big donors giving $1,000 or more, and only 2 percent from donors giving $150 or less.
While the candidate with the most money does not always win, primary results show that 12 of the 15 contested races across the 14 districts were won by the candidate with the most resources.
Posted on May 1, 2018